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These are Alice Lady Lovat's meditations on the treatise Del Aprecio y Estima de la Divina Gracia, written by the prolific Roman Catholic theologian and mystic Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, S.J. (1595-1658). Nieremberg's treatise was published in 1638 in Madrid, where he taught Sacred Scripture at the Jesuit Colegio Imperial. Abbot Oswald Hunter-Blair, O.S.B. wrote the preface for Lovat's book, which bears an imprimatur. (Introduction by dave7)...
Religion
2 Chronicles was purportedly written by Ezra the scribe. It expounds the history of King Solomon and the kings came after him. It is very similar to 1 and 2 Kings, but centers primarily on the Temple as the Presence of God among the people. It is a history of the Kings of Israel. (Summary by Sundiata)...
Described by William Barclay as the Queen of the Epistles, the Epistle to the Ephesians is one of the books of the Bible in the New Testament. Paul is traditionally said to have written the letter while he was in prison in Rome (around 63 A.D.). This would be about the same time as the Epistle to the Colossians (which in many points it resembles) and the Epistle to Philemon. (Summary from Wikipedia)...
One great universal law runs through the realm of nature. Our Saviour gave it in a sentence: 'First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.' It is with the desire to show that the same law rules in another of God's creations—The Bible—that this little volume has been prepared. The Bible has as literally 'grown' as has an oak tree; and probably there is no more likeness between the Bible as we know it to-day and its earliest beginning, than we find between the mighty tree, and the acorn from which it sprang. The subject is so vast that we have not attempted anything beyond the briefest outline. Our purpose has been merely to give some idea of the origin of the Bible books, up to the measure of our present light upon the subject, and also to show the purpose for which they were written. But if our readers, by seeing something of the wonder and glory of the Holy Scriptures, are able to catch a glimpse of the Creator's mind behind the whole, our work will not have been in vain. (Foreword, by Mildred Duff)...
Religion, Literature
The Epistle of Paul to Philemon, usually referred to simply as Philemon, is a prison letter to Philemon from Paul of Tarsus. Philemon was a leader in the Colossian church. This letter, which is one of the books of the New Testament, deals with forgiveness....
Ancient Texts, Religion
The Epistle of James is a book in the Christian New Testament. The author identifies himself as James (James 1:1), traditionally understood as James the Just, the brother of Jesus, first of the Seventy Disciples and first Bishop of Jerusalem. With no overriding theme, the text condemns various sins and calls on Christians to be patient while awaiting the imminent Second Coming. The epistle has caused controversy: Protestant reformer Martin Luther argued that it was not the work of an apostle. Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Mormonism claim it contradicts Luther's doctrine of justification through faith alone (Sola fide) derived from his translation of Romans 3:28. The Christian debate over Justification is still unsettled, see also Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and Christian view of the Law. (Summary from Wikipedia)...
The Epistle to Galatians is a book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia. It is principally concerned with the controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law within Early Christianity. Along with the Epistle to the Romans, it is the most theologically significant of the Pauline epistles, and has been particularly influential in Protestant thought....
The Epistle to the Galatians is a book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia. It is principally concerned with the controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law within Early Christianity. Along with the Epistle to the Romans, it is the most theologically significant of the Pauline epistles, and has been particularly influential in Protestant thought. (Summary from Wikipedia)...
William Law (1686-1761) was an Anglican priest, Christian mystic, and one of the most prominent, popular, and controversial theological writers of his time. Law revolutionized the way in which 18th century Anglicans engaged the spiritual aspect of their faith, and his popularity rivaled that of John and Charles Wesley. Law adapted mystical practices from early church writings to the practice and doctrine of the modern British church, with the intention of equipping the Anglican layman to pursue intimacy with Christ. Dialogue Between a Methodist and a Churchman is one of Law's purely theological works. In it, Law engages what he sees as the most dangerous doctrines of Methodism using a dialectic format. The dialogue focuses especially on the Calvinistic doctrines of predestination and absolute depravity, and is remarkable for its extrapolation of Calvinist proof texts to refute the doctrines they allegedly prove. (Summary by Kirsten Ferreri)...
Galatians is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of Early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia. Paul is principally concerned with the controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law within Early Christianity. The main theme of Ephesians is “the Church, the Body of Christ.” The Church is to maintain the unity in practice which Christ has brought about positionally. Another major theme in Ephesians is the keeping of Christ's body (that is, the Church) pure and holy. Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul circa 62 while Paul was in prison. The letter was written to the church at Philippi, one of the earliest churches to be founded in Europe. They were very attached to Paul, just as he was very fond of them. The Philippians had sent Epaphroditus, their messenger, with contributions to meet the needs of Paul; and on his return Paul sent this letter with him. Written in the 50s while Paul was in prison, Colossians is similar to Ephesians, also written at this time. Colossians declares Christ's supremacy over the entire created universe and exhorts Christians to lead godly live...
