Ancient Egypt: the Light of the World: A Work of Reclamation and Restitution in Twelve Books. Volume 2 - Softcover

Massey, Gerald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 140217442X ISBN 13: 9781402174421

Publisher: Adamant Media Corporation, 2001

Synopsis

This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1907 edition by T. Fisher Unwin, London.

About this title

About the Author:

Gerald Massey (29 May 1828 – 29 October 1907) was an English poet and self-educated Egyptologist. He was born near Tring, Hertfordshire in England. He was attracted by the movement known as Christian Socialism, into which he threw himself with whole-hearted vigour, and so became associated with Frederick Denison Maurice and Charles Kingsley. He became interested in Egyptology and the similarities that exist between ancient Egyptian mythology and the Gospel stories. He studied the extensive Egyptian records housed in the British Museum, and eventually taught himself to decipher the hieroglyphics. Massey’s first public appearance as a writer was in connection with a journal called the Spirit of Freedom, of which he became editor. When he was only twenty-two he published his first volume of poems, Voices of Freedom and Lyrics of Love. These he followed in rapid succession with The Ballad of Babe Christabel (1854), War Waits (1855), Havelock’s March (1860), and A Tale of Eternity (1869). He also published works dealing with Spiritualism, the study of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and theological speculation. It is generally understood that he was the original of George Eliot’s Felix Holt. Massey’s poetry has a certain rough and vigorous element of sincerity and strength which easily accounts for its popularity at the time of its production. He treated the theme of Sir Richard Grenville before Tennyson thought of using it, with much force and vitality. Indeed, Tennyson’s own praise of Massey’s work is still its best eulogy, as he found in him “a poet of fine lyrical impulse, and of a rich half-Oriental imagination”. The inspiration of his poetry is essentially British; he was a patriot to the core. His poem “The Merry, Merry May” was set to music in a popular song by composer Christabel Baxendale. Concerning Egyptology, Massey first published The Book of the Beginnings, followed by The Natural Genesis. His most prolific work is Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World, published shortly before his death, which draws comparisons between the Judeo-Christian religion and the Egyptian religion. One of the more sensational aspects of Massey’s writings were the parallels he drew between Jesus and the Egyptian god Horus. These comparisons are primarily contained in his book The Natural Genesis. Massey’s writings on this subject have influenced various later authors such as Alvin Boyd Kuhn, Tom Harpur, and D. M. Murdock.

About this edition

• Publisher: Adamant Media Corporation
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 140217442X
• ISBN 13: 9781402174421
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 410