Pro Vita Monastica; An Essay in Defence of the Contemplative Virtues

Boston, Massachusets: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1923. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Good. xvii, [1], 164, [2] pages. Ornate bookplate inside the front cover of the Rev. George Edwin Stuart of the Archd. of Washington, dated 1899. Some wear. Includes Preface and Appendix [Notes, and Translations of Quotations], as well as chapters on The World and the Recluse; Disiffusion; The Voice of Authority; The Value of Precedent; Saint Anthony; Saint Benedict; Thomas a Kempis; Senancour, Eugenie de Guerin, and Amil; The Influence of Christian Tradition; Some Grounds of Doubt; The Bounties of Solitude; The Vegetable Patch; The Flower Garden; The Library; The Spiritual Power of Sex; The Realm of Truth; Self Examination; The Oratory; Spiritual Exercises; The Usual Reproach; and The Great Human Need. Sedgwick was the author of "Life of Marcus Aurelius'', "Dante", ''An Apology for Old Maids," "Italy in the Thirteenth Century," "A Short History of Italy," etc. Henry Dwight Sedgwick III (September 24, 1861 - January 5, 1957) was an American lawyer and author. Sedgwick graduated from Harvard University in 1882, and studied law in Boston until 1884 when he was admitted to the bar. He practiced law in New York City from 1885 to 1898. He was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and was elected in 1893 as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, whose members were chosen from the National Institute; they have since become one entity. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Boston) and the Massachusetts Historical Society. Monasticism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions as well as in other faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. In other religions monasticism is criticized and not practiced, as in Islam and Zoroastrianism, or plays a marginal role, as in modern Judaism. Women pursuing a monastic life are generally called nuns, religious or sisters or rarely, Canonesses, while monastic men are called monks, friars or brothers. Many monastics live in abbeys, convents, monasteries or priories to separate themselves from the secular world, unless they are in mendicant or missionary orders. Titles for monastics differ between the Christian denominations. In Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism, monks and nuns are addressed as Brother (or Father, if ordained to the priesthood) or Mother/Sister, while in Eastern Orthodoxy, they are addressed as Father or Mother.