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A classic is commonly defined as piece of writing which is well- known and of very high quality  and lasting value, setting standards for other pieces of writing. Needless to say , classics are not the monopoly of a singal language or race or community, or nation or region. The classics studied in this volume of essays -homer , plato , aristotle, lucretius, manikkavacakar, sankara, shakespeare, milton, basavanna, ananda ranga pillai, rabindranath tagore, james joyce, bharati , wallace stevens, irving layton, saul bellow ,leslie fiedler , northrop frye, sri aurobindo and A,k.Ramanujan obvioulsy represent too broad a literary spectrum to be brought to gether with reference to a particular central thesis or anyone theme. it is not claimed that a common thread  runs through these discussions of masterpieces writtan on diverse subjects in different languages. but they all belong to that realm of literature which , in matthew aronld,s words, is a criticism of life in so fas as ït helps us to live , not merely by occupying us or by delighting us but by clarifying us with delight "Another observation made by him while pinpointing the function of criticism is also relevant here.

                                                                                                                                P.Marudanayagam.