The Worlds Greatest Books - Volume 13

The World's Greatest Books - Volume 13
- Religion and Philosophy

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Title: The Worlds Greatest Books, Volume XIII. Religion and Philosophy
Author: Various
Release Date: October 7, 2004 [EBook #13620]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS
JOINT EDITORS
ARTHUR MEE
J.A. HAMMERTON

VOL. XIII RELIGION PHILOSOPHY
Copyright, MCMX MCKINLAY, STOKE & MACKEKZU
* * * * *

TABLE OF CONTENTS
RELIGION
APOCRYPHA
AUGUSTINE, ST. City of God
BAXTER, RICHARD Saints' Everlasting Rest
BOOK OF THE DEAD
BRAHMANISM, BOOKS OF

BROWNE, SIR THOMAS Religio Medici
CALVIN, JOHN Institution of the Christian Religion
COLERIDGE, S.T. Aids to Reflection
CONFUCIANISM
FÉNELON Existence of God
GALILEO GALILEI Authority of Scripture
HEGEL, G.W.F. Philosophy of Religion
HINDUISM, BOOKS OF
KEMPIS, THOMAS À Imitation of Christ
KORAN
NEWMAN, CARDINAL Apologia pro Vitâ Sua
PAINE, THOMAS Age of Reason
PASCAL, BLAISE Letters to a Provincial
PENN, WILLIAM Some Fruits of Solitude
RENAN, ERNEST Life of Jesus
SWEDENBORG, EMANUEL Heaven and Hell
TALMUD
ZOROASTRIANISM
PHILOSOPHY
ARISTOTLE Ethics
AURELIUS, MARCUS Discourses with Himself
BACON, FRANCIS Advancement of Learning
BERKELEY, GEORGE Principles of Human Knowledge
DESCARTES Discourse on Method
EMERSON, RALPH WALDO Nature
EPICTETUS Discourses and Encheiridion
A COMPLETE INDEX OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOOKS WILL BE FOUND
AT THE END OF VOLUME XX.
* * * * *

RELIGION
THE APOCRYPHA
Apocrypha is a Greek word, signifying "secret" or "hidden," but in the sixteenth century
it came to be applied to a list of books contained in the Septuagint, or Greek translation of
the Old Testament, but not in the Palestinian, or Hebrew Canon. Hence, by theological or
bibliographic purists, these books were not regarded as genuine Scripture. That view was
adopted by the early Greek Church, though the Western Church was divided in opinion.
They appeared as a separate section in Coverdale's English Bible in 1538, and in Luther's
German Bible in 1537. The Council of Trent in 1546 admitted them as canonical, except
the First and Second Esdras and the Prayer of Manasses--a view rejected after the
Reformation by Protestants, who recognised only the Palestinian Record as canonical.
The Westminster Confession declared that they were only to be made use of as "human
writings," and the Sixth Article of the Church of England states that they are "to be read
for example of life and instruction of manners, but not to establish doctrine." As the result
of a violent controversy in Scotland and America between 1825 and 1827, the Apocrypha
was deleted from the copies of the Holy Scriptures issued by the British and Foreign

Bible Society. The controversy was revived in 1862 when a quotation was engraved on
the Prince Consort's Memorial in Kensington Gardens from the Wisdom of Solomon:
"He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time. For his soul pleased the
Lord: Therefore hasted He to take him away from among the wicked." All the books bear
evidence of having been written long after the date to which they are ascribed.
FIRST ESDRAS
And Josias held the feast of the Passover in Jerusalem unto his Lord, the 14th day of the
first month of the 18th year of his reign, and ordered the Levites, the holy ministers of
Israel, to hallow themselves unto the Lord, and set the Holy Ark of the Lord in the house
that King Solomon had built. And there were offered in sacrifices to the Lord on the altar
37,600 lambs and kids, and 4,300 calves. And they roasted the Passover with fire: as for
the sacrifices, they sod them in brass pots and pans with a good savour, and set them
before all the people. And such a Passover was not kept in Israel since the time of the
Prophet Samuel. And the works of Josias were upright before his Lord with an heart full
of godliness.
Now, after all these acts of Josias, it came to pass that Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, came
to raise war at Carchamis upon Euphrates; and Josias, not regarding the words of the
Prophet Jeremy, spoken by the mouth of the Lord, went out against him and joined battle
with him in the plain of Magiddo. Then said the king unto his servants: Carry me away
out of the battle; for I am very weak. And being brought back to Jerusalem