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Thomas Cranmer

The finest editions available of the world's greatest classics from Homer to Achebe, Tolstoy to Ishiguro, Proust to Pullman, printed on a fine acid-free, cream-wove paper that will not discolour with age, with sewn, full cloth bindings and silk ribbon markers, and at remarkably low prices. All books include substantial introductions by major scholars and contemporary writers, and comparative chronologies of literary and historical context.

The plays of Shakespeare, the Authorized version of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, all produced in the late 16th/early 17th centuries, are the three dounding texts of the English nation and its language. Not only do they share a beauty and a power of style which have never been equalled: their influence on Anglophone culture remains profound. Originally produced by Archbishop Cranmer and his allies to bolster the Tudor secession from Catholicism, the Pray Book rapidly took on a life of its own. Until the present century, most Anglicans knew long stretches of the text by heart. It invaded the style of 17th-century p oets and even 19th century novelists like George Elliot. It still colours our language and our way of feeling today, though we hardly know it. In recent years the Prayer Book has been under attack by modernizers and radicals within the church itself. On the 450th anniversary of its first appearance, the time has come to proclaim the value of this work once more and to recognize it for what it is: a liturgical and literary masterpiece.

The Book Of Common Prayer

1662 Version

R C Zaehner

Comprises such sacred books of India as the hymns of the &quot;Rig-Veda&quot;, the world's first recorded poems, the stirring pantheistic speculations of the &quot;Upanishads&quot; and the &quot;Bhagavad-Gita&quot;, a cosmic drama of God's self-revelation in human history, on the field of human battle.

Hindu Scriptures

Henry David Thoreau

In this classic of American literature, Thoreau gives an account of his two years’ experience of the ‘simple life’ in the woods, telling how he sought and found material and spiritual sustenance in the solitude of the cabin which he built for himself on the shore of Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts.

Walden

Saint Augustine

Augustine’s spiritual autobiography is not only a major document in the history of Christianity and a classic of Roman Africa: it also marks a vital moment in the history of Western culture. As Augustine explains how, when and why he became the man he is at the time of writing, he probes the great themes which others were to explore after him – faith, time, truth, identity and self-understanding – in a detail unmatched in ancient literature. 
 
Illustrated with vivid portraits of friends, family, colleagues and enemies, The Confessions provides a remarkably candid account of the passage from a life of sensuality and superstition to a genuine spiritual awakening. The result is a powerful narrative of one man’s religious journey which continues to shape the way we write and behave today.

The Confessions

The King James Bible of 1611 has been one of the richest sources for English language and literature for nearly four centuries and is itself a work of the greatest poetic beauty. This beautifully designed edition is for the general reader, uncluttered by footnotes and set in full pages rather than the usual narrow columns. George Steiner's introduction illuminates the Bible's profound effect on the history of English literature and includes a moving personal reading of the greatest of texts. It also places the Bible within the history and development of Judaeo-Christian thought.

The Old Testament

The Authorized or King James Version

Lao Tze

Written during the Golden Age of Chinese philosophy, and composed partly in prose and partly in verse, the Tao Te Ching is the most terse and economical of the world's great religious texts. In a series of short, profound chapters it elucidates the idea of the Tao, or the Way, and of Te - Virtue, or Power - ideas that in their ethical, practical and spiritual dimensions have become essential to the life of China's powerful civilization. 
 
The Tao Te Ching has been translated into Western languages more times than any other Chinese work. It speaks of the ineffable in a secular manner and its imagery, drawn from the natural world, transcends time and place. The application of its wisdom to modern times is both instructive and provocative - for the individual, lessons in self-awareness and spontaneity, placing stillness and consciousness of the word around above ceaseless activity; for leaders of society, how to govern with integrity, to perform unobtrusively the task in hand and never to utter words lightly; for both, the futility of striving for personal success. 
 
D. C. Lau's classic English version remains a touchstone of accuracy. Informed by the most impressive scholarship this is a translation both for academic study and for general readers who prefer to reflect on the meaning of this ancient text unencumbered by the subjective interpretations and poetic licence of more recent 'inspirational' translations. Sarah Allan's masterly introduction discusses the origins of the work, sheds light on the ambiguities of its language, and places it firmly in its historical and philosophical context. 
 
The Everyman edition uses Lau's translation of the Ma Wang Tui manuscripts (discovered in 1973) in the revised 1989 version published by The Chinese University Press. The iconic text is presented uncluttered by explanatory notes. A chronology and glossary are included, together with the translator's informative appendices.

Tao Teh Ching

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