Katha Upanishad

A long letter Wilde wrote in prison to the lover who put him there. Less self-pity than you'd expect, more on what suffering teaches.

Oscar Wilde

Socrates and friends design a perfect city to figure out what justice actually means. Includes the cave, the philosopher-king, and most of Western philosophy.

Plato

Eighty-one short poems on how to live. The fewer rules a society needs, the better it works.

Lao Tzu

Athenian friends get drunk and take turns explaining what love is. Aristophanes' speech alone is worth the read.

Plato

A short essay arguing that modern lying is sloppy and amateur. Twain in full deadpan mode.

Mark Twain