The Light of Asia Or, The Great Renunciation (Mahâbhinishkramana). Being The Life and Teaching of Gautama, Prince of India and Founder of Buddhism (As Told in Verse by an Indian Buddhist)
Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1902. Later edition. Hardcover. 8vo. [7], viii-xii, [2], 2-244, [1], 2-23, [1] pp. Blue cloth with a chariot wheel in gold on the front board, gold lettering on the spine. Oxford DNB, J.P. Phelan, "Arnold, Sir Edwin (1832–1904)". From the Oxford DNB: "In 1879 Arnold published The Light of Asia, a versified account of the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. It proved to be tremendously popular; there were sixty editions in England and eighty in America, and translations were numerous. Its apparent promotion of Buddhist values and beliefs aroused the hostility of some Christian commentators, but it was warmly received in the Buddhist world; the king of Siam conferred the order of the White Elephant on Arnold for services to Buddhism in 1879. In an attempt to placate his critics, Arnold published a sequel in 1891 on the life of Christ called The Light of the World, but it proved a signal failure." Very Good. Item #000013375
Light rubbing to the spine, two leaves with a chip at their corners.
Price: $100.00