these to English literature.

The author has further aimed to make this work both interesting and
suggestive. He has endeavored to present the subject in a way that
necessitates the comparison of authors and movements, and leads to
stimulating thinking. He has tried to communicate enough of the spirit of
our literature to make students eager for a first-hand acquaintance with
it, to cause them to investigate for themselves this remarkable American
record of spirituality, initiative, and democratic accomplishment. As a
guide to such study, there have been placed at the end of each chapter
_Suggested Readings_ and still further hints, called _Questions and
Suggestions_. In _A Glance Backward_, the author emphasizes in brief
compass the most important truths that American literature teaches, truths
that have resulted in raising the ideals of Americans and in arousing them
to greater activity.

Any one who makes an original study of American literature will not be a
mere apologist for it. He will marvel at the greatness of the moral
lesson, at the fidelity of the presentation of the thought which has
molded this nation, and at the peculiar aptness which its great authors
have displayed in ministering to the special needs and aspirations of
Americans. He will realize that the youth who stops with the indispensable
study of English literature is not prepared for American citizenship,
because our literature is needed to present the ideals of American life.
There may be greater literatures, but none of them can possibly take the
place of ours for citizens of this democracy.

The moral element, the most impressive quality in American literature, is
continuous from the earliest colonial days until the present. Teachers
should be careful not to obscure this quality. As the English scientist,