The third with the
Christian
white race.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v30 - Guide to Systematic Readings
(1897.
) A small volume
god, Sin, one of whose seats was Sinai, specially devoted to showing how the He-
and especially a god of goodness, the
brew Mosaic books evince «familiarity
moon-deity being regarded as the Father- with the great religious epics of Baby-
God, to whom the sun is a son and the lonia, which go back to the twenty-third
evening star a daughter; Erech, farther century B. C. ,- to a date, that is, about
north, the seat of the worship of Ishtar, 800 years earlier than the reputed time
the evening and the morning star, con-
of Moses )); and how, in consequence of
ceived as the equal of her brother, the this familiarity, “Babylonian ideas were
sun, and the magnificent ideal of female worked into these early Hebrew docu-
character at the highest level of divin- ments, and were thus insured persistence
ity; and Nippur, the most northerly and
and obtained a world-wide currency. ”
easterly, and the seat of the worship of That Babylon still survives in our cult-
Bel, or the sun,-conceived, not as son ure,” is Dr. Palmer's general conclusion.
to the moon-god, but as a supreme god, He especially devotes his work to show-
represented by the setting sun, and most ing how the Babylonian conception of
especially revealed in the flaming red- Tiamat was reproduced in the Hebrew
ness of his setting in times of excessive conception of Tehom, «the Deep”; how
heat and drought; the Angry En-Lil, or the Babylonian idea of the Deep, sug-
“Lord of the Storm,” who caused all the gesting the Dragon of the Deep, gave
weather troubles of mankind, -desolat- the Hebrew mind its idea of Satan; and
ing winds, violent storms, floods, drought, how again the idea of the Deep became,
and all injuries. It was by him that first to the Babylonians, and en to the
the Deluge was brought, and for it the Hebrews, the idea of a Hades, or Tar-
good Ea, and kindly Sin, and Merodach taros, or Hell. Dr. Palmer makes prom-
the Merciful, charged him with cruel inent these points: (1) that “the Hebrew
injustice; and the Babylonian Noah, record of the creation is based on the
making a sacrifice after the flood, in- more ancient accounts which have been
vited all the gods except En-Lil. As preserved in the Babylonian tablets);
god of the red sunset the nether-world (2) that «religious conceptions of the
was his, ruled by a son who was of like Babylonians, suggested by phenomenal
cruel temper with his father.
aspects of nature, especially the Sun, lay
Nippur is thus the original seat of the at the base of the Hebrews' early faith”;
conception of a god of anger and a reli- (3) that “the Great Deep was consti-
gion of fear. It was a great and flour- tuted a symbol of lawlessness, was
ishing city as long before Abraham as personified as a dragon or great ser-
Abraham is before our day. Its temple, pent,” and “became a symbol of moral
commonly known as the House of En- evil; (4) that among the Hebrews
Lil, Dr. Peters says, (just as the temple this serpent or dragon introduces sin);
at Jerusalem was called the House of and (5) that this Chaos-Dragon contrib-
Yahweh,) had stood for about five thou- uted shape to later conceptions of the
sand years, when it fell into ruins about Devil. ” He further says, with reference
or before 150 B. C. Dr. Peters speaks of to the mediatorial god, Merodach of
the close connection existing between Babylonian belief: "It has often been
Babylonian and Hebrew civilization, le- remarked that Merodach, as mediator,
gends, myths, and religion. ” He states healer, and redeemer, as forgiving sin,
## p. 22 (#58) ##############################################
22
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
to
defeating the Tempter, and raising the
dead, in many of his features foreshad-
owed the Hebrew Messiah)); and also :
<< The Babylonians themselves seem
have considered their Merodach (or Bel)
and the Hebrew Ya (Jah – Jehovah) to
be one and the same. In such sugges-
tions of study as these, Dr. Palmer's
pages are very rich.
Babylonian Talmud, New Edition of
the. English Translation; Original
Text Edited, Formulated, and Punctu-
ated: by Michael L. Rodkinson. Revised
and Corrected by the Rev. Dr. Isaac
M. Wise, President Hebrew Union Col-
lege, Cincinnati, Ohio. Five volumes
published (1896-97); to be completed in
about twenty volumes. An edition in
English translation of the whole Talmud
thoroughly cleared of confusion and cor-
ruption, and brought into a readable and
intelligible form, in which it can be un-
derstood in its vast range of interest, and
judged upon its real merits as the great
Jewish encyclopædia of religion, ethics,
education, law, history, geography, medi-
cine, mathematics, and in fact knowledge
and opinion on every branch of thought
and action. Dr. Wise speaks of the work
as «Rodkinson's reconstruction of the
original text of the Talmud »; which is
confessed to have been in a very bad
state, from irrelevant matter thrust in by
later hands and even by hostile hands,
and from corruptions such as works ex-
isting for ages in manuscript, and suc-
cessively copied by scribes sometimes
careless of accuracy and often free with
changes or additions, are liable to. Dr.
Rodkinson's perfect mastery of the He-
brew, and his comprehensive knowledge
of the true Talmudical facts, with his
admirable grasp of high ideals, and con-
fidence that they are the ideals of his
race and of the Talmud, have enabled
him to reconstruct the original text and
to give a clear and readable rendering
of it in English, by which for the first
time the Talmud is made as accessible to
Anglo-Saxon readers as the books of the
Old Testament. In his representation,
“the Talmud is not a commentary on
the Bible. It is not a body of dogma
to be enforced, but of opinions to be
considered; (not the decisions, but the
debates, of the leaders of the people;)
(not a compilation of fixed regulations,
but a book of liberty, both mental and
religious,” knowing «no authority but
conscience and reason. " The extreme
freedom of suggestion and statement used
by those who speak in it, the special rea-
sons for many of its laws, such as the
desire to break from the neck of the peo-
ple the yoke of the priests, and the vein
of humor running through much that
seems most objectionable, are insisted on
by Dr. Rodkinson as showing that “noth-
ing could be more unfair, nothing more
unfortunate, than to adopt the prevailing
false notions about this ancient encyclo-
pædia. ”
Dr. Rodkinson's work is thus not only
a definitive English-Hebrew Talmud, for
popular reading as well as for study of
Jewish lore of every kind, but i. is an in-
terpretation to the modern mind of a vast
monument of Hebrew life and thought,
the value of which cannot be exaggerated.
Vols. i. and ii. give (Tract Sabbath,' in
390 pages. Vol. iii. gives (Tract Erubin,
of 250 pages, in which are embodied the
famous Rabbinical devices for getting
round the prohibitions of (Tract Sabbath. )
Vol. iv. has (Tract Shekalim,' which is
all about a sacred half-shekel tax, paid
by every Israelite at twenty years of age;
and “Tract Rosh Hashana) (or New Year),
232 pages. There are twelve of these
(Tracts, forming the first section of the
entire work, called Moed? (Festivals).
The whole of Dr. Rodkinson's colossal
task includes a new Hebrew text; some
parts of which, to fill gaps in the com-
mentary sections, he has himself composed
from materials given in the Palestinian
Talmud or in Maimonides. The entire
work is sufficiently advanced to make its
early completion secure. The reader of
Dr. Rodkinson's own writings easily rec-
ognizes in his mastery of English style,
and his high mental and ethical qualifi-
cations, ample assurance of his ability to
make his Reconstructed Talmud an ade.
quate text-book of the learning and the
liberal spirit of modern Reformed Juda-
ism. To Christian scholars, teachers, and
students of liberal spirit, his work must
be most welcome.
It may be briefly added here that there
are two forms of the Talmud; namely,
the Babylonian and the Palestinian.
There first grew up a body of expla-
nations and supplementary ordinances
called Mishna, or teaching, designed to
mark the application of Mosaic law or
to supplement it. The impulse to this
Mishnic development began in Babylon,
during the exile there; it dominated the
## p. 23 (#59) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
23
return to Jerusalem under Ezra; and it Consent of the Corporation in England
was brought to a final result by Rabbi for the Propagation of the Gospels among
Jehudah Hannasi, about 160 A. D. After the Indians of New England. ”
the conclusion of the Mishna, there grew Some of the Indian words used by
up two bodies of further explanation, Eliot are so extremely long that Cotton
called Gemara, one at Babylon and the Mather thought they must have been
other in Palestine. The Mishna thus stretching themselves ever since the con-
came to exist in three greatly differing fusion of tongues at Babel. A second
forms: Mishna by itself, and Mishna as revised and corrected edition was printed
embodied with Gemara in the Talmud in 1685, only twelve copies of which are
of Babylon or that of Palestine. Dr. known to exist. An edition with notes
Rodkinson deals with the Babylonian by P. S. Du Poneau, and an introduc-
form of Mishna and Gemara.
tion by J. Pickering, was published in
Boston in 1822. When the original edi-
tion
Indian Bible, The, by John Eliot, “The was issued, twenty copies were
Apostle to the North-American Indi- ordered to be sent to the Corporation,
ans. ) This first Indian translation of the with the Epistle Dedicatory addressed —
Bible was in the dialect of the Naticks, “To the High and Mighty Prince Charles
a Massachusetts tribe of the Algonkins, the Second by the Grace of God, King
and was made under the auspices of the
of Great Britain, France, and Ireland,
Corporation for the Propagation of the Defender of the Faith, etc. The Com-
Gospels among the Indians of New Eng- missioners of the United Colonies in
land, Eliot sending the sheets to England New England with all Happiness: Most
for approval as they came from the Dread Sovereign, etc. ! )
printing-press in Cambridge, Massachu- The commercial as well as the reli-
setts.
gious rivalry of England with Spain
The New Testament appeared first, creeps out in the Epistle which com-
in 1661; and two years after, the entire pares the fruits of the Spanish Con-
Bible, with the following title: –
quests in America. brought home in gold
and silver, with these fruits of the
MAMUSSE
colder northern clime as much better
WUNNEETUPANATAMWE
than gold as the souls of men are more
worth than the whole world ! »
UP-BIBLUM GOD
Henry the Seventh's failure to become
the sole discoverer and owner of Amer-
ica finds its compensation in the discov-
NUKKONE TESTAMENT
ery unto the poor Americans of the True
and Saving knowledge of the Gospel,
WUSKU TESTAMENT
and “the honour of erecting the King-
dom of Jesus Christ among them was re-
NE QUOSHKINNUMUK NASHPE
served for and does redound unto Your
WUTTINNENMOK CHRIST
Majesty and the English Nation. After
ages will not reckon this inferior to the
JOHN ELIOT
other - May this nursling still suck the
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTENOOP NASHPE breast of Kings and be fostered by Your
SAMUEL GREEN KAH MARMADUK JOHN.
Majesty! »
SON 1663
A copy of the edition of 1663, with
the Epistle Dedicatory, was sold in 1882
The English of which is: «The Entire -
for $2,900.
His Holy - Bible God — containing – the
Old Testament — and the - New Testa-
ment - translated by — the Servant of in (and in Chiapas and Yucatan).
Christ -- called – John Eliot — Cambridge: By John Lloyd Stephens. (2 vols. , 1841. )
printed by - Samuel Green and Marma- The story of a journey of nearly 3,000
duke Johnson 1663. ”
miles, including visits to eight ruined
The English title also adds: «Trans- cities, monuments of a marvelously in-
lated into the Indian Language and teresting lost civilization; that of the
Ordered to be printed by the Commis- Maya land, the many cities of which, of
sioners of the United Colonies in New great size, splendor, and culture, rivaled
England at the Charge and with the those of the Incas and the Montezumas.
