The half dozen essays that are printed in this volume have sufficient unity, I hope, to justify their publication as a book. The emotions of the author who discovers that he has produced a treatise when he intended only a series of essays may be likened to the surprise of the child who observes that his blocks, piled almost at random, make something that looks like a castle after all. My castle is indeed but a modest one. Yet the essays which make up this volume have all been written, I find, with some reference to the cen tral theme: namely, the significance of the ama teur spirit in carrying forward the daily work of our modern world. I have endeavored to illus trate from many fields from sports and poli tics, from science and letters the possibility of combining the professional's skill with the zest and enthusiasm of the amateur.