PREFACE In the preparation of this fourth reader of the Golden Treasury series, certain fundamental principles have guided in the selection, adaptation, and arrangement of material. The principles involved have to do with the end to be attained, with the most adaptable subject matter, and the readiest and most effective method to be used; and these principles are briefly set forth here with the thought that they may be helpful to teachers in using this book. The End Sought. The primary purpose of a fourth reader is mental and spiritual development. At this stage in the child's progress he has sufficiently mastered the mechanics of reading so that that factor passes into the background. He has also, in the third reader, acquired some facility in rapid reading, has learned to read for his own entertainment. Henceforth the dominant aim of the teacher should be the noblest and most inspiring in the life work of any human being, the quickening of the higher emotions, the cultivation of refined taste, the stimulation of moral judgment and power, and the development of spiritual ideals. Expressed in other words, the purpose is to lay the character foundations for true manhood and true womanhood, and not to store the mind with information about men and things. Information will come: it must necessarily, but it is purely incidental, and as an end in itself has no place in a fourth reader. The Means. To accomplish our purpose it is necessary to have the right kind of literature. There must be a definite step in advance over the third reader material; but there should be no gap between the two books. Adult literature is still a long way off. De Quincey divides literature into two classes, the literature of knowledge and the literature of power. It is the literature of power that we need, the literature that awakens and directs the feelings, that arouses and strengthens the moral powers, and that creates and sustains spiritual ideals. Yet this literature must be of a nature to appeal to the child mind; and to do that it must be characterized by youth and must deal with the simple and the concrete. In a general way there are two kinds of literature that meet these requirements. They are the child literature of modern times, and the primitive literature of many nations. In child literature the fairy tale of the third reader gives way to child fiction, similar to the fairy tale, but broader in scope. An appeal is made to the child's sense of humor. The element of character plays a more important part. From this time on, human interests grow in importance, as compared with story interests. Wonderland is still necessary; but Alice, the real girl, is essential to its charm. Most important of all is the literature of the childhood of great nations, like the Greeks, the Romans, and the Norsemen. This literature gives the aims and aspirations of the race as represented in the experience and the ideals of the people, at a time when life was expanding, and the horizon was getting broader around them, just as it does about the growing boy and girl. It is full of hope, full of cheer, full of longings, full of aspirations and ideals. This literature is simple, concrete, and direct. Moreover, it is poetic and |