NANEESIVE
KAH WONK
Central America, Incidents of Travel
## p. 24 (#60) ##############################################
24
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
Ten editions of this book were pub- the lives of those who have made use of
lished within three months. Two years
them; the writers who are authorities
later, Mr. Stephens supplemented this upon the several subjects; societies inter-
first adequate report of the character of ested in them; and critical statements of
Central American antiquities by a sec-
existing knowledge and the conditions
ond work, his (Travel in Yucatan,' in bearing upon future study. The work is
which he reported further explorations chiefly designed for, and chiefly useful to,
extended to forty-four ruined cities. At writers rather than readers of history:
an earlier date he had published «Travel to each of the former it may save months
in Egypt, Arabia Petræa, and the Holy or perhaps years of search for materials,
Land? (2 vols. , 1837), and Travel in
and the constant duplication of such re-
Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland' (2 searches already made. It is in fact a
vols. , 1841).
co-operative bureau of first-hand sources.
It begins with the earliest facts known
Centro
ntral America, by Ephraim George about the whole continent and its abo-
Squier. Notes On: 1854. • The States riginal inhabitants, including a discussion
of: 1857 Two works by an American of the pre-Columbian voyages; describes
archæologist of distinction, who, after a
the different discoveries and settlements
special experience in similar researches by European nations, - Spanish, English,
in New York, Ohio, and other States, en-
French, and Dutch; and the rise and
tered on a wide and protracted research history of the United States, down to
in Central America in 1849; published the close of the Mexican war and the end
a work on Nicaragua in 1852; and later
of the year 1850. For the rest of the con-
gave, in the two works named above,
tinent the history is continued down to
a report of observations on both the an-
about 1867. The authors engaged in this
tiquities and the political condition of
work are distinguished each in his own
Се tral America, the of which has
field of study, and much valuable mate-
been widely recognized. The Serpent rial of an archæological and genealogical
Symbols) (1852) of Mr. Squier attracted
character was furnished to them by the
attention as a study of great value in
leading learned and historical societies.
the baffling science of primitive reli-
In bibliography there is, along with other
gion and speculation on nature; and his
important matter, a careful collation of
(Peru: Incidents and Explorations in the
the famous Jesuit Relations »; and in
Land of the Incas) (1877), was the re-
sult of exhaustive investigations of Inca
cartography - a subject of which Mr.
Winsor had long made a special study –
remains, and a most valuable contribu-
the work is noticeably strong. The pub-
tion to knowledge of ancient Peru.
lication extended over the years 1884-89.
A"
merica, The Narrative and Critical
History of, edited by Justin Winsor.
A"
This history was prepared upon a co-
merica. Periods in the Modern His-
tory of, by John Fiske.
operative plan (which the editor had pre- THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 2 vols. ,
viously adopted for his Memorial History 1892. The initial work of Mr. Fiske,
of Boston'), of dividing historical work designed to serve as the first section of
into topical sections, and assigning these a complete History of America. It very
divisions to different writers, each emi- fully and carefully covers the ground of
nent in his own department, all of whom aboriginal America in the light of recent
worked synchronously, thus bringing the research; and of the long and slow pro-
whole work to rapid and accurate com- cess through which the New World be-
pletion. Each chapter has two parts: first came fully known to the Old.
The story
a Historical Narrative which groups the of voyages before Columbus by the Portu-
salient points of the story, and guese, and of what Cabot accomplished,
bodies the result of the latest researches; is given at length; the part also which
second, a Critical Essay by the editor, Vespucius played, and the questions about
which, with the appended notes on specific it which have been so much discussed.
points, is a new procedure in historical Mr. Fiske's estimate of Columbus does not
methods. In these critical essays are set depart very much from the popular view.
forth the original sources of the preced- He gives an account of ancient Mexico
ing narrative,- manuscripts, monuments, and Central America, and a full sketch of
archæological remains, -- with full accounts the conquest of Mexico and Peru. The
of their various histories and locations; work thus makes a complete Introduction
(
-
em-
## p. 25 (#61) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
25
to American history as most known to ists were dealt with at the close of the
English readers: the history of the plant- war, and of the course of events in Great
ing of North America in Virginia, New Britain upon the close of the Revolution,
England, New York, Delaware, Pennsyl- conspicuously illustrates his method, and
vania, Maryland, and the Carolinas. his mastery of the materials of a story
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. This vol- second to none in our whole national his-
ume, originally intended for beginners tory in both interest and importance.
in history, owes its vogue to the author's
terse and flexible vernacular; his sense An
merica, A History of the Civil War
of harmonious and proportionate literary in, by Philippe, Comte de Paris. In
treatment; and that clear perception of the summer of 1861, Philippe, Comte de
the relative importance of details, and Paris, joined the Northern army, rather
firm yet easy grasp of principles and sig- as a spectator than as an active partici-
nificant facts, resulting from the trained pant in affairs.
He was appointed to
exercise of his philosophic powers. “The McClellan's staff, and for a year followed
American Revolution was first published the fortunes of the North. He returned
in 1891; but the edition of 1896 is “illus- to France with much valuable material
trated with portraits, maps, facsimiles, concerning the history of that first year,
contemporary views, prints, and other to which he added, between 1862 and
historic materials. » This work exhib- 1874, an equal amount of important in-
its a delightful vivacity and dramatic formation bearing upon the remaining
skill in the portraiture of Washington years of the War. In 1875 the first vol-
as the central figure of the American ume of the translation was issued. Three
revolt against the arbitrary government other volumes appeared, in 1876, 1883,
of George the Third. A full treatment and 1888, respectively. The banishment
of the earlier tyranny of the Lords of of the Comte de Paris from France cut
Trade, leading up to the crisis, is followed short the work, which has never been
by Washington's entrance on the scene, finished, but ends with the close of the
at Cambridge, as commander-in-chief of
account of the Red River Expedition
the American forces. The military gains under General Banks.
of Washington in spite of the enemy's The historian writes from the point of
large resources, and the varying fortunes view of an unprejudiced spectator. His.
of the patriot army, leading down through object was not to uphold one side or the
the discouragements of Valley Forge and other, but to present to Europe a clear
up again, through the campaigns of the and impartial account of one of the most
South and of Virginia, to final success, momentous struggles in history. As his
are shown by Mr. Fiske with remarkable work was addressed primarily to a Euro-
clearness and skill. Finally he points out pean audience, much space is devoted to
the broad results to all future civilization the conditions which brought about the
of the triumph of the Colonial cause, in conflict, to the formation and history of
the surrender of Cornwallis. His point the United States army, and to the char-
of view is one with that of John Morley, acter of the country which was the scene
who says : «The War of Independence of action. His is an essentially military
was virtually a second English Civil War. history: marches and countermarches are
The ruin of the American cause would described with an amount of detail which,
have been also the ruin of the Constitu- but for the admirable clearness of style,
tional cause in England; and a patriotic would sadly confuse the lay mind. In
Englishman may revere the memory of his judgments, both of men and of events,
Patrick Henry and George Washington, the Comte de Paris is very impartial;
not less justly than the patriotic Ameri- though a slightly apologetic tone is often
can. ”
adopted in regard to the Administration,
THE CRITICAL PERIOD OF AMERICAN and a certain lack of enthusiasm appears
HISTORY, 1783-1789. In this volume Mr. towards many officers of Volunteers, no-
Fiske's powers are especially tested, and tably in the later years of the war. This
his success in a great task conspicuously attitude of mind was doubtless due to his
shown. The study which he makes of natural prepossession in favor of a regu-
the characters of the two contrasted origi- lar army and an unchanging form of gov-
nators of policies, Washington and Jeffer- ernment.
son, of the economic problems of the time, All things considered, this history re-
of the way in which the Tories or Loyal- mains the standard military history of
## p. 26 (#62) ##############################################
26
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
(
the Civil War. Its clearness, impartiality, discussion of the strength and weakness
and scientific precision assure its position. of democratic government as it exists in
the United States. » Part vi. is confined
America and the Americans, from a
to non-political institutions: the aspects of
French point of view, is a swift ex-
society, the intellectual and spiritual forces
ternal judgment of civilization as seen in
the United States of to-day. The spec-
upon which depend the personal and po-
litical welfare of unborn generations of
tator, whose knowledge appears too in- American citizens; and upon whose suc-
timate to be that of a foreigner and a
cess or failure rests the promulgation of
tourist, passes in review the streets, hotels,
American democratic ideals and principles
railroads, newspapers, politics, schools,
homes, children, habits of thought, and
among the nations. The work is lucidly
written, free from technicalities, and fluent
manners and customs of social life, chiefly
in style, so that it is as easy for the iaity
in the larger cities and watering-places
of the country. He sets down naught in
to comprehend, as for those initiated by
practical experience into the workings of
malice, even if he extenuates nothing.
our government. The chapters dealing
In the mirror which he holds up, the
with the professional and social sides of
candid American sees himself at full
American life, and especially those devoted
length, as a very imperfectly civilized per-
to the American universities, have been
son, extravagant and superficial, placing enthusiastically received by Americans, –
far too much value on money and the
some American universities accepting the
material things of life, and far too little
work as a text-book in their schools of law,
on genuine refinement and culture. The
economics, and sociology.
book is extremely entertaining, and the
reader who takes it up in the proper frame Am merican Contributions to Civiliza.
of mind will not only read it through, tion, and Other Essays and Ad-
but be apt to make the comment of Ben- dresses, by Charles W. Eliot: 1897. A
edick: Happy are they who hear their collection of miscellaneous addresses and
detractions, and can put them to mend- magazine articles, written during the last
ing. ”
twenty-five years by the president of Har-
American Commonwealth, The, by
vard University; not, however, including
James Bryce (the eminent historian any educational papers. The American
of the Holy Roman Empire) is a study
Contributions) is the subject of the first
of the political, social, and economic feat-
only, out of about twenty papers. There
ures of what its author calls the nation
are included also the very remarkable
of the future”; and the most important
set of inscriptions prepared by President
Eliot for the Water Gate of the World's
study since De Tocqueville's Democracy. )
Fair; that for the Soldiers' Monument
Mr. Bryce deals with his subject in six
on Boston Common; and those for the
grand divisions : Part i. treats of the fed-
Robert Gould Shaw monument, commem-
eral government, — its esecutive legislat-
ive, and judiciary departments, with a
orating the 54th Regiment Massachusetts
Infantry. Through the entire volume there
survey of their powers and limitations ;
the relation existing between the federal
appear a grasp of conception, a strength
and refinement of thought, and a clear-
government and the State governments;
ness and vigor of style, very rarely found
constitutional development and its results.
