Such instruction should also be systematic, and to that end the text has been arranged topically and chronologically into four main divisions treating architecture, sculpture, painting and decoration. Each chapter is sub-divided into as nearly equal portions as possible, each representing a daily lesson as indicated by numbers following the sub-titles. The illustrations have been selected with great care, with the sole idea of supplementing the text, and the entire course will contain a collection of the World's masterpieces, the study of which will prove a constant source of pleasure and profit. The contributors to this series are nearly all instructors in leading Universities and Art Institutes whose standing insures lessons of a university grade. The reader is strongly recommended to study the work entire before attempting extended research in any single period, whether ancient or modem. The part is best seen in the light of the whole. More especially the instruction on the principles and development of art is indispensable to a proper understanding of the historic part found here or elsewhere.