Showing results by narrator "Adriel Brandt" in All Categories

King Arthur of England is the figure of the Good Ruler at the heart of the Arthurian legends, and the myths surrounding his life have been recounted in endless stories. This collection includes 13 of the best-loved legends of the King and his Knights of the Round Table. It includes the tales of how the young Arthur pulled a sword from a stone.

Wolfram von Eschenbach, a knight and a poet from 13th century Germany, is the author of this Arthurian romance. Parzival is the revival and completion of a narrative left incomplete by its initiator Chrétien de Troyes. It follows Parzival from his boyhood and career as a knight at the court of King Arthur to his ultimate achievement as King of the Temple of the Grail. This is both a tale of chivalry, and an epic quest for spiritual insight, as the hero Parzival must overcome his pride, and learn to be humble before he can finally win the Holy Grail.

First published in 1887, Ten Great Events in History explores certain historical events that the author considered to be inspiring, based on the advance of individual freedom. These events include the Greek struggles against the Persian Empire, the Crusades, Columbus and the New World, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the Dutch struggle against Spain, and Britain’s conquest of India. Although many may argue that certain of these were in fact acts of oppression, the book contributes an informative perspective and an engrossing narrative.

Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) was a Scottish author and reformer who advocated for radical causes ranging from women's suffrage to free trade to parliamentary reform. The Huguenots in France, chronicles the persecution of the Protestants in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. While many of the Huguenots fled the country, others suffered persecution at the hands of the crown, the army, and the church. This work documents many specific incidents of persecution.

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883) was a Russian author, translator, and popularizer of Russian literature in the West. "Mumu" is about Gerasim, a deaf-mute serf whose life of poverty is brought into sharp relief by his love for a dog he rescues from drowning. His wealthy old mistress sees the dog Mumu and wants it but Mumu bares her teeth at her, and tragedy follows.

During a long and illustrious career, William H. Taft served as governor, secretary of war, president, and chief justice. In Taft's inaugural address, key issues in the US at the beginning of the 20th century, including international and domestic affairs, tax and commerce, war, immigration, infrastructure, and more are discussed.

Two days before the US entered WWI on April 6, 1917, Senator Robert La Follette (R-Wis.) defended the right to free speech in times of war in a three-hour senate address. La Follette supported the constitutional right to free speech on ethical, historical, and textual grounds. He speculated that the cause of the war was imperial ambition and commercial rivalry between the European powers, and was proved correct by later historical research in government archives.

In 1919, the Republican senator Henry Cabot Lodge gave a speech opposing The Treaty of Versailles and the US joining the League of Nations without reservations. The failure of the Treaty, opposed by Lodge mainly because it would mean the US would be obligated to go to war without the approval of congress if the League saw fit, and his victory over President Woodrow Wilson, is considered by many to be the highlight of Lodge’s political career.

William H. Taft’s speech regarding the tariff law and the extremely controversial Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909 is a vital address in US history for anyone interested in economics and US political history as a whole.

One blessing, or in some ways curse, we have been given is the ability to think and rationalize. With this comes a constant internal battle in which we debate within ourselves what the right moral choices are. Bonar expands on how conscientious we truly are and which patterns emerge in our daily lives.

First published in 1895, Thomas Commerford Martin introduces us to several of Tesla’s inventions to that date. This publication precedes Tesla’s own account by 26 years. Martin lays a strong focus on the oscillator as well as one of Tesla’s most notable invention, the AC motor and further development of AC generation and transmission technology.

We have been thoroughly introduced to the violent and often savage ways God punishes His people. But Horatius Bonar expands on a method far more powerful than any direct force. Learn more about how a father’s silence can lead to a feeling of ultimate desperation in his children.

The first pages of the bible illustrate a journey from being divinely created to falling from grace. Ever since the path started leading downward, humanity has been cursed with many trials. But hope remains when we accept a God who is harsh in his sentence, but righteous and true in his execution.

Balaam, son of Beor, is known to us as a non-Israeli prophet who, despite his initial refusal to curse the Israelis, was eventually overcome by wickedness. Horatius Bonar explores in depth the nature of this duality. He details the fate and torments of anyone who allows themselves to be guided by a divided heart.

The essence of Christianity is to have faith. A blind faith, some would say, but Horatius Bonar takes this far away from the otherwise negative context it is used in. He illustrates how all the miracles, as performed by prophets such as Moses, were so great because of this unyielding faith being able to receive God’s full power.

Balaam looks around at the Israelis who have suffered and wandered, but are now so close to glory. Horatius Bonar describes a man overlooking the encampment and feeling a certain conflict rise within himself. We see, along with him, the weary Israelis on one side and on the other, the land of milk and honey within their grasp.

What armor would we wear when considered in a biblical sense of the glorious war? None of ornate metal but one that has a more spiritual defense. Bonar reflects further on the resolve, mental strength, and faith needed in order to build up a defense against sin and against evil.

If we ask ourselves what it means to disobey God, we can recall many references to his cruelty and relentlessness in punishing those who refuse his word. These punishments go very deep and Bonar takes this biblical theme as a launching pad for discussing the frivolous nature of the so called human remedies. How we are a race of diversions and entertainments, façade and masquerades, in short, creators of a superficial and temporary solace.

The way of Cain, Horatius Bonar explains, leads to a barren world marked by the way of blood. Bonar details the haunted life lead by Cain once he had poisoned it with the murder of his brother. How despair, banishment, and fruitfulness would enter the lives of those who reject the right choices, as defined by the Bible, first given to them.

Horatius Bonar allows us to learn more about his interpretations of God as a father to all the people. The phrase ‘Oh that they were wise’ laments humanity and its inability to choose a path of constructiveness and righteousness. Bonar reflects further on these characteristics that shapes human nature in a manner that is, in his mind, unteachable.