COPYRIGHTED 1901 BY THE MOULTON PUBLISHING COMPANY THE WENBORNE-SUMNER COMPANY BUFFALO NEW YORK PREFACE. N OFFERING to the public "THE LIBRARY OF LITERARY CRITICISM OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN AUTHORS," the editor feels that an extended Preface would be superfluous. The scope and usefulness of this work will be apparent to all who have occasion to consult its pages. The arrangement is in chronological order; and this volume brings the work down to 1638. Each volume will contain an alphabetical Table of Contents, and in the last volume copious indexes will follow the regular text. Each author is treated chronologically, in most cases beginning with contemporary criticism and ending with some living authority. Under the head of Geoffrey Chaucer, the first articles are by Deschamps and Gower, written in the twelfth century, and the concluding criticisms are by Lounsbury, Courthope, Pollard, Corson, Saintsbury, and Skeat, of the last decade, whose co-operation is much appreciated. In every instance it has been the editor's aim to fix the date of each article by giving either the date the article was written or the date of its publication. In cases like the "History of English Literature" by H. A. Taine, although published in France in 1864, the date of its first appearance in English, 1871, as translated by Mr. Van Laun with M. Taine's corrections, has been adopted. not obtainable, an approximate date has been given. have been published, the last edition has generally been consulted. With few exceptions the quotations have been collated with the original text, and over five thousand volumes have been consulted in compiling this volume. Where accurate information was Where several editions of a work Acknowledgments are due to so many individuals and firms that it is impossible to enumerate my obligations here. There is not an important publishing house in America or Great Britain that has not contributed to this LIBRARY. To the many laymen and scholars who have lent their helpful assistance and counsel in the preparation of the following pages I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness. BUFFALO, NEW YORK, January 30, 1901. CHARLES WELLS MOULTON. |