by Will Durant
7. LITERATURE
Texts and libraries—The Egyptian Sinbad—The Story of Sinuhe—Fiction—An amorous fragment—Love poems—History—A literary revolution
8. SCIENCE
Origins of Egyptian science—Mathematics—Astronomy and the calendar—Anatomy and physiology—Medicine, surgery and hygiene
9. ART
Architecture—Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, Empire and Saïte sculpture—Bas-relief—Painting—Minor arts—Music—The artists
10. PHILOSOPHY
The Instructions of Ptah-hotep—The Admonitions of lpuwer—The Dialogue of a Misanthrope—The Egyptian Ecclesiastes
11. RELIGION
Sky gods—The sun god—Plant gods—Animal gods—Sex gods—Human gods—Osiris—Isis and Horus—Minor deities—The priests—Immortality—The Book of the Dead—The “Negative Confession”—Magic—Corruption
IV. THE HERETIC KING
The character of Ikhnaton—The new religion—A hymn to the sun—Monotheism—The new dogma—The new art—Reaction—Nofretete—Break-up of the Empire—Death of Ikhnaton
V. DECLINE AND FALL
Tutenkhamon—The labors of Rameses II—The wealth of the clergy—The poverty of the people—The conquest of Egypt—Summary of Egyptian contributions to civilization
Chapter IX: BABYLONIA
I. FROM HAMMURABI TO NEBUCHADREZZAR
Babylonian contributions to modern civilization—The Land between the Rivers-Hammurabi—His capital—The Kassite Domination—The Amarna letters—The Assyrian Conquest—Nebuchadrezzar—Babylon in the days of its glory
II. THE TOILERS
Hunting—Tillage—Food—Industry—Transport—The perils of commerce—Money-lenders—Slaves
III. THE LAW
The Code of Hammurabi—The powers of the king—Trial by ordeal—Lex Talionis—Forms of punishment—Codes of wages and prices—State restoration of stolen goods
IV. THE GODS OF BABYLON
Religion and the state—The functions and powers of the clergy—The lesser gods—Marduk—Ishtar—The Babylonian stories of the Creation and the Flood—The love of Ishtar and Tammuz—The descent of Ishtar into Hell—The death and resurrection of Tammuz—Ritual and prayer—Penitential psalms—Sin—Magic—Superstition
V. THE MORALS OF BABYLON
Religion divorced from morals—Sacred prostitution—Free love—Marriage—Adultery—Divorce—The position of woman—The relaxation of morals
VI. LETTERS AND LITERATURE
Cuneiform—Its decipherment—Language—Literature—The epic of Gilgamesh
VII. ARTISTS
The lesser arts—Music—Painting—Sculpture—Bas-relief—Architecture
VIII. BABYLONIAN SCIENCE
Mathematics—Astronomy—The calendar—Geography—Medicine
IX. PHILOSOPHERS
Religion and Philosophy—The Babylonian Job—The Babylonian Koheleth—An anticlerical
X. EPITAPH
Chapter X: ASSYRIA
I. CHRONICLES
Beginnings—Cities—Race—The conquerors—Sennacherib and Esarhaddon—“Sardanapalus”
II. ASSYRIAN GOVERNMENT
Imperialism—Assyrian war—The conscript gods—Law—Delicacies of penology—Administration—The violence of Oriental monarchies
III. ASSYRIAN LIFE
Industry and trade—Marriage and morals—Religion and science—Letters and libraries—The Assyrian ideal of a gentleman
IV. ASSYRIAN ART
Minor arts—Bas-relief—Statuary—Building—A page from “Sardanapalus”
V. ASSYRIA PASSES
The last days of a king—Sources of Assyrian decay—The fall of Nineveh
Chapter XI: A MOTLEY OF NATIONS
I. THE INDO-EUROPEAN PEOPLES
The ethnic scene—Mitannians—Hittites—Armenians—Scythians—Phrygians—The Divine Mother—Lydians—Croesus—Coinage—Croesus, Solon and Cyrus
II. THE SEMITIC PEOPLES
The antiquity of the Arabs—Phoenicians—Their world trade—Their circumnavigation of Africa—Colonies—Tyre and Sidon—Deities—The dissemination of the alphabet-Syria—Astarte—The death and resurrection of Adoni—The sacrifice of children
Chapter XII: JUDEA
I. THE PROMISED LAND
Palestine—Climate—Prehistory—Abraham’s people—The Jews in Egypt—The Exodus—The conquest of Canaan
II. SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY
Race—Appearance—Language—Organization—Judges and kings—Saul—David—Solomon—His wealth—The Temple—Rise of the social problem in Israel
III. THE GOD OF HOSTS
