One of the
patron, Sir William Temple, as to the best English tragedies since Shakespeare,
genuineness of the Letters of Phalaris.
patron, Sir William Temple, as to the best English tragedies since Shakespeare,
genuineness of the Letters of Phalaris.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v30 - Guide to Systematic Readings
Welldon's; a
duction and Notes, by W. Ogle, 1897, is the complete English version, with an analysis
latest of the treatises devoted by Aristotle in 96 pages, and some critical foot-notes.
to the phenomena of animal life; and a To scholars a work of elaborate learn-
specially important one, as containing | ing will be found in (The Politics of
ideas of vitality, of the soul, of youth Aristotle: A Revised [Greek] Text, with
compared with age, of the contrast of life Introduction, Analysis, and Commentary,
and death, and of respiration or the breath by Franz Susemihl and R. D. Hicks, of
of life, and its function in the animal sys-
which the first volume, of 700 pages, was
tem. Even the errors of Aristotle are published in 1894.
curiously interesting, and in some of his Aristotle's (Constitution of Athens) -
ideas there are remarkable suggestions of Translation, Introduction, and Notes, by
truth as modern research has established F. G. Kenyon, 1891; also an edition,
it. Not a little of Aristotle's reference translated, by E. Poste – is an important
of the phenomena of life to fire would recent addition to our knowledge of Greek
prove sound science if a doctrine of elec- politics.
tricity as the cause of vitality should be (The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle,
adopted. The translator of the work de- newly translated into English, by Robert
votes an elaborate introduction to a care- Williams, 1869-91, is the most important
ful review of all the points made by to the modern reader of all that Aristotle
Aristotle, and he further appends full
has left us. The work is a brief and
notes to his translation of Aristotle's text. methodical system of moral philosophy,
It is easy now to correct the errors of with much in it of connection with
Aristotle, but even as wrong guesses at modern thought. The translation here
truth they are interesting. In his con- given is designed to reproduce the ori-
ception of the animal system the play of ginal in an intelligible and connected
the heart causes heat; heat causes the form for the benefit of the general reader.
lungs and chest to expand; and cold air J. A. Stewart's Notes on the Nicoma-
rushing in checks this expansion by neu- chean Ethics of Aristotle) is a two-volume
tralizing the heat.
work of more than a thousand pages, de-
Aristotle's (Politics. ) G. Bekker's Greek voted to notes discussing and explaining,
Text of Books i. , iii. , iv. (vii. ), with an from the Greek text, the thoughts of Aris-
English translation by W. E. Bolland, totle and the exact meaning of the Greek
and short Introductory Essays by A. terms employed by him. It can be used
Lang, gives a good introduction to this by the English reader, without reference
part of Aristotle's writings.
The essays
to knowledge of Greek.
by Lang, extending to 105 pages, give The Rhetoric of Aristotle, with a
an excellent view of Greek political ideas Commentary; by Edward Meredith Cope:
represented by Aristotle. The fine two- Revised by John Edwin (Sandys: 3 vols. ,
volume edition of Jowett's Politics) of 1877), gives Aristotle's work in the ori-
Aristotle, translated into English, with ginal Greek, with very full and valuable
an elaborate Introduction, a whole vol- notes. Mr. Cope published in 1867 an
ume of critical notes, and a very full (Introduction to Aristotle's Rhetoric,) in
Index, puts the reader in complete pos- which he gives a general outline of the
session of the means of thoroughly know- contents of the treatise and paraphrases of
ing what Aristotle taught on politics. In the more difficult portions. With the four
every respect the work is one of the volumes the English reader can readily
most admirable presentations ever made find the points and arguments of Aris-
of a masterpiece of Greek antiquity. A totle's treatment of the art of rhetoric.
second work of great value is the elab- Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine
orate Politics of Aristotle,' by W. L. Art, with a Critical [Greek] Text and a
## p. 334 (#370) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
334
men.
Translation of the (Poetics,' by S. H. instructor of youth. It is Alcibiades who
Butcher, (1895,) is an excellent treatment draws the portrait of his master. He has
of Aristotle's theory of poetry in connec- just entered the banquet hall with some
tion with other aspects of his comprehens- of his boon companions, and is himself
ive thought. The insight of Aristotle in tipsy. His potations, however, serve to
his conception of the essential character add fire and energy to his description of
of poetry, his penetrating analysis of the the philosopher, whom he says he knows
imaginative creations of Greece, and his thoroughly, and of whom he has also a
views of tragedy, limited by the theatre good many personal reasons to complain.
of his time, give a special interest to Dr. Socrates, he continues, is not unlike those
Butcher's volume.
Silenuses you find in the studios of the
sculptors, with reed-pipes or flutes be-
Banquet, The, a dialogue by Plato.
,
tween their fingers. Separate the two
(The Banquet) is usually considered pieces composing a Silenus, and lo! the
the finest of Plato's dialogues, because of sacred figure of some god or other, which
its infinite variety, its vivid and truth- was hidden by the outer covering, is re-
ful discrimination of character, and the vealed to your eyes.
As far as outward
ease with which the author rises naturally appearance goes, then, Socrates resembles
from the comic, and even the grotesque, a Silenus or satyr. Indeed, any one who
to the loftiest heights of sublimity. A looks closely can perceive clearly that he
number of guests assemble at the house is the very image of the satyr Marsyas,
of Agathon. The subject of love is intro-morally as well as physically. Can he
duced; they proceed to discuss, praise, deny that he is an unblushing scoffer? If
and define it, each according to his ideas, he does, witnesses are within call ready
disposition, and character. Socrates, sum- to prove the contrary. Is he not also
moned to give his opinion, relates a con- a flute-player, and a far better one than
versation he once had with a woman of Marsyas, too? It was by the potency
Mantinea named Diotime. This artifice of the sounds which the satyr's lips drew
enables Plato to make Socrates responsi- from his instruments that he charmed
ble for ideas that are really his own. In
The only difference between him
the opinion of the Mantinean lady, the and Socrates is that the latter, without
only way to reach love is to begin with instruments and by his discourses simply,
the cultivation of beauty here below, and produces the same effects. Alcibiades
then rise gradually, by steps of the lad- next dwells on the oracles that predicted
der, to supreme beauty. Thus we should the advent of his divine teacher, and their
proceed from the contemplation of one mutual relations at Athens during the
beautiful body to two, from two to sev- military expedition to Potidæa and in the
eral; then from beautiful functions and defeat at Delium. He then returns to
occupations to beautiful sciences. Thus his comparison between Socrates and a
we come at last to the perfect science, Silenus, and declares that his discourses
which is nothing else but the science of also are Silenuses. With all his admi-
supreme beauty. A man absorbed in the
ration for the philosopher, he must ac-
contemplation of pure, simple, elementary knowledge that at first his language
beauty — beauty devoid of flesh, color, and seemed to him as grotesque as his per-
all other perishable vanities; in a word, The words and expressions form-
divine beauty, one and absolute - could ing the exterior garb of his thought are
never endure to have his ideas distressed
quite as rugged and uncouth as the hide
by the consideration of ephemeral things. of some repulsive satyr. And then he is
Such a man will perceive beauty by means always talking of such downright asses
of the organ by which beauty is percep- as blacksmiths, cobblers, curriers, and so
tible; and will engender here below, not forth, and he is always saying the same
phantoms of virtue, because he does not thing in the same terms. But a person
embrace phantoms, but true virtues, be- has only to open his discourses and take
cause he embraces truth. Now, he who a peep inside, and he will discover, first,
engenders and fosters true virtue is loved that there is some meaning in them after
by God; and if any one deserves to be all; and after closer observation, that they
immortal, surely it is he. The end of are altogether divine, and enshrine the
the dialogue is almost entirely devoted to sacred images of every virtue and almost
the praise of Socrates, and to a picture of every principle that must guide any
of his life as a man, a soldier, and an one ambitious to become a good man.
son.
## p. 335 (#371) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
335
to
Banquet, The, a dialogue by Xenophon, part of the oration he exposes the men-
is the third work directly inspired dacity of Clodius, and says that as
by the author's recollections of Socrates, his accusation that he, Cicero, had pro-
and was probably written with the view faned the ground upon which his house
of giving a correcter idea of his mas- stood, that was impossible, for it had
ter's doctrines than is presented in "The already been officially decided that this
Banquet) of Plato. The scene takes ground had never been consecrated, in the
place at the home of the wealthy Callias legal sense. In the second part of the
during the Panathenaic festival. Callias speech, which is full of fire and vehe-
has invited a large party to a banquet mence, he discusses each point in the re-
arranged in honor of young Autolycos. ply of the aruspices, and shows that every
Socrates and a number of his friends are one of them applies directly to Clodius,
among the guests. The extraordinary who has incurred the anger of the gods by
beauty of Autolycos has such an effect his profanations, his impieties, and his
on the assembly that every one is struck unspeakable outrages. Therefore, Cicero
dumb with admiration. The buffoon concludes, Clodius himself is far more the
Philippos makes vain efforts to dispel this foe of the gods than any other Roman,
universal gravity; but he has only poor and is the most dangerous enemy of the
success, and complains with mock solem- State as well. This speech takes rank
nity of his failure. When the tables are among the greatest of Cicero's orations,
removed, three comedians, a harper, a though the orator had little time for
flute-player, and a dancer enter, and with preparation, and suffered under the dis-
them their manager. The artists play, advantage of addressing an audience at
sing, and dance; while the guests ex- first openly unfriendly.
change casual remarks, which, on account
of the distraction caused by the entertain- Archæology, Manual of Egyptian, and
ment, become more and more disconnected. Guide to the Study of Antiquities in
Socrates proposes that conversation take Egypt, by Gaston Maspero. Translated
the place of music entirely, and that each by Amelia B. Edwards. Fourth Revised
describe the art he cultivates, and speak Edition: 1895. One of the most pictur-
in praise of it. Then several discourses esque, original, and readable volumes in
follow. The most important of them are the immense literature to which our vast
two by Socrates, in one of which he eulo- new knowledge of the long-buried Egypt
gizes the dignity of the trade he himself has given rise. With its many
has adopted. In the other, he speaks of facts and new views and interpretations,
love. The love, however, which he cele- gleaned by M. Maspero with his unri-
brates, is the pure love that has the i valed facilities as director of the great
heavenly Aphrodite for its source, and Boulak Museum at Cairo, the volume is,
has no connection with the popular Aph- for the general reader and the student,
rodite. After these discourses an imi- the most adequate of text-books and
tative dance is given by the artists, in handbooks of its subject.
which the loves of Bacchus and Ariadne
are portrayed.
