Obrázky na stránke
PDF
ePub

helpful in its instructions that the student of Hebrew who undertakes to pilot his way without it through its mysteries will probably fail of reaching the goal of wisdom and knowledge.

Our English. By ADAMS SHERMAN HILL, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory in Harvard University. 12mo, pp. 245. New York: Harper & Brothers. Price, cloth, $1.

This is a collection of papers recently published in several magazines, but so valuable as to deserve the permanent form of a book. Not a paper, however, bears the marks of a scholar, though every one is the product of thought, investigation, and of deep interest in the spread of a strong and correct English among those who use it. The author considers English in schools, colleges, newspapers, novels, the pulpit, and in ordinary speech, insisting upon purity of diction, strength of expression, and appropriateness in language on all subjects, at all times, and in all places. This is not a book on English grammar, or English rhetoric, or the philosophy of the English language, but a plain defense of good English by all classes of English-speaking people.

HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, AND TOPOGRAPHY.

The Correspondence of John Lothrop Motley, D. C.L., Author of The History of the United Netherlands, The Life and Death of John of Barneveld, The Rise of the Dutch Republic, etc. Edited by GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. With portrait. In two volumes. Vol. I.: 8vo, pp. 395. Vol. II. 8vo, pp. 423. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Mr. Motley is known to the world as the distinguished historian and the honorable diplomat; but he comes forth in these posthumous volumes under the magical editorship of Mr. Curtis as a charming letter-writer, with domestic tastes and romances in full play, and as possessed of reserved characteristics seldom observed in his public and official life. In this biographical aspect the real man in his gentleness, affection, love of order, sympathy with home-scenes, and those natural traits that transfigure him in the eyes of his children and parents, appears; and thus studied he grows in general appreciation because he enlarges in his own character. The task the editor undertook was delicate and, therefore, difficult; for he had to sift the correspondence of years, retaining for publication only those letters that, tender, simple, and reflective of the inward life of his subject, did not trespass upon courtesy, or break the deathless seal of privacy that belongs to all. At the same time he had to select those letters that would evoke interest in the reading, and should be rescued from oblivion because of their intrinsic value. If he carried discretion too far, it was in the omission of letters that bore upon public affairs and public men, for Mr. Motley was a public man himself, and in a position to write with some intelligence concerning them; but it is possible that in letters never intended for publication he exhibited the passions and prejudices not uncommon to men in high places, especially as he had tasted the

bitter fruit of disappointment, and was somewhat intense in his opinions and expressions. We also regret that a brief biographical notice does not precede the correspondence, as a part of it cannot be understood without some knowledge of the career of Mr. Motley, and to refer the reader to the memoir of Mr. Holmes is not completely satisfactory. Nevertheless, we are bound to state that Mr. Curtis has displayed extra genius as an editor in the collection and preparation of this correspondence for publication, and deserves the thanks of the lovers of literature for performing the task so efficiently and gracefully. The first volume is devoted to letters written in the school period of Mr. Motley's life, both in this country and Germany; letters of travel from Austria, France, Italy, and Russia; letters relating to his work on his histories; letters that depict London society and the crises in America. More than one half of the second volume contains letters written from Vienna during our Civil War, relating to his experiences as minister to the court of St. James. Letters written after his retirement from ministerial life, addressed to many distinguished persons of culture, are both pathetic in their undertone and beautiful in sentiment, showing the man in his profoundest points of excellence and dignity. Not every eminent man is a success as a correspondent. Mr. Motley is on a level with the best, and excels the majority of those who invoke the pen to express themselves in epistles to others.

Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries. By RODOLFO LANCIANI, LL.D. (Harv.), F.R.A.S., Professor in the University of Rome, etc. With one hundred illustrations. 8vo, pp. xxix, 329. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Price, cloth, $6.