Polytheism—Yahveh—Henotheism—Character of the Hebrew religion—The idea of sin—Sacrifice—Circumcision--The priesthood—Strange gods
IV. THE FIRST RADICALS
The class war—Origin of the Prophets—Amos at Jerusalem—Isaiah—His attacks upon the rich—His doctrine of a Messiah—The influence of the Prophets
V. THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JERUSALEM
The birth of the Bible—The destruction of Jerusalem—The Babylonian Captivity-Jeremiah—Ezekiel—The Second Isaiah—The liberation of the Jews—The Second Temple
VI. THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK
The “Book of the Law”—The composition of the Pentateuch—The myths of Genesis—The Mosaic Code—The Ten Commandments—The idea of God—The sabbath—The Jewish family—Estimate of the Mosaic legislation
VII. THE LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE
History—Fiction—Poetry—The Psalms—The Song of Songs—Proverbs—Job—The idea of immortality—The pessimism of Ecclesiastes—The advent of Alexander
Chapter XIII: PERSIA
I. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MEDES
Their origins—Rulers—The blood treaty of Sardis—Degeneration
II. THE GREAT KINGS
The romantic Cyrus—His enlightened policies—Cambyses—Darius the Great—The invasion of Greece
III. PERSIAN LIFE AND INDUSTRY
The empire—The people—The language—The peasants—The imperial highways-Trade and finance
IV. AN EXPERIMENT IN GOVERNMENT
The king—The nobles—The army—Law—A savage punishment—The capitals—The satrapies—An achievement in administration
V. ZARATHUSTRA
The coming of the Prophet—Persian religion before Zarathustra—The Bible of Persia—Ahura-Mazda—The good and the evil spirits—Their struggle for the possession of the world
VI. ZOROASTRIAN ETHICS
Man as a battlefield—The Undying Fire—Hell, Purgatory and Paradise—The cult of Mithra—The Magi—The Parsees
VII. PERSIAN MANNERS AND MORALS
Violence and honor—The code of cleanliness—Sins of the flesh—Virgins and bachelors—Marriage—Women—Children—Persian ideas of education
VIII. SCIENCE AND ART
Medicine—Minor arts—The tombs of Cyrus and Darius—The palaces of Persepolis-The Frieze of the Archers—Estimate of Persian art
IX. DECADENCE
How a nation may die—Xerxes—A paragraph of murders—Artaxerxes II—Cyrus the Younger—Darius the Little—Causes of decay: political, military, moral—Alexander conquers Persia, and advances upon India
BOOK TWO
INDIA AND HER NEIGHBORS
Chronological Table of Indian History
Chapter XIV: THE FOUNDATIONS OF INDIA
I. SCENE OF THE DRAMA
The rediscovery of India—A glance at the map—Climatic influences
II. THE OLDEST CIVILIZATION?
Prehistoric India—Mohenjo-daro—Its antiquity
III. THE INDO-ARYANS
The natives—The invaders—The village community—Caste—Warriors—Priests—Merchants—Workers—Outcastes
IV. INDO-ARYAN SOCIETY
Herders—Tillers of the soil—Craftsmen—Traders—Coinage and credit—Morals—Marriage—Woman
V. THE RELIGION OF THE VEDAS
Pre-Vedic re
ligion—Vedic gods—Moral gods—The Vedic story of Creation—Immortality—The horse sacrifice
VI. THE VEDAS AS LITERATURE
Sanskrit and English—Writing—The four Vedas—The Rig-veda—A Hymn of Creation
VII. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE UPANISHADS
The authors—Their theme—Intellect vs. intuition—Atman—Brahman—Their identity—A description of God—Salvation—Influence of the Upanishads—Emerson on Brahma
Chapter XV: BUDDHA
I. THE HERETICS
Sceptics—Nihilists—Sophists—Atheists—Materialists—Religions without a god
II. MAHAVIRA AND THE JAINS
The Great Hero—The Jain creed—Atheistic polytheism—Asceticism—Salvation by suicide—Later history of the Jains
III. THE LEGEND OF BUDDHA
The background of Buddhism—The miraculous birth—Youth—The sorrows of life-Flight—Ascetic years—Enlightenment—A vision of Nirvana
IV. THE TEACHING OF BUDDHA
Portrait of the Master—His methods—The Four Noble Truths—The Eightfold Way—The Five Moral Rules—Buddha and Christ—Buddha’s agnosticism and anti-clericalism—His Atheism—His soul-less psychology—The meaning of Nirvana
