M. Proudhon, the socialist "philosopher," has written, in the prison, in which it has been deemed necessary to shut him up, a new work, entitledGeneral Idea of Revolution in the Nineteenth Century. Among the topics of which it treats are the Reaction of Revolutions, the Sufficient Reason of Revolution in the Nineteenth Century, the Principle of Association, the Principle of Authority, Organization of Economical Forces, and Dissolution of Government under an Economical Organization. The elements of every revolutionary history, according to Proudhon, are the previous régime which the revolution seeks to abolish, and which, by the instinct of self-preservation, may become a counter-revolution; the parties which, according to their different prejudices and interests, endeavor to turn it to their own advantage; and the revolution itself.
Dr. Bushnan, of Edinburgh, under the title ofMiss Martineau and her Master, has published a temperate but conclusive refutation of theLetters on the Laws of Man's Nature and Development, by MissMartineauand Mr.George Atkinson. The shallow performance in which these persons displayed their atheism was treated by the learned with contempt. Douglass Jerrold said the sum of their doctrine was contained in the formula, "There is no God, and Miss Martineau is his prophet," and those who considered theLettersmore seriously, for the most part expressed surprise and pity—never any one an apprehension that such wretched stuff could unsettle a conviction of the feeblest, or confirm a doubt of the most skeptical.
Isaac Taylor, whose "Natural History of Enthusiasm," has been much read in this country, has in pressWesley and Methodism.
Not long ago it was stated that a Mr.Simonideshad discovered at the foot of Mount Athos a great number of important Greek MSS. We ventured to express some doubts on the subject, and we now perceive that Mr.Rhangabe, Professor of Archaiology in the University of Athens, has published a critical examination of these pretended discoveries, in which he proves very satisfactorily that every manuscript of an ancient work which Mr. Simonides has allowed others to examine, and every work which he has published, has turned out to be a modern fabrication. A more real discovery has been made by persons engaged in removing the earth for the foundations of a house near the Acropolis. Fragments of inscriptions, and several relics of sculpture and architecture, have been dug up, and it is thought they prove that the senate house, metroon, and other buildings in which the Athenian archives were preserved, stood in the vicinity. Apropos of M. Simonides, in a letter from Constantinople it is alleged that from the examination of ancient manuscripts in different Greek convents, he has discovered an indication that the original of theActs of the Apostlesis buried in an island in the Sea of Marmora, and that he has caused an application to be made to the Turkish government for leave to search after it, which, it is said, is opposed by the Greek Patriarch, from fear that the discovery of the important document may lead to new schisms in the church!
We mentioned in a recent number of theInternationalthe discovery and publication of a supposed MS. work by Origen. In the June number of theQuarterlyit is carefully reviewed, and in several of the theological journals it has received the attention due to a work of its pretensions. We see now that the ChevalierBunsenhas in the press of the LongmansFive Letters to Archdeacon Hare, on Hypolitus, Presbyter of the Church of Rome, author of the recently discovered book ascribed to Origen, and the bearing of this work on the leading Questions of Ecclesiastical History and Polity.
Dr.Crolyhas just published a new volume of poems, under the title ofScenes from Scripture. The greater part of them had previously appeared in annuals, &c. C. B.Cayleyhas given to the world a new version of theDivine Comedy, in the original terza rhyme;Edmund Peel, a poet of Mr. Robert Montgomery's class, has publishedThe Fair Island, descriptive of the Isle of Wight;Robert Montgomeryhimself has nearly ready his some-time promisedPoetical Works, for the first time collected into one volume, similar to the octavo editions of Southey, Wordsworth, &c., including some original minor poems, and a general preface, (only the printing being in the style of Wordsworth.)
The first of the old historians to be edited in the light of the modern discoveries in Assyria, isHerodotus, to appear in a new English version, translated from the text of Gaisford, and edited by Rev.George Rawlinson, assisted by Col.Rawlinsonand Sir J. G.Wilkinson, with copious notes, illustrating the history and geography by Herodotus, from the most recent sources of information, and embodying the chief results, historical and ethnographical, which have been arrived at in the progress of cuneiform and hieroglyphical discovery. This edition will be printed for Mr. Murray in four octavo volumes. The translation has been undertaken from a conviction of the inadequacy of any existing version to the wants of the time. The unfaithfulness of Beloe, and the unpleasantness of his style, render his version insufficient in an age which dislikes affectation and requires accuracy; while the only others which exist are at once too close to the original to be perused with pleasure by the general reader, and defective in respect of scholarship.
Sir James Stephen, whose brilliant contributions to the Edinburgh Review are familiar through Mr. Hart's Philadelphia edition, has nearly readyLectures on the History of France, andThe History of France, compiled, translated and abridged from the works of De Sismondi, and of other recent French authors, and illustrated with historical maps and chronological and other tables.
