Cistercian Fathers series

"Sermons 1-20"--Cover vol. 1. "Sermons 47-66"--Cover vol. 3. "Sermons 67-86"--Cover vol. 4.

Gertrude entered the monastery of Helfta as a young child and received her education within the cloister. There she developed her love of God's 'pietas' -- a word connoting divine compassion, gracious love, protection and mercy, and translated here as 'loving-kindness'. "The Herald of God's loving-kindness" records her experiences in a strong, traditionally monastic Latin. The sincerity and simplicity of the work reveal much about the saintly author and about the monastic community which formed and educated her, supported her and encouraged her to share her life of prayer through the written word. [Book jacket].

"The monk Grimlaicus (ca. 900) wrote a rule for those who, like himself, pursued the solitary life within a monastic community. Never leaving their cell yet participating in the liturgical life of the monastery through a window into the church, these "enclosed" sought to serve God alone. Beyond the details of horarium, reception of newcomers, diet, and clothing, Grimlaicus details practical measures for maintaining spiritual, psychological, and physical health, and for giving counsel to others. Scripture, the Rule of St. Benedict, and the teachings of early ecclesial and monastic writers form the kernel of Grimlaicus's wise and balanced rule, presented here for the first time in English translation." -- Publisher's description.

""I am leaving to Tahiti where I shall hope to end my days. My art...I regard as no more than a tender shoot, though one that I hope to develop into a wild and primitive growth.... The European Gauguin has ceased to exist and nobody will ever see any of his works here again."" "With these words, Paul Gauguin set off on a voyage that would not only irrevocably change his own life and work, but also the entire course of modern art. This volume combines for the first time the artist's public expressions of his world - his paintings - with his private correspondence - to his estranged wife, his agent, and his illustrious contemporaries such as Strindberg and van Gogh. Gauguin vividly describes his creative movements as well as the details of his daily life, most poignantly his consuming worries about health and finances." "The book is illustrated throughout with many of Gauguin's most ambitious and beautiful canvases. Watercolors and pencil sketches illuminate the early stages of these major works, and illustrated journal pages and rare vintage photographs reveal the people and places he knew." "An invaluable insight into Gauguin's life, this volume is equally important for its determined look at the transgressive spirit of those artists who challenge the conventions of their time to create an art of the future."--BOOK JACKET.