Bygone Beliefs: Being a Series of Excursions in the Byways of Thought
Redgrove, H. Stanley (Herbert Stanley), 1887-1943Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019
Rating 3.5- Word count
- 324K words
- Chapters
- 33
Tags
English Originals Religion Quest for FaithAestheticismIntellectual HistoryIntellectual EnlightenmentIntellectual CommentaryHistorical ExcavationEclectic ReadingCultural ChangeFolk CustomsSuperstitionSummary
Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Bygone Beliefs: Being a Series of Excursions in the Byways of Thought by RedgroveAuthor: Redgrove, H. Stanley (Herbert Stanley), 1887-1943,Language: English, Class: BF: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Psychology, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Release Date: Apr 1, 1998Editor's review
This book is a collection of essays by the British scholar Redgrove exploring the "byways" of human thought, focusing on alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and the occult—fields often overlooked by mainstream intellectual history—and tracing the origins of their ideas and the modes of thinking behind them. Rather than mocking or sensationalizing, the author seeks to understand these beliefs within the intellectual frameworks of their own eras, combining scholarly breadth with readability. For readers accustomed to linear intellectual history, it offers a side door onto how humans have understood the world: many ideas that seem absurd today were once products of serious inquiry. The discussions are grounded in documents and historical context, making the book a useful supplement at the intersection of intellectual, religious, and scientific history. It need not be read straight through; sampling by theme brings out its appeal.Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers interested in the history of the occult, alchemy, and astrology
- Students and enthusiasts in the humanities and social sciences seeking to broaden their view of intellectual history
- Readers who enjoy essayistic scholarship and dip-in reading
- Writers on popular science or religious culture in need of material
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking a systematic textbook of intellectual history or rigorous scholarly argument
- Those expecting a practical occult manual or sensational secret lore
- Readers who struggle with English and need a Chinese translation
Reading tips
- Start with the table of contents and jump into the belief topic that interests you most; no need to read in order.
- After each chapter, jot down a few lines on the era's context and the author's judgment.
- Read alongside works on scientific or religious history to observe how ideas evolved.
About the publisher
Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.
Contents
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
FAQ
Is this book about how to practice occult arts?
No. It is an intellectual-history examination of various marginal beliefs, focusing on their origins, historical context, and modes of thought rather than teaching the concrete practices of alchemy, astrology, or witchcraft. Read it as an essay collection on intellectual history.Can I understand it without relevant background knowledge?
Yes. The writing is essayistic, each topic stands alone, and the terminology is not dense. If European religious and scientific history is entirely unfamiliar, it helps to get a rough sense of the period first, then read chapter by chapter for smoother comprehension.The original is in English—what should I keep in mind while reading?
This is the English original e-book, with many historical figures and archaic terms. Use a dictionary, skip over unfamiliar names and titles at first, and grasp the author's overall judgment on the origins of ideas rather than reading word by word.This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Redgrove, H. Stanley (Herbert Stanley), 1887-1943 Author · British · 1887–1943H. Stanley Redgrove (1887–1943) was a British writer known for his studies of alchemy and the occult. Public information about his life is limited; what is known is that he devoted sustained attention to ancient beliefs, the alchemical tradition, and marginal themes in intellectual history, and wrote on these subjects. His representative works include Alchemy: Ancient and Modern, which surveys the development of alchemy from ancient times to the modern era along with its practical and conceptual background, and Bygone Beliefs: Being a Series of Excursions in the Byways of Thought, which turns to folk beliefs and the history of ideas. His writing tends toward informative overviews for general readers and has had some influence among popular works on the occult and the history of belief.