Homo Sum — Complete cover

Homo Sum — Complete

Rating 3.5
Word count
485K words
Chapters
49

Tags

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Homo Sum — Complete by Georg EbersAuthor: Ebers, Georg, 1837-1898,Language: English, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Nov 15, 2004

Editor's review

This is the complete English translation of the novel Homo Sum by the German author Georg Ebers, a public-domain e-book from Project Gutenberg. The title comes from Latin and means "I am a human being"; this proposition runs through the whole book and reflects the author's concern with what humanity has in common. Ebers was known for writing historical fiction, and this work continues his emphasis on historical atmosphere and character portrayal, setting the story in ancient times and using the fates of characters to explore the tensions among human nature, faith, and emotion. As a public-domain electronic edition, its value lies mainly in the completeness of the text and ease of access; it is suitable as an introductory work for understanding nineteenth-century German historical fiction and for readers interested in classical subjects and the theme of human nature. When reading, it is advisable to place it within the tradition of nineteenth-century historical fiction and to note its slower narrative pace and extensive background exposition, treating it as a long work that requires patience rather than a fast-paced popular story.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers interested in nineteenth-century German historical fiction who wish to broaden their reading
  • Literature lovers who enjoy classical settings and themes of human nature
  • Students who need a public-domain English text for translation practice or research material
  • Readers accustomed to slow-paced long-form reading who are willing to read character portrayal closely

Not a good fit for

  • Readers who prefer contemporary fast-paced plots and strong suspense
  • Beginners with little English reading experience who find nineteenth-century English expression difficult
  • Readers who only want short stories or light entertainment

Reading tips

  1. Read the preface first or learn the meaning of the title, and enter the text with the theme of "common humanity" in mind.
  2. Read one or two chapters at a fixed time each day to avoid giving up midway because of the length.
  3. Note historical background or allusions as you go, and look them up systematically after finishing.
  4. Use introductory materials on nineteenth-century historical fiction to help understand the narrative tradition.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49

FAQ

What does the title of the book mean?
The title is Latin and is usually translated as "I am a human being." It points to the book's core proposition: people share a common humanity regardless of the era or circumstances in which they live. While reading, use this phrase as a clue to understanding characters' motives and conflicts.
Can I read it without experience with historical fiction?
Yes, but it requires some patience. Ebers's narrative emphasizes background exposition and character portrayal, and the pace is not fast. It is advisable to learn about the ancient setting of the story first and then proceed chapter by chapter without rushing.
Is this edition suitable for learning English?
It can serve as English reading material, but the text is nineteenth-century in style, and its sentence patterns and vocabulary are distant from modern English. Readers with a modest English foundation should choose easier materials; those with some foundation can use it as an advanced close-reading text.

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About the author

Georg Moritz Ebers Author · German · 1837–1898

Georg Ebers (1837–1898) was a German Egyptologist and novelist. Born in Berlin in 1837, he served as a professor at the University of Leipzig. His major contribution to Egyptology was the discovery, editing, and publication of the famous Ebers Papyrus, which provided valuable material for the study of ancient medical texts. At the same time, he devoted himself to spreading Egyptological knowledge through literature, writing historical novels such as An Egyptian Princess and Uarda. These works weave the social life and historical settings of ancient Egypt into their narratives, making specialized scholarship more accessible to general readers. His works number 172 in the library's collection, including the serialized volumes of An Egyptian Princess and Cleopatra, which shows how widely his historical novels circulated. Overall, Ebers combined scholarly rigor with a novelist's gift for popular expression, occupying a distinctive place in the popularization of Egyptology in the nineteenth century.

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