Meditations (dover Thrift Editions)

Despite its modern-day connotations of hedonism, "Epicureanism" has more to do with living a mindful, uncomplicated life. Epicurus — who was born at Samos, Greece, in 341 BC and died at Athens in 270 BC — founded a school of philosophy that focused on maximizing simple pleasures and minimizing pain, such as the irrational fear of death. "Death is nothing to us," declared Epicurus, "since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come, we are not."

The father of the detective novel and an innovator in American Gothic fiction, Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) made his living as America's first great literary critic. Today he is best remembered for his short stories and poems, haunting works of horror and mystery that remain popular around the world.

Universally regarded as a founder of modern astronomy, Copernicus wrote in Latin, and his works were unavailable in English until the publication of this 1939 translation. A three-part collection, it consists of the "Commentariolus," Copernicus' sketch of his hypotheses for the heavenly motions; "Narratio Prima," Georg Joachim Rheticus' popular introduction to Copernican theory; and "The Letter Against Werner," Copernicus' refutation of the views of one of his contemporaries.

As a young Florentine envoy to the courts of France and the Italian principalities, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) was able to observe firsthand the lives of people strongly united under one powerful ruler. His fascination with that political rarity and his intense desire to see the Medici family assume a similar role in Italy provided the foundation for his "primer for princes."