The Library · Ideas, belief and learning
The Enlightenment
75 books. Click a line to see the book and a free place to read it.
The booksSearch by title or author, or pick a shelf
| Shelf | Click a line to open it |
|---|---|
| Baruch Spinoza | ETHICS: PART I: CONCERNING GOD — Baruch Spinoza |
ETHICS: PART I: CONCERNING GOD “II. A thing is called FINITE AFTER ITS KIND, when it can be limited by another thing of the same nature; for instance, a body is called finite because we always conceive another gr…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Baruch Spinoza | On the Improvement of the Understanding — Baruch Spinoza |
On the Improvement of the Understanding “[4] (1) By sensual pleasure the mind is enthralled to the extent of quiescence, as if the supreme good were actually attained, so that it is quite incapable of thinking of any othe…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Baruch Spinoza | A Theologico-Political Treatise Part I — Baruch Spinoza |
A Theologico-Political Treatise Part I “Every man's true happiness and blessedness consist solely in the enjoyment of what is good, not in the pride that he alone is enjoying it, to the exclusion of others. (2) He who th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Baruch Spinoza | ETHICS PART V. ON THE POWER OF THE UNDERSTANDING, OR OF HUMAN FREEDOM. — Baruch Spinoza |
ETHICS PART V. ON THE POWER OF THE UNDERSTANDING, OR OF HUMAN FREEDOM. “From the third kind of knowledge necessarily arises the intellectual love of God. From this kind of knowledge arises pleasure accompanied by the idea of God as cause, that is (Def.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Baruch Spinoza | ETHICS PART IV. OF HUMAN BONDAGE OR THE STRENGTH OF THE EMOTIONS — Baruch Spinoza |
ETHICS PART IV. OF HUMAN BONDAGE OR THE STRENGTH OF THE EMOTIONS “The power, whereby each particular thing, and consequently man, preserves his being, is the power of God or of Nature (I. xxiv. Coroll.); not in so far as it is infinite, but in so…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Baruch Spinoza | ETHICS PART II: OF THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE MIND. — Baruch Spinoza |
ETHICS PART II: OF THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE MIND. “III. Modes of thinking, such as love, desire, or any other of the passions, do not take place, unless there be in the same individual an idea of the thing loved, desired, But the i…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Baruch Spinoza | ETHICS PART III. ON THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF THE EMOTIONS. — Baruch Spinoza |
ETHICS PART III. ON THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF THE EMOTIONS. “Again, no one knows how or by what means the mind moves the body, nor how many various degrees of motion it can impart to the body, nor how quickly it can move it. Thus, when men s…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Baruch Spinoza | A Theologico-Political Treatise Part II — Baruch Spinoza |
A Theologico-Political Treatise Part II “All these periods added together make a total of 580 years. (31) But to these must be added the years during which the Hebrew republic flourished after the death of Joshua, until i…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Baruch Spinoza | A Theologico-Political Treatise Part III — Baruch Spinoza |
A Theologico-Political Treatise Part III “No reader of the New Testament can doubt that the Apostles were prophets; but as a prophet does not always speak by revelation, but only, at rare intervals, as we showed at the end…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Baruch Spinoza | A Theologico-Political Treatise Part IV — Baruch Spinoza |
A Theologico-Political Treatise Part IV “The theory put forward in the last chapter, of the universal rights of the sovereign power, and of the natural rights of the individual transferred thereto, though it corresponds i…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Cardinal de Retz | Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Volume 1 — Cardinal de Retz |
Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Volume 1 “By the caprice of fortune many mistakes of mine have turned to my credit, and I very much doubt whether it would be prudent in me to remove the veil with which some of them are cov…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Cardinal de Retz | Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Volume 2 — Cardinal de Retz |
Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Volume 2 “Had I been wise I should have stopped there, because a man ought in prudence to make his peace with the Court upon any terms consistent with honour. But I was young, and the more p…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Cardinal de Retz | Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Volume 3 — Cardinal de Retz |
Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Volume 3 “One of the greatest mischiefs which the despotic authority of ministers has occasioned in the world in these later times is a practice, occasioned by their own private mistaken int…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Cardinal de Retz | Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Volume 4 — Cardinal de Retz |
Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Volume 4 “Pray indulge me with a short pause here to consider the scandalous arts which ministers palliate with the name and sacred word of a great King, and with which the most august Parli…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Cardinal de Retz | The Entire Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz — Cardinal de Retz |
The Entire Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz “I found the archbishopric sunk both in its temporals and spirituals by the sordidness, negligence, and incapacity of my uncle. I foresaw infinite obstacles to its reestablishment, …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | OF THE DIGNITY OR MEANNESS OF HUMAN NATURE — David Hume |
