is the English translation of a French 18th century masterpiece, by Dominique Vivant Denon. Written in 1777 and re-edited in 1812, is a record of the initiation of a young man and a member of a secret society. Giovanna Summerfield's preface and notes will offer a new way of reading , marginalizing the triviality of sex and the love triangle, which has been thus far seen as a physical need rather than as an expression of supremacy and challenge of God. Both the theme of love and the search for ethical answers are current and pertinent even in our days, thus they continue to make this work of art appealing and fresh.