J. S. Buckingham, the author of fifty volumes ofTravels, (of which eight large octavos are about our own unfortunate country,) has at length succeeded in his long contest with the East India Company for indemnification for his losses as an oriental journalist. The bill before parliament for restitution has been withdrawn, the court of directors and the government having agreed to settle upon him a pension of four hundred pounds per annum.
We perceive that the British government has bestowed a pension of five hundred dollars a year on Mrs.Jameson. We think of no Englishwoman who is more deserving of such distinction. Mrs. Jameson has spent a pretty long life in the most judicious exercise of her literary abilities, and as a critic of art she is unquestionably superior to any woman who has ever written on the subject. One of her most popular works, theBeauties of the Court of Charles the Second, will be issued in a splendid edition, with all the original portraits, in a few weeks, by the Appletons of this city.
Sir William Hamiltonhas publishedCritical Discussions in Philosophy, Literature, and Education with University Reform, chiefly from the Edinburgh Review, but now corrected, vindicated, and enlarged.
Several new books ofTravelshave lately appeared or are in press in London. Among them areEight Years in Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor, from 1842 to 1850, by F. A.Neale, late of the Consular service;A Naturalist's Sojourn in America, by P. H.Gosse; aJournal of a Boat Voyage through Rupert's Land, and along the Central Arctic Coasts of America, in Search of the Discovery Ships under command of Sir John Franklin, with an Appendix on the Physical Geography of North America, by SirJohn Richardson, C. B., F. R. S., &c.; thePersonal Narrative of an Englishman Domesticated in Abyssinia, byMansfield Parkins;Contrasts of Foreign and English Society, or, records and recollections of a residence in various parts of the Continent and of England, by Mrs.Austin;Narrative of Travels to Nineveh, in 1850, by Hon.Frederick Walpole, R. N. author of "Four Years in the Pacific;"Recollections of Manilla and the Philippines, in 1848-50, byRobert MacMicking;Recollections of a Ramble from Sidney to Southampton, via Panama, the West Indies, the United States, and Niagara, (anonymous.)
J. J. Garth Wilkinsonhas just published in LondonThe Human Body and its Connection with Man, illustrated by the Principal Organs, and it is dedicated to Mr. Henry James of New-York, the author ofMoralism and Christianity. "My dear James," says the author, "this book is indebted to you for its appearance, for without you it would neither have been conceived nor executed. I dedicate it to you as a feeble tribute of friendship and gratitude that would gladly seek a better mode of expressing themselves. It may remind you of happy hours that we have spent together, and seem to continue some of the tones of our long correspondence.Valeat quantum!It could not lay its head upon the shelf without a last thought of affection directed to its foster parent. That prosperity may live with you and yours, and your great commonwealth, is the prayer of, my dear James, your faithful friend," &c.
Of new novels the most noticeable appear to beThe Lady and the Priest, by Mrs. Maberly;The Tutor's Ward;Clare Abbey, by author of "The Dicipline of Life;"Marion Wethers, by Miss Jewsbury;Castle Deloraine, or the Ruined Peer, by MissPriscilla Smith; andQuakerism, or the Story of My Life, a splenetic attack on the society of Friends.
The recent work of Dr.Gregoryon Animal Magnetism has attracted much attention, and from some intimations in the papers we suspect it is to be criticised inLetters on the Truths contained in Popular Superstitions, with an Account of Mesmerism, by Dr.Herbert Mayo, F.R.S., to be published by Blackwood.
Two new works on theApocalypseare to be added to the immense number already printed, for New-York publishers. We not long ago undertook to ascertain how many expositions of the great mystery had been written in this country, and paused at the sixty-fifth title-page. One of the forthcoming works is an ingenious composition by the Rev. Mr. James of the western part of this state, and the other (to be published by Mr. Dodd) is by a clergyman in Connecticut. Longmans advertise in LondonThe Spiritual Exposition of the Apocalypse, as derived from the writings of Swedenborg, and illustrated and confirmed by ancient and modern authorities, by the Rev. Augustus Clissold, of Exeter College; and the Rivingtons have in press aCommentary on the Apocalypseby the Rev.Isaac Williams, of Trinity College. England indeed is quite as prolific of such works as the United States.
Mr. John Finchman, "master shipwright of her Majesty's Dockyard, at Portsmouth," has published aHistory of Naval Architecture, which is praised as a just exposition of the progress and supremacy of English ship-building. Our Mr. Collins could have furnished him, as illustrations for an additional and very interesting chapter, drawings of thePacificand theBaltic, which would perhaps make the work a "just exposition of the supremacy" of American ship-building, of which this Mr. Finchman seems never to have been informed.
