PAUL ELDER AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS, SAN FRANCISCO
Copyright, 1911
by Paul Elder and Company
The articles in this
book appeared originally in the
Sunday book-page of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The privilege of reproducing them
here is due to the courtesy of
M. H. de Young, Esq.
TO THE MEMORY
OF MY SON HAROLD,
MY BEST CRITIC, MY OTHER
SELF, WHOSE DEATH HAS
TAKEN THE LIGHT
OUT OF MY
LIFE.
Contents
| Page | |
| Introduction | [ix] |
| Comfort Found in Good Old Books | [xi] |
| Nothing Soothes Grief Like Sterling Old Books—How theSudden Death of an Only Son Proved the Value of theReading Habit. | |
| The Greatest Book in the World | [3] |
| How to Secure the Best that is in the Bible—MuchComfort in Sorrow and Stimulus to Good Life maybe Found in its Study. | |
| Shakespeare Stands Next to the Bible | [14] |
| Hints on the Reading of Shakespeare's Plays—Howto Master the best of these Dramas, the Finest ofModern Work. | |
| How to Read the Ancient Classics | [29] |
| Authors of Greece and Rome One Should Know—Masterpiecesof the Ancient World that may beEnjoyed in Good English Versions. | |
| The Arabian Nights and Other Classics | [39] |
| Oriental Fairy Tales and German Legends—The AncientArabian Stories and the Nibelungenlied amongWorld's Greatest Books. | |
| The Confessions of St. Augustine | [48] |
| An Eloquent book of Religious Meditation—The Ablestof Early Christian Fathers Tells of His Youth, HisFriends and His Conversion. | |
| Don Quixote, One of the World's Great Books | [56] |
| Cervantes' Masterpiece a Book for All Time—IntenselySpanish, it Still Appeals to All Nations by its DeepHuman Interest. | |
| The Imitation of Christ | [64] |
| Features of Great Work by Old Thomas à Kempis—Meditationsof a Flemish Monk which have notLost their Influence in Five Hundred Years. | |
| The Rubá'iyát of Omar Khayyám | [74] |
| Popularity of an Old Persian's Quatrains—SplendidOriental Imagery Joined to Modern Doubt Found inthis Great Poem. | |
| The Divine Comedy by Dante | [83] |
| Influence of One of the World's Great Books—TheExiled Florentine's Poem has Colored the Life andWork of Many Famous Writers. | |
| How to Get the Best Out of Books | [92] |
| Is the Higher Education an Absolute Necessity?—Desireto gain Knowledge and Culture will make oneMaster of All the Best Books. | |
| Milton's Paradise Lost and Other Poems | [100] |
| A Book that Ranks Close to the English Bible—ItTells the Story of Satan's Revolt, the Fall of Manand the Expulsion from Eden. | |
| Pilgrim's Progress the Finest of all Allegories | [108] |
| Bunyan's Story full of the Spirit of the Bible—TheSimple Tale of Christian's Struggles and TriumphAppeals to Old and Young. | |
| Old Dr. Johnson and His Boswell | [116] |
| His Great Fame Due to His Admirer's Biography—Boswell'sWork makes the Doctor the best knownLiterary Man of his Age. | |
| Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels | [124] |
| Masterpieces of Defoe and Swift Widely Read—TwoWriters of Genius whose Stories have DelightedReaders for Hundreds of Years. | |
| Bibliography | [133] |
| Notes on the Historical and best Reading Editions ofGreat Authors. | |
| Index | [159] |