of Authors, by my friend S. Austin Allibone, LL.D., in which bibliography is a strong feature. I am not called upon to eulogize that noble work, but I cannot help saying that I have found it invaluable, and that whether mentioned or not, no writer can treat of English authors without constant recurrence to its accurate columns: it is a literary marvel of our age. It will be observed that the remoter periods of the literature are those in which the historic teachings are the most distinctly visible; we see them from a vantage ground, in their full scope, and in the interrelations of their parts. Although in the more modern periods the number of writers is greatly increased, we are too near to discern the entire period, and are in danger of becoming partisans, by reason of our limited view. Especially is this true of the age in which we live. Contemporary history is but party-chronicle: the true philosophic history can only be written when distance and elevation give due scope to our vision. The principle I have laid down is best illustrated by the great literary masters. Those of less degree have been treated at less length, and many of them will be found in the smaller print, to save space. Those who study the book should study the small print as carefully as the other. After a somewhat elaborate exposition of English literature, I could not induce myself to tack on an inadequate chapter on American literature; and, besides, I think that to treat the two subjects in one volume would be as incongruous as to write a joint biography of Marlborough and Washington. American literature is too great and noble, and has had too marvelous a development to be made an appendix to English literature. If time shall serve, I hope to prepare a separate volume, exhibiting the stages of our literature in the Colonial period, the Revolutionary epoch, the time of Constitutional establishment, and the present period. It will be found to illustrate these historical divisions in a remarkable manner. H. C. a THE LEHIGH UNIVERSITY, October, 1872. CONTENTS. PAGE THE HISTORICAL SCOPE OF THE SUBJECT. Literature and Science - English Literature - General Principle – Celts and Cymry — Roman Conquest — Coming of the Saxons — The Uses of Literature – Italy, France, England -- Purpose of the Work Celtic Literary Remains Druids and Druidism The Lineage of the Anglo-Saxon – Earliest Saxon Poem — Metrical Arrangement - Periphrasis and Alliteration – Beowulf - Caed. 30 THE NORMAN CONQUEST AND ITS EARLIEST LITERATURE. Norman Rule Its Oppression Its Benefits William of Malmesbury – Geoffrey of Monmouth Other Latin Chron- Semi-Saxon Literature - Layamon - The Ormulum Robert of A New Era: Chaucer - Italian Influence - Chaucer as a Founder THE BARREN PERIOD BETWEEN CHAUCER AND SPENSER. Greek Literature Invention of Printing. Caxton Contem. The Great Change — Edward VI. and Mary – Sidney The . . The Faerie Queene The Plan Proposed - Illustrations of the History – The Knight and the Lady — The Wood of Error and the Hermitage – The Crusades — Britomartis and Sir Artegal Origin of the Drama – Miracle Plays — Moralities - First Comedy - Early Tragedies — Christopher Marlowe - Other Dramatists — WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE (CONTINUED). The Grounds of his Fame - Creation of Character - Imagination and Fancy Power of Expression His Faults - Influence of BACON, AND THE RISE OF THE NEW PHILOSOPHY. Birth and Early Life — Treatment of Essex - His Appointments Early Versions — The Septuagint — The Vulgate — Wiclif; Tyn- JOHN MILTON, AND THE ENGLISH COMMONWEALTH. Historical Facts - Charles I. - Religious Extremes — Cromwell Birth and Early Works Views of Marriage — Other Prose Works — Effects of the Restoration – Estimate of his Prose · 174 The Blind Poet Paradise Lost - Milton and Dante His |
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