The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-05-10
LITERATuRH.
REVIEW or VIEW BOoKs.


-Translating Homer is probably as inno-
cent an amusement as scholarly gentlemen
with nothing better to occupy their time can
probably engage in. But the interest in
Homer is, to say the least, limited, and it
looks q little like a waste of good ink and
paper for every person who gets off new
version of ''The Iliad" for the amusement of
leisure hours to rush into print with it,
unless the mere satisfaction of seeing himself
in print is O compensation for the obvious
risk that the books will remain unsold upon
the shelves of the publishers. translation
of Homer that will represent at once the
letter and spirit of the original, and that will
reproduce the movement" of the Greek
verse in all its integrity, would doubtless
be welcome, but until such version ap-
pears the translations already before the
public are amply sufficient to give a general
idea of the ''tale of Troy divine" as sung by
the blind old bard, and among these Pope's
paraphrase, although it may be the farthest
removed from Homer, is likely to retain its
popularity with the mass of readers. These
remarks are suggested by ''The Iliad of
Homer, translated into English verse by w.
G. Caldcleugh, which has just been issued
from the press of j. b. Lippincott & Co. We
are informed that this translation, ''the
desultory occupation of few years, was
written principally for the amusement of the
translator and his friends, and that he makes
no claim to the qualifications necessary for the
success of such an undertaking" This last
proposition is true enough, for while Mr..
Caldcleugh's version is probably faithful
enough SO far as it goes, he has succeeded in
turning Homer's poetry into the baldest pos
sible prose, and we have no hesitation in
setting it down as the worst attempt of the
kind that has ever come under our notice.
Messrs. j. B. Lippincott & Co. have also
just published "Only Girl or, A Physician
for the Soul, translated from the German of
Wilhelmine Won Hillern by Mrs. A. L. Wister
Mrs. Wister has introduced number of very
charming German romances to the American
public and her taste can be relied upon to
select such works as are really worth trans
lating. "Only Girl is a more elaborate
performance than anything she has yet at
tempted, and as a story of German life, full
of admirable sketches of character and highly
dramatic incidents, it will be found to amply
repay perusal.
From the same house we have received
''The Private Life of Galileo, published by
Nichols q Noyes, Boston. This book is a
compilation, the principal materials for which
have been drawn from the correspondence of
Galileo with his eldest daughter, Sister Maria
Celeste, nun of the Franciscan convent of
st. Matthew, at Arcetri. This is one of the
inta +bo1 l,
lately been put before the public, and it sup
plies great amount of important informa-
ton with regard to the career of Calico, and
throws much light upon the story of his
philosophical Investigations and the persecu-
tions to which they subjected him. The
affection of Galileo for his daughter, and the
tender care with which she always watched
over his welfare and interested herself in his
great plans, as set forth in their letters, make
a most affecting narrative, and this book will
doubtless attract as much attention in this
country as it has in England, where its publ
cation was considered as one of the literary
events of the season.
-Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfnger send rs
''The Life of Bismarck" by John George
Louis Hesekiel. Translated by Kenneth
r. H. Mackenzie, F. S. A., F. A. S. L. Pub
lished by Harper & Brothers, Count Bis
marck occupies such prominent place in the
public attention at the present day as one of
the chief of living statesmen, and the work
he has performed in raising Prussia to the
position of first-class European power is of
such magnitude, and is pregnant with such
important results for the future, that care
ully prepared biography like the present is
sure to find an appreciative audience The
author commences with the origin and rise
of the family about the commencement of the
thirteenth century, and in few brief but
graphic Introductory chapters brings its his
tory down to the birth of the present repre-
sentative of its greatness. In relating the
story of Count Bismarck's life Herr Hesekiel
writes with an evidently sincere and hearty
admiration for his subject, and certain
''gushingness" of style that suggests in some
degree that adopted by j. S. G. Abbott in his
'Life of Napoleon" will probably suit the
tastes of many readers better than
more classical severity. This, however, il
really a much better and more reliable
work than Mr.. Abbotts remarkable perform
ance, and it may be accepted as a correct il
somewhat partisan review Of Bismarck.
career. A great number of interesting Incl
dents of Bismarck's early life have been col
lected, which add greatly to the value of the
narrative, and in relating the recent events
that established his fame, the story is told il