Lectures on the Harvard Classics

by Charles William Eliot (Series Editor), William Allan Neilson (Editor)

The Lecture Series on the contents of The Harvard Classics ought to do so much to open that collection of literary materials to many ambitious young men and women whose education was cut short by the necessity of contribution in early life to the family earnings, or of supporting themselves, and who must therefore reach the standing of cultivated man or woman through the pleasurable devotion of a few minutes a day through many years to the reading of good literature. The Series will also assist many readers to cultivate a taste for serious reading outside of The Harvard Classics as well as within them. It will certainly promote the accomplishment of the educational object I had in mind when I made the collection.

—Charles W. Eliot, editor of The Harvard Classics

490 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

Charles William Eliot was an American academic who was selected as Harvard's president in 1869. He transformed the provincial college into the preeminent American research university. Eliot served the longest term as president in the university's history.

Reviews

[Ixby Wuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compiled and Edited by Charles W. Eliot LL D in 1909, the Harvard Classics is a 51-volume Anthology of classic literature from throughout the history of western civilization. The set is sometimes called "Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf."

Volume 51 contains a total of 60 lectures covering 12 topics:

History

Poetry

Natural Science

Philosophy

Biography

Prose Fiction

Criticism and the Essay

Education

Political Science

Drama

Voyages and Travels

Religion