Ak kbar-nahmeh, by Abul Fazl. (1605. )
A history in Persian of the nearly
Aruspices, On the Reply of the, an fifty years' reign of Akbar, Mogul em-
oration by Cicero. After Cicero's re- peror of India (a contemporary of Queen
call from exile, different prodigies alarmed Elizabeth); the greatest Asiatic monarch
the people of Rome. The aruspices of modern times, and in genius and
(priests who inspected the entrails of character one of the most remarkable
birds, etc. , to draw omens of the gods' men that ever lived. A recent Life)
will or temper from their appearance), has appeared in the English (Rulers of
being consulted, answered that the pub- India' series, edited by Sir W. W. Hunter.
lic ceremonies had been neglected, the According to this history, Akbar was the
holy places profaned, and frightful calam- | grandson of Baber, the first of the Great
ities decreed in consequence. Thereupon Moguls in India. He succeeded his father,
Clodius assembled the citizens and de- Baber's eldest son Humayun, when barely
nounced Cicero the cause of the fourteen. At Akbar's birth, October 14th,
misfortunes that menaced the city. On 1542, Humayun had lost his dominions,
the following day the orator replied in and had only begun after twelve years
the Senate to the attack. In the first of exile to recover them, when his death
new
as
## p. 336 (#372) ############################################
336
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
(
in 1556 left Akbar the throne of Delhi, gives a series of sketches of certain
with an able but despotic Turkoman parts of astronomy which especially rep-
noble acting as regent. Akbar at seven- resent new knowledge.
teen took the government into his own The large work on (The Story of the
hands; and by his vigilance, energy, and Heavens,' revised to represent recent
wisdom, with a magnanimity, toleration, progress, brings within a single volume
and generosity rarely seen
in power-
all the principal facts of the magnificent
ful rulers, extended and consolidated story of the sun and moon, the solar
his empire on a scale of territory and system, the laws which rule it, the plan-
strength, and to a degree of order, peace, ets of our system, their satellites, the
and prosperity, wholly unexampled. In minor planets, comets, and shooting
addition to economic and social reforms stars; and the vast depths of the uni-
of the most enlightened and equitable verse filled with suns which we see as
character, Akbar rose far above his age, stars. The special questions of the star-
and above his own creed as a Moslem, land known by the telescope and the
in establishing absolute toleration. He spectroscope are all carefully treated.
gave the Hindus freedom of worship, Dr. Ball mentions Professor Newcomb's
only prohibiting inhuman barbarities. Popular Astronomy,) and Professor
He had Christian teachers expound their Young's volume on "The Sun, as works
faith at his court, and made Hindu, Mos- from which he has derived valuable as-
lem, and Christian meet in a parliament sistance, and which readers may include
of religions, to study the sympathy of in a complete astronomical library. Two
faiths. He even founded a new-depart- small works by Dr. Ball, not mentioned
ure faith for uniting all believers in God. above, are (The Cause of an Ice Age,'
He promoted schools for Hindus as well discussing the possible astronomical ex-
as Moslems, and was a munificent patron planations of the ages of excessive cold
of literature. The enduring record of this in the immensely remote past of the
great reign, and picture of this noble earth; and (Time and Tide,' a couple of
character and great mind, which his able lectures on the very beginnings by which
prime minister, Abul Fazl, made, was the globe came into the shape and place
worthy to have been seen by Shakespeare. through which it could become the earth
as we know it.
Story of the Heavens, The, by Robert
(1894. ) Dr. Ball is pro- Hegel, The Secret of. Being the He-
fessor of astronomy in the English Uni- gelian system in Origin, Principle,
versity of Cambridge, and his books Form, and Matter. By James Hutchison
constitute one of the best existing libra- Stirling. (New revised edition, 1897. )
ries of knowledge of astronomical facts, A very elaborate work (750 pages) which
guesses, reasonings, and conclusions. In drew from both Emerson and Carlyle
his (Star-Land; or, Talks with Young the strongest possible commendation for
People about the Wonders of the Heav- its lucid analysis and exposition of the
ens, there is a story which no less a teaching of the most difficult of German
man than Mr. Gladstone has justly pro- philosophers. Originally published in
nounced «luminous and delightful. ” His 1865, its learning, power of thought,
volume on The Great Astronomers) is and perspicuity, made an epoch in Eng-
a most interesting biographical account lish study of philosophy. The literature
of the progress of the science, from Hip- of the subject hardly shows a greater
parchus and Ptolemy to our own time. masterpiece. The author followed it in
The large volume devoted to The 1881 with a complete (Text-Book to
Story of the Sun) is a richly illustrated Kant,' comprising a translation of the
exposition of the great central facts of (Critique of Pure Reason,' with a com-
our system of nature, those of the sun's mentary and biographical sketch. In
nature and action, which all modern in- Dr. Stirling's view, Hegel's philosophy
vestigation more and more proves to is itself but «a development into full
have supreme significance for all life on and final shape of Kant's antecedent
the earth. In a special volume entitled system. The reader of Dr. Stirling may
In Starry Realms,' Dr. Ball reviews thus cover under one master the two
the wonders of the world of stars, for most famous of modern philosophies, who
popular readers; and in a second vol- have turned the very principle of unreal-
ume, called "In the High Heavens," he ity into a basis for deeper realities.
## p. 337 (#373) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
337
move
scenes
are
or
one
Short Studies on Great Subjects, by connected with early English life and lit-
James Anthony Froude. The pecul- erature; among them The Druidical In-
iar charm of Froude as an essayist and stitution; Cædmon and Milton; Dialects;
historian lies in his picturesque and Early Libraries; The Ship of Fools; and
almost romantic manner, making past Roger Ascham. The second volume, pos-
events and persons live once more and sessing less unity of design, has thirty-two
across his pages. The graphic chapters on subjects strange, familiar, and
in these (Short Studies)
quaint : Rhyming Dictionaries are treated
highly effective, though preserving no of; Allegories and the Rosicrucian Fludd
logical sequence
relation to
are discussed. There are chapters on Sir
another. The first volume begins with Philip Sidney, on Spenser, Hooker, and
a treatise on (The Science of History); Drayton, and a dissertation on Pam-
and the fourth ends with the social phlets. The book as a whole is a pleas-
allegory called “On a Siding at a Railway ant guide into the half-hidden by-paths
Station,' where the luggage of a hetero- of English literary history. It is a re-
geneous group of passengers is supposed pository of much curious book-gossip and
to be examined, and to contain not of authors' lore.
clothing and gewgaws, but specimens
of the life-work of each passenger or Phalaris, Dissertation on the Epis-
possibly nothing at all, — by which he tles of, by Richard Bentley: (1699. )
then is judged. The very discursiveness (The Letters of Phalaris ) was a Greek
of these studies enables one to find here work purporting to be real correspond-
something for various moods, — whether ence of a ferocious Dorian tyrant of
classic, moral, or æsthetic; whether the Sicily in the sixth century before Christ.
thought of war be uppermost in the The educated world of Swift's time ac.
reader's mind, or of travel, or science, cepted them as genuine; and Sir Will-
or some special phase of the conduct of iam Temple, in a pamphlet assuming
life.
the literal truth of many of the wildest
legends and myths of antiquity, and set-
Amenities of Literature, by Isaac Dis-
ting the ancients in general above the
raeli, father of Lord Beaconsfield, moderns in a series of comparisons cu-
was published in 1841, when the author riously naïve for an educated man, had
was seventy-five years old. The title was extravagantly lauded them. This led a
adopted to connect it with two preceding young Oxford man, Charles Boyle, to
volumes, (Curiosities of Literature) and edit the Letters) for English readers of
(Miscellanies of Literature. ) As the au- Greek; and in doing this he used an
thor relates in the preface, it forms a por- insulting expression with regard to a
tion of a great work projected, but never fancied wrong done him by Bentley, who
accomplished. "A history of our vernacu- had just then (1694) become librarian
lar literature has occupied my studies for to the King. Bentley had promised a
many years. It was my design, not to friend, who wished to take the other
furnish an arid narrative of books or of side in the discussion with Temple, an
authors, but following the steps of the essay on the Phalaris letters; and in
human mind through the wide track of this he showed clearly that they were
time, to trace from their beginning the a clumsy forgery by a Greek rhetorician
rise, progress, and decline of public opin- of about the time of Christ. Boyle took
ions.
In the progress of these offense in connection with the appear-
researches many topics presented them- ance of Bentley's essay, and with the
selves, some of which from their novelty help of several Oxford wits brought out
and curiosity courted investigation. Lit- a sharp reply, January 1698. It was
erary history, in this enlarged circuit, to dispose of this that Bentley, fourteen
becomes not merely a philological history months later, March 1699, published his
of critical erudition, but ascends into a (Dissertation); not merely a crushing
philosophy of books. ) In the midst of reply to Boyle, but in matter and style,
his studies toward the working-out of on lines which were then new, a master-
this design, Disraeli was arrested by loss piece of literature.
It was
a brilliant
of sight. The papers in Amenities of piece of criticism, based on accurate his-
Literature) form a portion of the pro- torical research; it presented on several
jected history. The first volume con- points, which are still of interest, stores
sists of thirty-eight chapters on subjects of learning rarely ever equaled; and it
;
(
XXX-22
## p. 338 (#374) ############################################
338
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
abundantly testified Bentley's genius as a was forty per cent. The Irish were bit.
controversialist. As a scholar, a learned terly enraged, became turbulent, and every
critic, and a university educator, Bentley effort was made to conciliate them. A
stands not only at the highest level, but report sustaining Wood, which had been
at the head of the stream which has drawn up by Sir Robert Walpole, was
come down to our time. There began answered by Swift in these letters. Swift,
with him a broad and thorough scholar- who viewed Wood's patent as a death-
ship in Greek and Latin literature, which blow to Irish independence, asserts that
before him was only beginning to get the English Parliament cannot, without
under way. He is thus to scholars one usurpation, maintain the power of bind-
of the great names of learning and of ing Ireland by laws to which it does not
letters.
consent. This assertion led to the arrest
ttle of the Books, The, by Jona-
of the printer of the letters; but the grand
Battle
Swift
than Swift, was written in 1697, but
jury refused to find a true bill.
remained in manuscript until 1704. It
triumphed, and Wood's patent was re-
voked. The Letters) were published in
was a travesty on the endless contro-
1724; the sub-title being, “very proper
versy over the relative merits of the
ancients and moderns, first raised in
to be kept in every family. ”
France by Perrault
. Its immediate cause: A
rtevelde, Philip van, a tragedy, by
Swift's Sir Henry Taylor: 1834.
