The "endless fountain of immortal drink" that in John Keats's "Endymion" is the metaphor for the inexhaustible flow of inspiration provided to Western culture by the learning and art of classical antiquity, has supplied the title for this impressive collection of original essays, which set out to explore the vicissitudes that have marked the troubled history of the classical humanities during the nearly two thousand years in which they have alternately languished in torpid decline or enjoyed a spirited renaissance. The approach of the five distinguished contributors to the volume has...