JOHN MACY writes in the fiery light of an original mind profoundly actuated by all that is of vital import to humanity, by its joys and its sorrows, its comedies and its tragedies. His pen is brilliant and burning and incisive. He gives old thoughts new evaluations, new perspectives; because he thinks creatively, has a comprehensive outlook on life and a well-thought-out view of the world.

The Spirit of American Literature is given a new significance through his clarifying interpretation. The gleam which is the substance alike of the great rebellions of Whitman and Thoreau and of the tender placidities of the New England School is revealed by the critic in that continuity which is always the outward sign of the highest form of criticism.