One of the
patron, Sir William Temple, as to the best English tragedies since Shakespeare,
genuineness of the Letters of Phalaris. ) by an author distinguished for his pro-
(See previous article. )
test, in the spirit of Wordsworth, against
In the satire, the Bee, representing the the extreme sentimentalism of Byron.
ancients who go direct to nature, and His (Isaac Comnenus) (1827)—a drama
the Spider, representing the moderns picturing the scene at Constantinople
weaving their webs from within, have a when the hero was Roman (Byzantine)
sharp dispute in a library, where the
emperor there (1057–59 A. D. ) – was
books have mutinied and taken sides, mainly a preliminary study for his mas-
preparatory to battle. In the description terpiece, the (Van Artevelde); in which,
of this battle, Swift's terrible arrows of with noble thought and admirable power,
wit fly thick and fast, Dryden and Bent- he brings back the stress and storm of
ley coming in for a goodly share of their fourteenth-century life. The father of
destructive force. Nothing is left of the Philip, the great Jacob van Artevelde, an
poor moderns when he has finished with immensely rich brewer, eloquent and en-
them, The work, despite its vast clev- ergetic, had played a great part as popu-
erness, was not taken with entire serious-
lar leader at Ghent, 1335-45; and it fell
ness by Swift's contemporaries. He was to his son to figure similarly in 1381, but
not then the great Dean; and besides, to be slain in a great defeat of the forces
he was dealing with subjects he was not of Ghent the next year. Taylor's tragedy
competent to treat. It remains, however,
recalls the events of these two years.
a brilliant monument to his satirical
Two songs -
powers, and to the spirit of destruction
Quoth tongue of neither maid nor wife
which impelled him even as a youth to
and
audacious attacks on great names.
"If I had the wings of a dove –"
Drapier. Letters, The, by Jonathan
have been pronounced worthy of Shakes-
. These famous letters took
peare, although his lyrical efforts gener-
their name from their signature, «M. B.
ally were laboriously artificial. He had
Drapier. ” They were written to protest
very little eye to the stage, - was in fact
against an unjust aggression of the Crown,
more a poet than a dramatist, and a poet
which, at a time of great scarcity of cop-
of thought especially,– but he used great
per coin in Ireland, had granted a patent
care in his studies of character.
to furnish this to one William Wood, who
was
to share his profits with the Duchess Barneveld, John of, Advocate of Hola
of Kendal, the
. In
whose influence the patent had been ob- this brilliant biography, the author shows
tained. These profits were to be derived that as William the Silent is called the
from the difference between the real and author of the independence of the Dutch
the nominal value of the halfpence, which Provinces, so John of Barneveld deserves
-B
>
## p. 339 (#375) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
339
the title of the Founder of the Dutch Of Barneveld's place in history the au-
Republic. ” The Advocate and Keeper thor says: -“He was a public man in
of the Great Seal of the Province of the fullest sense of the word; and without
Holland, the most powerful of the seven his presence and influence the record of
provinces of the Netherlands, was virtu- Holland, France, Britain, and Germany
ally “prime minister, president, attorney- might have been essentially modified.
general, finance minister, and minister of The Republic was so integral a part of
foreign affairs, of the whole republic. that system which divided Europe into
Standing in the background and veiled two great hostile camps, according to
from public view behind “Their High creeds rather than frontiers, that the his-
Mightinesses, the States-General, the tory of its foremost citizen touches at
Advocate was really their spokesman, or every point the general history of Christ-
practically the States-General themselves, endom. ”
in all important measures at home and
abroad, during those years which inter- Havelock the Dane. This legend is
connected with the founding of
vened between the truce with Spain in
Grimsby in Lincolnshire; and was writ-
1609 and the outbreak of the Thirty Years'
ten in English and French verse about
War in 1618.
1280 A. D. The English version was lost
Born in Amersfoort in 1547, of the an-
for many years, but at last found in a
cient and knightly house of Oldenbarne-
manuscript of 'Lives of the Saints. )
veld, he received his education in the
The author is unknown; the time of the
universities of Holland, France, Italy,
story probably about the sixth century.
and Germany, and became one of the
Havelock, prince of Denmark, is left to
first civilians of his time, the friend and
the care of Earl Godard, who hires a
trusted councilor of William the Silent,
fisherman, Grim, to drown him; but he,
and the chief negotiator of the peace with
perceiving a miraculous light about the
Spain. The tragedy with which his life
child, dares not put him to death, and
ended owes itself, as Mr. Motley points
carries him to England. The boy grows
out, to the opposition between the princi-
up, and finds work with the cook of
ple of States-rights and religious freedom
Godrich, an earl who has in his charge
advocated by Barneveld, and that of the
the late king's daughter, Goldborough,
national and church supremacy maintained
whom he has promised to marry to the
by Prince Maurice the Stadtholder, whose
strongest and fairest man he can find.
desire to be recognized as king had met
In a trial of strength, Havelock (puts
with Barneveld's prompt opposition. The
Arminian doctrine of free-will, as over
the stone » farther than any other; and
Godrich, who wants the kingdom for his
against the Calvinists' principle of predes-
son, marries Goldborough to this kitchen
tination, had led to religious divisions
scullion. The princess is dissatisfied
among the provinces; and Barneveld's
with the union; but in the night sees
bold defense of the freedom of individual
the same miraculous light, and a cross
belief resulted at length in his arrest and
on Havelock's shoulder. He awakes im-
that of his companion and former pupil,
mediately afterwards, and tells her he
Hugo Grotius, both of whom were con-
has dreamed that all England and Den-
demned to execution. His son, engaging
mark were his own.
later in a conspiracy of revenge against
He goes therefore
to Denmark; and after performing deeds
the Stadtholder, was also with the other
of great valor, is proclaimed king. Re-
conspirators arrested and put to death.
turning with an army to England, he
The historian obtained his materials
makes Godrich a prisoner; and with
largely from the Advocate's letters and
other MS. archives of the Dutch govern-
Goldborough is crowned at London,
where they reign for sixty years.
mcnt, and experienced no little difficulty
in deciphering those papers covered now Heldenbuch, a given succes-
with the satirical dust of centuries, writ. sively to several versions of a col-
ten in the small, crabbed, exasperating lection of German legends from the
characters which make Barneveld's handthirteenth century. The first Helden-
writing almost cryptographic; but which buch) was printed in Strasburg, probably
were once, «sealed with the Great Seal in the year 1470; the second in Dresden
of the haughty burgher aristocracy, doc-
The latter version was almost
uments which occupied the close atten- entirely divested of the quaint poetic
tion of the cabinets of Christendom. ” charm of the original legends by the
name
in 1472.
## p. 340 (#376) ############################################
340
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
(
romance
dry, pedantic style of one of the editors, reign of João I. , the Infante Dom Pedro
by whose name the collection is known, wrote a sonnet in praise of Vasco Lo-
- Kasper von der Roen. The older vol- beira, “the inventor of the Books of Chiv-
ume, however, preserved the spirit of the alry. ” Cervantes, whose own
thirteenth century with admirable fidel- was the death-knell of these unnatural
ity, both in its text and in the delight- and preternatural extravaganzas, names
fully naive illustrations which accompany
this as one of the three romances spared
it.
in the burning of Don Quixote's library,
Among the heroic myths which appear “because it was the first of the kind and
in the original Heldenbuch) are the an- the best. ” It depicts a time «not many
cient Gothic legends of King Laurin) years after the passion of our Redeemer,”
and "The Rose Garden at Worms, to- when Garinter, a Christian, was king of
gether with three from the Lombard lesser Britain, Languines King of Scot-
cycle, Ornit, (Wolfdietrich,' and (Hug- land, Perion King of Gaul, and Lesuarte
dietrich. ) These have been rendered King of Great Britain. The scene is laid
into Modern High German in the pres- in such mystic parts of the earth as the
ent century by Karl Josef Simrock, whose island of Windsor, the forest of Anga-
scholarly and sympathetic translation duza, and “Sobradisa which borders upon
makes his Kleines Heldenbuch) as val- Serolis. ) The manly love of the three
uable a contribution to the history of brother knights, their honor, fidelity, and
German literature as was the original bravery, are noble types of the ideal of
collection of the same name.
the chivalric romance. It is to the inter-
polations and additions of the Spanish
Amadis of Gaul, by Vasco Lobeira. and French translators through whom the
Robert Southey, in the introduction romance has come down to us, that we owe
to his English version of this romance, the gross and offensive passages which
says:
(((Amadis of Gaul) is among prose, mar the otherwise pure and charming
what (Orlando Furioso) is among metri- | narrative.
cal romances, not the oldest of its kind
but the best. It is however so old as
,
This History des Romains,' first
est bloom of chivalry, the days of the published in 1879 in Paris, is the most
Black Prince and the glorious reign of elaborate and complete of the works of
Edward III. in the two realms of Eng- Victor Duruy.
It is the result very
land and France. It is a tale of the
largely of original research. The edition
knightly career of Amadis and his two
of Mahaffy, published in 1883, has no
brothers, Galaor and Florestan, the sons superior, and perhaps no equal, as a
of King Perion of Gaul. The name of popular history of Rome. The modern
the knight's mistress is Oriana; but many edition, as published in 1894, is very at:
are the damsels, ladies, and queens, whom tractive; having over
three thousand
he rescues in peril, not without wound- well-selected engravings,
ing their hearts, but remaining loyal to maps and plans, besides numerous other
the last to his liege lady — his marriage | chromo-lithographs.
with whom terminates, in Southey's opin- This work covers the whole subject of
ion, the narration of the original author. Roman history, and is the best work
The remaining adventures after the of reference; having, unlike the works
Fourth Book are, as he thinks, added by of Merivale and Gibbon, a
the Spanish translator Garcia Ordonez de dex, which enables the ordinary reader
Montalvo, and exhibit a much lower type to find any fact required.
Unlike Monim-
both of literary style and of morals. The sen, Duruy sifts tradition and tries to
author is a Portuguese who was born at infer from it the real value of Roman
Porto; fought at Aljubarrota, where he history. In regard to the illustrations,
was knighted by King João; and died at Duruy's book stands alone; giving the
Elvas, 1403. The oldest version estant reader all kinds of illustration and local
is that of Montalvo in Spanish, and the color, so as to let him read the history
oldest edition is supposed to be that of of Rome with all the lights which archæ-
Seville, 1526. But the
ological research can afford.
familiar to the Spanish discoverers of Beginning with a speculative descrip,
America, and must have enjoyed a wide tion of the geographical, political, and
popularity since the time when, in the
religious conditions of Italy before the
1
to have belonged to the age of the fairs Rome History of, by Victor Duruy.
19
11
one hundred
general in-
romance
was
## p. 341 (#377) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
341
.
establishment of Roman power, the his-
tory of Rome is traced in eight volumes,
each of which has two sections, from its
founding, 753 B. C. , to its division and
fall in 359 A. D. The history has four-
teen main periods; the first being Rome
under the Kings,' 753-510 B. C. , and
the (Formation of the Roman People);
and the last, "The Christian Empire
from Constantine to Theodosius ) (306-
395 A. D. ).
)
well as his victories restored a transient
splendor to the Eastern Empire.
