Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-01-28
NATIONAL NTELLIGENCER.
NOTES ON NEW BOOKS.


tents Of Bishop HUnps edition. with Letters and other
pieces found in any previous collection and Ma
cAuLAY's ESSAY OK HIS LIYE AND WORKS. edited, with
Critical and Explanatory Notes, by GEORGE WASHING
TON GREENE in Eve vols. New York G. P. PUTNAM
& Co., 1863.
We have not vet received all the volumes in this
SERIES but those that we have been permitted to in
spect Justify us in rejoicing at the prospect of soon
possessing more complete edition of the works of
Addison than we have hitherto been able to pro-
cure The accomplished American editor, while
making Bishop HURD's edition the basis of his COM
pations, has both added to its contents and amend
ed its arrangement. We now for the first time meet
with several of Addison finest poems placed under
their proper heads, they having been originally pub
Gshed in the Guardian or Spectator. Portions of
his correspondence likewise are culled by DIR.
GREENE from the Adlisoniana and Miss Atkins
Life of Addison, to be collected and classed among
his works, and certain of his political tracts which
were omitted in all other editions are here to be
found, accompanied with historical and explanatory
notes, which aim to restore to these compositions
somewhat of that charm which originally attached
to them as writings of a local and temporary in
terest" and which, therefore, without such annota-
ton, would prove unnterestng to the modern
reader. The American editor has executed this
part of his task, SO far as we can Judge from the
specimens before US, with admirable Judgment,
while in his merely critical remarks he gives evil
dence of a refined taste and elegant scholarship,
which amply qualify him to be the commentator on
just such classical writer as Joseph Addison.
How greatly in this respect his qualifications sur
pass those of Bishop HURD we need not specify to
those who are already familiar with the editorial
labors of the Bishop Of Worcester, who seems to
have found in the writings of olson no attributes
more admirable than those which furnish the mate
rails to crafty the pedantry Of grammatical and
verbal criticism
We need not say that he who approaches the edi-
torial revision of such an author as Addison with
no higher notions of the editors functions than
those Of Bishop HURD wholly incompetent for the task
he has assumed. Without yenturing with
that the critic should always equal the author whom
ne crtcises before he presumes appreciate that
thors merit deem it indsputable that certain degree
Of sympathy should exist between the two in order
the just relations between genius and criticism
which SO far from being necessarily hostile should
Their be regarded allies in the republic of letters not
that critics and authors to compose sort of emu
tual admiration society," but that congeniaty
should always exist between the reviewer and the review
ed in order to enable the former do justice the lat
ter For eaptator uerborun like Bishop HUnD to
essay the task of concentrating Addison folly
Like that which the old painter rebuked in the disciple of
Crpn who adventured to rise above the cobblers spe-
cislity in his artistic criticisms
We shall attempt on the present occasion no labored
analysis of Addisons literary merits of that elegant
style which has made the epthet Addsonian synonym
for whatever is most graceful and classical in English
prose We propose rather to content ourselves with the
effort to ascertain with defnteness the place which
Addison is entitled to hold in the history of English lite
rature and thus estimate the of that supe
rorty his predecessors and contemporaries which
has enabled him to exert influence English letters
not only "for day, but for all time"
Without pausing to indulge in any pathological specu
lations respecting the gradual evolution of the English
language through its anterior phases of the Angosaxon
tongue and the socaed dialect Of the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries may state that English,
the language of literature dates from about the middle
of the fourteenth century The first prose work is said
to be Sir John Mandevlles Travels which appeared in
1856. The translation Of the Bible by Wcke, is gene
rally dated about the year 1888 and Chaucer also
during the latter half of this century An exam
nation Of these works will suffice to show that the body
and substance of the English tongue has been
sentay changed from that period to the present day
Many changes undoubtedly have been made in what may
be called the grammar and syntax of the language but
the language itself received in the fourteenth century its
great leading outlines and its distinctive genius and
henceforth all the notifications which it has undergone
may be regarded the natural and necessary ougrowh
of that principle Of progressive development which in
heres in the very Of living language Our Ian
guage at this period rude clumsy in its syntax and
uncouth in its structure yet still we may consistently
say that it fully formed and needed only be made
the medium of literature in order acquire the polish
and elegance which it capable of receiving.
During the fifteenth century tongue rapidly began
to lose its asperities and to degree of refine
ment which gave presage of what it destined
become in the ultimate stages Of its development The
which most contributed to this result need not
say the introduction Of printing by Caxton and the
cultivation of the classical eratures Of Greece and Rome
consequent the Revival Of Learning These two
combined to stimulate the literary production of the Eng
lish mind, and their beneficial effects soon began be
apparent in the style and dction which prevailed during
the early part Of the succeeding century, the sixteenth
Of English prose- existed in the earlier part of this
century, it to be remarked that it was both more
simple in its construction and Of purely native
character in other respects than the style which
into fashion in the latter years of the Eizabethan period
Nor is it difficult for this fact The early stu
dents Of the Greek and Latin classics sufficiently
intimate with the ors Of Greek and Latin dcton be
able to transfer their inverted periods and artificial
ture to their mother tongue and until greater
familiarity with these remains Of ancient genius had been
acquired by the later scholars Of this period that Latin
Used style became possible Then it was, however,
that the Latin tongue became the universal language Of
scholars throughout Europe that from long addiction
to its study and from the constancy with which
used in both spoken and written language, the writer's
hourished during tho lanes