Anonymous, World Canonical Texts [2007]
215 entries: 201 monographical, 14 otherwise
Ranked
The web site World Canonical Texts originally presented a list of 36 works, plus lists of 16 and four derived from those 36; then presented a list of 150, from which lists of 100, 50, 25, and 12 were derived. However, not all of the works on those shorter lists are in the 150 and 36 tallies; each list is meant to stand on its own as representative of the world's major religious and philosophical movements, thus making substitutions necessary at times. Also, the entries in the list of 36 do not always take the same form in the list of 150; for example, the list of 150 has Plato's complete works, while the 36 only has The Republic.
Despite this complex set-up, this site makes an extraordinary contribution to the literature of book lists/ canons/ reading plans. Far more so than the Norwegian Book Club's World Library, these lists, especially when combined into a single list as I have done here, offer the only "great books" list not dominated by the West. By focusing on religious and philosophical texts, the anonymous author (who tells us little about himself, most important perhaps that he is Chinese) effectively offers a path to understanding the Christian, Islamic, Classical Chinese, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions in their literary manifestations. Perhaps only a list emphasizing poetry could be as truly global. In contrast, most of the lists emphasize fiction, namely the novel (the major exception being Seymour-Smiths's and to a lesser extent the academics who collectively, over time, created the "great books" concept: Eliot, Adler, and Van Doren, all of which nonetheless are Western-dominated).
This anonymous listmaker only ranks the works in the sense that those works in the shorter lists are presumably more representative and perhaps more significant (the creator of the site is not always clear on this point). I got the order in which they're presenting here by starting with the shortest list, so that the first-fourth here constitute the list of 4 at the site; they are followed by the works in the list of 12 not already included in the list of 4, the works in the list of 16 not already included in the lists of 4 or 12, and so on.
- Plato
Dialogues_10
early Fourth Century B CGreek
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Durant* *Hundred* *France* *Read* *Magill* *Bloom* *Kanigel* *World*
- Vyasa
Mahabharata_13
includes Bhagavad Gita; ca. Ninth Century B C-Fourth CenturySanskrit
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Rexroth* *Oriental* *Magill* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *Utne* *Norway* *Great* *GlobeMail* *World* *Graphic*
- Simǎ Qiān
Shǐjì_4
The Records of the Grand Historian
written 109-91 B.CChinese
*Ward* *Oriental* *Fadiman* *World*
--
- Quran_11
Koran
Seventh CenturyArabic
*Downs* *Ward* *Oriental* *Good* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Great* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *World*
- Herodotus
Historiē_25
History
Fifth Century B.CGreek
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Great* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *Harvard* *World* *Educated*
--
- Samyutta Nikaya_1
third of five nikayas in the Sutta PitakaPali
*World*
--
- The Bible_17
Downs also lists John Wycliffe's 1382 English translation of the Vulgate; Bloom, Dirda, and the Globe and Mail specify the King James Version, translated 1604-11 to English from the Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament) and the Greek (New Testament), revised 1769 by Benjamin BlayneyHebrew; Aramaic; Greek
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Read* *Ward* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Dirda* *Guardian* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *World*
--
Selections of Refined Literature
Chinese
*World*
- Adi Shankara
Brahmasutra Bhasya_2
Commentary on the Brahma Sutra
ca. early Ninth CenturySanskrit
*Oriental* *World*
- Al-Ghazali
Ihya Ulum al-Din_2
The Revival of Religious Sciences
Eleventh-early Twelfth centuriesArabic
*Ward* *World*
