The Palm Tree Blessing

William Edward ShepardProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 229K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

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.The Palm Tree Blessing by William Edward ShepardAuthor: Shepard, William Edward, 1862-,Language: English, Class: BV: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Practical theology, Worship, Release Date: Jul 9, 2011

Editor's review

This is a work of practical Christian theology by William Edward Shepard, built around the image of the palm tree as a springboard for devotional reflection and instruction in the faith. Its classification number BV places it within practical Christian theology and worship; the language is English, and it is distributed free by Project Gutenberg. It is not a systematic theology treatise but something closer to devotional and sermon-style writing, suited to quiet reading for its religious feeling and moral exhortation. For readers studying popular Christian writing in the English-speaking world from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, it offers a sample of primary source material; for general readers, it is short and accessible, a useful introduction to the style of religious tracts of the period. Note that this is a public-domain e-book with no modern annotations, so some background knowledge is helpful.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Christian devotional literature and the sermon genre
Scholars studying popular religious publishing in English in the late nineteenth century
Those who wish to use short English devotional meditations for spiritual reading
E-book enthusiasts collecting public-domain religious texts from Project Gutenberg

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic theology textbook or a scholarly annotated edition
Readers with no interest in religious subjects who want only secular literature
Beginning readers who need a modern Chinese translation or introductory guidance

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and opening to see how the palm-tree image is developed throughout the book.
Read one short section a day, taking notes on its exhortations and scriptural quotations.
If English reading proves difficult, consult the relevant Bible passages to help with the religious context.
After finishing, review the book's structure and decide whether it reads more like a collection of sermons or a devotional manual.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project 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.

FAQ

Is this book a work of systematic theology?

No. Judging from the classification number BV and the nature of its content, it belongs to Christian practical theology and worship, closer to devotional meditation or sermon-style writing than to a systematic theological treatise; readers should not expect a rigorous theological argument.

How difficult is the English, and what background knowledge is needed?

The text is late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century English religious writing; the sentence patterns are somewhat old but generally plain. Readers familiar with basic biblical passages and common Christian expressions will find it much smoother; otherwise, keep a Bible or relevant reference book at hand.

Why is this book offered free on Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg provides free ebooks whose copyright has entered the public domain. The author, Shepherd, was born in 1862, and the work is no longer under copyright, so it has been digitized and released for readers to read freely; however, the text has no modern editorial annotations.

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About the author

William Edward Shepard Author · 1862

William Edward Shepard (born 1862) is generally recorded under his English name in Chinese library catalogues. Public information about his nationality, education and life is limited, and no detailed biographical record can be verified at present; only his birth in 1862 is confirmed. One work by him is held in the collection, The Palm Tree Blessing. Judging from its title and subject, the book centres on the image of the palm tree and carries a religious or devotional exhortatory tone, tending toward allegory and moral instruction, and may interest readers concerned with such themes. Owing to the scarcity of relevant material, his writing style and influence cannot yet be fully assessed. This note is compiled solely from the facts available in the collection and from information about the work, for readers' reference in retrieval.