Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 1: An-Art (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics

There is at the present time an unusual demand for works of reference. It may be due partly to a higher general standard of education, increasing the number of readers, and compelling teachers, whether they are writers or speakers, to verify their references.' But it may be due also to the great increase of knowledge in our time, We must possess ourselves of dictionaries and encyclopaedias, because it is not possible otherwise to have at our command the vast stores of learning which have accumulated. But the enormous increase of knowledge in our time has not only created a demand for general works of reference; it has also made known the necessity for dictionaries or encyclopaedias of a more special character. Musicians have found the need Of a Dictionary of Music, painters of Painting, engineers of Engineering, and they have had their wants supplied. The present work is an attempt to meet the necessity for an Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics.