Book Description

Excerpt from Pebbles, Pearls and Gems of the Orient It has long seemed to the writer that he would do a signal service, who should select and present in a body together, from the literatures of the ages, the choicest gems of thought and expression, the really fresh and living utterances of truth and the law of excellence, scattered along the different centuries of human history. It would be a great work, and still it would doubtless be all in a small volume. But it would be the volume of lively oracles, the radiant and fadeless scripture. To it would apply what Hindu writers have said of the index of the Mahabharata, one of their great epics: "This body of the Mahabharata is truth and immortality; it is like new butter from curds; like the Brahman among men; like the Aranyaka from the Vedas; like nectar from medicinal plants; like the sea, the best among lakes; like the cow, the highest among animals." To it would belong the designation that Ferideddin Attar gave to one of his books, Essences of Substance. The time is not yet for the accomplishment of such a work. It would require an equipment of reading as well as endowment of clear perception, of fine discrimination and absolute judicial fairness, beyond the reach of any one in this generation. But important contributions are being made, and day by day the performance of such a task is placed under easier conditions and brought nearer realization. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.