Of collections of Letters on Affairs, that to be published immediately by Mr. Murray, under the title of theGrenville Papers, promises to be among the most important. It will comprise the Private Correspondence of Richard Grenville, Earl Temple, and his Brother, the Right Honorable George Grenville, and their friends and cotemporaries—formerly preserved at Stowe and now for the first time made public, and it is given out that it will contain material for the formation of a pretty conclusive judgment as to the authorship of Junius.
Among books that will bear a republication, if written with even average ability and fairness, isThe Present State of the Republic of the Rio de la Plata(Buenos Ayres), its Geography, Resources, Statistics, Commerce, Debt, etc. described, with the History of the Conquest of the Country by the Spaniards, by SirWoodbine Parish, F.R.S. Formerly British Consul General and Chargé d' Affaires in that country.
Lord Mahon'sHistory of England, from, the Peace of Utrecht, volumes 5 and 6—the First Years of the American War: 1763 to 1780—was to appear in August.
A new book has just appeared in London on the Pitcairn's Islanders.
An advertisement of the works of ArchbishopWhateleycontains thirty-six titles. He appears to be one of the most voluminous writers among the bishops, as well as one of the most sensible and learned.
Mr. Macauleyhas at length completed two more volumes of hisHistory of England, and they will be published the coming autumn by Longmans.
ThePoems of Edith May, from the press of E. H. Butler of Philadelphia, will be one of the most beautiful of the illustrated books of the season. Mr. Butler is an artist in book-making, and he has never published anything more elegant. The lady who writes under the pseudonym of "Edith May" is a genuine poet, and the volume will be popular.
William Ware, one of those delightful authors whose names are always uttered by appreciating readers in tones of affection, has just published (Phillips, Sampson, & Co., of Boston,)Sketches of European Capitals. The work includes his views of Ancient Rome, St. Peters and the Vatican, Florence, Naples, the Italians of Middle Italy, and London, and in his preface he tells us that "the volume comes into existence, like so many others now-a-days, as a convenient way of disposing of matter previously used in the form of lectures;" and adds, modestly, "It is a volume of light reading for the summer roadside, and though, like the flowers of that season, perishing with them, one may be permitted to hope that, like some of them, at least it may exhale a not unpleasing fragrance while it lasts." Such a fate awaits no book by the author ofProbusandZenobia, of whom this performance is by no means unworthy.
TheHarpershave in pressDrayton, a Tale of American Life, in which is traced the career of a young American from the workshop to places of trust and honor; and a friend, who has read the manuscript, speaks in warm terms of the frequent beauty of the style, the warmth of the coloring, the animation of the narrative, and the general progress and development of the story. The author isThomas H. Shreve, for the last ten or twelve years one of the editors of theLouisville Daily Journal, and for twenty years well and most favorably known by frequent and elegant contributions to western literature.Drayton, we are advised, is not one of those easy pieces of writing which are known as very hard reading, but has engaged the attention of the author, at periods of comparative leisure, for several years past. Within a few months it has been entirely recast and rewritten; and, if our correspondent be not very partial in his judgment of the merits of the work, the public will find in its patriotic and democratic pages a mine of poetry and fine reflection.
A few words more ofAmerican Reviews. The subject is important; a great periodical in which the best intelligence of the country shall have expression, is necessary, for many purposes, and never was more necessary than now. ThePrinceton Review, theChristian Review, theBiblical Repository, theBibliotheca Sacra, theMethodist Quarterly Review, theChurch Review,Brownson's Quarterly Review, and several others, are in large degrees devoted to particular religious interests, and though for the most part conducted with much learning and discretion, do not altogether serve the purpose for which an American Review of Literature and Affairs is demanded. TheNorth American, as we have before intimated, has no character; it occasionally has good articles, but it has no principles; it is sectional, which is pardonable, but displays neither the knowledge nor the tact necessary to a sectional organ. The mineral riches of our lake region, plans for connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific, the Cuban question, our relations with other republics, the extraordinary phenomena of Mormonism, the efforts of certain American women to unsex themselves, and numerous other subjects of present interest in this country, have been amply discussed in British and other European Reviews during the last year, but not one of them has been mentioned in the work to which, from its pretentions, readers would naturally look for its most masterly exposition. It may be said that theNorth Americanis devoted to philosophy, learning, and literature rather than to affairs: we have heard this defence, even in the face of its elaborate papers on Hungary and Austria; but let us see how it occupies such a ground: the bright and especial intellectual boast and glory of New England is Jonathan Edwards, of whom Dr. Chalmers says that he was "the greatest of theologians," Sir James Mackintosh that "in power of subtle argument he was perhaps unmatched, certainly was unsurpassed among men," Dugald Stewart that "he cannot be answered," and Robert Hall that he was the "mightiest of mankind:" such a character was undoubtedly worthy of its criticism, but in the half century of its existence theNorth Americanhas never once noticed him! We have an illustration much more pertinent, especially in as far as the present editor of theReviewis concerned: The late Hartley Coleridge was a man of peculiar and very interesting qualities, and it may be admitted that he possessed considerable genius; but a pretence that his life was as remarkable or that his abilities as displayed in his writings were as eminent as those of Edgar A. Poe, who died about the same time, would be simply ridiculous; yet we believe every quarterly and nearly every monthly Review published in Great Britain has had its article on Hartley Coleridge, while even the name of Edgar A. Poe has never appeared in our self-styled "great national journal." And Maria Brooks, admitted by Southey, Wordsworth, Charles Lamb, Fitz Greene Halleck, and many other masters of literary art, to have been the greatest poet of her sex who ever wrote in any language or in any age, though she was born and educated in the shadow of the college in which more than one of the editors of theNorth Americanhave been professors, was never once honored with its recognition.
