It will be seen that both in the inclusions and exclusions the author has followed a line of his own, but he lays no claim to originality.

The book is simply designed as a manual for those who may wish to master some of the leading characteristics of the subject, without burdening themselves with too many details and dates.
This consideration has in part determined also the method of the book.
In presenting an outline of Jewish literature three plans are possible.
One can divide the subject according to _Periods_.

Starting with the Rabbinic Age and closing with the activity of the earlier Gaonim, or Persian Rabbis, the First Period would carry us to the eighth or the ninth century.

A well-marked Second Period is that of the Arabic-Spanish writers, a period which would extend from the ninth to the fifteenth century.

From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century forms a Third Period with distinct characteristics.