Part ii. considers the State governments
in writers on themes not involving im-
(including rural and city governments),
agination or making appeal to feeling.
their departments, constitutions, merits, An
merican Crisis, The, is the general
and defects. Part iii. is devoted to the name given to a series of political arti-
political machinery and the party system, cles by Thomas Paine. These articles are
giving a history of the origin and growth thirteen in number, exclusive of a (Crisis
of political parties; their composition; their Extraordinary ) and a "Supernumerary
leaders, past and present; and their exist- Crisis. The first and most famous, puo-
ing conditions and influences. Part iv. is lished in the Pennsylvania Journal, De-
concerned with public opinion,- its nature cember 19th, 1776, began with the famous
and tendencies; the means and causes for sentence, «These are the times that try
its control of all important issues in the men's souls. ) “It was written during the
various sections of the Union.
Part v.
retreat of Washington across the Dela-
gives concrete illustrations of the matters ware, and by order of the commander
in the foregoing chapters, together with a was read to groups of his dispirited and
## p. 27 (#63) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
27
suffering soldiers. Its opening sentence the fundamental myth in the religious
was adopted as the watchword of the lore of American nations; and declares
movement on Trenton, a few days after his opinion that in this native American
its publication, and is believed to have in- belief there was a germ of religious and
spired much of the courage which won that moral evolution which should not have
victory. ” The second Crisis) is addressed been sacrificed, and that “the native
to Lord Howe on the occasion of his tribes of America have lost ground in
proclamations to the American people, in morals and religion” since their contact
the interests of Great Britain.
The third with the Christian white race.
(Crisis) is dated April 19th, 1777, two days
after the appointment of Paine to the A"
merican Political Economy, by the
late Professor Francis Bowen of Har-
secretaryship of the Committee of Foreign
Affairs. The fourth appeared shortly after
vard University, is a standard treatise on
the subject, widely used as a text-book
the battle of Brandywine, in the fall of
in colleges, and one of the most exhaust-
1777. The fifth was addressed to Gen-
ive studies of American economic condi-
eral William Howe, and was written when
tions ever made. The author frankly
Paine was employed by the Pennsylvania
takes his stand on the ground that while
Assembly and Council to obtain intelli-
there are a few abstract scientific princi-
gence of the movements of Washington's
ples governing political economy, it is
army. The sixth was addressed to the
British Commissioners appointed to treat,
essentially a practical science to be ex-
amined in relation to each country by
consult, and agree, upon the means of
itself, if wise conclusions are to be reached.
quieting the Disorders » in the colonies.
That is Professor Bowen's method with
The seventh and eighth addressed the
respect to the United States; and he is a
people of England; and the ninth, no par-
ticular person or body of persons. The
vigorous advocate of a certain kind of pro-
tenth was on the King of England's speech
tection and of a single money standard,
at the opening of Parliament, November
sharply criticizing the management of the
27th, 1781. The eleventh considered the
government currency and finance from
Present State of Newy. The twelfth was
1860 up to the time of the publication of
his work in 1870. The admirably clear,
addressed to the Earl of Shelburne. The
thirteenth and last, published April 19th,
simple language in which Professor Bowen
1783, bears the title, “Thoughts on the
writes makes his treatise one for general
Peace, and the Probable Advantages
reading, and has been a factor in giving
thereof. It opens with the words, “The
it popularity as a class-book.
times that tried men's souls are over:" American Revolution, The Literary
The pamphlets throughout exhibit polit- History of, Vol. i. , 1763–1776; Vol.
ical acumen and the common-sense for ii. , 1776-1783. By Moses Coit Tyler: 1897.
which Paine was remarkable. As histor- A work of great research and accurate
ical evidence of the underlying forces in learning, presenting the inner history of
a unique struggle, and as a monument the Revolution period, 1763-1783, as set
to patriotism, they possess great and last- forth in the writings of the two parties
ing value.
in the controversy of the time. The
Loyalists or Tories, as well as the Rev-
Am
merican Hero Myths: A Study in the olutionists, are heard; and all forms of
Native Religions of the Western Con- the literature of the time have been made
tinent, by Daniel G. Brinton, 1882. A use of, the lighter as well as the more
work designed to present—as it occurs serious, poetry as well as prose, and in
among nations of America widely sepa- fact everything illustrative of the thoughts
rated — the myth or story of a national and feelings of the people during the
hero or initiator of the culture of a tribe, twenty years' struggle for independence.
the author of its civilization, teacher of The care and thoroughness with which
its arts, and at the same time either a neglected persons and forgotten facts have
son or an incarnation of the deity. Dr. been brought into the picture make the
Brinton traces this myth among the Algon- work not only very rich in interest, but
kins and Iroquois, the Aztecs, the Mayas, an authority not likely to be displaced
and in the empire of the Incas, showing by future research. A conspicuous feat-
the strange similarity in all the accounts ure of the work, on which the author
of this mysterious early benefactor and lays great stress, and which is likely to
teacher. He further explains that it was give it increasing interest with the lapse
## p. 28 (#64) ##############################################
28
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
of time, is the pains taken to show that for the periods they cover, or that of Sir
the Revolution ought not to have created Erskine May's supplement, Dr. Gneist's
an almost hopeless feud between Amer- work, though primarily designed only for
ica and England, and that a correct un-
the German public, is eminently worthy
derstanding of its history is calculated of a high place beside them among au-
to do away with this feud. The fasci- thorities accessible to English students.
nation of Mr. Tyler's history is greatly The same author's (Student's History
heightened by its spirit of charity and of the English Parliament' is a specially
fairness, and by his suggestions looking valuable handbook.
to complete future reconciliation between
America and England.
England, Constitutional History, of,
. :
England, Constitutional History of, 1760-1871. By Sir Thomas Erskine May.
in its Origin and Development, by The history of the British Constitution for
William Stubbs. (1875–78. ) A work a hundred years, showing its progress and
of the highest authority on, not merely development, and illustrating every ma-
the recognized developments of funda- terial change, whether of legislation, cus-
mental law, but the whole state of things tom, or policy, by which institutions have
constituting the nation, and giving it life, been improved and abuses in the govern-
character, and growth. The three vol- ment corrected. The work deals also
umes cover the respective periods from with the history of party; of the press,
the first Germanic origins to 1215, when and political agitation; of the church; and
King John was forced to grant the of civil and religious liberty. It concludes
Great Charter; from 1215 to the depo- with a general review of the legislation of
sition of Richard II. , 1399; and from 1399 the hundred years, its policy and results.
to the close of the mediæval period,
marked by the fall of Richard III. at English Constitution, The, and Other
Bosworth, August 22d, 1485, and the ac-
Essays. By Walter Bagehot. (1867,
cession of Henry of Richmond. The full
1885. ) A very interesting discussion of
and exact learning of the author, his judg-
the underlying principles of the English
Constitution, by a thoroughly independ-
ment and insight, and his power of clear
ent and suggestive thinker. The central
exposition, have made the work at once
feature of the work is its proof that
very instructive to students and very in-
the House of Commons stands supreme
teresting to readers. The fine spirit in
which it discusses parties and relates the
as the seat of English law, and that the
throne and the Lords are of use to bal-
story of bitter struggles, may be seen in
ance and check the Commons not di-
the fact that its last word commends to
rectly, but indirectly through their action
the reader that highest justice which is
found in the deepest sympathy with err-
on public opinion, of which the action of
the Commons should be the expression.
ing and straying men. ”
An additional volume of great import-
By means of the cabinet, the executive
ance is Professor Stubbs's (SELECT CHAR-
government and the legislative Commons
are a very close unity, and are the gove
TERS AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS OF ENG-
ernmental machine, to which the Crown
LisH CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, from the
and the Lords are related only as seats
earliest times to the Reign of Edward
the First,' 1876. It is designed to serve
of influence through which the public
mind can be formed and can operate.
as a treasury of reference and an outline
He also shows that the function of the
manual for teachers and scholars. It fol-
lows the history for a sufficiently long ing power, as once, but to gain public
monarchy is not now that of a govern-
period to bring into view all the origins
of constitutional principle or polity on
confidence and support for the real gov-
ernment, that of Parliament.
«It (the
which politics have since built.
monarchy] raises the army, though it
English Constitution, History of the does not win the battle. ) The lower
by Dr. Rudolf Gneist. Translated orders suppose they are being governed
by Philip A. Ashworth. (2 vols. , 1886. ) by their old kingship, and obey it loy.
A history covering a full thousand years ally: if they knew that they were being
from the Anglo-Saxon foundation to the ruled by men of their own sort and
present. Hallam's Constitutional History choice they might not. Bagehot's work
only comes down to the last century, is a text-book at Oxford, and is used as
Stubbs's only to Henry VII. ; and even such in American universities.
## p. 29 (#65) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
29
a
A volume of essays on Parliamentary
Reform, by Mr. Bagehot, appeared in
1884. Its most striking and valuable
feature as permanent literature is the
historical review of the function of “rot-
ten boroughs," from the accession of the
Hanoverian dynasty to their abolition
by the Reform Bill of 1832. He does
not share the popular disgust for them,
though he admits that by 1832 they had
survived their usefulness. He shows
that the system amounted simply to
giving the great Whig families a pre-
ponderating power in Parliament, which
for many years was the chief bulwark
against a restoration of the Stuarts, the
small squires and the Church being so
uneasy at casting off the old house that
there was always danger of their taking
it back.
England in the Eighteenth Century;
History of, by W. E. H. Lecky. (8
vols. , 1878-90. ) A work of thorough re-
search and great literary excellence, the
object of which is to disengage from the
great mass of facts those which are of
significance for the life and progress of
the nation, and which reveal enduring
characteristics. It deals with the growth
or decline of the monarchy, the aristoc-
racy, and the democracy; of the Church
and of Dissent; of the agricultural, the
manufacturing, and the commercial in-
terests; the increasing power of Parlia-
ment and of the press; the history of
political ideas, of art, of manners, and
of belief; the changes that have taken
place in the social and economical con-
dition of the people; the influences that
have modified national character; the
relations of the mother country to its
dependencies; and the causes that have
accelerated or retarded the advancement
of the latter. In its earliest form the
work dealt with Ireland in certain sec-
tions, as the general course of the history
required. But on its completion, Mr.
Lecky made a separation, so as to bring
all the Irish sections into a continuous
work on Ireland in the eighteenth cen-
tury, and leave the other parts to stand
as England the eighteenth century.
In a new edition of twelve volumes, seven
were given to England and five to Ire-
land. Mr. Lecky writes as a Liberal, but
as a Unionist rather than Home Ruler.
English Nation, The, by Arouet de Vol-
taire. (1733. ) These letters concern-
ing the English nation were written by
Voltaire while on a visit to London to
his friend Thiriot. Though very simple
in style and diction, they are graced by
a certain charm and by delicate touches
which are a constant delight.