III. The third from the revival of the
Western Empire to the taking of Con-
stantinople by the Turks. It is, then,
a history of the civilized world for thir-
teen centuries, during which paganism
was breaking down, and Christianity
was superseding it; and so bridges over
the chasm between the old world and
the new.
The great criticism of the work has
always been upon the point of Gibbon's
estimate of the nature and influence of
Christianity.
Aside from this, it can safely be said
that modern scholarship finds very little
that is essential to be changed in Gib-
bon's wonderful studies; while his noble
dignity of style and his picturesqueness
of narration make this still the most
fascinating of histories.
Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire, The, by Edward Gibbon.
“ It was at Rome, on the 15th of Octo-
ber 1764, as I sat musing amidst the
ruins of the capitol, while the bare-
footed friars were singing vespers in
the temple of Jupiter, that the idea of
writing the decline and fall of the city
first entered my mind,” wrote Gibbon
in his autobiography. In 1776 the first
volume of the great work was finished.
Its success
was tremendous; and the
reputation of the author was firmly es-
tablished before the religious world
could prepare itself for an attack on its
famous 15th and 16th chapters. The
last volume was finished on the 27th
of June 1787, at Lausanne, whither he
had retired for quiet and economy. In
his Memoirs) he tells the hour of his
release from those protracted labors —
between eleven o'clock and midnight;
and records his first emotions of joy on
the recovery of his freedom, and then
the sober melancholy that succeeded it
when he realized that his life's work
was done.
(The Decline and Fall) has been pro-
nounced by many the greatest achieve-
ment of human thought and erudition
in the department of history. The
tremendous scope of the work is best
explained by a brief citation from the
author's preface to the first volume:
<< The memorable series of revolutions
which, in the course of thirteen cen-
turies, gradually undermined, and at
length destroyed, the solid fabric of
human greatness, may, with some pro-
priety, be divided into the three follow-
ing periods: I. The first of these periods
may be traced from the age of Trajan
and the . Antonines, when the Roman
monarchy, having attained its full
strength and maturity, began to verge
toward its decline.
II. The sec-
ond may be supposed to begin with the
reign of Justinian, who by his laws as
Edward Gibbon, the Autobiography
of. What goes at present under
this title is a compilation made by Lord
Sheffield, Gibbon's literary executor,
from six different sketches left by the
author in an unfinished state. The first
edition appeared in 1796, with the com-
plete edition of his works. «In the fifty-
second year of my age,” he begins,
(after the completion of an arduous
work, I now propose to employ some
moments of my leisure in reviewing the
simple transactions of a private and lit-
erary life. This modest, unaffected tone
characterizes the book. The sincerity of
the revelations is full of real soberness
and dignity. The author of the De-
cline and Fall of the Roman Empire)
recounts the years of preparation that
preceded his masterpiece, and the diffi-
culties conquered. Macaulay's (school-
boy » doubtless knows the lines concern-
ing the origin at Rome of his first
conception of the history — when he was
(musing amidst the ruins of the capitol,
while the barefooted friars were sing-
ing vespers in the temple of Jupiter. ”
And many other passages are hardly less
familiar. Had he lived, Gibbon would
doubtless have completed these memoirs;
but as they are, the simple, straightfor-
ward records of a famous student's la-
bors and aims, who by his manly char-
acter made many lasting friendships, they
form one of the most interesting, bril-
liant, and suggestive autobiographies in
the English language.
## p. 342 (#378) ############################################
342
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
Gºds
ods in Greece, The (in certain sanct-
uaries recently excavated). Being
eight lectures given at the Lowell Insti-
tute in 1890. By Louis Dyer, 1891. A
volume of studies designed to represent
Greek religious thought in its best aspects.
The gods dealt with are: (1) Demeter
and Persephone, the two great goddesses
of Eleusis in Attica; (2) Dionysos, also
worshiped in Eleusis — his early cult in
Attica; (3) Æsculapius and his worship,
especially at Athens and Epidaurus; (4)
Aphrodite and her worship at Old Pa-
phos; and (5) Apollo at the Holy Island
of Delos — The Delian Apollo. Of all
these greater gods of Greece, sanctuaries
where they were specially worshiped have
been recently brought to light, through
excavations of traditional sites, where
were shrines of healing for the body and
of special salvation for the soul, dedi-
cated by immemorial worship in the Hel-
lenic world; shrines where, Mr. Dyer
says, «the beautiful and ennobling reli-
gion, first of Greece, and then — through
Greece and Rome- of all the ancient
world,” had its growth, and where that
old-time worship of ideals grew purer
and purer, until its inner significance and
truth were gathered in by Christianity. ”
The volume is one of importance to the
study of Greek culture.
3
.
3
1
slayer, however, must first pluck a bough
from the oak of the divinity, in order
that through it the divine life might
take possession of him. The work is
one rich in information in the field of
folk-lore.
Israe
srael Among the Nations: A STUDY
OF THE JEWS AND ANTI-SEMITISM. By
Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu. Translated by
Frances Hellman. (1896. ) A specially
careful, thoughtful, philosophical study
of the facts bearing upon the charac-
ter of the Jew in history and his place
in modern life. It is not so much a
defense of the Jews against complaint
and prejudice, as it is an impartial ex-
amination of the Jewish situation, and
a summary of interesting facts in regard
to the seven or eight millions of Jews
scattered amongst five or six hundred
millions of Christians in Europe and
America, or Mohammedans in Asia. The
author is a Frenchman and a Christian,
who specially desires to
see France
maintain the ground taken in the eman-
cipation of the Jews by the French Rev.
olution. He is familiar with the Jewish
situation in Russia, Poland, Roumania,
and Hungary, where Jewish concentra-
tion is greatest, where Israel's centre
of gravity” is found,-a vast reservoir
of Jews in the centre of Europe, whose
overflow tends towards the West," and
in view of whose movements it appears
not unlikely that the old European and
especially the young American States
will be swept by a long tidal wave of
Jewish emigration. The reader of the
story, with its episodes of discussion, will
get a clear view of many interesting
points touching Jewish origins and de-
velopments, and will find himself in a
position to fairly judge the Jewish prob-
lem. There is no lack of sympathy in
the writer, yet he frankly says that
(modern Israel would seem to be mor-
ally, as well as physically, a dying
race. »
Conscience, he says, “has be-
come contracted and obscured »); and "as
to honor, where could the Jew possibly
have learnt its meaning ?
beaten, re-
viled, scorned, abused by everybody. "
Jerusalem, The History of, by Sir
Walter Besant and Professor E. H.
Palmer. (1871, 1888. ) A history pub-
lished under the auspices of the society
known as “The Palestine Exploration
Fund. ” It covers a period and is com-
piled from materials not included in any
IN
»
Golde
olden Bough, The: A Study
COMPARATIVE RELIGION, by James
George Fraser. (2 vols. , 1890. ) A special
part from a general work on primitive
superstition and religion (not yet pub-
lished), in which an eminent scholar in
this field has attempted, by a study of
popular customs and superstitions in
modern Europe, - the living superstitions
of the peasantry, and especially those
connected with trees and plants,— to find
out the origin of certain features of the
worship of Diana at the little woodland
lake of Nemi. The idea seems to have
been that a god was incarnate in plant
life, and that a bough plucked from the
oak of the divinity would convey this
life. Mr. Fraser's study is a very elab-
orate one, and only by following his
learned pages is it possible to go fully
into the primitive notions to which he
refers. The priest of the temple at Nemi
was expected to obtain the post by slay-
ing its occupant, and to be himself slain
by his successor. He was considered the
incarnation of the divinity, and bound
to be killed while in full vigor. The
## p. 343 (#379) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
343
other work. It begins with the siege by southwest, and again by the Hittites
Titus, 70 A. D. , and continues to the from the north, prepared the way for
fourteenth century; including the early Israelite invasion and settlement; upon
Christian period, the Moslem invasion, which followed the rise and domination
the mediæval pilgrimages, the pilgrim- of Assyria, under which Israel was des-
ages by Mohammedans, the Crusades, tined to be blotted out. The story of all
the Latin Kingdom from 1099 A. D. to this, including the earliest rise, and the
1291, the victorious career of Saladin, development for many centuries, of He-
the Crusade of the Children, and other brew power and culture, gives M. Mas-
episodes in the history of the city and pero's pages very great interest. The
of the country. The use of Crusading wealth of illustration, all of it strictly
and Arabic sources for the preparation instructive, showing scenes in nature and
of the work, and the auspices under ancient objects from photographs, adds
which it has been published, give this very much to the reader's interest and to
history a value universally recognized. the value of the work. The two superb
volumes are virtually the story of the
ancient Eastern world for 3,000 years, or
Esypt and Chaldæa: The Dawn of
Civilization, by G. Maspero. Re- from 3850 B. C. to 850 B. C. And the
vised edition. Translated by M. L. latest discoveries indicate that a record
McClure. Introduction by A. H. Sayce. may be made out going back through an
With' map and over 470 illustrations. A earlier 3,000 years to about 7000 B. C.
work devoted to the earlier history of
Egypt and Babylonia; especially full and Genius of Christianity, The, by Fran-
valuable for the early history of Egypt, çois Auguste de Châteaubriand.
which Maspero puts before that of Bab- This favorite book was begun by Châ-
ylonia. “Chaldæa” is a comparatively late teaubriand during his period of exile in
name for Babylonia; and since Maspero England; though it was first published
wrote, new discoveries have carried the in France at the moment when Bona-
«dawn” very far back in Babylonia, to parte, then First Consul, was endeavor.
a date much earlier than that of the ear- ing to restore Catholicism as the official
liest known records of origins in Egypt. religion of the country. The object of
In a later volume, Egypt, Syria, and the "Genius) was to illustrate and prove
Assyria: The Struggle of the Nations,' the triumph of religious sentiment, or
M. Maspero has carried on the story of more exactly, of the Roman Catholic
the early Oriental world, its remarkable cult. The framework upon which all is
civilization, its religious developments, constructed is a sentence found near the
and its wars of conquest and empire, beginning of the work, to the effect that
down to a time in the last half of the of all religions that have ever existed,
ninth century B. C. , when Ahab was the the Christian religion is the most poetic,
King of Israel in northern Palestine. the most humane, the most favorable to
Babylon had risen and extended her in- liberty, to literature, and to the arts.
fluence westward as early as 2250 B. C. ; The book is divided into four parts, the
and even this was 1,500 years later than first of which treats of the mysteries, the
Sargon I. , who had carried his arms from moralities, the truth of the Scriptures,
the Euphrates to the peninsula of Sinai the existence of God, and the immor-
on the confines of Egypt. As early at tality of the soul. The second and third
least as this, Asiatic conquerors had parts bear upon the poetics of Christ-
founded a “Hyksos” dominion in Egypt, | ianity, and upon the fine arts and letters.
