FOR BEGINNERS WITH NOTES AND VOCABULARY BY CHARLES HARRIS Professor of German in Adelbert College of Western Reserve Composition" and "German Lessons EducT 1718.95 440 Copyright, 1895, BY HENRY HOLT & CO. ROBERT DRUMMOND, ELEctrotyper and printer, NEW YORK. PREFACE. THE purpose of this book is to provide for the beginner in German easy and interesting selections which can be used profitably with the first lessons in the language. The place of such an introductory book cannot well be taken by short stories or plays or other simple texts, for even the easiest of them are not suitable for the earliest reading. They present difficulties of thought, style, and vocabulary, which either discourage the beginner or rob his study of most of its interest. Something simpler and more carefully graded is needed as an introduction to such texts, so that they may be eventually read with that sense of mastery which adds new zest to each day's work. The editor's belief that the reader should be begun with the first or second lesson in the language has particularly influenced the choice and treatment of the selections in Part I. There are, of course, many grammatical details in the first pages which the beginner cannot explain, but he can understand the meaning of the German. The text of the selections in Parts II.-VI. follows the standard editions of the various authors. A few of the poems have, however, been taken at second-hand. The spelling conforms to the Prussian official rules. There are no other intentional changes except as indicated in the Notes, For convenience of treatment all of the poems have been placed together in Part III., but the plan of the book does not necessitate consecutive reading of them. The comedy in Part V. has fewer new words but is more difficult in point of style than Part IV. As it is most important in the first stages of study to waste no time with what is uncommon, the editor has endeavored in his Notes to help over all that is unusual as easily as possible. The beginner is thus left free to learn. the every-day words and simple constructions which he must use in all his subsequent study. The Notes have been put at the bottom of the page, so that they may consulted with the least expenditure of time and effort. be For the sake of variety and to meet special needs the book has been made longer than is necessary for its purpose as an introduction to the reading of German. It is hoped that the character of its selections adapt it to any method of instruction. In the Vocabulary cognates which suggest themselves naturally in the course of definition are marked by special type. No others are introduced. Much help is given in the more important matter of the etymological relations, within the language, of the German words defined. ADELBERT COLLEGE, August, 1895. C. H. |