They might be divided into four main
sections. The Quakers, Presbyterians,
Episcopalians, and Unitarians occupy the
first seven letters, and are subjected to
the witty but not biting remarks of the
French critic. The second division dis-
cusses the government of England as a
whole. The philosophy of Locke and the
science of Sir Isaac Newton, with an in-
teresting letter on Inoculation, including
its history and uses, can be classed to-
gether in the third division. To all lov-
ers of English literature, and especially
of Shakespeare, the fourth division is of
much interest. In his remarks on the
English drama, Voltaire says of Shakes-
peare,
“He was natural and sublime, but
had not so much as a single spark of
good taste. ”
In speaking of religion, Voltaire says,
"Is it not whimsical enough that Luther,
Calvin, and Zuinglius, all of 'em wretched
authors, should have founded sects which
are now spread over a great part of Eu-
rope, when Sir Isaac Newton, Dr. Clark,
John Locke, and Mr. Le Clerc, the great-
est philosophers as well as the ablest
writers, should scarce have been able to
raise a small handful of followers ? »
England: Its People, Polity, and Pur.
suits, by T. H. S. Escott. (2 vols. ,
1879. ) A work designed to present a com-
prehensive and faithful picture of the
social and political condition of the Eng-
land of the nineteenth century, the Eng-
land of to-day. No attempt at historical
retrospect is made, except in so far as it
is necessary for understanding things as
they are now. The author spent much
time in visiting different parts of Eng-
land, conversing with and living amongst
the many varieties of people, which vari-
ety is a remarkable fact of English so-
ciety. He made also a large collection
of materials, to have at his command
exact knowledge of the entire world of
English facts. His general conception is
that certain central ideas, which he ex-
plains in his introductory chapter, and
around which he attempts to group his
facts and descriptions, will enable him
closely and logically to connect his chap-
and show a pervading unity of pur-
pose throughout the work. The land and
## p. 30 (#66) ##############################################
30
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
its occupation, the cities and towns, com- friendships. With his wife and children
merce, industries and the working classes, he roamed about Liverpool and London,
pauperism, co-operation, crime, travel and visited many cathedral towns, and lin-
hotels, education, society, politics, the red at Oxford and among the lakes.
Crown, the crowd, official personages, the He speaks of himself as not observant;
Commons, the Lords, the law courts, but if he missed detail, he had the rare
the public services, religion, philosophy, faculty of seizing the salient features
literature, professions, amusements, and of what he saw, and conveying them to
imperial expansion, are his special themes. others. His constant preoccupation was
with the unusual or fantastic in human
English Traits, by Ralph Waldo Emer-
experience, and this led him to observe
son, 1856, comprises an account of
much that most spectators would have
his English visits in 1833 and 1847, and
failed to see.
a series of general observations on na-
tional character. It is the note-book of
a philosophic traveler. In the earlier Junius Letters, The. During the pe-
riod between November 21st, 1768,
chapters, the sketches of his visits to Cole-
and January 21st, 1772, there appeared
ridge, Carlyle, and Wordsworth, while
in the London Daily Advertiser a series
personal in some degree, reveal Emer-
son's character and humor in a delightful
of mysterious letters aimed at the Brit-
ish ministry of that day, and signed by
way. The trend of his mind to general-
ization is evident in the titles given to
various pen-names- the most remark-
the chapters. With the exception of
able of them by that of one "Junius. ”
(Stonehenge) and “The Times,' they are
During the century ensuing, the author-
ship of these epistles has been assigned
all abstract, -(Race,' (Ability,' 'Charac-
ter,' Wealth,' or (Religion. Far re-
with some degree of probability. Yet
moved from provincialism, the tone is
enough of uncertainty, of mystery, still
that of a beholder, kindred in race, who,
remains to make the genesis of the
Junius Letters) one of the most in-
while paying due respect to the stock
from which he sprang, feels his own eyes
teresting of literary puzzles. A bibli-
ography has developed, and new light is
purged of certain illusions still cherished
by the Old World.
These playthings,
still shed from time to time upon the
as it were, of a full-grown people, — the
problem. Meanwhile the merits of the
(Letters) have been sufficient to give
court and church ceremonial, thrones,
them a life all the more vigorous, per-
mitres, bewigged officials, Lord Mayor's
shows,- amused the observer. Every
haps, because they have been conjectur-
ally assigned to Sir Philip Francis.
one of these islanders is island
The author was a man thoroughly cog-
himself, safe, tranquil, incommunicable. »
This work remains unique as a search-
nizant of British politics; a vehement
opponent of the government, and of the
ing analysis, full of generous admiration,
ministerial leaders, Sir William Draper,
of a foreign nation's racial temperament,
the Duke of Grafton, and the Duke of
by a strongly original individuality.
Bedford; a supporter of Wilkes, the op-
English Notes, by Nathaniel Hawthorne position chief;. and a fiery pleader for
(1870), was published by his wife popular liberty. The dominant message
after his death. During his residence is sounded in these words from the first
as consul at Liverpool, he kept a close letter of the series: «The admission of
record of all that struck him as novel a free people to the executive authority
and important in the United Kingdom. of government is no more than com-
Much of this material he afterwards devel- pliance with laws which they themselves
oped in a series of sketches entitled Our have enacted. ” Much constitutional
Old Home. The remaining notes, given knowledge is shown in these trenchant
to the public in their original form of attacks, which continually refer to the
disconnected impressions, are interesting British Constitution as the bulwark of
for their animation and vigorous bits the people's rights. In manner, the let-
of description. They are a striking rev- te's are vigorous, bold, and among the
elation of Hawthorne's personality, and finest specimens of impassioned invective
show the cheerful side of a man usually and irony in English literature. To read
considered gloomy. In spite of the shy- them now is to understand readily the
ness which made after-dinner speeches a stir they made on their appearance be-
trial to him, he formed many delightful fore an already excited public.
an
## p. 31 (#67) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
31
For years their authorship was not
assigned to Francis. Burke, Lord Tem-
ple, Hamilton, Dr. Butler, Wilkes, and
several others were suspected, and many
ingenious arguments proved the validity
of this claim or that, no less than thirty-
five names having been considered by
students of the subject. In 1813, forty
years after their publication, John Tay-
lor published his “Discovery of the Au-
thor of the Letters of Junius, in which
they were attributed to Sir Philip Fran-
cis and his father; the first of whom was
still living when the volume appeared,
and did not deny them.
Sir Philip Francis, son of an Irish
clergyman and schoolmaster of repute, a
man of culture and travel, holding im-
portant governmental positions and hav-
ing intimate knowledge of the political
machine, was, at the time the Letters)
appeared, in the War Office. Taylor
points out that Junius shows remarkable
familiarity with that department, many
of the letters having been written upon
war-office paper. It is known, too, that
Francis kept elaborate note-books on the
English constitutional questions so ably
discussed in the 'Letters. ) Woodfall,
the publisher of the Daily Advertiser, in
which the Junius Letters) were printed,
was a schoolmate of Francis at Eton.
Expert examination of the disguised
handwriting in which the letters were
penned, identified it with the hand of
Francis. W. R. Francis, Sir Philip's
grandson, in his Junius Revealed,'
strengthens the case. He discovered a
poem known to be written by Francis,
yet copied out in the feigned hand of
Junius. He found also that several of
the seals used on the Junius Letters )
were used on private letters by Francis.
To these significant facts the grandson
adds that Sir Philip's character, as re-
vealed in his official work, was of the
same arrogant, sarcastic strain which
comes out in the Advertiser communica-
tions.
This testimony, some of it very signifi-
cant, more of it cumulative in effect,
makes altogether a good case for the
Franciscan theory. Judging the Let-
ters) as literature, however, the whole
question of the personality of Junius be-
a secondary one. Enough that
they represent one of the most powerful
examples of political polemics in Eng-
lish literature, which even now, when the
events that begot them seem but the
shadow of a shade, stir the blood and
compel admiration. The letter which
made the deepest sensation at the mo-
ment is the famous one addressed to the
King. The edition of 1812, upon which
the many later ones are based, is that
of Woodfall, the publisher, who was ar-
raigned for trial because of printing the
Junius screeds.
Letters of Horace Walpole, fourth
Earl of Orford (1798), are among
the most brilliantly written correspond-
ence of the eighteenth century; and new
editions, with added pages, continued to
appear down to 1847. Enjoying the in-
come of three sinecures secured to him
through his father, the thrifty Sir Rob-
ert, the elegant Horace dawdles through
a charming society life, dilating, for the
pleasure of the pretty women and fashion-
able men whom he chooses to favor with
his observations, on the butterfly world
of trifles and triflers in which he futters
his fragile wings. A fascinating chron-
icle of small-talk it is, which this busy
idle gentleman has bequeathed to later
generations. His own hobbies and fan-
cies, as he indulges them in his Gothic
villa at Strawberry Hill, he dwells
upon with an indulgent smile at his
own weakness; and he praises or con-
demns, with equal mind, the latest fash-
ions of Miss Chudleigh's ball, the Amer-
ican war, or his own love of scenery.
Witty, lively, thoroughly cheery, are his
descriptions of his environment. «Fid-
dles sing all through them,” says Thack-
eray; "wax-lights, fine dresses, fine jokes,
fine plate, fine equipages, glitter and
sparkle there: never was such a brill-
iant, jigging, smirking Vanity Fair as
that through which he leads us. ) Per-
fectly heartless, quite superior to emo-
tion, these gossipy pages of the most
whimsical of triflers and the wittiest of
fops” have never failed to delight the
literary public of succeeding generations,
which enjoys seeing the eighteenth cen-
tury reflected in the mirror of a life
long enough to stretch from Congreve
to Carlyle.
Berry, Miss, The Journals and Cor.
respondence of. Edited by Lady
Theresa Lewis. These interesting rec-
ords cover the long period 1783-1852,-
say from American Revolution to Cri.
mean War, nearly. They were edited by
Lady Lewis at Miss Berry's request, and
were published in three volumes in 1865
comes
## p. 32 (#68) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
32
Miss Mary Berry was born in 1763, and
was brought up with her younger sister
Agnes. Neither of the two was robust,
and a large part of their lives was spent
traveling on the Continent in search of
health. While young girls the Misses
Berry became acquainted with Horace
Walpole, afterwards Lord Orford, and the
friendship then begun ended only with
his death in 1797. The lonely old man
was charmed with their good sense and
simplicity, and his intercourse and corre-
spondence with them comforted his declin-
ing years. He bequeathed his papers to
Miss Berry, who edited and published
them, as well as the letters of his friend
Madame du Deffand. She also wrote
some original works, the most important
being A Comparative View of Social Life
in England and in France,' in which she
strongly advocated a better understanding
between the two countries. She devoted
herself to the serious study of events and
character, and lived with her sister in
modest retirement. They were long the
centre of a little coterie of choice spirits,
and both died in 1852, beloved and la-
mented by the children and grandchildren
of their early friends.
The extracts from the journals are
chiefly descriptive of Miss Berry's travels,
and are valuable as pictures of manners
and customs that have changed, and of
modes of travel long obsolete. But the
main interest attaches to her account of
the people she met, among whom were
Scott, Byron, Louis Philippe, and the
Duke of Wellington. She was an inti-
mate friend of Princess Charlotte; and
one of the most important papers in the
collection is Lady Lindsay's journal of the
trial of Queen Caroline, written expressly
for Miss Berry.
The correspondence is even more in-
teresting than the journals, and contains
many of Horace Walpole's letters hith-
erto unpublished. They touch lightly on
political and social topics, and show his
genial nature and brilliant style, as well
as his unaffected devotion to the young
ladies. We find several letters from Jo-
anna Baillie and from Madame de Staël,
who were both warm personal friends of
Miss Berry. There are also cordial let-
ters from Canova, Lord Jeffrey, Sydney
Smith, and other celebrities. The reader
owes a debt of gratitude to Miss Berry
for preserving these interesting and valu-
able papers, and to Lady Lewis for her
careful and sympathetic editorship.