We do not know that it will strike others so, but it seems to us that John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, Hugh S. Legaré, R. H. Wilde, J. J. Audubon, Mathew L. Davis, Albert Gallatin, Henry Inman, Chancellor Kent, Dr. Judson, Dr. Jarvis, Dr. Morton, Dr. Troost, M. M. Noah, Mrs. Osgood, and many other Americans who have recently completed variously illustrious lives, and so come before the world for a final judgment, are subjects quite as deserving and appropriate for theNorth American Review, as those which it has been accustomed to pick up in the byways of the literary world abroad; and we cannot understand why the facts connected with our own development and destiny, facts which engross and baffle the attention of the profoundest thinkers in the older nations, should give place in the only Review we possess, to such foreign, antiquated, and altogether unimportant topics as continually occupy its pages.
Mr. James W. Ward, of Cincinnati, a short time ago delivered before one of the literary institutions of Ohio, a poem onWoman, which has been noticed in terms of high commendation. A correspondent who heard it says it was devoted in about equal parts to the foibles and the virtues of the sex, the former of which it laid bare with a most trenchant blade, while the latter it portrayed with elegance of diction, and an evident love for all that is pure, elevated, and beautiful in woman's proper character. The slave of fashion, the politician in petticoats, and the "bloomer" in br—— pettiloons, the female "progressive," the scold, the slattern, and the butterfly, were all held up to merited rebuke: then came "the true woman," whose character as sister, wife, mother, friend, and "comforter," was dwelt on long and fondly, and portrayed in the language of true poetry and manly devotion. Mr. Ward is not much known out of the literary circles of the West, but several of his short poems have had a wide circulation in this country and in England.
A volume entitledNovellettes of the Musicians, has been published by Cornish, Lamport, & Co., with Mrs.Ellet's name on the title-page as its author, but most of its contents are translated from the German, and the rest are hardly worth claiming. Yet the book altogether is entertaining, and is handsomely executed, with several striking portraits.
The Rev. Mr.Huntington, once a village doctor, then a congregational minister, next an Episcopal clergyman, and now a Catholic priest, made his mark a year or two ago in the novel ofAlice or the Mysteries, in which there was displayed a great deal of talent as well as a very peculiar morality. He has just added to his works (by Putnam) a tale calledAlban, in which a hero somewhat like himself is conducted through various pursuits into the faith, and by pleasantly related vicissitudes to a good condition. The scene is in New-York and New-Haven, and of Roman Catholic novels we know of scarcely one more readable. Mr. Huntington perhaps gives us a reflection of his experience in this advice addressed to one of his characters:
"That is why I turn to literature with such predilection," said the young man, greatly excited by Mr. De Groot's way of talking. "Letters," resumed Mr. De Groot, after a long glance around his endless book-shelves, "are a pursuit that surpasses every other, in enjoyment, and nearly every other in dignity. We must have our own literary men. We can't afford to let other nations write our books for us. That were worse than policy which would hire them to fight our battles. There is a thought and there is a sentiment which belongs tous, and which we are in a manner bound to elicit. But—I am sorry to interpose so manybuts, young sir—you are to consider that you must live. You cannot live by literature. It is difficult any where, but in this country it is impossible. As pride distinguishes the Spaniard, revenge the Italian, lust the Saxon, and sanguinary violence (they say) the Celt, so pecuniary injustice is our national trait, we steal the author's right in every book we publish, native or foreign. Now, Atherton, you can't live by a craft where people hold themselves at liberty tostealwhat you have produced."
