PREFACE

The hymn as the most ancient type of literature and as a most pervasive and powerful kind of poetry has not had its just dues from the critics. They have not so much frowned upon the hymn as they have given it a sort of deferential toleration, exempting it from its liabilities as well as its rights in the realm of letters. Of the scores of books about hymns not one, so far as I know, has sought definitely to bound and describe the hymn as the small but rich province of poetry that it is.

The student of the hymn must own his obligation to John Julian’s great “Dictionary of Hymnology” and to such other authorities as Duffield, Miller, and Brownlie, as well as to the excellent work of Dr. Benson, Dr. Breed, Dr. Nutter and Dr. Tillett, Mr. Price, Mr. Ninde and others.

This book began as a task and grew into rather an enthusiasm. I owe many thanks to Professors J. Q. Adams, Clark S. Northup, F. C. Prescott of Cornell University, and especially to Professor Martin W. Sampson, a critic kind, severe, and inspiring.