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Orpheus
Excerpt from Orpheus
Seeing, then, that any essay on the legen dary personality of Orpheus might legiti mately take into its scope the whole theology and mythology of the Greeks, it is evident that the present attempt, which only aims at sketching a rough outline of the subject, will be more exercised in curtailing than in ex panding the mass of heterogeneous information that could be gathered together. No human being could do full justice to the task, for even the courage of the most stout-hearted German encyclopaedist would quail before the libraries of volumes dealing directly or indirectly with the general subject. Of books dealing directly with Orpheus and the Orphies, however, there is no great number.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Seeing, then, that any essay on the legen dary personality of Orpheus might legiti mately take into its scope the whole theology and mythology of the Greeks, it is evident that the present attempt, which only aims at sketching a rough outline of the subject, will be more exercised in curtailing than in ex panding the mass of heterogeneous information that could be gathered together. No human being could do full justice to the task, for even the courage of the most stout-hearted German encyclopaedist would quail before the libraries of volumes dealing directly or indirectly with the general subject. Of books dealing directly with Orpheus and the Orphies, however, there is no great number.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
326 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1999
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About the author
G.R.S. Mead
658 books50 followersGeorge Robert Stowe Mead, who always published under the initialism G.R.S. Mead, was a historian, writer, editor, translator, and an influential member of the Theosophical Society, as well as founder of the Quest Society. His scholarly works dealt mainly with the Hermetic and Gnostic religions of Late Antiquity, and were exhaustive for the time period.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 29, 2009
This book is, as a friend of mine once put it, worth all the tea in China. It presents in an accessible form an outline of the teachings of the semi-mythical Orpheus. That there was such a teacher is hard to dispute, but we know little about him for certain and his life has become wrapped in profound mythology.
His teachings have been gleaned from the so called Orphic Hymns and also other writers in his tradition who commented on his teachings. The inestimable Mead has summarised the teachings in this fairly concise book. There is enormous value in the diagrams that Mead provides. For those for whom the Ancient Wisdom is still seen as having a transcendent truth that is of value today, these diagrams provide wonderful clues and much to think about. Mead's text is not a difficult read and provides much to ponder.
This book should be on any philosophy student's shelf, if they wish to have some insight into the Ancient Mysteries.
His teachings have been gleaned from the so called Orphic Hymns and also other writers in his tradition who commented on his teachings. The inestimable Mead has summarised the teachings in this fairly concise book. There is enormous value in the diagrams that Mead provides. For those for whom the Ancient Wisdom is still seen as having a transcendent truth that is of value today, these diagrams provide wonderful clues and much to think about. Mead's text is not a difficult read and provides much to ponder.
This book should be on any philosophy student's shelf, if they wish to have some insight into the Ancient Mysteries.
March 21, 2015
Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews