11 h 57 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a cathedral’s carved doorways could tell you how a whole community thinks, believes, and works?
In The Bible of Amiens, John Ruskin reads a Gothic cathedral as a book in stone. Its porches hold prophets, apostles, saints, virtues, and vices. He asks what these figures teach, who carves them, and what the building reveals about the lives of the people behind it.
But Ruskin begins far from the doors, at the source of the river Somme. He follows the land and history that shape Amiens before turning to its art. Travel, scripture, and sharp opinion meet as he explores the ties between Christian faith, the freedom of carvers, and the value of honest work.
What you’ll discover
- A cathedral you can read Explore Ruskin’s view of carved stone as a way to teach people who cannot read.
- The river before the doors Begin at the Somme’s source and consider why a building cannot be understood alone.
- Faith behind the figures Follow Ruskin’s account of how scripture shapes the minds and art of the builders.
- Freedom in the carving Consider his belief that Gothic art gains strength when workers can think and err.
- A mind that wanders Take your time with a teacher whose thoughts lead beyond a straightforward tour.
Who will love it
Readers who love cathedrals, medieval history, saints and legends, or the opinionated voice of a passionate art critic. It suits travelers, admirers of Gothic sculpture, and anyone curious how faith shaped a town's stones.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Look up from the train at Amiens
- Christianity reaches Amiens with a martyr
- Gentleness spreads faith farther than zeal
- Clovis shows how faith and force can mix
- True history lives among the unnamed and the good
- Climate and race shape every people
- Jerome gave Europe a library called the Bible
- A cathedral rises from fire and shared labor
- The west front is a sermon in stone
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Die Bibel von Amiens
by John Ruskin · 1884
A smoking chimney and a stone spire stand side by side in Amiens, and Ruskin asks what the cathedral means.
Easy read10–20 hours to readDeutsch
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
What does a smoking factory chimney have in common with a stone spire? In The Bible of Amiens, John Ruskin invites readers to look at Amiens and asks what the cathedral means to a town that no longer looks up.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Look up from the train at Amiens
He wants that traveler to see that the town was once a Venice of France, cut by eleven streams and famous for velvet, linen and embroidery sent as far as Turkey and Barbary.
From the train window the traveler sees about fifty factory chimneys, all smoking. One tower is slightly taller and does not smoke. Beside it rises a wall carved by long-dead hands for no profit at all, and a thin spire that Ruskin calls the arrow, or fleche, pointing nowhere.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 7 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1884
- Language
- Deutsch
- Level
- Easy read
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Die Bibel von Amiens
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Bible of Amiens about?
It tells how Amiens, the Franks and early Christianity led to the building of its cathedral. It then guides the reader through the carved west front, where apostles, prophets, virtues and vices form a Bible in stone.
Why is it called The Bible of Amiens?
Ruskin means the statues and small carved panels on the cathedral's west front, which teach the teachings of apostles and prophets to the people of the town. The sculpture is the Bible of the town.
Who built Amiens Cathedral?
Ruskin names Robert of Luzarches as master of the work from 1220, followed by Thomas of Cormont and his son Regnault. He also credits Bishop Evrard, Bishop Geoffroy and the townspeople who paid for it.
The author
John Ruskin
1819–1900 · English art critic and writer
John Ruskin (1819–1900) was an English writer and art critic born in London. He wrote Modern Painters, published in five volumes between 1843 and 1860, and Unto This Last, first published in 1860. He lived at Brantwood in the Lake District from 1872 and died there in 1900.
More by John Ruskin
All 4 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
