Hello,
I think that the nearest you will get to this online is
http://www.xrefer.com/ where you can perform a simultaneous keyword
search across the full text of a number of reference sources from a
variety of disciplines. The service is divided into a free section and
a paid-for subscription section with extra titles. Unfortunately,
subscription is geared towards institutional users such as libraries
(lowest rate is $1500 per year for up to 2500 users) and no deals are
offered for individual users.
From the blurb on the site: "Cross-referencing is xreferplus' magic
ingredient. By fully exploiting the opportunities offered by the web,
xreferplus increases the value of reference content by creating an
additional network of over 5 million links which lead seamlessly from
a topic in one source to related topics in other works."
The free service contains the following:
art:
The Encyclopaedia of the Renaissance
The Oxford Dictionary of Art
The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms
The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art and Artists
british history:
Dictionary of British History
business & law:
A Dictionary of Law, Oxford University Press
Dictionary of Accounting, Oxford University Press
Dictionary of Business: Oxford University Press
The Penguin Dictionary of Economics
Wall Street Words
dictionaries:
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary
The Pocket Oxford Dictionary of Current English
encyclopedias:
A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press
Oxford Paperback Encyclopedia
The Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography
The Macmillan Encyclopedia 2001
The Oxford English Reference Dictionary
The Penguin Biographical Dictionary of Women
Who's Who in the Twentieth Century: Oxford University Press
english literature:
A Dictionary of Shakespeare, Oxford University Press
The Oxford Companion to English Literature
health:
A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition
Concise Medical Dictionary: Oxford University Press
Dictionary of Medicines, Oxford University Press
language & usage:
The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of Idioms
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics, Oxford University Press
The New Fowler's Modern English Usage
The Oxford Companion to the English Language
music:
Oxford Dictionary of Music
The Penguin Dictionary of Music
philosophy:
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy
place names:
A Dictionary of English Place-Names
quotations:
Bloomsbury Biographical Dictionary of Quotations
Bloomsbury Thematic Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
science:
A Dictionary of Earth Sciences
A Dictionary of Geography
A Dictionary of Science, Oxford University Press
A Dictionary of Scientists, Oxford University Press
Dictionary of Biology, Oxford University Press
The New Penguin Dictionary of Science
technology:
Compact American Dictionary of Computer Words
thesaurus:
Bloomsbury Thesaurus
I don't think that this goes all the way to meeting your need, but it
may be of some use to you. |
Clarification of Answer by
tehuti-ga
on
23 May 2002 16:51 PDT
I said straight off in my response that this is a partial answer.
However, I do honestly think that you will not get anything better on
or off the Web if what you are looking for is specific factual
information. The concept you describe would require a truly
multidisciplinary approach; the Renaissance approach of da Vinci and
other great thinkers of that time. Unfortunately "renaissance
thinking" is not something that is encouraged or rewarded in our
times. In part this is due to the overload of information that we
face. Most thinkers, in order to earn their daily bread, are forced
to focus on a narrow spectrum of activity, and find it difficult to
stay current even within that limited sphere.
One commentator has mentioned the work of Blavatsky. Another approach
that can be used is to study the Jewish Kabbalah, or Qabala as it
tends to be caled in the Western esoteric tradition. This originally
arose as a means employed by Jewish scholars to categorise the names
of God. In Western esoteric tradition it is used to categorise a mass
of correspondences, mythological pantheons, etc. Either way, it can
be used to explain the different processes, forces and forms that
operate throughout the universe. This will not give you the answers,
but it could give you the tools to apply to your own consideration of
different subjects. An Internet search on kabbalah, qabala or Tree of
Life will produce many references to follow. However, two good places
to start are books: The Ladder of Lights, by William Gray (Weiser,
ISBN 0-87728-536-5) which takes the Western esoteric view, and Tree of
Life by Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi (Rider, ISBN 0-09-150011-7) which is
from the Jewish tradition.
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