“From a scholar’s point of view the work is of value as illustrating the philosophico-mystical tendencies of the second century.”--_Record._
“Mr Mead deserves thanks for putting in an English dress this curious document from the early ages of Christian philosophy.”--_Manchester Guardian._
Some short Sketches among the Gnostics, mainly of the First Two Centuries--a Contribution to the Study of Christian Origins based on the most Recently Discovered Materials.
+I. Introduction.+--Outlines of the Background of the Gnosis; Literature and Sources of Gnosticism.
+II. The Gnosis according to its Foes.+--Gnostic Fragments recovered from the Polemical Writings of the Church Fathers; the Gnosis in the Uncanonical Acts.
+III. The Gnosis according to its Friends.+--Greek Original Works in Coptic Translation; the Askew, Bruce, and Akhmim Codices.
Classified Bibliographies are appended. 630, xxviii. pp., Large Octavo, Cloth. 10s. 6d. net.
“Mr Mead has done his work in a scholarly and painstaking fashion.”--_The Guardian._
“The ordinary student of Christian evidences, if he confines his reading to the ‘Fathers,’ learns nothing of these opinions [the so-called Gnostic ‘heresies’] except by way of refutation and angry condemnation. In Mr Mead’s pages, however, they are treated with impartiality and candour.... These remarks will suffice to show the unique character of this volume, and to indicate that students may find here matter of great service to the rational interpretation of Christian thought.”--_Bradford Observer._
“The book, Mr Mead explains, is not intended primarily for the student, but for the general reader, and it certainly should not be neglected by anyone who is interested in the history of early Christian thought.”--_The Scotsman._
“The work is one of great labour and learning, and deserves study as a sympathetic estimate of a rather severely-judged class of heretics.”--_Glasgow Herald._
“Written in a clear and elegant style.... The bibliographies in the volume are of world-wide range, and will be most valuable to students of theosophy.”--_Asiatic Quarterly._
“Mr Mead writes with a precision and clearness on subjects usually associated with bewildering technicalities and mystifications. Even the long-suffering ‘general reader’ could go through this large volume with pleasure. That is a great deal to say of a book on such a subject.”--_Light._