- Zhū Xī (Chu Hsi)
Sìshū Zhāngju Jízhù_1
Commentaries on the Four Books
Twelfth CenturyChinese
*World*
- Confucius (Kǒng Zǐ) (Kǒng Fūzǐ) (K'ung Fu-tzu)
Analects_12
Lún Yǔ
written and compiled by the author's pupils; ca. Fifth Century B C-Second CenturyChinese
*Lubbock* *Eliot* *Downs* *Ward* *Oriental* *Good* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Great* *Taylor* *World* *Graphic*
- Mèng Zǐ (Mencius) (Meng Tzu)
Mèng Zǐ_5
Mencius; Meng Tzu
Fourth Century B.CChinese
*Ward* *Oriental* *Fadiman* *Great* *World*
--
- Liǐjì_1
The Classic of Rites; The Book of Rites
one of the Five Classics of Confucianism; includes The Doctrine of the Mean and the Great Learning; ca. Eleventh-Third centuries B.CChinese
*World*
William Shakespeare
- Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies_3
The First Folio
1623; includes 36 of the author's playsEnglish
*SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World*
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona_7
ca. 1590-94English
*Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Romeo and Juliet_13
ca. 1591-97English
*Durant* *Classics* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Zane* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The First Part of Henry VI_6
ca. 1592English
*Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The Second Part of Henry VI_6
ca. 1592English
*Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The Third Part of Henry VI_6
ca. 1592English
*Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The Taming of the Shrew_9
ca. 1592-94English
*Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Richard III_11
ca. 1592-7English
*Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Great* *Taylor* *World* *Newman* *Educated*
- Titus Andronicus_5
1594English
*Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The Comedy of Errors_8
1594English
*Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- A Midsummer Night's Dream_14
ca. 1595-1600English
*Durant* *Hundred* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Taylor* *World* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- The Merchant of Venice_11
ca. 1596-98English
*Durant* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The Merry Wives of Windsor_6
ca. 1597-1602English
*Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The First Part of Henry IV_13
1597English
*Durant* *Classics* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Richard II_9
1597English
*Classics* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Love's Labour Lost_6
1598English
*Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- King John_5
ca. 1598English
*Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World*
- Much Ado About Nothing_10
ca. 1598-99English
*Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman*
- Julius Caesar_9
1599English
*Durant* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Henry V_9
1599English
*Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *O'Hear* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The Second Part of Henry IV_12
1600English
*Durant* *Classics* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Twelfth Night; or, What You Will_10
1602English
*Classics* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Hamlet_27
1602English
*Eliot* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *Downs* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *Guardian* *O'Hear* *Zane* *Taylor* *Harvard* *World* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- Troilus and Cressida_7
ca. 1602-09English
*Ward* *Adler* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- As You Like It_12
1603English
*Durant* *Hundred* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Measure for Measure_10
1604English
*Classics* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Othello_14
ca. 1604English
*Durant* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Norway* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Coriolanus_8
written ca. 1605-08English
*Classics* *Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Utne* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- King Lear_21
