During his life, Aldous Huxley earned a reputation as one of the giants of modern English prose and one of the best social commentators of his time. Known mostly for his novels, Huxley was also very comfortable with the form of the essay. Encompassing from journalism to critical reviews and literary, political, cultural and philosophical reflections, his essays are one of the finest examples of the genre in modern literature. Music at night is already a classic. In this volume, the author of A Happy World, communicates his points of view on various topics - tragedy, silence, art, grace, history, puritanism, beauty - always pointing to fundamental questions of the human condition The undoubted originality of the essayist is favored by the large amount of resources provided by his vast culture and his enormous curiosity. The essays gathered here are surprising because of the great intuitions, the sharp comments and the ingenious and unexpected obeservations that are already the unmistakable mark of one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.