Excerpt from The Crown of Wild Olive, and the Cestus of Aglaia There is at present a curious reaction against Ruskin. It is due to several causes, but firstly it falls to the lot of every writer who has won a general acceptance during his lifetime that when he dies he should be largely and suddenly forsaken. In the ten years that follow the death of a prominent man his achievements undergo the severest of all criticism. People imagine that the works he has left must somehow have lost a portion at least of their original life. The new generation is eager for new influences, for something that is not yet finished, that possesses the magnetism of all expanding things. There is the sense of uncertainty, of suspense, which appeals irresistibly to those who are dazzled by the present. To most men the living hour seems ever more weighty and more real than the past, and it is few indeed - only those that are dreaming Of the future and are overshadowed by the sense of eternity - who can realise the transience of their own time, regarding the present excitement as they regard the struggles of ended lives. 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.

E. T. Cook's two-volume biography is a vital tool for anyone wishing to understand Ruskin's achievements in so many fields.