Main Page

Welcome to Wikisource, the free library that anyone can improve. 441,814 texts in English

Site index Community portal News Sandbox

JUNE’S FEATURED TEXT

Grab a download!

Orphée aux Enfers is a libretto by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy for the first full-length opera by Jacques Offenbach. The opera parodies the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. It was first performed on 21 October 1858, and a revival in 1874 broke previous records at the Gaîté's box-office. The music of the "Galop Infernal" from the final scene was adopted to accompany the vigorous can-can by the music halls of Paris. Orphée aux Enfers remains the most often produced of Offenbach's operas.

⁠Woman that dreams
⁠Sleeps not;
⁠She rises
⁠With the dawn.
Early flowers appear finer;
⁠The meadows are embroidered;
But these flowers, who are they for?
⁠You wish to know
⁠For whom?
Say nothing of it to my spouse,
They are for the pretty shepherd
⁠Who dwells there.

Read on...

or see all featured texts.

CURRENT COLLABORATIONS

The current Community collaboration is proofreading the text of Leaves of Grass (1860) Recent collaborations: The Sikh Religion, Eminent Women Series, Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Henry David Thoreau, WikiProject NARA

The current Proofread of the Month is Guy Mannering  (1818) by Walter Scott. Recent collaborations: The Present State of Peru, Cyrano de Bergerac, Poems by "Cushag", One of Ours, The Theory and Practice of Handwriting, Japanese Wood Engravings, The Examination and Confession of certain Witches at Chelmsford in the County of Essex, Old Castles, Principles Involved in the Preservation of Fish by Salt, Violin Varnish and How to Make It, The History of Ink, In Bad Company and other stories, Tales of To-day and Other Days, Mr. Punch's History of the Great War

The current Maintenance of the Month task is Work index revision Recent collaborations: Orphans, Proposed policies and guidelines, Author page connection with Wikidata items, Help page improvement, Undated works

NEW TEXTS

The Grandmother (1891)

by Božena Němcová, translated by Frances Gregor

A practical method as used for the cure of the plague in London in 1665 (1722)

by Charles Scarborough

Ornithological Notes from Northern Norway (1899)

by John Henry Salter

Diary of a Prisoner in World War I (2012)

by Josef Šrámek, translated by Tomáš Svoboda

Coopers-hill: A Poem (1709)

by John Denham

Early Christianity outside the Roman Empire (1899)

by Francis Crawford Burkitt

Morning, Evening, and Midnight Hymns (1864)

by Thomas Ken

HIGHLIGHTS

Poetry from ancient and romantic to modern, in love and war

Texts, laws, constitutions of many countries

Documents from US history, including Revolution and Civil War

US law: Supreme Court decisions, government documents, presidential addresses

General literature: modern novels and short stories, horror stories, children’s literature, science fiction, drama

Original, encyclopedic, popular articles on relativity, physics, biology, and other sciences

EXPLORE WIKISOURCE

Authors – Index

• By era
• By genre
• By nationality
• By type

Works – Index

• By era
• By genre
• By subject
• By type

Subject index

WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION

Wikisource is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization which also hosts other free-content projects:

Commons	Wikibooks	Wikidata	Wikinews	Wikipedia	Wikiquote	Wikispecies	Wikiversity	Wikivoyage	Wiktionary	Meta-Wiki

Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment. And we need your help: Contribute to our projects, or make a donation. Donations are primarily used for site maintenance and software improvements.