Excerpt from The Spirit of Modern German Lectures: Lectures Delivered Before the University of Wisconsin This small volume is not polemical in spirit or intention. When, however, through the kindness of my friend Professor A. R. Hohlfeld, the University of Wisconsin invited me to lecture on some phase of modern German literature, an appropriate opportunity seemed provided for recalling to the calmer and more reflective among us the true character of the clearest self-expression of modern Germany. If my praise of certain German novels and plays and poems seem excessive, let me remind my critics to ask themselves whether they have read these novels and plays and poems with a full and exact mastery of the German tongue. Let me beg them, at all events, not to ascribe my estimates to the enthusiasm of the narrow specialist. I am not that. 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.