Product Description: Roman Emperor Nero, is a singer of beautiful songs, his first love, he himself composes, if you don't like them, better keep your opinions unsaid, you'll live a longer life. Nero has killed his mother, wife, brother, all his family, and many former friends...read more

Two youngsters crossing the desert and jungle

During the tumultuous reign of Nero, Vinicius, a pagan, and Ligia, a Christian, fall in love

Product Description: "[...] Note.—The reign of Sobieski brought to an end that part of Polish history during which the Commonwealth was able to take the initiative in foreign politics. After Sobieski the Poles ceased to be a positive power in Europe...read more

An epic novel of war, struggle, ambition, betrayal, and redemption set in seventeenth-century Poland follows the doomed yet triumphant love of Andrei Kmita for Olenka, set against the background of the Swedish invasion

Product Description: "[...] Last night, at Count Malatesta's reception, I heard by chance these two words: "l'improductivité Slave." I experienced the same relief as does a nervous patient when the physician tells him that his symptoms are common enough, and that many others suffer from the same disease...read more

Product Description: "[...] "Without Dogma" and "Children of the Soil." The charm of Sienkiewicz's psychological novels is the synthesis so seldom realized and as I have already said, the plastic beauty and abstract thoughts. He possesses also an admirable assurance of psychological analysis, a mastery in the painting of customs and characters, and the rarest and most precious faculty of animating his heroes with intense, personal life, which, though it is only an illusionary life, appears less deceitful than the real life...read more

From the Translator's Introductory. "In Vain," the first literary work of Sienkiewicz, was written before he had passed the eighteenth year of his life and while he was studying at Warsaw. Though not included in his collected works by the author, this book will be received with much favor; of this I feel certain. The first book of the man who wrote "With Fire and Sword" and "Quo Vadis" will interest those of his admirers who live in America and the British Empire. These people are counted at present by millions. This volume contains pictures [words] of student life drawn by a student who saw the life which he describes in the following pages. This student was a person of exceptional power and exceptional qualities, hence the value of that which he gives us. —Jeremiah Curtin

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

The first region was called the Plain of Life, the second the Plain of Death.The supreme and all mighty Brahma had created both plains and had commanded the good Vishnu to rule in the Region of Life, while the wise Siva was lord in the Region of Death."Do what ye understand to be best," said Brahma to the two rulers.Hence in the region belonging to Vishnu life moved with all its activity. The sun rose and set; day followed night, and night followed day; the sea rose and fell; in the sky appeared clouds big with rain; the earth was soon covered with forests and crowded with beasts, birds and people.So that all living creatures might increase greatly and multiply, the kindly god created Love, which he made to be Happiness also.After this Brahma summoned Vishnu and said to him:"Thou canst produce nothing better on earth, and since heaven is created already by me, do thou rest and let those whom thou callest people weave the thread of life for themselves unassisted."