duction and Notes, by W. Ogle, 1897, is the complete English version, with an analysis
latest of the treatises devoted by Aristotle in 96 pages, and some critical foot-notes.
to the phenomena of animal life; and a To scholars a work of elaborate learn-
specially important one, as containing | ing will be found in (The Politics of
ideas of vitality, of the soul, of youth Aristotle: A Revised [Greek] Text, with
compared with age, of the contrast of life Introduction, Analysis, and Commentary,
and death, and of respiration or the breath by Franz Susemihl and R. D. Hicks, of
of life, and its function in the animal sys-
which the first volume, of 700 pages, was
tem. Even the errors of Aristotle are published in 1894.
curiously interesting, and in some of his Aristotle's (Constitution of Athens) -
ideas there are remarkable suggestions of Translation, Introduction, and Notes, by
truth as modern research has established F. G. Kenyon, 1891; also an edition,
it. Not a little of Aristotle's reference translated, by E. Poste – is an important
of the phenomena of life to fire would recent addition to our knowledge of Greek
prove sound science if a doctrine of elec- politics.
tricity as the cause of vitality should be (The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle,
adopted. The translator of the work de- newly translated into English, by Robert
votes an elaborate introduction to a care- Williams, 1869-91, is the most important
ful review of all the points made by to the modern reader of all that Aristotle
Aristotle, and he further appends full
has left us. The work is a brief and
notes to his translation of Aristotle's text. methodical system of moral philosophy,
It is easy now to correct the errors of with much in it of connection with
Aristotle, but even as wrong guesses at modern thought. The translation here
truth they are interesting. In his con- given is designed to reproduce the ori-
ception of the animal system the play of ginal in an intelligible and connected
the heart causes heat; heat causes the form for the benefit of the general reader.
lungs and chest to expand; and cold air J. A. Stewart's Notes on the Nicoma-
rushing in checks this expansion by neu- chean Ethics of Aristotle) is a two-volume
tralizing the heat.
work of more than a thousand pages, de-
Aristotle's (Politics. ) G. Bekker's Greek voted to notes discussing and explaining,
Text of Books i. , iii. , iv. (vii. ), with an from the Greek text, the thoughts of Aris-
English translation by W. E. Bolland, totle and the exact meaning of the Greek
and short Introductory Essays by A. terms employed by him. It can be used
Lang, gives a good introduction to this by the English reader, without reference
part of Aristotle's writings.
The essays
to knowledge of Greek.
by Lang, extending to 105 pages, give The Rhetoric of Aristotle, with a
an excellent view of Greek political ideas Commentary; by Edward Meredith Cope:
represented by Aristotle. The fine two- Revised by John Edwin (Sandys: 3 vols. ,
volume edition of Jowett's Politics) of 1877), gives Aristotle's work in the ori-
Aristotle, translated into English, with ginal Greek, with very full and valuable
an elaborate Introduction, a whole vol- notes. Mr. Cope published in 1867 an
ume of critical notes, and a very full (Introduction to Aristotle's Rhetoric,) in
Index, puts the reader in complete pos- which he gives a general outline of the
session of the means of thoroughly know- contents of the treatise and paraphrases of
ing what Aristotle taught on politics. In the more difficult portions. With the four
every respect the work is one of the volumes the English reader can readily
most admirable presentations ever made find the points and arguments of Aris-
of a masterpiece of Greek antiquity. A totle's treatment of the art of rhetoric.
second work of great value is the elab- Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine
orate Politics of Aristotle,' by W. L. Art, with a Critical [Greek] Text and a
## p. 334 (#370) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
334
men.
Translation of the (Poetics,' by S. H. instructor of youth. It is Alcibiades who
Butcher, (1895,) is an excellent treatment draws the portrait of his master. He has
of Aristotle's theory of poetry in connec- just entered the banquet hall with some
tion with other aspects of his comprehens- of his boon companions, and is himself
ive thought. The insight of Aristotle in tipsy. His potations, however, serve to
his conception of the essential character add fire and energy to his description of
of poetry, his penetrating analysis of the the philosopher, whom he says he knows
imaginative creations of Greece, and his thoroughly, and of whom he has also a
views of tragedy, limited by the theatre good many personal reasons to complain.
of his time, give a special interest to Dr. Socrates, he continues, is not unlike those
Butcher's volume.
Silenuses you find in the studios of the
sculptors, with reed-pipes or flutes be-
Banquet, The, a dialogue by Plato.
,
tween their fingers. Separate the two
(The Banquet) is usually considered pieces composing a Silenus, and lo! the
the finest of Plato's dialogues, because of sacred figure of some god or other, which
its infinite variety, its vivid and truth- was hidden by the outer covering, is re-
ful discrimination of character, and the vealed to your eyes.
As far as outward
ease with which the author rises naturally appearance goes, then, Socrates resembles
from the comic, and even the grotesque, a Silenus or satyr. Indeed, any one who
to the loftiest heights of sublimity. A looks closely can perceive clearly that he
number of guests assemble at the house is the very image of the satyr Marsyas,
of Agathon. The subject of love is intro-morally as well as physically. Can he
duced; they proceed to discuss, praise, deny that he is an unblushing scoffer? If
and define it, each according to his ideas, he does, witnesses are within call ready
disposition, and character. Socrates, sum- to prove the contrary. Is he not also
moned to give his opinion, relates a con- a flute-player, and a far better one than
versation he once had with a woman of Marsyas, too? It was by the potency
Mantinea named Diotime. This artifice of the sounds which the satyr's lips drew
enables Plato to make Socrates responsi- from his instruments that he charmed
ble for ideas that are really his own. In
The only difference between him
the opinion of the Mantinean lady, the and Socrates is that the latter, without
only way to reach love is to begin with instruments and by his discourses simply,
the cultivation of beauty here below, and produces the same effects. Alcibiades
then rise gradually, by steps of the lad- next dwells on the oracles that predicted
der, to supreme beauty. Thus we should the advent of his divine teacher, and their
proceed from the contemplation of one mutual relations at Athens during the
beautiful body to two, from two to sev- military expedition to Potidæa and in the
eral; then from beautiful functions and defeat at Delium. He then returns to
occupations to beautiful sciences. Thus his comparison between Socrates and a
we come at last to the perfect science, Silenus, and declares that his discourses
which is nothing else but the science of also are Silenuses. With all his admi-
supreme beauty. A man absorbed in the
ration for the philosopher, he must ac-
contemplation of pure, simple, elementary knowledge that at first his language
beauty — beauty devoid of flesh, color, and seemed to him as grotesque as his per-
all other perishable vanities; in a word, The words and expressions form-
divine beauty, one and absolute - could ing the exterior garb of his thought are
never endure to have his ideas distressed
quite as rugged and uncouth as the hide
by the consideration of ephemeral things. of some repulsive satyr. And then he is
Such a man will perceive beauty by means always talking of such downright asses
of the organ by which beauty is percep- as blacksmiths, cobblers, curriers, and so
tible; and will engender here below, not forth, and he is always saying the same
phantoms of virtue, because he does not thing in the same terms. But a person
embrace phantoms, but true virtues, be- has only to open his discourses and take
cause he embraces truth. Now, he who a peep inside, and he will discover, first,
engenders and fosters true virtue is loved that there is some meaning in them after
by God; and if any one deserves to be all; and after closer observation, that they
immortal, surely it is he. The end of are altogether divine, and enshrine the
the dialogue is almost entirely devoted to sacred images of every virtue and almost
the praise of Socrates, and to a picture of every principle that must guide any
of his life as a man, a soldier, and an one ambitious to become a good man.
son.
## p. 335 (#371) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
335
to
Banquet, The, a dialogue by Xenophon, part of the oration he exposes the men-
is the third work directly inspired dacity of Clodius, and says that as
by the author's recollections of Socrates, his accusation that he, Cicero, had pro-
and was probably written with the view faned the ground upon which his house
of giving a correcter idea of his mas- stood, that was impossible, for it had
ter's doctrines than is presented in "The already been officially decided that this
Banquet) of Plato. The scene takes ground had never been consecrated, in the
place at the home of the wealthy Callias legal sense. In the second part of the
during the Panathenaic festival. Callias speech, which is full of fire and vehe-
has invited a large party to a banquet mence, he discusses each point in the re-
arranged in honor of young Autolycos. ply of the aruspices, and shows that every
Socrates and a number of his friends are one of them applies directly to Clodius,
among the guests. The extraordinary who has incurred the anger of the gods by
beauty of Autolycos has such an effect his profanations, his impieties, and his
on the assembly that every one is struck unspeakable outrages. Therefore, Cicero
dumb with admiration. The buffoon concludes, Clodius himself is far more the
Philippos makes vain efforts to dispel this foe of the gods than any other Roman,
universal gravity; but he has only poor and is the most dangerous enemy of the
success, and complains with mock solem- State as well. This speech takes rank
nity of his failure. When the tables are among the greatest of Cicero's orations,
removed, three comedians, a harper, a though the orator had little time for
flute-player, and a dancer enter, and with preparation, and suffered under the dis-
them their manager. The artists play, advantage of addressing an audience at
sing, and dance; while the guests ex- first openly unfriendly.
change casual remarks, which, on account
of the distraction caused by the entertain- Archæology, Manual of Egyptian, and
ment, become more and more disconnected. Guide to the Study of Antiquities in
Socrates proposes that conversation take Egypt, by Gaston Maspero. Translated
the place of music entirely, and that each by Amelia B. Edwards. Fourth Revised
describe the art he cultivates, and speak Edition: 1895. One of the most pictur-
in praise of it. Then several discourses esque, original, and readable volumes in
follow. The most important of them are the immense literature to which our vast
two by Socrates, in one of which he eulo- new knowledge of the long-buried Egypt
gizes the dignity of the trade he himself has given rise. With its many
has adopted. In the other, he speaks of facts and new views and interpretations,
love. The love, however, which he cele- gleaned by M. Maspero with his unri-
brates, is the pure love that has the i valed facilities as director of the great
heavenly Aphrodite for its source, and Boulak Museum at Cairo, the volume is,
has no connection with the popular Aph- for the general reader and the student,
rodite. After these discourses an imi- the most adequate of text-books and
tative dance is given by the artists, in handbooks of its subject.
which the loves of Bacchus and Ariadne
are portrayed.
