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SECOND EDITION, NOW READY.
THE
SACRED
ANTHOLOGY
A BOOK OF ETHNICAL SCRIPTURES.
BY
MONCURE
DANIEL
CONWAY.
Triibner & Co^Ludgate Hill.
The second edition of this work contains an Index of Authors,
in addition to the Index of Subjects, List of Authorities, &c.,
and the Chronological Notes have been carefully revised.
The book contains 740 Readings from the Asiatic and Scan
dinavian Sacred Books and ClassicsJarranged according to
subjects in 480 pages royal 8vo, with marginal notes.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
It is certainly instructive to see the essential agreement of so many
venerated religious writings, though for depth of meaning and classicality
of form none of them approaches the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures.
The idea of the work is an excellent one, and Mr. Conway deserves great
credit for being the first to realise it.— Westminster Review.
It remains for us to point out some of the remarkable coincidences
in the principles of morals and religion which Mr. Conway’s diligence
and tact have brought together. Hillel and Confucius enunciated the
same warning in almost the same words—“ What you do not wish done
to yourself do not to others.” Beneath a tropic sky, the flamingoes and
green parrots suggest the same lessons as the ravens and lilies of the
field upon the hills of Galilee. A few words sum up with unsurpassed
pathos the parable of the virgins—“A poor man watched a thousand
years before the gate of Paradise ; then, while he snatched one little nap
jt opened and shut.”— Theological Review.
�2
Few more valuable contributions have been made to the popular study
of comparative theology than Mr. Conway’s “ Sacred Anthology,” well
fitted to serve as a volume of devout reading to those who choose without
theological forethought or afterthought to apply it to that use. To the
more speculative student, it curiously illustrates at once the different
genius of the various nations of the world, and the identity of human
nature in its apprehension of the loftiest topics of faith and morals. Few
can read it without feeling their mental horizon enlarged, and without a
deeper sense of the common humanity that lies at the basis of the dif
ferences by which history, climate, and civilisation disguise men and
nations from each other.—Daily News.
The book may fairly be described as a bible of humanity, and as an
ethical text book it might well be adopted in all schools and families
where an attempt is made to instil the highest principles of morality
apart from religious dogma. He has produced a work which a great
number of people have long been desiring to possess, and which is likely
to mark a distinct epoch in the'progress of ethical culture.—Examiner.
The result is most interesting. For the first time, an English reader
may judge for himself of the moral and religious merits of writings which
heretofore have been to him only venerable and shadowy abstractions.
We shall be much surprised if every reader does not lay it down in a
better mental frame than was his when he took it up. It teaches charity
and toleration, and makes men less spiritually arrogant. It is not with
out even greater lessons to those who have ears to hear.—The Echo*
The “ Sacred Anthology ” should find a place on every library shelf.
It is a bible free from bigotry, and were an Universal Church ever estab
lished, might fairly be a lesson book for that church. The labour ex
pended by Mr. Conway in editing, abridging, and selecting, can hardly
be fairly estimated. We can heartily recommend it to Freethought
Societies as a volume in which they may find readings otherwise inaccess
ible to them.—National Reformer.
The principal authorities for the beautiful thoughts and precepts so
skilfully collected by the editor, are given at the close of the volume, to
make his work as complete as possible. Mr. Conway also publishes
chronological notes, and it is scarcely necessary to say that his views
with regard to the dates of our sacred books differ considerably from those
adopted by orthodox divines.— The Pall Mall Gazette.
A very slight examination of the volume will show that it is indeed a
valuable anthology of the scriptures of all races. As complete and
entertaining a volume as one would wish to read. —The Bookseller.
It will be seen that all the sacred books of mankind have their prin
cipal features in common ; that the differences between them are not of
essential nature, but of degrees of manner and style, and that an inspired
spirit variously modified and expressed breathes through all. Mr. M. D.
�Conway has contributed a real service to an enlightened view of this
subject by his “ Sacred Anthology,” a book which we commend to the
attention of all who are accustomed to speak of the bible as the only
word of God.—The Inquirer.
Such of our readers as may have studied a remarkable book, India in
Greece, which appeared some twenty years ago, are well aware of the
extent to which Indian rites and customs after having been transported
to Greece, and thence re-exported to Italy, have become permanently
imbedded in the Romish system. Indeed, we believe there is scarce a
Popish notion, emblem, or ceremony that may not be distinctly traced
to a Pagan source. However, if the original have come from thence,
thence also may be derived an anecdote that may somewhat tend to
diminish its ill effects. For among the wise Hindoo aphorisms (as ren
dered in Mr. Moncure Conway’s recent book), we find the following,
which some amongst us might ponder with advantage at the present
time :—“ Sdnyfisis (? Hindu Rits) acquaint themselves with particular
words and vests; they wear a brick-red garb and shaven crowns; in
these they pride themselves ; their heads look very pure, but are their
hearts so ?” “ Religion which consists in postures of the limbs (mark
this ye clergy of St. Alban’s, Holborn) is just a little inferior to the
exercises of the wrestler.” “ In the absence of inward vision boast not
of oral divinity.” We are not sure that Vishnu’s philosophy would not
compare favourably with that of Pio Nono.—The Rock.
