Excerpt from A School History of English Literature, Vol. 1: Chaucer to Marlowe T is a wise thing, before we plunge Into any new study, to try and give ourselves some account of what it is that we mean by it, and what it is that we expect from it. And therefore an historical sketch of English literature opens rightly with a consideration of the nature and the value of literature in general. What can books do for us? And in what spirit ought we to read them P - those are the preliminary questions which we must ask. And the answers which we shall find to them may perhaps help to assure us that we are not following a vain quest, on a track that leads no whither, and may furnish some ideas that, if kept steadily in mind, will serve as guides and sign-posts throughout the journey. 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.