Lives of alchemystical philosophers based on materials collected in 1815 : and supplemented by recent researches with a philosophical demonstration of the true principles of the magnum opus, or great work of alchemical re-construction, and some account of the spiritual chemistry / by Arthur Edward Waite ; to which is added a bibliography of alchemy and hermetic philosophy.

  • A. E. Waite
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lives of alchemystical philosophers based on materials collected in 1815 : and supplemented by recent researches with a philosophical demonstration of the true principles of the magnum opus, or great work of alchemical re-construction, and some account of the spiritual chemistry / by Arthur Edward Waite ; to which is added a bibliography of alchemy and hermetic philosophy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

    356/368 (page 32)
    perhaps the most pleasant of the remaining essays in the admirable volume, a volume remarkable for knowledge, sympathy, and good taste.—Extracts from a page notice in the Saturday Review, April 24, 1886. This is a very delightful book, full of information and thoughtful suggestions. It deals principally with the Folk-songs of Southern peoples, Venetian, Sicilian, Armenian, Provence, and Greek Songs of Calabria, but there are several essays devoted to the general characteristics of Folk-Poetry, such as the influence of Nature, the Inspiration of Death, the idea of Fate, the numerous songs connected with the rites of May, Folk-Lullabies, and Folk-Dirges. There is also an inte- resting essay on what is called the White Paternoster, and Children's Rhyming Prayers. This is one of the most valuable, and certainly one of the most interesting, books which have been written on a subject which has of late years been exciting an ever-increasing attention, and which involves many important problems con- nected with the early history of the human race.—Standard. 'Folk-Songs,' traditional popular ballads, are as tempting to me as King Charles's head to Mr. Dick. But interesting as the topic of the origin and diffusion and literary merit of these poems may be—poems much the same in all European countries—they are rather caviare to the general. The Countess Martinengo- Cesaresco is, or should be, a well-known authority among special students of this branch of literature, to whom I heartily commend her ' Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs.' The Countess is, perhaps, most familiar with Southern volksleider, as of Greece, Italy, and Sicily. Her book is a treasure-house of Folk-lore of various kinds, and the matter is handled with much poetic appreciation and a good deal of learning.—Daily News. A kind of popular introduction to the study of Folk-lore.—St. James's Gazelle. About 500 pages, crown 8z>o., cloth, price lew. 6d. THE HISTORY OF THE FORTY VEZIRS; or, The Story of the Forty Morns and Eves. Written in Turkish by Sheykh-Zada, and now done into English by E. ]. W. Gieb, M.R.A.S. The interest of this compilation is naturally not to be compared to that aroused by the ever-fresh ' Thousand and One Nights ; ' but it has had high repu- tation among particular admirers, and the gentleman to whom we are indebted for this English version—apparently the most complete in any language of Western Europe—merits the thanks of the reading public for the work performed.— Athenceum. A delightful addition to the wealth of Oriental stories available to English readers is ' The History of the Forty Vezirs ' (Redway), done into English by Mr. E. J. W. Gibb, from the Turkish of Sheykh-Zada. The collection comprises 112 stories. To the forty told by the Lady and those of the forty Vezirs, Mr. Gibb has added four from Belletete, twenty from a MS. in the India Office, six from Dr. Behrnauer's translation, and two from a MS. recently purchased by Mr. Quaritch. The results of collation are admirably summarized in a comparative table that analyzes the contents of the various texts. In the preface Mr. Gibb deals with the bibliography of the French and German versions, and indicates some of the more