Professor Lanciani's work, as a scientist, was of that specific sort that combined details with generalizations, and in its results it is invaluable to those interested in the least degree in the general subject of Roman antiquities. Whether his book be regarded as a history of ancient Rome in the light of its archæology, or as a contribution to archæology in the light of the history of Rome, it is of vast importance to scientists, historians, and lovers of ancient phenomena. It is evident that as an excavator of the hills of the old city, and a profound student of his discoveries, he was patient and enthusiastic, and was eminently successful in linking together the archæological evidences of the early history of the city on the Tiber. Nor has he failed to recognize and appropriate the results of other laborers in the same field, and, putting together all the discoveries made in the last twenty years in and around the city of Rome, he has furnished a treasury of facts that cannot but be conclusively illustrative of many enigmatical problems in the prehistoric and traditional eras of the Roman people, as well as confirmatory of events in the historic periods. The statistics of discoveries since 1872 of amphora, terra cotta lamps, and works of art, marble sarcophagi, bas-reliefs, busts and heads, pictures in polychrome mosaic, and coins of gold, silver, and bronze, are simply enormous; and when it is remembered that this vast art collection includes some of the masterpieces of the artists, it is not difficult to

see that their historical value is very much enhanced, and that nearly every object found is a testimony of the truth of history as known, or a revelation of history until now unknown. It is impossible in a page to specify the results of these recent investigations, but we may say that they throw light upon prehistoric events, the sanitary condition, the public places of resort, the palace of the Cæsars, the house of the vestals, the public libraries of both the ancient and medieval city, the police and fire department, the Tiber and the Claudian harbor, and the social and religious condition of the people both during the Empire and the Republic. Of the destruction of ancient ruins and monuments, especially in the Renaissance, and of the difficulties and embarrassments in the prosecution of excavation, the professor is startling in his statements, but they are necessary to an understanding of both archæology and history. Of all books issued within a score of years concerning Rome this is the most complete and the most valuable, because it is in a new field, and as reliable as the facts will warrant.

The American Commonwealth. By JAMES BRYCE, Author of The Holy Roman Empire, M. P. for Aberdeen. In two volumes. Vol. I.: The National Government, the State Governments, the Party System. Crown 8vo, pp. 750. Vol. II: The Party System, Public Opinion, Illustrations and Reflections, Social Institutions. Crown 8vo, pp. 743. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. Price, cloth, $3 per vol.

More than fifty years ago De Tocqueville produced a profound sensation in the literary world by the publication of a work on Democracy in America, in which with singular aptness and brilliancy he discussed our governmental form in both its advantageous and disadvantageous aspects. Again a foreigner undertakes a similar task, varying from it so far as to include a portrayal of our whole political system in its theory and practice, as exhibited in the National, State, and Municipal governments, and also a representation of the ideas, temper, and habits of the sovereign people. Professor Bryce entered upon his task chiefly with the view of enlightening England and the Continent in respect to the political civilization of the New World, since misapprehension, if not absolute ignorance, prevails concerning the design, motive power, and future probabilities of the experimental republic. The American citizen, however, will read this work with even greater curiosity and interest than will the foreigner, in order to learn what impression our institutions have made upon an observing and judicial mind, to see the defects of our political machinery, to discover the dangers to constitutional government, and to be able to forecast the grounds of its perpetuity and permanent influence in the world's progress and its relation to the world's destiny. These points are clearly brought in view in the plain but animated description of our various types of government, and may be inferred from the philosophical discussion of the essentials of a true civilization. We are not surprised that, while eloquently acknowledging the merits of the federal system, he heroically, but with a spirit of fairness, criticises its manifest faults; and that European systems are sharply contrasted with the American system, since it is

[ocr errors]

his object to reveal the latter in its strength and weakness to his foreign readers. He makes much of the influence of public opinion in our public life, seeing in it both an auxiliary in our progress and a danger to right development; and, as we believe, he magnifies the party spirit entirely beyond its actual proportions, though it must be confessed that party agency is an organic factor in republican history. He writes of American affairs as one familiar with them, and yet in a non-partisan way, apparently aiming at accuracy of detail and intelligible statement of the facts as they came under his observation or within the range of his inquiry. He does not write at second-hand, but, having visited the country and put himself in communication with responsible and well-informed citizens, he offers the public a work not entirely exempt from errors as to facts and principles, but sufficiently correct to be trustworthy, and which must be accepted as a most careful and justly philosophical exposition of the American spirit and purpose. We must express regret that, elaborating with evident enthusiasm the political system as a whole, he devotes but thirty pages to the churches and the clergy, or the influence of Christianity in the republic. The religious factor is pre-eminent in our history, and, being unusually aggressive at the present time, it deserved a hundred pages in a standard work on our commonwealth. Waiving objections, however, we must pronounce the work as remarkable for its general integrity, and deserving of recognition by the American people, who, believing in the future of their country, are prepared to estimate both eulogy and criticism upon the same at their proper value.

