Global Great Books

A world-literature reading library in public-domain English translations, 1700–1930

Ten shelves spanning China, Japan, South Asia, the Near East, the Islamic world, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, the Americas, and the West. Every work was published in English on or before 1930 and is in the United States public domain; readers elsewhere should check their own jurisdiction, as some twentieth-century translators remain in copyright under life-plus-70 terms.

The ePub ⬇ books were built for this collection from the Internet Sacred Text Archive’s transcriptions and exist in this form nowhere else — among them Ganguli’s complete Mahabharata and Griffith’s full Rig Veda. Every translator in that set died before 1955, so those files are public domain worldwide. The source ↗ links lead to the Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg, or Standard Ebooks edition each remaining row was drawn from. The pipeline that builds it all is in the repository. There is also The Reading Edition — the same shelves with the public-domain constraint lifted: cultural importance first, best translation in print second.

China

WorkTranslatorYear
1AnalectsLegge1861source ↗
2MenciusChinese Classics vol 2Legge1861source ↗
3Tao Te ChingLegge1891source ↗
4Chuang TzuGiles1889source ↗
6Hsuntze (Xunzi)partialDubs1928source ↗
7I ChingSacred Books of the East 16Legge1882ePub ⬇
8Shih King (Book of Odes)Legge1871source ↗
9Tso Chuen (Zuozhuan) part 1Chinese Classics vol V:1; part 2 is row 229 (first fetch grabbed Vol III Shoo King)Legge1872source ↗
10The Art of WarGiles1910source ↗
11Philosophy of Wang Yang-mingHenke1916source ↗
13Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms (Faxian)Legge1886source ↗
14The Jade Mountain (300 Tang Poems)Bynner & Kiang1929source ↗
15170 Chinese Poems; More Translationstwo volumesWaley1918source ↗
16Romance of the Three KingdomsVERIFIED complete Brewitt-Taylor (all 120 ch); compilation also bundles other classicsBrewitt-Taylor1925source ↗
17A Mission to Heaven (Journey to the West)abridgedRichard1913source ↗
18Hung Lou Meng (Dream of the Red Chamber)PG 9603 Book I direct; Book II is row 218Joly1892source ↗
19Strange Stories from a Chinese StudioGiles1880source ↗
204More Translations from the Chinesecompanion to row 15Waley1919source ↗
218Hung Lou Meng Book IIPG 9604 directJoly1893source ↗
229Tso Chuen (Zuozhuan) part 2Chinese Classics vol V:2Legge1872source ↗

Japan, Korea & Tibet

WorkTranslatorYear
20KojikiChamberlain1882ePub ⬇
21Nihongi2 volsAston1896source ↗
22Classical Poetry of the JapaneseManyoshu selectionsChamberlain1880source ↗
24Tale of the Bamboo CutterDickins1888source ↗
25The Tale of Genji (vol 1)vols 2-4 are rows 184-186Waley1925source ↗
26The Pillow Book of Sei ShonagonselectionsWaley1928source ↗
27Hojokiwithin JRAS 1905 annual volume (Dickins' Hojoki, April 1905 issue) — verify and extractDickins1905source ↗
28Heike Monogatari part 1 (TASJ 46)VERIFIED: TASJ XLVI pt II 1918, Sadler, clean typed text (e-asia.uoregon.edu), 502ppSadler1918source ↗
29Miscellany of a Japanese Priest (Tsurezuregusa)Porter1914source ↗
30Noh: Certain Noble Plays of Japan; The No Plays of JapanWaley 1921 on IAFenollosa & Pound; Waley1916source ↗
31ChushinguraInouye1910source ↗
32Masterpieces of ChikamatsuMiyamori1926source ↗
33The Book of TeaOkakura1906source ↗
34BushidoNitobe1900source ↗
35The Cloud Dream of the NineKLTI04: LTI Korea 2016 retypeset of Gale's 1922 translation (no free 1922 scan)Gale1922source ↗
36Tibetan Book of the DeadEvans-Wentz1927source ↗
37Tibet's Great Yogi MilarepaEvans-Wentz1928source ↗
184The Sacred Tree (Genji vol 2)Waley1926source ↗
185A Wreath of Cloud (Genji vol 3)Waley1927source ↗
186Blue Trousers (Genji vol 4)Waley1928source ↗
207The No Plays of Japancompanion to row 30Waley1921source ↗