OF THE DIGNITY OR MEANNESS OF HUMAN NATURE “We find few disputes, that are not founded on some ambiguity in the expression; and I am persuaded, that the present dispute, concerning the dignity or meanness of human nature, is…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | OF THE INDEPENDENCY OF PARLIAMENT — David Hume |
OF THE INDEPENDENCY OF PARLIAMENT “How much, therefore, would it have surprised such a genius as CICERO, or TACITUS, to have been told, that, in a future age, there should arise a very regular system of mixed govern…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | OF THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS — David Hume |
OF THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS “. In a government, such as that of FRANCE, which is absolute, and where law, custom, and religion concur, all of them, to make the people fully satisfied with their condition, the …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | WHETHER THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT... — David Hume |
WHETHER THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT... “INCLINES MORE TO ABSOLUTE MONARCHY, OR TO A REPUBLIC…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | OF THE PARTIES OF GREAT BRITAIN — David Hume |
OF THE PARTIES OF GREAT BRITAIN “In the first place, they appear to have had the genuine sentiments of BRITONS in their affection for liberty, and in their determined resolution not to sacrifice it to any abstract…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | OF PARTIES IN GENERAL — David Hume |
OF PARTIES IN GENERAL “Two men travelling on the highway, the one east, the other west, can easily pass each other, if the way be broad enough: But two men, reasoning upon opposite principles of religion…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | OF CIVIL LIBERTY — David Hume |
OF CIVIL LIBERTY “And though this turn of thinking must have considerably improved our sense and our talent of reasoning; it must be confessed, that, even in those sciences above-mentioned, we have …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | OF THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT — David Hume |
OF THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT “But would these reasoners look abroad into the world, they would meet with nothing that, in the least, corresponds to their ideas, or can warrant so refined and philosophical a sys…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | OF THE ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENT — David Hume |
OF THE ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENT “But though this progress of human affairs may appear certain and inevitable, and though the support which allegiance brings to justice, be founded on obvious principles of human na…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals — David Hume |
An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals “AS the mutual shocks, in SOCIETY, and the oppositions of interest and self-love have constrained mankind to establish the laws of JUSTICE, in order to preserve the advantages of mu…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion — David Hume |
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion “It seems strange to me, said CLEANTHES, that you, DEMEA, who are so sincere in the cause of religion, should still maintain the mysterious, incomprehensible nature of the Deity, an…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | A Treatise of Human Nature V1 — David Hume |
A Treatise of Human Nature V1 “Taking these limitations along with us, let us proceed to examine the causes of pride and humility; and see, whether in every case we can discover the double relations, by which th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| David Hume | A Treatise of Human Nature — David Hume |
A Treatise of Human Nature “It is therefore certain, that the imagination reaches a minimum, and may raise up to itself an idea, of which it cannot conceive any sub-division, and which cannot be diminished wi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Francis Bacon | The New Atlantis — Francis Bacon |
The New Atlantis “We sailed from Peru, (where we had continued for the space of one whole year) for China and Japan, by the South Sea; taking with us victuals for twelve months; and had good winds f…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Francis Bacon | The Essays of Francis Bacon — Francis Bacon |
The Essays of Francis Bacon “STUDIES serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in dis- course; and for ability, is in the j…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Francis Bacon | Valerius Terminus: of the Interpretation of Nature — Francis Bacon |
Valerius Terminus: of the Interpretation of Nature “For as for the uttermost antiquity which is like fame that muffles her head and tells tales, I cannot presume much of it; for I would not willingly imitate the manner of those that…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Francis Bacon | THE GREAT INSTAURATION — Francis Bacon |
THE GREAT INSTAURATION “Wherefore, seeing that these things do not depend upon myself, at the outset of the work I most humbly and fervently pray to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Francis Bacon | THE NEW ORGANON — Francis Bacon |
THE NEW ORGANON “Subtitled: TRUE DIRECTIONS CONCERNING THE INTERPRETATION OF NATURE…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Francis Bacon | The Advancement of Learning — Francis Bacon |
The Advancement of Learning “And for the conceit that learning should dispose men to leisure and privateness, and make men slothful: it were a strange thing if that which accustometh the mind to a perpetual mo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Francis Bacon | PREPARATIVE TOWARD NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL HISTORY — Francis Bacon |
