the third class, such another in the fourth, and so on, and
he who was in the highest was emphatically said to be of the
class, _classicus_, a class man, without adding the number
as in that case superfluous; while all others were _infra
classem_. Hence by an obvious analogy the best authors were
rated as _classici_, or men of the highest class; just as in
English we say 'men of rank' absolutely for men who are in
the highest ranks of the State."

Thus Trench, and his historical definition, explains why in music also
there is something more than a lurking suggestion of excellence in the
conception of "classical;" but that fact does not put away the quarrel
which we feel exists between Classic and Romantic.

[Sidenote: _Romantic in literature._]

[Sidenote: _Schumann and Jean Paul._]

[Sidenote: _Weber's operas._]

[Sidenote: _Mendelssohn._]

As applied to literature Romantic was an adjective affected by certain
poets, first in Germany, then in France, who wished to introduce a
style of thought and expression different from that of those who
followed old models. Intrinsically, of course, the term does not imply
any such opposition but only bears witness to the source from which
the poets drew their inspiration. This was the imaginative literature
of the Middle Ages, the fantastical stories of chivalry and knighthood
written in the Romance, or Romanic languages, such as Italian,