Point Of Departure
Eastern Mediterranean , late 2nd century AD
His name doesn’t really matter, and is sadly lost to history anyway. He was a priest, and surely needed Lord Jesus tonight. At the urging of his fellow Christians in Antioch he’d taken passage on a ship to Alexandria and they were perhaps only a couple of hours away from the city. But the Captain said he’d never seen such a storm as this one and that they should all pray to the divine Neptunus.
“Nay” , he replied , ” I have faith in the true Lord” and made the sign of the Fish with his finger on the dusty deck. And he opened his hands outwards, palms up and prayed....
“... he was on that ship that survived the storm last night , thanks be given, and he asks, Father , if he can speak at our next service, he has brought some prayers from Antioch called the Odes of Solomon that he would like to offer to the congregation...”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Hullbridge, Essex
University of Fambridge- Department of History - 2009-2010
Course H107 – WORLD HISTORY AS SEEN THROUGH BOOKS – A brief overview for students.
Gentlemen, this is the third year in which I have provided this course of lectures, and I am once again indebted to Prof Davide Deseranto (from the Department of New World Languages), Drs James Edwards and Matthew Francois (from the Department of History) Prof Peter Tate (from the Department of European Languages) and Prof Paul Trafford (from the Department of Religious Studies) for their invaluable advice, suggestions and tutorial assistance.
This course is available to those reading history, English or French literature, most language degrees, politics, and religious studies. For anyone reading geography who wishes to take this course , there are timetabling issues – please contact my secretary, Mr Donaldson. Students at St Osyth’s College are most welcome to attend, and separate tutorial arrangements can be made for them.
Lectures will be held each Monday and Wednesday at 10:30 am, with tutorials at 2:00 pm on either Thursdays or Fridays. Please see your departmental noticeboards for exact details.
For recommended reading I merely suggest that you purchase a copy of each book that is included in the course. For anyone who is short of funds, the Holy Bible, Holy Koran and the Holy Avesta are available from the appropriate university chaplains , and there are secondhand copies of most of the books available in local shops for a few sous.