The Debt of Civilization to Literature: An Address Delivered at the Annual Commencement of the University of Michigan, Thursday, June 28, 1883 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Debt of Civilization to Literature: An Address Delivered at the Annual Commencement of the University of Michigan, Thursday, June 28, 1883

The honor you have done me in giving this opportu nity to address you imposes, I am well aware, some serious responsibility in the choice of a theme. And if I come before you with no discussion of what are called the burning questions of the day, it is partly because I dis trust my own ability to handle them still more, because I have noticed that our men of affairs are often glad to forget such questions in these hours consecrated to aca demic memories; and most of all, because of the convic tion, that such occasions demand, with rare exéeptions, discussion of topics that lie more closely Within the range of scholastic themes and pursuits. I venture the more confidently upon my chosen line of thought, because ot the assurance that any word worthily spoken on topics re lating to the interests of general culture will be sure of a patient and kindly hearing in this centre of thorough aca demic training. My subject then, let me say without fur ther introduction, is literature considered as a social force, the part which literature has played in our modern social progress.

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.