Ak kbar-nahmeh, by Abul Fazl. (1605. )
A history in Persian of the nearly
Aruspices, On the Reply of the, an fifty years' reign of Akbar, Mogul em-
oration by Cicero. After Cicero's re- peror of India (a contemporary of Queen
call from exile, different prodigies alarmed Elizabeth); the greatest Asiatic monarch
the people of Rome. The aruspices of modern times, and in genius and
(priests who inspected the entrails of character one of the most remarkable
birds, etc. , to draw omens of the gods' men that ever lived. A recent Life)
will or temper from their appearance), has appeared in the English (Rulers of
being consulted, answered that the pub- India' series, edited by Sir W. W. Hunter.
lic ceremonies had been neglected, the According to this history, Akbar was the
holy places profaned, and frightful calam- | grandson of Baber, the first of the Great
ities decreed in consequence. Thereupon Moguls in India. He succeeded his father,
Clodius assembled the citizens and de- Baber's eldest son Humayun, when barely
nounced Cicero the cause of the fourteen. At Akbar's birth, October 14th,
misfortunes that menaced the city. On 1542, Humayun had lost his dominions,
the following day the orator replied in and had only begun after twelve years
the Senate to the attack. In the first of exile to recover them, when his death
new
as
## p. 336 (#372) ############################################
336
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
(
in 1556 left Akbar the throne of Delhi, gives a series of sketches of certain
with an able but despotic Turkoman parts of astronomy which especially rep-
noble acting as regent. Akbar at seven- resent new knowledge.
teen took the government into his own The large work on (The Story of the
hands; and by his vigilance, energy, and Heavens,' revised to represent recent
wisdom, with a magnanimity, toleration, progress, brings within a single volume
and generosity rarely seen
in power-
all the principal facts of the magnificent
ful rulers, extended and consolidated story of the sun and moon, the solar
his empire on a scale of territory and system, the laws which rule it, the plan-
strength, and to a degree of order, peace, ets of our system, their satellites, the
and prosperity, wholly unexampled. In minor planets, comets, and shooting
addition to economic and social reforms stars; and the vast depths of the uni-
of the most enlightened and equitable verse filled with suns which we see as
character, Akbar rose far above his age, stars. The special questions of the star-
and above his own creed as a Moslem, land known by the telescope and the
in establishing absolute toleration. He spectroscope are all carefully treated.
gave the Hindus freedom of worship, Dr. Ball mentions Professor Newcomb's
only prohibiting inhuman barbarities. Popular Astronomy,) and Professor
He had Christian teachers expound their Young's volume on "The Sun, as works
faith at his court, and made Hindu, Mos- from which he has derived valuable as-
lem, and Christian meet in a parliament sistance, and which readers may include
of religions, to study the sympathy of in a complete astronomical library. Two
faiths. He even founded a new-depart- small works by Dr. Ball, not mentioned
ure faith for uniting all believers in God. above, are (The Cause of an Ice Age,'
He promoted schools for Hindus as well discussing the possible astronomical ex-
as Moslems, and was a munificent patron planations of the ages of excessive cold
of literature. The enduring record of this in the immensely remote past of the
great reign, and picture of this noble earth; and (Time and Tide,' a couple of
character and great mind, which his able lectures on the very beginnings by which
prime minister, Abul Fazl, made, was the globe came into the shape and place
worthy to have been seen by Shakespeare. through which it could become the earth
as we know it.
Story of the Heavens, The, by Robert
(1894. ) Dr. Ball is pro- Hegel, The Secret of. Being the He-
fessor of astronomy in the English Uni- gelian system in Origin, Principle,
versity of Cambridge, and his books Form, and Matter. By James Hutchison
constitute one of the best existing libra- Stirling. (New revised edition, 1897. )
ries of knowledge of astronomical facts, A very elaborate work (750 pages) which
guesses, reasonings, and conclusions. In drew from both Emerson and Carlyle
his (Star-Land; or, Talks with Young the strongest possible commendation for
People about the Wonders of the Heav- its lucid analysis and exposition of the
ens, there is a story which no less a teaching of the most difficult of German
man than Mr. Gladstone has justly pro- philosophers. Originally published in
nounced «luminous and delightful. ” His 1865, its learning, power of thought,
volume on The Great Astronomers) is and perspicuity, made an epoch in Eng-
a most interesting biographical account lish study of philosophy. The literature
of the progress of the science, from Hip- of the subject hardly shows a greater
parchus and Ptolemy to our own time. masterpiece. The author followed it in
The large volume devoted to The 1881 with a complete (Text-Book to
Story of the Sun) is a richly illustrated Kant,' comprising a translation of the
exposition of the great central facts of (Critique of Pure Reason,' with a com-
our system of nature, those of the sun's mentary and biographical sketch. In
nature and action, which all modern in- Dr. Stirling's view, Hegel's philosophy
vestigation more and more proves to is itself but «a development into full
have supreme significance for all life on and final shape of Kant's antecedent
the earth. In a special volume entitled system. The reader of Dr. Stirling may
In Starry Realms,' Dr. Ball reviews thus cover under one master the two
the wonders of the world of stars, for most famous of modern philosophies, who
popular readers; and in a second vol- have turned the very principle of unreal-
ume, called "In the High Heavens," he ity into a basis for deeper realities.
## p. 337 (#373) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
337
move
scenes
are
or
one
Short Studies on Great Subjects, by connected with early English life and lit-
James Anthony Froude. The pecul- erature; among them The Druidical In-
iar charm of Froude as an essayist and stitution; Cædmon and Milton; Dialects;
historian lies in his picturesque and Early Libraries; The Ship of Fools; and
almost romantic manner, making past Roger Ascham. The second volume, pos-
events and persons live once more and sessing less unity of design, has thirty-two
across his pages. The graphic chapters on subjects strange, familiar, and
in these (Short Studies)
quaint : Rhyming Dictionaries are treated
highly effective, though preserving no of; Allegories and the Rosicrucian Fludd
logical sequence
relation to
are discussed. There are chapters on Sir
another. The first volume begins with Philip Sidney, on Spenser, Hooker, and
a treatise on (The Science of History); Drayton, and a dissertation on Pam-
and the fourth ends with the social phlets. The book as a whole is a pleas-
allegory called “On a Siding at a Railway ant guide into the half-hidden by-paths
Station,' where the luggage of a hetero- of English literary history. It is a re-
geneous group of passengers is supposed pository of much curious book-gossip and
to be examined, and to contain not of authors' lore.
clothing and gewgaws, but specimens
of the life-work of each passenger or Phalaris, Dissertation on the Epis-
possibly nothing at all, — by which he tles of, by Richard Bentley: (1699. )
then is judged. The very discursiveness (The Letters of Phalaris ) was a Greek
of these studies enables one to find here work purporting to be real correspond-
something for various moods, — whether ence of a ferocious Dorian tyrant of
classic, moral, or æsthetic; whether the Sicily in the sixth century before Christ.
thought of war be uppermost in the The educated world of Swift's time ac.
reader's mind, or of travel, or science, cepted them as genuine; and Sir Will-
or some special phase of the conduct of iam Temple, in a pamphlet assuming
life.
the literal truth of many of the wildest
legends and myths of antiquity, and set-
Amenities of Literature, by Isaac Dis-
ting the ancients in general above the
raeli, father of Lord Beaconsfield, moderns in a series of comparisons cu-
was published in 1841, when the author riously naïve for an educated man, had
was seventy-five years old. The title was extravagantly lauded them. This led a
adopted to connect it with two preceding young Oxford man, Charles Boyle, to
volumes, (Curiosities of Literature) and edit the Letters) for English readers of
(Miscellanies of Literature. ) As the au- Greek; and in doing this he used an
thor relates in the preface, it forms a por- insulting expression with regard to a
tion of a great work projected, but never fancied wrong done him by Bentley, who
accomplished. "A history of our vernacu- had just then (1694) become librarian
lar literature has occupied my studies for to the King. Bentley had promised a
many years. It was my design, not to friend, who wished to take the other
furnish an arid narrative of books or of side in the discussion with Temple, an
authors, but following the steps of the essay on the Phalaris letters; and in
human mind through the wide track of this he showed clearly that they were
time, to trace from their beginning the a clumsy forgery by a Greek rhetorician
rise, progress, and decline of public opin- of about the time of Christ. Boyle took
ions.
In the progress of these offense in connection with the appear-
researches many topics presented them- ance of Bentley's essay, and with the
selves, some of which from their novelty help of several Oxford wits brought out
and curiosity courted investigation. Lit- a sharp reply, January 1698. It was
erary history, in this enlarged circuit, to dispose of this that Bentley, fourteen
becomes not merely a philological history months later, March 1699, published his
of critical erudition, but ascends into a (Dissertation); not merely a crushing
philosophy of books. ) In the midst of reply to Boyle, but in matter and style,
his studies toward the working-out of on lines which were then new, a master-
this design, Disraeli was arrested by loss piece of literature.
It was
a brilliant
of sight. The papers in Amenities of piece of criticism, based on accurate his-
Literature) form a portion of the pro- torical research; it presented on several
jected history. The first volume con- points, which are still of interest, stores
sists of thirty-eight chapters on subjects of learning rarely ever equaled; and it
;
(
XXX-22
## p. 338 (#374) ############################################
338
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
abundantly testified Bentley's genius as a was forty per cent. The Irish were bit.
controversialist. As a scholar, a learned terly enraged, became turbulent, and every
critic, and a university educator, Bentley effort was made to conciliate them. A
stands not only at the highest level, but report sustaining Wood, which had been
at the head of the stream which has drawn up by Sir Robert Walpole, was
come down to our time. There began answered by Swift in these letters. Swift,
with him a broad and thorough scholar- who viewed Wood's patent as a death-
ship in Greek and Latin literature, which blow to Irish independence, asserts that
before him was only beginning to get the English Parliament cannot, without
under way. He is thus to scholars one usurpation, maintain the power of bind-
of the great names of learning and of ing Ireland by laws to which it does not
letters.
consent. This assertion led to the arrest
ttle of the Books, The, by Jona-
of the printer of the letters; but the grand
Battle
Swift
than Swift, was written in 1697, but
jury refused to find a true bill.
remained in manuscript until 1704. It
triumphed, and Wood's patent was re-
voked. The Letters) were published in
was a travesty on the endless contro-
1724; the sub-title being, “very proper
versy over the relative merits of the
ancients and moderns, first raised in
to be kept in every family. ”
France by Perrault
. Its immediate cause: A
rtevelde, Philip van, a tragedy, by
Swift's Sir Henry Taylor: 1834.