PREPARATIVE TOWARD NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL HISTORY “In the history which I require and design, special care is to be taken that it be of wide range and made to the measure of the universe. For the world is not to be narrowed till it…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Francis Bacon | Novum Organum — Francis Bacon |
Novum Organum “33. To speak plainly, no correct judgment can be formed, either of our method, or its discoveries, by those anticipations which are now in common use; for it is not to be required …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Immanuel Kant | The Critique of Pure Reason — Immanuel Kant |
The Critique of Pure Reason “n the transcendental aesthetic we proved that everything intuited in space and time, all objects of a possible experience, are nothing but phenomena, that is, mere representations;…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Immanuel Kant | Introduction to the Metaphysics of Morals — Immanuel Kant |
Introduction to the Metaphysics of Morals “The active faculty of the human mind, as the faculty of desire in its widest sense, is the power which man has, through his mental representations, of becoming the cause of objects…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Immanuel Kant | The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics — Immanuel Kant |
The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics “These are such moral qualities as, when a man does not possess them, he is not bound to acquire them. They are: the moral feeling, conscience, love of one's neighbour, and respect …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Immanuel Kant | The Critique of Practical Reason — Immanuel Kant |
The Critique of Practical Reason “To be an object of practical knowledge, as such, signifies, therefore, only the relation of the will to the action by which the object or its opposite would be realized; and to dec…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Immanuel Kant | The Critique of Judgement — Immanuel Kant |
The Critique of Judgement “Were judgements of taste (like cognitive judgements) in possession of a definite objective principle, then one who in his judgement followed such a principle would claim unconditio…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Immanuel Kant | Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals — Immanuel Kant |
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals “We shall therefore have to investigate a priori the possibility of a categorical imperative, as we have not in this case the advantage of its reality being given in experience, so …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Immanuel Kant | Lives of Donne and Herbert — Immanuel Kant |
Lives of Donne and Herbert “Oddly named title is in fact HARVARD CLASSICS V32--includes some Montaigne, Kant, Celtic poetry, etc.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Immanuel Kant | An Answer to the Question: "What is Enlightenment?" — Immanuel Kant |
An Answer to the Question: "What is Enlightenment?" “Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's own understanding without the guidance of another. This immaturity is s…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Leviathan |
Leviathan “Nasty and brutish perhaps, but definitely, definitely not short. -- by Thomas Hobbes…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Pensees |
Pensees “61. Order.--I might well have taken this discourse in an order like this: to show the vanity of all conditions of men, to show the vanity of ordinary lives, and then the vanity of …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | De Cive |
De Cive “All Authors agree not concerning the definition of the Naturall Law, who notwithstanding doe very often make use of this terme in their Writings. The Method therefore, wherein we b…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right |
The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right “THE first and most important deduction from the principles we have so far laid down is that the general will alone can direct the State according to the object for which it was ins…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Age of Reason |
The Age of Reason “THESE books, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelations, (which, by the bye, is a book of riddles that requires a revelation to explain it) are, we are told, the word of Go…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, Volume II. |
The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, Volume II. “(contains revies of Mill, Mirabeau etc.)…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | A Letter Concerning Toleration |
A Letter Concerning Toleration “For whatsoever some people boast of the antiquity of places and names, or of the pomp of their outward worship; others, of the reformation of their discipline; all, of the orthodox…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Further Considerations Concerning Raising the Value of Money |
Further Considerations Concerning Raising the Value of Money “that the World will not wonder you should not be for such a lessening our Coin, as will, without any Reason, deprive great Numbers of blameless Men of a Fifth Part of their Estates…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | THE PROVINCIAL LETTERS |
THE PROVINCIAL LETTERS “"You always fly from the one extreme to the other," replied the monk: "prithee avoid that habit. For, just to show you that we are far from permitting everything, let me tell you t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | THE NATURAL HISTORY OF RELIGION |
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF RELIGION “The only point of theology, in which we shall find a consent of mankind almost universal, is, that there is invisible, intelligent power in the world: But whether this power be sup…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Man a Machine |
