July 2009
31 posts
The Trivia Situation: The Completion
Congratulations to John Prager, who correctly named William Nielsen as Eliot’s assistant on the five foot shelf and as the future president of Smith College. John has won the 51st and final volume of the Harvard Classics.
Thanks to everyone who participated, and congratulations to those who won.
For those who haven’t received their prizes: rest assured, they have not been lost or...
The Trivia Situation, Part 51
Today, for the last time, I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. For those getting into the game a little late, here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 51
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I have been posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 51 is the last volume of the Classics, is a collection of lectures on the previous 50 Volumes. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time.
Lectures on the Harvard Classics
Much of what I wrote...
The Trivia Situation, Part 50: The Answer
Congratulations to Alex Marvar, who correctly named football at the phenomenon that Charles Eliot attempted to remove from Harvard, believing it to be “wholly unfit for colleges and schools.” Alex has won Volume 50 of the Harvard Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 50
Each day for the next few weeks days I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 50
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 50 of the Classics is the Reader’s Guide, which includes editor Charles Eliot’s Introduction to the Classics. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time.
Introduction,...
The Trivia Situation, Volume 49: The Answer
Congratulations to today’s winner, Greg Stuart, who correctly named Charlemagne as the leader whose army is attacked in the Song of Roland. Greg has won Volume 49 of the Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 49
Each day for the next few weeks days I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 49
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 48 contains Beowulf and other “epics and sagas.” Here’s what I had to say about it.
Beowulf
The Song of Roland
The Destruction of Da Dergas Hostel
The Story of the Volsungs...
The Trivia Situation, Part 48: The Answer
Congratulations to Daniel Rothenberg, who correctly named the Jansenists as the Catholic splinter groups associated with Pascal. Daniel has won Volume 48 of the Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 48
Each day for the next few weeks days I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 48
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 48 collects the writings of Blaise Pascal.
Thoughts, Letters, & Minor Works by Blaise Pascal
Pascal’s Thoughts is one of the strangest works in the Classics. To begin with, there is...
The Trivia Situation, Part 47: The Answer
Congratulations to today’s winner, Jeff White, who correctly stated Ben Jonson’s line about Shakespeare: My answer hath been, would he had blotted a thousand. Jeff has won Volume 47 of the Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 47
Each day for the next few weeks days I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 47
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 47 is the second volume of English drama. Here’s what I had to say about it at the time.
The Shoemakers Holiday by Thomas Dekker
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
A New Way to Pay Old Debts by Philip...
The Trivia Situation, Part 46: The Answer
Congratulations to Tim Wirkus, the second Wirkus this week to win the Trivia Situation. Tim correctly identified Shakespeare’s “second best bed” as the object he left to his wife, Anne Hathaway (whose namesake is currently performing in Shakespeare in the Park here in New York…) Tim has won Volume 46 of the Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 46
Each day for the next few weeks days I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 46
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 46 of the Classics is a collection of English drama. Here’s what I had to say about it at the time.
Edward the Second by Christopher Marlowe
As Marlowe’s Edward the Second begins,...
The Trivia Situation, Part 45: The Answer
Congratulations to Ken Y, who correctly named the Cyclic-Uproar, Buddha-Uproar, and Universal-Monarch-Uproar as the three uproars that occur in the world, according to Buddhist scripture. Ken has won Volume 45 of the Harvard Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 45
Each day for the next few weeks days I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 45
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 45 of the Classics is the second volume of religious scripture. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time.
Corinthians I & II and Hymns
In the first volume of Sacred Writing, Christianity was...
The Trivia Situation, Part 44: The Answer
Congratulations to Louise O’Shea, today’s winner, who correctly identified the land of Uz as Job’s home.
The Trivia Situation, Part 44
Each day for the next few weeks days I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 44
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 44 of the Classics is the first of two volumes of religious scripture. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time.
The Sayings of Confucius
Though his Analects begin this first of the...
The Trivia Situation, Part 43: The Answer
Congratulations to today’s winner, Jesse Wirkus, who correctly named John Cabot (aka Giovanni Caboto) as the explorer who claimed mainland North America for England. Jesse has won Volume 43 of the Harvard Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 43
Each day for the next few weeks I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner from...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 43
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 43 of the Classics is a collection of American historical documents, including Frank Aretas Haskell’s Account of the Battle of Gettysburg, which was one of the great surprises of my reading...
