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The Right to Privacy is an article that appeared in the Harvard Law Review December 15, 1890 that is considered the first document that argued for the inherent right to privacy, defining the right as one of the natural rights, the “right to be left alone”. The authorship is credited to both Louis Brandeis and his law partner Samuel Warren, but the article was apparently written mostly by Brandeis. The article was inspired by the coverage of intimate details of private lives made possible by the use of instantaneous photography and the mass circulation of newspapers. The core argument is an extension of the fundamental right of the individual to full protection in person and property, and notes that the principle is continually reconfigured in light of political, social and economic change, in much the same way that protection against bodily injury came to include fear of injury in addition to actual injury, and that property grew to add intangible property to tangible property. The article examines libel, slander, and intellectual property law as possible protections and finds them inadequate, and proceeds to examine case law and attempt to define privacy itself, an finally imposes limitations on the protection. While short by contemporary standards, The Right to Privacy has been called one of the most influential essays in the history of American law and is especially relevant today as new technologies and business models seek ever more personal data and threats of terror invoke escalating surveillance tactics.
Louis D. Brandeis And Samuel D. Warren (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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The Oldest Code of Laws in the World
The Code of Hammurabi is a codification of the laws enacted by Hammurabi, the king of Babylonia and is one of mankind’s oldest known writings. It was inscribed on a stone stele, or monument, in approximately 1754 B. C. and was discovered by archeologists in 1901. The code was inscribed using cuneiform script in the Akkadian languages into a diorite stele that stands 7.4 feet tall. A small portion of the code is considered missing. Famous for the concept of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” the code itself consists of 282 laws. Criminal offenses are described in detail with associated physical punishments that are quite harsh and vary according to gender and social and economic status. It was one of the first code of law to emphasize physical punishment of the perpetrator as well as among the first to establish a presumption of innocence. Previous codes had focused on compensation to victims. Nearly half the code addresses contract issues such as prices for services and liabilities for damages or non-performance. About a third of the code consists of matters relating to household and family relationships such as marriage, divorce, paternity, inheritance, and reproduction. Several pertain to military service. Only one pertains to judicial conduct. The monument is on display in the Louvre in Paris; replicas are displayed in numerous institutions throughout the world.
Hammurabi, King Of Babylon. Translated By C. H. W. Johns. (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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In 1722 Peter the Great introduced a system of positions and ranks for the military, the government, and the Russian court which enabled commoners to gain a modicum of nobility through service to the state. He did so in order to diminish the power of the hereditary nobility with whom he was struggling. This led to large bureaucracies and an obsession with appearances and status, a situation ripe for the brilliant satire of “The Nose”. The story is an absurd, comic, surreal and sometimes grotesque send up of Major Kovalyov, who wakes up one morning to find his nose missing. The story has three parts. In part one, Kovalyov's barber finds his client's nose in his breakfast and is nabbed by the police when he tries to throw it off a bridge. In part two, Kovalyov awakes to find his nose gone. When he leaves to report the loss, runs into it on the street dressed in the uniform of an important official who outranks him. He chases it, but the nose eludes him until it is apprehended it is about to flee the city by coach. The nose is returned to Kovalyov, but it can't be re-attached, leading him to suspect that a curse has been placed on him. Meanwhile, the nose has become the talk of the town. In part three, the Major awakes with the nose fully intact. Things just drift back to normal. The story is a staple of Russian literature, has been staged and adapted numerous times, and has had a monument erected in its honor in St. Petersburg.
Nicolai Gogol (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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This essay is based upon a speech given at Stanford University in 1906, William James’ last public utterance and is the original expression of the idea of non-military national service. While acknowledging the horrors of war and its motives, he also acknowledges the benefits that accrue when groups of people address themselves to a common purpose evident in military behavior. The modern reader will no doubt find certain attitudes regarding sex, race, and conquest of nature outdated. Nonetheless, one can’t help but admire the enlightened principles that have led to the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Peace Corps, VISTA, and AmeriCorps, and will likely be part of the effort to deal with global warming and climate change. The following from the essay is the gist of James’ thesis: “If now -- and this is my idea -- there were, instead of military conscription, a conscription of the whole youthful population to form for a certain number of years a part of the army enlisted against Nature, the injustice would tend to be evened out, and numerous other goods to the commonwealth would remain blind as the luxurious classes now are blind, to man’s relations to the globe he lives on, and to the permanently sour and hard foundations of his higher life. To coal and iron mines, to freight trains, to fishing fleets in December, to dishwashing, clotheswashing, and windowwashing, to road-building and tunnel-making, to foundries and stoke-holes, and to the frames of skyscrapers, would our gilded youths be drafted off, according to their choice, to get the childishness knocked out of them, and to come back into society with healthier sympathies and soberer ideas.”
