ian's mental
equipment? Why is it important to know his fundamental philosophical or
religious beliefs?

NOTE

In place of illustrative and practical selections, as given in earlier
chapters, it is suggested that the student be referred to a few leading
works in the department of history. Among those that might be used,
apart from popular text-books on the subject, are Macaulay's "History of
England," Green's "History of the English People," Carlyle's "French
Revolution," Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico," Motley's "Rise of the
Dutch Republic," Irving's "Life of Goldsmith," the autobiographies of
Franklin, Gibbon, and Ruskin, the diaries of Pepys and Evelyn, Johnson's
"Lives of the Poets," volumes from the English Men of Letters series,
the American Men of Letters series, the American Statesmen series, or
any other works to which the student may have access.

The volumes assigned by the teacher should be studied with reference to
diction and style as presented in Part Second of this work. In addition
to this, the narrative, descriptive, and philosophical passages should
be distinguished. By an analysis of a single chapter or of the whole
book, the symmetry and completeness of the author's treatment may be
judged. The writer's purpose and standpoint should, if possible, be
ascertained, and the effect upon the work pointed out. His mood,
character, and intellectual gifts should be traced as reflected in his
work. The results of this investigation might be presented in the form
of a written critique.

CHAPTER XI

ESSAYS AND ORATORY

+66. Essays.+ An essay is a brief dissertation on some special subject.
It aims to present its statements in a clear and interesting manner, and
this careful regard for a finished form brings the essay within the
scope of literature in the strict sense of the word. The essay does not
usually aim at an elaborate discussion of a subject in all its phases,
and it is thus distinguished from the treatise. Its origin dates from
the French author Montaigne in the latter part of the sixteenth century;
but since the vast multiplication of periodicals in recent years, the
essay has become a prominent department of literature. There is scarcely
any subject of human interest that may not be discussed in an essay.

The principal forms of the essay are as follows:

(1) The _tract_, which is usually a brief discussion of some religious
or moral subject.

(2) The _editorial_, which is an ed