South Asia

WorkTranslatorYear
38Rig VedaGriffith1896ePub ⬇
39The UpanishadsSBE 1 & 15Müller1879ePub ⬇
40The Song Celestial (Bhagavad Gita)Arnold1885source ↗
41The Mahabharata18 parvas; also IAGanguli1883ePub ⬇
42The Ramayan of ValmikiGriffith1870ePub ⬇
43The Laws of ManuSBE 25Bühler1886ePub ⬇
44Kautilya's ArthashastraShamasastry1915source ↗
45The Yoga-System of PatanjaliWoods1914source ↗
46Vedanta-Sutras with Sankara's commentarySBE 34 & 38Thibaut1890ePub ⬇
47The DhammapadaSBE 10Müller1881ePub ⬇
48The Questions of King MilindaSBE 35 & 36Rhys Davids1890ePub ⬇
49The Jataka6 vols; selectionCowell1895ePub ⬇
50Buddha-karita of AsvaghoshaSBE 49Cowell1894ePub ⬇
51Jaina SutrasSBE 22 & 45Jacobi1884ePub ⬇
52The PanchatantraRyder1925source ↗
53ShakuntalaRyder1912source ↗
54The Sacred KurralPope1886source ↗
55The Ramayana of Tulsi DasGrowse1877source ↗
56One Hundred Poems of KabirTagore1915source ↗
57GitanjaliTagore1912source ↗
58The Babur-nama in English2 volsBeveridge1922source ↗
59The Sikh Religion vol 1vols 2-6 are rows 196-200Macauliffe1909source ↗
196The Sikh Religion vol 2Macauliffe1909source ↗
197The Sikh Religion vol 3Macauliffe1909source ↗
198The Sikh Religion vol 4Macauliffe1909source ↗
199The Sikh Religion vol 5Macauliffe1909source ↗
200The Sikh Religion vol 6Macauliffe1909source ↗
208The Babur-nama in English vol 2Beveridge1922source ↗

Near East & Persia

WorkTranslatorYear
60The Epic of GilgamishCampbell Thompson1928source ↗
61The Seven Tablets of CreationKing1902ePub ⬇
62The Book of the DeadBudge1895source ↗
63The Literature of the Ancient EgyptiansErman/Blackman1927source ↗
64The Zend-Avesta: GathasSBE 31Mills1887ePub ⬇
65The Guide for the Perplexed1904 one-vol ed.Friedländer1881ePub ⬇
66Kitab al Khazari (Kuzari)Hirschfeld1905ePub ⬇
67The Shahnama of Firdausi vol 1vols 2-9 are rows 188-195Warner & Warner1905source ↗
68The Mathnawi of Jalalu'ddin Rumi books 1-2VERIFIED Gibb NS IV.2 (1926) = Books I-II only; Books III-IV (Gibb IV.4, 1930) PUNCH: not freely scannedNicholson1926source ↗
69The Gulistan of Sa'diRehatsek1888source ↗
70Poems from the Divan of HafizBell1897source ↗
71Rubaiyat of Omar KhayyamFitzGerald1859source ↗
72Laili and MajnunAtkinson1836source ↗
188The Shahnama of Firdausi vol 2Warner & Warner1906source ↗
189The Shahnama of Firdausi vol 3Warner & Warner1908source ↗
190The Shahnama of Firdausi vol 4Warner & Warner1909source ↗
191The Shahnama of Firdausi vol 5file moved from row 67's original fetch (that PDF was Vol V)Warner & Warner1910source ↗
192The Shahnama of Firdausi vol 6Warner & Warner1912source ↗
195The Shahnama of Firdausi vol 9Warner & Warner1925source ↗

