American Literature (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from American Literature Lowell said that the existence of literature is the final proof that man is civilized. Literature is the reflection chiefly of things within ourselves, things of the mind and of the will. Within the past few years mankind has been enduring war, with all of its dreadful accompaniments, and has come to desire deeply new assurances that civilization has existed and still exists. An intimate study of the literature of America reveals that the spirit of civilization, which is the art of living together, has been strong in the thought and will of the men who have lived upon this continent from the beginning of its colonization by Europeans until this day. Americans, in the main, have been distinctive among the peoples of the world for having fashioned their inner lives in accordance with the impulse to live as if all men were neighbors. This democratic spirit largely characterizes artistic production in our society, especially in the field of literature. Within recent years, as never before, events have taught the danger of the expression of pride. Yet it would be less than honorable if we were not proud to believe that this democratic spirit of American literature is the spirit upon which future civilization may best be based. Literature is a cause as well as an effect. It is not only a reflection of what has been and is within the mind and will of man, but it is also a moving force in human society. The value, then, of the study of literature lies not alone in enjoyment of beautiful books, but as well in what it will make of a man. At no time have there been better reasons for the study of American literature than now. 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.