July 6: The Origin of "Utopia" (Vol. 36, pp. 135-142)

Sir Thomas More, the "Man for All Seasons," was executed by Henry VIII on this day in 1535. He was the man who invented the word, "utopia," which certainly was not the England he lived in during the 16th century. More envisioned a world where an intelligently managed state perfected happiness. Given he was living in a time of doltish despots, you can see why More dreamed of something better.

July 5: A Tailor Entertains a King (Vol. 16, pp. 149-162)

It's strange to follow up one of the most stirring and inspiring documents in American history with a selection from "The Thousand And One Nights." But the editors do.

July 4: Some Chose to Remain British Subjects (Vol. 43, pp. 150-155)

Yes, it's true that some of the residents of the British colonies in America stayed loyal to the crown during the Revolutionary War and didn't want an independent government. Those are not the people we celebrate on this day.

We instead celebrate the brave men who gathered in Philadelphia on this day in 1776 and ratified a document whose words echo through the ages — the Declaration of Independence. We celebrate the men who ignored the nervous nellies that feared the crown, and told the most powerful monarch in the world to perform an anatomical impossibility upon himself.

July 3: Gettysburg by an Eyewitness (Vol. 43, pp. 326-335)

On this day in 1863, the pivotal battle of the American Civil War was winding down. Frank Aretas Haskell's "The Battle of Gettysburg" is a perfect example of how history is written by the victors. After all, in 1909, Gettysburg was still in the living memory of the editors of this series, and in the minds of the Yankee elite that ran Harvard, it was a glorious victory.

Haskell's account was written just after the battle as letters to his brother. The horrors of the battle were still fresh and the portrayal of certain of his fellows officers and soldiers in the Union army was unsparing. It is a great primary source for anyone who wants to know more about the bloodiest three days in American history.

July 2: "Julius" Becomes "July" (Vol. 12, pp. 310-315)

Julius Caesar was not a man to rest on his laurels. He was always seeking new glories to pursue. So, to insure that the dates for certain festivals would fall at the same time each year, he tweaked the calendar and took the liberty of naming the mid-summer month after himself. Plutarch gives us a glimpse into the restless and relentless ambition of Caesar.

July 1: Darwin Not First Evolutionist (Vol. 11, pp. 5-17)

On this day in 1858, Charles Darwin published the outline of what became "Origin of Species." While Darwin gets all the credit (and blame) for evolution, he admits here — in the opening of "Origin" — that he wasn't the only one, and certainly not the first one, who thought of the idea. He was, however, the man who synthesized the work of his predecessors, put a fresh spin on it, and put it all together in this book.

July 1: At the Midpoint

For those of you who have just walked in, welcome. For those of you who been reading along, congratulations for sticking it out this far.

Just to review what's going here, this is a day-by-day reading of The Harvard Classics, based on the reading guide that's included in the 1930 edition that I am doing to mark the centennial of the series. The guide picks a 15-minute reading for each day of the year, which I list in the title of each post. The volume and page numbers are based on the print edition, so those of you who are following along with the online edition at http://www.bartleby.com/hc might have a hard time find the selections.

I give a brief comment on each reading. I'm not an English literature major, just a journalist and writer who tastes run more toward non-fiction. So, I am a bit more harsh on the poetry and plays than someone who enjoy that sort of stuff.

Not everything in this set holds up well, and one can while away the hours picking the works and authors that ought to be included and the ones that should be deleted. But if you view The Harvard Classics as a snapshot of what the educated elite of the first decade of the 20th century thought was important, it makes for an interesting contrast between today's canon and the canon of 1909.

So, thanks for stopping by, and on with the show.