The Battle of Darkness and Light (Annotated)

Enriched Edition. Religious Fiction Collection: The Grand Inquisitor, Faust, The Holy War, Divine Comedy, Ben-Hur…By Dante Alighieri, James Joyce, Mark Twain, Anton Chekhov, John Milton, Leo Tolstoy, John Bunyan, Voltaire, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Charles M. Sheldon, Henry Van Dyke, G. K. Chesterton, Grace Livingston Hill, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, John Henry Newman, Gustave Flaubert, Robert Hugh Benson, Arthur Christopher Benson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Prentice Mulford, Anatole France, Marie Corelli, Leonid Andreyev, George MacDonald

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Length313h 47m

About this audiobook

The Battle of Darkness and Light gathers a striking constellation of world literature around one of its most enduring moral and metaphysical oppositions: illumination and obscurity, grace and despair, conscience and temptation. Its range extends from epic and allegory to satire, realist fiction, spiritual meditation, philosophical aphorism, and modernist experiment. Visions of hell, pilgrim journeys, comic critiques, psychological confessions, and tales of sacrifice and redemption stand beside searching depictions of social hypocrisy, suffering, and inward awakening. The contributors represent many of the central currents of European, Russian, and American letters: medieval theology, Renaissance epic, Enlightenment rationalism, Romantic idealism, Victorian spirituality, Russian realism, fin-de-siècle doubt, and early modernist innovation. Poets, novelists, dramatists, theologians, humorists, and moral philosophers converge here not as a single school, but as a many-voiced inquiry into evil, belief, freedom, and the human hunger for meaning. Their differences sharpen the anthology's central drama. Readers seeking a compact yet expansive encounter with canonical and spiritually charged writing will find this volume especially rewarding. It offers not merely selections to admire, but a dialogue across centuries and traditions, inviting comparison between faith and skepticism, moral clarity and ambiguity, darkness endured and light pursued. This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience. - An Introduction draws the threads together, discussing why these diverse authors and texts belong in one collection. - Historical Context explores the cultural and intellectual currents that shaped these works, offering insight into the shared (or contrasting) eras that influenced each writer. - A combined Synopsis (Selection) briefly outlines the key plots or arguments of the included pieces, helping readers grasp the anthology's overall scope without giving away essential twists. - A collective Analysis highlights common themes, stylistic variations, and significant crossovers in tone and technique, tying together writers from different backgrounds. - Reflection questions encourage readers to compare the different voices and perspectives within the collection, fostering a richer understanding of the overarching conversation.

Epic Quest Redemption Supernatural Mythological World Journey Dark Fantasy Psychological Monster Fiction Gods & Mortals Identity Coming of Age Betrayal Historical Romance Nature & Wilderness

Audiobook details

GenreChristian & Inspirational

Length313 hrs 47 mins

Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices

FormateBook with Audio

Publish dateJun 4, 2021

LanguageEnglish

1Mary Olivier: a Life (Annotated)

2The Battle of Darkness and Light

3Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri)

4Inferno

5Canto I. The Dark Forest. The Hill of Difficulty. The Panther, the Lion, and the Wolf. Virgil.

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6Canto II. The Descent. Dante's Protest and Virgil's Appeal. The Intercession of the Three Ladies Benedight.

7Canto III. The Gate of Hell. The Inefficient or Indifferent. Pope Celestine V. The Shores of Acheron.

8Canto IV. The First Circle, Limbo: Virtuous Pagans and the Unbaptized. The Four Poets, Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan. The Noble Castle of Philosophy.

9Canto V. The Second Circle: The Wanton. Minos. The Infernal Hurricane. Francesca da Rimini.

10Canto VI. The Third Circle: The Gluttonous. Cerberus. The Eternal Rain. Ciacco. Florence.

11Canto VII. The Fourth Circle: The Avaricious and the Prodigal. Plutus. Fortune and her Wheel. The Fifth Circle: The Irascible and the Sullen. Styx.

12Canto VIII. Phlegyas. Philippo Argenti. The Gate of the City of Dis.

13Canto IX. The Furies and Medusa. The Angel. The City of Dis. The Sixth Circle: Heresiarchs.

14Canto X. Farinata and Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti. Discourse on the Knowledge of the Damned.

15Canto XI. The Broken Rocks. Pope Anastasius. General Description of the Inferno and its Divisions.

16Canto XII. The Minotaur. The Seventh Circle: The Violent. The River Phlegethon. The Violent against their Neighbours. The Centaurs. Tyrants.