Many years ago, Philip Bailey, of E Festus,” announced as forthcoming
a book entitled “ Poetical Divinity,” the object of which was to show by
quotations from the bards of all time, that they all held substantially the
same creed which we presume was held by Festus himself—Pantheism
plus Universal Restoration. This book never has appeared, but Mr
Conway’s is arranged on a somewhat similar plan, and is altogether a
volume of such a unique yet delightfully varied character that it must
commend itself to readers of every sort. We have seen already the eyes
of a rather strictly orthodox person glistening with eager delight over
many of the maxims and beautiful little moral fables with which it abounds.
—The Dundee Advertise-M^
It would be impossible that such a book, even if it were compara
tively carelessly done, could be without interest; but Mr, Conway’s task
has been most conscientiously performed, and it will be found of the
greatest possible value, for it casts a strong light upon many matters
which are frequently in discussion.—The Scotsman.
Mr. Conway has conferred a signal service on the literature of Theism by
publishing for the first time a comprehensive collection of some of the best
passages from the ancient scriptures of different nations. A few years ago
we, in the Brahmo-Somaj, made an humble effort in that direction, which
resulted in the issue of a small book of theistic texts now in use during
service in most of our churches. Mr. Conway’s excellent publication
is on a far grander scale, embraces a wider variety of subjects, and ex
tends its selection through a much larger range of scriptural^ writings
than we could command.—The Indian Mirror.
�4
There is, I suppose, no book in existence quite like it, perhaps none on
the same plan and of equal scope. He who found no higher use for the
book would rejoice in it as a handbook for scriptural quotations not
otherwise readily accessible, as the number of volumes from which they
have been brought together sufficiently proves. There is nothing we
more need mentally than a tinge of Orientalism, something to give a new
bent and scope to minds fed perpetually on the somewhat narrow and
practical literature of the Western races. Mr. Conway, with his eager
poetic instincts, his warm feeling and wide sympathies, is a good guide
to those in search of what is most impressive to the imagination or
stimulating to the sensibilities.—“ G. W. S.,” in the New York Tribune.
A Significant Book.—Significant of what? Of interest in the
religious life of men who are outside the pale of Christianity, of that
“ sympathy of religions ” which has lately found in the missionary lecture
of Max Muller in Westminster Abbey an exhibition which might
well strike terror into High Church dignitaries, of a growing faith that
the attitude of Christianity towards the other great religions of the world
is not wholly that of a teacher, but may be that of a pupil; of this, at
least—we trust of much beside.—-Rev. John W. Chadwick, in the
“ Liberal Christian” New York.
He then read a few sentences from a book called “ Sacred Anthology,”
which work, he said, was a compilation from the religious works of all
nations, some older than our bible : the book he should leave on the desk
as his bequest to the society.—Report of an Address by A. Bronson
Alcott, Esq., at the opening of a new hall in Massachusetts.
“The Anthology” may be obtained through any Bookseller, or
from the Librarian, the Chapel, 11, South Place, Finsbury.
Price, ios. Postage, 9d.
�
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Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
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Pamphlet
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Title
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The sacred anthology: a book of ethnical scriptures [announcement]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of Publication: London
Collation: [4] p. ; 22 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. The publisher's announcement for the second edition. Includes extracts from press reviews of the first edition. Duplicated between pages 200-201 of Joseph Estlin Carpenter's review also in Conway Tracts 6.
Publisher
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Trubner & Co.
Date
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[1889?]
Identifier
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G5598
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[Unknown]
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (The Sacred Anthology: a book of ethnical scriptures), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
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Text
Language
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English
Subject
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Book reviews
Book Reviews
Conway Tracts
Moncure Conway
Oriental Literature
Sacred Books
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Text
Ths IB^iSSEQgER.
WBB
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
.
Life of John Co/criaje Patteson, Missionary
Bishop of the Melanesian Islands. By Charlotte
Mary Yonge. In two volumes. (Macmillan.)—
•Missionary enterprise forms one of the brightest
■and most glorious chapters in the history of the
Christian Church—the one common ground on
which all the sects may stand. It has had its
triumphs and its misfortunes, its victories and its
defeats, its disciples, apostles, and, alas! its mar
tyrs. In the roll-call of the latter, Coleridge
Patteson, first bishop of the Melanesian Islands,
takes a foremost place. Never were there more
enthusiastic, single-minded, devoted servants of
the great cause than Williams, Patteson, and
Livingstone. It is well, therefore, that the story
of their lives and labours should be told—not
only as a record of duty faithfully performed, but
as example and encouragement to others. In
these two volumes the authoress of the “Heir of
Bedclyffe ” shows herself a most capable biogra
pher. There was comparatively little of incident
tn the life of Bishop Patteson ; nothing, indeed,
df an extraordinary character, except his deplorable
assassination at the hands of the fanatical Maories ;
and yet how full of interest is the whole narrative !
Briefly enough may the story of his life be related.
John Coleridge Patteson was the son of the wellknown “ Mr. Justice Patteson,” by his second
wife, Frances Duke Coleridge, sister of his friend
and fellow-barrister, John Taylor Coleridge,
nephew of the poet. Fie was born in Gower
(•Street, Bedford Square, on the 1st of April, 1827.
