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Among Famous Books
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Among Famous Books, by John Kelman This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Among Famous Books
Author: John Kelman
Release Date: April 2, 2006 [EBook #18104]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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AMONG FAMOUS BOOKS
BY
JOHN KELMAN, D.D.
HODDER AND STOUGHTON LONDON; NEW YORK; TORONTO
Printed in 1912
PREFACE
The object of the following lectures is twofold. They were delivered in the first place for the purpose of directing the attention of readers to books whose literary charm and spiritual value have made them conspicuous in the vast literature of England. Such a task, however, tends to be so discursive as to lose all unity, depending absolutely upon the taste of the individual, and the chances of his experience in reading.
I have accordingly taken for the general theme of the book that constant struggle between paganism and idealism which is the deepest fact in the life of man, and whose story, told in one form or another, provides the matter of all vital literature. This will serve as a thread to give continuity of thought to the lectures, and it will keep them near to central issues.
Having sai