Giovanni Papini

“ I have surveyed these four and twenty souls not with the scrupulous exactitude of the pure scholar, nor with the definitive cocksureness of the professional critic, but as a man seeking to penetrate deeply into the lives of other men in order to discern and to reveal their lovableness or their hatefulness. ”

“ These essays deal with twenty-four men—poets, philosophers, imaginary beings, scientists, mystics, painters—grouped without regard to logical classifications or to their relative importance. Some of the essays are tributes of affection, some are slashings; some reveal neglected greatness, others demolish undeserved reputations. Some are long, and represent careful study, others are brief and slight. ”