’Early showing a taste for reading and languages,
he was sent, in bis eleventh year, to Eton, where
he equally distinguished himself in learning and
cricket. He entered as undergraduate at Balliol
College, Oxford, in 1845 5 passed his college
Cpurse with credit; in due time took his degrees ;
made the usual Continental tour, of which he
kept a diary ; took holy orders, and, in 1853, be
came curate of Alfingham, a hamlet of the parish
of Ottery St. Mary. Up to this time his life had
differed little from the lives of other well-educated
and well-conducted young men ; but, upon making
tire acquaintance of Bishop Selwyn, a growing
desire for missionary work, “which,” he says,
tl has for years been striving within me, and ought
no longer to be resisted,” determined his future
Career. The next year, therefore, he received or
dination as a priest at the hands of Bishop Phillpotts, in Exeter Cathedral; and in March, 1855,
departed for New Zealand, greatly to the grief,
though not without the consent, of his father and
friends. The scene of his labours was the group
pf islands in the South Pacific between New Zea
land and New Guinea, marked on the maps
Loyalty Islands, Solomon’s Islands, and the
New Hebrides, but now known as the Melane
sians—a group of some seventy islets, included
in the Bishopric of New Zealand. Here the defi
nite work of his life began, and here it sadly
ended. He landed at Norfolk Island, about
haif-way between the North Cape of New Zealand
apd the Isle of Pines, New Caledonia, on the 16th
of May, 1856. He soon accommodated himself
to his new life. He visited all the islands in the
s extensive group; he set up his church in the midst
1 of the savages—every one of whom, he says,
I might, under proper treatment, be a Man Friday;
he learned their language, taught their children,
and for seventeen years made himself a home
among them. He was universally beloved. But
the time came wh.en these poor savage men grew
i , be iealcus of their need Bisope. Trouble
;-. -.
..........
C C? :'4
I
arose; whence no oT^knew^ and none now can
tell. The Maori war broke out; and Coleridge
Patteson, its first Bishop, became the first martyr
of the Melanesian Church. There was a disturb
ance among the natives. He went ashore at the
little island of Nukapa, and was there assassinated
—the victim of a fatal mistake, arising out of the
suspicions of the islanders as to the designs of
the English, then in force in Melanesia. Such
is the story of the good Bishop’s life; but
the story, even as told by Miss Charlotte Yonge,
constitutes but small part of the charm of the
biography.
That will be found in the extensive^
correspondence of Coleridge Patteson. He was an
indefatigable and entertaining letter-writer. As soon
as he got to Eton he began to write to his father, his
sister, his cousins—of whom his biographer was
one, though some degrees removed, on his mother’s
side—and to all his old school and college friends.
Some of his letters are very amusing. He tells
us, for instance, how at the Eton Montem of
1838, when the Queen visited Salt Hill, he was
pressed by the throng against the wheel of the
royal carriage, and was on the point of being
dragged beneath it, when her Majesty, with ready
presence of mind, held out her hand, which the
boy grasped, and was so enabled to regain his feet
in safety; but so great was his fright, that the car
riage passed on before he could show any sign of
gratitude. Again, he tells his father how gleeful
he was at his step from class to class ; and to his
sister he writes informing her of what success the
“Eton fellows ” had in their cricket match against
the “Harrow boys.” “ We began our match by
going in first. We got 261 runs by tremendous
hitting ; Harrow 32, and followed up and got 55 ;
Eton thus winning by 176 runs—the most decided
beating ever known at cricket! ” And so of his
college days, his first impressions of missionary
life; his visits to the show places of France and
Germany ; his first voyage ; his efforts among the
islanders, almost down to the last day of his life,
which ended so miserably, yet so nobly—for was
he not at the post of duty, so often the post of
danger ?—before he attained his forty-fifth year !
It would be easy to show how excellent a corre
spondent and how thoroughly good a missionary he
was ; easy to exhibit his many-sidedness, his affec
tionate nature, his tender care for others, his dis
regard of self; but, says his biographer—“ What
more shall I tell ? Comments on such a life and
such a death are superfluous : and to repeat the
testimonies of friends, outpourings of grief, and
utterances in sermons, is but to weaken the im
pression of reality ! ” We need only add that the
memoir is adorned with two portraits—one show
ing Coleridge Patteson in the fresh beauty of his
youthful manhood ; the other, the grave, bearded
soldier of the Cross, at almost the close of his
career—in addition to a fac-simile of his hand
writing and a map of the Melanesian islands.
Lancashire Worthies. By Francis Espinasse.
(Manchester: Abel Heywood.)—Lancashire holds
a high, and perhaps the highest, place in the
history of British commercial progress. It was
well, therefore, that Mr. Espinasse, well known
for many years as a Manchester journalist, should
give us biographies of its greatest worthies.
Beginning with the first Stanley, Earl of Derby,
he tells us all he knows—and tells it well—of
Hugh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter and founder of
the Manchester Grammar School; John Bradford,
saint and martyr; Jeremiah Horrocks, the Preston
cotton-spinner; Humphrey Chetham, the founder
�. of the library and Hospital; the Great Duke of
thafeit
valuable anthology of the Scrip
; Bridgewater, who made the canal-that unites
tures of all races—a garland of beautiful passages
Manchester to Liverpool; John Kay, James Har ? from the writings of many authors, principally
greaves, and Richard Arkwright—men who will
Oriental. Believing that such a collelfidn would
be honoured through all time. In addition, we
be useful for moral
re, h JfEs
have notices of John Byrom, the poet-laureate
aimed at bringing together the converging teMlI
of the Jacobites ; John Collier, the author of the
monies of ages and races, and separating “the*
famous “Tim Bobbin;” and Booth, the actor.
