The Dawn of European Civilization

ISBN: 9781330571804 出版年：2018 页码：555 G Hartwell Jones Forgotten Books

This inquiry into the social, mental and religious evolution of early Europe owes its origin to an accident. Although the subject has always possessed a certain charm for my mind, this book is directly due to an invitation which I received some years ago to read a paper before a scientific society. Upon that occasion I put together some notes on parallels presented by certain phases of the growth of thought in India, Greece and Italy. The late Professor Max Muller, who presided, had previously taken an interest in the subject proposed, and at the time expressed approval of the way in which it was treated. Professor Heinrich Stein, the well-known Continental scholar, and the late Dr. Cornelis P. Tiele, Professor of the history of religions in the University of Leyden, who saw the essay in print, also endorsed the views advanced, while friends in England whose opinions command consideration suggested that the paper might with advantage be expanded into a book. Since then I-have followed up this line of research from time to time, in the face of formidable difficulties, chiefly from want of convenient access to a well-equipped library. Meanwhile circumstances, entirely independent of this pursuit, led me to explore some Slavonic languages and institutions; the results added a zest to my investigation in' this department of thought. For, as I proceeded, I found that the ideas and beliefs of the Slavs threw a flood of light upon some points which were otherwise obscure.