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Список книг автора Группа авторовThe Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage
Around the turn of the century, when Aleister Crowley was working out his system of Magick, the source that he turned to for basics was the system of Abramelin of Egypt. From Abramelin he took his concepts of protections, purifications, evocations, vestments, and dromena down to specific details.This system of Abramelin the Mage is known from a unique fifteenth century manuscript preserved in the Bibliothèque de L'Arsenal in Paris. In it, Abraham of Würzburg, a cabalist and connoisseur of magics, describes a tour that he made of the then civilized world, visiting sorcerers, magicians, and cabalists, estimating their powers and virtues. This quest is in itself as fascinating as the similar tours of Gurdjieff.The high point of Abraham's travels was found in a small town on the banks of the Nile, where he encountered the great magician Abramelin, whose complete system Abraham thereupon sets out in detail. This amounts to a complete course in ceremonial magic (both white and black), which the student can pursue by himself.Abramelin, whose system is based mostly on Hellenistic theurgy of the Iamblichan sort, but with Jewish increments from the Cabala, explains the qualifications needed to become a magician, purifications, and asceticisms to be practiced month by month, studies and activities permitted during this period, selection of place and time for working magic, equipment needed, prayers and formulas, evocation of good and evil spirits, commanding spirits to do one's will, overcoming rebellious spirits, and similar material. Specific instructions are offered to develop such powers as clairvoyance, divining metals and treasures, warding off evil magic, healing illness, levitation, transportation, rendering oneself invisible, creating illusions and glamour, reading minds, placing compulsions, working black magic, and a host of other abilities.We do not guarantee that Abramelin's techniques work, nor that the results are desirable, but we offer this as a genuine medieval course in magic, one of the most important books in the history of occultism. It is of paramount importance to both the historian and the practitioner.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Abundant with imperiled princesses, sorcerers both kind and evil, anthropomorphic animals, otherworldly ghosts, and more engaging characters, this captivating collection of yarns from ancient China offers 73 spellbinding stories. Glowing with timeless myths and legends, the tales have been carefully arranged as «Nursery Fairy Tales,» «Legends of the Gods,» «Tales of Saints and Magicians,» «Nature and Animal Tales,» «Ghost Stories,» «Historic Legends,» and «Literary Fairy Tales.»Selected from original Far Eastern sources and presented here in modern translations by Frederick H. Martens, these magical narratives will strike familiar chords with all readers . . . yet they remain uniquely Chinese, and simply wonderful!
French Stories/Contes Francais
"The selections are good and the translations are excellent." ― Germaine Brée, New York UniversityDrawn from two centuries of French literature, these superb selections by ten great writers span a wide variety of styles, philosophies, and literary creeds. The stories reflect not only the beliefs of various literary schools, but the preoccupations of French civilization, at the various times of their composition, with the metaphysical and psychological problems of man. Contents include Micromégas (Voltaire), La Messe de l'Athée (Honoré de Balzac), La Légende de Saint Julien l'Hospitalier (Gustave Flaubert), Le Spleen de Paris (Charles Baudelaire), Menuet (Guy de Maupassant), Mort de Judas (Paul Claudel), Le Retour de l'Enfant Prodigue (André Gide), Grand-Lebrun (François Mauriac), Le Passe-Muraille (Marcel Aymé), and L'Hôte (Albert Camus). Students of French, or those who wish to refresh their knowledge of the language, will welcome this treasury of masterly fiction. The selections are arranged chronologically, allowing the reader to witness the development of French literary art — from Voltaire to Camus. Excellent English translations appear on pages facing the Original French. Also included are a French-English vocabulary list, textural notes, and exercises.
The Confederate Reader
"An excellent anthology, worthy of the imitations it will engender . . . it will go a long way toward illuminating Confederate history." — The New York TimesFor any student of the War Between the States, this treasury of contemporary documents—all but a few written by Southerners — offers a wealth of insight and perspectives on life in the South during the conflict, how newspapers and periodicals covered events, and how Southerners reacted to the disastrous struggle that disrupted their lives and ravaged their homes, farms, and cities. Selections have been arranged in an order that demonstrates the progress of the war, beginning with a South Carolina ordinance to secede from the Union and ending with a final message in 1865 from the last Confederate general to surrender. Relive the day-to-day reality of the War as captured in a rich legacy of written records: official battle reports, general orders, letters, sermons, songs, published articles, novels, and accounts of travel, prison, and conditions of army life. Included are contemporary newspaper accounts of the Battle of Fort Sumter, a stirring address to his soldiers by Jefferson Davis in 1864, a Confederate prisoner's account of life in a Yankee prison, a newspaper report of the sack and destruction of Columbia, South Carolina, a poignant last-ditch attempt by General E. Kirby Smith in 1865 to rally the Trans-Mississippi Army, and many more. A selection of authentic cartoons, sketches, and broadsides from various periods of the War adds a special «you-are-there» flavor to the book. Carefully chosen and annotated by a distinguished authority on the Confederacy, these selections paint a broad and moving picture of the attitudes, emotions, and ideas that motivated and sustained the South during the War. Assembled in this inexpensive paperback edition of The Confederate Reader, they will bring new insight and enlightenment to any Civil War buff or student of American history.