During the time of the Judges when there was a famine, an Israelite family from Bethlehem - Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion - emigrate to the nearby country of Moab. Elimelech dies, and the sons marry two Moabite women: Mahlon marries Ruth and Chilion marries Orpah. Then Mahlon and Chilion also die. Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem. She tells her daughters-in-law to return to their own mothers, and remarry. Orpah reluctantly leaves; however, Ruth says, Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me. (Ruth 1:16-17 NIV) The two women return to Bethlehem. It is the time of the barley harvest, and in order to support her mother-in-law and herself, Ruth goes to the fields to glean. The field she goes to belongs to a man named Boaz, who is kind to her because he has heard of her loyalty to her mother-in-law. Ruth tells her mother-in-law of Boaz's kin...
1 Maccabees is an apocryphal/deuterocanonical book written by a Jewish author after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom, probably about 100 BC. It is included in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons. Protestants, Jews, and some others regard it as generally reliable historically, but not a part of Scripture. The setting of the book is about a century after the conquest of Judea by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, after Alexander's empire has been divided so that Judea was part of the Greek Seleucid Empire. It tells how the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress the practice of basic Jewish religious law, resulting in a Jewish revolt against Seleucid rule. The book covers the whole of the revolt, from 175 to 134 BC, highlighting how the salvation of the Jewish people in this crisis came from God through Mattathias' family, particularly his sons, Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Maccabaeus, and Simon Maccabaeus, and his grandson, John Hyrcanus. The doctrine expressed in the book reflects traditional Jewish teaching, without later doctrines found, for example, in 2 Maccabees. (Summary by Wikipedia, modi...
Deuteronomy (Greek: Δευτερονόμιον, second law) or Devarim (Hebrew: דְּבָרִים, literally things or words) is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fifth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch. A large part of the book consists of five sermons delivered by Moses reviewing the previous forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and the future entering into the Promised Land. Its central element is a detailed law-code by which the Israelites are to live within the Promised Land. Theologically the book constitutes the renewing of the covenant between YHWH, the Jewish God, and the 'Children of Israel.' (Summary by Wikipedia)...
While in prison, Paul writes this letter to another Christian, Philemon. Paul has met with and converted a man named Onesimus, probably a runaway slave, and he writes to Philemon, Onesimus's legal owner, to tell him that he is sending him back. Appealing to Philemon's personal debt to him, Paul urges him to welcome Onesimus as though he were Paul himself, and to accept him as a fellow brother in Christ. (Summary by Leon Mire)...
Ignatius of Antioch penned these letters to churches (Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, and Smyrnaeans) and Polycarp on his way to martyrdom. Ignatius was an apologist for the Episcopal style of church government (as opposed to sole rule by a council of presbyters) which developed in the late first or early second century. Eager to die in imitation of his Savior, it was Ignatius who wrote this to the Roman church: I am God's wheat, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found pure bread [of Christ]. (Summary by Sam Stinson)...
A collection of short nonfiction works in the public domain. The selections included in this collection were independently chosen by the readers, and the topics encompass law, history, science, travel, philosophy, nature and religion. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)...
Essay/Short nonfiction
Letter Concerning Toleration by John Locke was originally published in 1689. Its initial publication was in Latin, though it was immediately translated into other languages. In this letter addressed to an anonymous Honored Sir (actually Locke's close friend Philip von Limborch, who published it without Locke's knowledge) Locke argues for a new understanding of the relationship between religion and government. One of the founders of Empiricism, Locke develops a philosophy that is contrary to the one expressed by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan, primarily because it supports toleration for various Christian denominations. Locke's work appeared amidst a fear that Catholicism might be taking over England, and responds to the problem of religion and government by proposing toleration as the answer. Unlike Hobbes, who saw uniformity of religion as the key to a well-functioning civil society, Locke argues that more religious groups actually prevent civil unrest. Locke argues that civil unrest results from confrontations caused by any magistrate's attempt to prevent different religions from being practiced, rather than tolerating their prolifera...
Philosophy
This short Old Testament book tells the story of Naomi and Ruth, Naomi's daughter-in-law and great-grandmother of King David. (Summary by TriciaG)
Religion, History
Fortress-walled Saint Catherine's monastery on the Sinai peninsula has been a pilgrimage site since its founding by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. According to tradition, the monastery sits at the base of the mountain where Moses received the Tablets of the Law. Set in rugged country, accessible in times past only by a many days journey by camel across barren desert, the monastery survived intact through the centuries, and, as a result, became a rich repository of religious history—told through its icons, mosaics, and the books and manuscripts in the monastery library. Our Journey to Sinai by Agnes Bensly is the story of a visit to Saint Catherine's by a group of British scholars in the 1890's, who were drawn there in quest of manuscripts from early Christian times. The group had one particular prize in their sights. It was a second century translation of the Gospels from Greek into an Aramaic dialect called Syriac. This was a rare find indeed. One of the group, Agnes Smith Lewis, an accomplished linguist, had been to the monastery once before. On that visit, she had spotted a “palimpsest of most venerable appea...
