"This admirably produced and well-translated volume of stories from the Sanskrit takes the Western reader into one of the Golden Ages of India. . . .... The world in which the tales are set is one which placed a premium upon slickness and guile as aids to success. . . . Merchants, aristocrats, Brahmins, thieves and courtesans mingle with vampires, demi-gods and the hierarchy of heaven in a series of lively or passionate adventures. The sources of the individual stories are clearly indicated; the whole treatment is scholarly without being arid."—The Times Literary Supplement "Fourteen tales from India, newly translated with a terse and vibrant effectiveness. These tales will appeal to any reader who enjoys action, suspense, characterization, and suspension of disbelief in the supernatural."—The Personalist

This exciting new series consists of truly practical and accessible guides to major philosophical texts in the history of philosophy from the ancient... world up to modern times. Each volume, issued in a uniform and economical paperback format, uses the most authoritative edition of the text available. Each book opens with a comprehensive introduction by a leading specialist which covers the philosopher's life, work, and influence, offering readers detailed critical guidance on the intellectual context of the work and the structure and philosophical importance of the main arguments. Endnotes are supplied to expand upon the arguments and to explain unfamiliar references and terminology, and a full bibliography and index are also included. The volumes are further enhanced by guides to further reading, and in some cases they include an analysis of the text and a glossary of terms. Authoritative yet practical, the Oxford Philosophical Texts series aims to build up a definitive corpus of key texts in the Western philosophical tradition which will form a reliable and enduring resource and reference for years to come. In this exceptional work Berkeley makes the striking claim that physical things consist of nothing but ideas and therefore do not exist outside the mind. This claim establishes him as the founder of the idealist tradition in philosophy. The text printed in this volume is the 1734 edition of the Principles, which represents Berkeley's mature thought. Also included are four important letters between George Berkeley and Samuel Johnson, written between 1729 and 1730. This new edition of Berkeley's most famous work provides readers with a thorough introduction to the central ideas of one of the world's greatest philosophers.

In this exceptional work Berkeley makes the striking claim that physical things consist of nothing but ideas and therefore do not exist outside the... mind. This claim establishes him as the founder of the idealist tradition in philosophy. The text printed in this volume is the 1734 edition of the Principles, which represents Berkeley's mature thought. Also included are four important letters between George Berkeley and Samuel Johnson, written between 1729 and 1730, an analysis of the Principles, and a glossary.

One of the most significant works of Western philosophy, Hume's Treatise was published in 1739-40, before he was thirty years old. A pinnacle of English... empiricism, it is a comprehensive attempt to apply scientific methods of observation to a study of human nature, and a vigorous attack upon the principles of traditional metaphysical thought. With masterly eloquence, Hume denies the immortality of the soul and the reality of space; considers the manner in which we form concepts of identity, cause and effect; and speculates upon the nature of freedom, virtue and emotion. Opposed both to metaphysics and to rationalism, Hume's philosophy of informed scepticism sees man not as a religious creation, nor as a machine, but as a creature dominated by sentiment, passion and appetite.

The Oxford Philosophical Texts series consists of truly practical and accessible guides to major philosophical texts in the history of philosophy from... the ancient world up to modern times. Each book opens with a comprehensive introduction by a leading specialist which covers the philosopher's life, work, and influence. Endnotes, a full bibliography, guides to further reading, and an index are also included. The series aims to build a definitive corpus of key texts in the Western philosophical tradition, forming a reliable and enduring resource for students and teachers alike. David Hume's comprehensive attempt to base philosophy on a new, observationally grounded study of human nature is one of the most important texts in Western philosophy. It is also the focal point of current attempts to understand 18th-century philosophy The Treatise first explains how we form such concepts as cause and effect, external existence, and personal identity, and how we create compelling but unverifiable beliefs in the entities represented by these concepts. It then offers a novel account of the passions, explains freedom and necessity as they apply to human choices and actions, and concludes with a detailed explanation of how we distinguish between virtue and vice. The volume features Hume's own abstract of the Treatise, a substantial introduction that explains the aims of the Treatise as a whole and of each of its ten parts, a comprehensive index, and suggestions for further reading.

Hume's comprehensive effort to form an observationally grounded study of human nature employs John Locke's empiric principles to construct a theory of... knowledge from which to evaluate metaphysical ideas. A key to modern studies of 18th-century Western philosophy, the Treatise considers numerous classic philosophical issues, including causation, existence, freedom and necessity, and morality.