Arabic & Islamic World

WorkTranslatorYear
73The Meaning of the Glorious Koran2010 typeset of the 1930 Pickthall translation; no free 1930 scan on IAPickthall1930source ↗
74The Seven Golden Odes of Pagan ArabiaVERIFIED: all seven odes in Blunt's Poetical Works vol 2 (1914), pp. 77-130 — extractBlunt1903source ↗
75The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 1PG 3435 direct; vols 2-10 are rows 220-228Burton1885source ↗
76Kalila and Dimna (Fables of Bidpai)Knatchbull1819source ↗
77The Assemblies of Al-Hariri2 volsChenery & Steingass1867source ↗
78Hayy ibn Yaqzan (Improvement of Human Reason)Ockley1708source ↗
79The Alchemy of HappinessField1909ePub ⬇
80The Confessions of Al Ghazzalinot on sacred-texts; Wisdom of the East seriesField1909source ↗
81The Philosophy and Theology of AverroesPG #65708Jamil-ur-Rehman1921source ↗
82Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and AfricaGibb1929source ↗
83A Geographical Historie of AfricaHakluyt Society 1896 reprintPory1600source ↗
209The Assemblies of Al-Hariri vol 2Steingass1898source ↗
220The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 2PG 3436 directBurton1885source ↗
221The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 3PG 3437 directBurton1885source ↗
222The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 4PG 3438 directBurton1885source ↗
223The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 5PG 3439 directBurton1885source ↗
224The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 6PG 3440 directBurton1885source ↗
225The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 7PG 3441 directBurton1885source ↗
226The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 8PG 3442 directBurton1885source ↗
227The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 9PG 3443 directBurton1885source ↗
228The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night vol 10PG 3444 directBurton1885source ↗

Africa

WorkTranslatorYear
84The Queen of Sheba and her only son Menyelek (Kebra Nagast)Budge1922ePub ⬇
85The Book of EnochCharles1917ePub ⬇
86The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah EquianoEquiano1789source ↗
87The History of Mary PrincePrince1831source ↗
88Ethiopia UnboundCasely Hayford1911source ↗
89Native Life in South AfricaPlaatje1916source ↗
91Nursery Tales Traditions and Histories of the ZulusbilingualCallaway1868source ↗
92Specimens of Bushman FolklorebilingualBleek & Lloyd1911ePub ⬇
93The Voice of Africa2 volsFrobenius1913source ↗
94Akan-Ashanti Folk-TalesRattray1930source ↗
95Folk-Tales of AngolabilingualChatelain1894source ↗
96Swahili TalesbilingualSteere1870source ↗
97Hausa Superstitions and CustomsTremearne1913source ↗
210The Voice of Africa vol 2Frobenius1913source ↗

Southeast Asia

WorkTranslatorYear
98Malay AnnalsLeyden1821source ↗
99Hikayat AbdullahThomson1874source ↗
100The Social Cancer; The Reign of GreedPG #6737; Reign of Greed also on PGDerbyshire1912source ↗
101The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of BurmaPe Maung Tin & Luce1923source ↗
215The Reign of Greedcompanion to row 100Derbyshire1912source ↗

