There is no surer mark of the absence of the highest moral and intellectual qualities than a cold reception of excellence.

Along with its qualities it has many faults in execution: a certain incoherency in the manner in which it is worked out prevents it from being easily readable by any but the most sympathetic student. Festus first publiPhilip James Baileyd anonymously in 1839 underwent many changes and incorporations but it remains a singular example of a piece of work virtually completed in youth and never supplanted or reinforced by later achievements of its author. " It contains fine lines and dignified thought and is most notable for its original topic vivid imagery and moral altitude as well as for the author's remarkable precocity.