1606English
*Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *World* *Newman* *Graphic*
- All's Well That Ends Well_8
ca. 1606-08English
*Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Macbeth_16
ca. 1607English
*Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Campbell* *Zane* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Timon of Athens_7
written ca. 1607English
*Durant* *Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The Tempest_20
1611English
*Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- The Winter's Tale_10
ca. 1611English
*Classics* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Henry VIII_6
ca. 1613English
*Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Antony and Cleopatra_13
ca. 1606-08English
*Invitation* *Classics* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Zane* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Cymbeline_6
written ca. 1609English
*Van Doren* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Immanuel Kant
Kritik der Reinen Vernunft_12
Critique of Pure Reason
1781; revised 1787German
*Classics* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *GlobeMail* *World*
- Nagarjuna
Mulamadhyamakakarika_1
Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way
ca. 150-250Sanskrit
*World*
- Plato
Politeia_24
The Republic
early Fourth Century B.CGreek
*Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Learning* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Great* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *Reynolds* *World* *Deposit* *Educated*
- Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro)
Aeneid_26
First Century B C; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Dudley Fitts and Robert Fagles's English translationLatin
*Baldwin* *Eliot* *Classics* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *Smart* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman* *Graphic*
--
- Yì Jīng_2
I Ching; Zhouyi; The Classic of Changes; The Book of Changes
one of the Five Classics of Confucianism; Eleventh-Third centuries B.CChinese
*SeymourSmith* *World*
- Lǎozǐ (Lao-tzu) (Laocius)
Dàodéjīng_11
Tao te Ching
ca. Sixth Century B.CChinese
*Rexroth* *Ward* *Oriental* *Good* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Utne* *Dirda* *Great* *World* *Graphic*
- Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Tarikh al-Tabari_1
The History of the Prophets and Kings
early Tenth CenturyArabic
*World*
- Avicenna
Kitab al-Shifa_1
The Book of Healing
1027Arabic
*World*
- Rumi
Masnavi-l Ma'navi_3
Mathnavi
written ca. 1258-73Persian
*Ward* *Norway* *World*
Kalidasa
- Abhijnanasakuntalam_6
The Recognition of Sakuntala
ca. Fifth CenturySanskrit
*Lubbock* *Ward* *Oriental* *Fadiman* *Norway* *World*
- Meghaduta_4
The Cloud Messenger
ca. Fifth CenturySanskrit
*Oriental* *Fadiman* *Great* *World*
- Kumarasambhava_1
The Birth of Kumara
ca. Fifth CenturySanskrit
*World*
- Augustine of Hippo
De Trinitate_2
On the Trinity
early Fourth CenturyLatin
*Classics* *World*
- Zhì Yǐ (Chih-I)
Fáhuá Xuányì_1
Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra
Sixth CenturyChinese
*World*
- Ferdowsi
Shahnameh_7
The Book of Kings
written ca. 977-1010Persian
*Lubbock* *Ward* *Oriental* *Fadiman* *Dirda* *Great* *World*
- Ramanuja
Gita Bhashya_1
Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
ca. Eleventh CenturySanskrit
*World*
- Dante
La Divina Commedia_33
The Divine Comedy
originally entitled La Commedia; written ca. 1308-21Italian
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Eliot* *Powys* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *France* *Downs* *Zulli* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Telegraph* *Harvard* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman* *Graphic*
Amir Khusrow
- Ghurratul-Kamaal_1
The Prime of Perfection
Thirteenth-early Fourteenth centuriesPersian
*World*
- Noh Sepehr_1
Mathnavi of the Nine Skies
Thirteenth-early Fourteenth centuriesPersian
*World*
- Ishqia_1
Ashiqe; Mathnavi Duval Rani-Khizr Khan; Romance of Duval Rani and Khizr Khan
Thirteenth-early Fourteenth centuriesPersian
*World*
- René Descartes