A History of Methodism. Comprising a View of the Rise of this Revival of Spiritual Religion in the First Half of the Eighteenth Century and of the Principal Agents by whom it was Promoted in Europe and America; with Some Account of the Doctrine and Polity of Episcopal Methodism in the United States, and the Means and Manner of its Extension down to A. D. 1884. By HOLLAND N. MOTYEIRE, D.D., one of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 8vo, pp. 692. Nashville: J. D. Barbee. Price, cloth, $2.

Methodism is such a world-wide subject that it deserves to be treated from time to time by different writers of a differing national sense, and of observations, predilections, and experiences quite unlike those who have preceded them. Rev. Luke Tyerman advertised Methodism in England; Dr. Abel Stevens gave it character as an historic movement to all Englishreading people; but Bishop McTyeire, believing that no writer has interpreted the movement from a southern point of view, undertakes here, in addition to presenting its common historical features, to represent its spirit, purpose, and achievements in a manner peculiar to one reared under our Southern civilization. He disavows in the beginning that he is writing a history of Southern Methodism, and claims that he is only elaborating the characteristics of Methodism from his Southern tendency. The distinction is vivid, and the book is proof of a steady adherence to it. As might be expected, the author consults his predecessors and avails himself of documents of all kinds, Conference minutes, magazines, reviews, letters, pamphlets, books, every thing that would aid him in the

narration of the religious movement from the Wesley family until 1884. To old Methodists this portion is old; but its style is captivating, and to many of the present generation perhaps the record will be new, and therefore of great value. Closely following the historian, we have found it difficult for nearly three hundred pages to discover the Southern spirit by which he professes to be governed; but, as historical truth does know the points of the compass, he quietly and gradually exhibits that spirit in the movements of Methodism from Jesse Lee's entrance into New England to the centenary celebration in Baltimore four years ago. He magnifies the labors of the Southern preachers in extending Methodism in the difficult regions of the country, and credits them with great efficiency in establishing missions among the slaves in the South, and also among the Indians. This representation, however, is not in extravagant terms, but is written with historic candor, whether correct or not. It is when he comes to .consider the influence of abolitionism in the Church that he is a loyal Southerner, and yet he writes with a becoming reserve, seemingly anxious to record only the facts as he understands them. The struggle of 1844 he considers the outgrowth of the abolitionism which, failing in the Church, was successful among the people, and compelled the separation of Methodism, and finally led to the attempt at the disunion of the States. The Bishop firmly holds to the view that a "plan of separation" was agreed to by both sections of Methodism, and that the Supreme Court declared it valid and enforced it. To the Northern view there is some truth and some fiction in this representation, but it may pass, as it will do little harm. He speaks of the last fifteen years as the "era of fraternity," recounting the Cape May Commission, the Ecumenical Conference, and the great celebration at Baltimore. On the whole, the book excites no belligerent, but rather a fraternal, feeling, and as it exhibits Methodism as a great national force, and as the most evangelical and aggressive religious movement of the present century, it will exert a wholesome influence upon the people of the South, and will hasten the adjustment of the differences between the two Methodisms.

The Life of John Price Durbin, D D., LL D. With an Analysis of his Homiletic Skill and Sacred Oratory. By Joux A. ROCHE, M.D., D.D. With an Introduction by RANDOLPH S. FOSTER, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 12mo, pp. 369. New York: Hunt & Eaton. Cincinnati: Cranston & Stowe. Price, cloth, $1 50.

Dr. Durbin was the architect of his own fame. By a life of patient industry from youth to age; by persistence in acquiring knowledge, only equaled by the skill with which he used it; by effective service in every position to which the Church called him, and by a holy consecration of all his powers to a definite end, he reared a monument that speaks for itself, and such as will outlast the marble temple of a Christopher Wren, or the granite column of a fame-seeking and selfish Napoleon. He needs no monument other than that he himself erected; he needs no embalmment, even in a biography, in order to live in the hearts of the generations to come. It is because of his independence of the need of commemoration

« PredošláPokračovať »