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The Study of English Literature: Three Essays
The Study of English Literature Three Essays Author:John Morley Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE STUDY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE A LECTURE DELIVERED TO THE STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION OF ST. ANDREWS, MARCH 26, 1887 By LESLIE STEPHEN1 I Am to speak o... more »f a well-worn topic, and I begin by saying IbatfJ do not propose to dwell /tjgonjoeof its asjgdctsp I shall not consider tEepropef"pTace of English literature in our school and university studies. My reason is simply that I have not the practical experience which would enable me to pass beyond the ordinary commonplaces. I have more prejudices than reasoned convictions on that subject. I take for granted, indeed, as an undeniable proposition, that familiarity with our literature is desirable. It is desirable for us all to have the personal acquaintance of men "Leslie Stephen, the well-known English author and lecturer, was born in 1832, and educated at Cambridge. He was editor of the Cornkill Magazine from 1871 to 1881. He is now engaged in editing the ' Dictionary of National Biography," a most thorough and comprehensive work in fifty volumes. Mr. Stephen is well- known by his " Hours in a Library" (3 series), " Life of Henry Faw- cett," and several volumes in the " English Men of Letters series." better, wiser, more highly endowed than ourselves. Acquaintance with such men is not less desirable after their death. In some respects it is even more desirable. The dead man cannot, it is true, answer our questions or thrill us by his bodily presence; but neither can he alarm our modesty or repel us by accidental infirmities. If we could consciously meet a Shakespeare, we should be struck dumb; but we are quite at our ease with that essence of Shakespeare which is compressed into a book. We can put him in our pockets, admit him to an audience when we are in the humor, and treat him as familiarly as a college chum. We can...« less