Gateway to the Great Books

This page can be printed and used as a check sheet for guided reading. Readings in Gateway to the Great Books can prepare younger students for a study of the Great Books of the Western World.

Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1963 (10 vol.) Robert M. Hutchins and Mortimer J. Adler; Editors-in-Chief, Clifton Fadiman, Associate Editor.

Volume 1: Introduction; Syntopical Guide
Volume 2: Imaginative Literature I
Volume 3: Imaginative Literature II
Volume 4: Imaginative Literature III
Volume 5: Critical Essays
Volume 6: Man and Society I
Volume 7: Man and Society II
Volume 8: Natural Science
Volume 9: Mathematics
Volume 10: Philosophical Essays

Volume 1: Introduction; Syntopical Guide

A LETTER TO THE READER: by Robert M. Hutchins, p. 1
INTRODUCTION: I. The Ways - and Whys - of Reading p. 15; II. The Imagination of Man [Volumes 2-5] p. 35; III. Man and Society [Volumes 6-7] p. 53; IV. Science and Mathematics [Volumes 8-9] p. 75; V. Philosophy [Volume 10] p. 89; VI. The Endless Journey p. 106
SYNTOPICAL GUIDE p. 109
APPENDICES: I. A Plan of Graded Reading p. 350; II. Recommended Novels p. 365; III. Recommended Anthologies of Poetry p. 370

Volume 2: Imaginative Literature I

Daniel DEFOE p. 1: Robinson Crusoe p. 5
Rudyard KIPLING p. 122: "Mowgli's Brothers" from The Jungle Book p. 126
Victor HUGO p. 142: "The Battle with the Cannon" from Ninety-three p. 146
Guy DE MAUPASSANT p. 155: "Two Friends" p. 159
Ernest HEMINGWAY p. 165: "The Killers" from Men without Women p. 169
Sir Walter SCOTT p. 178: "The Two Drovers" from Chronicles of the Canongate p. 182
Joseph CONRAD p. 206: "Youth" p. 210
VOLTAIRE p. 237: Micromegas p. 241
Oscar WILDE p. 257: "The Happy Prince" from The Happy Prince and Other Tales p. 261
Edgar Allan POE p. 269: "The Tell-Tale Heart" p. 273; "The Masque of the Red Death" p. 278
Robert Louis STEVENSON p. 284: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde p. 288
Mark TWAIN p. 342: The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg p. 346
Charles DICKENS p. 387: "A Full and Faithful Report of the Memorable Trial of Bardell against Pickwick" from The Pickwick Papers p. 391
Nikolai GOGOL p. 449: "The Overcoat" p. 452
Samuel BUTLER p. 479: "Customs and Opinions of the Erewhonians" from Erewhon p. 483
Sherwood ANDERSON p. 507: "I'm a Fool" p. 511
ANONYMOUS p. 521: Aucassin and Nicolette p. 523

Volume 3: Imaginative Literature II

Stephen CRANE p. 1: "The Open Boat" p. 5
Herman MELVILLE p. 27: "Billy Budd" from Billy Budd, Sailor p. 31
Ivan BUNIN p. 99: "The Gentleman from San Francisco" p. 102
Nathaniel HAWTHORNE p. 124: "Rappaccini's Daughter" from Mosses from an Old Manse p. 128
George ELIOT p. 153: "The Lifted Veil" 157
Lucius APULEIUS p. 194: "Cupid and Psyche" from The Golden Ass p. 197
Ivan TURGENEV p. 213: "First Love" p. 217
Fyodor DOSTOEVSKY p. 272: "White Nights" p. 276
John GALSWORTHY p. 320: "The Apple-Tree" p. 323
Gustave FLAUBERT p. 368: "The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaller" from Three Tales p. 371
F. Scott FITZGERALD p. 393: "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" from Tales of the Jazz Age p. 397
Honore De BALZAC p. 432: "A Passion in the Desert" p. 436
Anton CHEKHOV p. 448: "The Darling" p. 452
Isaac SINGER p. 463: "The Spinoza of Market Street" p. 466
Alexander PUSHKIN p. 481: "The Queen of Spades" p. 484
D. H. LAWRENCE p. 508: "The Rocking-Horse Winner" from The Lovely Lady p. 512
Henry JAMES p. 526: "The Pupil" p. 530
Thomas MANN p. 569: "Mario and the Magician" from Stories of Three Decades p. 573
Isak DINESEN p. 611: "Sorrow-Acre" from Winter's Tales p. 615
Leo TOLSTOY p. 642: "The Death of Ivan Ilyitch" p. 646; "The Three Hermits" p. 700; "What Men Live By" p. 707

