Showing results by narrator "Denis Daly" in All Categories

Joseph McCabe's study of papal history is unusual in that he takes a hostile view of the Roman Catholic Church in general, and of the papacy in particular. Raised as a Catholic, McCabe was ordained as a Franciscan priest in 1890, but by 1897 had abandoned both the priesthood and the Catholic faith and was in the process of establishing himself as an ardent secularist. He published over 200 books, many of which were critiques of the history and contemporary activities of the Catholic Church.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the adopted son of the Emperor Antoninus Pius and ruled from 161 to 180. His Meditations or "discourses with himself" were written in Greek between 170 CE and 180 CE, mostly while he was on military campaigns. Jeremy Collier's translation, while lacking the accuracy of the more famous translation by George Long, has a particular verve and color, imparting a vigor that is often lacking in the original text.

Socrates, perhaps the most famous philosopher of the ancient world, left no writings. The method of philosophical investigation for which he is celebrated has come down to us in the form of dialogues, composed by his student, Plato. The four dialogues in this collection are known by the names of the chief characters in each: Lysis, Charmides, Laches, and Euthyphro. As they fall into a more or less natural group due to the fact that each one deals with a single ethical abstract—friendship, temperance, courage, and piety, respectively—they have been renamed based on their subjects.

The turn of the 20th century saw radical developments in all art forms and particularly in poetry. The first volume of this series features the work of nine significant poets whose careers cover the period from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

Asoka, who reigned from 268 to 232 BC, was the most famous emperor of the Maurya Dynasty, which was the ruling clan of the Indian subcontinent from 321 BC to 185 BC. He was one of the most famous early converts to Buddhism and became one of its greatest evangelists. Today Asoka has a twofold interest for us: political and religious. The illustrious member of the great dynasty, of which he was the most celebrated representative, has left indelible traces of its achievements in Indian history. Moreover, he was the leader of a spiritual movement that spread rapidly throughout the East.

Andrea Del Sarto (1836 - 1530) was a Florentine painter whose career flourished during the High Renaissance. In this dramatic monologue, "the faultless painter" (Andrea Senza Errori, as he was surnamed by the Italians) is the speaker. He addresses his unsympathetic wife, Lucrezia, upon whom he dotes, and for whom he has broken faith with his royal patron, Francis I of France so that he can meet the expenses of her indulgent lifestyle. He laments that he has not realized the possibilities of his genius, partly blaming and partly excusing the woman who has failed to support his high ideals.

This short text is widely accepted as one of the canonical wisdom books of the Bible. It is narrated by one who calls himself a teacher, and also a king, traditionally held to be Solomon. The general recommendation is that the wise man should consider all created things as symbols of vanity and that one's prime concern should be to avoid offending God. As with the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, commentators have been arguing for centuries about the true philosophical orientation of the author. View range from the advocacy of a radical nihilism to the recommendation of a stringent and unwavering piety.

William Wordsworth belonged to a chosen band of poets for whom poetry was a priesthood, displayed in his unerring devotion to his art. He nourished his unique poetic gift by daily intimacy with Nature. It is Wordworth’s peculiar achievement to reveal the impulses at work behind the outward beauty of Nature, and to manifest its sustaining influence upon the spirit of man.

This is the first of Tennyson's poems to be based on Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur. The first draft was composed in 1834, and the finished work was published in Poems (1842). Later Tennyson incorporated the poem into the Idylls of the King (1870) under the title of "The Passing of Arthur". The narrative of this poem was drawn from the third, fourth, and fifth chapters of the 21st book of Thomas Malory's romance.

Passion and intrigue among the upper classes form the basis of Lady Windermere's Fan, Oscar Wilde's first successful play, which displays his trademark wit and wisdom. Beautiful and innocent Lady Windermere finds out that her husband has been keeping company with the scandalous and mysterious Mrs. Erlynne. Her discovery unleashes a host of tensions at her 21st birthday party, where London's elite have gathered to gossip.

Although unfamiliar with the Persian language, the eminent English poet and critic Richard le Gallienne had a profound interest in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. In 1901 he published a collection of 261 quatrains, which was based on earlier English translations, in particular the prose version by Justin Huntly McCarthy. In his introduction, Le Gallienne suggests that his ignorance of Persian was in fact an advantage as it allowed him to focus on producing good poetry rather than merely an accurate translation.

Nearly all Michael Angelo's sonnets express personal feelings, and by far the greater number of them were composed after his 60th year. To whom they were addressed, we only know in a few instances. Nothing is more clear than that Michael Angelo worshiped Beauty in the Platonic spirit, passing beyond its personal and specific manifestations to the universal and impersonal.

Carlo Collodi's whimsical recasting of the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea was first published in 1883 and has since become an established classic of children's literature. Geppetto, a poor wood carver, receives a piece of wood from which he carves a marionette. Much to his surprise, the puppet springs to life and embarks on a wild series of adventures.

Northanger Abbey is one of Jane Austen’s first novels, though it was not published until after her death, and contains some of her most biting satire. Catherine Morland, the novel’s naive and provincial heroine, has formed her idea of the world from Gothic novels, full of gloomy Italian castles, long-kept secrets, and dastardly villains. However, when she travels to the city of Bath and encounters a wider society, she will discover that all her reading has ill-prepared her for the real world.

This short work is one of the first great classics of self-help literature, and has never been out of print since it was first published in 1902. Allen's main thesis is that thought is not just a vehicle for comprehending and explaining the world, but is also the prime mechanism for creating and changing human experience. While Allen's views may remain controversial, a vast audience has found his work greatly inspiring. A new recording of one of the most revered self-help classics narrated by Denis Daly.

It cannot be said of this book that James Allen wrote it at any particular time or in any one year, for he was engaged in it over many years and those who have eyes to see and hearts to understand will find in its pages the spiritual history of his life. It was his own wish that The Divine Companion should be the last MS of his to be published.

This meditation on artistic creativity was written during the latter months of 1815, during a sojourn on the border of Windsor Forest. Critics have concurred in the opinion that the anonymous hero of the poem is Shelley himself, who feared that he too would become an "inheritor of unfulfilled renown". Today, the poem is considered to be the first major work of Shelley's maturity.

This enigmatic scripture is attributed to the mysterious sage Lao Tze, who is believed to have lived in the sixth century BCE. In the present translation by religious scholar Paul Carus, the title is presented as The Canon of Reason and Virtue, and in the body of the text Carus renders the word usually translated as “Tao” as “reason.” This book is an extract from the author’s larger work, Lao-Tze’s Tao Teh King. The latter contained an historical introduction, the Chinese text, a transliteration, explanatory notes and an index, including the Chinese terms.

Although his output was small, John of the Cross (1542 - 1591) is considered one of the most important figures in Spanish poetry. All his verses explore the same theme: the search of the soul for union with its creator and the glory of the resulting "mystical marriage". This selection of 20 poems opens with his most famous poem, "The Obscure Night of the Soul" and concludes with a free translation of "Psalm 137 (By the Waters of Babylon)".

Many masters employed the form of the sonnet, including Petrarch, Spenser, Shakespeare, Keats, and Robert Bridges. However, the most celebrated, and oft quoted, examples are to be found in the collection by Shakespeare, first published in 1609. In the 154 poems, Shakespeare surveys and dissects the subject of love in all its guises, and its relationship with youth, age, illness, death, and memory.