Doug Cushman

mile is a half-treatise, half-novel about a fictitious character called mile. Rousseau recounts mile’s growth and education, a schooling aimed to instill in him the characteristics of his imagined “natural man,” uncorrupted by contemporary society.

Mr. and Mrs. McGregor drive away in a gig, as seen by little Benjamin Bunny. He hops along toward his aunt’s house, where she is a widow with four small children named Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.

The treatment of humanity is ranked as one of the great works of philosophy in all history. David Hume (1711-1776) wrote a treatise in 1738 and published it in 1739 and 1740. Only with his originality, Hume would have gained a place in history. He is one of the great geniuses of history.

Thomas Paine argues for American independence. His argument begins with more general, theoretical reflections about government and religion, then progresses onto the specifics of the colonial situation.

The four selections in this volume span his entire writing career and are one of his most famous stories. These include: “The Infamous Leaping Frog in Calaveras County”, one of Twain’s most entertaining folk humor, first published in 1865.

William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s collection of poems, Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, was originally published in 1798 and is generally regarded as the start of the English Romantic literary movement.