of satires, with its clear types of human nature, its witty
dialogue, its criticism of manners, was popular for cen-
turies in every country of Europe. Everybody knew the
shifty Reynard, Noble the lion, Bruin the bear, Tibbet
the cat, Chanticleer the cock, and all the rest, laughed over
them, quoted them, learned from them common-sense. For
these satires are rich in human character and worldly wisdom.
Rejecting romantic ideals, they delight to show the seamy
side of real life, its cowardice, its gullibility, and the triumphs
of quackery and sharp practice. Taken by itself, satire may
give a partial and ignoble view of human life; but, taken as
an offset to romance, it tends to save dreaming from dissi-
pation and extravagance.

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