The Pacific

WorkTranslatorYear
102The KumulipoLiliuokalani1897ePub ⬇
103Hawaiian Antiquities (Moolelo Hawaii)Malo/Emerson1903source ↗
104Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-lorevol 4 only on IA; Memoirs vols 5-6 not freely scannedThrum1916source ↗
105Ko Nga Moteatea me Nga Hakirara o Nga MaoriSUBSTITUTE: Ngata 1928 part 1 not freely online (JPS serialization is 1948+); Grey's 1853 collection insteadGrey1853source ↗
106The Ancient History of the Maori vol 1NZETC dead (bot-blocked archive); IA scans; vols 3 & 6 are rows 216-217White1887source ↗
107Some Myths and Legends of the Australian AboriginesSUBSTITUTE: file is W.J. Thomas 1923 (PD), NOT the intended Unaipon/Ramsay Smith 1930 (IA scan restricted, dated 1932) — that stays on the punch listThomas1923source ↗
108Polynesian MythologyGrey1855source ↗
109Myths and Songs from the South PacificGill1876source ↗
111Samoa a Hundred Years Ago and Long BeforeTurner1884source ↗
112Australian Legendary Tales; More Australian Legendary TalesLangloh Parker1896source ↗
216The Ancient History of the Maori vol 3White1887source ↗
217The Ancient History of the Maori vol 6White1887source ↗

The Americas

WorkTranslatorYear
114Indian BoyhoodEastman1902source ↗
115American Indian StoriesZitkala-Sa1921source ↗
116Geronimo's Story of His LifeBarrett1906source ↗
117The Autobiography of a Winnebago IndianSUBSTITUTE: Crashing Thunder 1926 scan is IA-restricted; this is Radin's 1920 UCPAAE text, same narratorRadin1920source ↗
118Royal Commentaries of the Yncas2 volsMarkham1869source ↗
119Apu OllantayMarkham1871ePub ⬇
120The Annals of the CakchiquelsBrinton1885source ↗
121Ancient Nahuatl PoetryBrinton1887source ↗
122Rig Veda AmericanusBrinton1890source ↗
123The Iroquois Book of RitesHale1883ePub ⬇
124Navaho LegendsMatthews1897source ↗
125Zuni Folk TalesCushing1901ePub ⬇
126The Central Eskimo (BAE 6)companion BAE rows 201-203Boas1888source ↗
127The People of the Polar NorthRasmussen1908source ↗
201Tsimshian Mythology (BAE 31)Boas1916source ↗
202The Winnebago Tribe (BAE 37)Radin1923source ↗
203Teton Sioux Music (BAE Bulletin 61)Densmore1918source ↗
211Royal Commentaries of the Yncas vol 2Markham1871source ↗