William James (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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First published in 1842, The Mask of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe is an allegorical short story in the Gothic horror vein. It is the 15th century. An unidentified country is infected with a contagion known as the Red Death. Half the population has succumbed to a quick, gory, and painful death. Prospero, the prince, deals with the situation by inviting a thousand of his to revel with him in a palace designed with seven rooms located in a secluded abbey. Each of the rooms, which are arranged east to west, are decorated with a monochromatic color scheme, and lit only by a brazier in the hallway which casts light through a stained-glass window. The last room to the west is decorated in black and contains a large clock that strikes heavily on the hour with a tone that stops the musicians from playing and the dancers in their tracks. As the midnight hour approaches a tall figure enters wearing a funeral shroud and a mask resembling the countenance of a corpse. All are terrified; some seek to fend off the intruder, to no avail. They discover there is nothing beneath his robes and mask. And then…
Edgar Allan Poe (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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Andrew Carnegie, an immigrant from Dunfermline, Scotland with only a grammar-school education, amassed a fortune in the steel industry the 1800’s to become the richest American in history. Yet Carnegie believed strongly that the wealthy should live modestly, without ostentation, and devote their energies after achieving wealth to finding ways to invest their “surplus wealth” in ways that benefit the public. Historically, private fortunes were handed down to heirs, with bequests to the state for public purposes as well. Carnegie observed that fortunes were often squandered in self-indulgent extravagance and irresponsible spending and felt such funds would be better put to use to help the poor help themselves and reduce the stratification of the classes. He favored a system of progressive inheritance taxes to help facilitate this distribution, but also felt the best results would be achieved when those that had made the fortunes turned their attention to investing their capital in charitable enterprises that they controlled and even managed. He initially published his controversial ideas in the North American Review 1880 in an article entitled “Wealth”. It was later re-titled “The Gospel of Wealth” and published in the Pall Mall Gazette in 1889. It has become the foundation document that sets forth much of the thinking behind philanthropy since his time. It has been called the ‘urtext’ of modern philanthropy by Benjamin Soskis, a historian of philanthropy. The article appears here in two versions. The first is a new reading by D. S. Harvey and the second is recording of Carnegie himself.
Andrew Carnegie (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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The Fireside Chats of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Shortly after taking office in 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered the first of his radio broadcasts to the American public. In simple, plain language, he took pains to explain the basic mechanics of the banking system, the causes of the present banking crisis, and the steps he was taking to stabilize the system. It was an extraordinary moment – the first time an American President had bypassed the traditional channels of communication (newspapers largely owned by conservative Republicans) and taken his message directly to the people. In doing so, he conveyed a sense of intimacy and engagement with the decision-making process that earned the trust and affection of the American people. He was able to squelch rumors and build public support for the most radical social changes and the largest war in the history of the United States. They are an astonishing testimony to what great leadership looks like, sounds like, and what it can accomplish. There are thirty addresses in all, ranging from about ten to thirty minutes, given at the rate of about one every five months, with the timing dictated by public events. The term “fireside chat” was coined by Harry C. Butcher at CBS in a press release in 1933. Most, but not all, of the original addresses were recorded in part or in full. The sound quality, however, is often quite poor. Thus, these new recordings of the published texts of the original addresses. While it is impossible to capture the cheery, affable charm of President Roosevelt, we hope the readings convey the spirit of the times and the temper of the man.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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The Art of Money-Getting, or, Golden Rules for Making Money
Learn The 20 Time Tested Business Rules To Attract More Money, More Prospects and More Customers To You From 'The Father Of Marketing' - PT Barnum So read the copy for advertisements for The Art of Money Getting; or, Golden Rules for Making Money, a concise guide to the principles of sound business and financial management written by P. T. Barnum and published in 1880 as a 96-page paperback at the height of his worldwide popularity. The book consists of an introduction on the general subject followed by twenty concise chapters on Barnum’s rules of success, and is considered by many as the first and possibly the manual for effectively using advertising, promotion and public relations as essential tools of getting the message to the public as a critical factor in business development. “This has all of the very same advice that today's personal finance books have, but you can see how it was implemented in the 19th century. It also contains some very interesting advice on guiding children in their education and choice of a career that I think is still valid today. If you like personal finance books, but are also curious to know history at street level, this will be a terrific book for you. And it will really change your opinion of Mr. Barnum himself.” Reviewer at manybooks.net
