he scarcely has an equal.

There is a kindly feeling running through his writings, and they dispose the reader to feel kindly toward all.

But as he has something for all classes, so he has something for all tastes, the vulgar as well as the refined. While some passages have a delicacy that is exquisite, others are so coarse that we cannot but wish they had never been written. His writings did much for the literature of his day and for the enlightenment of the people of his time, but there are few who need them for present reading. That Chaucer was a genius, a scholar, and a pure-minded man, no one can deny; but in his productions are many things that are unprofitable, and some things that are offensive. Poets and antiquaries admire him, the one class, for his true, poetic genius; the other, for his quaint expressions. Of all his numerous writings the "Canterbury Tales" are generally best appreciated and most extensively read.

31. Mandeville.- Sir John Mandeville said that he felt ashamed to lead a life of idleness as so many of the knights and nobles were doing, with scarcely a higher aim in life than to amuse themselves. He had a strong desire to benefit his country; and since most of his countrymen at that time knew so little about other parts of the world and the nations that inhabited them, he determined to travel. He visited many lands, mingling with the common people as well as with the rulers of the nations. He endured hardships, traveled on foot, studied the languages as well as the dress and manners of the people, heard their legends and their own account of themselves, returning at last, after an absence of thirty

four years. When he reached home, but few of his friends were alive, and no one knew him. There had been great changes since he set forth on his travels. His own country had become, like the others, a strange land. But he did not relinquish his original purpose. He wrote a voluminous account of all his travels and of what he had learned during his absence. He first wrote in Latin, then in French, then in English, so that all classes might read with ease and pleasure. The superstitious narratives that had been told him in different lands were readily believed by the English people, especially such marvels as pertained to the Holy Land. From his experiences he deduced many arguments to show that the world is spherical, and not flat, as had been supposed. Among other evidences, he brought forward the fact (now so well known) that, as he traveled southward, the north star disappeared from the heavens, and the southern cross arose above the horizon at the south; that when he traveled northward again, the southern cross sank from sight, and the north star was seen again in its usual place. This theory concerning the sphericity of the earth no one would believe. Then, as now, truth seemed stranger than fiction. Doubts have been cast on the genuineness of Mandeville's work. This need not disturb us: many are trying to make us believe that Shakespeare was not the author of his plays. In the words of the International Encyclopedia, "Several of his [Mandeville's] statements, once regarded as improbable, have since been verified;" and again, "His book is written in a very interesting manner, was long exceedingly popular, and was translated into many languages."

Such a work, though imperfect in many parts, could hardly fail to broaden the minds of the majority of English readers.

32. The Literature of the Period Adapted to the Needs of the People. The fourteenth century was a time of general awakening of thought, and there were many able and interesting writers. In this brief outline the aim will be to represent each period by the best it produced. Langland, Wycliffe, Chaucer, and Mandeville were the representative authors of the century. Gower was an able writer, but his works were in Latin. The chief object in presenting these men and their productions is to show by what means the English people and literature were advanced. It is safe to say that the greater part of the people of England could not read at the beginning of this century. One cause of this ignorance was that they had nothing to read, or nothing that they cared to read. It would almost seem that the varied gifts and productions that have been noticed in this chapter were providential. People who were religiously inclined would delight in the works of Wycliffe and his fellow laborers. Those who were eager to learn about other people and other lands would embrace with avidity the strange accounts given by Mandeville. Those who sought for amusement, and who read for a pastime, would find their wants met by the tales of Chaucer. Thus it was that the tastes and desires of all classes of people were satisfied. Reading became more general, knowledge was diffused, the language was greatly improved, and intellectual activity was stimulated.

CHAPTER FIVE.

FROM WYCLIFFE AND CHAUCER TO MILTON.

33. Length of the Period. This period covers a little more than two hundred years, from the death of Chaucer in 1400 to that of Shakespeare in 1616. The representative writers of the fourteenth century were, as we have seen, Mandeville, the traveler; Chaucer, the poet; and Wycliffe, the defender of truth and translator of the Bible. Of these men, Chaucer was the greatest genius; Wycliffe, the most successful philanthropist. The one wrote to please the people and throw a genial light upon the monotony of their life; the other, to right their wrongs and enlighten their consciences.

For nearly two centuries after the writings of these men appeared, there was a dearth of anything that could claim pre-eminent merit. Yet there does not seem to have been, during this interim, a lack of activity in the English mind, or of fairly good writers. None of these writers, however, gave evidence of great genius, or produced anything which had a marked influence upon the thought and literature of the age. Toward the close of the sixteenth century, the flowers of poesy burst forth again with added beauty and unwonted profusion. The rapid appearing of literary productions of the highest class was like the blooming of the centuryplant, which has for a hundred years been gathering force for a supreme effort.

34. Men of the Period. The prominent actors during this period were many. But the work of a few may indicate sufficiently well for our present purpose the work of all. Among the representative men of this period were Caxton, the printer; Tyndale, the translator; Spenser, the allegorical poet; Shakespeare, the dramatist; Bacon, the philosopher; and Hooker, the theologian.

35. Language Improving in Euphony. The writings of Chaucer were much more euphonious than anything which had been hitherto produced. Just before his time, there had been a remarkable awakening of genius in Italy. The writings of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccacio had raised the Italian literature above that of

any other language. The Italian people were showing their love of freedom by their efforts at independence, and their refined taste by their advances in architecture and other works of art. A similar awakening was felt to a greater or less extent throughout Europe. Chaucer was acquainted with the Italian poets, and their influence can be detected in his verse. The English poets that succeeded Chaucer were devoted admirers of his style, and imitated him; but they, also, felt the direct effects of Italian refinement, and thus poetry steadily improved in ease and grace of expression.

36. The Printing-Press.-The art of printing was invented and carried into effect on the Continent about the middle of the fifteenth century. The first printing in England was done by William Caxton, who set up his press and printed his first book in 1474.