The King and the Corpse: Tales of the Soul's Conquest of Evil

Drawing from Eastern and Western literature, Heinrich Zimmer presents a selection of stories linked together by their common concern for the problem of our eternal conflict with the forces of evil. Beginning with a tale from the Arabian Nights, this theme unfolds in legends from Irish paganism, medieval Christianity, the Arthurian cycle, and early Hinduism. In the retelling of these tales, Zimmer discloses the meanings within their seemingly unrelated symbols and suggests the philosophical wholeness of this assortment of myth.

"This collection of tales, drawn from the West as well as the East, is held together by the running commentary and also the tension of a continuous argument." K.R. SRINIVASA IYENGAR "The tales are all a part of our common cultural heritage; they are conce