The book is a continual account of their civilization the first authorship is dated to 2194 BC, and the last addition being 1256 AD (Which is 3449 years after Atland sunk according to the author) So you get a nice chronology of events over several thousand years. Many of the things spoke of were only recently dated in modern history so its pretty interesting. It tells their creation story, their migration, their warring, their society, their religion, their laws, their customs, other societys, the "cataclysm" that sunk Atlantis a whole chapter on it. It has an account of Alexander the Great which is not known in any other historical books which is pretty epic.

A few quotes from it I found pleasing these are some of their laws:

"If any man becomes poor because he will not work, he must be sent out of the country, because the cowardly and lazy are troublesome and ill-disposed, therefore they ought to be got rid of."

"There shall be no usurers in the market"

"If any man shall deprive another, even his debtor, of his liberty, let him be to you as a vile slave ; and I advise you to burn his body and that of his mother in an open place, and bury them fifty feet below the ground, so that no grass shall grow upon them."

their creation story, some parts of it:

"This is our earliest history.
Wr-alda, who alone is eternal and good, made the begin- ning. Then commenced time. Time wrought all things, even the earth. The earth bore grass, herbs, and trees, all useful and all noxious animals. All that is good and useful she brought forth by day, and all that is bad and injurious by night.
After the twelfth Juulfeest she brought forth three maidens : —
Lyda out of fierce heat.
Finda out of strong heat.
Frya out of moderate heat.
When the last came into existence, Wr-alda breathed his spirit upon her in order that men might be bound to him. As soon as they were full grown they took pleasure and delight in the visions of Wr-alda.
Hatred found its way among them.
They each bore twelve sons and twelve daughters- — at every Juul-time a couple. Thence come all mankind."

"Lyda was black, with hair curled like a lamb’s ; her eyes shone like stars, and shot out glances like those of a bird of prey."

"Finda was yellow, and her hair was like the mane of a horse. She could not bend a tree, but where Lyda killed one lion she killed ten."

"Frya was white like the snow at sunrise, and the blue of her eyes vied with the rainbow."

Some random historical references:

"In early times almost all the Finns lived together in their native land, which was called Aldland, and is now submerged. They were thus far away, and we had no wars. When they were driven hitherwards, and appeared as rob- bers, then arose the necessity of defending ourselves, and we had armies, kings, and wars.
For all this there were established regulations, and out of the regulations came fixed laws."

"Minno was an ancient sea-king. He was a seer and a philosopher, and he gave laws to the Cretans. He was born at Lindaoord, and after all his wanderings he had the happiness to die at Lindahem."

"We understand that very well, said the priests; but tell us what means the owl that always sits upon your head, is that light-shunning animal a sign of your clear vision ? No, answered Hellenia; he reminds me that there are people on earth who, like him, have their homes in churches and holes, who go about in the twilight, not, like him, to deliver us from mice and other plagues, but to in- vent tricks to steal away the knowledge of other people, in order to take advantage of them, to make slaves of them, and to suck their blood like leeches."

"Where, then, does evil come from? asked the priests. All the evil comes from you, and from the stupidity of the people who let themselves be deceived by you."

"If, then, your god is so exceedingly good, why does he not turn away the bad? asked the priests. Hel- lenia answered : Frya has placed us here, and the car- rier, that is, Time, must do the rest. For all calamities there is counsel and remedy to be found, but Wr-alda wills that we should search it out ourselves, in order that we may become strong and wise. If we will not do that, he leaves us to our own devices, in order that we may experience the results of wise or foolish conduct. Then a prince said, I should think it best to submit. Very possibly, answered Hellenia ; for then men would be like sheep, and you and the priests would take care of them, shearing them and leading them to the shambles. This is what our god does not desire, he de- sires that we should help one another, but that all should be free and wise. That is also our desire, and therefore our people choose their princes, counts, councillors, chiefs, and masters among the wisest of the good men, in order that every man shall do his best to be wise and good."

"Before the bad time came our country was the most beautiful in the world. The sun rose higher, and there was Seldom frost. The trees and shrubs produced various fruits, which are now lost. In the fields we had not only rbarley,. oats, and rye, but wheat which shone like gold, and which could be baked in the sun’s rays. The years Vere not counted, for one was as happy as another"

"The Angelaren were men who fished in the sea, and were so named because they used lines and , hooks instead of nets."

The "event" that sunk Atlantis:

"During the whole summer the sun had been hid behind the clouds, as if unwilling to look upon the earth. There was perpetual calm, and the damp mist hung like a wet sail over the houses and the marshes. The air was heavy and oppressive, and in men’s hearts was neither joy nor cheerfulness. In the midst of this stillness the earth began to tremble as if she was dying. The mountains opened to vomit forth fire and flames. Some sank into the bosom of the earth, and in other places mountains rose out of the plain. Aldland, called by the seafaring people, Atland, disappeared, and the wild waves rose so high over hill and dale that everything was buried in the sea. Many people were swallowed up by the earth, and others who had escaped the fire perished in the water.
It was not only in Finda’s land that the earth vomited fire, but also in Twiskland. Whole forests were burned one after the other, and when the wind blew from that quarter our land was covered with ashes. Rivers changed their course, and at their mouths new islands were formed of sand and drift.
During three years this continued, but at length it ceased, and forests became visible. Many countries were submerged, and in other places land rose above the sea, and the wood was destroyed through the half of Twiskland. Troops of Finda’s people came and settled in the empty places. Our dispersed people were exterminated or made slaves. Then watchfulness was doubly impressed upon us, and time taught us that union is force."

