English Literature / Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English-Speaking World

This seems to be a mistake, for two reasons: first, the average young person has no natural interest in such matters; and second, he is unable to appreciate them.

Behind every book is a man; behind the man is the race; and behind the race are the natural and social environments whose influence is unconsciously reflected.

It was not a new world, but only the unnoticed harmony of the old that had aroused the child's wonder.

Let a little song appeal to the ear, or a noble book to the heart, and for the moment, at least, we discover a new world, a world so different from our own that it seems a place of dreams and magic.