Great German Poems of the Romantic Era
Lyric poetry blossomed in 19th-century Germany under the fertilizing influence of Romanticism with its focus on the primacy of the imagination, worship of nature and childhood, dreaminess and nostalgia and preoccupation with thoughts of night and death. Although strictly defined as flourishing from 1798 to 1835, Romanticism is not timebound and German Romantic poetry was written both before and after these dates. Indeed, the 131 poems in this volume range in date from 1770 to 1903.Collected here are great romantic poems by 23 poets: Goethe, Schiller, Hiilderlin, Novalis, Tieck, Brentano, Ruckert, Heine, Miirike, Storm, Nietzsche, and 12 more. Stanley Appelbaum has provided excellent new literal English translations of the poems on facing pages, along with an informative introduction and concise evaluations of each poet. This is a wonderful opportunity for any student of German or lover of poetry to enjoy a rich sampling from one of the world’s great poetic traditions.
The Cloud of Unknowing
An exploration of the nature of reality, mysticism begins with the individual struggle toward a clear vision and culminates in a transformed consciousness. This marvelous guide to the contemplative life originated with the reflection of an unknown fourteenth-century priest who believed that a «cloud of unknowing» separates people from God. This cloud, he maintained, cannot be penetrated by intellect —only by love.The Cloud of Unknowing offers an approach to contemplative life that finds holiness at a level deeper than physical experience and beyond language or image. The author advises placing all thought and mental imagery behind a metaphorical «cloud of forgetting» while seeking to love the divine. Hidden from the infinite consciousness by a «cloud of unknowing,» divine love can be reached through monologistic prayer — a single-word prayer, like a mantra, that assists in abandoning all extraneous thought. Seekers can thus attain an inner silence, where they may «be still and know the sacred.»The author's spiritual gifts, combined with his humorous and straightforward approach, offer a view of divinity that never loses the common touch. Written in everyday language and edited by a popular authority on mysticism, this venerable work can be understood and appreciated by any reader.
All-Time Favorite Cowboy Stories
A corral of cattle rustlers, outlaws, and other desperadoes ride the range in this bronco-busting anthology of nineteen tales set in the Old West. Spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the diverse stories prove there's no «average» cowboy, but a wide range of rugged individuals. Yet these vividly portrayed characters all seem to possess a sense of freedom, a strong relationship with the land, and a desire to live by their own standards. The result is an action-packed collection that's a feast for anyone smitten by frontier fiction.The roundup is an adventurous mix — from genre favorites Zane Grey and Frederic Remington to unexpected contributions from Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt. There's a romanticized spin from a female author, a unique viewpoint from a former slave, plus a 1902 story by Owen Wister taken from The Virginian, which molded the future of cowboy novels. In «The Caballero's Way» by O. Henry, the Cisco Kid discovers his lady love has strayed into the arms of a scheming ranger — and concocts a devious plan for revenge. In «The Trouble Man» by Eugene Manlove Rhodes, a battle over territory between sheepherders and cattle owners leads to a deadly confrontation. With a short biography of each author, this anthology celebrates the courage and spirit that won the West!
The World's Greatest Short Stories
Wonderfully wide-ranging and enjoyable, this outstanding collection features short stories by great nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers from America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Western Europe. Included are Hemingway's «A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,» in which two waiters and a lonely customer in a Spanish cafe confront the concept of nothingness; «A & P,» John Updike's most anthologized story and one of his most popular; «Borges and I,» typical Jorge Luis Borges — imaginative, philosophical, and mysterious; as well as short masterpieces by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Herman Melville, Thomas Mann, Guy de Maupassant, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, D. H. Lawrence, and ten other great writers.Prime examples of the classic short story, these enduring literary treasures will be invaluable to students and teachers as well as to anyone who appreciates the finely turned tale.
The United States Constitution
The basis of our nation's law and government, the Constitution is America's most important political and social document. This convenient and inexpensive reference contains not only the Constitution's main text and amendments but also a wealth of background information.Supplements include selected «Federalist Papers,» consisting of memoranda by James Madison, the «Father of the Constitution,» as well as speeches by John Jay and Patrick Henry and remarks by Alexander Hamilton. Highlights from the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia include spirited debates on suffrage, executive power, slavery, and other subjects vital to the founding of a nation. In addition, correspondence between the Founding Fathers — including letters from Madison to George Washington and from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson — offers a glimpse at the personalities behind the historic events. Includes 2 selections from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: The United States Bill of Rights and The Preamble and First Amendment to the Unites States Constitution.
When I Was a Slave
In an effort to provide unemployed writers with work during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the United States Government, through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), funded the Federal Writers' Project. One of the group's most noteworthy and enduring achievements was the Slave Narrative Collection, consisting of more than 2,000 transcripts of interviews with former slaves, who, in blunt, simple words, provided often-startling first-person accounts of their lives in bondage. This book reprints some of the most detailed and engrossing life histories in the collection. Each narrative is complete.Thirty-four gripping testimonies are included, with all slave occupations represented — from field hand and cook to French tutor and seamstress. Personal treatment reported by these individuals also encompassed a wide range — from the most harsh and exploitative to living and working conditions that were intimate and benevolent.An illuminating and unique source of information about life in the South before, during, and after the Civil War, these memoirs, most importantly, preserve the opinions and perspective of those who were enslaved. Invaluable to students, teachers, and specialists in Southern history, this compelling book will intrigue anyone interested in the African-American experience.