Thomas Wentworth Higginson, The new world and the new book

[232] differentiation and specialization of our higher institutions. Whatever the evils of the old classical curriculum, it had at least this merit, that it included definite instruction in the fundamental principles of literature as literature. So long as young men used to read Quintilian and Aristotle, although they may have missed much that was more important, they retained the conception of a literary discipline that went behind all nationalities; that was neither ancient nor modern, but universal. I heartily believe, for one, in the introduction of the modern elective system; what I regret is that, in this general breaking — up and rearranging, the preparation for a world-literature has been so neglected. If Goethe's view is correct,— and who stands for the modern world if Goethe does not?—then no one is fitted to give the higher literary training in our colleges who has not had some training in world-literature for himself, who does not know something of Calderon through knowing something of Hafiz.

And observe that Goethe himself is compelled to recognize the fact that in this worldliterature, whether we will or no, we must