One of the
patron, Sir William Temple, as to the best English tragedies since Shakespeare,
genuineness of the Letters of Phalaris. ) by an author distinguished for his pro-
(See previous article. )
test, in the spirit of Wordsworth, against
In the satire, the Bee, representing the the extreme sentimentalism of Byron.
ancients who go direct to nature, and His (Isaac Comnenus) (1827)—a drama
the Spider, representing the moderns picturing the scene at Constantinople
weaving their webs from within, have a when the hero was Roman (Byzantine)
sharp dispute in a library, where the
emperor there (1057–59 A. D. ) – was
books have mutinied and taken sides, mainly a preliminary study for his mas-
preparatory to battle. In the description terpiece, the (Van Artevelde); in which,
of this battle, Swift's terrible arrows of with noble thought and admirable power,
wit fly thick and fast, Dryden and Bent- he brings back the stress and storm of
ley coming in for a goodly share of their fourteenth-century life. The father of
destructive force. Nothing is left of the Philip, the great Jacob van Artevelde, an
poor moderns when he has finished with immensely rich brewer, eloquent and en-
them, The work, despite its vast clev- ergetic, had played a great part as popu-
erness, was not taken with entire serious-
lar leader at Ghent, 1335-45; and it fell
ness by Swift's contemporaries. He was to his son to figure similarly in 1381, but
not then the great Dean; and besides, to be slain in a great defeat of the forces
he was dealing with subjects he was not of Ghent the next year. Taylor's tragedy
competent to treat. It remains, however,
recalls the events of these two years.
a brilliant monument to his satirical
Two songs -
powers, and to the spirit of destruction
Quoth tongue of neither maid nor wife
which impelled him even as a youth to
and
audacious attacks on great names.
"If I had the wings of a dove –"
Drapier. Letters, The, by Jonathan
have been pronounced worthy of Shakes-
. These famous letters took
peare, although his lyrical efforts gener-
their name from their signature, «M. B.
ally were laboriously artificial. He had
Drapier. ” They were written to protest
very little eye to the stage, - was in fact
against an unjust aggression of the Crown,
more a poet than a dramatist, and a poet
which, at a time of great scarcity of cop-
of thought especially,– but he used great
per coin in Ireland, had granted a patent
care in his studies of character.
to furnish this to one William Wood, who
was
to share his profits with the Duchess Barneveld, John of, Advocate of Hola
of Kendal, the
. In
whose influence the patent had been ob- this brilliant biography, the author shows
tained. These profits were to be derived that as William the Silent is called the
from the difference between the real and author of the independence of the Dutch
the nominal value of the halfpence, which Provinces, so John of Barneveld deserves
-B
>
## p. 339 (#375) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
339
the title of the Founder of the Dutch Of Barneveld's place in history the au-
Republic. ” The Advocate and Keeper thor says: -“He was a public man in
of the Great Seal of the Province of the fullest sense of the word; and without
Holland, the most powerful of the seven his presence and influence the record of
provinces of the Netherlands, was virtu- Holland, France, Britain, and Germany
ally “prime minister, president, attorney- might have been essentially modified.
general, finance minister, and minister of The Republic was so integral a part of
foreign affairs, of the whole republic. that system which divided Europe into
Standing in the background and veiled two great hostile camps, according to
from public view behind “Their High creeds rather than frontiers, that the his-
Mightinesses, the States-General, the tory of its foremost citizen touches at
Advocate was really their spokesman, or every point the general history of Christ-
practically the States-General themselves, endom. ”
in all important measures at home and
abroad, during those years which inter- Havelock the Dane. This legend is
connected with the founding of
vened between the truce with Spain in
Grimsby in Lincolnshire; and was writ-
1609 and the outbreak of the Thirty Years'
ten in English and French verse about
War in 1618.
1280 A. D. The English version was lost
Born in Amersfoort in 1547, of the an-
for many years, but at last found in a
cient and knightly house of Oldenbarne-
manuscript of 'Lives of the Saints. )
veld, he received his education in the
The author is unknown; the time of the
universities of Holland, France, Italy,
story probably about the sixth century.
and Germany, and became one of the
Havelock, prince of Denmark, is left to
first civilians of his time, the friend and
the care of Earl Godard, who hires a
trusted councilor of William the Silent,
fisherman, Grim, to drown him; but he,
and the chief negotiator of the peace with
perceiving a miraculous light about the
Spain. The tragedy with which his life
child, dares not put him to death, and
ended owes itself, as Mr. Motley points
carries him to England. The boy grows
out, to the opposition between the princi-
up, and finds work with the cook of
ple of States-rights and religious freedom
Godrich, an earl who has in his charge
advocated by Barneveld, and that of the
the late king's daughter, Goldborough,
national and church supremacy maintained
whom he has promised to marry to the
by Prince Maurice the Stadtholder, whose
strongest and fairest man he can find.
desire to be recognized as king had met
In a trial of strength, Havelock (puts
with Barneveld's prompt opposition. The
Arminian doctrine of free-will, as over
the stone » farther than any other; and
Godrich, who wants the kingdom for his
against the Calvinists' principle of predes-
son, marries Goldborough to this kitchen
tination, had led to religious divisions
scullion. The princess is dissatisfied
among the provinces; and Barneveld's
with the union; but in the night sees
bold defense of the freedom of individual
the same miraculous light, and a cross
belief resulted at length in his arrest and
on Havelock's shoulder. He awakes im-
that of his companion and former pupil,
mediately afterwards, and tells her he
Hugo Grotius, both of whom were con-
has dreamed that all England and Den-
demned to execution. His son, engaging
mark were his own.
later in a conspiracy of revenge against
He goes therefore
to Denmark; and after performing deeds
the Stadtholder, was also with the other
of great valor, is proclaimed king. Re-
conspirators arrested and put to death.
turning with an army to England, he
The historian obtained his materials
makes Godrich a prisoner; and with
largely from the Advocate's letters and
other MS. archives of the Dutch govern-
Goldborough is crowned at London,
where they reign for sixty years.
mcnt, and experienced no little difficulty
in deciphering those papers covered now Heldenbuch, a given succes-
with the satirical dust of centuries, writ. sively to several versions of a col-
ten in the small, crabbed, exasperating lection of German legends from the
characters which make Barneveld's handthirteenth century. The first Helden-
writing almost cryptographic; but which buch) was printed in Strasburg, probably
were once, «sealed with the Great Seal in the year 1470; the second in Dresden
of the haughty burgher aristocracy, doc-
The latter version was almost
uments which occupied the close atten- entirely divested of the quaint poetic
tion of the cabinets of Christendom. ” charm of the original legends by the
name
in 1472.
## p. 340 (#376) ############################################
340
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
(
romance
dry, pedantic style of one of the editors, reign of João I. , the Infante Dom Pedro
by whose name the collection is known, wrote a sonnet in praise of Vasco Lo-
- Kasper von der Roen. The older vol- beira, “the inventor of the Books of Chiv-
ume, however, preserved the spirit of the alry. ” Cervantes, whose own
thirteenth century with admirable fidel- was the death-knell of these unnatural
ity, both in its text and in the delight- and preternatural extravaganzas, names
fully naive illustrations which accompany
this as one of the three romances spared
it.
in the burning of Don Quixote's library,
Among the heroic myths which appear “because it was the first of the kind and
in the original Heldenbuch) are the an- the best. ” It depicts a time «not many
cient Gothic legends of King Laurin) years after the passion of our Redeemer,”
and "The Rose Garden at Worms, to- when Garinter, a Christian, was king of
gether with three from the Lombard lesser Britain, Languines King of Scot-
cycle, Ornit, (Wolfdietrich,' and (Hug- land, Perion King of Gaul, and Lesuarte
dietrich. ) These have been rendered King of Great Britain. The scene is laid
into Modern High German in the pres- in such mystic parts of the earth as the
ent century by Karl Josef Simrock, whose island of Windsor, the forest of Anga-
scholarly and sympathetic translation duza, and “Sobradisa which borders upon
makes his Kleines Heldenbuch) as val- Serolis. ) The manly love of the three
uable a contribution to the history of brother knights, their honor, fidelity, and
German literature as was the original bravery, are noble types of the ideal of
collection of the same name.
the chivalric romance. It is to the inter-
polations and additions of the Spanish
Amadis of Gaul, by Vasco Lobeira. and French translators through whom the
Robert Southey, in the introduction romance has come down to us, that we owe
to his English version of this romance, the gross and offensive passages which
says:
(((Amadis of Gaul) is among prose, mar the otherwise pure and charming
what (Orlando Furioso) is among metri- | narrative.
cal romances, not the oldest of its kind
but the best. It is however so old as
,
This History des Romains,' first
est bloom of chivalry, the days of the published in 1879 in Paris, is the most
Black Prince and the glorious reign of elaborate and complete of the works of
Edward III. in the two realms of Eng- Victor Duruy.
It is the result very
land and France. It is a tale of the
largely of original research. The edition
knightly career of Amadis and his two
of Mahaffy, published in 1883, has no
brothers, Galaor and Florestan, the sons superior, and perhaps no equal, as a
of King Perion of Gaul. The name of popular history of Rome. The modern
the knight's mistress is Oriana; but many edition, as published in 1894, is very at:
are the damsels, ladies, and queens, whom tractive; having over
three thousand
he rescues in peril, not without wound- well-selected engravings,
ing their hearts, but remaining loyal to maps and plans, besides numerous other
the last to his liege lady — his marriage | chromo-lithographs.
with whom terminates, in Southey's opin- This work covers the whole subject of
ion, the narration of the original author. Roman history, and is the best work
The remaining adventures after the of reference; having, unlike the works
Fourth Book are, as he thinks, added by of Merivale and Gibbon, a
the Spanish translator Garcia Ordonez de dex, which enables the ordinary reader
Montalvo, and exhibit a much lower type to find any fact required.
Unlike Monim-
both of literary style and of morals. The sen, Duruy sifts tradition and tries to
author is a Portuguese who was born at infer from it the real value of Roman
Porto; fought at Aljubarrota, where he history. In regard to the illustrations,
was knighted by King João; and died at Duruy's book stands alone; giving the
Elvas, 1403. The oldest version estant reader all kinds of illustration and local
is that of Montalvo in Spanish, and the color, so as to let him read the history
oldest edition is supposed to be that of of Rome with all the lights which archæ-
Seville, 1526. But the
ological research can afford.
familiar to the Spanish discoverers of Beginning with a speculative descrip,
America, and must have enjoyed a wide tion of the geographical, political, and
popularity since the time when, in the
religious conditions of Italy before the
1
to have belonged to the age of the fairs Rome History of, by Victor Duruy.
19
11
one hundred
general in-
romance
was
## p. 341 (#377) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
341
.
establishment of Roman power, the his-
tory of Rome is traced in eight volumes,
each of which has two sections, from its
founding, 753 B. C. , to its division and
fall in 359 A. D. The history has four-
teen main periods; the first being Rome
under the Kings,' 753-510 B. C. , and
the (Formation of the Roman People);
and the last, "The Christian Empire
from Constantine to Theodosius ) (306-
395 A. D. ).
)
well as his victories restored a transient
splendor to the Eastern Empire.
