Some of the most beautiful of 16th- and 17th-century English prose comes from religious masterpieces. This collection brings together inspirational writing on the eternal themes of vice, virtue, and the possibility of life after death. The 1611 Authorized Bible provides the anthology's title: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. The work is not solely chosen from religious publications - many poets and prose-writers of the period, among them Shakespeare, John Bunyan, John Milton and John Donne, wrote inspirational pieces. The extracts in this book are illustrated with the art of masters such as Rembrandt, Titian and Michaelangelo.