A pioneering work of sociology in which the nature of the ruling elite was explored.

Young was an 18thC pioneer in the detailed observation of economic conditions in the countryside and the collection of statistical data relating to agriculture. He was extraordinarily lucky in being in France on the eve of and during the early part of the French Revolution. In his dairies he gives close observations of the social, political and economic conditions of the French countryside as it was convulsed by violent revolution. This makes his Travels in France (1792) particularly valuable to historians.

Constant’s classic work in which he contrasts unfavorably the purely political liberties of the ancients with the far more expansive notion of liberty among the moderns.

A collection of papers from a Symposium on the economics of Mises held at the 44th meeting of the Southern Economics Association in Atlanta, Georgia on 15 November, 1974. There are articles by Laurence Moss, Fritz Machlup, Israel Kirzner, Murray Rothbard, William Baumgarth, and Karen Vaughn.

Carus was a tireless popularizer of Buddha’s thought and this is a good example of his work. It relates the life of Buddha, contains many examples of his parables, and is lavishly illustrated with numerous etchings by O. Kopetzky.

Liberty Fund’s edition of this work. Theory and History is primarily a critique of Karl Marx, his materialism, and his prediction of the inevitability of socialism. This book discusses the theory of economics, i.e., the study of purposive human action, and with history, the record of the past actions of individuals. History looks backward into the past, but the lesson it teaches concerns things to come. It opens the mind to an understanding of human nature, increases wisdom, and distinguishes civilized man from the barbarian.

A volume with two of Ambrose’s most influential writings: On the Mysteries, which are addresses given by Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, to the newly-baptised in Easter week on the nature of the ceremonies and the doctrinal significance of baptism based upon the Old and New Testaments; and Treatise on the Sacraments, which are six sermons, also given during Easter week, on baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, the Lord’s prayer, and prayer.

Beethoven was one of the great European classical composers of the first part of the 19th century. He was influenced by the Enlightenment and in his only opera, Fidelio, he addressed the problem of individual liberty in a very moving way.

A translation by Neville, a leading English republican thinker of the 17th century, of one of the few major works of Machiavelli published in his lifetime. Machiavelli drew on his own experiences of the nearly constant warfare in which the Italian city states were involved, as well as his deep knowledge of Roman history.

It was the genius of Saint Benedict’s plan to provide for both the spiritual and material welfare of his monastic brethren. The Benedictine Rule was much more than a spiritual plan; it was a complete administrative package that included a workable daily regime. Moreover, Saint Benedict recognized the limitations of humanity and provided for differences in age, ability, needs, disposition, and faith. The flexibility of the Benedictine Rule largely accounts for the success of the order among different peoples, places, and times.