The preeminent scholar of comparative studies of Indo-European society, Georges Dumezil theorized that ancient and prehistoric Indo-European culture and literature revolved around three major functions: sovereignty, force, and fertility. This work treats these functions as they are articulated through "first king" legends found in Indian, Iranian, and Celtic epics, particularly the "Mahabharata." Dumezil, drawing on an extraordinarily broad range of Indo-European sources from Scandinavia to India and offering an original and provocative analytic method, set a new agenda for studies in...

"Professor Hughes offers an earnest warning: 'Unless there is some emotional tie, some elective affinity linking the student to his subject of study, the results will be pedantic and perfunctory.' In other words, it is only a step from the sublime to the meticulous. Those eager to guard against that sad descent will find "History as Art and as Science" a guide, a tonic, and an inspiration. Its short, electrifying essays are so magnificently sane and persuasive they should be required reading for every student who contemplates a major in history." Geoffrey Bruun, "Saturday Review""

First published in 1969 and augmented by the author with a new essay in 1977, "Class and Conformity" remains a model of sociological craftsmanship. Kohn's work marshals evidence from three studies to show a decided connection between social class and values. He emphasizes that occupation fosters either self-direction or conformity in people, depending upon the amount of freedom from supervision, thecomplexity of the task, and the variety of work that the job entails. The extent of parents' self-direction on the job further determines the value placed on self-direction for their children;...

The question of how much freedom the press should enjoy has been debated throughout American history. In 1942 an impartial commission was formed to study mass communication, evaluate the performance of the media, and make recommendations for possible regulation of the press. This book is the general report of that commission.

The Commission on Freedom of the Press began with the premise that freedom of the press is essential to political liberty; it is unique among the freedoms, for it promotes and protects all the rest. At the same time, the commission feared the concentration of media...

Selections from Aulus Gellius' "Attic Nights," "The Lives" of Nepos, Phaedrus' "Fables" in verse, and some Caesar are carefully aimed to interest and challenge, but not overtax, the college student who is not yet ready for complicated readings in Latin.

"A literary translation which is also easy and pleasing to read." Ludwik Sternbach, "Journal of the American Oriental Society
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Ernest Tuveson here shows that the idea of the redemptive mission which has motivated so much of the United States foreign policy is as old as the Republic itself. He traces the development of this element of the American heritage from its beginning as a literal interpretation of biblical prophecies. Pointing to the application of the millenarian ideal to successive stages of American history, notably apocalyptic events like the Civil War, Tuveson illustrates its pervasive cultural influences with examples from the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Timothy Dwight, and Julia...

Duhem's 1908 essay questions the relation between physical theory and metaphysics and, more specifically, between astronomy and physics-an issue still of importance today. He critiques the answers given by Greek thought, Arabic science, medieval Christian scholasticism, and, finally, the astronomers of the Renaissance.