1000 Mythological Characters Briefly Described; Adapted to Private Schools, High Schools and Academies

by Edward Sylvester Ellis

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. Excerpt from book: Introduction. There are many expressions which, though simple in themselves, must forever remain beyond the grasp of human comprehension. Eternity, that which has neither end nor beginning, baffles the most profound human thought. It is impossible to think of a point beyond which there is absolutely nothing, or to imagine the passing of a million years without bringing us one day or one minute nearer to their close. Suppose that one could fix upon the terminal point, we would still fancy something beyond that, and then some period still more remote would present itself, and so on textit{ad infinitum. The same insurmountable difficulty confronts us when we seek to imagine a First Cause. God was the beginning, and yet it seems to our finite minds, that somethingmust have brought Him into existence, and we conclude that back again of that creating Power must have been another originating cause, and perhaps stUl another, and so on without limitation. And yet we know that there must have been a period when everything was void, or, in other words, when there was nothing. In the awful grandeur of that loneliness, desolation, and chaos, God we know, however, existed and called the universe into being. All that we, in our present finite condition, can ever comprehend of that stupendous birth is contained in the opening of the first chapter of Genesis. That is the story of the creation as told by God Himself to His chosen people, the Hebrews, they alone being selected from the nations then existing upon the earth to receive the wonderful revelation. Every people, no matter how degraded and sunken in barbarism, has some perception, some explanation of, and a more or less well-grounded belief in, a First Cause. Far back among the mists of antiquity, at theremotest beginnings of the shadowy centuries, sits enthron...

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Reference

40 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1895

About the author

Edward Sylvester Ellis was an American author who was born in Ohio, and died at Cliff Island, Maine. He served as editor of Public Opinion (a daily newspaper), Golden Days and Holiday (both children's magazines). He specialized in boys' stories, inspirational biography, and history for both children and adults. He was a major author during the era of inexpensive fiction of the nineteenth century (dime novels).

Besides books published under his own name, Ellis' work was published under various pseudonyms, including:

Captain James Fenimore Cooper "Bruin" Adams
Boynton M. Belknap
Captain Latham C. Carleton
Capt. R.M. Hawthorne
Lieut. Ned Hunter
Lieut. R.H. Jayne
Captain H.R. Millbank
Billex Muller
Lieut. J.H. Randolph
Seelin Robins
Emerson Rodman
E.A. St. Mox

Reviews

[Mert · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 Stars (%55/100)

The book was first published in the early 19th century. I am pretty sure there were not a lot of books that deal with mythology especially world mythology. I liked the fact that the book also mentions characters from other mythologies such as Egyptian, Indian, and more. However, you can find more information about these characters with a basic internet search. It is still interesting to read about many gods and goddesses. It actually makes you research for more if that certain deity sounds interesting to you. It might be useful to a certain group of people but it is not very detailed. A good book in general.

[zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good source of references regarding mythology, especially Gods/Godesses and mythological creatures.

[ฅ (´ര ̫ ര` ravus ⋆｡˚-⋆｡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

reference source

[Edie Walls · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's exactly what the title says it is - 1000 characters very briefly described.