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In this monumental work of moral and political philosophy, Plato sought to answer some of the world's most formidable questions: What does it mean to be good? What enables us to distinguish between right and wrong? How should human virtues be translated into a just society? Perhaps the greatest single treatise written on political philosophy, The Republic has strongly influenced Western thought concerning questions of justice, rule, obedience, and the good life.

The Dialogues of Plato rank with the writings of Aristotle as the most important and influential philosophical works in Western thought. In them Plato cast his teacher Socrates as the central disputant in colloquies that brilliantly probe a vast spectrum of philosophical ideas and issues.

Here is a modern novelette in H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. Imagine David Cronenberg directing Dr. Strangelove, based on a script by H. P. Lovecraft. Imagine an alternate history in which nuclear bombs are not the ultimate weapon, but instead are merely a stepping stone to eldritch technologies accessible through certain trans-dimensional forces first encountered in 1920s Antarctica, technologies that neither the United States nor the USSR can quite contain.

"The captain, or Wolf Larsen, as men called him, ceased pacing and gazed down at the dying man. So fierce had this final struggle become that the sailor paused in the act of flinging more water over him and stared curiously, the canvas bucket partly tilted and dripping its contents to the deck. The dying man beat a tattoo on the hatch with his heels, straightened out his legs, and stiffened in one great tense effort, and rolled his head from side to side."

To appreciate the meaning and beauty of great works of art, we must be familiar with the lives of the geniuses who created them. For in the personalities and life stories of great artists is the key to their masterpieces.

Columbine, newly returned from school in Denver to her beloved Colorado range land, must face four men in her life who signify for her either happiness and love or sorrow and pain. Among them is a mysterious rider - a man of middle age, gentle and kind, but so terrible a gun fighter that they called him "Hell Bent" Wade. Wade will come to play a fateful part in all their lives.

The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is an American romance written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and is generally considered to be his masterpiece. Set in Puritanical Boston in the 17th century, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery, refuses to name the father, and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne explores the issues of grace, legalism, sin, and guilt.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is considered one of the most influential works in American literature. The novel, a depiction of the cruelty of the American Civil War, features 18-year-old private Henry Fleming who deserts his battalion. He later learns that his battalion has won the battle, and returns to them. The next morning, Fleming goes into battle for the third time and becomes one of the best fighters, finally proving his courage as a man.

This is a story of Texas in the 1870s. After killing a man in self defense, Buck Duane becomes an outlaw, a companion of the gunfighters and rustlers who live along the Texas border. In a camp on the Mexican side of the river, he finds a young girl held prisoner, and in attempting to rescue her, brings down upon himself the wrath of her captors. Henceforth, he is forced to live a lonely life, hunted on one side by honest men, on the other by outlaws.

Two Years Before the Mast, written by Richard Henry Dana, provides a vivid account of "the life of a common sailor at sea". Dana sails from Boston, around Cape Horn, stopping in several ports along the California coast including San Diego, San Pedro, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco. On the return trip around Cape Horn in the middle of the Antarctic winter Dana describes terrifying storms and incredible beauty, giving vivid descriptions of icebergs and the scurvy that afflicts members of the crew.