Meditationes de Prima Philosophia, in Qua Dei Existentia et Animae Immortalitas Demonstratur_6
Meditations on First Philosophy
1641; French version, Meéeditations Metaphysiques, 1647Latin
*Classics* *Read* *Adler* *Reynolds* *World* *Educated*
- Edward Gibbon
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_23
originally published in six volumes: first, 1776; second-third, 1781; fourth-sixth, 1788English
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Durant* *Invitation* *Hundred* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Foundation* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Dirda* *Telegraph* *World* *Educated*
--
- Rigveda_3
Sanskrit
*Oriental* *Great* *World*
- Homer
Iliad_33
ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B.C; Cowan and Guinness ("Trinity") specifiy Richard Lattimore's English translation; Mallison ("Smart") notes Derek Jacobi's modern aural versionGreek
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Classics* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *World* *Deposit* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- Aristotle
Metaphysics_3
Fourth Century B CGreek
*Read* *Adler* *World*
--
- Manusmrti_1
Laws of Manu; Manava Dharmasastra
ca. Fifth Century B.CSanskrit
*World*
- Eusebius
Historia Ecclesiae_1
Fourth CenturyLatin
*World*
- Zhì Yǐ (Chih-I)
Commentaries on the Vimalakirti Sutra_1
Sixth CenturyChinese
*World*
- Koǒng Yǐngdá
Wujīng Zhèngyì_1
Correct Meanings of the Five Classics
653Chinese
*World*
--
- Shījīng_4
Shih-Ching; The Classic of Poetry; The Book of Poetry; The Book of Songs; The Book of Odes
one of the Five Classics of Confucianism; Eleventh-Seventh centuries B.CChinese
*Lubbock* *Ward* *Oriental* *World*
- Xuánzàng (Hsuan-tang)
Dà Táng Xiyù Jì_1
Ta T'ang Hsiyü Chi; The Great Tang Records of the Western Religions
written 626-46; compiled by BiànjīChinese
*World*
- Chéng Xuányīng
Zhuāngzī Zhúshū_1
Commentary on Zhuāngzī
Seventh CenturyChinese
*World*
--
- Three Hundred Tang Poems_2
compiled by Sun Zhu ca. 1763Chinese
*Oriental* *World*
- Shì Dàoyuán_1
Jǐngdé Chuándēnglù
The Transmission of the Lamp
ca. 1004-07Chinese
*World*
- Simǎ Guāng
Zīzhì Tōngjiàn_1
The Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government
1084Chinese
*World*
- Cáo Xuěqín (Mengruan) (Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in)
Hóng Lóu Mèng_7
The Dream of the Red Chamber; The Story of the Stone
1791Chinese
*Rexroth* *Ward* *Magill* *Oriental* *Fadiman* *Great* *World*
- Karl Marx
Das Kapital, Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie_12
originally published in three volumes: 1867, 1885, and 1894German
*Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *GlobeMail* *Telegraph* *World*
Complete works_1
early Fourth Centur B CGreek
*World*
- Xúnzǐ (Hsün-tzu)
Xúnzǐ_3
Hsün-tzu
Third Century B.CChinese
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
- Valmiki
Ramayana_10
ca. Fifth-Second centuries B CSanskrit
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Ward* *Oriental* *Magill* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *Norway* *Great* *World*
- Umaswati
Tattvartha Sutra_1
Moksh-Shastra
ca. Second Century B.CSanskrit
*World*
--
- Muallaqat_3
The Seven Odes
compiled Eighth CenturyArabic
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
- Manikkavacakar
Tiruvacakam_1
Ninth CenturyTamil
*World*
- Murasaki Shikibu
Genji Monogatari_12
The Tale of Genji
ca. early Eleventh Century; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Royall Tyler's English translationJapanese
*Rexroth* *Ward* *Oriental* *Magill* *Fadiman* *Utne* *Norway* *Great* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *World* *Graphic*
- Ibn Arabi
Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya_1
The Meccan Illuminations
ca. 636Arabic
*World*
- John Calvin
Christianae Religionis Institutio_7
Institutes of the Christian Religion
1536; French translation, Institution de la Religion Chrestienne, 1541Latin
*Classics* *Downs* *Read* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Reynolds* *World*
- Abul Fazl
Akbarnama_1
The Book of Akbar
written 1590-96Persian
*World*
- Miguel de Cervantes