The West

WorkTranslatorYear
128Iliad; Odysseytwo SE volumesButler1898source ↗
129Hesiod: Homeric Hymns and HomericaEvelyn-White1914source ↗
130Aeschylus (Morshead)Morshead1881source ↗
131Sophocles (Jebb)Jebb1904source ↗
132Euripides (Murray)Murray1902source ↗
133Aristophanes (Rogers)Rogers1902source ↗
134The History of HerodotusRawlinson1858source ↗
135History of the Peloponnesian WarCrawley1874source ↗
136Plato: Republic and dialoguesJowett dialogues also on PGJowett1871source ↗
137Aristotle: PoliticsEthics and Poetics are rows 182-183Jowett1885source ↗
138Epictetus (Long); Meditations (Long)Long1862source ↗
139On the Nature of ThingsMunro1864source ↗
140The AeneidDryden1697source ↗
141MetamorphosesGarth/Dryden1717source ↗
142Plutarch's LivesPG 674 Dryden/Clough complete, directDryden/Clough1859source ↗
143The AnnalsSE direct; Histories is row 219Church & Brodribb1876source ↗
144Confessions (Pusey); City of God (Dods)City of God on PGPusey; Dods1838source ↗
145The Consolation of PhilosophyCooper1902source ↗
146Summa Theologica (selections)English Dominicans1911source ↗
147BeowulfGummere1910source ↗
148The Song of RolandMoncrieff1919source ↗
149The NibelungenliedNeedler1904source ↗
150The Story of Burnt NjalDasent1861source ↗
151The Poetic EddaBellows1923ePub ⬇
152The Divine ComedyLongfellow1867source ↗
153The Canterbury TalesChaucer1400source ↗
154The DecameronPayne1886source ↗
155The PrinceMarriott1908source ↗
156The Praise of FollyWilson1668source ↗
157UtopiaRobinson1551source ↗
158EssaysCotton1685source ↗
159Don QuixoteOrmsby1885source ↗
160Shakespeare (selection)one SE volume per playShakespeare1623source ↗
161Paradise LostMilton1667source ↗
162Discourse on Method; MeditationsVeitch1850source ↗
163PenseesTrotter1904source ↗
164EthicsElwes1883source ↗
165LeviathanHobbes1651source ↗
166Second Treatise of GovernmentLocke1689source ↗
167Gulliver's TravelsSwift1726source ↗
168CandideVoltaire1759source ↗
169The Social ContractCole1913source ↗
170Critique of Pure ReasonMeiklejohn1855source ↗
171FaustPG 14591 Bayard Taylor direct (SE page is an unreleased placeholder)Taylor1870source ↗
172Philosophy of HistoryVERIFIED Sibree translation, 1914 Bell reprint scanSibree1857source ↗
173Capital vol 11887 Moore-Aveling first English ed, Cornell scanMoore & Aveling1887source ↗
174On the Origin of SpeciesDarwin1859source ↗
175On LibertyMill1859source ↗
176War and PeaceMaude1904source ↗
177The Brothers KaramazovGarnett1912source ↗
178PlaysGarnett1923source ↗
179Playsone SE volume per playArcher1890source ↗
180Thus Spake ZarathustraCommon1909source ↗
181The Interpretation of DreamsBrill1913source ↗
182Aristotle: Nicomachean EthicsVERIFIED Ross 1925 translation; scan is a later World's Classics reprint printingRoss1925source ↗
183Aristotle: Poetics (Theory of Poetry and Fine Art)Butcher1902source ↗
212The Odysseycompanion to row 128Butler1900source ↗
213Discourses of Epictetuscompanion to row 138Long1877source ↗
214The City of Godcompanion to row 144Dods1871source ↗
219The Histories (Tacitus)SE directChurch & Brodribb1876source ↗

Wanted — no free copy exists

These works have no freely available scan anywhere we could find. If you have library access or a physical copy of the right printing, scanning one (and uploading it to the Internet Archive) would complete the collection for everyone.

  • Mozi (Ethical and Political Works of Motse) — Mei, 1929. PUNCH: Mei 1929 (Probsthain) only on IA as restricted 1973 reprint; full text at ctext.org
  • Sutra of Wei Lang (Platform Sutra) — Wong Mou-lam, 1930. PUNCH: use 1930 Shanghai printing; no free verbatim scan (HathiTrust record 009906852)
  • Japanese Poetry: The Uta — Waley, 1919. PUNCH: 1919 Clarendon ed not freely scanned; IA has restricted 1946 reprint only
  • Mhudi — Plaatje, 1930. PUNCH: verify date; only restricted reprints (1975/2014) on IA; 1930 Lovedale ed unscanned
  • Ancient Tahiti — Henry, 1928. PUNCH: Bishop Museum Bulletin 48 (1928) not freely scanned
  • The Folk-Tales of the Kiwai Papuans — Landtman, 1917. PUNCH: 1917 Acta Soc. Sci. Fennicae ed not free; 1970 reprint restricted
  • Heike Monogatari part 2 (TASJ 49) — Sadler, 1921. TASJ vol 49 (1921) not freely scanned; only early TASJ vols on IA — punch list
  • The Shahnama of Firdausi vol 7 — Warner & Warner, 1915. PUNCH: vols 7-8 of Warner Shahnama not freely scanned on IA
  • The Shahnama of Firdausi vol 8 — Warner & Warner, 1923. PUNCH: vols 7-8 of Warner Shahnama not freely scanned on IA
  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms vol 2 — Brewitt-Taylor, 1925. covered by row 16 compilation; proper 1925 vol 2 scan is IA-restricted
  • Nihongi vol 2 — Aston, 1896. vol 2 not freely scanned; row 21's goog scan may hold both TPJSL supplement vols — verify