Excerpt from A History of Theatrical Art in Ancient and Modern Times, Vol. 4 Though the book which is here presented to English readers chiefly deals with Moliere, and includes a sketch of the life of the great dramatist, the author does not Wish it to be considered as a biography properly so called. It is at the same time something more and a good deal less. It supplies more of the background of theatrical history and of the milieu in which the great actor-manager lived than is found in the ordinary biographies of Moliere; whereas the reader who looks for detailed information about Moliere as a poet, and desires an aesthetic appreciation of his works, will not find what he seeks in these chapters. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.