Introduction by Cooke

Introduction
[By John Cooke, 1892]

THE writer of this book was Charles Lamb. He was born in 1775, in one of the quaint courts of the group of buildings belonging to the lawyers in London, known as the Temple. When a child of seven he was sent to Christ's Hospital, where the boys have to dress in long dark-blue coats, yellow stockings, and shoes, and go hatless, after the fashion of the time of Edward VI., who founded that school. When Lamb grew up he became a clerk, but he soon took to writing books. His sister was able to assist him, and with her he wrote several for children, as, Tales from Shakespere, and Poetry for Children. By himself he wrote, in the year 1808, this book, The Adventures of Ulysses, whose story is one of the oldest and best tales in the world. Lamb was very fond of our old English literature, and he wrote very clever essays on the plays written at the time of Queen Elizabeth. He wrote also many essays about himself, and the London world in which he lived and moved. They are so beautifully and truthfully told, that we know more about him than almost any other writer; and he is, in consequence, one of the most loved of all those who have made us wiser, happier, and better by their books.

Homer, who is generally considered the writer of the book from which the Adventures of Ulysses is taken, is called the "Prince of Poets," because he is the greatest epic poet--that is, writer about heroes, wars, and adventures--that ever lived. He lived in Greece, but so long ago that no one can tell exactly when, but probably about one thousand years before Christ was born. The place of birth too is not known, but he was so celebrated that many cities contended for the honour of having him as their citizen. Some say he was blind; but he could not always have been so. A blind man could never have sung of the sea and its foaming waves; of the beautiful scenery of rocky shores and sea-girt islands; of the sky, the fields, and the woods, unless he at one time had good powers of sight. His occupation was that of a wandering minstrel which was then considered a very honourable calling, and continued to be for very many centuries afterwards all over Europe. The greatest respect was shown to these minstrels. Kings and princes and other important persons gave them welcome, and listened as they sang of the deeds of great men, whether describing those of their ancestors, their relatives, or their own; and they showed their pleasure by giving presents of money or costly gifts. We owe a great deal of our knowledge of history and men to these singers. They put into verse the great deeds of heroes in wars, sieges, battles, and adventures, and they were handed down by word of mouth until someone put them into writing. Homer's poems were composed at a time in which there was, perhaps, no writing, or very little; but the singers had good memories, and were practised in the art of learning by rote.

We may safely assume