John Bagnell Bury

Explore how Patrick came to be Ireland's Saint. He was taken from his home in England and dragged across the sea to the Emerald Isle. Eventually he escaped and traveled on the European continent, lived for a while as a monk, and then returned as a missionary to the people who had enslaved him. The story of St. Patrick's life is full of Druids and sorcery, tribal leaders and ancient curses, and the flowering of Ireland.

"With his wit, eloquence and shrewd perception of contemporary morals, Samuel Johnson was the most versatile of Augustan writers. His dictionary, dramas and poetry established his reputation, but it was the essays published in The Rambler, The Adventurer and The Idler that demonstrated the range of his talent. Tackling ethical questions such as the importance of self-knowledge, awareness of mortality, the role of the novel, and, in a lighter vein, marriage, sleep and deceit, these brilliant and thought-provoking essays are a mirror of the time in which they were written and a testament to Johnson's stature as the leading man of letters of his age." "This new edition contains a broad selection of essays presenting both the forcefully argued moral pieces of Johnson's middle years and the more light-hearted essays of his later work. The introduction places the works in their historical and literary context, and there is also a chronology of Johnson's life and times."--Jacket.

"This classic biography first appeared in 1905 and still offers a valuable resource to scholars, theologians, and others interested in Irish history. The well-documented study depicts St. Patrick’s early life in fourth-century Britain during the Roman occupation, his abduction by Irish raiders, his conversion to Christianity, and his lifelong efforts to convert pagans and found churches."--Provided by publisher.

Traces freedom of thought from the freedom of Greece, through the persecution of the medieval church and state, to the rise of religious toleration and rationalism.