"That is why I turn to literature with such predilection," said the young man, greatly excited by Mr. De Groot's way of talking. "Letters," resumed Mr. De Groot, after a long glance around his endless book-shelves, "are a pursuit that surpasses every other, in enjoyment, and nearly every other in dignity. We must have our own literary men. We can't afford to let other nations write our books for us. That were worse than policy which would hire them to fight our battles. There is a thought and there is a sentiment which belongs tous, and which we are in a manner bound to elicit. But—I am sorry to interpose so manybuts, young sir—you are to consider that you must live. You cannot live by literature. It is difficult any where, but in this country it is impossible. As pride distinguishes the Spaniard, revenge the Italian, lust the Saxon, and sanguinary violence (they say) the Celt, so pecuniary injustice is our national trait, we steal the author's right in every book we publish, native or foreign. Now, Atherton, you can't live by a craft where people hold themselves at liberty tostealwhat you have produced."
We mentioned a month or two ago the intention of Mr. Russell, of Charleston, to publish thePoetical WritingsofWilliam Gilmore Simms, and we are pleased to see in theSouthern Literary Gazettethe announcement that they will appear in two handsome duodecimos of from three to four hundred pages each. The publisher remarks very justly in his advertisement that "the works of Mr. Simms recommended themselves peculiarly to the South, as illustrating its history, its traditions and legends, its scenery and its sentiments." In the North they will be welcomed by the author's numerous friends, and by all lovers of poetry, for their manly tone, imagination, and frequent elaborate elegance.
Dr. Tynghas added to theMemoir of the late Rev. Edward Bickersteth, by the Rev. T. R.Birks, an introductory chapter, and the work has been published in two volumes, by the Harpers. Mr. Bickersteth was one of the most excellent and most interesting men in the English church, and this well-written memoir will have a place among standard religious biographies.
TheHome Book of the Picturesque, to be published by Mr. Putnam, will be upon the whole the most beautiful souvenir volume of the year. The engravings are from pictures of the Bay of New York, by H. Beckwith; the Clove, Cattskill, by Durand; the Alleghanies, North Carolina, by Richards; Snow Scene on the Housatonic, by Gignoux; Cattskill Scenery, by Kensett; Schroon Lake, by Cole; West Rock, New Haven, by Church; Adirondach Mountains, by Durand; the Juniatta, Pennsylvania, by Talbot; Cascade Bridge on the Erie Railroad, by Talbott; the Rondout, by Huntington; Church at West Point, by Weir; Wa-wa-yanda Lake, by Cropsey, &c., and these are illustrated with letter-press by Miss Cooper, Fenimore Cooper, Irving, Bryant, Willis, Bayard Taylor, Magoon, Bethune, and one or two persons quite unworthy of the association to which the publisher admits them. TheBook of Home Beauty, also to be issued by Mr. Putnam, we judge from a few proofs of Mr. Martin's pictures which we have seen, will be a much more attractive volume than any "Book of Beauty" ever published abroad. The text of this is all from the pen of Mrs. Kirkland.
ThePopular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, by the Rev. Dr.Kitto, has been republished in a fine large octavo, with numerous illustrations by Gould, Kendall & Lincoln, of Boston. We have had frequent occasion to praise the abilities, learning, and excellent taste of Dr. Kitto, who is one of the most attractive writers and most judicious editors engaged in the illustration of the Scriptures. We think the present work will become the most common of all the Bible Dictionaries, as it probably is the best.
Mr. Redfield has reprinted in a style quite equal to that of the original London edition, the second series ofEpisodes of Insect Life, byAcheta Domestica. This volume relates to insect life in the summer, and is as entertaining as a romance. We have never read a more attractive book in natural history.
Mr. Pomeroy Jones, of Westmoreland, in this state, has in press at Utica, aHistory of Oneida County, in the preparation of which he has been engaged several years, and the professors of Hamilton College have in preparation a Natural History of the County, embracing its Geology, Botany, Zoology, &c.
A volume ofPoemsbyMrs. Rebecca S. Nichols, of Cincinnati, will, we understand, be issued for the next holidays. Mrs. N. has some warm admirers, and this volume is to contain her best productions. We hope its success may equal its deserts.
The fine, thoughtfulEssays Written in the Intervals of Business, have been reprinted by A. D. F. Randolph, of this city.
