Dr. Bolgar describes his book as 'the story of how our civilization drew sustenance from its great predecessor' the civilization of Greece and Rome. It describes the purpose and background of education between A.D. 700 and 1700 and shows how the literary heritage of the past was recaptured and its spirit absorbed during those thousand years. The story of great value to any serious student of the humanities. Classical scholars need to know what were the real achievements of Byzantine scholarship, and how manuscripts were disseminated. Literary historians must understand the Renaissance technique of imitation and know just how much comprehension lay behind conventional references to the classics.