In this beautifully illustrated and closely argued book, a completely updated and much expanded third edition of his magisterial survey, Curl describes in lively and stimulating prose the numerous revivals of the Egyptian style from Antiquity to the present day. Drawing on a wealth of sources, his pioneering and definitive work analyzes the remarkable and persistent influence of Ancient Egyptian culture on the West. The author deftly develops his argument that the civilization of Ancient Egypt is central, rather than peripheral, to the development of much of Western architecture, art, design, and religion. Curl examines: the persistence of Egyptian motifs in design from Graeco-Roman Antiquity, through the Medieval, Baroque, and Neo-Classical periods rise of Egyptology in the nineteenth and twentieth-century manifestations of Egyptianisms prompted by the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb various aspects of Egyptianizing tendencies in the Art Deco style and afterwards. For students of art, architectural and ancient history, and those interested in western European culture generally, this book will be an inspiring and invaluable addition to the available literature.

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Excerpt from Hymn-Tunes Sung in the Church of the United Brethren I have therefore never deviated from the original (though Tome of our congregauons in England have adopted a few peculiarities) with a view that this pleafing uniformity may likewife be ef'tablifhed amongfl us. - The introduction of new Tunes is however by no means excluded. Some metres have the advantage of a variety of Tunes, adapted to the femfe of the hymns for which they were compofed and it would be well, if every metre had the fame. If any able Compofer therefore, would furniih this variety, a valu able and ufeful appendix to the prefent collection might be formed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This book articulates a new research program, called “Ur-Illuminism,” which consists in an integrated and systematic study of humanity’s quest for “illumination,” namely, for the highest and noblest possible mode of being. Thus, it takes on the challenge of revising widely accepted ways of understanding and interpreting the ontological underpinnings of civilization and the ontological potential of humanity. It allows the reader to delve into a creative “rediscovery” of Platonism, medieval Christian mystics’ and scholars’ writings, and various “illuminist” systems, from the Orphic mystical cult to the European Enlightenment and thence to the eighteenth-century Illuminati fraternities and beyond. Moreover, the book studies major issues in the history of philosophy, politology, and esoteric systems (such as Hermeticism, the Kabbalah, alchemy, the Rosicrucian movement, Freemasonry, and the Bavarian Illuminati). It maintains that a postmodern “rediscovery” of premodern metaphysics, specifically, a postmodern esoteric theocracy (as distinct from old sacerdotalism and religious formalism), is the best bulwark against oppression and the ontological degradation of humanity, as well as the best path to the attainment of that wisdom and spiritual self-knowledge which constitute the existential integration and completion of the human being. In this context, it proposes a peculiar and intellectually fecund synthesis between Tory Anarchism, Libertarianism, Platonism, and Byzantine Hesychasm, as they are elucidated here.