Books published by Cosimo Classics

Wildly arrogant, stunningly bombastic, and undeniably fascinating. This 1901 work-the masterpiece of an eclectic genius whose life encompassed medical science, mystical transcendence, and prospecting for gold-posits a higher form of sentience that only a few humans have ever achieved, among them Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Dante, William Blake, and the author himself, of course.As Bucke shares his metaphysical experience of the "cosmic consciousness" and offers evidence for the few instances in history of its occurrence ("it may as well be frankly stated at once that the view of the present editor is that Francis Bacon wrote the 'Shakespeare' plays and poems"), the reader may well be moved to throw this bizarre and highly intriguing book furiously across the room... if the reader can put it down at all, that is.Canadian mystic and doctor RICHARD MAURICE BUCKE (1837-1902) was a pioneer in the medical treatment of mental illness; his famous friendship with Walt Whitman was the subject of the 1992 movie Beautiful Dreamers. He also wrote Man's Moral Nature (1879) and an 1883 authorized biography of Whitman.

"The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD marked the beginning of a new era in Christianity. For the first time, doctrines were organized into a single creed. The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers did most of their writing during and after this important event in Church history. Unlike the previous era of Christian writing, the Nicene and Post-Nicene era is dominated by a few very important and prolific writers.In Volume VI of the 14-volume collected writings of the Nicenes and Post-Nicenes (first published between 1886 and 1889), readers will find Saint Augustine¿s exegesis on the Gospels and the Sermon on the Mount, which strove to interpret and draw meaning out of the text without incorporating the author's personal agenda or bias. Also included in this volume are a selection of Augustine¿s sermons."