more universal and enduring treasures, contained
To Byrom, whose witty pen was never idle, and
in ancient scriptures from the rust of superstition
whom Warburton, the irascible, acknowledged as
and the ore of ritual.” Of course ljehal omitted
“certainly a man of genius,” is attributed the
much that seemed local and temporary, but he
celebrated epigram—
has retained also many noble sentences highly
venerated in the lands of their birth and not
“God bless the King I I mean our Faith’s defender;
God bless—no harm in blessing—the Pretender I
generally accessible to European readers. Under
But who Pretender is, or who is King,
such headings as Law, Worship, Wisdom, Charity,
God bless us all, that’s quite another thing ! ”
Nature, Justice, Friendship, and Love, he has
John Collier yas Byrom’s contemporary, and
made large extracts from the Hebrew, Chinese,
shares with him the honour of Lancashire’s con
Persian, Arabian, Scandinavian, and Christian
tributions to English literature in the eighteenth
poets,—not omitting those wide fields of theolo
century._ “ When,” says Mr. Espinasse, “worthy
gical and moral disquisition, the Hindoo and
Dr. Aikin published, some seventy years ago, his
Buddhist scriptures. It is curious to note the
‘ Description of the Country round Manchester,’
likeness or sympathy between many of the say
the literary biography of the region was represented
ings of the early Indian and Hebrew poets: and
by memoirs of Byrom and Collier exclusively, nor
it would almost seem as if some of the latter had
does he seem to have been guilty of any glaring
borrowed from the former. We find, for instance,
oversight. Both were humorists—Collier, how^
in the “ Wisdom of the Brahmins,” many such
ever, more distinctly than Byrom ; both wrote
passages as these:—“Devoutly look, and naught
prose as well as verse, and they were about the
but wonders shall pass by thee; devoutly read,
first authors of any note—Byrom slightly, Collier
and all books shall edify thee ; devoutly speak,
conspicuously—to employ the broad, easy, and
and men shall listen to thee; devoutly act, and
expressive dialect as a literary vehicle. In the
the strength of God acts through thee.” And in
eyes of their contemporaries, Byrom was far the
the Hindoo “Hitopadesa” such as these:—“Si
most celebrated of the two.” The “whirligig of
lence for the remainder of life is better than false
time brings in his revenges, ” Shakspeare tells us,
speaking. Empty are all quarters of the world
and it now happens that, “for one reader of
to an empty mind. Many who read the Scrip
Byrom’s metrical theosophy, there have been, and
tures are grossly ignorant, but he who acts well is'
there are, thousands of Tim Bobbin’s ‘ Tummus
a truly learned man.” And from the Chinese:—
and. Meary.’” Since then Lancashiremen have
“ Words are the key of the heart. A little im
cultivated verse and prose in the vernacular of the
patience causes great trouble. Riches adorn a
County Palatine till now we reckon them, not by
house, but virtue adorns the person. ” And from
twos or threes, but by dozens, with Edwin Waugh,
the Persian :—“ All nations and languages repeat
still living, at their head. This poet has himself
the name of God. Yet cannot His praise be duly
written a memoir of Collier, and corrected some
expressed by mortal till the dumb man shall be
errors in Baines’s Flistory of Lancashire concerning
eloquent, the stocks and stones find a voice ; and,
this worthy. It would, perhaps, have been as
the silent universe rejoices in language.” Might
well had Mr. Espinasse omitted Booth from his
they not have been written by David or Solomon ?
list, and, instead, have included some of the
Side by side with such extracts from ancient
county’s later versifiers. Booth was certainly of
writers we have quotations from the Old and New
Lancashire parentage; but he can hardly be
Testament, so arranged, by simple omission of
esteemed as one of Lancashire’s worthies. Dean
extraneous sentences, as to present a sequence of
Stanley has reminded us that the surname of this
idea and language very easy to follow and under
actor has acquired a fatal celebrity ; but we think
stand. The extracts, though all of a moral cha- i
it has elsewhere been stated that Wilks Booth, the
racter, are, however, by no means confined to the I
assassin of President Lincoln, is not a descendant
religious scriptures of the ancients. Many a quaint
of the Booth who created the part of Cato in
apothegm and amusing fact find their way into this
Addison s now forgotten tragedy. It would be
Anthology. Here is one from the Persian :—
easy to find fault with many of Mr. Espinasse’s
“ The philosophers of India once possessed a book
statements respecting the Arkwrights,the Stanleys,
so large that it required a thousand camels to bear
and others—for nothing is easier than fault-finding
it. A king desired to have it abridged, and it
but we prefer to take his book as it stands, and
was reduced so that it could be carried by a hun
to pronounce it a painstaking, entertaining, and
dred camels. Others demanded that it should be
well-written production ; only too brief in that it
still more diminished, until at last it was reduced
omits the mention of many worthies—the later
to four maxims. The first bade kings to be just;
dialect pdets, the manufacturers, and the merchant
the second prescribed obedience to the people; '
pnnces especially — whom Lancashiremen are
the third recommended men not to eat except
proud to honour and unwilling to forget.
when they were hungry ; and the fourth advised
Sacred Anthology: A Book of Ethnical Scrip
women to be modest.” Here is another quoted
tures. Collected and Edited by Moncure Daniel
from Sir William Jones’s Persian Fables:—“A ,
Conway. (Triibner.)—Prefacing his works by an
raindrop fell into the sea.
