I intended at first to write a short Prologue to this English translation of my Del Sentimiento Tr gico de la Vida, which has been undertaken by my friend Mr. J.E. Crawford Flitch. But upon further consideration I have abandoned the idea, for I reflected that after all I wrote this book not for Spaniards only, but for all civilized and Christian men-Christian in particular, whether consciously so or not-of whatever country they may be. Furthermore, if I were to set about writing an Introduction in the light of all that we see and feel now, after the Great War, and, still more, of what we foresee and forefeel, I should be led into writing yet another book. And that is a thing to be done with deliberation and only after having better digested this terrible peace, which is nothing else but the war's painful convalescence. As for many years my spirit has been nourished upon the very core of English literature-evidence of which the reader may discover in the following pages-the translator,