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha_37
Don Quixote
originally published in two volumes, 1605 and 1615; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Edith Grossman's English translationSpanish
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Powys* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Taylor* *Reynolds* *World* *Deposit* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- René Descartes
Discours de la Méthode Pour Bien Conduire sa Raison, et Chercher la Vérité dans les Sciences_17
Discourse on the Method
1637French
*Lubbock* *Eliot* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Good* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Great* *World*
- John Locke
Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, the False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, Are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter Is an Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent, and End of Civil Government_4
originally anonymously published 1689English
*Classics* *Downs* *Trinity* *World*
- Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice_30
originally anonymously published 1813English
*Eliot* *Powys* *Hundred* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Kanigel* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *Guardian* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *Harvard* *Reynolds* *World* *Deposit* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Brat'â Karamazovy_23
The Brothers Karamazov
originally published serially 1880 in Rússkij VéstnikRussian
*Powys* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Rexroth* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Trinity* *Norway* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman*
- Guō Xiàng (Kuo Hsiang)
Zhuāngzī Zhù_1
Commentary on Zhuāngzī
Third CenturyChinese
*World*
- Zhuāngzī (Zhuāng Zhōu) (Chuang-tzu)
Zhuāngzī_5
Nánhuá Zhēnjīng
ca. Third Century B.CChinese
*Ward* *Oriental* *Utne* *Great* *World*
Sophocles
- Antigone_22
ca. 441 B CGreek
*Lubbock* *Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Campbell* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *World* *Newman*
- Oidipous epi Kolōnō_20
Oedipus at Colonus
401 B CGreek
*Lubbock* *Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Great* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *World* *Newman*
- Oidipous Tyrannos_25
Oedipus Rex; Oedipus the King
ca. 429 B.C; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald's English translationGreek
*Lubbock* *Eliot* *Durant* *Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *World* *Newman* *Educated*
- Thucydides
History of the Peloponnesian War_23
early Fifth Century B.CGreek
*Lubbock* *Durant* *Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Utne* *Great* *Telegraph* *World* *Educated*
- Mòzǐ (Mo Tzu)
Mòzǐ_3
Mo Tzu
ca. Fifth Century B.CChinese
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
- Dǒng Zhòngshū
Chūnqiū Fánlù_1
The Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals
Second CenturyChinese
*World*
- Kautilya (Chanakya) (Vishnu Gupta)
Arthshastra_2
Fourth-Third centuries B CSanskrit
*Ward* *World*
- Ovid
Metamorphoseon_14
Metamorphoses
8; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Charles Martin's English translationLatin
*Classics* *Read* *Ward* *Magill* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Trinity* *Norway* *Dirda* *Great* *O'Hear* *Smart* *World* *Newman*
- Livy (Titus Livius)
Ab Urbe Condita Libri_6
History of Rome
First Century B CLatin
*Lubbock* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *Trinity* *World*
- Asvaghosa
Buddhacarita_1
Acts of the Buddha
early Second CenturySanskrit
*World*
--
- Vimalakirti Sutra_2
Sanskrit
*Oriental* *World*
- Origen
De Principiis_1
On First Principles
Third CenturyGreek
*World*
- Patanjali
Yoga Sutras_3
ca. Second Century B CSanskrit
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
--
- Panchatantra_3
Pancatranta
attributed to Vishnu Sharma; ca. Third Century B.CSanskrit
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
- Gě Hóng
Bàopǔzǐ_1
Bàopòzǐ; The Master Embracing Simplicity
ca. 317-18Chinese
*World*
