Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/14

Rh work has been done with careful regard to the conclusions of the newest school of philological research, and the facts are set forth as simply and as clearly as is possible. For the convenience of the general reader, all the words and stem-forms belonging to the Greek or to the Oriental languages have been transliterated. Care has been taken to supply every important article with a well-selected bibliography for the guidance of those who may wish to pursue the subject in all its ramifications; and the bibliographical material will be found to comprise not only the standard works, but also special monographs, pamphlets, and papers published by the various learned societies. The Encyclopædia as a whole, then, is in reality a library whose books are so divided and arranged as to make the information which they afford immediately and conveniently accessible to the reader. It is this completeness which justifies the title &ldquo;International&rdquo; in its application to this work. The word is one which possesses a new significance to Americans at the present time, when our country has shaken off its former isolation, and has developed so many points of contact, political and commercial, with the other nations of the earth. Yet while the work is international, it is international from an American point of view, and it very naturally gives the fullest treatment to those topics which are of immediate and vital interest to Americans.

With regard to the third essential—lucidity and attractiveness of presentation—the recognition of its value which has been expressed above, will afford, perhaps, a clue to what the Editors have endeavored to accomplish. There exists a kind of writing which has become so stereotyped as to be well known to every one, and which might be fittingly described as the encyclopædic style. It is in literature what a monotone is in music—utterly devoid of individuality, of variety, and of interest. It sets forth every possible subject in the same dull way and robs the most living themes of their vitality. This style has even acquired, by the influence of tradition, a pseudo-sanctity, until many persons have become convinced that an encyclopædic article must inherently and inevitably be a synonym for dullness. This view the editors are very far from entertaining, or from desiring to perpetuate; and so the principal contributors have been selected not only for their special knowledge, but also for their possession of a clear, attractive style; and in those articles of which the subjects lend themselves to a distinctly literary treatment, the authors have been expected to write with the same freedom and with the same personal touch as would characterize their contributions to any literary publication of a high class. As the Encyclopædia is intended first of all for the general reader, it has been written from the general reader's point of view, and in such a way as to be free from all vexatious technicalities. Regard, moreover, has been had to form, and to a logical order of presentation. In every detail, the endeavor has been made to compact really valuable information instead of loosely assorted and often unrelated facts. Even the statistics, which in many works of this character are thrown together in a mass, have been used in such a way as to exhibit comparisons which are significant and which possess an interest of their own for every person of intelligence. In short, the aim has been consistently to present each subject not only so as to inform, but likewise so as to attract and entertain.

The fourth essential of a useful encyclopædia is found in the practical convenience with which it may be consulted. This practical convenience has been studied very carefully both by the Editors and by the contributors with the object of enabling a reader to find, with the least possible expenditure of time and patience, the information of which he is in need. This end has been attained, first, by giving a conspectus of each topic as a whole; second, by treating the same topic more in detail under all the natural divisions into which it falls; and finally, by working out a system of cross-references which may serve as guides from each topic to the others which supplement it and provide the collateral information necessary to its fullest understanding.

It is thought that the illustrations of every kind will be found superior to anything hitherto attempted in any encyclopædia. These illustrations have not been gathered together in a haphazard fashion and merely for the purpose of providing the volumes with a certain number of attractive pictures; but they were suggested and selected by the various contributors, or prepared with their coöperation. In many cases much assistance was derived from the Governmental Departments in Washington, where all the plates relating to Natural History were examined and verified by experts in the Government's employ.