Memoirs, History, Travel
The Book of Psalms, commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible. Taken together, its 150 poems express virtually the full range of Israel's religious faith. They each have a poetic character with frequent use of parallelism. In addition to the title of the collection, which translates as song or hymns from both Hebrew and Greek, superscriptions (or headings) in many of the Psalms provide musical references and some direction, in some cases even references to melodies that would have been well known by early congregations. Songs that can be identified as such in the Psalms include songs of thanksgiving (e.g., Ps 30), hymns of praise (e.g., Ps 117) and royal psalms, which may have been used in coronations and weddings. Identification of some psalms as prayers is also seen within the text, for example in the conclusion to Psalm 72, The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended. The largest category of Psalms, though not grouped as such in the text, is that of lament (expressions of complaint and pleas for help from God). There appears to also have been an instructional function of the psal...
Poetry, Religion
This book describes the return of Israelites from exile in Babylon. One group returns to rebuild the Temple and restore the worship of The LORD, while the second group, led by the priest and scribe Ezra, returns to re-establish Mosaic law to the Israelite community. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah were once considered one book. (Introduction by Mark Penfold)...
History, Religion
The Way of Peace is your guide to the power of meditation; self and truth; the acquirement of spiritual power; the realization of selfless love; entering into the infinite; saints, sages, and saviors; the law of service; and the realization of perfect peace. (Summary by Andrea Fiore)...
Instruction, Religion, Philosophy
Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch. The Hebrew title, [spoken] words, is taken from the opening phrase, These are the words...; the English title is from the Greek and Latin, both meaning second law, a mistranslation of the Hebrew phrase mishneh ha-torah ha-zoth, a copy of this law, in Deuteronomy 17:18. The book consists of three sermons or speeches delivered to the Israelites by Moses on the plains of Moab, shortly before they enter the Promised Land. The first sermon recapitulates the forty years of wilderness wanderings which have led to this moment, and ends with an exhortation to observe the law (or teachings); the second reminds the Israelites of the need for exclusive allegiance to one God and observance of the laws he has given them, on which their possession of the land depends; and the third offers the comfort that even should Israel prove unfaithful and so lose the land, with repentance all can be restored. One of its most significant verses is Deuteronomy 6:4, the Shema, which has become the definitive statement of Jewish identity: Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the ...
Pantheisticon: or, the Form Of Celebrating the Socratic-Society. Divided into Three Parts. Which Contain, I. The Morals and Axioms of the Pantheists; or the Brotherhood. II. Their Deity and Philosophy. III. Their Liberty, and a Law, neither deceiving, nor to be deceived. To which is prefix'd a Discourse upon the Antient and Modern Societies of the Learned, as also upon the Infinite and Eternal Universe. And subjoined, a short dissertation upon a Two-fold Philosophy of the Pantheists, that is to be followed; together with an Idea of the best and most accomplished Man. Written Originally in Latin, by the Ingenious Mr. John Toland. And now, for the first Time, faithfully rendered into English. (Summary from frontispiece.)...
Philosophy, Religion
“Bahaism is not a new religion,” writes Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney, “It is religion renewed… it does not pretend to represent the whole Truth; on the contrary, it recognises Truth in fundamental principles which are the basis of all former dispensations, and which for that very reason form the standpoint of concord too long lost sight of. And it requires people to renounce ancient superstitions, to abandon the dead letter in order to be penetrated by the living and vivifying spirit, then by that very means it confirms the original purity of their religion, whilst helping them to know and love everything profoundly beautiful in the others… it will suffice for me to indicate that the Bahais believe that from all eternity God has raised up among human creatures higher beings who have inculcated mankind with the great moral principles on which societies are founded, and have thus been the supreme guides of its evolution.” Hippolyte Dreyfus earned his doctorate in law in February 1898 and became the first French Bahá’í in 1901. In 1903 he gave up his legal career to devote himself to oriental studies. He enrolled at the École pratique des ...
