NEW STUDIES IN LITERATURE EDWARD DOWDEX II 1 I f DlHLIN I I L I , KDINBUKUH fBT T fi ToRI 3 , 1 KOI I S-. OK OP I C, I IS1I mfhVlPKKlN IHJ UMUkSUYOl UUIiLIN , CLAKK LI L I I-KLK I , , . LiNGr rsH LurKxruur, TKIMTV cor t Fdr, AMiiKiDGi LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER CO., LTD. 1902 All AV S J i esc i mi PREFACE. THMSK studios, chosen from a largei number which Appeared during a series of years in The Fortnightly Review, are reprinted with the permission of the pro prietors of that periodical. The poition of the volume which deals with Goethe is derived from an examination ol Goethes mind and art, to which 1 gave much time and pains, but which still remains incomplete. So much new material has recently come to light, so much awaits publication, aud so great lias been the industry of German scholars, that delay seemed advisable. Ceitain fragments of my study were thrown into the shape of addresses delivered as President of the English Goethe Society one that on Goethes friendship with Schiller was read before the Manchester Goethe Society. The article on Literal y Criticism in France was given as one I believe the first of the recently established Taylorian lectures at Oxford. That on Edmond Scherer was written swiftly, but with the viii Preface. advantage of an intimate acquaintance with Scherers writings, on the occasion of his death. I have left it unaltered. The studies of the poetry of John Donne and of Mr Meredith attempt to make access to pait of the work of two difficult writers, one belonging to the past, one happily to the present, more easy for theii readers. They are both writers who in their verse attract and repel, and finally give a courageous explorer an ample reward of impulse, thought, or beauty The article on Mr Bridges is modest m its aim, seeking only to extend the circle of those who enjoy that fine poets work, lyrical and dramatic, by presenting an a tarn rather than what is now sometimes termed an appreciation. The essay on Coleridge endeavours to bring out the humanity more than the romance of his poetry, and may be viewed as a supplement to the work of other critics. In the article on Fabre dEglantmes diary I in dulge the pleasure experienced by one who has been a somewhat fortunate snapper - up of unconsidered trifles. The article on the teaching of English Literature notes various points in method which it seemed useful to bring before a College class. I should like it to Preface. ix be read in connection with a paper called The Interpretation of Literature in my Transcripts and Studies. The Introduction is a venture towards expressing certain hopes and fears for literature at the present lay, especially as those hopes and fears arc connected with the democratic tendencies and the scientific movement of our century. I glance also at what may be styled the separatist tendency, not in politics, but in literature. It has been asserted that since 1 wrote this article some literary errors against which I pleaded have become less prevalent. I should be glad to think that this is true but I do not believe that my exhortations and warnings are even now altogether untimely. E, I. IN MK MORI AM M I. NEW STUDIES iN LITERATURE --This text refers to the Paperback edition.