‘ I am lost! ’ it
aphorism from Hesiod,—“ The utterances of many
cried; ‘ what am I in such a sea? ’ Into the shell i
peoples do not whollyperish: nay, they are the voice
of a gaping oyster it fell, and there became a j
of God ”—Mr. Conway proceeds to describe the
beauteous pearl. Humility creates the worth it i
purpose of his book as simply moral. There was
underrates.” With the following from the Scan- I
no necessity, however, to quote the Greek poet
dinavian we must close our extracts
“ There j
by way of either justification or apology; for a
was once a giantess who had a daughter ; and this '
very slight examination of the volume will show
child saw a husbandman ploughing in the field. •
�I he Bookseller, L'et. 3>■fs®’ -— r—'———- —- —
undulation; this is very-necessary to be well
She ran and picked him up with her finger and
apprehended, and, when, properly understood| wi 11
thumb, and put hinr and his plough and his oxen
smooth
way fqr much that follows, in the
into her apron, and carried him to her mother.
‘ Mother,’ said she, ‘ what sort of a beetle is this ; lecture on the “ interference of light,” and ‘‘dif
fraction. ” It was Dr. Young who finally placed
I have found wriggling on the land ? ’ But the
mother said, ‘ Child, go put it on the place where . the qndulatory theory of light on a firm and
enduring foundation, notwithstanding, the severe
thou hast found it. We must be gone out of this
strictures passed on his writings by Lord Broug
land, for these little people will dwell in it.’ ”
ham, in the Edinburgh Review of that day. These
The late Prince Jyonsoft happily versified this
criticisms are worth reading, at this time (now
gMttle fable under the title of \
'
that all which Young wrote has been proved
THE TOY OF THE GIANT'S CHILD,
as showing how much the Doctor was in advance:'
BUBl'tle. giant’s daughter once came forth the castle gate
of his time. In his fourth lecture the Professor ex
before,
plains the cause of the beautiful blue of our
.. And played with all a child’s delight before her father’s
door;
summer skies; an observed fact which it had long'
Then sauntering down the precipice, the girl would
puzzled philosophers to account for; and goes on
Mr2 gladly go,
:
.
to show how artificial skies may be produced, and
MToBge, kierehance. how matters went in the little world
their identity with the natural one proved beyond
below.
. AnSi^l^he gazed, in wonder lost, on all the scenes around,
doubt; that is, as regards the blue colour, namelyj
I She saw a peasant at her feet a-tilling of the ground.
the presence of scattered particles in our atmo
‘ O pretty plaything,’ cried the child, ‘ I'll take thee home
sphere, small by comparison with the ether waves.
with me.'
.
Therfivith her infant hand she spread her kerchief on her
To read these lectures, illustrated by diagrams,
■knee,
instead of listening to the Professor himself, illus
And cradling man and horse and plough so gently on her
trating with all his perfect experimental appliances,
' arm,
She lio re them home quite cautiously, afraid to do them . would, perhaps, be dull by comparison; but ii,SdB
harm.
happens, in this case, that there are very few of
‘See, father! dearest father ! what a plaything I have
the experiments recorded in the book that could
found !
not be performed, sufficiently well for the purposes
‘ I never saw so fair a thing on all our mountain ground !’
But the father looked quite seriously, and shaking slow
of study, by an ingenious student, without any ex
ik’
Ulis head,
pensive apparatus: and although a principle may
* jjyfetlhast thou brought me here, my girl? This is no
be well apprehended by the mind, the exacttoy,’ he said.
Q ‘ Go take it to the vale again, and put it down below ;
agreement of experiment with theory always
The peasant is no plaything, child ! how could’st thou
serves to fix more vividly the truth of the law,
think him so ?
and should always be resorted to where possible.
So ga, without a sigh or sob, and do my will,’ he said ;
The student who reads the text of these lectures, I
* For,know, without the peasant, child, we none of us had
Bi bread.
and makes for himself the experiments, will have
’Tis from the peasant’s hardy stock the race of giants are—
a very good knowledge of the nature and proper
The pedant is no plaything, girl; and God forbid he
ties of light.
were'.’ ”
At Nightfall and Midnight: Musings after
The poem, we think, is longer; but we quote
Dark. By Francis Jacox. (Hodder and Stough
from memory enough of it to show how closely
ton.)—Intelligent, earnest, and indefatigable are
Prince Albert followed the original fable. Many
the terms by which we may characterise the
other equally pleasant and instructive Moralities
authorship of Mr. Jacox. He is evidently an in
will be found in Mr. Conway’s “ Sacred Anthodustrious reader and a judicious annotator of his
logyr which, with its index, list of authorities,
literature of the hour. We gather much from the j
explanatory notes, and chronological memoranda,
work. He does not appear to have a very exten
is as complete and entertaining a volume as one
sive acquaintance with what are called out-of-thewould wish to read.
way books, but every volume he reads he reads
Air Lectures on Light, delivered in America,
thoroughly. Hence, when he undertakes to make
1872-1873, by John Tyndall, LL.D., F.R.S.
