The Historical Essay And The Critical Review Some Suggestions As To Their Preparation With Examples Taken From American History

Excerpt from The Historical Essay and the Critical Review: Some Suggestions as to Their Preparation, With Examples Taken From American History The critic is not a base caviler, but the younger brother of genius. Next to invention is the power of interpreting invention: next to beauty the power of appreciating beauty - Margaret Fuller. Several times during the year the student will be called upon to prepare a paper on some historical book. If one is going to pass an honest judg ment on a work it is clear that the first duty is carefully and thoroughly to read it, taking note of its important features. The author may expect this consideration from the reviewer, for a book is the fruit of toil and thought The great Petrarch, in speaking of his letters, puts the author's case: I desire, he says, that my reader, whoever he may he, should think of me alone, not of his daughter's wedding, his mistress's embraces, the wiles of his enemy, his engagements, horse, lands or money. I want him to pay attention to me. If his affairs are pressing, let him postpone reading the letter, but when he does read, let him throw aside the burden of business and family cares, and fix his mind upon the matter before him. I do not wish him to carry on his business and attend to my letter at the same time. I will not have him gain without any exertion what has not been produced without labor on my part. After careful reading, with his notes arranged in order, the reviewer begins upon his composition. In such a piece of writing it is obviously well to intrigue the attention of the prospective reader at the start by some remarks of general introduction, to lead him from concerns of his own day's routine into a mood in which he can appreciate the essay which is to be set before him. Since the book is the product of a certain human mind and inevitably bears the marks of its creator's strength or weakness, it is also desirable to discover and to state the bare facts, of the author's life and the efiect which his environment and the circumstances of his career were bound to have upon his views and his work. What merits, if any, have been ascribed to his work in general? What experience or preparation qualified him to undertake the task in hand? Exactly when and under what conditions was it written? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.