Gods and Heroes / Life Stories for Young People. E-book. Formato PDF Ferdinand Schmidt   -  Ionlineshopping.Com, 2019  - 

Series Title:    Life Stories for Young People Translator:    Upton, George P. (George Putnam), 1834-1919 Contents     Prometheus -- Deucalion and Pyrrha -- Hermes (Mercury) -- Phaëthon -- Orpheus -- Atalanta -- Tantalus -- Salmoneus, Sisyphus, Ixion, and Phlegyas -- Niobe -- Bellerophon -- Perseus -- Cadmus -- Dionysus (Bacchus) -- Actæon -- Dædalus and Icarus -- Philemon and Baucis -- Arachne -- Hyacinthus. In a rare little volume in my possession, written by William Sheldon, F.A.S., and published by Isaiah Thomas, Jr., at Worcester, Mass., in 1810, over a century ago, the author introduces his “History of the Heathen Gods and Heroes of Antiquity” in the following quaint manner: “People of weak minds and of little learning, who have tasted the Pierian spring but not drunk deep at it, when they read an account of the Heathen Gods and Goddesses and of the images dedicated to them, and hear that the heathens were Idolators, or worshippers of Images, give credit to these stories, without any further inquiry or trouble. It may not, therefore, be unnecessary to inform persons of this description, that the people of all the nations which ever existed under heaven have believed that there existed one God, who is Almighty and the Maker of all things. But there have been people who believed also in inferior or subordinate gods, who were agents or mediators between God and man; and who were employed in carrying on the works of Providence and of the creation or Nature.” This quaint effort to show the impropriety of treating any description of religion with unnecessary disrespect applies to this volume, which the translator has adapted from the German. Our old author might have added to his statement that there is rare beauty and fascination in many of these Grecian myths and that many a one has wished with Wordsworth that he might “Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea, Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.” The old gods and minor deities in these “short stories” also appeal to us by their human qualities, and many an important moral lesson may be read in the fate of unfortunate minor deities who offended the higher gods. The sketches are in story form and are told in a refined and entertaining manner. Several of the higher gods and goddesses are not included in this volume, as they appear most interesting in the other volumes in this series—“Achilles,” “Ulysses,” “Argonauts’ Expedition and Labors of Hercules.”  

The Youth of the Great Elector / Life Stories for Young People(Illustrated Edition). E-book. Formato PDF Ferdinand Schmidt   -  Ionlineshopping.Com, 2019  - 

The story of Frederick William, “The Great Elector,” as he is known in history, begins with his birth and closes with his accession to power upon the death of his father. It is the story of his youth only, but in the youth we find all the attributes which made him so great as an Elector and as a man. Its scenes are laid in the period of the terrible and devastating Thirty Years’ War, which had not yet come to a close when Frederick William became Elector of Brandenburg. Its characters, Ferdinand the Second, Frederick the Fifth, Christian of Denmark, Gustavus Adolphus, Wallenstein, Tilly, Maximilian of Bavaria, the Swedish Chancellor Oxenstjern, Count von Mansfeld, the Empress Elizabeth, the Elector of Brandenburg, his high-minded wife, and his great son, are world-famous.  Its progress throws a strong light upon that memorable war of faiths, which lasted more than a generation, and which was characterized by bitter enmity and cruel atrocities on both sides, as has usually been the case in every religious struggle. It is a terrible picture of those days when Catholics and Protestants were struggling for the supremacy, but its dark and repellent details are rendered more endurable by the knowledge in this twentieth century that such wars and such cruelties in the name of religion are not likely to occur again. The world has advanced; freedom of thought and of conscience is everywhere recognized and conceded. Sects may still disagree in doctrine, but the old deadly hatreds are extinguished. The central figure in this stirring drama is Frederick William, who, as the curtain falls, enters upon his career as the Great Elector.  

George Washington / Life Stories for Young People(Illustrated Edition). E-book. Formato PDF Ferdinand Schmidt   -  Ionlineshopping.Com, 2019  - 

Among all the numerous life stories written by Ferdinand Schmidt for the delectation and education of German youth, none surpasses that of Washington. The author has condensed his material, drawn from the most authoritative sources, in a masterly manner, and presents it in a very attractive form. He has accompanied it by moralization which is pertinent, but never becomes tedious. It is questionable, indeed, whether any story of Washington’s life written for young people excels Schmidt’s in accuracy, conciseness, and general interest. As such this sketch of the Father of his Country from a German point of view is commended to American youth.