Voltaire (1694-1778), novelist, dramatist, poet, philosopher, historian, and satirist, was one of the most renowned figures of the Age of Enlightenment.... In this collection of anti-clerical works from the last twenty-five years of Voltaire's life, he roundly attacks the philosophical optimism of the deists, the so-called inspiration of the Bible, the papacy, and vulgar superstition. These great works reveal Voltaire not only as a polemicist but also as a profound humanitarian. The selections include "Poem on the Lisbon Disaster", "We Must Take Sides", "The Questions of Zapate" and "The Sermon of the Fifty," homilies on superstition and the interpretation of the Old and New Testaments, and his famous "Treatise on Toleration".

On a wintry night in 1831, a man named Charlie Silver was murdered with an axe and his body burned in a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. His... young wife, Frankie Silver, was tried and hanged for the crime. In later years people claimed that a tree growing near the ruins of the old cabin was cursed—that anyone who climbed into it would be unable to get out. Daniel Patterson uses this "accurst" tree as a metaphor for the grip the story of the murder has had on the imaginations of the local community, the wider world, and the noted Appalachian traditional singer and storyteller Bobby McMillon.For nearly 170 years, the memory of Frankie Silver has been kept alive by a ballad and local legends and by the news accounts, fiction, plays, and other works they inspired. Weaving Bobby McMillon's personal story—how and why he became a taleteller and what this story means to him—into an investigation of the Silver murder, Patterson explores the genesis and uses of folklore and the interplay between folklore, social and personal history, law, and narrative as people and communities try to understand human character and fate.Bobby McMillon is a furniture and hospital worker in Lenoir, North Carolina, with deep roots in Appalachia and a lifelong passion for learning and performing traditional songs and tales. He has received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award from the state's Arts Council and also the North Carolina Folklore Society's Brown-Hudson Folklore Award.

The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and... moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.

When Princeton historian D. Graham Burnett answered his jury duty summons, he expected to spend a few days catching up on his reading in the court... waiting room. Instead, he finds himself thrust into a high-pressure role as the jury foreman in a Manhattan trial. There he comes face to face with a stunning act of violence, a maze of conflicting evidence, and a parade of bizarre witnesses. But it is later, behind the closed door of the jury room, that he encounters the essence of the jury experience — he and eleven citizens from radically different backgrounds must hammer consensus out of confusion and strong disagreement. By the time he hands over the jury’s verdict, Burnett has undergone real transformation, not just in his attitude toward the legal system, but in his understanding of himself and his peers.Offering a compelling courtroom drama and an intimate and sometimes humorous portrait of a fractious jury, A Trial by Jury is also a finely nuanced examination of law and justice, personal responsibility and civic duty, and the dynamics of power and authority between twelve equal people.

For three fascinating, disturbing years, writer Patricia Hersch journeyed inside a world that is as familiar as our own children and yet as alien as... some exotic culture--the world of adolescence. As a silent, attentive partner, she followed eight teenagers in the typically American town of Reston, Virginia, listening to their stories, observing their rituals, watching them fulfill their dreams and enact their tragedies. What she found was that America's teens have fashioned a fully defined culture that adults neither see nor imagine--a culture of unprecedented freedom and baffling complexity, a culture with rules but no structure, values but no clear morality, codes but no consistency.Is it society itself that has created this separate teen community? Resigned to the attitude that adolescents simply live in "a tribe apart," adults have pulled away, relinquishing responsibility and supervision, allowing the unhealthy behaviors of teens to flourish. Ultimately, this rift between adults and teenagers robs both generations of meaningful connections. For everyone's world is made richer and more challenging by having adolescents in it.

Belief in a triune God is central to Christian faith but on the periphery of most people s understanding of it. Indeed, it is greatly misunderstood by... many. Briefly and clearly, Neil Ormerod explains what the Christian tradition understands when it speaks of a triune God. He presents and develops his material in three parts: where our belief in the Trinity comes from (Scripture), what we believe about the Trinity (creed), and how best to understand what we believe (analogy). A Trinitarian Primer will be welcomed by many who are engaged in religious education and formation. Preachers will appreciate the homily suggestions included.

A Trip to China is an intermediate Chinese language textbook designed for students who have studied one year of college Chinese. Offering a strong... foundation in grammar and vocabulary, it is written from the perspective of a foreign exchange student who has just arrived in China for the first time. This thoroughly revised edition not only provides students essential lessons for advancing their Chinese language skills, but also introduces important aspects of contemporary Chinese society and culture. The textbook incorporates suggestions from years of student and teacher feedback, and includes new lessons as well as updated vocabulary glosses, grammar explanations, and exercises. An improved format juxtaposes text and vocabulary on adjacent pages and combines grammar notes and exercises into one easy-to-use volume. Intermediate-level Chinese language textbook Revised edition Single-volume, user-friendly format New lessons and updated vocabulary, grammar explanations, and exercises Introduces students to important aspects of contemporary Chinese society and culture