Published posthumously, John Stuart Mill's Autobiography is an-honest and heart-felt account of the education of the great interdisciplinary thinker-and philosopher of the nineteenth century which describes the conflict between his intellect and soul that would result in periodic psychic breakdowns and ground-breaking philosophy. By far the most his influential work, his extended essay titled "On Liberty" tempers his inheritance of utilitarianism with a humanism that would become the manifesto of modern democracy.

Also included are three works by Thomas Carlyle: his accessible summary of Romantic interpretation,-Characteristics, is a seminal work of literary theory; later published under the title -On the Choice of Books,- this-Inaguaral Address-is a clear statement of Carlyle-s moral passions; and finally, his essay on the father of the historical novel, Sir Walter Scott,-is one of the many works by Carlyle extolling great men and exemplifies his ethical approach to literary criticism.