While working on The Life of the Mind in America, Perry Miller talked to many of his colleagues, seeking the advice and criticism of those in fields where he felt himself distinctly less than an authority. He would, I know, want his thanks expressed particularly to Mark De- Wolfe Howe, to Donald Fleming, to Kenneth Lynn, and in a sp)ecial degree to Alan Heimert, who assisted him in much of the research. He would also wish his deep appreciation expressed to the D and R Fund, the Bollingen Foundation, and the Institute for Advanced Study for generous support of his research. No scholar does his work without libraries. The libraries of Harvard University, the Boston Public Library, the New York Public Library, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the American Philosophical Society were unfailingly generous and helpful. And finally, perhaps his greatest debt was to the students who, over the years, in seminars and in his course on romanticism in America, stimulated him, challenged him, and explored with him wherein the sublime prospect of the nation lay.
E.W.M.