III. The third from the revival of the
Western Empire to the taking of Con-
stantinople by the Turks. It is, then,
a history of the civilized world for thir-
teen centuries, during which paganism
was breaking down, and Christianity
was superseding it; and so bridges over
the chasm between the old world and
the new.
The great criticism of the work has
always been upon the point of Gibbon's
estimate of the nature and influence of
Christianity.
Aside from this, it can safely be said
that modern scholarship finds very little
that is essential to be changed in Gib-
bon's wonderful studies; while his noble
dignity of style and his picturesqueness
of narration make this still the most
fascinating of histories.
Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire, The, by Edward Gibbon.
“ It was at Rome, on the 15th of Octo-
ber 1764, as I sat musing amidst the
ruins of the capitol, while the bare-
footed friars were singing vespers in
the temple of Jupiter, that the idea of
writing the decline and fall of the city
first entered my mind,” wrote Gibbon
in his autobiography. In 1776 the first
volume of the great work was finished.
Its success
was tremendous; and the
reputation of the author was firmly es-
tablished before the religious world
could prepare itself for an attack on its
famous 15th and 16th chapters. The
last volume was finished on the 27th
of June 1787, at Lausanne, whither he
had retired for quiet and economy. In
his Memoirs) he tells the hour of his
release from those protracted labors —
between eleven o'clock and midnight;
and records his first emotions of joy on
the recovery of his freedom, and then
the sober melancholy that succeeded it
when he realized that his life's work
was done.
(The Decline and Fall) has been pro-
nounced by many the greatest achieve-
ment of human thought and erudition
in the department of history. The
tremendous scope of the work is best
explained by a brief citation from the
author's preface to the first volume:
<< The memorable series of revolutions
which, in the course of thirteen cen-
turies, gradually undermined, and at
length destroyed, the solid fabric of
human greatness, may, with some pro-
priety, be divided into the three follow-
ing periods: I. The first of these periods
may be traced from the age of Trajan
and the . Antonines, when the Roman
monarchy, having attained its full
strength and maturity, began to verge
toward its decline.
II. The sec-
ond may be supposed to begin with the
reign of Justinian, who by his laws as
Edward Gibbon, the Autobiography
of. What goes at present under
this title is a compilation made by Lord
Sheffield, Gibbon's literary executor,
from six different sketches left by the
author in an unfinished state. The first
edition appeared in 1796, with the com-
plete edition of his works. «In the fifty-
second year of my age,” he begins,
(after the completion of an arduous
work, I now propose to employ some
moments of my leisure in reviewing the
simple transactions of a private and lit-
erary life. This modest, unaffected tone
characterizes the book. The sincerity of
the revelations is full of real soberness
and dignity. The author of the De-
cline and Fall of the Roman Empire)
recounts the years of preparation that
preceded his masterpiece, and the diffi-
culties conquered. Macaulay's (school-
boy » doubtless knows the lines concern-
ing the origin at Rome of his first
conception of the history — when he was
(musing amidst the ruins of the capitol,
while the barefooted friars were sing-
ing vespers in the temple of Jupiter. ”
And many other passages are hardly less
familiar. Had he lived, Gibbon would
doubtless have completed these memoirs;
but as they are, the simple, straightfor-
ward records of a famous student's la-
bors and aims, who by his manly char-
acter made many lasting friendships, they
form one of the most interesting, bril-
liant, and suggestive autobiographies in
the English language.
## p. 342 (#378) ############################################
342
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
Gºds
ods in Greece, The (in certain sanct-
uaries recently excavated). Being
eight lectures given at the Lowell Insti-
tute in 1890. By Louis Dyer, 1891. A
volume of studies designed to represent
Greek religious thought in its best aspects.
The gods dealt with are: (1) Demeter
and Persephone, the two great goddesses
of Eleusis in Attica; (2) Dionysos, also
worshiped in Eleusis — his early cult in
Attica; (3) Æsculapius and his worship,
especially at Athens and Epidaurus; (4)
Aphrodite and her worship at Old Pa-
phos; and (5) Apollo at the Holy Island
of Delos — The Delian Apollo. Of all
these greater gods of Greece, sanctuaries
where they were specially worshiped have
been recently brought to light, through
excavations of traditional sites, where
were shrines of healing for the body and
of special salvation for the soul, dedi-
cated by immemorial worship in the Hel-
lenic world; shrines where, Mr. Dyer
says, «the beautiful and ennobling reli-
gion, first of Greece, and then — through
Greece and Rome- of all the ancient
world,” had its growth, and where that
old-time worship of ideals grew purer
and purer, until its inner significance and
truth were gathered in by Christianity. ”
The volume is one of importance to the
study of Greek culture.
3
.
3
1
slayer, however, must first pluck a bough
from the oak of the divinity, in order
that through it the divine life might
take possession of him. The work is
one rich in information in the field of
folk-lore.
Israe
srael Among the Nations: A STUDY
OF THE JEWS AND ANTI-SEMITISM. By
Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu. Translated by
Frances Hellman. (1896. ) A specially
careful, thoughtful, philosophical study
of the facts bearing upon the charac-
ter of the Jew in history and his place
in modern life. It is not so much a
defense of the Jews against complaint
and prejudice, as it is an impartial ex-
amination of the Jewish situation, and
a summary of interesting facts in regard
to the seven or eight millions of Jews
scattered amongst five or six hundred
millions of Christians in Europe and
America, or Mohammedans in Asia. The
author is a Frenchman and a Christian,
who specially desires to
see France
maintain the ground taken in the eman-
cipation of the Jews by the French Rev.
olution. He is familiar with the Jewish
situation in Russia, Poland, Roumania,
and Hungary, where Jewish concentra-
tion is greatest, where Israel's centre
of gravity” is found,-a vast reservoir
of Jews in the centre of Europe, whose
overflow tends towards the West," and
in view of whose movements it appears
not unlikely that the old European and
especially the young American States
will be swept by a long tidal wave of
Jewish emigration. The reader of the
story, with its episodes of discussion, will
get a clear view of many interesting
points touching Jewish origins and de-
velopments, and will find himself in a
position to fairly judge the Jewish prob-
lem. There is no lack of sympathy in
the writer, yet he frankly says that
(modern Israel would seem to be mor-
ally, as well as physically, a dying
race. »
Conscience, he says, “has be-
come contracted and obscured »); and "as
to honor, where could the Jew possibly
have learnt its meaning ?
beaten, re-
viled, scorned, abused by everybody. "
Jerusalem, The History of, by Sir
Walter Besant and Professor E. H.
Palmer. (1871, 1888. ) A history pub-
lished under the auspices of the society
known as “The Palestine Exploration
Fund. ” It covers a period and is com-
piled from materials not included in any
IN
»
Golde
olden Bough, The: A Study
COMPARATIVE RELIGION, by James
George Fraser. (2 vols. , 1890. ) A special
part from a general work on primitive
superstition and religion (not yet pub-
lished), in which an eminent scholar in
this field has attempted, by a study of
popular customs and superstitions in
modern Europe, - the living superstitions
of the peasantry, and especially those
connected with trees and plants,— to find
out the origin of certain features of the
worship of Diana at the little woodland
lake of Nemi. The idea seems to have
been that a god was incarnate in plant
life, and that a bough plucked from the
oak of the divinity would convey this
life. Mr. Fraser's study is a very elab-
orate one, and only by following his
learned pages is it possible to go fully
into the primitive notions to which he
refers. The priest of the temple at Nemi
was expected to obtain the post by slay-
ing its occupant, and to be himself slain
by his successor. He was considered the
incarnation of the divinity, and bound
to be killed while in full vigor. The
## p. 343 (#379) ############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
343
other work. It begins with the siege by southwest, and again by the Hittites
Titus, 70 A. D. , and continues to the from the north, prepared the way for
fourteenth century; including the early Israelite invasion and settlement; upon
Christian period, the Moslem invasion, which followed the rise and domination
the mediæval pilgrimages, the pilgrim- of Assyria, under which Israel was des-
ages by Mohammedans, the Crusades, tined to be blotted out. The story of all
the Latin Kingdom from 1099 A. D. to this, including the earliest rise, and the
1291, the victorious career of Saladin, development for many centuries, of He-
the Crusade of the Children, and other brew power and culture, gives M. Mas-
episodes in the history of the city and pero's pages very great interest. The
of the country. The use of Crusading wealth of illustration, all of it strictly
and Arabic sources for the preparation instructive, showing scenes in nature and
of the work, and the auspices under ancient objects from photographs, adds
which it has been published, give this very much to the reader's interest and to
history a value universally recognized. the value of the work. The two superb
volumes are virtually the story of the
ancient Eastern world for 3,000 years, or
Esypt and Chaldæa: The Dawn of
Civilization, by G. Maspero. Re- from 3850 B. C. to 850 B. C. And the
vised edition. Translated by M. L. latest discoveries indicate that a record
McClure. Introduction by A. H. Sayce. may be made out going back through an
With' map and over 470 illustrations. A earlier 3,000 years to about 7000 B. C.
work devoted to the earlier history of
Egypt and Babylonia; especially full and Genius of Christianity, The, by Fran-
valuable for the early history of Egypt, çois Auguste de Châteaubriand.
which Maspero puts before that of Bab- This favorite book was begun by Châ-
ylonia. “Chaldæa” is a comparatively late teaubriand during his period of exile in
name for Babylonia; and since Maspero England; though it was first published
wrote, new discoveries have carried the in France at the moment when Bona-
«dawn” very far back in Babylonia, to parte, then First Consul, was endeavor.
a date much earlier than that of the ear- ing to restore Catholicism as the official
liest known records of origins in Egypt. religion of the country. The object of
In a later volume, Egypt, Syria, and the "Genius) was to illustrate and prove
Assyria: The Struggle of the Nations,' the triumph of religious sentiment, or
M. Maspero has carried on the story of more exactly, of the Roman Catholic
the early Oriental world, its remarkable cult. The framework upon which all is
civilization, its religious developments, constructed is a sentence found near the
and its wars of conquest and empire, beginning of the work, to the effect that
down to a time in the last half of the of all religions that have ever existed,
ninth century B. C. , when Ahab was the the Christian religion is the most poetic,
King of Israel in northern Palestine. the most humane, the most favorable to
Babylon had risen and extended her in- liberty, to literature, and to the arts.
fluence westward as early as 2250 B. C. ; The book is divided into four parts, the
and even this was 1,500 years later than first of which treats of the mysteries, the
Sargon I. , who had carried his arms from moralities, the truth of the Scriptures,
the Euphrates to the peninsula of Sinai the existence of God, and the immor-
on the confines of Egypt. As early at tality of the soul. The second and third
least as this, Asiatic conquerors had parts bear upon the poetics of Christ-
founded a “Hyksos” dominion in Egypt, | ianity, and upon the fine arts and letters.
