[133] Some of us would be inclined to follow this train of thought in another direction. The question would not be--May great artists break the law and be blameless? (the Pope practically held that they might; if Benvenuto Cellini does not lie about his own case) but--What right has the public to obtain a full account of any man’s private life? Vulgar curiosity, and an unacknowledged desire on the part of the reader to find that the great man is “even such a one as himself,” have more to do with the popularity of certain biographies than their writers would care to acknowledge. The “Life” of a great man should be a faithful report of his Greatness. His weakness and folly, often exceeding that of commonplace people simply because of the vastly greater range of his temptations, is no business of ours, and should never be printed, except in so far as it is necessary to make clear the plain story of his career. [134] Meaning separate publications--ranging from single pieces to large collections in one volume. Postscript Prosniz’s “Handbuch der Klavier-litteratur,” which goes down to 1830, and the new edition of Weitzmann’s “History of Piano-playing and Piano-literature,” now in preparation, supply a complete apparatus of all the sources of information necessary to the student. Thus I have been able in this work, to the exclusion of all dryasdust references to authorities, to present the development of piano-literature from the point of view of culture and of human interest. For procuring the material which lies in the works themselves and contemporary writings, I am indebted to the labours of Dr Kopfermann, Director of The Royal Library of Music at Berlin. I am enabled to give the illustrations by the extreme kindness of Mr Otto Lessmann, the Baroness Wilhelm von Rothschild, Mr Nicolas Manskopf, Mr Edwin Bechstein, Mr de Wit, Madame Bülow, Madame Marie Fellinger, and others. Errata P. 43. The note on Agricola is a mistake. M. Agricola is of the early 16th century. Bach’s pupil was J. F. Agricola, for whom see p. 122, _note_. P. 48. _For_ “Tielman Sufato” _read_ “Sufato Tielman.” P. 63, line 2. _For_ “brown” _read_ “yellow.” P. 63, line 2. _For_ “dark grey” _read_ “gris de Maure.” P. 70, line 27. According to the latest investigations Scarlatti died in _Naples_ in 1757; thus he must have returned from Spain to Italy. (_Cf._ “Gazette Musicale,” Napoli, 15th Sept. 1898.) P. 114, line 19. _For_ “Hezekiah’s” _read_ “Gideon’s.” Addendum P. 16. _Note_. That one of the earliest indications of the 18th century suite is to be seen in the Elizabethan “Parthenia,” viz., in the association of Prelude, Pavan, Galliard. Index of Names and Matters