The Sacred Anthology, a Book of Ethnical Scriptures, Collected and Edited by Moncure Daniel Conway,... 2d Edition

First published in 1874, The Sacred Anthology represents Moncure Daniel Conway’s ambitious attempt to bridge the gap between world religions by compiling a universal scripture. Conway, a radical thinker and former clergyman turned freethinker, intended this collection to serve as a comparative study of ethics, drawing from sources as diverse as the Vedas, the Zend-Avesta, the Talmud, and the writings of Greek philosophers. The second edition solidified the work as a landmark of 19th-century intellectual liberalism, reflecting the Victorian-era fascination with transcendentalism and the search for common humanitarian truths across disparate cultural traditions.

The design and editorial structure of the anthology reflect Conway’s background as an abolitionist and a champion of human rights. By positioning these disparate ethical teachings alongside one another, Conway aimed to demonstrate a moral unity that superseded sectarian division. While the work received praise from his contemporaries for its scholarly ambition, it was also scrutinized for its editorial subjectivity, as Conway’s selection process was deeply informed by his own humanist and rationalist convictions rather than purely academic or theological rigor.