Volume 4: Imaginative Literature III

MOLIERE p. 1: The Misanthrope p. 6; The Doctor in Spite of Himself p. 52
Richard SHERIDAN p. 82: The School for Scandal p. 85
Henrik IBSEN p. 160: An Enemy of the People p. 164
Anton CHEKHOV p. 247: The Cherry Orchard p. 249
George Bernard SHAW p. 295: The Man of Destiny p. 300
John M. SYNGE p. 339: Riders to the Sea p. 342
Eugene O'NEILL p. 353: The Emperor Jones p. 357

Volume 5: Critical Essays

Virginia WOOLF p. 1: "How Should One Read a Book?" from The Second Common Reader p. 5
Matthew ARNOLD p. 15: "The Study of Poetry" from The English Poets, T. H. Ward, Ed., p. 19; "Sweetness and Light" from Culture and Anarchy p. 42
SAINTE-BEUVE p. 62: "What Is a Classic?" p. 65; "Montaigne" p. 76
Sir Francis BACON p. 90: "Of Beauty" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 94; "Of Discourse" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 95; "Of Studies" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 97
David HUME p. 99: "Of the Standard of Taste" from Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary p. 103
Arthur SCHOPENHAUER p. 120: "On Style" from Essays in Ethics and Politics p. 124; "On Some Forms of Literature" from Essays in Ethics and Politics p. 137; "On the Comparative Place of Interest and Beauty in Works of Art" p. 143
Friedrich SCHILLER p. 151: "On Simple and Sentimental Poetry" from Essays Aesthetical and Philosophical p. 155
Percy Bysshe SHELLEY p. 212: "A Defence of Poetry" p. 216
Walt WHITMAN p. 243: Preface to Leaves of Grass p. 247
William HAZLITT p. 260: "My First Acquaintance with Poets" p. 264; "On Swift" p. 280; "Of Persons One Would Wish to Have Seen" p. 284
Charles LAMB p. 296: "My First Play" p. 300; "Dream Children, a Reverie" p. 304; "Sanity of True Genius" p. 308
Samuel JOHNSON p. 311: Preface to Shakespeare p. 316
Thomas DE QUINCEY p. 354: "Literature of Knowledge and Literature of Power" p. 358; "On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth" p. 362
Thomas Stearns ELIOT p. 367: "Dante" p. 371; "Tradition and the Individual Talent" from Selected Essays (New Ed.) p. 404

Volume 6: Man and Society I

John Stuart MILL p. 1: "Childhood and Youth" from Autobiography p. 5
Mark TWAIN p. 48: "Learning the River" from Life an the Mississippi p. 50
LA BRUYTRE 99: "Characters" from A Book of Characters p. 102
Thomas CARLYLE p. 106: 'The Hero as King" from On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History p. 110
Ralph Waldo EMERSON p. 146: "Thoreau" p. 150
Nathaniel HAWTHORNE p. 166: "Sketch of Abraham Lincoln" p. 168
Walt WHITMAN p. 172: "Death of Abraham Lincoln" p. 174
Virginia WOOLF p. 184: "The Art of Biography" from The Death of the Moth p. 186
XENOPHON p. 193: "The March to the Sea" from The Persian Expedition p. 196; "The Character of Socrates" from Memorabilia p. 223
William H. PRESCOTT p. 227: "The Land of Montezuma" from The Conquest of Mexico p. 231
Haniel LONG p. 244: "The Power within Us" p. 246
PLINY the Younger p. 262: "The Eruption of Vesuvius" from Letters p. 264
Cornelius TACITUS p. 271: "The Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola" p. 274
Francois GUIZOT p. 299: "Civilization" from History of Civilization in Europe p. 302
Henry ADAMS p. 318: "The United States in 1800" from History of the United States of America p. 322
John Bagnell BURY p. 360: "Herodotus" from The Ancient Greek Historians p. 364
LUCIAN p. 384: "The Way to Write History" p. 387
Great Documents p. 407: The English Bill of Rights p. 409; Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen p. 412; The Virginia Declaration of Rights p. 415; The Declaration of Independence p. 418; Charter of the United Nations p. 422; Universal Declaration of Human Rights p. 452
Thomas PAINE p. 457: "A Call to Patriots - December 23, 1776" from The Crisis p. 461
George WASHINGTON p. 469: "Circular Letter to the Governors of All the States on Disbanding the Army" p. 474; "The Farewell Address" p. 484
Thomas JEFFERSON p. 498: "The Virginia Constitution" from Notes on Virginia p. 502; "First Inaugural Address" p. 518; "Biographical Sketches" p. 522
Benjamin FRANKLIN p. 529: "A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge among the British Plantations in America" p. 533; "Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania" p. 536
Jean De CREVECOEUR p. 543: "The Making of Americans" from Letters from an American Farmer p. 546
Alexis De TOCQUEVILLE p. 560: "Observations on American Life and Government" from Democracy in America p. 564
Henry David THOREAU p. 691: "Civil Disobedience" p. 695; "A Plea for Captain John Brown" p. 714
Abraham LINCOLN p. 733: "Address at Cooper Institute" p. 737; "First Inaugural Address" p. 747; "Letter to Horace Greeley" p. 756; "Meditation on the Divine Will" p. 758; "The Gettysburg Address" p. 759; "Second Inaugural Address" p. 760; "Last Public Address" p. 762

