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Books like Familiar quotations; a collection of passages, phrases, and proverbs traced to their sources in ancient and modern liter

Loved Familiar quotations; a collection of passages, phrases, and proverbs traced to their sources in ancient and modern liter by John Bartlett? Here are 10 books with a similar appeal — drawn mostly from philosophy, ranked by how confidently we'd recommend them next.

10 books · ranked

  1. 1

    Sophie's World

    Jostein Gaarder · 1991 · Philosophy

    A teenager receives mysterious lessons that walk through the whole history of Western philosophy; a story and a course in one.

  2. 2

    The Republic

    Plato · -380 · Philosophy

    Socrates argues with Athenian citizens about the nature of justice, the ideal city-state, the philosopher-king, the allegory of the cave, and the forms. Plato's dialogue is the foundational text of Western political philosophy and one of the most influential works of thought ever written.

  3. 3

    The Stones of Venice

    John Ruskin · 1851 · Philosophy

    The Stones of Venice is a three-volume treatise on Venetian art and architecture by English art historian John Ruskin, first published from 1851 to 1853. The Stones of Venice examines Venetian archite

  4. 4

    Principles of Political Economy

    John Stuart Mill · 1848 · Philosophy

    The appearance of a treatise like the present, on a subject on which so many works of merit already exist, may be thought to require some explanation. It might perhaps be sufficient to say, that no ex

  5. 5

    Utilitarianism

    John Stuart Mill · 1863 · Philosophy

    "Because Utilitarianism is a work of enduring value, it is easy to forget that Mill meant for it to be a topical and relevant contribution to the moral debates of his time. In this edition of Mill's e

  6. 6

    Culture and anarchy; an essay in political and social criticism

    Matthew Arnold · 1869 · Philosophy

    "Matthew Arnold's famous series of essays, which were first published in book form under the title Culture and Anarchy in 1869, debate important questions about the nature of culture and society. Arno

  7. 7

    Autobiography

    John Stuart Mill · 1873 · Philosophy

    John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed wi

  8. 8

    Vom Kriege

    Carl von Clausewitz · 1835 · Philosophy

    Vom Kriege is the basic work on the Western way of war. For Clauswitz, war is "politics by other means". It concentrates on defeating the enemy by massing overwhelming force at the enemy's weak point.

  9. 9

    Sophocles

    Sophocles · 1832 · Philosophy

    Sophocles' Philoctetes is one of the most widely read Greek tragedies today but is a complex and challenging play to interpret. Its representation of Philoctetes as a sufferer of physical and emotiona

  10. 10

    Thus Spoke Zarathustra

    Friedrich Nietzsche · 1883 · Philosophy

    A prophet descends to teach a new way of valuing life; poetic, provocative and frequently misread.

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