We venture to reaffirm the policy which has guided the selection of articles during the past decade, namely, that PMLA should reflect the most distinguished American scholarship in the modern languages and literatures. It is not a place for beginners to try their wings, unless those wings are used for sure and significant flight; and it is not a place for established scholars to publish their incidental writings, unless those writings compare in excellence and value with those of younger men. As the official Publications of the Modern Language Association of America PMLA should publish to the learned world the most important work of members of the Association.