Volume 7: Man and Society II

Sir Francis BACON p. 1: "Of Youth and Age" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 3; "Of Parents and Children" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 5; "Of Marriage and Single Life" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 7; "Of Great Place" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 9; "Of Seditions and Troubles" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 12; "Of Custom and Education" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 18; "Of Followers and Friends" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 20; "Of Usury" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 22; "Of Riches" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 25
Jonathan SWIFT p. 28: "Resolutions when I Come to Be Old" p. 32; "An Essay on Modern Education" p. 33; "A Meditation upon a Broomstick" p. 40; "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country" p. 42
David HUME p. 50: "Of Refinement in the Arts" from Essays, Moral, Political and Literary p. 52; "Of Money" from Essays, Moral, Political and Literary p. 62; "Of the Balance of Trade" from Essays, Moral, Political and Literary p. 72; "Of Taxes"from Essays, Moral, Political and Literary p. 85; "Of the Study of History" from Essays, Moral, Political and Literary p. 89
PLUTARCH p. 93: "Of Bashfulness" from Moralia p. 97
Robert Louis STEVENSON p. 110: "The Lantern-Bearers" from Across the Plains p. 112
John RUSKIN p. 122: "An Idealist's Arraignment of the Age" from Four Clavigera p. 126
William JAMES p. 137: "On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings" p. 141; "The Energies of Men" p. 157; "Great Men and Their Environment" p. 171
Arthur SCHOPENHAUER p. 195: "On Education" from Studies in Pessimism p. 197
Michael FARADAY p. 204: "Observations on Mental Education" from Lectures on Education p. 208
Edmund BURKE p. 233: "Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol" p. 237
John C. CALHOUN p. 272: "The Concurrent Majority" from A Disquisition on Government p. 276
Thomas Babington MACAULAY p. 291: "Machiavelli" from Critical and Historical Essays p. 295
VOLTAIRE p. 330: "English Men and Ideas" from Letters on the English p. 332
DANTE Aligheri p. 379: "On World Government" from De Monarchia p. 383
Jean Jacques ROUSSEAU p. 400: "A Lasting Peace through the Federation of Europe" from A Lasting Peace through the Federation of Europe and the State of War p. 405
Immanuel KANT p. 437: "Perpetual Peace" p. 441
Karl Von CLAUSEWITZ p. 476: "What Is War?" from On War p. 479
Thomas Robert MALTHUS p. 498: "The Principle of Population" from Population: The First Essay p. 502

Volume 8: Natural Science

Francis BACON p. 1: "The Sphinx" from The Wisdom of the Ancients: A Series of Mythological Fables p. 2
John TYNDALL p. 5: "Michael Faraday" from Faraday as a Discoverer p. 8
Eve CURIE p. 29: "The Discovery of Radium" from Madame Curie p. 32
Charles Robert DARWIN p. 43: "Autobiography" from Charles Darwin's Autobiography p. 47
Jean HENRIFABRE p. 94: "A Laboratory of the Open Fields" from The Life of the Fly p. 97; "The Sacred Beetle" from The Sacred Beetle and Others p. 105
Loren EISELEY p. 120: "On Time" from The Immense Journey p. 123
Rachel L. CARSON p. 130: "The Sunless Sea" from The Sea Around Us p. 132
J. B. S. HALDANE p. 147: "On Being the Right Size" from Possible Worlds p. 149
Thomas Henry HUXLEY p. 155: "On the Relations of Man to the Lower Animals" from Man's Place in Nature and Other Anthropological Essays p. 160; "On a Piece of Chalk" p. 205
Sir Francis GALTON p. 223: "The Classification of Human Ability" from Hereditary Genius p. 227
Claued BERNARD p. 262: "Experimental Considerations Common to Living Things and Inorganic Bodies" from An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine p. 266
Ivan Petrovich PAVLOV p. 291: "Scientific Study of the So-called Psychical Processes in the Higher Animals" from Lectures on Conditioned Reflexes p. 294
Friedrich WOHLER p. 310: "On the Artificial Production of Urea" p. 312
Sir Charles LYELL p. 315: "Geological Evolution" from The Principles of Geology p. 319
GALILEO Galilei p. 325: "The Starry Messenger" p. 330
Tommaso CAMPANELLA p. 356: "Arguments for and against Galileo" from The Defense of Galileo p. 359
Michael FARADAY p. 365: The Chemical History of a Candle p. 368
Dmitri MENDELEEV p. 440: "The Genesis of a Law of Nature" from The Periodic Law of the Chemical Elements p. 442
H. L. F. Von HELMHOLTZ p. 447: "On the Conservation of Force" p. 451
Albert EINSTEIN & Leopold INFELD p. 485: "The Rise and Decline of Classical Physics" from The Evolution of Physics p. 490
Sir Arthur EDDINGTON p. 561: "The Running-Down of the Universe" from Nature and the Physical World p. 565
Sir James JEANS p. 581: "Beginnings and Endings" from The Universe Around Us p. 585
Kees BOEKE p. 597: "Cosmic View" p. 600

