James S. Robbins is the Paul Revere of America today. While Revere is known for his midnight ride in April 1775 to alert the colonial militia to the approach of an outside invasion, Robbins, in his new book “Erasing America: Losing Our Future by Destroying Our Past,” rallies us against the danger of our times: un-American ideas that are […]

The “Aeneid” by the Roman poet Virgil is an epic poem in 12 books that tells the story of the foundation of Rome from the ashes of Troy. It was probably written down in Rome from 30 B.C. to 19 B.C. during the period of the Emperor Augustus. The poem is named after the Trojan […]

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has mounted the most comprehensive exhibition possible of Delacroix on this side of the Atlantic. The retrospective, aptly titled “Delacroix,” follows its Paris debut this past summer. In solid collaboration with the Louvre, practically every major work by the French artist that was not too massive, too precious, or simply impossible (his murals) to transport can be seen at The Met until Jan. 6, 2019.

For $6,000 you can own an exclusive book detailing unprecedented insights into the story of Ferrari, including hundreds of newly released photographs and documents from private collections and Ferrari’s archives—all edited by longtime sports journalist Pino Allievi. Enzo Ferrari’s eponymous brand really needs no introduction. The Ferrari name is synonymous with excellence in automotive design […]

This drama of reading is beautifully conveyed in Percy Shelley's short lyric, taken from his play Prometheus Unbound.

For a lecture course I teach at Brown University called “Love Stories,” we begin at the beginning, with love at first sight. To its detractors, love at first sight must be an illusion—the wrong term for what is simply infatuation, or a way to sugarcoat lust. Buy into it, they say, and you’re a fool. […]

In the beginning was the Word. Or should that be Music? In Dryden's song, it is the power of a “tuneful voice” that plucks life and delight from primal chaos.

In the Qing Dynasty, there was a person who lived in Chiayi State of Taiwan. His name was Lin Dengzhang, and he was very kind and honest. But unfortunately, he was falsely accused and imprisoned. His wife sold all their property and even their son in order to have enough money to get her husband […]

At the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a man called Zhong Mou. He became an orphan when he was young and worked very hard in the fields to support his brother. He liked to read when he had spare time. When he grew up, he received a commendation for being a person […]

Near the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was a village in Northeast China where a family surnamed Xing lived. The Xing family was famous for two reasons. The first was that they had a secret ancestral remedy for eye disease; whoever had eye disease went to the Xing household to receive the remedy and […]

The maxim that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover applies to much more than just books, and I agree with it in most cases. But, ironically, I can’t apply it to books—at least not to “Creativity Takes Courage: Dare to Think Differently” by Irene Smit and Astrid van der Hulst. The design cover of a […]

Homer’s “Iliad” is usually thought of as the first work of European literature, and many would say, the greatest. It tells part of the saga of the city of Troy and the war that took place there. In fact, the “Iliad” takes its name from “Ilios,” an ancient Greek word for “Troy,” situated in what […]

How many of us long for an epiphany—some flash of insight to redeem the dull succession of identical hours. Time passes and nothing happens. No inspiration strikes, no light falls. And yet we still like to believe there could be, at any moment, some sign or wonder that could make all the difference between existing and truly living. In the meantime, we flicker between thought and action, hope and boredom, dream and reality.

If the very thought of seeing a Shakespeare play, reading one, or—dear, oh dear—memorizing a few of his lines makes you feel light-headed and in need of blotting your forehead, you might be surprised to learn that if you were raised with English as your first language, you’re likely quoting him all the time. Shakespeare’s […]

In this series, edited for style and length, we interview people about their most precious possessions. While the objects around us may seem inanimate, our connection to them and our stories about them often bring them to life. Here, Callie Di Nello from Wimbledon in London shares her story: The one thing I cherish is […]

Imagine that you were lost in a wilderness and had to find your way out. Fortunately, you have with you a number of things, or tools, if you will. In the first instance you have a kit bag, which is itself useful. In it are various articles: a bottle of water, a knife, fork, and […]

How can we maintain our independence, autonomy, and abilities as we age? In his book “The Aging Brain: Proven Steps to Prevent Dementia and Sharpen Your Mind,” psychiatrist and certified master psychopharmacologist Dr. Timothy R. Jennings writes about the health of our brains and recommends specific actions to protect them from deterioration in order to […]

There was a rich man in Changzhou County of what was at that time called Suzhou Province. His name was Long Heng. He was born with a very kind heart and always gave of himself to other people. Long Heng opened a pawnshop and, because of his sense of fairness and justice, his business was […]

One of the most unlikely poems of the modernist period is that by Robert Frost: “The Pasture.” It is unlikely for many reasons. First, it seems more like a Romantic lyric (that is, 100 years too late) because of its rural depiction and its simple, formal diction. Second, its tone is gentle and polite, a […]

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here! So warns the inscription on the gates of the inferno, the first realm of Dante Alighieri’s celebrated work, now known as the “Divine Comedy.” “La Commedia,” as Dante originally named it, is an imaginary journey through the three realms of the afterlife: inferno (hell), purgatorio (purgatory), and paradiso […]

One day, after collecting firewood from the forest, Zhao Zan was on his way home. His mother was in the yard preparing to cook dinner. Then, a tiger ran into the village and directly into Zan’s yard. At that moment, Zan arrived at the village and all the villagers called out to him, “Don’t go […]

A man named Wang Xiang lived during the Jin Dynasty. He was well-known for his filial piety. Wang Xiang’s mother died when he was a child. His father remarried and his stepmother hated him. She frequently beat him and blamed him for the smallest things. Soon, Wang Xiang’s father joined his stepmother in berating him, […]

A basic tenet of ancient Chinese beliefs was that of filial piety, or caring for one’s parents. Both King Wen and his son King Wu were excellent examples of this ideal. King Wen of Zhou’s Filial Piety King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty, also known as Ji Chang, was a sage king in Chinese history. […]

Fox anchorwoman Harris Faulkner’s new book, “9 Rules of Engagement: A Military Brat’s Guide to Life and Success,” reveals how her father achieved the American Dream—and not just the dream of providing well for his family, but the dream as the term was originally coined. In his 1931 book “The Epic of America,” James Truslow Adams […]

“Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember…” This line, arguably the most famous in the history of Spanish literature, is the opening of “The Ingenious Nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha” by Miguel de Cervantes, the first modern novel. Published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, this […]

“The Epic of Gilgamesh” has been in Andrew George’s life since he was 15 years old; it’s a poem he’s grown up with and grown older with. “It’s one of those texts that changes as you go back to it. It is so profound and full of meaning that the more life experience you bring […]

News Analysis STOCKHOLM—There won’t be a Nobel Prize in Literature awarded in 2018. The reason: A reckoning following decades of alleged sexual misconduct among the very cream of the Swedish cultural elite. The Swedish Academy is internationally known almost exclusively for selecting the recipient of the world’s most prestigious literary award, the Nobel Prize in […]