a collection of elegant extracts on any special topic,
(Longman and Co.)—Readers who take up this,
we are satisfied that, as in this instance, the work
Dr. Tyndall’s latest volume, will recognize in it the
will be thoroughly and conscientiously performed,
same forcible style, and apt illustration, which
and the result a really interesting and useful comB
was so conspicuous in the same author’s “ Heat
pilation. It is not every reader who has leisure,
as a Mode of Motion.” Beginning with the most
ability, or taste to select for himself choice passages
elementary ideas concerning the properties of light,
from his favourite authors, much less method
these lectures take the student by easy steps
enough to classify and properly arrange them ; but
through all the phenomena presented by beams of
for most readers such a collection, when intelli
mght’under varying conditions ; some of them
gently made, possesses an indescribable charm. In
very complex, and difficult to make clear to the
uninitiated. It seems strange to us, now, that 1 his present volume Mr. Jacox tells us what the
poets and essayists have said about twilight and
such a mind as Newton’s should have failed to
midnight; how they and their friends have mused
hbfn^cia'te the undnlatory theory of light, and
in the sunset and the gloaming, rejoiced in the
^rayganaintained against it the corpuscular, which,
warm cozy room with the shutters closed and. the
although it was competent to account for nearly
curtains drawn ; Sat absorbed and watched the
,,all the phenomena observed, yet required the
faces in the fire ; found food for contemplatioiSn
invention’of some new principle every time that
the shadows on the wall; consolation or terror
teameJnMiv discovered fact presented itself for
explanation. On the other hand, the undulatory
from the dreams of night. Taking a character
from Dickens, Thackeray, or Bulwer, he shows what
theory, pure and simple,leaves nothing unaccounted
such a man or woman might have thought or said
for, and has, even by Theoretical considerations
only, led to the prediction of certain phenomena
or done under peculiar circumstances, and then
not previojjslyftpjjs^fved ; but which, on experi gives a few judiciously-made extracts to show what
they did think, say, or do. In other chapters he
ment,- were found to yield results exactly agreeing
withthos^B^juirM by the theory. The Professor
tells us of the last words and the last looks of the
dying, the thoughts of the sleepless, the nocturnal
has been very careful to explain, with great
feniwmimSM'vmwj should be understood by an
wanderings of the restless, the terrors of the
�imaginative, the studies of the aged, the dead
friends who visit us in the dark, and the night
"tho'^ghts, fears, and fancies ,of poetg and j^gilar *
[writers,'—n^^iy
of bald .and detached pa£sages, but strung together by a graceful thread of
pleasant and'appreciative comment. Mr. Jacox’s
last volume is an agreeable and appropriate com- .
panrontohis previously published, books, and, like
his “Traits of Character ” and “Aspects of Authorship,” will be received with a warm welcome by
all sorts of readers.
Contemporary English Psychology. Translated
from theFrench of Th. Ribot. (Henry S. King and
Co.)—We are not quite satisfied that Psychology
is the right word under which to describe the
writings of Messrs. John Stuart Mill, Herbert
Spencer, George Henry Lewes, and the rest of the
Philosophers named in this volume. Would the
once popular member for Westminster have so
employed it? Did he ever discourse upon the
soul ? Has he not in his Autobiography almost
said that he had no belief in souls ? Are not the
principles professed by Mr. Mill and his followers
just a trifle too hard and practical for any dealings
^with the poetical Psyche? Mental philosophy,
free-will, metaphysics, anything but the soulscience, would seem nearer and more applicable to
Mr. Mill’s philosophy. These questions apart,
however, there is much in M. Ribot’s treatise
that will compel attention. Beginning with an
inquiry into the origin of philosophy, the essayist
Eiscusses the association of ideas, the science of
character, the law of intelligence, the growth of
voluntary power, and other characteristics of
the sensations, the senses, and the will; thence
he proceeds to the history of philosophy and
the theories adopted by the ancients and
moderns, from Plato to Hobbes, and thence to
the present time; discussing, as he goes on, the
science of languages, of morals, and the meta
physical doctrines upheld by Descartes and the
rest; of idealism and realism, motive and resolu
tion, perception and imagination, consciousness
and causality, logic and ethology, the reasoning
powers, the appetites, and the instincts, conclud
ing with the dictum that pyschology can be and
ought to be a distinct science; that the word
“ liberty” must be expunged from it—as an inexact
term, and serving only to create confusion—and
“aptitude” substituted for it, as all voluntary facts
are subject to the universal law of causality.
Though a little too profound for the general reader,
this treatise will fitly take its place in Messrs.
Henry S. King’s “International Scientific Series,”
beside the “ Mind and Body” of Professor Bain.
Toilers- and Spinsters-; and other Essays. By
Miss Thackeray. (Smith and Elder.) — Very
cheerful and pleasant reading are these Essays,
collected from the .Cornhill and the Pall Mall,
where they have been accepted as the opinions of
a really earnest and practical writer.
Miss
Thackeray’s first paper, which gives its name to
the. volume, shows that, contrary to the common
notion, old maids need not be melancholy, pining,
restless women, but that there are for them many
and varied spheres of usefulness, which the
majority of the sisterhood are only too glad and
ready to fulfil. Again, in “ Little Scholars” we
see how poor gutter-children are fed and taught by
energetic and well-meaning ladies—the feeding
generally more efficacious than the teaching. In
like manner we have bright pictures of Country
Sundays, Easter Holidays, and New Flowers, with
gossips about Jane Austen’s tales, Five O’clock I
Teas, Books of Autographs, and the contrasts
between the earlier and later heroines of popular |
fiction—-all charmingly penSM in th" manner,
though not consciously imitated, so familiar to
everybody in “ Pendennis ” and the “ Newcomes. ”
Diamonds and Precious (Stones: A Popular
Account of Gems. Containing their history, their
distinctive properties, ancMal description of the
most famous ; gem-cutting, and engraving, and the
artificial production of real and counterfeit jewels.