Volume 9: Mathematics

Lancelot HOGBEN p. 1: "Mathematics, the Mirror of Civilization" from Mathematics for the Million p. 3
Andrew Russell FORSYTH p. 24: "Mathematics, in Life and Thought" p. 26
Alfed North WHITEHEAD p. 47: "On Mathematical Method" from An Introduction to Mathematics p. 51; "On the Nature of a Calculus" from A Treatise on Universal Algebra p. 68
Bertrand RUSSELL p. 79: "The Study of Mathematics" from Mysticism and Logic p. 84; "Mathematics and the Metaphysicians" from Mysticism and Logic p. 95; "Definition of Number" from Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy p. 111
Edward KASNER and James R. NEWMAN p. 115: "New Names for Old" from Mathematics and the Imagination p. 121; "Beyond the Googol" from Mathematics and the Imagination p. 137
Tobias DANTZIG p. 163: "Fingerprints" from Number: the Language of Science p. 165; "The Empty Column" from Number: the Language of Science p. 178
Leonhard EULER p. 190: "The Seven Bridges of Konigsberg" p. 193
Norman Robert CAMPBELL p. 202: "Measurement" from What Is Science? p. 204; "Numerical Laws and the Use of Mathematics in Science" from What Is Science? p. 222
William Kingdon CLIFFORD p.239: "The Postulates of the Science of Space" from The Common Sense of the Exact Sciences p. 243
Henri POINCARE p. 260: "Space" from Science and Hypothesis p. 265; "Mathematical Creation" p. 294; "Chance" from Science and Method p. 305
Pierre Simon De LAPLACE p. 321: "Probability" from A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities p. 325
Charles Sanders PEIRCE p. 339: "The Red and the Black" p. 342

Volume 10: Philosophical Essays

John ERSKINE p. 1: "The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent" from The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent p. 5
William Kingdon CLIFFORD p. 14: "The Ethics of Belief" from Lectures and Essays p. 16
William JAMES p. 37: "The Will to Believe" from The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy p. 39; "The Sentiment of Rationality" from The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy p. 58
John DEWEY p. 88: "The Process of Thought" from How We Think p. 92
EPICURUS p. 214: "Letter to Herodotus" p. 216; "Letter to Menoeceus" p. 230
EPICTETUS p. 234: The Enchiridion p. 236
Walter Horatio PATER p. 255: "The Art of Life" from The Renaissance p. 258
PLUTARCH p. 262: "Contentment" from Moralia p. 264
CICERO p. 282: "On Friendship" p. 286; "On Old Age" p. 317
Sir Francis BACON p. 344: "Of Truth" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 346; "Of Death" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 348; "Of Adversity" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 350; "Of Love" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 351; "Of Friendship" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 353; "Of Anger" from Essays, Civil and Moral p. 359
George SANTAYANA p. 361: "Lucretius" from Three Philosophical Poets p. 365; "Goethe's Faust" from Three Philosophical Poets p. 391
Henry ADAMS p. 420: "St. Thomas Aquinas" from Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres p. 422
VOLTAIRE p. 451: "The Philosophy of Common Sense" from Philosophical Dictionary p. 453
John Stuart MILL p. 475: "Nature" from Three Essays on Religion p. 477
Ralph Waldo EMERSON p. 509: "Nature" from Essays, Second Series p. 512; ""Self-Reliance" from Essays, First Series p. 525; "Montaigne; or, the Skeptic" from Representative Men p. 546
William HAZLITT p. 563: "On the Feeling of Immortality in Youth" p. 565
Sir Thomas BROWNE p. 571: "Immortality" from Urn-Burial p. 575