Greatest Books in the World

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. What most of us need, I take it, is a book, sound in its treatment, by means of which we may readily and intelligently inform ourselves concerning the world's masterworks of litera ture, not as mere detached forms but as part of a great whole, a great art whose history and development are inwoven with the history and development of mankind; a book not dogmatic but one which rather will help us to discover and interpret some of the beauty of these master pieces and will lead us to form our own opinions concerning them. If the present volume, meeting this need, shall become a help to those interested in its subject; if by this means it shall add somewhat to their enjoyment of literature, I shall not regret that it is not called a scholarly, but rather, in the broadest sense, a popular discussion of the world's greatest books. A further word is perhaps needed concerning the author's choice of the books here discussed.