FOREWORD
CHAPTER ONE
PROLOGUE On the general neture of the artist and on the difficulties that beset us the moment we try to decide what is Art（with a capitcal letter A）and what is not，and of diverse other problems
which probably will never be solved at all.
CHAPTER TWO
THE ART OF PREHISTORIC MAN Wherein I shall try to light a very small candle in the heart of a very large and extremely dark cave which，in spite of all our efforts and investigations，has thus
far refused to reveal most of its exceedingly interesting secrets.
CHAPTER THREE
THE ART OF EGYPT A country in which the living played the game of“‘let’s pretend”with the dead.
CHAPTER FOUR
BABYLON AND CHALDEA AND THE LAND OF THE MYSTERIOUS SUMERIANS The unexpected art of the valley of Mesopotamia.
CHAPTER FIVE
HEINRICH SCHLIEMANN A short chapter which for the greater part is devoted to an explanation of the word“serendipity”.
CHAPTER SIX
THE ART OF THE GREEKS The story of a mere handful of people who taught us most of the things we know.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE AGE OF PERICLES And the transformation of a small rock，such as you might find in the Jersey flats，into one of the world’s most famous shrines.
CHAPTER EIGHT
POST AND PANS AND EARRINGS AND SPOONS A chapter about the so-called minor arts of the people of Hellas.
CHAPTER NINE
THE ETRUSCANS AND THE ROMANS Another chapter full of uncertainty due to our profound ignorance about many things we hope to discover during the next few years.
CHAPTER TEN
THE JEWS The people of one building and one book.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EARLY CHRISTIAN ART The old Gods die and mankind turns its back upon a sinful world.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE COPTS A forgotten people，but who made very interesting contributions to the art of the early Christian period.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE ART OF THE BYZANTINES When art became a final refuge in a world of fear.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
RUSSIA Art up a blind alley.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ISLAM The art of a desert people.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MEDIEVAL PERSIA The great melting pot of all the arts.
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