The Rev.Isaac Leeser, one of the Jewish ministers of Philadelphia, whom we have long known as a scholar and man of talents, is engaged on a new translation of the Old Testament, on the basis of the common English version, carefully corrected and improved according to the best Jewish authorities. It is intended by Mr. Leeser so to render the Hebrew text that but few explanatory notes will be needed, and he reasonably hopes that his edition will be commonly adopted by the Jews of this country. Dr.Kenrick, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Philadelphia, has just published (by Dunigan & Brother, New-York,)The Epistles and the Apocalypse, from the Vulgate, having previously given to the public a translation of the Gospels; and Dr. Alexander of Princeton, and several other men of learning, have lately been occupied with new versions of particular portions of the sacred volume. It is well known, too, that a society, composed for the most part of members of one of the largest and most respectable denominations of Christians, has been established mainly for the purpose of publishing a revised version of the Bible, but it is not probable that this society will ever accomplish any thing more than an increased "contempt for God's word and commandment." The specimens we have of its scholarship might justify some merriment if they were connected with something less venerable and sacred.
For ourselves we are content with the Bible as it is, and cannot help a feeling of regret that any who profess to be governed by its wisdom are disposed to treat it with so little reverence. Undoubtedly there are some slight verbal inaccuracies in the common version, but they are understood, or may be easily explained in notes: we want here no innovations, no improvements, no progress, except in the observance of the good we understand. Nevertheless, we see with pleasure all the studies with which really learned men illustrate their convictions of the significance of the original. For the chief portion of mankind, in this night in which we live, the sun does not shine with its original splendor, but it is reflected on us by the moon, and we care not how many thousand stars reflect it also according to their capacity.
A new version, by which it isnot proposed to displace the common one, is to appear from the press of Mr. Colby, in this city, and the high reputation of its author for learning and judgment, is a sufficient assurance that what he does at all he will do in a very masterly manner. The Rev. Dr. Conant, Professor of Biblical Literature in the University of Rochester, says in a letter to his publisher:
"It has long been a favorite object with me to furnish a translation of the Holy Scriptures for unlearned readers, which should accurately express the meaning of the original by the aids of modern scholarship in the style and manner of the early English versions. The translation is intended, therefore, for the benefit of the common reader of the Scriptures, to aid him in more clearly understanding them wherever our common version is for any reason obscure. In other words, it is to do directly by a translation what has long been attempted by the awkward and circuitous method of a commentary; viz. to make the Scriptures plain to the unlearned reader. I should for many reasons regard it as undesirable, and it certainly is impracticable, to supplant the common version to any extent as the received version for the church and the people, or the common English Bible and common standard of appeal for those who use only the English language."
"It has long been a favorite object with me to furnish a translation of the Holy Scriptures for unlearned readers, which should accurately express the meaning of the original by the aids of modern scholarship in the style and manner of the early English versions. The translation is intended, therefore, for the benefit of the common reader of the Scriptures, to aid him in more clearly understanding them wherever our common version is for any reason obscure. In other words, it is to do directly by a translation what has long been attempted by the awkward and circuitous method of a commentary; viz. to make the Scriptures plain to the unlearned reader. I should for many reasons regard it as undesirable, and it certainly is impracticable, to supplant the common version to any extent as the received version for the church and the people, or the common English Bible and common standard of appeal for those who use only the English language."
Dr. Conant will preserve as nearly as may be the manner of the old translations, endeavoring only to combine the fidelity and exactness of modern scholarship with the simplicity and strength of the common version. To such an effort, by such a man, we see no objections. The reputation most at stake is that of Dr. Conant himself, and those who know him do not fear that that will suffer. It will at least be interesting to mark the differences between his renderings and those of King James's translators.
Mr. Putnam publishes for the coming holidays a new impression of theMemorial, which is incomparably the most interesting literary miscellany ever printed as a gift-book in this country. The proceeds of the sale, it is known, are to be appropriated for the erection of a monument to the late Mrs. Osgood, in Mount Auburn Cemetery. The book is made up of original articles by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Chancellor Walworth, N. P. Willis, Bishop Doane, G. P. R. James, S. G. Goodrich, John Neal, W. G. Simms, Richard B. Kimball, George P. Morris, Dr. Mayo, Mrs. Sigourney, Mrs. Embury, Mrs. Oakes Smith, Mrs. Hewitt, Mrs. Lynch, and indeed all the best and most brilliant writers of the time; and it is beautifully illustrated.
The well-known private library of the late Rev. Dr.Samuel Farmer Jarvisis to be sold in this city, by Messrs. Lyman & Rawdon, about the beginning of October. In several departments of sacred and classical literature it is one of the finest collections in America, and it will probably attract large numbers of buyers, especially from among the lovers of mediæval scholarship and theology.
Mr. Mitchell'snew book, theDiary of a Dreamer, is in press by Charles Scribner, and the same publisher will issue for the holidays an edition of theReveries of a Bachelor, admirably illustrated by Darley, who seems indeed never to have done better than in some of his designs for it.
Mr. Longfellowhas in the press of Ticknor, Reed and Fields, of Boston, a new poem, entitledThe Golden Legend. It is the longest of his poetical works, making some 350 pages, and will soon be given to the public.
