Mysticism:a Study and an Anthology: A Study and an Anthology Book

I picked up this book straight after the James' book about "Varieties of Religious Experience". It might be that Happold's book suffered in comparison, or that it wasn't written for a person like me (a non believer).

The first part explains mysticism in layperson's terms, and I found it interesting and informative. The second part is an anthology of the writings of various mystics. I struggled much more with this part. I found it repetitive and while the first section described the importance of female mystics, the second ignored them completely and used exclusionary language.

"[A] man's life should be spent, in the contemplation of absolute beauty. Once you have seen that, you will not value it in terms of gold or rich clothing or the beauty of boys and young men..."

I did enjoy some of the writings in the anthology, though, especially that of Richard Jefferies. And I skimmed through the bits that bored me senseless.