V. THE LAST DAYS OF BUDDHA
His miracles—He visits his father’s house—The Buddhist monks—Death
Chapter XVI: FROM ALEXANDER TO AURANGZEB
I. CHANDRAGUPTA
Alexander in India—Chandragupta the liberator—The people—The university of Taxila—The royal palace—A day in the life of a king—An older Machiavelli—Administration—Law—Public health—Transport and roads—Municipal government
II. THE PHILOSOPHER-KING
Ashoka—The Edict of Tolerance—Ashoka’s missionaries—His failure—His success
III. THE GOLDEN AGE OF INDIA
An epoch of invasions—The Kushan kings—The Gupta Empire—The travels of Fa-Hien—The revival of letters—The Huns in India—Harsha the generous—The travels of Yuan Chwang
IV. ANNALS OF RAJPUTANA
The Samurai of India—The age of chivalry—The fall of Chitor
V. THE ZENITH OF THE SOUTH
The kingdoms of the Deccan—Vijayanagar—Krishna Raya—A medieval metropolis-Laws—Arts—Religion—Tragedy
VI. THE MOSLEM CONQUEST
The weakening of India—Mahmud of Ghazni—The Sultanate of Delhi—Its cultural asides—Its brutal policy—The lesson of Indian history
VII. AKBAR THE GREAT
Tamerlane—Babur—Humayun—Akbar—His government—His character—His patronage of the arts—His passion for philosophy—His friendship for Hinduism and Christianity—His new religion—The last days of Akbar
VIII. THE DECLINE OF THE MOGULS
The children of great men—Jehangir—Shah Jehan—His magnificence—His fall—Aurangzeb—His fanaticism—His death—The coming of the British
Chapter XVII: THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE
I. THE MAKERS OF WEALTH
The jungle background—Agriculture—Mining—Handicrafts—Commerce—Money—Taxes—Famines—Poverty and wealth
II. THE ORGANIZATION OF SOCIETY
The monarchy—Law—The Code of “Manu”—Development of the caste system—Rise of the Brahmans—Their privileges and powers—Their obligations—In defense of caste
III. MORALS AND MARRIAGE
Dharma—Children—Child marriage—The art of love—Prostitution—Romantic love—Marriage—The family—Woman—Her intellectual life—Her rights—Purdah—Suttee-The Widow
IV. MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND CHARACTER
Sexual modesty—Hygiene—Dress—Appearance—The gentle art among the Hindus-Faults and virtues—Games—Festivals—Death
Chapter XVIII: THE PARADISE OF THE GODS
I. THE LATER HISTORY OF BUDDHISM
The Zenith of Buddhism—The Two Vehicles—Mahayana—Buddhism, Stoicism and Christianity—The decay of Buddhism—Its migrations: Ceylon, Burma, Turkestan, Tibet, Cambodia, China, Japan
II. THE NEW DIVINITIES
Hinduism—Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva—Krishna—Kali—Animal gods—The sacred cow-Polytheism and monotheism
III. BELIEFS
The Puranas—The reincarnations of the universe—The migrations of the soul—Karma—Its philosophical aspects—Life as evil—Release
IV. CURIOSITIES OF RELIGION
Superstitions—Astrology—Phallic worship—Ritual—Sacrifice—Purification—The sacred waters
V. SAINTS AND SCEPTICS
Methods of sanctity—Heretics—Toleration—General view of Hindu religion
Chapter XIX: THE LIFE OF THE MIND
I. HINDU SCIENCE
Its religious origins—Astronomers—Mathematicians—The “Arabic” numerals—The decimal system—Algebra—Geometry—Physics—Chemistry—Physiology—Vedic medicine—Physicians—Surgeons—Anesthetics—Vaccination—Hypnotism
II. THE SIX SYSTEMS OF BRAHMANICAL PHILOSOPHY
The antiquity of Indian philosophy—Its prominent rôle—Its scholars—Forms—Conception of orthodoxy—The assumptions of Hindu philosophy
1. THE Nyaya SYSTEM
2. THE Vaisheshika SYSTEM
3. THE Sankhya SYSTEM
Its high repute—Metaphysics—Evolution—Atheism—Idealism—Spirit—Body, mind and soul—The goal of philosophy—Influence of the Sankhya
4. THE Yoga SYSTEM
The Holy Men—The antiquity of Yoga—Its meaning—The eight stages of discipline—The aim of Yoga—The miracles of the Yogi—The sincerity of Yoga
5. THE Purva Mimansa
6. THE Vedanta SYSTEM
