John Calvin's Institutes has established itself as "one of the most important theological works ever written," writes Tony Lane. This abridged edition of the Institutes provides a readable and inexpensive sampler of Calvin's greatest work. Lane has condensed the 1559 edition, retaining the heart of Calvin's teaching on all his major themes. Hilary Osborne has put Henry Beveridge's translation "in simpler and more modern English." The result is "a selection from the Institutes which is manageable for the average modern reader, in terms of length and of intelligibility." Lane reminds us that Calvin designed the Institutes "to be a practical book .... He requires of all doctrine that it be scriptural and that it be useful for Christian living."