Carus called himself "an atheist who loved God," and he loved the Buddha too, as this classic 1894 introduction to the joys and wisdom of Buddhism continues to testify more than a century later. A bestseller in its time and still a comfort to spiritual seekers and a handy reference for students of mythology and religion, this is a collection of excepts from the foundational texts of Buddhism arranged, Bible style, in chapter and verse. Carus explains, in his introduction, that some sections are literal copies of translations of ancient texts; other sections are rendered more freely in modern language; but it is all in aid bringing the Buddha's anti-negativism doctrine to contemporary readers, and to world torn by strife and anger and desperate for relief.