"Sometimes the dirty priests and princes wished for the boys rather than the girls, and often led them astray from the paths of virtue by rich presents or by force. Because riches were more valued by this lost and degenerate race than virtue or honour, one sometimes saw boys dressed in splendid flowing robes, to the disgrace of their parents and maidens, and to the shame of their own sex."

Giants
"Adela came. She had learned in the burgt to use all kinds of weapons. She was seven feet high, and her sword was the same length. She waved it three times over her head, and each time a knight bit the earth."

"Mankind are male and female, but Wr-alda created both."

A seperate cataclysm described:

"As a wild horse tosses his mane after he has thrown his rider, so Irtha shook her forests and her mountains. Rivers flowed over the land ; the sea raged ; mountains spouted fire to the clouds, and what they vomited forth the clouds flung upon the earth. At the beginning of the Arnemaand (harvest month) the earth bowed towards the north, and sank down lower and lower. In the Welvenmaand (winter month) the low lands of Fryasland were buried under the sea. The woods in which the images were, were torn up and scattered by the wind. The following year the frost came in the Hardemaand (Louwmaand, January), and laid Fryasland concealed under a sheet of ice. In Sellemaand (Sprokkelmaand, February) there were storms of wind from the north, driving mountains of ice and stones. When the spring-tides came the earth raised herself up, the ice melted ; with the ebb the forests with the images drifted out to sea. In the Winne, or Minne- maand (Bloeimaand, May), every one who dared went home. I came with a maiden to the citadel Liudgaarde. How sad it looked there. The forests of the Lindaoorden were almost all gone. Where Liudgaarde used to be was sea. The waves swept over the fortifications. Ice had destroyed the tower, . and the houses lay heaped over each other." 1888 years after Atlantis submerged it perputes.

Alexander the Great
"After we had been settled 12 times 100 and twice 12 years in the Five Waters (Punjab), whilst our naval warriors were navigating all the seas they could find, came Alexander* the King, with a powerful army descending the river towards our villages. No one could withstand him ; but we sea-people, who lived by the sea, put all our possessions on board ships and took our departure."

"When we arrived at New Gertmania (New Gertmania is the port that we had made in order to take in water), we met Alexander with his army. Nearchus went ashore, and stayed three days. Then we proceeded further on. When we came to the Euphrates, Nearchus went ashore with the soldiers and a large body of people ; but he soon returned, and said, The King requests you, for his sake, to go a voyage up the Red Sea ; after that each shall re- ceive as much gold as he can carry. When we arrived there, he showed us where the strait had formerly been. There he spent thirty-one days, always looking steadily towards the desert.
At last there arrived a great troop of people, bringing with them 200 elephants, 1000 camels, a quantity of timber, ropes, and all kinds of implements necessary to drag our fleet to the Mediterranean Sea."

"Nearchus told us that his king wished to show to the other kings that he was more powerful than any kings of Tyre had ever been. We were only to assist, and that surely could do us no harm. We were obliged to yield, and Nearchus knew so well how to regulate everything, that before three months had elapsed our ships lay in the Mediterranean Sea."

"Ptolemy was the name of the prince who reigned over Egypt. Demetrius won the battle, not by his own sol- diers, but because we helped him. We had done this out of friendship for Nearchus, because we knew, that he was of bastard birth by his white skin, blue eyes, and fair hair"


This ought to irk some people
"While the doctrine of Jessos was thus spreading over the earth, the false priests went to the land of his birth to make his death known. They said they were his friends, and they pretended to show great sorrow by tear- ing their clothes and shaving their heads. They went to live in caves in the mountains, but in them they had hid all their treasures, and they made in them images of Jessos. They gave these statues to simple people, and at last they said that Jessos was a god, that he had declared this himself to them, and that all those who followed his doctrine should enter his kingdom hereafter, where all was joy and happiness. Because they knew that he was opposed to the rich, they announced everywhere that poverty, suf- fering, and humility were the door by which to enter into his kingdom, and that those who had suffered the most on earth should enjoy the greatest happiness there. Although they knew that Jessos had taught that men should regu- late and control their passions, they taught that men should stifle their passions, and that the perfection of humanity consisted in being as unfeeling as the cold stones. In order to make the people believe that they did as they preached, they pretended to outward poverty ; and that they had overcome all sensual feelings, they took no wives. But if any young girl had made a false step, it was quickly for- given ; the weak, they said, were to be assisted, and to savetheir souls men must give largely to the Church. Acting in this way, they had wives and children without house- holds, and were rich without. WQj&iftgj but the people grew poorer and more miserable than they had ever been before. This doctrine, which requires the priests to pos- sess no further knowledge than to speak deceitfully, and to pretend to be pious while acting unjustly, spreads from east to west, and will come to our land also. But when the priests fancy that they have entirely ex- tinguished the light of Frya and Jessos, then shall all classes of men rise up who have quietly preserved the truth among themselves, and have hidden it from the priests. They shall be of princely blood of priests, Slavonic, and Frya’s blood. They will make their light visible, so that all men shall see the truth ; they shall cry woe to the acts of the princes and the priests. The princes who love the truth and justice shall separate themselves from the priests ; blood shall flow, but from it the people will gather new strength. Finda’s folk shall contribnte their industry to the common good, Linda’s folk their strength, and we our wisdom. Then the false priests shall be swept away from the earth. Wr-alda’s spirit shall be invoked every- where and always ; the laws that Wr-alda in the beginning instilled into our consciences shall alone be listened to. There shall be neither princes, nor masters, nor rulers, except those chosen by the general voice. Then Frya shall rejoice, and the earth will only bestow her gifts on those who work. All this shall begin 4000 years after the submersion of Atland, and 1000 years later there shall exist no longer either priest or oppression.

their description of the catholic church and its origins i figure sounds about right