A Primer of English Literature Author:Maurice Francis Egan General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1896 Original Publisher: William H. Sadlier Subjects: English literature Literary Criticism / General Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typo... more »s or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: ENGLISH LITERATURE. CHAPTER I. Early Saxon Writings. -- Poems Brought to England from the Homes of the Saxons, 460. -- Cadmon, 670. I. Literature is a reflection of life in all ages. It is the only means by which we know how mankind in other times lived, thought, and acted. English literature, in which we may also include American literature, expresses the thoughts, 'feelings, and observations of writers who used or use the English language. In speaking of American literature, we must remember that it means many writings not in English. In South America and Mexico there are great authors who do not write the English language; and in Canada, which is part of America, there are numbers of writers in the French language deservedly celebrated. 2. Printed Books were not the first form in which literature existed. Before the invention of the art of printing, literature was perpetuated by tradition ; it was handed down from father to son. Then the memory of man was his library. It is said that the magnificent works of Homer were preserved in this manner among the. Greeks for five hundred years. Later, symbolical characters, or letters, were impressed on various substances, such as the bark of trees and prepared leaves. In the year 1474 books began to be printed in England, and the monks, who had laboriously preserved great masterpieces of literature by writing and illuminating them with wonderful care and taste, now learned to print by the aid ...« less