Castle of Otranto, The, by.
god, Sin, one of whose seats was Sinai, specially devoted to showing how the He-
and especially a god of goodness, the
brew Mosaic books evince «familiarity
moon-deity being regarded as the Father- with the great religious epics of Baby-
God, to whom the sun is a son and the lonia, which go back to the twenty-third
evening star a daughter; Erech, farther century B. C. ,- to a date, that is, about
north, the seat of the worship of Ishtar, 800 years earlier than the reputed time
the evening and the morning star, con-
of Moses )); and how, in consequence of
ceived as the equal of her brother, the this familiarity, “Babylonian ideas were
sun, and the magnificent ideal of female worked into these early Hebrew docu-
character at the highest level of divin- ments, and were thus insured persistence
ity; and Nippur, the most northerly and
and obtained a world-wide currency. ”
easterly, and the seat of the worship of That Babylon still survives in our cult-
Bel, or the sun,-conceived, not as son ure,” is Dr. Palmer's general conclusion.
to the moon-god, but as a supreme god, He especially devotes his work to show-
represented by the setting sun, and most ing how the Babylonian conception of
especially revealed in the flaming red- Tiamat was reproduced in the Hebrew
ness of his setting in times of excessive conception of Tehom, «the Deep”; how
heat and drought; the Angry En-Lil, or the Babylonian idea of the Deep, sug-
“Lord of the Storm,” who caused all the gesting the Dragon of the Deep, gave
weather troubles of mankind, -desolat- the Hebrew mind its idea of Satan; and
ing winds, violent storms, floods, drought, how again the idea of the Deep became,
and all injuries. It was by him that first to the Babylonians, and en to the
the Deluge was brought, and for it the Hebrews, the idea of a Hades, or Tar-
good Ea, and kindly Sin, and Merodach taros, or Hell. Dr. Palmer makes prom-
the Merciful, charged him with cruel inent these points: (1) that “the Hebrew
injustice; and the Babylonian Noah, record of the creation is based on the
making a sacrifice after the flood, in- more ancient accounts which have been
vited all the gods except En-Lil. As preserved in the Babylonian tablets);
god of the red sunset the nether-world (2) that «religious conceptions of the
was his, ruled by a son who was of like Babylonians, suggested by phenomenal
cruel temper with his father.
aspects of nature, especially the Sun, lay
Nippur is thus the original seat of the at the base of the Hebrews' early faith”;
conception of a god of anger and a reli- (3) that “the Great Deep was consti-
gion of fear. It was a great and flour- tuted a symbol of lawlessness, was
ishing city as long before Abraham as personified as a dragon or great ser-
Abraham is before our day. Its temple, pent,” and “became a symbol of moral
commonly known as the House of En- evil; (4) that among the Hebrews
Lil, Dr. Peters says, (just as the temple this serpent or dragon introduces sin);
at Jerusalem was called the House of and (5) that this Chaos-Dragon contrib-
Yahweh,) had stood for about five thou- uted shape to later conceptions of the
sand years, when it fell into ruins about Devil. ” He further says, with reference
or before 150 B. C. Dr. Peters speaks of to the mediatorial god, Merodach of
the close connection existing between Babylonian belief: "It has often been
Babylonian and Hebrew civilization, le- remarked that Merodach, as mediator,
gends, myths, and religion. ” He states healer, and redeemer, as forgiving sin,
## p. 22 (#58) ##############################################
22
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
to
defeating the Tempter, and raising the
dead, in many of his features foreshad-
owed the Hebrew Messiah)); and also :
<< The Babylonians themselves seem
have considered their Merodach (or Bel)
and the Hebrew Ya (Jah – Jehovah) to
be one and the same. In such sugges-
tions of study as these, Dr. Palmer's
pages are very rich.
Babylonian Talmud, New Edition of
the. English Translation; Original
Text Edited, Formulated, and Punctu-
ated: by Michael L. Rodkinson. Revised
and Corrected by the Rev. Dr. Isaac
M. Wise, President Hebrew Union Col-
lege, Cincinnati, Ohio. Five volumes
published (1896-97); to be completed in
about twenty volumes. An edition in
English translation of the whole Talmud
thoroughly cleared of confusion and cor-
ruption, and brought into a readable and
intelligible form, in which it can be un-
derstood in its vast range of interest, and
judged upon its real merits as the great
Jewish encyclopædia of religion, ethics,
education, law, history, geography, medi-
cine, mathematics, and in fact knowledge
and opinion on every branch of thought
and action. Dr. Wise speaks of the work
as «Rodkinson's reconstruction of the
original text of the Talmud »; which is
confessed to have been in a very bad
state, from irrelevant matter thrust in by
later hands and even by hostile hands,
and from corruptions such as works ex-
isting for ages in manuscript, and suc-
cessively copied by scribes sometimes
careless of accuracy and often free with
changes or additions, are liable to. Dr.
Rodkinson's perfect mastery of the He-
brew, and his comprehensive knowledge
of the true Talmudical facts, with his
admirable grasp of high ideals, and con-
fidence that they are the ideals of his
race and of the Talmud, have enabled
him to reconstruct the original text and
to give a clear and readable rendering
of it in English, by which for the first
time the Talmud is made as accessible to
Anglo-Saxon readers as the books of the
Old Testament. In his representation,
“the Talmud is not a commentary on
the Bible. It is not a body of dogma
to be enforced, but of opinions to be
considered; (not the decisions, but the
debates, of the leaders of the people;)
(not a compilation of fixed regulations,
but a book of liberty, both mental and
religious,” knowing «no authority but
conscience and reason. " The extreme
freedom of suggestion and statement used
by those who speak in it, the special rea-
sons for many of its laws, such as the
desire to break from the neck of the peo-
ple the yoke of the priests, and the vein
of humor running through much that
seems most objectionable, are insisted on
by Dr. Rodkinson as showing that “noth-
ing could be more unfair, nothing more
unfortunate, than to adopt the prevailing
false notions about this ancient encyclo-
pædia. ”
Dr. Rodkinson's work is thus not only
a definitive English-Hebrew Talmud, for
popular reading as well as for study of
Jewish lore of every kind, but i. is an in-
terpretation to the modern mind of a vast
monument of Hebrew life and thought,
the value of which cannot be exaggerated.
Vols. i. and ii. give (Tract Sabbath,' in
390 pages. Vol. iii. gives (Tract Erubin,
of 250 pages, in which are embodied the
famous Rabbinical devices for getting
round the prohibitions of (Tract Sabbath. )
Vol. iv. has (Tract Shekalim,' which is
all about a sacred half-shekel tax, paid
by every Israelite at twenty years of age;
and “Tract Rosh Hashana) (or New Year),
232 pages. There are twelve of these
(Tracts, forming the first section of the
entire work, called Moed? (Festivals).
The whole of Dr. Rodkinson's colossal
task includes a new Hebrew text; some
parts of which, to fill gaps in the com-
mentary sections, he has himself composed
from materials given in the Palestinian
Talmud or in Maimonides. The entire
work is sufficiently advanced to make its
early completion secure. The reader of
Dr. Rodkinson's own writings easily rec-
ognizes in his mastery of English style,
and his high mental and ethical qualifi-
cations, ample assurance of his ability to
make his Reconstructed Talmud an ade.
quate text-book of the learning and the
liberal spirit of modern Reformed Juda-
ism. To Christian scholars, teachers, and
students of liberal spirit, his work must
be most welcome.
It may be briefly added here that there
are two forms of the Talmud; namely,
the Babylonian and the Palestinian.
There first grew up a body of expla-
nations and supplementary ordinances
called Mishna, or teaching, designed to
mark the application of Mosaic law or
to supplement it. The impulse to this
Mishnic development began in Babylon,
during the exile there; it dominated the
## p. 23 (#59) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
23
return to Jerusalem under Ezra; and it Consent of the Corporation in England
was brought to a final result by Rabbi for the Propagation of the Gospels among
Jehudah Hannasi, about 160 A. D. After the Indians of New England. ”
the conclusion of the Mishna, there grew Some of the Indian words used by
up two bodies of further explanation, Eliot are so extremely long that Cotton
called Gemara, one at Babylon and the Mather thought they must have been
other in Palestine. The Mishna thus stretching themselves ever since the con-
came to exist in three greatly differing fusion of tongues at Babel. A second
forms: Mishna by itself, and Mishna as revised and corrected edition was printed
embodied with Gemara in the Talmud in 1685, only twelve copies of which are
of Babylon or that of Palestine. Dr. known to exist. An edition with notes
Rodkinson deals with the Babylonian by P. S. Du Poneau, and an introduc-
form of Mishna and Gemara.
tion by J. Pickering, was published in
Boston in 1822. When the original edi-
tion
Indian Bible, The, by John Eliot, “The was issued, twenty copies were
Apostle to the North-American Indi- ordered to be sent to the Corporation,
ans. ) This first Indian translation of the with the Epistle Dedicatory addressed —
Bible was in the dialect of the Naticks, “To the High and Mighty Prince Charles
a Massachusetts tribe of the Algonkins, the Second by the Grace of God, King
and was made under the auspices of the
of Great Britain, France, and Ireland,
Corporation for the Propagation of the Defender of the Faith, etc. The Com-
Gospels among the Indians of New Eng- missioners of the United Colonies in
land, Eliot sending the sheets to England New England with all Happiness: Most
for approval as they came from the Dread Sovereign, etc. ! )
printing-press in Cambridge, Massachu- The commercial as well as the reli-
setts.
gious rivalry of England with Spain
The New Testament appeared first, creeps out in the Epistle which com-
in 1661; and two years after, the entire pares the fruits of the Spanish Con-
Bible, with the following title: –
quests in America. brought home in gold
and silver, with these fruits of the
MAMUSSE
colder northern clime as much better
WUNNEETUPANATAMWE
than gold as the souls of men are more
worth than the whole world ! »
UP-BIBLUM GOD
Henry the Seventh's failure to become
the sole discoverer and owner of Amer-
ica finds its compensation in the discov-
NUKKONE TESTAMENT
ery unto the poor Americans of the True
and Saving knowledge of the Gospel,
WUSKU TESTAMENT
and “the honour of erecting the King-
dom of Jesus Christ among them was re-
NE QUOSHKINNUMUK NASHPE
served for and does redound unto Your
WUTTINNENMOK CHRIST
Majesty and the English Nation. After
ages will not reckon this inferior to the
JOHN ELIOT
other - May this nursling still suck the
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTENOOP NASHPE breast of Kings and be fostered by Your
SAMUEL GREEN KAH MARMADUK JOHN.
Majesty! »
SON 1663
A copy of the edition of 1663, with
the Epistle Dedicatory, was sold in 1882
The English of which is: «The Entire -
for $2,900.
His Holy - Bible God — containing – the
Old Testament — and the - New Testa-
ment - translated by — the Servant of in (and in Chiapas and Yucatan).
Christ -- called – John Eliot — Cambridge: By John Lloyd Stephens. (2 vols. , 1841. )
printed by - Samuel Green and Marma- The story of a journey of nearly 3,000
duke Johnson 1663. ”
miles, including visits to eight ruined
The English title also adds: «Trans- cities, monuments of a marvelously in-
lated into the Indian Language and teresting lost civilization; that of the
Ordered to be printed by the Commis- Maya land, the many cities of which, of
sioners of the United Colonies in New great size, splendor, and culture, rivaled
England at the Charge and with the those of the Incas and the Montezumas.
