The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri (c1265-1321) between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature.The poem's imaginative and allegorical vision of the afterlife is a culmination of the medieval world-view as it was promulgated under the Western Church. It helped establish the Tuscan dialect, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. In central Italy's political struggle...

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

Plato (428 - 348 BC) was a philosopher, as well as mathematician, in Classical Greece and an influential figure in philosophy, central in Western philosophy. He was Socrates' student, and founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with Socrates and his most famous student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. Plato's philosophical ability is evident in his Socratic dialogues; thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters have been ascribed to him, although 15-18 of these are contested. Plato's...

Of all writers of philosophy, there is probably no one who has attained such a lofty position as Plato. What Homer was to Epic poetry, what Cicero and Demosthenes were to oratory, and what Shakespeare was to the drama of England, Plato was to ancient philosophy, not unapproachable nor unapproached, but possessing an inexplicable supremacy. Translated by Henry Cary.