There is this year a very remarkable number of new books illustrative of the applications of science to mechanics. Every man seems determined to master the learning which can be turned to account in his vocation, and the booksellers are quite willing to aid them. We suppose the most generally and importantly useful work of this kind ever printed is Appleton'sDictionary of Machinery, Mechanics, Engine Work, and Engineering, just completed in two very large compactly printed and profusely illustrated octavo volumes. In this great work are gathered the best results of the study and experiment of the workers of the world. It is a cyclopedia of inventions, in which one may be sure of finding described the best processes yet discovered for doing every thing that is to be done by means of mechanics. The benefits conferred on the country by this publication must be very great; its general circulation would mark a new period in our physical advancement, and to a degree influence our civilization, since there is no country in the world in which every resource is so readily applied to purposes of comfort and culture. If knowledge is power, as, misquoting Lord Bacon, it is every day asserted, the truth is most conspicuous in the range of those arts and occupations illustrated by these incomparable volumes, which should be in the house of every man who has already provided himself with the Bible and Shakspere. The Appletons also publish aMechanics' Magazine, edited in a very admirable manner, and we understand it is largely sold.
Next to the Appletons, we believe the largest publisher in this line is Henry C. Baird, of Philadelphia, who has now in press aHandbook of Locomotive Engineers, bySeptimus Norris, of the celebrated house, Norris & Brother, engine manufactures;The Practical Metal Worker's Assistant, by M.Holtzaphfel, illustrated with many engravings, and enlarged by the addition of American matters;Scott'sCotton Spinner, thoroughly revised by an American editor; a new edition of Mr.Overman's important book onIron; The Practical Model Calculator, for the engineer, machinest, manufacturer, &c., by Mr.Byrne, (to be issued in twelve semi-monthly numbers); aTreatise on the American Steam-Engine, by the same author; and several other books of this class.
The Appletons will publish in a few weeksThe Women of Early Christianity, one of that series of splendidly illustrated volumes composed ofOur Saviour and his Apostles,The Women of the Bible, &c.
Braithwaite'sRetrospect of Practical Medicine, in consequence of an arrangement just entered into, will hereafter be published by Stringer & Townsend, who will issue it with promptness, correctness, and general mechanical excellence.
James Munroe & Co. of Boston are proceeding regularly with Mr.Hudson's excellent edition of Shakspeare, and they have lately issued among several handsome volumes an edition of the works of George Herbert. They have in pressThe Philippics of Demosthenes, with notes critical and explanatory, by Professor M. J. Smead;The Camel Hunt, a narrative of personal adventures, by Joseph Warren Fabius;Companions of my Solitude, by the author of "Friends in Council," &c., &c.;The Greek Girl, and other poems, by James W. Simmons;Epitaphs, taken from Copp's Hill Burying Ground in Boston, by Thomas Bridgman; andDomestic Pets, their habits and management, with illustrative anecdotes, by Mrs. Loudon.
The second and concluding volume of theLife of Calvin, by Dr.Henry, has just been issued by Carter & Brothers, and it is quite equal in every respect to the first volume. Such a careful history was well-deserved of a Christian whom even Voltaire admitted to be one in the list of the world's twenty greatest men, and it was especially needed for the vindication of one who had in so extraordinary a degree been a subject of partisan hatred and calumny.
Dr. William R. Williamsof this city has just published a volume ofLectures on the Lord's Prayer, (Gould & Lincoln, Boston,) which we shall notice more appropriately hereafter. At present we can only remark that it is a work of extraordinary merit, worthy of an author whose abilities and virtues render his name illustrious.
The Rev. Dr.Wainwrighthas in the press of the Appletons a work descriptive of his Travels in Egypt. It will appear in a large and luxuriously embellished volume, some time before Christmas.
The third, fourth, and fifth volumes of theWorks of John Adamshave been issued by Little and Brown, and the fifth and sixth volumes of theWorks of Alexander Hamilton, by C. S. Francis.
Mr.Frederic Saundersis publishing in theNew-York Recordera series of papers under the title ofBookcraftwhich will make a volume not unworthy of D'Israeli.
M. W.Doddhas published a new edition ofCruden's greatConcordance of the Bible, a book which every body knows is perfect in its kind.
Jewett & Co. have in press the works of the Rev.Lyman Beecher, D.D. which they will publish in some half-dozen octavo volumes.
The approaching Trade Sales will be the largest ever held in New-York.
FOOTNOTES:[14]Réné Taillandier, Professor of Belles Lettres at the College of Montpellier, declared by theAllgemeine Zeitungto be more familiar with German politics and literature than any other Frenchman living.
