In this thought-provoking work, the anonymous author, known only as the Apologist, explores the great questions of human existence, from the nature of good and evil to the meaning of life itself. Through vivid stories and engaging anecdotes, the Apologist challenges readers to think deeply about their place in the universe, and to consider the path towards a more perfect and harmonious world. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from The Epic of Humanity, or the Quest of the Ideal: Edited by an Apologist The evident object, however, of the poet has been to show, that Law and Love, in their highest and deepest sense, are unmixed good, and in every sense tend to good; also that Life may be and is worth living. 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.

Tomas Sedlacek has shaken the study of economics as few ever have. Named one of the "Young Guns" and one of the "five hot minds in economics" by the Yale Economic Review, he serves on the National Economic Council in Prague, where his provocative writing has achieved bestseller status. How has he done it? By arguing a simple, almost heretical proposition: economics is ultimately about good and evil. In The Economics of Good and Evil, Sedlacek radically rethinks his field, challenging our assumptions about the world. Economics is touted as a science, a value-free mathematical inquiry, he writes, but it's actually a cultural phenomenon, a product of our civilization. It began within philosophy--Adam Smith himself not only wrote The Wealth of Nations, but also The Theory of Moral Sentiments--and economics, as Sedlacek shows, is woven out of history, myth, religion, and ethics. "Even the most sophisticated mathematical model," Sedlacek writes, "is, de facto, a story, a parable, our effort to (rationally) grasp the world around us." Economics not only describes the world, but establishes normative standards, identifying ideal conditions. Science, he claims, is a system of beliefs to which we are committed. To grasp the beliefs underlying economics, he breaks out of the field's confines with a tour de force exploration of economic thinking, broadly defined, over the millennia. He ranges from the epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament to the emergence of Christianity, from Descartes and Adam Smith to the consumerism in Fight Club. Throughout, he asks searching meta-economic questions: What is the meaning and the point of economics? Can we do ethically all that we can do technically? Does it pay to be good? Placing the wisdom of philosophers and poets over strict mathematical models of human behavior, Sedlacek's groundbreaking work promises to change the way we calculate economic value.

-- 15 original woodcut illustrations -- 18 photographs of ancient artifacts This edition aims to reanimate the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu for modern readers. The poetic rendition brings words to life through indelible images. A learned and lucid historical and cultural introduction fills in background for the narrative. An interpretative essay reviews the themes of Gilgamesh and their echoes in other literature. The total is a new edition that delights, informs, and stimulates readers to a new appreciation of this age-old tale.

Why should you read the KOSMOAUTIKON Epic Cycle? 1) KOSMOAUTIKON has information of the long count of the Human Condition. No other work of American literature observes the ancient origins of the human genome. No other poem projects the force of the strong poet into a Space faring civilization. 2) KOSMOAUTIKON does not repeat any modernist clichés. Modernism can only detect modernism. Modern literature can only regurgitate modernist linguistic codices – a fascination with disease, medical mythos, and the omnipotence of laboratory science. KOSMOAUTIKON accuses the madness of this modernist experiment. Instead, KOSMOAUTIKON detects the astral position of the human mind. A story is told that places man in a position of power in relation to the universe. Modernism makes treats men and parasites. In story Theory man is the center of all things, since only the human has a terra- forming mind. 3) KOSMOAUTIKON creates a new linguistic codex to project a new advance in the human Genome. A new linguistic structure must always prepare the way for any human advance. “I had to remove your planet – and then your bones.” 4) KOSMOAUTIKON tells the story of Rogue males. Who are our rogue males? Alexander, Christ, Cesar, Dante, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Henry VIII, Edward De Vere (Shake-speare), Beethoven, Francis bacon, Oscar Wilde (etc.). Western civilization has been made by rogue males. No other modern text would even dare to discuss the power of the rogue male. Modernism seeks to inoculate, medicate, or incarcerate the rogue male – early. Yet there will be rogues makes again – and they will change the human genome. This is the story of KOSMOAUTIKON Five. 5) There is no other document that contains future speech. No Western person can be educated without first reading KOSMOAUTIKON. Most googled favorite lines from KOSMOAUTIKON: 1) We had to remove your planet – then your bones. 2) Observe my second sweat condense the juice loving bark, my song recovered stitch all numbered kiss close fit . . . 3) . . . then fix my sleep at that beam all-speeding from glow emitting north, my eye abreast a lover's shard of light. 4) The caldron planet still beaconed red 5)...You will not miss the globular element of your fire-burned ancestors. 6) When you could not yourself believe. I made you diamond tablets of belief. When you yourself could not detect the sky, I wrote the sun for you each day new. When you by yourself were congealed as frost, I dipped your brittle mouth still blue and flaked. When you could not lift your hands yourself to count, I raised your arm to rage against the beats of breath.

*LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE.* 'One of the greatest writers of our time' Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The Perfect Nine is a glorious epic about the founding of Kenya's Gikuyu people and the ideals of beauty, courage and unity. Gikuyu and Mumbi settled on the peaceful and bounteous foot of Mount Kenya after fleeing war and hunger. When ninety-nine suitors arrive on their land, seeking to marry their famously beautiful daughters, called The Perfect Nine, the parents ask their daughters to choose for themselves, but to choose wisely. First the young women must embark on a treacherous quest with the suitors, to find a magical cure for their youngest sister, Warigia, who cannot walk. As they journey up the mountain, the number of suitors diminishes and the sisters put their sharp minds and bold hearts to the test, conquering fear, doubt, hunger and many menacing ogres, as they attempt to return home. But it is perhaps Warigia's unexpected adventure that will be most challenging of all. Blending folklore, mythology and allegory, Ngugi wa Thiong'o chronicles the adventures of Gikuyu and Mumbi, and how their brave daughters became the matriarchs of the Gikuyu clans, in stunning verse, with all the epic elements of danger, humour and suspense. 'A tremendous writer... it's hard to doubt the power of the written word when you hear the story of Ngugi wa Thiong'o' Guardian

This is an open access book.The 4th International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2022) was successfully held on October 28th-30th, 2022 in Xi’an, China (virtual conference). ICLAHD 2022 brought together academics and experts in the field of Literature, Art and Human Development research to a common forum, promoting research and developmental activities in related fields as well as scientific information interchange between researchers, developers, and engineers working all around the world.We were honored to have Assoc. Prof. Chew Fong Peng from University of Malaya, Malaysia to serve as our Conference Chair. The conference covered keynote speeches, oral presentations, and online Q&A discussion, attracting over 300 individuals. Firstly, keynote speakers were each allocated 30-45 minutes to hold their speeches. Then in the oral presentations, the excellent papers selected were presented by their authors in sequence.