------------------------------------------------------------------------ Transcriber’s Note: This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_. Superscripted characters are note with ‘^’, and, if necessary, multiple characters are enclosed in '{}'. Footnotes have been moved to follow the paragraphs in which they are referenced. Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation. _Ignorantium temeraria plerumque sunt judicia._ —POLYCARP LEYSER. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A HISTORY OF CRITICISM AND LITERARY TASTE IN EUROPE _FROM THE EARLIEST TEXTS TO THE PRESENT DAY_ BY GEORGE SAINTSBURY M.A. OXON.; HON. LL.D. ABERD. PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH IN THREE VOLUMES VOL. I. CLASSICAL AND MEDIÆVAL CRITICISM SECOND EDITION WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MCMII PREFACE.