From the French of Louis Dieulafait, Professor,
of Physics. Illustrated by 126 Engravings on
Wood. (Blackie and Son. ^-From time imme
morial, diamonds and precious stones have had a
peculiar and wonderful fascination for all sorts of
people. They have a history and literature of
their own. Though nowr used simply as ornaments,
they w’ere formerly supposed to possess medicinal
and spiritual powers of remarkable potency : by
their aid diseases were cured, calamities averted,
and the demons of earth, air, and sea set at
defiance. In the dim half-knowledge of the
ancients, the alliance between religion and science
was close and intimate ; every part of man’s body
was believed to have a corresponding part in the
world of nature, and thus it was that gems came
to be regarded as having a real and abiding influ
ence upon the actions of mankind and the fate of
the soul. These notions, born in the East, travelled
through Egypt to Greece and Rome, and ulti
mately permeated the whole civilized world. So
it might be possible, says Babinet, to follow the
history of gems through that of humanity ; from
the Ephod of Aaron to the Pastoral Cross of the
Archbishop of Paris ; from the offerings of rubies,
sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds, in the temples
of Jupiter, to the riches accumulated in what in
the sixteenth century was called the Treasury of
Christian Churches. Mythology, sculpture, and
ballad history are full of references to precious
stones and their symbolic value ; and in the astro
logical formularies that preceded modern chemistry
we find special virtues attributed to the emerald,
the sapphire, and many other scarce and brilliant
gems. All this, and much more, is related in
Mons. Dieulafait’s interesting little volume. The
origin, history, modes of cleaving, cutting, polish
ing, and setting all kinds of gems are given in
perspicuous detail, together with explanations
respecting the manufacture of artificial jewels and
means of distinguishing the true from the false ;
the whole amply illustrated with carefully engraved
woodcuts, and forming a popular treatise on a sub
ject which has undoubted claims to consideration.
Master-Spirits. By Robert Buchanan. (Henry
S. King and Co.)—Justifying his title by a quotation
from Milton—“ Good books are like the precious
life-blood of master-spirits ”—Mr. Buchanan has
reprinted some of his contributions to the “ Fort
nightly,” the “Contemporary,” and other perio
dicals, and asks the indulgence of the reader for
any verbal blunders they may contain, on the
valid plea that the state of his health “ does not
permit the laborious verification of quotations.”
We greatly regret that, as in the only chapter we
have read—and read, we may add, with consider
able pleasure—on the “Good Genie of Fiction,”
there are several statements that, with the later
knowledge we all possess of Dickens’s works,
might have been advantageously modified. But
this apart, who is there unwilling to read what a
clever writer may say of* Tennyson, Browning,
Victor Hugo, and De Musset—to say nothing of
what he has to tell us of George Heath and other
obscure poets ? Admirers of Mr. Buchanan—
and we presume they are many, despite Mr. Swin
burne—will accept this reprint thankfully. It is
a handsome and acceptable volume.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
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Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Sacred Anthology
Description
An account of the resource
Place of Publication: London
Collation: 92-93 p. ; 23 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. A review, by an unnamed reviewer, of Moncure Conway's work 'The Sacred Anthology' from 'The Bookseller', February 3, 1874. Printed in double columns.
Publisher
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The Bookseller
Date
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1874
Identifier
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G5599
Subject
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Book reviews
Creator
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[Unknown]
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (The Sacred Anthology), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Book Reviews
Conway Tracts
Moncure Conway
Oriental Literature
Sacred Books
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
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Pamphlet
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
[The Sacred Anthology]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 2 leaves; 20 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Handwritten review by unknown hand of Moncure Conway's work 'The Sacred Anthology' from Pall Mall Gazette, February 17th 1874.
Publisher
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[s.n.]
Date
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[1874?]
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G5596
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Book reviews
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[Unknown]
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work ([The Sacred Anthology]), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
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Text
Language
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English
Book Reviews
Conway Tracts
Oriental Literature
Sacred Books
-
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PDF Text
Text
FROM “THE ACADEMY,” OCTOBER 33st, 1874.
B The Sacred Anthology.”
A Book of Ethnical Scriptures, collected and edited by M-. D. Conway.
London : Triibner & Co., 18.74. 12s.
This book shows what may be achieved by enthusiasm and perseverance. Mr. Conway tells us that
he is not an Oriental scholar, but he has given us what no Oriental scholar has yet given to the world,
though for many years the world has been expecting and demanding something like a Sacred Anthology,
viz., Bcollection of the most important passages from the sacred writings of the East, translated into
■EnfLWh. As Oriental scholars shrank from the undertaking, Mr. Conway set to work, collecting all the
translations which he could find ready to hand, and extracting from them whatever seemed to him of real
valuqH
*
*
*
But Mr. Conway was not dismayed by these difficulties. He knew
what he could, and what he could not do, and by limiting the scope of his undertaking, and giving to his
collection a purely practical character, he has certainly succeeded in accomplishing a useful and important
task. 1 ®‘e believed,” as he tells us, “that it would be useful for moral and religious culture if the sympathy of religions could be more generally made known, and the converging testimonies of ages and races
to great principles more widely appreciated.” If we may judge by the rapid succession of editions, Mr.
