Page:Source Problems in English History.djvu/24

 school or college.” The same may be said of the present volume.

Among its strong points, three especially may be enumerated. The stress is laid upon the development of the English government, which is the most important feature to be emphasized in the study of English history. The connection between English institutions and those of New England is brought out in one of the problems. This suggests the self-evident truth that the early settlers in New England got their experience in governmental affairs not from their knowledge of or participation in the central government of England, but because they were necessarily concerned with the affairs of their own parish. This truth, although self-evident, has too frequently been lost sight of in our teaching of English history. Lastly, the connection between the present and the past is well brought out, notably in the last problem, so that the student will be led to feel that the history which he has been studying is essential for an understanding of present-day conditions.

It was a fortunate chance that two scholars, one of whom had specialized in medieval English history and the other in the modern history of Great Britain, should have been found to undertake this task. Probably no one author could have been as well equipped for this work. Two results are especially noteworthy. First, that the translations