CHAPTER I
THE AIM 1
CHAPTER II
YOUR PARTICULAR CASE 9
CHAPTER III
WHY A CLASSIC IS A CLASSIC 18
CHAPTER V
HOW TO READ A CLASSIC 34
CHAPTER VI
THE QUESTION OF STYLE 43
CHAPTER VII
WRESTLING WITH AN AUTHOR 59
CHAPTER VIII
SYSTEM IN READING 68
CHAPTER IX
VERSE 76
CHAPTER XI
AN ENGLISH LIBRARY: PERIOD I 99
CHAPTER XII
AN ENGLISH LIBRARY: PERIOD II 108
CHAPTER XIII
AN ENGLISH LIBRARY: PERIOD III 114
CHAPTER XIV
MENTAL STOCKTAKING 127
At the beginning a misconception must be removed from the path. Many people, if not most, look on literary taste as an elegant accomplishment, by acquiring which they will complete themselves, and make themselves finally fit as members of a correct society. They are secretly ashamed of their ignorance of literature, in the same way as they would be ashamed of their ignorance of etiquette at a high entertainment, or of their inability to ride a horse if suddenly called upon to do so. There are certain things that a man ought to know, or to know about, and literature is one of them: such is their idea. They have learnt to dress themselves with propriety, and to behave with propriety on all occasions; they are fairly "up" in the questions of the day; by industry [pg 2] and enterprise they are succeeding in their vocations; it behoves them, then, not to forget that an acquaintance with literature is an indispensable part of a self-respecting man's personal baggage. Painting doesn't matter; music doesn't mat