The Library of Civilisation
Every civilisation's foundational texts, indexed in one place — from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Universal Declaration, in the languages they were written.
2114 texts held in public trust
The Rooms
African
From the Pyramid Texts of Egypt to the modern African voice.
Being accessionedMesopotamia & the Ancient Near East
The first cities and their tablets — law, lament, and the Flood.
Being accessionedIndian
Veda, epic, and the schools of liberation.
1568 texts →
Chinese
The classics of ritual, change, and the Way.
21 texts →Persian & Iranian
Zoroaster's hymns, the Book of Kings, and the letters of the Persianate world.
Being accessionedGreco-Roman
Epic, tragedy, and the examined life.
Being accessioned
Byzantine & Orthodox
Patristics, Justinian's law, and the Orthodox inheritance of Rome.
1 text →Southeast Asian
Angkor and Borobudur; the court, the canon, and the chronicle.
Being accessioned
Western Christendom
Scripture, the Church Fathers, monastic learning, and the scholastic synthesis of the Latin West.
521 texts →Central Asian & Steppe
The Orkhon stones, the Secret History, and the law of the steppe.
Being accessionedIslamic World
Revelation, philosophy, and the sciences of the age.
Being accessionedJapanese
Chronicle, court, and the way of the sword.
Being accessionedModern & Global
The shared inheritance: science, rights, and the world text.
Being accessionedIndigenous Americas
Codices, chronicles, and the word before conquest.
Being accessionedTraditions
Compendia
By medium
Latest additions
The Analects · Book XX — 堯曰 (Yáo Yuē)
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
Book XX of the Confucian Analects (堯曰, “Yao Said”), Classical Chinese with James Legge’s English — 3 passages.
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
The Analects · Book XIX — 子張 (Zǐ Zhāng)
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
Book XIX of the Confucian Analects (子張, “Zi Zhang”), Classical Chinese with James Legge’s English — 25 passages.
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
The Analects · Book XVIII — 微子 (Wēi Zǐ)
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
Book XVIII of the Confucian Analects (微子, “The Viscount of Wei”), Classical Chinese with James Legge’s English — 11 passages.
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
The Analects · Book XVII — 陽貨 (Yáng Huò)
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
Book XVII of the Confucian Analects (陽貨, “Yang Huo”), Classical Chinese with James Legge’s English — 26 passages.
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
The Analects · Book XVI — 季氏 (Jì Shì)
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
Book XVI of the Confucian Analects (季氏, “The Head of the Ji”), Classical Chinese with James Legge’s English — 14 passages.
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
The Analects · Book XV — 衛靈公 (Wèi Líng Gōng)
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
Book XV of the Confucian Analects (衛靈公, “Duke Ling of Wei”), Classical Chinese with James Legge’s English — 41 passages.
ConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextLibrary (Philosophy)Library
On the Library
“A library is a promise that what was thought can be thought again — in every language it was thought in.”
Provenance
Every text names its edition, translator, and upstream source. Nothing is anonymous; nothing is unattributed.
Plurality
Every civilisation is held as first-class, in the languages its texts were written.
Longevity
Every record is kept in open, exportable form and points to a durable public-domain edition upstream, so the catalogue can be re-homed and outlive any single host.
Austerity
Typography carries the hierarchy. Surfaces stay quiet. Motion orients, never entertains.