or vitiated by prejudice, ignorance, or self-interest; but,
proceeding according to well-defined principles, it is able to trace the
steps by which it reaches its ultimate conclusions.

+4. History of Criticism.+ Criticism is a natural attendant of all forms
of art. Literary criticism is almost as old as literature itself. No
sooner had a writer produced a literary work, even in the most ancient
times, than his contemporaries proceeded to express their judgments
concerning it. Among the ancient Greeks Plato and Aristotle were both
critics; and the latter's work on "Poetics" is still valuable for its
discussion of fundamental principles. Quintilian, Cicero, and Horace
were distinguished Roman critics; and the poet's _Ars Poetica_, read in
every college course, is an admirable presentation of many critical
principles. But it is in modern times, and particularly during the
nineteenth century, that criticism received its highest development. In
England not a few of its leading literary men--Dryden, Pope, Addison,
Johnson, Coleridge, Jeffrey, Macaulay, Carlyle, Matthew Arnold--have
been critics; and in America we meet with such honored names as Poe,
Emerson, Whipple, Lowell, Stedman, and many others. In recent years
criticism has greatly gained in breadth and geniality.

+5. Standard of Criticism.+ All criticism involves comparison. For every
species of literature there is an ideal of form, content, and spirit,
which serves the intelligent critic as a standard of judgment. This
ideal is based on a realization of the recognized principles of literary
art. These principles pertain to _diction_, _structure_, _matter_, and
_spirit_ or _purpose_. No one will deny that the diction should be well
chosen; that the structure of the sentences should be correct and clear;
and that, in the case of poetry, the laws of versification should be
observed. These elements contribute to excellence of form. In addition
to these external elements there should be unity of thought, symmetry of
presentation, truth of statement, and sincerity and self-restraint in
sentiment. These elements give substantial worth to the matter or
content of literature. Besides all this there is a grace or elegance or
force, proceeding from the personality of the writer and transcending
all rules of art, that gives a peculiar charm to the best literature.
Sometimes the personal element or spirit of a work is so pleasing that
it more than counterbalances defects of for