- Liú Yìqìng (Liu I-ching)
Shìshuì Xīnyǔ_1
Shih-shuo Hsin-yu; A New Account of the Tales of the World
Fifth CenturyChinese
*World*
- Hala
Gaha Sattasai_1
early First CenturySanskrit
*World*
--
- Mahavamsa_1
The Great Chronicle
written ca. Third Century B.C-Fifth CenturyPali
*World*
- Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Complete works_1
late Fifth-early Sixth centuriesGreek
*World*
- Wonhyo
Dacheng Qixinlun Shuji_1
Commentary on Awakening of Faith
Seventh CenturyKorean
*World*
--
- Mahayana Sraddhotpada Sastra_2
Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana
Sanskrit original attributed to Asvaghosa not exantChinese
*Oriental* *World*
- Dù Yòu
Tōngdiǎn_1
late Eighth-early Ninth centuriesChinese
*World*
Poems_1
late Eighth-early Ninth centuriesArabic
*World*
- Muhammad al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari_2
Ninth CenturyArabic
*Ward* *World*
- Udayana (Udyanacharya)
Nyaya-kusumanjali_1
Tenth CenturySanskrit
*World*
- Ali Hujwiri
Kashf Al Mahjub_1
Revelation of the Veiled
Eleventh CenturyPersian
*World*
- Al-Hariri of Basra
Maqamat al-Hariri_3
Eleventh CenturyArabic
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
- Wáng Chóngyáng (Wang Zhe)
Wáng Chóngyáng Quánzhēn Jí_1
Anthology of Complete Perfection
Twelfth CenturyChinese
*World*
- Maimonides (Moshe ben Maimon)
Dalalatul al-Hairin_3
Moreh Nevukhim; The Guide for the Perplexed
written Twelfth Century; Hebrew version published 1204Arabic
*Ward* *SeymourSmith* *World*
- Jayadeva
Gita Govinda_3
Song of Govinda
ca. 1200Sanskrit
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
- Shinran
Kyogyoshinsho_1
written ca. 1224Japanese
*World*
Hua'an Cixuan_1
poetry anthology; Thirteenth CenturyChinese
*World*
- Thomas Aquinas
Summa Theologiae_13
Summa Theologica
written 1265-74Latin
*Classics* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Great* *Reynolds* *World*
- Rashid-al-Din Hamadani
Jami al-Tawarikh_1
The Compendium of Chronicles
Universal History
early Fourteenth CenturyPersian
*World*
- Gregory Palamas
Triads for the Defense of Those Who Practice Sacred Quietude_1
Fourteenth CenturyGreek
*World*
Divan_2
Fourteenth CenturyPersian
*Ward* *World*
- Geoffrey Chaucer
Canterbury Tales_30
1478; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Nevill Coghill's modern English versionEnglish
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Hundred* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *Smart* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- Tsongkhapa
An Ocean of Reasoning_1
late Fourteenth-early Fifteenth centuriesTibetan
*World*
- Niccolò Machiavelli
Il Principe_29
The Prince
1532Italian
*Eliot* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Great* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *World* *Deposit* *Educated*
Martin Luther
- An den Christlichen Adel Deutscher Nation_5
Address to the Christian Nobility
1520German
*Eliot* *Classics* *Downs* *Read* *World*
- De Captivitate Babylonica Ecclesiae, Praeludium_5
Von der Babylonischen Gefangenschaft der Kirche; On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church
1520; German version published the same yearLatin
*Classics* *Read* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *World*
- Von der Freiheit Eines Christenmenschen_4
The Freedom of a Christian; A Treatise on Christian Liberty
1520German
*Eliot* *Classics* *Read* *World*
- Yi Hwang
Seonghak Sipdo_1
The Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning
1681Korean
*World*
- Luís Vaz de Camões
Os Lusíadas_3
1572Portuguese
*Ward* *Bloom* *World*
- Michel de Montaigne
Les Essais_26
Essays
originally published in three volumes: 1580, 1588, and 1595French
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Durant* *Invitation* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Norway* *Great* *GlobeMail* *World* *Newman* *Educated*
--
- Guru Granth Sahib_2
Adi Granth
written ca. Fifteenth-Sixteenth centuriesPunjabi
*Ward* *World*
- Mulla Sadra
Al-Asfar_1
The Transcendent Philosophy of the Four Journeys of the Intellect
early Seventh CenturyArabic
*World*
- John Milton
Paradise Lost_27
1667; revised 1674English