Origin—Shankara—Logic—Epistemology—Maya—Psychology—Theology—God—Ethics—Difficulties of the system—Death of Shankara
III. THE CONCLUSIONS OF HINDU PHILOSOPHY
Decadence—Summary—Criticism—Influence
Chapter XX: THE LITERATURE OF INDIA
I. THE LANGUAGES OF INDIA
Sanskrit—The vernaculars—Grammar
II. EDUCATION
Schools—Methods—Universities—Moslem education—An emperor on education
III. THE EPICS
The Mahabharata—Its story—Its form—The Bhagavad-Gita—The metaphysics of war—The price of freedom—The Ramayana—A forest idyl—The rape of Sita—The Hindu epics and the Greek
IV. DRAMA
Origins—The Clay Cart—Characteristics of Hindu drama—Kalidasa—The story of Shakuntala—Estimate of Indian drama
V. PROSE AND POETRY
Their unity in India—Fables—History—Tales—Minor poets—Rise of the vernacular literature—Chandi Das—Tulsi Das—Poets of the south—Kabir
Chapter XXI INDIAN ART
I. THE MINOR ARTS
The great age of Indian art—Its uniqueness—Its association with industry—Pottery-Metal—Wood—Ivory—Jewelry—Textiles
II. MUSIC
A concert in India—Music and the dance—Musicians—Scale and forms—Themes-Music and philosophy
III. PAINTING
Prehistoric—The frescoes of Ajanta—Rajput miniatures—The Mogul school—The painters—The theorists
IV. SCULPTURE
Primitive—Buddhist—Gandhara—Gupta—“Colonial”—Estimate
V. ARCHITECTURE
1. HINDU ARCHITECTURE
Before Ashoka—Ashokan—Buddhist—Jain—The masterpieces of the north—Their destruction—The southern style—Monolithic temples—Structural temples
2. “COLONIAL” ARCHITECTURE
Ceylon—Java—Cambodia—The Khmers—Their religion—Angkor—Fall of the Khmers—Siam—Burma
3. MOSLEM ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA
The Afghan style—The Mogul style—Delhi—Agra—The Taj Mahal
4. INDIAN ARCHITECTURE AND CIVILIZATION
Decay of Indian art—Hindu and Moslem architecture compared—General view of Indian civilization
Chapter XXII: A CHRISTIAN EPILOGUE
I. THE JOLLY BUCCANEERS
> The arrival of the Europeans—The British Conquest—The Sepoy Mutiny—Advantages and disadvantages of British rule
II. LATTER-DAY SAINTS
Christianity in India—The Brahma-Somaj—Mohammedanism—Ramakrishna—Vivekananda
III. TAGORE
Science and art—A family of geniuses—Youth of Rabindranath—His poetry—His politics—His school
IV. EAST IS WEST
Changing India—Economic changes—Social—The decaying caste system—Castes and guilds—Untouchables—The emergence of woman
V. THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT
The westernized students—The secularization of heaven—The Indian National Congress
VI. MAHATMA GANDHI
Portrait of a saint—The ascetic—The Christian—The education of Gandhi—In Africa—The Revolt of 1921—“I am the man”—Prison years—Young India—The revolution of the spinning-wheel—The achievements of Gandhi
VII. FAREWELL TO INDIA
The revivification of India—The gifts of India
BOOK THREE
THE FAR EAST
A. CHINA
Chronology of Chinese Civilization
Chapter XXIII: THE AGE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS
I. THE BEGINNINGS
1. ESTIMATES OF THE CHINESE
2. THE MIDDLE FLOWERY KINGDOM
Geography—Race—Prehistory
3. THE UNKNOWN CENTURIES
The Creation according to China—The coming of culture—Wine and chopsticks—The virtuous emperors—A royal atheist
4. THE FIRST CHINESE CIVILIZATION
The Feudal Age in China—An able minister—The struggle between custom and law—Culture and anarchy—Love lyrics from the Book of Odes
5. THE PRE-CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHERS
The Book of Changes—The yang and the yin—The Chinese Enlightenment—Teng Shih, the Socrates of China
6. THE OLD MASTER
Lao-tze—The Tao—On intellectuals in government—The foolishness of laws—A Rousseauian Utopia and a Christian ethic—Portrait of a wise man—The meeting of Lao-tze and Confucius
II. CONFUCIUS
1. THE SAGE IN SEARCH OF A STATE
Birth and youth—Marriage and divorce—Pupils and methods—Appearance and character—The lady and the tiger—A definition of good government—Confucius in office—Wander-years—The consolations of old age