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.
2155 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.
27 texts →Persian & Iranian
Zoroaster's hymns, the Book of Kings, and the letters of the Persianate world.
Being accessioned
Greco-Roman
Epic, tragedy, and the examined life.
35 texts →
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.
524 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
By subject
By form
Latest additions
The Book of Poetry · 頌 · Odes of the Temple & Altar
ConfucianismChineseThe Confucian ClassicsConfuciusJames LeggeThe Book of PoetryPoetryClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
《詩經》— 頌 · Odes of the Temple & Altar, from the Book of Poetry, the ancient Confucian anthology of odes. Bilingual; translated by James Legge.
ConfucianismChineseThe Confucian ClassicsConfuciusJames LeggeThe Book of PoetryPoetryClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
The Book of Poetry · 大雅 · Major Odes
ConfucianismChineseThe Confucian ClassicsConfuciusJames LeggeThe Book of PoetryPoetryClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
《詩經》— 大雅 · Major Odes, from the Book of Poetry, the ancient Confucian anthology of odes. Bilingual; translated by James Legge.
ConfucianismChineseThe Confucian ClassicsConfuciusJames LeggeThe Book of PoetryPoetryClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
The Book of Poetry · 小雅 · Minor Odes
ConfucianismChineseThe Confucian ClassicsConfuciusJames LeggeThe Book of PoetryPoetryClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
《詩經》— 小雅 · Minor Odes, from the Book of Poetry, the ancient Confucian anthology of odes. Bilingual; translated by James Legge.
ConfucianismChineseThe Confucian ClassicsConfuciusJames LeggeThe Book of PoetryPoetryClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
The Book of Poetry · 國風 · Airs of the States
ConfucianismChineseThe Confucian ClassicsConfuciusJames LeggeThe Book of PoetryPoetryClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
《詩經》— 國風 · Airs of the States, from the Book of Poetry, the ancient Confucian anthology of odes. Bilingual; translated by James Legge.
ConfucianismChineseThe Confucian ClassicsConfuciusJames LeggeThe Book of PoetryPoetryClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
The Analects · Book XX — 堯曰 (Yáo Yuē)
ConfucianismThe Confucian ClassicsChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
Book XX of the Confucian Analects (堯曰, “Yao Said”), Classical Chinese with James Legge’s English — 3 passages.
ConfucianismThe Confucian ClassicsChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
The Analects · Book XIX — 子張 (Zǐ Zhāng)
The Confucian ClassicsConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
Book XIX of the Confucian Analects (子張, “Zi Zhang”), Classical Chinese with James Legge’s English — 25 passages.
The Confucian ClassicsConfucianismChineseConfuciusJames LeggeThe AnalectsScriptureClassicalClassical ChineseEnglishTextPhilosophyLibrary
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.