Articles Index

"A Modest Proposal," by Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is generally considered to be the most famous satirical essay in the English language.

"The Superstition of School," by G.K. Chesterton
Consider what compels Chesterton, in "The Superstition of School," to conclude that "without a gentle contempt for education, no gentleman's education is complete."

"The Libido for the Ugly," by H. L. Mencken
H.L. Mencken's attack on American architecture in "The Libido for the Ugly" endures as a powerful exercise in hyperbole and invective.

"On the Decay of the Art of Lying," by Mark Twain
American humorist Mark Twain composed this essay "On the Art of Lying" for a meeting of the Historical and Antiquarian Club of Hartford, Connecticut.

"Of Studies," by Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, the first major English essayist, comments forcefully on the value of reading and learning.

"On National Prejudices," by Oliver Goldsmith
In his essay "On National Prejudices," Goldsmith argues that it is possible to love one's own country "without hating the natives of other countries."

"New Year's Eve," by Charles Lamb
In the essay "New Year's Eve," which first appeared in the January 1821 issue of "The London Magazine," English author Charles Lamb reflects wistfully on the passage of time.

"The Story of an Eyewitness: The San Francisco Earthquake," by Jack London
Novelist and journalist Jack London offers a first-person account of the fiery aftermath of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

"In Praise of Idleness," by Bertrand Russell
In this 1932 essay "In Praise of Idleness," Bertrand Russell argues in favor of a four-hour working day. Consider whether his "arguments for laziness" deserve serious consideration today.

"Of Greatness," by Abraham Cowley
Critic Bonamy Dobree has characterized Abraham Cowley as England's "first really friendly essayist; he never pretends to be more enlightened or more exquisite in feeling than the average man." See if you agree as you read his essay "Of Greatness."

"Of Anger," by Thomas Fuller
Thomas Fuller's intelligence and engaging wit are clearly evident in his meditation "Of Anger."

"The Whistle," by Benjamin Franklin
American statesman and scientist Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) explains how an extravagant purchase in his childhood taught him a lesson for life.

"Self-Reliance," by Ralph Waldo Emerson
One of Emerson's central doctrines--"Trust thyself"--is the theme developed in his well-known essay on "Self-Reliance."

"On Virtue and Happiness," by John Stuart Mill
In this excerpt from his long philosophical essay "Utilitarianism," John Stuart Mill relies on strategies of classification and division to defend the utilitarian doctrine that "happiness is the sole end of human action."

"How It Feels to Be Colored Me," by Zora Neale Hurston
"A genius of the South, novelist, folklorist, anthropologist"--those are the words that Alice Walker had inscribed on the tombstone of Zora Neale Hurston. In this essay, Hurston introduces herself.

"Two Ways of Seeing a River," by Mark Twain
In this short excerpt from his memoir about growing up alongside the Mississippi River, Mark Twain considers what may be lost as well as gained through knowledge and experience.

"Advice to Youth," by Mark Twain
In "Advice to Youth," a talk he delivered to a group of young girls, Mark Twain turns the conventional moral lecture on its head.

"The Haunted Mind," by Nathaniel Hawthorne
One of the dark fables in Hawthorne's "Twice-Told Tales" is this second-person account of the spirits that occupy the "intermediate space" between sleeping and waking.

"Goodbye to All That," by Robert Graves
Graves's autobiography, "Goodbye to All That," with its detailed descriptions of trench warfare, endures as one of the great memoirs of World War I. In the following excerpt, he discovers the implications of an old woman's lament, "Triste, la Guerre" ("Sad, the war").

"Going Out for a Walk," by Max Beerbohm
Here, in the essay "Going Out for a Walk" (1918), the Incomparable Max Beerbohm challenges the notion that walking is a productive mental exercise--especially if one is accompanied by a talkative companion.

"Give Her a Pattern," by D.H. Lawrence
In "Give Her a Pattern," first published in 1929, D.H. Lawrence argues that modern man is "a fool" because of his failure to accept a woman as "a real human being."

The Gettysburg Address, by Abraham Lincoln
President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address has been described as a prose poem, a prayer, and "the world’s foremost statement of freedom and democracy and the sacrifices required to achieve and defend them."

"The Education of Women," by Daniel Defoe
In 1719, Defoe published the novel "Robinson Crusoe" and this essay, in which he challenges "one of the most barbarous customs in the world . . . that we deny the advantages of learning to women."

"Getting Up on Cold Mornings," by Leigh Hunt
In the first part of this essay, Hunt illustrates various ways in which "an ingenious lier in bed" might resist invitations to get up on a cold morning. In the rest of the essay, he offers strategies for persuading others to abandon the "enormous bliss" of a warm bed.

"A Fable," by Mark Twain
Consider what lesson about the nature of perception is contained in "A Fable," by American humorist Mark Twain.