Phineas Taylor 'p.T. Barnum' (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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That to Study Philosophy is to Learn to Die
We all die, sooner or later. We all know it, and we wonder when, where, and how it may happen. and yet we go to extraordinary lengths to put the thought of it out of our minds. We hesitate to bring it up in conversations. Montaigne, who … essay, addressed this issue head on in “To Study Philosophy is to Learn to Die.” It is perhaps his best-known essay, a kind of summation of his philosophy, and considered his most stoic. There are three main themes: first, do not forget that we all die, including you; second, there’s no reason to be afraid or to worry; third, be ready when the time comes, as it inevitably will. Keeping death in mind, he argues, diminishes the shock when it happens to others and alleviates the suffering by putting things in perspective. Acceptance and understanding should, in turn, help us remember that death is a part of the natural order, and that it happens only once, after which there is nothing to worry about simply because there is nothing after the end of it all. These all help us to be prepared and to appreciate the present even more, releasing us from the enslavement of fear and anxiety. Carpe diem! The essay contains numerous quotes in Latin from the ancients that reinforce his ideas. These are followed by an English translation and citation of the source in the original.
Charles Cotton, Michel De Montaigne (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Songs of Innocence and of Experience is a collection of 45 poems by English poet William Blake. Songs of Innocence is the first part of the collection and appeared in 1789 with engraved illustrations by Blake. The second part, Songs of Experience, also illustrated, was added in 1794 when Blake published the whole under the full title of Songs of Innocence and Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. The categories of innocence and experience are states of mind and ways of seeing that roughly correspond to the classical model of “paradise” and “fall”, as in Milton’s Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. Blake helped formulate the then contemporary Romantic notion of childhood as a state of innocence, without fear, inhibition, or corruption; and adulthood as a contrary and fallen state of original sin prey to oppression, corruption, and power. The opposition is reinforced by poems with like titles and contrasting themes in each part. The poems are short, simple, and acutely sensitive to both joys of life and the harsh realities of class and poverty in the emerging Industrial Revolution.
William Blake (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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Seven Sermons to the Dead: Septem Sermones ad Mortuos
In late 1913, Carl Jung set out on an exploration of his psyche, a quest he called his 'confrontation with the unconscious'. In doing so, he would enter an imaginative state of consciousness and experience visions, a process that continued with varying intensity for the next ten years. He recorded his visions in six black-covered journals that he referred to as the “Black Books”, which provided a chronological record of his visions and dialogues with his soul. Along the way he used this material to begin drafting the manuscript of his legendary Red Book, a red leather-bound illustrated volume that was the formal document of this journey and which he kept private during his lifetime. He maintained that the visions recorded in the Red Book represented the nucleus of all his later work. The “Seven Sermons to the Dead”, or Septem Sermones ad Mortuos, is the only portion of the Red Book manuscript that Jung shared during his lifetime. He had the Septem Sermones privately printed as a small book in 1916 and occasionally gave copies to friends and students; it was never published and was only available as a gift from Jung himself. Jung’s heirs denied access to the Red Book after his death in 1961 until 2009, when it finally published, and it was discovered that the Septem Sermones was the closing section of the book. This context, combined with the tone and content, led one Jungian scholar to consider them as the 'summary revelation of the Redbook'. The Sermones ad Mortuos was included as an appendix to Jung's autobiographical memoir Memories, Dreams, Reflections when it was published in 1962.
Carl Gustav Jung (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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Yakov Ivanov is an elderly coffin-maker in a small village with a population that doesn’t generate enough deaths for him to make any real money. He is also a fiddler who sometimes sits in with a Jewish klezmer orchestra in spite of his dislike of Jews and of the flutist, Rothchild, in particular. Marfa, his long-suffering and unloved wife, becomes mortally ill with a contagious illness. He struggles to recall their shared past as he builds her coffin and soon he, too, succumbs to mortal illness, provoking a self-searching meditation and a change of heart.
Anton Chekhov. Translated By Constance Garnett. (Author), Douglas Harvey (Narrator)
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