What do you think?
Rate this book
Autobiography/On Liberty/Characteristics/Inaugural Address at Edinburgh/Sir Walter Scott
Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set-a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology-was assembled by American academic CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT (1834-1926), Harvard University's longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot's belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf. Volume XXV contains works by two great 19th-century writers: On Liberty, the greatest work from British political philosopher JOHN STUART MILL (1806-1873), often mentioned in the same breath with the Communist Manifesto; and his 1873 autobiography, in which Mill reveals how his life was inextricably connected to that of his father, Scottish philosopher James Mill. And from Mill's close friend, Scottish essayist THOMAS CARLYLE (1795-1881): the 1831 essay "Characteristics," a critique of Romanticism; "Inaugural Address at Edinburgh," from 1866, a fascinating and telling summary of his own intellectual history; and an 1838 piece, "Sir Walter Scott," that explains the ethical rather than aesthetic foundations of his literary criticism. English philosopher and politician JOHN STUART MILL (1806-1873) served as an administrator in the East Indian Company from 1823 to 1858, and as a member of parliament from 1865 to 1868. Among his essays on a wide range of political and social thought are Principles of Political Economy (1848), Considerations on Representative Government (1861), Utilitarianism (1863), and The Subjection of Women (1869).
- GenresClassics
478 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1909
7 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Charles William Eliot
429 books82 followersCharles 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 7, 2022
I have to admit firstly that I was pleasantly surprised at the shortness of this volume. On the other hand, Thomas Carlyle was actually a quite enjoyable read.
Characteristics was impressive. Most notable were statements like "Unconsciousness is the sign of creation; Consciousness, at best, that of manufacture." Then comments about view-hunting in contemporary literature (which he later applied without that word to Walter Scott). Another worthwhile comment that a healthy person doesn't think about health, while a sick person is always thinking of such.
The Inaugural Address reminded me of Mark Twain, with lots of inciteful and humorous jibes. He pointed out that university taught him to read, so that he could penetrate and master any department that suited himself. He says history is an important subject for everyone. What is beyond understanding in every age, the unknown, underlies all human endeavor. He did favor, even in democracy, like early Rome, that a dictator could be necessary at times to correct the errors of the mass of humanity, which I think might be difficult to control, as it was for later Rome. He found hereditary peerage of value, but did not deny that the rabble might produce genius. And, many other interesting ideas, in particular, education itself.
The final selection, Sir Walter Scott, was the longest and most difficult to fully comprehend. Of course, I had no idea who he was, so there is that. Many pages discussed the seven volume biography by Lockhart. The point seemed to be that one book was sufficient, unless the idea was more to sell books than to tell of a life, similar to some of my comments on the modern trend in fiction, which I didn't realize was long in existence. Quite a bit of text on many other prominent people that Scott hung with, most of whom I have never encountered even in reading or history. Carlyle praised and denigrated Scott's style, or ready-writing, writing a book every year, without much thought into a character's internals, but much ado about their appearance (view-hunting). Apparently, Scott had three periods of writing, lyrical romances, prose romances, and select histories. He became famous in the first period, then sold a lot of books in the second. Critics and readers finally lost interest, which lead to the third period after he was bankrupt.
I found the selections fascinating, but I have no idea of the extent of Carlyle's writings to decide on whether these actually reflect his writings or thoughts.
Characteristics was impressive. Most notable were statements like "Unconsciousness is the sign of creation; Consciousness, at best, that of manufacture." Then comments about view-hunting in contemporary literature (which he later applied without that word to Walter Scott). Another worthwhile comment that a healthy person doesn't think about health, while a sick person is always thinking of such.
The Inaugural Address reminded me of Mark Twain, with lots of inciteful and humorous jibes. He pointed out that university taught him to read, so that he could penetrate and master any department that suited himself. He says history is an important subject for everyone. What is beyond understanding in every age, the unknown, underlies all human endeavor. He did favor, even in democracy, like early Rome, that a dictator could be necessary at times to correct the errors of the mass of humanity, which I think might be difficult to control, as it was for later Rome. He found hereditary peerage of value, but did not deny that the rabble might produce genius. And, many other interesting ideas, in particular, education itself.
The final selection, Sir Walter Scott, was the longest and most difficult to fully comprehend. Of course, I had no idea who he was, so there is that. Many pages discussed the seven volume biography by Lockhart. The point seemed to be that one book was sufficient, unless the idea was more to sell books than to tell of a life, similar to some of my comments on the modern trend in fiction, which I didn't realize was long in existence. Quite a bit of text on many other prominent people that Scott hung with, most of whom I have never encountered even in reading or history. Carlyle praised and denigrated Scott's style, or ready-writing, writing a book every year, without much thought into a character's internals, but much ado about their appearance (view-hunting). Apparently, Scott had three periods of writing, lyrical romances, prose romances, and select histories. He became famous in the first period, then sold a lot of books in the second. Critics and readers finally lost interest, which lead to the third period after he was bankrupt.
I found the selections fascinating, but I have no idea of the extent of Carlyle's writings to decide on whether these actually reflect his writings or thoughts.
August 24, 2020
Volume 25 contains 5 works from John Stuart Mill and Thomas Carlyle:
"Autobiography," by John Stuart Mill
"On Liberty," by John Stuart Mill
"Characteristics," by Thomas Carlyle
"Inaugural Address," at Edinburgh by Thomas Carlyle
"Sir Walter Scott," by Thomas Carlyle
I enjoyed "Autobiography," by Mill and enjoyed, "Inaugural Address," and "Sir Walter Scott," by Carlyle. The work, "On Liberty," by Mill has some high points and a made notes on several comments. But Mill was a lost soul driven by unbelief and his spiritual blindness shows in his Socialistic tendencies.
Carlyle was also a lost man who fell in with the Transcendalists of the Romantic era of literature. His writing is much more clear and coherent than his friend, RW Emerson, but is void of Biblical wisdom on many points.
"Autobiography," by John Stuart Mill
"On Liberty," by John Stuart Mill
"Characteristics," by Thomas Carlyle
"Inaugural Address," at Edinburgh by Thomas Carlyle
"Sir Walter Scott," by Thomas Carlyle
I enjoyed "Autobiography," by Mill and enjoyed, "Inaugural Address," and "Sir Walter Scott," by Carlyle. The work, "On Liberty," by Mill has some high points and a made notes on several comments. But Mill was a lost soul driven by unbelief and his spiritual blindness shows in his Socialistic tendencies.
Carlyle was also a lost man who fell in with the Transcendalists of the Romantic era of literature. His writing is much more clear and coherent than his friend, RW Emerson, but is void of Biblical wisdom on many points.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews