1st Edition
Revival: The Saviour of the World - Volume II (1908) His Dominion
SOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ON "THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD" VOL. II. HIS DOMINION
These reviews/comments followed the original release of His Dominion in 1908.
Miss Charlotte Mason has now given us the second instalment of her elaborate work in verse on "The Saviour of the World." . . . Miss Mason renders into graceful and original verse part of the story of Christ as found in the Gospels. She seeks to cover each incident in His career, and each notable saying to which He gave utterance, in a single poem, the series to form a complete story. Her obvious sincerity and the high aim which is everywhere apparent make her pleasing verses singularly attractive. She is reverent throughout and always dignified.
—Dundee Advertiser
Miss Mason has much of the subtle skill of Browning, and her effusions breathe everywhere a spirit of deep devotion to "The Saviour of Mankind."
—Catholic Times
Miss Mason's gracefully versified tractate in Christian theology—for that is what the poem is—should be read without weariness by the devout . . . On its literary side the book will readily evoke the admiration and sympathy of readers who like to have familiar lessons of Christianity refreshed by good workmanship in metrical art.
—Scotsman
The first volume met with a very cordial reception, and now the talented authoress gives her second volume to the world. . . . The authoress employs the choicest language, and shows great skill in versification. The whole work, in fact, aims at giving the whole of the Gospel story in verse—not a small task, by any means, but one for which Miss Mason seems to be specially endowed.
—Western Mail
Miss Mason here continues what she modestly describes as a "paraphrase in verse" of the Gospel story. As the writer aptly remarks, such a theme as this, in its sacred utterances and dramatic situations, finds a better medium of presentation in poetry than in prose. The first stage or act of the inspired narrative, The Holy Infancy, being completed, Miss Mason passes on to the Ministry of Our Lord at its commencement and first teaching (Sermon on the Mount and earlier parables), and first miracles . . . the sequence of the work is marked no less by the skill of the author than by the reverent spirit in which it is composed. Echoes of George Herbert and of Isaac Williams are to be caught here and there in the various pieces, as. E.g. where paraphrasing a passage in the Sermon on the Mount, Miss Mason writes: —
"Nay, keep thy soul at eve,
Nor e'er perceive
The heavy odour of an unchaste thought."
It would be difficult to express better the "atmosphere" of the new Paradise "regained" by Christ in place of that which was lost.
—Bookseller
The same careful, reverent handling of holy things characterises this new volume, which, like the former, is a paraphrase, in blank verse chiefly, of the Gospel narrative.
—Guardian
Book 1 – Authority (Manifested and Recognised) "He is Lord of All" Book 2 – Authority (Vindicated and Defined) Book 3 – The Church (Foundation and Institutes)
Biography
Charlotte Maria Shaw Mason (1 January 1842 – 16 January 1923) was a British educationalist in England at the turn of the twentieth century. Her revolutionary methods led to a shift from utilitarian education to the education of a child upon living ideas. She was inspired by current brain research, by the writings of John Amos Comenius, Matthew Arnold and John Ruskin.
After the release of a book by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, For the Children's Sake in 1984, Charlotte Mason's six volume educational series was republished by Karen Andreola, author of A Charlotte Mason Companion. This led to a resurgence of Charlotte Mason's educational methods for a new generation of teachers and students.
Charlotte Mason’s ideas and philosophies are currently being rediscovered by modern day home schools and private schools throughout the world. Influence of her ideas can now be found across the United States in homes, at charter schools and independent private schools. Mason's methods are used widely within the home-school community. Regional and national conferences, retreats, and study groups have sprung up across the globe and have increased Mason's methods' popularity.
Charlotte Mason was born in the hamlet of Garth near Bangor on the Northwest tip of Wales, near Caernarfon. Garth has now been incorporated into the modern city of Bangor. An only child, she was mostly educated at home by her parents. Mason taught for more than ten years at Davison School in Worthing, England. During this time she developed her vision for "a liberal education for all".
Between 1880 and 1892, Charlotte Mason wrote a popular geography series called The Ambleside Geography Books:
Elementary Geography: Book I for Standard II (1881)
The British Empire and the Great Divisions of the Globe: Book II for Standard III (1882)
The Counties of England: Book III for Standard IV (1881)
The Countries of Europe Their Scenery and Peoples: Book IV for Standard V (1883)
The Old and New World: Asia, Africa, America, Australia: Book V (1884)
Mason was later a lecturer at the Bishop Otter Teacher Training College in Chichester, England, where she stayed for more than five years and gave a series of lectures about the education of children under 9, later published as Home Education (1886).
She co-founded the Parents' Educational Union (PEU), an organisation that provided resources to parents educating their children at home. She launched and served as editor-in-chief at the Parents' Review to keep in touch with PEU members.
Many of Mason's modern readers may be unaware of her devout spiritual life and her deeply moving poetry. This is the first volume of a six-volume set of Mason's poetic writings on the life of Christ.
This volume will appeal to Mason's current fans, to Christians of many persuasions, and to anyone who enjoys reading epic and/or religious poetry.
