FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS' READING CIRCLES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY BY HENRY E. SHEPHERD, M. A., LL. D. PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA; LATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND NEW YORK.:. CINCINNATI .:. CHICAGO LIBRARY OF THE a.38117. COPYRIGHT, 1881, 1884, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. SHEP. HIST. RDGS. W. P. 2 C PREFACE. THE study of history is a subject demanding the gravest consideration as well as the most delicate treatment. The most serious error that prevails in connection with this subject is the defective and vicious method by which the teachers of history are fettered and embarrassed. Epitomes or abridgments are comparatively valueless, except for those who have already acquired a knowledge of the subject which the epitome or abridgment professes to treat. The difficulty of condensing or abridging any historical narrative, without destroying its very life and spirit, is one long felt and recognized. The disadvantages of the compendium are commented upon by Bacon, in his great work on "The Advancement of Learning," in which abridgments are styled "the corruptions and moths of history." A similar judgment is to be inferred from Coke's advice to students of law, not to depend upon summaries or outlines of cases, but to consult the original and explicit report. This coincidence of opinion SHEP. HIST. RDGS. |