[14]Réné Taillandier, Professor of Belles Lettres at the College of Montpellier, declared by theAllgemeine Zeitungto be more familiar with German politics and literature than any other Frenchman living.
[14]Réné Taillandier, Professor of Belles Lettres at the College of Montpellier, declared by theAllgemeine Zeitungto be more familiar with German politics and literature than any other Frenchman living.
Powers, in a letter to a friend in this city, says with satirical humor, of his favorite work, "Eve is an old-fashioned body, and not so well formed and attractive as are her granddaughters,—at least some of them. She wears her hair in a natural and most primitive manner, drawn back from the temples, and hanging loose behind, thus exposing those very ugly features in women.Her waist is quite too large for our modern notions of beauty, and her feet, they are so very broad and large! And did ever one see such long toes! they have never been wedged into form by the nice and pretty little shoes worn by her lovely descendents. But Eve is very stiff and unyielding in her disposition:she will not allow her waist to be reduced by bandaging, because she is far more comfortable as she is, and besides, she hassome regard for her health, which might suffer from such restraints upon her lungs, heart, liver, &c., &c., &c.I could never prevail upon her to wear modern shoes, for she dreads corns, which, she says, are neither convenient nor ornamental. But some allowance ought to be made for these crude notions of hers,—founded as they are in the prejudices and absurdities ofprimitivedays. Taking all these things into consideration, I think it best that she should not be exhibited, as it might subject me to censure, and severe criticisms, and these, too, without pecuniary reward."
After the death ofWordsworth, a committee was formed among his friends for the purpose of setting up a tablet to his memory in Grassmere Church, where he is buried. The work intrusted to Mr. Thomas Woolner, has been completed. Surmounted by a band of laurel leaves is the inscription, written by Professor Keble; under which the poet's head is sculptured in relief. The likeness to the man has received praise from persons whose verdict is final; the intellectual likeness to the poet will be more widely appreciated, and recognized with cordial admiration. The meditative lines of the face, the thoughtful forehead and eye, the compressed, sensitive mouth, are rendered with refined intelligence. In two narrow spaces at each side of the head, are introduced the crocus and celandine, and the snowdrop and violet, treated with a rare union of natural beauty and sculpturesque method and subordination. Throughout, the delicately studied execution shows that the work has been a labor of love.
Leutze'sgreat historical picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware before the Battle of Trenton, has been received in this city by Messrs. Goupil & Co. and will soon be exhibited to the public. These publishers will give us a large and fine engraving of it.
Greenough'snoble group for the capitol, upon which he has been engaged nearly twenty years, is so nearly finished that it may be expected in the United States before the end of November. The subject is a contrast of the Anglo-Saxon with the Indian. The group is composed of an American Hunter, in the act of seizing an Indian who was about to tomahawk a mother and her infant. The white man has approached the savage from behind, and, having seized him by the arms, and pressed him with bending knees to the ground, stands frowning above his subjugated foe, who, with his head thrown back, gazes upward at his conqueror with surprise and terror. At their feet a woman, pressing a child to her bosom, sinks in alarm and agony. The effect is very imposing, having something of the dignity and grandeur which belong to the works of Michael Angelo. In Italy the work has much increased Greenough's previous great reputation.
A monument is to be erected at Dresden to the composerVon Weber. To defray the expenses, performances are to be given at the various theatres in Germany, and the proceeds formed into a fund for that purpose. Large sums are expected from this source, as also from private contributions throughout Europe. The monument is to be surmounted by a statue of the composer, by Rietschel, who was an intimate friend of his. It will be of bronze, eight feet high, and placed on a pedestal of the same metal, ornamented with bas-reliefs. The site chosen for its erection is immediately opposite the principal entrance to the Royal Theatre of Dresden.
The distinguished painterCorneliushas been solicited by the Belgian Academy of Art to send the grand cartoons on which he is employed, to the great Belgian Exhibition. Cornelius, however, fears to risk these drawings, the work of ten years, on a journey of such length, since their loss could not be replaced. They already fill two large halls, and will remain a lasting monument of the painter's genius, even if the Cathedral, in which they are to appear as frescoes, should not be erected during his life.
The publication of a work entitledThe Twelve Virgins of Raphael, has been commenced in Paris. It will be in twelve numbers, each containing an engraving and letter-press description and history.
A sculptor of Paris has received orders from the Greek Government to execute marble busts of Admirals de Rigny and Codington, to be placed in the Salle where the Senate holds its sittings.
The August elections, though in general not very warmly contested, have attracted much attention. We have attempted, in the following carefully prepared table, to exhibit the results, as well as the character of the next Congress at large—a task somewhat difficult on account of the diversity of parties and the frequent disregard which has been shown for old divisions:—