17Canto XIII. The Wood of Thorns. The Harpies. The Violent against themselves. Suicides. Pier della Vigna. Lano and Jacopo da Sant' Andrea.

18Canto XIV. The Sand Waste and the Rain of Fire. The Violent against God. Capaneus. The Statue of Time, and the Four Infernal Rivers.

19Canto XV. The Violent against Nature. Brunetto Latini.

20Canto XVI. Guidoguerra, Aldobrandi, and Rusticucci. Cataract of the River of Blood.

21Canto XVII. Geryon. The Violent against Art. Usurers. Descent into the Abyss of Malebolge.

22Canto XVIII. The Eighth Circle, Malebolge: The Fraudulent and the Malicious. The First Bolgia: Seducers

23Canto XIX. The Third Bolgia: Simoniacs. Pope Nicholas III. Dante's Reproof of corrupt Prelates.

24Canto XX. The Fourth Bolgia: Soothsayers. Amphiaraus, Tiresias, Aruns, Manto, Eryphylus, Michael Scott, Guido Bonatti, and Asdente. Virgil reproaches Dante's Pity. Mantua's Foundation.

25Canto XXI. The Fifth Bolgia: Peculators. The Elder of Santa Zita. Malacoda and other Devils.

26Canto XXII. Ciampolo, Friar Gomita, and Michael Zanche. The Malabranche quarrel.

27Canto XXIII. Escape from the Malabranche. The Sixth Bolgia: Hypocrites. Catalano and Loderingo. Caiaphas.

28Canto XXIV. The Seventh Bolgia: Thieves. Vanni Fucci. Serpents.

29Canto XXV. Vanni Fucci's Punishment. Agnello Brunelleschi, Buoso degli Abati, Puccio Sciancato, Cianfa de' Donati, and Guercio Cavalcanti.

30Canto XXVI. The Eighth Bolgia: Evil Counsellors. Ulysses and Diomed. Ulysses' Last Voyage.

31Canto XXVII. Guido da Montefeltro. His deception by Pope Boniface VIII.

32Canto XXVIII. The Ninth Bolgia: Schismatics. Mahomet and Ali. Pier da Medicina, Curio, Mosca, and Bertrand de Born.

33Canto XXIX. Geri del Bello. The Tenth Bolgia: Alchemists. Griffolino d' Arezzo and Capocchino.

34Canto XXX. Other Falsifiers or Forgers. Gianni Schicchi, Myrrha, Adam of Brescia, Potiphar's Wife, and Sinon of Troy.

35Canto XXXI. The Giants, Nimrod, Ephialtes, and Antaeus. Descent to Cocytus.

36Canto XXXII. The Ninth Circle: Traitors. The Frozen Lake of Cocytus. First Division, Caina: Traitors to their Kindred. Camicion de' Pazzi. Second Division, Antenora: Traitors to their Country. Dante questions Bocca degli Abati. Buoso da Duera.

37Canto XXXIII. Count Ugolino and the Archbishop Ruggieri. The Death of Count Ugolino's Sons. Third Division of the Ninth Circle, Ptolomaea: Traitors to their Friends. Friar Alberigo, Branco d' Oria.

38Canto XXXIV. Fourth Division of the Ninth Circle, the Judecca: Traitors to their Lords and Benefactors. Lucifer, Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius. The Chasm of Lethe. The Ascent.

39Purgatorio

40I. The Shores of Purgatory. The Four Stars. Cato of Utica. The Rush.

41II. The Celestial Pilot. Casella. The Departure.

42III. Discourse on the Limits of Reason. The Foot of the Mountain. Those who died in Contumacy of Holy Church. Manfredi.

43IV. Farther Ascent. Nature of the Mountain. The Negligent, who postponed Repentance till the last Hour. Belacqua.

44V. Those who died by Violence, but repentant. Buonconte di Monfeltro. La Pia.

45VI. Dante's Inquiry on Prayers for the Dead. Sordello. Italy.

46VII. The Valley of Flowers. Negligent Princes.

47VIII. The Guardian Angels and the Serpent. Nino di Gallura. The Three Stars. Currado Malaspina.

48IX. Dante's Dream of the Eagle. The Gate of Purgatory and the Angel. Seven P's. The Keys.

49X. The Needle's Eye. The First Circle: The Proud. The Sculptures on the Wall.

50XI. The Humble Prayer. Omberto di Santafiore. Oderisi d' Agobbio. Provenzan Salvani.