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Eliot* *Powys* *Invitation* *Classics* *Zulli* *Read* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *Smart* *Telegraph* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- Huáng Zōngxī
Míngrú Xué Àn_1
The Scholarly Annals of Ming Confucians
Seventeenth CenturyChinese
*World*
- Mustafa Naima
Ravdatu 'l-Huseyn fi Hulasat-i Ahbari 'l-Hafiqayn_1
Tarikh i-Naima; Annals of the Turkish Empire From 1591 to 1659 of the Christian Era
1704Turkish
*World*
- Voltaire
Essay sur l'Histoire Générale et sur les Moeurs et l'Esprit des Nations, Depuis Charlemagne Jusqu'à nos Jours_1
1756French
*World*
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Faust_27
originally published in two volumes: first, Faust. Der Tragödie Erster Teil, published in part, 1790; in its entirey, 1808; revised 1829; second, Faust. Der Tragödie Zweiter Teil, 1832German
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Powys* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *GlobeMail* *World* *Newman*
- Adam Mickiewicz
Pan Tadeusz, Czyli Ostatni Zajazd na Litwie. Historia Szlachecka z Roku 1811 i 1812 we Dwunastu Ksiegach Wierszem_2
Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Lithuanian Foray: A Nobleman's Tale From the Years of 1811 and 1812 in Twelve Books of Verse
1834Polish
*Ward* *World*
- John Stuart Mill
On Liberty_16
1859English
*Eliot* *Classics* *Downs* *Read* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Great* *Taylor* *World*
Divan_2
Nineteenth CenturyHindustani; Persian
*Ward* *World*
- Marcus Tullius Cicero
De Officiis_4
written 44 B CLatin
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Dirda* *World*
Poems_6
late Seventh-early Sixth centuries B CGreek
*Rexroth* *Bloom* *Dirda* *World* *Newman* *Graphic*
--
Seventh-Fourth centuries B CSanskrit
*World*
- Hán Fēizi (Han Fei-tzu)
Hán Fēizi_3
Third Century B CChinese
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
- Diogenes Laërtius
Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers_3
Third CenturyGreek
*Durant* *Downs* *World*
- Plotinus
Enneads_6
Third CenturyGreek
*Read* *Ward* *Adler* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *World*
--
- Avesta_3
ca. Fourth Century B C; primary collection of Zoroastrian sacred textsAvestan
*Ward* *SeymourSmith* *World*
- Bhartrihari
Satakatraya_3
The Three Satakas
ca. Fifth CenturySanskrit
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
--
- Yogacarabhumi-sastra_1
Discourse on the Stages of Yoga Practice
Fourth Century B.C; attributed to AsangaSanskrit
*World*
- Buddhaghosa
Visuddhimagga_2
The Path of Purification; The Path of Purity; written ca. 430Pali
*World*
- Táo Hóngjǐng
Zhēngào_1
The Declarations of the Perfected
written ca. 516Chinese
*World*
- Bede
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum_3
written ca. 731Latin
*Downs* *Trinity* *World*
- John of Damascus
The Foundation of Knowledge_1
Eighth CenturyGreek
*World*
- Al-Shafii
Kitab al-Risala_1
late Eighth-early Ninth centuriesArabic
*World*
- Banabhatta
Kadambari_1
early Seventh Century; completed by the author's son, BhusanabhattaSanskrit
*World*
--
- Bhagavata Purana_1
Sanskrit
*World*
- Kukai
Jujushinron_2
Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Development of the Mind
830Japanese
*Ward* *World*
- Al-Masudi
Muruj adh-Dhahab wa Ma'adin al-Jawahir_1
Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems
Tenth CenturyArabic
*World*
- Nizam al-Mulk
Siyasatnama_2
Book of Government
Eleventh CenturyPersian
*Ward* *World*
- Abhinavagupta
Tantraloka_1
late Tenth-early Eleventh centuriesSanskrit
*World*
- Somadeva
Katha-sarit-sagara_2
Eleventh CenturySanskrit
*Ward* *World*
- Shào Yōng
Huángjí Jīngshì_1
Book of Supreme World Ordering Principles
Eleventh CenturyChinese
*World*
Chrétien de Troyes
- Érec et Énide_1
written ca. 1170French
*World*
- Lancelot, le Chevalier de la Charrette_2
written ca. 1170French
*World* *Newman*
- Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion_3
written ca. 1170French
*Bloom* *Dirda* *World*
- Cligès_1
written ca. 1176French
*World*
- Perceval, le Conte du Graal_2
written 1181-91French
*World* *Newman*
- Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca)
Rerum Vulgarium Fragmenta_3
Il Canzoniere
1374Italian
*Ward* *World* *Newman*
- Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi (Sohrevardi)
Hikmat al-Ishraq_1
Oriental Theosophy; The Philosophy of Illumination
Twelfth CenturyArabic
*World*
- Ibn Khaldun
Kitab al-Ibar_2
Fourteenth CenturyArabic
*Ward* *World*
- Saadi Shirazi
Gullistan_3
written 1258Persian
*Baldwin* *Ward* *World*
- Acharya Hemachandra
Tri-shashthi-shalaka-purusha-charitra_1
The Lives of Sixty-Three Great Men
includes appendix, Parishista-parvan (The Lives of the Jain Elders); Twelfth CenturySanskrit
*World*
- Kaviraja Suri
Raghavapandaviya_1
Twelfth CenturySanskrit
*World*
- Wáng Chóngyáng (Wang Zhe)
Wáng Chóngyáng Quánzhēn Jí_1
Anthology of Complete Perfection
Twelfth CenturyChinese
*World*
--
- Cantong Qi_1
Kinship of the Three
traditionally attributed to Wei Boyang; ca. Second Century B.Chinese
*World*
- Yú Yǎn
Zhōuyì Cāntóng Qì Fāhuī_1
Elucidation of the Cantong Qi
1284Chinese
*World*
- Wáng Shifǔ
Xīxiāngji_1
The Story of the Western Wing
late Thirteenth CenturyChinese
*World*
- Shī Nài'ān
Shuǐ Hŭ Zhuàn_5
The Water Margin
written Fourteenth CenturyChinese
*Ward* *Oriental* *Great* *World* *Graphic*
- José de Acosta
Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias_1
1590Spanish
*World*
- Fuzuli
Dastan-i Leyli vu Mecnun_3
The Epic of Layla and Majnun
Sixteenth CenturyTurkish
*Ward* *Oriental* *World*
- Gù Yánwǔ
Rìzhīlù_1
Seventeenth CenturyChinese
*World*
Selected works_1
Seventeenth CenturyJapanese
*World*
- Oku no Hosomichi_5
The Narrow Road to the Deep North; late Seventeenth CenturyJapanese
*Ward* *Oriental* *Fadiman* *Great* *World*
- Victor Hugo
Les Misérables_18
1862French
*Baldwin* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Magill* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Trinity* *Guardian* *Harvard* *World* *Newman* *Graphic* *Deposit*
- David Hume
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding_10
1748English
*Eliot* *Classics* *Read* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Fadiman* *Great* *GlobeMail* *World*
- William Wordsworth; Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Lyrical Ballads, With a Few Other Poems_7
1798; expanded 1800 and 1802English
*Classics* *Read* *Van Doren* *Trinity* *Taylor* *World* *Newman*
- Walt Whitman
Leaves of Grass_20
1855; expanded and revised through ninth edition, 1892English
*Powys* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Norway* *Great* *Zane* *Smart* *Harvard* *World* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- William James
Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking_8
1907English
*Read* *Magill* *Adler* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *World*
- Friedrich Schleiermacher
Der Christliche Glaube Nach den Grundsätzen der Evangelischen Kirche_1
The Christian Faith
1821-22; revised 1830-31German
*World*
- Jacob Burckhardt
Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien_3
The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy; 1860German
*Dirda* *World* *Educated*
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Also Sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen_15
Thus Spake Zarathustra
originally published in four volumes, 1883-85German
*Powys* *Durant* *Hundred* *France* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Magill* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Great* *World* *Graphic*
- Leo Tolstoy
Voyna i Mir"_25
War and Peace
originally entitled 1805, published in part, 1865 and 1867; retitled and published in its entirety, 1869Russian
*Durant* *Invitation* *Hundred* *France* *Rexroth* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Norway* *Guardian* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *World* *Newman*
- Vladimir Solovyov
Lectures on Godmanhood_1
edited 1878-81 lecturesRussian
*World*
- Shah Waliullah
Hujjat Allah al-Baligha_1
The Conclusive Argument From God
Eighteenth CenturyArabic
*World*
- Bì Yuán
Xù Zīzhì Tōngjiàn_1
Continuation to Zizhì Tongjiàn
late Eighteenth Century; completed by Féng Jíwú in 1801Chinese
*World*