Man a Machine “Of the two alternatives, only one is possible: either everything is illusion, nature as well as revelation, or experience alone can explain faith. But what can be more ridiculous t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | ESSAYS ON SUICIDE AND THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL |
ESSAYS ON SUICIDE AND THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL “Matter, therefore, and spirit, are at bottom equally unknown, and we cannot determine what qualities inhere in the one or in the other. ([editor's note] 2) They likewise teach us t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Analyst: a Discourse addressed to an Infidel Mathematician |
The Analyst: a Discourse addressed to an Infidel Mathematician “It hath been an old remark, that Geometry is an excellent Logic. And it must be owned that when the definitions are clear; when the postulata cannot be refused, nor the axioms deni…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | A TREATISE CONCERNING THE PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE |
A TREATISE CONCERNING THE PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE “1. Philosophy being nothing else but the study of wisdom and truth, it may with reason be expected that those who have spent most time and pains in it should enjoy a greater calm a…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Querist |
The Querist “As the sum of human happiness is supposed to consist in the goods of mind, body, and fortune, I would fain make my studies of some use to mankind with regard to each of these three…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Defence of Usury |
Defence of Usury “The first, I shall mention, is that of precluding so many people, altogether, from the getting the money they stand in need of, to answer their respective exigencies. Think what a …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | A Letter to a Noble Lord |
A Letter to a Noble Lord “Why will they not let me remain in obscurity and inaction? Are they apprehensive, that if an atom of me remains, the sect has something to fear? Must I be annihilated, lest, like o…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Letters on the English; or Lettres Philosophiques |
Letters on the English; or Lettres Philosophiques “But all these wonders are merely but the opening of his discoveries. He found out the secret to see the vibrations or fits of light which come and go incessantly, and which either …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Elements of Law Natural and Politic — Thomas Hobbes |
The Elements of Law Natural and Politic “And every of these conceptions is pleasure present. And first for the pleasures of the body which affect the sense of touch and taste, as far forth as they be organical, their conc…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Areopagitica — John Milton |
Areopagitica “If ye be thus resolved, as it were injury to think ye were not, I know not what should withhold me from presenting ye with a fit instance wherein to show both that love of truth wh…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Principles of Philosophy |
The Principles of Philosophy “When we further reflect on the various ideas that are in us, it is easy to perceive that there is not much difference among them, when we consider them simply as certain modes of t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | DISCOURSE ON METHOD — Rene Descartes |
DISCOURSE ON METHOD “Full title: DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD OF RIGHTLY CONDUCTING THE REASON, AND SEEKING TRUTH IN THE SCIENCES…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Meditations of First Philosophy — Descartes |
Meditations of First Philosophy “Many other matters respecting the attributes of God and my own nature or mind remain for consideration; but I shall possibly on another occasion resume the investigation of these. …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous — George Berkeley |
Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous “HYL. You may indeed know that fire appears hot, and water fluid; but this is no more than knowing what sensations are produced in your own mind, upon the application of fire and wa…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | New Theory of Vision — George Berkeley |
New Theory of Vision “Full title: An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | From: A TREATISE ON TOLERANCE |
From: A TREATISE ON TOLERANCE “It is true that these absurd horrors do not daily stain the face of the earth; but they have been frequent, and one might easily collect instances enough to make a volume much larg…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Leviathan |
Leviathan “Improved text, supersedes earlier version.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Emile — Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
Emile “Our inner conflicts are caused by these contradictions. Drawn this way by nature and that way by man, compelled to yield to both forces, we make a compromise and reach neither goal…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Discourses Upon Trade — Dudley North |
Discourses Upon Trade “Full title: Discourses Upon Trade; Principally Directed to the Cases of the Interest, Coynage, Clipping, Increase of Money…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Two Treatises of Government — John Locke |
Two Treatises of Government “Sec. 40. Nor is it so strange, as perhaps before consideration it may appear, that the property of labour should be able to over-balance the community of land: for it is labour ind…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Rameau's Nephew, Diderot — translated by Ian Johnston |
Rameau's Nephew, Diderot “HIM: Rameau, Rameau, people didn't accept you for your common sense! The idiocy of having had a little taste, a little intelligence, a little reason. Rameau, my friend, this will t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |