CONTENTS.
Reading edition
Introductory Remarks. PAGE
Purposes of the book briefly stated 1
System in reading 2
Purposes of reading 2
Its influence on health and mind 2
on character 3
on beauty and accomplishments 4
Its pleasures 5
Quantity and quality of reading 5
Selection of books 6
Order of reading 7
Method of reading 8
Importance of owning the books you read 9
Effect of bad books 10
useless books 11
good books 12-15
Abbreviations used in this Work 16
Note of Explanation 17,20
The First Two Shelves of the World's Library (Table.) 18-19
Remarks on Table I. 21-80
Religion and Morals 21-24
Poetry and the Drama 25-41
Science 41-46
Biography 46-48
History 49-52
Philosophy 53-56
Essays 56-57
Fiction 58-67
Oratory 67-68
Wit and Humor 68-71
Fables and Fairy Tales 71-73
Guides 75-76
Miscellaneous 76-80
Glimpses of the Great Fields of Thought, Arranged for the purpose of securing breadth of mind (Table II.) 82-83
A Series of Brief but very Choice Selections from general literature, constituting a year's course for the formation of a true literary taste (Table III.) 84-93
Groups I. and II., Poetry 85-91
Group III., Prose 91-92
Group IV., Wit and Humor 93
A Short Course Supplementary to the Last (Table IV.) 94-95
What To Give the Children 97-127
Special Studies 123-127
The Distribution of the World's Great Authors in time and space, with a parallel column of contemporaneous noted historic events (Table V.) 128-132
Remarks on Table V. 133-148
Definitions and divisions 133-135
Eight tests for the choice of books 135-139
Intrinsic merit 139-148
Periods of English Literature 150-160
The Pre-Shakspearian age 150-152
The Shakspearian age 152-155
The Post-Shakspearian age 155-160
Time of Milton 155-156
Dryden 156-158
Pope 158-159
The novelists, historians, and scientists 159-160
The greatest names of other literatures:—Greece, Rome, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Persia, Portugal, Denmark, Russia 161-164
The fountains of national literatures:—Homer, Nibelungenlied, Cid, Chansons, Morte D'Arthur, etc. 165-167
APPENDIX I.
The Best Thoughts of Great Men about Books and Reading 171-190
APPENDIX II.
Books Used in the Boston Public Schools as Supplementary Reading, Text-Books, etc. 191-207