The Use of the Index.The thoughtful and habitual use of the Index will prove of more lasting benefit than any other practice associated with reading. Not only is attention called to authors, to the titles of selections, and to the opening lines of familiar and unfamiliar poems, but hundreds upon hundreds of topics are there listed, dealing with subjects of endless variety as viewed by the ablest minds of the past and the present. Agriculture, for example, is dealt with by ancients and moderns—among others, by Cicero and by Charles Dudley Warner. America's development, we find, has been presented from such diverse viewpoints as those of Ferrero, the modern Italian historian; of Goethe, the master-poet of old Germany, as bitter a foe of Prussia as any who live to-day; of Hamilton, the statesman-economist; of McMaster, the historian; of Henry, the patriot orator; of Leslie Stephen, the English critic, and other leaders of the world's thought. The value of books, the use of chariots of war, the case for and against Charles I of England, the nature of conversation, the progress of the drama in ancient and in more recent times—these topics suggest the amazing diversity of outlook.
Whether for the sake of study or merely as a pastime, every moment employed upon the Index will prove stimulating, will open trains of thought and furnish additional means of enjoyment that otherwise will lie undiscovered.
These fifty pages provide an encyclopedia of intellectual entertainment and cultivation. Through them the reader can pursue a subject or a line of thought as nowhere else. Not the opinion of one man, or of one nation, or of one era alone, but the best and most valued reflections of the greatmen of all the ages are here collected under every important heading on which they best expressed themselves.
Throughout this whole work, Opportunity lies in wait, needing only to be recognized; then, she at once enriches your life and your usefulness. Not a page but contains thoughts, suggestions, grave and gay, old and new, matter-of-fact or sublime,—yet all of them leading to a more sincere and purposeful understanding of the deeds and thoughts that make up a sound and full career. But of all these thousands of pages and selections not any contain more hints for the reader than the pages of the Index.
The Use of the Biographical Sketches.The reader who has once grasped the inestimable value of reflecting on the books that he meets, will naturally perceive the worth of the Biographical Sketches that immediately precede the selections in theLibrary. For although these are purposely terse, yet they have been painstakingly constructed to supply two essential needs; first, an introduction to the author, as well as to his best work; second, a guide to his other works.
As has elsewhere been pointed out (pages 19, 28, 55, etc., of this Handbook), the true appreciation and enjoyment of a writer are unquestionably increased by understanding his personality and his outlook on the world.
In the second place, the selections present the best and only the best achievements of each writer. They obviously cannot include thirty volumes of Scott's novels, for example; nor is it desirable that the quotations from any author should extend beyond complete passages of assured distinction. On the other hand, persons attracted by an author's style or subject matter will naturally desire to read more of his work and even to acquire several of his most characteristic books. The Biographical Sketch lists his principal writings so that you can send for them to bookseller or public library.
The Library of Entertainmentwill thus form the nucleus of a collection that can become unique, in that it will not contain an author that you have not tested before purchase. To own books that you value and esteem unfailingly leads to reading with increased pleasure day by day; such reading forms the purpose that lies behind these volumes.