writings except perhaps the dramas of Shakespeare. But the true attitude toward contemporary literature is to see that, where worthily done, it is a manifestation of the same impulse that produced Shakespeare's dramas and Milton's epic. We do not outgrow literature as we outgrow the scientific knowledge of past generations. Whether it was written yesterday or a thousand years ago, literature is an expression of the changeless soul of man. Contemporary literature should find an important place in the course of study, but not as a dessert or as a sop to take the curse off Addison and Wordsworth. Neither the course that stops with Browning nor the course that begins with Kipling can meet the requirements.

4. The course in literature set forth in these books had its origin in the query as to what ends should be kept in view by those who wish to make literature a vital element in a liberal education. The pupil was the first consideration, not the philologist or literary historian or critic. Plato's scheme of liberal education was designed for those who were to be what he called "the future rulers." For these future rulers of our American democracy we should supply through literature as well as through other subjects the training set forth in Plato's ideal. This training, it has recently been said, sought to "develop power of independent thought, open up the secrets of the universe, and teach the intellectual love of God." In such a program the wholesome recreation that comes through reading, and the interest and pungency of contemporary writing, should find large place, but not at the expense of an intellectual discipline that can be gained only through our modern humanities.

5. It was found that the experience of teachers had gathered a fairly large

body of representative literature that the great majority agreed should be drawn upon for the course. It was also found that emphasis was correctly placed upon this literature, not upon books about literature. The chief difficulty was in the organization of the material to be read. This material must be abundant, and it should be presented in such a way as to give something of the definiteness of method to the study of literature that has been developed in other subjects, such as science, mathematics, and English composition. That is, the loosely planned course in standard literature, in which the pupil could not possibly have any adequate idea about the reasons for the choice of books and lacked all means for testing his own advance, must give place to a course in which progressive method is apparent. Abundance of choice material is also of importance because of the lack in too many homes of the proper amount and quality of reading matter for eager young minds. It has been, therefore, a definite purpose of this series to supply even more material than can be studied in detail in class. Chosen carefully, and presented in attractive guise, there is no need for fearing that it will not be read.

6. The organization of the course. is made clear by a number of devices. First, the business of the pupil is to learn to read. This he is helped to do through special introductions that direct his attention to the value of reading and the methods by which skill may be attained, and by numerous exercises that train the power of observation and of independent thought. Second, the subject of study is the great Book of Literature itself. What this means is explained in many ways, in all the volumes making up this series. The selections

themselves are chapters or paragraphs or songs in this greater volume, the product of the human spirit in all ages, a chief source for opening up the secrets of the universe. This means that in the earlier parts of the course we are less concerned with literary chronology and history and even with biography than is the case with a course based on a manual of history or a succession of separately edited masterpieces. Types of literature, lives of authors, characteristics of great literary periods all have due place, but knowledge of these is built up gradually, is fixed through cross references and reviews, and is made easy of acquisition because the plan of distribution through the four years was thought out in advance.

In the present volume the fruits of the systematic preparation will be apparent. The chief purpose, here, is to set forth the great tradition of our literature. History and chronology and the evolution of great periods are necessary elements. But what would be a very difficult task is here made easier through what has gone before. Teachers who have tried it know the futility of the plan of imposing on fourth-year pupils textbooks of literary history for which they have not been prepared in advance. For the history of literature differs from political history in a very important respect. In the ordinary history of the United States or of England the subject is complete in itself; there is nothing for the pupil to do but to learn the facts set forth in his text and to interpret them as best he may. But with the history of literature the case is altered. There is very little, if any, value in memorizing dates of publication, lists of books and poems, and facts of the lives of authors, unless this material is supplementary to direct contact with the books and poems that make up the body of liter

ature. To require memorizing of such facts without the accompanying study of the literature is worse than futile, for it is based on an entire misapprehension of the problem involved.

For this reason we have placed the history of American literature in the second year, following the usual extensive study, in the upper grammar grades, and the first year of the highschool course, of selections from American authors. We have thus cleared the way for a preparatory study of the development of the more complex and longer English literature in the third year, to be followed, in this fourth book, by a more formal and orderly treatment accompanied by an abundance of illustrative material. In such a way, and only in such a way, may the history of literature become a vital element in the training of the high-school pupil.

The cumulative nature of the treatment of literature in the four books of the series may be illustrated in still other ways. In earlier books of the series, types of literature like the ballad, the novel, the essay, the epic, the drama, have been studied. Representative works of a considerable number of great authors have also been studied. Thus, various aspects of Shakespeare's genius have been presented in each of the preceding books. This progressive study of Shakespeare has taken the place of the usual repetitions of the biography in separate editions of the plays, so that the pupil is now ready for a much more mature presentation of Shakespearean tragedy than would otherwise be possible. Again, great periods, such as those of chivalry and romance, the English Renaissance, and the eighteenth century, have been studied in Book Three, though from a wholly different point of view from that of systematic history, and this acquaint

ance with the literature of these periods
is here drawn upon to make the more
intensified study of the present book
possible and fruitful. In other words,
the pupil is now ready to study the
history of our literature and a body
of representative masterpieces in a
way that will prevent mere memorizing
of second-hand information.

Accompanying the history, pre-
pared in accordance with the views
already set forth, will be found, first,
the masterpieces required for in-
tensive study by the Conference
plan; second, a much larger body of
material, chronologically arranged, to
give further richness and meaning to
the story; and third, the continuation
of the story to the present time with a
liberal selection from contemporary
material of undoubted beauty and
excellence. In this volume, as in its
predecessors, proper attention is given
to American literature; the story is of
literature in English, not of British
literature alone. Thus also is driven
home the conception of a great tradi-
tion, the interpretation of a life that is
living, not dead, continuing at the
present time.

In the book will be found editorial
apparatus that has proved its value.
in preceding volumes. The ques-
tions and notes are designed for the
pupils, to help them in their home
study. They may be used or disre-

garded during the class hour, at the
option of the teacher. Intelligent prep-
aration of the assignment is the
object that has been sought, not inter-
ference with the teacher's own indi-
viduality in the class discussions.

As in the preceding books, abun-
dance of material has been supplied.
Not all of this can be studied in detail
in any one school year. Opportunity
is afforded for the abler pupils to do
more outside work. Opportunity is
also afforded for the teacher to make
her own course by indicating at her
pleasure which chapters or selections
are to be studied intensively and which
are to be omitted, read rapidly, or re-
ported on by selected pupils. As in the
previous books, the selections are pre-
sented without abridgment except in a
few cases that are specifically indicated
in the Contents. All the masterpieces
necessary for intensive study in the
Conference plan are here presented,
without abridgment, and with edi-
torial apparatus that is effective be-
cause the classic is here viewed, not
as a subject for the display of editorial
erudition, but as a part of a completely
organized course. To enliven the
story and to make it real, careful
attention has been given to the illus-
trations, which are not only abundant
but specially chosen for their contri-
bution to the great objects of the
series.