Introduction
Part I. Contents for reading: Learning to read : the classics and the curriculum ; Reading and the trivium arts
Part II. Reading Practice: Origins and mythologies : the invention of language and meaning ; Reading word by word (1) : the role of the vernacular ; Reading word by word (2) : grammatical and rhetorical approaches ; From words to the phrase : the problem of syntax ; Government : the theory and practice of a grammatical concept ; Rival orders of syntax: vernacular, natural and artificial ; From the phrase to the text: grammatical and rhetorical approaches again ; Naked intention : satire and a new kind of literal reading.