Religion, Politics
The Two Treatises of Civil Government is a work of political philosophy published anonymously in 1689 by John Locke. The First Treatise is an extended attack on Sir Robert Filmer's Patriarcha , which argued for a divinely-ordained, hereditary, absolute monarchy. The more influential Second Treatise outlines a theory of civil society based on natural rights and contract theory. Locke begins by describing the state of nature, and goes on to explain the hypothetical rise of property and civilization, asserting that the only legitimate governments are those which have the consent of the people. Locke's ideas heavily influenced both the American and French Revolutions. His notions of people's rights and the role of civil government provided strong support for the intellectual movements of both revolutions. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia)...
Philosophy, Politics, Religion
In Books 3 and 4 of Leviathan , Thomas Hobbes elaborates on the political philosophy set forth in the first two books, by considering the nature of a Christian commonwealth. Book 3 begins with a wealth of biblical scholarship, directed at establishing the authority of Scripture while at the same time undermining modern claims to supernatural revelation that would subvert civil law. Hobbes concludes that we cannot be sure of anyone else's divine revelation, and that religious authority is therefore subordinate to civil power. Book 4, titled “Of the Kingdom of Darkness,” sets forth the various ways in which Scripture has been misinterpreted by the church, according to Hobbes, in mixing pagan elements with Christianity. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia by Leon Mire)...
The Light of Egypt will be found to be an Occult library in itself, a textbook of esoteric knowledge, setting forth the wisdom Religion of life, as taught by the Adepts of Hermetic Philosophy. It will richly repay all who are seeking the higher life to carefully study this book, as it contains in a nutshell the wisdom of the ages regarding man and his destiny, here and hereafter. The London and American first edition, also the French edition, Vol. I, met with lively criticism from Blavatsky Theosophists, because it annihilates that agreeable delusion of Karma and Reincarnation from the minds of all lovers of truth for truth's sake. The Tablets of Aeth is a great and mighty work, as it contains the very quintessence of Occult and Hermetic philosophy, as revealed by spiritual law. Penetralia is a new revelation, and invaluable to Occult students, as it is the personal experience of a developed soul. (Summary taken from the Publishers Preface)...
Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Science
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, a Judean exile at the court of Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BC), the ruler of Babylon, becomes a high government official and delivers various visions. The earliest manuscripts discovered, like the traditional Jewish version, are written partly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic, and consist of a series of six third-person narratives (chapters one to six) followed by four apocalyptic visions in the first person (chapters seven to twelve). The narratives take the form of court tales which focus on tests of religious fidelity involving Daniel and his friends (chapters one, three and six), and Daniel's interpretation of royal dreams and visions (chapters two, four and five). In the second part of the book, Daniel recounts his own reception of dreams, visions and angelic interpretations....
How to live on 5 cents a day! How to survive financial ruin without losing your house! How to keep to a bare bones budget and still have money left over to buy books! Tough questions! They were tough questions even in the 1870’s, when Sarah Elizabeth Harper Monmouth penned her quirky memoir, the subtitle of which was “How a Lady, Having Lost a Sufficient Income from Government Bonds by Misplaced Confidence, Reduced to a Little Homestead Whose Entire Income is But $40.00 per Annum, Resolved to Hold It, Incurring no Debts and Live Within it. How She has Lived for Three Years and Still Lives on Half a Dime a Day.” Sarah Elizabeth (‘Lizzie‘) Monmouth, born in 1829, was a Civil War widow, living on a run-down small farm in New Hampshire, when her investments imploded. She awoke one morning to find herself poor--an old roof above her, “dearer than life,” but “not a dollar of money left.” For months she was “paralyzed with cold, clammy terror . . . stunned and knew not what to do.” Then her “mind stepped to the front with a bold standard displayed.” She said to herself “Understand, once for all, that I rule and make your plans accordingly....
Advice, Memoirs
A collection of short nonfiction works in the public domain. The essays, speeches and reports included in this collection were independently selected by the readers, and the topics encompass history, government, military history, science, philosophy, sports, nature and religion. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)...
History, Nature, Philosophy, Religion, War stories, Science, Politics
Edward Granville Browne (1862 – 1926), born in Stouts Hill, Uley, Gloucestershire, England, was a British orientalist who published numerous articles and books of academic value, mainly in the areas of history and literature. His works are respected for their scholarship, uniqueness, and style. He published in areas which few other Western scholars had explored to any sufficient degree. He used a language and style that showed high respect for everybody, even toward those he personally did not view in positive light. In A Year Amongst the Persians (1893) he wrote a sympathetic portrayal of a Persian society which few Westerners had ever seen, including a frank account of the effects of opium. It did not attract the attention it deserved at the time of its initial publication, but after his death in 1926 it was reprinted and became a classic in English travel literature. A Year Amongst the Persians includes moving accounts of the Bahá’í community in Iran. Concerning his meetings with the Bahá’ís of Iran, Browne writes: “The memory of those assemblies can never fade from my mind; the recollection of those faces and those tones no time...
Travel, Religion, Philosophy