Excerpt from The Exemplum in the Early Religious and Didactic Literature of England Although the Short story in England has been frequently treated, the subject of the present study has hitherto received comparatively slight attention. The exemplum seems never to have assumed in England the importance that it did on the Continent, but my aim has been to Show that its part in English life and literature is by no means negligible. Indeed, owing to the various and far-reaching relationships of the type, I have found'it inexpedient to carry out my original design to discuss the exemplum in England in all its phases. The field, there fore, still affords Opportunities for profitable research which I hope the following pages may in some measure suggest. In the preparation of the work I have incurred various obli gations which are acknowledged with pleasure. For their kind co-operati-on I desire to thank the librarians of Union Theo logical Seminary, New York University, and particularly, the librarians and. Attendants of Columbia University. I am indebted to Professor G. P. Krapp, who proposed the subject, read the manuscript, and Offered valuable suggestions; also to Professor H. M. Ayres for reading the manuscript and con tributing helpful criticism. My chief obligation is to Professor W. W. Lawrence, who has watched the progress of the work with unfailing interest and has given me the benefit of his accurate and comprehensive knowledge of mediaeval literature. 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.