Public-domain ebook
Language: en4,782 downloads on Project Gutenberg
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In: Biographies·Mythology, Legends & Folklore
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #25652.
This volume is a sweeping compendium of celebrated figures, both historical and legendary, arranged as a series of brief essays that trace their deeds from antiquity to the early twentieth century. The editor opens with a declaration that the collection would be incomplete without “characters that are no less real because they have lived only in the minds of men,” positioning mythic heroes such as King Arthur, Robin Hood, and William Tell alongside genuine icons like Buddha, Julius Caesar, and George Washington. The opening chapter on Buddha illustrates the book’s method: a narrative retelling of Siddhartha’s sheltered childhood, the forced encounters with age, sickness, death, and the ascetic who becomes the Enlightened One, followed by a concise entry list that moves from ancient monarchs to modern reformers. The work therefore functions as a reference‑style anthology, offering readers a quick survey of each figure’s significance rather than a continuous storyline.
Written in the formal, didactic prose of late‑Victorian reference works, the text blends reverent description with occasional moral commentary. Its tone is scholarly yet accessible, reflecting the encyclopedic ambition of its 19th‑century publisher. Readers who enjoy concise biographical sketches, comparative studies of heroism, or a leisurely tour of cultural archetypes, from saints and statesmen to literary jesters, will find this treasury a rewarding companion.
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The publishers believe that such a book would not be complete without some characters that are no less real because they have lived only in the minds of men. No explanation is needed for semi-historical characters like King Arthur, Robin Hood and William Tell, while Don Quixote, the Prince of Madness, and Rip Van Winkle, the Prince of Laziness, have been included, not because they were essentially heroic in themselves (although Don Quixote might well have claimed the laurel) but because they became heroes in the opinion of others through the very qualities that brought about their downfall. As involuntary heroes, they furnish a pleasant contrast to the more serious, actual and transcendental figures of saints, martyrs, warriors, discoverers and statesmen with which these pages are filled; they enrich the "Treasury," widen its range of colors and perform the necessary function of court jesters in the Hall of Fame.
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