great variety of tastes, and thus to commend itself as a household
companion for any mood and any hour. There is no intention of presenting
merely a mass of historical material, however important it is in its
place, which is commonly of the sort that people recommend others to
read and do not read themselves. It is not a library of reference only,
but a library to be read. The selections do not represent the
partialities and prejudices and cultivation of any one person, or of a
group of editors even; but, under the necessary editorial supervision,
the sober judgment of almost as many minds as have assisted in the
preparation of these volumes. By this method, breadth of appreciation
has been sought.

The arrangement is not chronological, but alphabetical, under the names
of the authors, and, in some cases, of literatures and special
subjects. Thus, in each volume a certain variety is secured, the
heaviness or sameness of a mass of antique, classical, or mediaeval
material is avoided, and the reader obtains a sense of the varieties and
contrasts of different periods. But the work is not an encyclopaedia, or
merely a dictionary of authors. Comprehensive information as to all
writers of importance may be included in a supplementary reference
volume; but the attempt to quote from all would destroy the Work for
reading purposes, and reduce it to a herbarium of specimens.

In order to present a view of the entire literary field, and to make
these volumes especially useful to persons who have not access to large
libraries, as well as to treat certain literatures or subjects when the
names of writers are unknown or would have no significance to the
reader, it has been found necessary to make groups of certain
nationalities, periods, and special topics. For instance, if the reader
would like to know something of ancient and remote literatures which
cannot well be treated under the alphabetical list of authors, he will
find special essays by competent scholars on the Accadian-Babylonian
literature, on the Egyptian, the Hindu, the Chinese, the Japanese, the
Icelandic, the Celtic, and others, followed by selections many of which
have been specially translated for this Work. In these literatures names
of ascertained authors are given in the Index. The intention of the
essays is to acquaint the reader with the spirit, purpose, and tendency
of these writings, in order that he may have a comparative view of the
continuity of thought