NANEESIVE
KAH WONK
Central America, Incidents of Travel
## p. 24 (#60) ##############################################
24
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
Ten editions of this book were pub- the lives of those who have made use of
lished within three months. Two years
them; the writers who are authorities
later, Mr. Stephens supplemented this upon the several subjects; societies inter-
first adequate report of the character of ested in them; and critical statements of
Central American antiquities by a sec-
existing knowledge and the conditions
ond work, his (Travel in Yucatan,' in bearing upon future study. The work is
which he reported further explorations chiefly designed for, and chiefly useful to,
extended to forty-four ruined cities. At writers rather than readers of history:
an earlier date he had published «Travel to each of the former it may save months
in Egypt, Arabia Petræa, and the Holy or perhaps years of search for materials,
Land? (2 vols. , 1837), and Travel in
and the constant duplication of such re-
Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland' (2 searches already made. It is in fact a
vols. , 1841).
co-operative bureau of first-hand sources.
It begins with the earliest facts known
Centro
ntral America, by Ephraim George about the whole continent and its abo-
Squier. Notes On: 1854. • The States riginal inhabitants, including a discussion
of: 1857 Two works by an American of the pre-Columbian voyages; describes
archæologist of distinction, who, after a
the different discoveries and settlements
special experience in similar researches by European nations, - Spanish, English,
in New York, Ohio, and other States, en-
French, and Dutch; and the rise and
tered on a wide and protracted research history of the United States, down to
in Central America in 1849; published the close of the Mexican war and the end
a work on Nicaragua in 1852; and later
of the year 1850. For the rest of the con-
gave, in the two works named above,
tinent the history is continued down to
a report of observations on both the an-
about 1867. The authors engaged in this
tiquities and the political condition of
work are distinguished each in his own
Се tral America, the of which has
field of study, and much valuable mate-
been widely recognized. The Serpent rial of an archæological and genealogical
Symbols) (1852) of Mr. Squier attracted
character was furnished to them by the
attention as a study of great value in
leading learned and historical societies.
the baffling science of primitive reli-
In bibliography there is, along with other
gion and speculation on nature; and his
important matter, a careful collation of
(Peru: Incidents and Explorations in the
the famous Jesuit Relations »; and in
Land of the Incas) (1877), was the re-
sult of exhaustive investigations of Inca
cartography - a subject of which Mr.
Winsor had long made a special study –
remains, and a most valuable contribu-
the work is noticeably strong. The pub-
tion to knowledge of ancient Peru.
lication extended over the years 1884-89.
A"
merica, The Narrative and Critical
History of, edited by Justin Winsor.
A"
This history was prepared upon a co-
merica. Periods in the Modern His-
tory of, by John Fiske.
operative plan (which the editor had pre- THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 2 vols. ,
viously adopted for his Memorial History 1892. The initial work of Mr. Fiske,
of Boston'), of dividing historical work designed to serve as the first section of
into topical sections, and assigning these a complete History of America. It very
divisions to different writers, each emi- fully and carefully covers the ground of
nent in his own department, all of whom aboriginal America in the light of recent
worked synchronously, thus bringing the research; and of the long and slow pro-
whole work to rapid and accurate com- cess through which the New World be-
pletion. Each chapter has two parts: first came fully known to the Old.
The story
a Historical Narrative which groups the of voyages before Columbus by the Portu-
salient points of the story, and guese, and of what Cabot accomplished,
bodies the result of the latest researches; is given at length; the part also which
second, a Critical Essay by the editor, Vespucius played, and the questions about
which, with the appended notes on specific it which have been so much discussed.
points, is a new procedure in historical Mr. Fiske's estimate of Columbus does not
methods. In these critical essays are set depart very much from the popular view.
forth the original sources of the preced- He gives an account of ancient Mexico
ing narrative,- manuscripts, monuments, and Central America, and a full sketch of
archæological remains, -- with full accounts the conquest of Mexico and Peru. The
of their various histories and locations; work thus makes a complete Introduction
(
-
em-
## p. 25 (#61) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
25
to American history as most known to ists were dealt with at the close of the
English readers: the history of the plant- war, and of the course of events in Great
ing of North America in Virginia, New Britain upon the close of the Revolution,
England, New York, Delaware, Pennsyl- conspicuously illustrates his method, and
vania, Maryland, and the Carolinas. his mastery of the materials of a story
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. This vol- second to none in our whole national his-
ume, originally intended for beginners tory in both interest and importance.
in history, owes its vogue to the author's
terse and flexible vernacular; his sense An
merica, A History of the Civil War
of harmonious and proportionate literary in, by Philippe, Comte de Paris. In
treatment; and that clear perception of the summer of 1861, Philippe, Comte de
the relative importance of details, and Paris, joined the Northern army, rather
firm yet easy grasp of principles and sig- as a spectator than as an active partici-
nificant facts, resulting from the trained pant in affairs.
He was appointed to
exercise of his philosophic powers. “The McClellan's staff, and for a year followed
American Revolution was first published the fortunes of the North. He returned
in 1891; but the edition of 1896 is “illus- to France with much valuable material
trated with portraits, maps, facsimiles, concerning the history of that first year,
contemporary views, prints, and other to which he added, between 1862 and
historic materials. » This work exhib- 1874, an equal amount of important in-
its a delightful vivacity and dramatic formation bearing upon the remaining
skill in the portraiture of Washington years of the War. In 1875 the first vol-
as the central figure of the American ume of the translation was issued. Three
revolt against the arbitrary government other volumes appeared, in 1876, 1883,
of George the Third. A full treatment and 1888, respectively. The banishment
of the earlier tyranny of the Lords of of the Comte de Paris from France cut
Trade, leading up to the crisis, is followed short the work, which has never been
by Washington's entrance on the scene, finished, but ends with the close of the
at Cambridge, as commander-in-chief of
account of the Red River Expedition
the American forces. The military gains under General Banks.
of Washington in spite of the enemy's The historian writes from the point of
large resources, and the varying fortunes view of an unprejudiced spectator. His.
of the patriot army, leading down through object was not to uphold one side or the
the discouragements of Valley Forge and other, but to present to Europe a clear
up again, through the campaigns of the and impartial account of one of the most
South and of Virginia, to final success, momentous struggles in history. As his
are shown by Mr. Fiske with remarkable work was addressed primarily to a Euro-
clearness and skill. Finally he points out pean audience, much space is devoted to
the broad results to all future civilization the conditions which brought about the
of the triumph of the Colonial cause, in conflict, to the formation and history of
the surrender of Cornwallis. His point the United States army, and to the char-
of view is one with that of John Morley, acter of the country which was the scene
who says : «The War of Independence of action. His is an essentially military
was virtually a second English Civil War. history: marches and countermarches are
The ruin of the American cause would described with an amount of detail which,
have been also the ruin of the Constitu- but for the admirable clearness of style,
tional cause in England; and a patriotic would sadly confuse the lay mind. In
Englishman may revere the memory of his judgments, both of men and of events,
Patrick Henry and George Washington, the Comte de Paris is very impartial;
not less justly than the patriotic Ameri- though a slightly apologetic tone is often
can. ”
adopted in regard to the Administration,
THE CRITICAL PERIOD OF AMERICAN and a certain lack of enthusiasm appears
HISTORY, 1783-1789. In this volume Mr. towards many officers of Volunteers, no-
Fiske's powers are especially tested, and tably in the later years of the war. This
his success in a great task conspicuously attitude of mind was doubtless due to his
shown. The study which he makes of natural prepossession in favor of a regu-
the characters of the two contrasted origi- lar army and an unchanging form of gov-
nators of policies, Washington and Jeffer- ernment.
son, of the economic problems of the time, All things considered, this history re-
of the way in which the Tories or Loyal- mains the standard military history of
## p. 26 (#62) ##############################################
26
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
(
the Civil War. Its clearness, impartiality, discussion of the strength and weakness
and scientific precision assure its position. of democratic government as it exists in
the United States. » Part vi. is confined
America and the Americans, from a
to non-political institutions: the aspects of
French point of view, is a swift ex-
society, the intellectual and spiritual forces
ternal judgment of civilization as seen in
the United States of to-day. The spec-
upon which depend the personal and po-
litical welfare of unborn generations of
tator, whose knowledge appears too in- American citizens; and upon whose suc-
timate to be that of a foreigner and a
cess or failure rests the promulgation of
tourist, passes in review the streets, hotels,
American democratic ideals and principles
railroads, newspapers, politics, schools,
homes, children, habits of thought, and
among the nations. The work is lucidly
written, free from technicalities, and fluent
manners and customs of social life, chiefly
in style, so that it is as easy for the iaity
in the larger cities and watering-places
of the country. He sets down naught in
to comprehend, as for those initiated by
practical experience into the workings of
malice, even if he extenuates nothing.
our government. The chapters dealing
In the mirror which he holds up, the
with the professional and social sides of
candid American sees himself at full
American life, and especially those devoted
length, as a very imperfectly civilized per-
to the American universities, have been
son, extravagant and superficial, placing enthusiastically received by Americans, –
far too much value on money and the
some American universities accepting the
material things of life, and far too little
work as a text-book in their schools of law,
on genuine refinement and culture. The
economics, and sociology.
book is extremely entertaining, and the
reader who takes it up in the proper frame Am merican Contributions to Civiliza.
of mind will not only read it through, tion, and Other Essays and Ad-
but be apt to make the comment of Ben- dresses, by Charles W. Eliot: 1897. A
edick: Happy are they who hear their collection of miscellaneous addresses and
detractions, and can put them to mend- magazine articles, written during the last
ing. ”
twenty-five years by the president of Har-
American Commonwealth, The, by
vard University; not, however, including
James Bryce (the eminent historian any educational papers. The American
of the Holy Roman Empire) is a study
Contributions) is the subject of the first
of the political, social, and economic feat-
only, out of about twenty papers. There
ures of what its author calls the nation
are included also the very remarkable
of the future”; and the most important
set of inscriptions prepared by President
Eliot for the Water Gate of the World's
study since De Tocqueville's Democracy. )
Fair; that for the Soldiers' Monument
Mr. Bryce deals with his subject in six
on Boston Common; and those for the
grand divisions : Part i. treats of the fed-
Robert Gould Shaw monument, commem-
eral government, — its esecutive legislat-
ive, and judiciary departments, with a
orating the 54th Regiment Massachusetts
Infantry. Through the entire volume there
survey of their powers and limitations ;
the relation existing between the federal
appear a grasp of conception, a strength
and refinement of thought, and a clear-
government and the State governments;
ness and vigor of style, very rarely found
constitutional development and its results.
Part ii. considers the State governments
in writers on themes not involving im-
(including rural and city governments),
agination or making appeal to feeling.
their departments, constitutions, merits, An
merican Crisis, The, is the general
and defects. Part iii. is devoted to the name given to a series of political arti-
political machinery and the party system, cles by Thomas Paine. These articles are
giving a history of the origin and growth thirteen in number, exclusive of a (Crisis
of political parties; their composition; their Extraordinary ) and a "Supernumerary
leaders, past and present; and their exist- Crisis. The first and most famous, puo-
ing conditions and influences. Part iv. is lished in the Pennsylvania Journal, De-
concerned with public opinion,- its nature cember 19th, 1776, began with the famous
and tendencies; the means and causes for sentence, «These are the times that try
its control of all important issues in the men's souls. ) “It was written during the
various sections of the Union.