The Trivia Situation, Part 42: The Answer
Congratulations to Alex Nagler, who correctly named Emerson as Whitman’s “blurber” for Leaves of Grass. Alex has won Volume 42 of the Harvard Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 42
Each day for the next few weeks I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner from...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 42
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 42 is the last of three volumes of English and American poetry. As with the other volumes, I responded by posting some of my favorites from the volume.
English Poetry III: Tennyson to Whitman
...
The Trivia Situation, Part 41: The Answer
Congratulations to today’s winner, Elisa Findlay, who correctly named Wordsworth’s sister, Dorothy, as the person whom he addresses in the closing lines of Tintern Abbey. Elisa has won Volume 41 of the Classics.
June 2009
63 posts
The Trivia Situation, Part 41
Each day for the next few weeks I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner from...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 41
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 41 of the Classics is the next of the three volumes of poetry. As with the previous volume, I simply posted some of my favorite works from the anthology.
English Poetry II: Collins to...
The Trivia Situation, Part 40: The Answer
Congratulations to Kati Stevens, who correctly named Chanticleer the rooster as the hero of Chaucer’s The Nun’s Priest’s Tale. Kati has won Volume 40 of the Harvard Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 40
Each day for the next few weeks I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner from...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 40
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 40 of the Classics is the first of three volumes of English and American poetry. In my initial entries on these volumes, I opted simply to quote at length from some of the best poems in the...
The Trivia Situation, Part 39: The Answer
Congratulations to Matt Dinger, who correctly answered that Samuel Johnson, in his Letter to the Right Honorable the Earl of Chesterfield, asked, “Is not a Patron, my Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and, when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help?” As other entrants noted, Johnson also defined a patron, in the Dictionary, as...
The Trivia Situation, Part 39
Each day for the next few weeks I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner from...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 39
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 39 is a collection of prefaces and prologues to famous works that were themselves to long or complex to include in the Classics. Here’s what I wrote about them.
Prefaces and Prologues
No...
The Trivia Situation, Part 38: The Answer
Congratulations to Katherine McJunkin, who correctly identified Hippocrates as an Asclepiad — that is, a descendent of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. Katherine has won a copy of Volume 38 of the Harvard Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 38
Each day for the next few weeks I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner from...
The Harvard Classics: Volume 38
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 38 of the Classics is a collection of medical writing, from Hippocrates to the late nineteenth century. Here’s what I had to say at the time.
The Oath of Hippocrates
Like Yogi Berra,...
The Trivia Situation, Part 37: The Answer
Congratulations to Sasha Lagombra, who correctly answered that Locke believed children should be made to “pay court” to Madame Cloacina — the goddess of the sewers — every morning. Sasha has won Volume 37 of the Harvard Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 37
Each day for the next few weeks I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner from...
The Harvard Classics, Volume 37
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 37 contains writing by the British empiricists, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. Here’s what I said at the time.
Some Thoughts Concerning Education by John Locke
My sister recently started...
The Trivia Situation, Part 36: The Answer
Congratulations to Alyssa Eng, who correctly named Amaurote as the city in Thomas More’s Utopia. Alyssa has won a copy of Volume 36 of the Harvard Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 36
Each day for the next few weeks I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner from...
The Harvard Classics: Volume 36
In addition to giving away volumes of the Classics by way of the Trivia Situation, I will be posting what I wrote about each volume as I read through the Classics in their entirety throughout 2007. Volume 36 contains writing by Machiavelli, Thomas More, and Martin Luther. Here’s what I had to say then.
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Life of Sir Thomas More by William Roper
Utopia by...
The Trivia Situation, Part 35: The Answer
Congratulations to today’s winner, Bahij Chancey, who correctly identified Harrison’s four classes of Englishmen: the gentleman, citizens, yeoman, and laborers. Bahij has won a copy of Volume 35 of the Harvard Classics.
The Trivia Situation, Part 35
Each day for the next few weeks I will be giving away a volume of the Harvard Classics from a complete set dating back to 1910. Here’s how it works. I’m going to ask a question relating to the volume in question. If you think you know that answer, email it to thewholefivefeet AT gmail DOT com. You will have until five o’clock Eastern time to respond. I will then randomly select the winner from...