Conway has certainly roused by his Sacred Anthology a wide interest in a subject hitherto strSigely
neglected, and he will have rendered an important service, if it were only by dispelling some prejudices
most detrimental to a true appreciation of the value of all religions.
Those who study the history of the human race in all its various phases, from the lowest savagery to
the highest civilisation, know that neither in the most perfect work of discursive thought, nor in the
grandest achievements of creative art, has the human mind put forth all its powers in greater force or
fulness than in religion. We are, from our very childhood, so familiar with the highest religious concep
tions, that it is difficult for us to appreciate the mental struggles by which they were conquered and
secured for us. We forget that the simplest conception of the Divine requires an almost superhuman
effort, and was therefore among most nations ascribed to a divine revelation. We forget that every name
.of the Deity was the reward of more than one sleepless night at Peniel, and that even in a prayer, such
,as the Gayatri, are hoarded up the scant earnings of the patient labours oi many generations. That
.tribes, even in the lowest scale of civilisation, should address a Being whom they have never seen, as their
Father, that they should never for one moment doubt his existence, should regulate their lives by what
they suppose to be his will, should actually offer to him what they value most on earth, may no longer
strike us as extraordinary, but in itself it is more marvellous than anything else in the whole of human
nature.
And what is more marvellous still, is the striking uniformity with which that power of religion has
manifested itself almost everywhere. There are differences, no”doubt, and profound differences between
.the religions of the world, but the similarities far outweigh these differences. Let readers open Mr.
Conway’s Anthology, without looking at the references, and they will find it by no means easy to say
whether any given extract comes from a Jewish, a Mohammedan, or a Hindu source. Mr. Conway has
arranged his extracts according to subjects. We find passages on Charity, Nature, Man, Humility,
Sorrow and Death placed together, and these passages are taken promiscuously from all the sacred books
of the world. No doubt we at once recognise the extracts from the Old and New Testaments, particularly
when they are given in the authorised version ; but even these, if translated more literally or more freely,
might often be supposed to be taken from the Buddhist Canon orfrom the Chinese King. The same
sentiments, sometimes in almost the same words, occur again .and again in all the sacred books of the
world. * * *
It is hardly surprising that a perusal of Mr. ConwaySacred Anthology should have left on many
.readers the impression of the great superiority of the Biblical extracts, if compared with the rest. The
fact is, that what we call the beauty or charm of any of the sacred books can be appreciated by those only
whose language has been fashioned, whose very thoughts have been nurtured by them. The words of our
own Bible cause innumerable strings of our hearts to vibrate till-they make a music of memories that
passes all description. The same inaudible music accompanies all sacred books, but it can never be
rendered in any translation. To the Arab there is nothing equal to the cadence of the Koran, to us even
the best translation of Mohammed’s visions sounds often dull and dreary. This cannot be helped, but it
is but fair that it should be borne in mind as a caution againsWeclaring too emphatically that nobody
else’s mother can ever be so fair and dear as our own.
One of the most eminent Oriental scholars expressed the following judgment as to the relative merits
of the Sacred Scriptures of the world :—
“ The collection of tracts, which we call from their excellence the Scriptures, contain, independently
■of a Divine origin, more true sublimity, more exquisite beauty, purer morality, more important historv,
and finer strains both of poetry and eloquence, than could be collected, within the same compass, from all
other books that were ever composed in any age, or in any idiom. The two parts of which Scriptures
consist are connected by a chain of compositions which bear no resemblance in form or style to any that
can be produced from the stores of Grecian, Indian, Persian, or even Arabian learning ; the antiquity of
those compositions no man doubts ; and the unstrained application of them to events long subsequent to
their publication, is a solid ground of belief that they were genuine compositions, and consequently
inspired.”
Would any Oriental scholar endorse this judgment now?
We have intentionally abstained from all critical remarks with regard to.the translation of single
passages. Such remarks might be addressed to the translators, but not to Mr. Conway. He deserves
our hearty thanks for the trouble he has taken in collecting these gems, and stringing them together for
the use of those who have no access to the originals, and we trust that his book will arouse a more general
interest in a long-neglected and even despised branch of literature, the Sacred Books of the East.
MAX MULLER.
Other works by the same Author.
“The Earthward Pilgrimage.” Chatto and Windus. 5s.
“Republican Superstitions.” H. S. King and Co. 2s. fid.
Mr. Conway’s works may be obtained by addressing “ The Librarian, South Place Chapel, Finsbury,
London,” where also may be obtained his Pamphlets on W. J. Fox (3d.); Strauss (3<l.); Mill (2d.) ■
Sterling and Maurice (2d.) ; and Mazzini (Id.).
�
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Title
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Victorian Blogging
Description
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
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Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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The Sacred Anthology
Creator
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Muller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)
Description
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Place of Publication: London
Collation: 1 leaf unnumbered ; 23 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. A review of Moncure Conway's work 'The Sacred Anthology' from 'The Academy', October 31, 1874
Publisher
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[s.n.]
Date
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[1874]
Identifier
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G5597
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (The Sacred Anthology), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
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English
Subject
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Book reviews
Book Reviews
Conway Tracts
Moncure Conway
Oriental Literature
Sacred Books