Johannes Scheffler assumed the name Angelus Silesius on his leaving the Lutheran church to become a Catholic. He became enmeshed in the bitter controversies of post-Reformation Europe. Soon after his death, however, his masterpiece was claimed by Protestants and Catholics alike as their mystical classic. Frederick Franck shows the poets macro-ecumenical significance in the essay that introduces his translation of these verses, and by adding a "running commentary" of sayings by the ancient Japanese and Chinese masters, with whom this Christian mystic shows a remarkable affinity.

This landmark two-volume set is the richest and most important extant collection of information about traditional Cherokee culture. Because many of the Cherokees own records were lost during their forced removal to the west, the Payne-Butrick Papers are the most detailed written source about the Cherokee Nation during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In the 1830s John Howard Payne, a respected author, actor, and playwright, and Daniel S. Butrick, an American Board missionary, hastened to gather information on Cherokee life and history, fearing that the cultural knowledge would be lost forever. Butrick, who was conversant with the Cherokees culture and language after having spent decades among them, recorded what elderly Cherokees had to say about their lives. The collection also contains much of the Cherokee leaders correspondence, which had been given to Payne for safekeeping. This amazing repository of information covers nearly all aspects of traditional Cherokee culture and history, including politics, myths, early and later religious beliefs, rituals, marriage customs, ball play, language, dances, and attitudes toward children. It will inform our understanding and appreciation of the history and enduring legacy of the Cherokees.

“He is wise; he has something to say. Let us call him ‘A-tse-nu-sti,’ the messenger.” This is the story of Reverend Samuel Austin Worcester (1798-1859), “messenger” and missionary to the Cherokees from 1825 to 1859 under the auspices of the American Board of Foreign Missions (Congregational). One of Worcester’s earliest accomplishments was to set Sequoyah’s alphabet in type so that he and Elias Boudinot could print the bilingual Cherokee Phoenix. After removal to Indian Territory, he helped establish the Cherokee Advocate, edited by William Ross, and issued almanacs, gospels, hymnals, bibles, and other books in the Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw languages. He served the Cherokee in numerous roles, including those of preacher, teacher, postmaster, legal advisor, doctor, and organizer of temperance societies. His story is the Cherokee story, and in the foreword to this new edition, William L. Anderson discusses Worcester’s life among the Cherokee.