Part v.
retreat of Washington across the Dela-
gives concrete illustrations of the matters ware, and by order of the commander
in the foregoing chapters, together with a was read to groups of his dispirited and
## p. 27 (#63) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
27
suffering soldiers. Its opening sentence the fundamental myth in the religious
was adopted as the watchword of the lore of American nations; and declares
movement on Trenton, a few days after his opinion that in this native American
its publication, and is believed to have in- belief there was a germ of religious and
spired much of the courage which won that moral evolution which should not have
victory. ” The second Crisis) is addressed been sacrificed, and that “the native
to Lord Howe on the occasion of his tribes of America have lost ground in
proclamations to the American people, in morals and religion” since their contact
the interests of Great Britain.
The third with the Christian white race.
(Crisis) is dated April 19th, 1777, two days
after the appointment of Paine to the A"
merican Political Economy, by the
late Professor Francis Bowen of Har-
secretaryship of the Committee of Foreign
Affairs. The fourth appeared shortly after
vard University, is a standard treatise on
the subject, widely used as a text-book
the battle of Brandywine, in the fall of
in colleges, and one of the most exhaust-
1777. The fifth was addressed to Gen-
ive studies of American economic condi-
eral William Howe, and was written when
tions ever made. The author frankly
Paine was employed by the Pennsylvania
takes his stand on the ground that while
Assembly and Council to obtain intelli-
there are a few abstract scientific princi-
gence of the movements of Washington's
ples governing political economy, it is
army. The sixth was addressed to the
British Commissioners appointed to treat,
essentially a practical science to be ex-
amined in relation to each country by
consult, and agree, upon the means of
itself, if wise conclusions are to be reached.
quieting the Disorders » in the colonies.
That is Professor Bowen's method with
The seventh and eighth addressed the
respect to the United States; and he is a
people of England; and the ninth, no par-
ticular person or body of persons. The
vigorous advocate of a certain kind of pro-
tenth was on the King of England's speech
tection and of a single money standard,
at the opening of Parliament, November
sharply criticizing the management of the
27th, 1781. The eleventh considered the
government currency and finance from
Present State of Newy. The twelfth was
1860 up to the time of the publication of
his work in 1870. The admirably clear,
addressed to the Earl of Shelburne. The
thirteenth and last, published April 19th,
simple language in which Professor Bowen
1783, bears the title, “Thoughts on the
writes makes his treatise one for general
Peace, and the Probable Advantages
reading, and has been a factor in giving
thereof. It opens with the words, “The
it popularity as a class-book.
times that tried men's souls are over:" American Revolution, The Literary
The pamphlets throughout exhibit polit- History of, Vol. i. , 1763–1776; Vol.
ical acumen and the common-sense for ii. , 1776-1783. By Moses Coit Tyler: 1897.
which Paine was remarkable. As histor- A work of great research and accurate
ical evidence of the underlying forces in learning, presenting the inner history of
a unique struggle, and as a monument the Revolution period, 1763-1783, as set
to patriotism, they possess great and last- forth in the writings of the two parties
ing value.
in the controversy of the time. The
Loyalists or Tories, as well as the Rev-
Am
merican Hero Myths: A Study in the olutionists, are heard; and all forms of
Native Religions of the Western Con- the literature of the time have been made
tinent, by Daniel G. Brinton, 1882. A use of, the lighter as well as the more
work designed to present—as it occurs serious, poetry as well as prose, and in
among nations of America widely sepa- fact everything illustrative of the thoughts
rated — the myth or story of a national and feelings of the people during the
hero or initiator of the culture of a tribe, twenty years' struggle for independence.
the author of its civilization, teacher of The care and thoroughness with which
its arts, and at the same time either a neglected persons and forgotten facts have
son or an incarnation of the deity. Dr. been brought into the picture make the
Brinton traces this myth among the Algon- work not only very rich in interest, but
kins and Iroquois, the Aztecs, the Mayas, an authority not likely to be displaced
and in the empire of the Incas, showing by future research. A conspicuous feat-
the strange similarity in all the accounts ure of the work, on which the author
of this mysterious early benefactor and lays great stress, and which is likely to
teacher. He further explains that it was give it increasing interest with the lapse
## p. 28 (#64) ##############################################
28
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
of time, is the pains taken to show that for the periods they cover, or that of Sir
the Revolution ought not to have created Erskine May's supplement, Dr. Gneist's
an almost hopeless feud between Amer- work, though primarily designed only for
ica and England, and that a correct un-
the German public, is eminently worthy
derstanding of its history is calculated of a high place beside them among au-
to do away with this feud. The fasci- thorities accessible to English students.
nation of Mr. Tyler's history is greatly The same author's (Student's History
heightened by its spirit of charity and of the English Parliament' is a specially
fairness, and by his suggestions looking valuable handbook.
to complete future reconciliation between
America and England.
England, Constitutional History, of,
. :
England, Constitutional History of, 1760-1871. By Sir Thomas Erskine May.
in its Origin and Development, by The history of the British Constitution for
William Stubbs. (1875–78. ) A work a hundred years, showing its progress and
of the highest authority on, not merely development, and illustrating every ma-
the recognized developments of funda- terial change, whether of legislation, cus-
mental law, but the whole state of things tom, or policy, by which institutions have
constituting the nation, and giving it life, been improved and abuses in the govern-
character, and growth. The three vol- ment corrected. The work deals also
umes cover the respective periods from with the history of party; of the press,
the first Germanic origins to 1215, when and political agitation; of the church; and
King John was forced to grant the of civil and religious liberty. It concludes
Great Charter; from 1215 to the depo- with a general review of the legislation of
sition of Richard II. , 1399; and from 1399 the hundred years, its policy and results.
to the close of the mediæval period,
marked by the fall of Richard III. at English Constitution, The, and Other
Bosworth, August 22d, 1485, and the ac-
Essays. By Walter Bagehot. (1867,
cession of Henry of Richmond. The full
1885. ) A very interesting discussion of
and exact learning of the author, his judg-
the underlying principles of the English
Constitution, by a thoroughly independ-
ment and insight, and his power of clear
ent and suggestive thinker. The central
exposition, have made the work at once
feature of the work is its proof that
very instructive to students and very in-
the House of Commons stands supreme
teresting to readers. The fine spirit in
which it discusses parties and relates the
as the seat of English law, and that the
throne and the Lords are of use to bal-
story of bitter struggles, may be seen in
ance and check the Commons not di-
the fact that its last word commends to
rectly, but indirectly through their action
the reader that highest justice which is
found in the deepest sympathy with err-
on public opinion, of which the action of
the Commons should be the expression.
ing and straying men. ”
An additional volume of great import-
By means of the cabinet, the executive
ance is Professor Stubbs's (SELECT CHAR-
government and the legislative Commons
are a very close unity, and are the gove
TERS AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS OF ENG-
ernmental machine, to which the Crown
LisH CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, from the
and the Lords are related only as seats
earliest times to the Reign of Edward
the First,' 1876. It is designed to serve
of influence through which the public
mind can be formed and can operate.
as a treasury of reference and an outline
He also shows that the function of the
manual for teachers and scholars. It fol-
lows the history for a sufficiently long ing power, as once, but to gain public
monarchy is not now that of a govern-
period to bring into view all the origins
of constitutional principle or polity on
confidence and support for the real gov-
ernment, that of Parliament.
«It (the
which politics have since built.
monarchy] raises the army, though it
English Constitution, History of the does not win the battle. ) The lower
by Dr. Rudolf Gneist. Translated orders suppose they are being governed
by Philip A. Ashworth. (2 vols. , 1886. ) by their old kingship, and obey it loy.
A history covering a full thousand years ally: if they knew that they were being
from the Anglo-Saxon foundation to the ruled by men of their own sort and
present. Hallam's Constitutional History choice they might not. Bagehot's work
only comes down to the last century, is a text-book at Oxford, and is used as
Stubbs's only to Henry VII. ; and even such in American universities.
## p. 29 (#65) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
29
a
A volume of essays on Parliamentary
Reform, by Mr. Bagehot, appeared in
1884. Its most striking and valuable
feature as permanent literature is the
historical review of the function of “rot-
ten boroughs," from the accession of the
Hanoverian dynasty to their abolition
by the Reform Bill of 1832. He does
not share the popular disgust for them,
though he admits that by 1832 they had
survived their usefulness. He shows
that the system amounted simply to
giving the great Whig families a pre-
ponderating power in Parliament, which
for many years was the chief bulwark
against a restoration of the Stuarts, the
small squires and the Church being so
uneasy at casting off the old house that
there was always danger of their taking
it back.
England in the Eighteenth Century;
History of, by W. E. H. Lecky. (8
vols. , 1878-90. ) A work of thorough re-
search and great literary excellence, the
object of which is to disengage from the
great mass of facts those which are of
significance for the life and progress of
the nation, and which reveal enduring
characteristics. It deals with the growth
or decline of the monarchy, the aristoc-
racy, and the democracy; of the Church
and of Dissent; of the agricultural, the
manufacturing, and the commercial in-
terests; the increasing power of Parlia-
ment and of the press; the history of
political ideas, of art, of manners, and
of belief; the changes that have taken
place in the social and economical con-
dition of the people; the influences that
have modified national character; the
relations of the mother country to its
dependencies; and the causes that have
accelerated or retarded the advancement
of the latter. In its earliest form the
work dealt with Ireland in certain sec-
tions, as the general course of the history
required. But on its completion, Mr.
Lecky made a separation, so as to bring
all the Irish sections into a continuous
work on Ireland in the eighteenth cen-
tury, and leave the other parts to stand
as England the eighteenth century.
In a new edition of twelve volumes, seven
were given to England and five to Ire-
land. Mr. Lecky writes as a Liberal, but
as a Unionist rather than Home Ruler.
English Nation, The, by Arouet de Vol-
taire. (1733. ) These letters concern-
ing the English nation were written by
Voltaire while on a visit to London to
his friend Thiriot. Though very simple
in style and diction, they are graced by
a certain charm and by delicate touches
which are a constant delight.
They might be divided into four main
sections. The Quakers, Presbyterians,
Episcopalians, and Unitarians occupy the
first seven letters, and are subjected to
the witty but not biting remarks of the
French critic. The second division dis-
cusses the government of England as a
whole. The philosophy of Locke and the
science of Sir Isaac Newton, with an in-
teresting letter on Inoculation, including
its history and uses, can be classed to-
gether in the third division. To all lov-
ers of English literature, and especially
of Shakespeare, the fourth division is of
much interest. In his remarks on the
English drama, Voltaire says of Shakes-
peare,
“He was natural and sublime, but
had not so much as a single spark of
good taste. ”
In speaking of religion, Voltaire says,
"Is it not whimsical enough that Luther,
Calvin, and Zuinglius, all of 'em wretched
authors, should have founded sects which
are now spread over a great part of Eu-
rope, when Sir Isaac Newton, Dr. Clark,
John Locke, and Mr. Le Clerc, the great-
est philosophers as well as the ablest
writers, should scarce have been able to
raise a small handful of followers ? »
England: Its People, Polity, and Pur.
suits, by T. H. S. Escott. (2 vols. ,
1879. ) A work designed to present a com-
prehensive and faithful picture of the
social and political condition of the Eng-
land of the nineteenth century, the Eng-
land of to-day. No attempt at historical
retrospect is made, except in so far as it
is necessary for understanding things as
they are now. The author spent much
time in visiting different parts of Eng-
land, conversing with and living amongst
the many varieties of people, which vari-
ety is a remarkable fact of English so-
ciety. He made also a large collection
of materials, to have at his command
exact knowledge of the entire world of
English facts. His general conception is
that certain central ideas, which he ex-
plains in his introductory chapter, and
around which he attempts to group his
facts and descriptions, will enable him
closely and logically to connect his chap-
and show a pervading unity of pur-
pose throughout the work. The land and
## p. 30 (#66) ##############################################
30
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
its occupation, the cities and towns, com- friendships. With his wife and children
merce, industries and the working classes, he roamed about Liverpool and London,
pauperism, co-operation, crime, travel and visited many cathedral towns, and lin-
hotels, education, society, politics, the red at Oxford and among the lakes.
Crown, the crowd, official personages, the He speaks of himself as not observant;
Commons, the Lords, the law courts, but if he missed detail, he had the rare
the public services, religion, philosophy, faculty of seizing the salient features
literature, professions, amusements, and of what he saw, and conveying them to
imperial expansion, are his special themes. others. His constant preoccupation was
with the unusual or fantastic in human
English Traits, by Ralph Waldo Emer-
experience, and this led him to observe
son, 1856, comprises an account of
much that most spectators would have
his English visits in 1833 and 1847, and
failed to see.
a series of general observations on na-
tional character. It is the note-book of
a philosophic traveler. In the earlier Junius Letters, The. During the pe-
riod between November 21st, 1768,
chapters, the sketches of his visits to Cole-
and January 21st, 1772, there appeared
ridge, Carlyle, and Wordsworth, while
in the London Daily Advertiser a series
personal in some degree, reveal Emer-
son's character and humor in a delightful
of mysterious letters aimed at the Brit-
ish ministry of that day, and signed by
way. The trend of his mind to general-
ization is evident in the titles given to
various pen-names- the most remark-
the chapters. With the exception of
able of them by that of one "Junius. ”
(Stonehenge) and “The Times,' they are
During the century ensuing, the author-
ship of these epistles has been assigned
all abstract, -(Race,' (Ability,' 'Charac-
ter,' Wealth,' or (Religion. Far re-
with some degree of probability. Yet
moved from provincialism, the tone is
enough of uncertainty, of mystery, still
that of a beholder, kindred in race, who,
remains to make the genesis of the
Junius Letters) one of the most in-
while paying due respect to the stock
from which he sprang, feels his own eyes
teresting of literary puzzles. A bibli-
ography has developed, and new light is
purged of certain illusions still cherished
by the Old World.
These playthings,
still shed from time to time upon the
as it were, of a full-grown people, — the
problem. Meanwhile the merits of the
(Letters) have been sufficient to give
court and church ceremonial, thrones,
them a life all the more vigorous, per-
mitres, bewigged officials, Lord Mayor's
shows,- amused the observer. Every
haps, because they have been conjectur-
ally assigned to Sir Philip Francis.
one of these islanders is island
The author was a man thoroughly cog-
himself, safe, tranquil, incommunicable. »
This work remains unique as a search-
nizant of British politics; a vehement
opponent of the government, and of the
ing analysis, full of generous admiration,
ministerial leaders, Sir William Draper,
of a foreign nation's racial temperament,
the Duke of Grafton, and the Duke of
by a strongly original individuality.
Bedford; a supporter of Wilkes, the op-
English Notes, by Nathaniel Hawthorne position chief;. and a fiery pleader for
(1870), was published by his wife popular liberty. The dominant message
after his death. During his residence is sounded in these words from the first
as consul at Liverpool, he kept a close letter of the series: «The admission of
record of all that struck him as novel a free people to the executive authority
and important in the United Kingdom. of government is no more than com-
Much of this material he afterwards devel- pliance with laws which they themselves
oped in a series of sketches entitled Our have enacted. ” Much constitutional
Old Home. The remaining notes, given knowledge is shown in these trenchant
to the public in their original form of attacks, which continually refer to the
disconnected impressions, are interesting British Constitution as the bulwark of
for their animation and vigorous bits the people's rights. In manner, the let-
of description. They are a striking rev- te's are vigorous, bold, and among the
elation of Hawthorne's personality, and finest specimens of impassioned invective
show the cheerful side of a man usually and irony in English literature. To read
considered gloomy. In spite of the shy- them now is to understand readily the
ness which made after-dinner speeches a stir they made on their appearance be-
trial to him, he formed many delightful fore an already excited public.
an
## p. 31 (#67) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
31
For years their authorship was not
assigned to Francis. Burke, Lord Tem-
ple, Hamilton, Dr. Butler, Wilkes, and
several others were suspected, and many
ingenious arguments proved the validity
of this claim or that, no less than thirty-
five names having been considered by
students of the subject. In 1813, forty
years after their publication, John Tay-
lor published his “Discovery of the Au-
thor of the Letters of Junius, in which
they were attributed to Sir Philip Fran-
cis and his father; the first of whom was
still living when the volume appeared,
and did not deny them.
Sir Philip Francis, son of an Irish
clergyman and schoolmaster of repute, a
man of culture and travel, holding im-
portant governmental positions and hav-
ing intimate knowledge of the political
machine, was, at the time the Letters)
appeared, in the War Office. Taylor
points out that Junius shows remarkable
familiarity with that department, many
of the letters having been written upon
war-office paper. It is known, too, that
Francis kept elaborate note-books on the
English constitutional questions so ably
discussed in the 'Letters. ) Woodfall,
the publisher of the Daily Advertiser, in
which the Junius Letters) were printed,
was a schoolmate of Francis at Eton.
Expert examination of the disguised
handwriting in which the letters were
penned, identified it with the hand of
Francis. W. R. Francis, Sir Philip's
grandson, in his Junius Revealed,'
strengthens the case. He discovered a
poem known to be written by Francis,
yet copied out in the feigned hand of
Junius. He found also that several of
the seals used on the Junius Letters )
were used on private letters by Francis.
To these significant facts the grandson
adds that Sir Philip's character, as re-
vealed in his official work, was of the
same arrogant, sarcastic strain which
comes out in the Advertiser communica-
tions.
This testimony, some of it very signifi-
cant, more of it cumulative in effect,
makes altogether a good case for the
Franciscan theory. Judging the Let-
ters) as literature, however, the whole
question of the personality of Junius be-
a secondary one. Enough that
they represent one of the most powerful
examples of political polemics in Eng-
lish literature, which even now, when the
events that begot them seem but the
shadow of a shade, stir the blood and
compel admiration. The letter which
made the deepest sensation at the mo-
ment is the famous one addressed to the
King. The edition of 1812, upon which
the many later ones are based, is that
of Woodfall, the publisher, who was ar-
raigned for trial because of printing the
Junius screeds.
Letters of Horace Walpole, fourth
Earl of Orford (1798), are among
the most brilliantly written correspond-
ence of the eighteenth century; and new
editions, with added pages, continued to
appear down to 1847. Enjoying the in-
come of three sinecures secured to him
through his father, the thrifty Sir Rob-
ert, the elegant Horace dawdles through
a charming society life, dilating, for the
pleasure of the pretty women and fashion-
able men whom he chooses to favor with
his observations, on the butterfly world
of trifles and triflers in which he futters
his fragile wings. A fascinating chron-
icle of small-talk it is, which this busy
idle gentleman has bequeathed to later
generations. His own hobbies and fan-
cies, as he indulges them in his Gothic
villa at Strawberry Hill, he dwells
upon with an indulgent smile at his
own weakness; and he praises or con-
demns, with equal mind, the latest fash-
ions of Miss Chudleigh's ball, the Amer-
ican war, or his own love of scenery.
Witty, lively, thoroughly cheery, are his
descriptions of his environment. «Fid-
dles sing all through them,” says Thack-
eray; "wax-lights, fine dresses, fine jokes,
fine plate, fine equipages, glitter and
sparkle there: never was such a brill-
iant, jigging, smirking Vanity Fair as
that through which he leads us. ) Per-
fectly heartless, quite superior to emo-
tion, these gossipy pages of the most
whimsical of triflers and the wittiest of
fops” have never failed to delight the
literary public of succeeding generations,
which enjoys seeing the eighteenth cen-
tury reflected in the mirror of a life
long enough to stretch from Congreve
to Carlyle.
Berry, Miss, The Journals and Cor.
respondence of. Edited by Lady
Theresa Lewis. These interesting rec-
ords cover the long period 1783-1852,-
say from American Revolution to Cri.
mean War, nearly. They were edited by
Lady Lewis at Miss Berry's request, and
were published in three volumes in 1865
comes
## p. 32 (#68) ##############################################
SYNOPSES OF NOTED BOOKS
32
Miss Mary Berry was born in 1763, and
was brought up with her younger sister
Agnes. Neither of the two was robust,
and a large part of their lives was spent
traveling on the Continent in search of
health. While young girls the Misses
Berry became acquainted with Horace
Walpole, afterwards Lord Orford, and the
friendship then begun ended only with
his death in 1797. The lonely old man
was charmed with their good sense and
simplicity, and his intercourse and corre-
spondence with them comforted his declin-
ing years. He bequeathed his papers to
Miss Berry, who edited and published
them, as well as the letters of his friend
Madame du Deffand. She also wrote
some original works, the most important
being A Comparative View of Social Life
in England and in France,' in which she
strongly advocated a better understanding
between the two countries. She devoted
herself to the serious study of events and
character, and lived with her sister in
modest retirement. They were long the
centre of a little coterie of choice spirits,
and both died in 1852, beloved and la-
mented by the children and grandchildren
of their early friends.
The extracts from the journals are
chiefly descriptive of Miss Berry's travels,
and are valuable as pictures of manners
and customs that have changed, and of
modes of travel long obsolete. But the
main interest attaches to her account of
the people she met, among whom were
Scott, Byron, Louis Philippe, and the
Duke of Wellington. She was an inti-
mate friend of Princess Charlotte; and
one of the most important papers in the
collection is Lady Lindsay's journal of the
trial of Queen Caroline, written expressly
for Miss Berry.
The correspondence is even more in-
teresting than the journals, and contains
many of Horace Walpole's letters hith-
erto unpublished. They touch lightly on
political and social topics, and show his
genial nature and brilliant style, as well
as his unaffected devotion to the young
ladies. We find several letters from Jo-
anna Baillie and from Madame de Staël,
who were both warm personal friends of
Miss Berry. There are also cordial let-
ters from Canova, Lord Jeffrey, Sydney
Smith, and other celebrities. The reader
owes a debt of gratitude to Miss Berry
for preserving these interesting and valu-
able papers, and to Lady Lewis for her
careful and sympathetic editorship.
Castle of Otranto, The, by.
