The Portland daily press., 1872-01-22
he he time of Elizabeth and the time of Peri

No one can speak of books, however. with
out saying to you, what YOU already know
that OF all books depending purely upon their
intrinsic excellence, Shakespeare is the one
book of the world. / leave out. of conrse the
religious books, which depend directly upon
the reverence OF mankind, addressed accord
ing 10 the opinion and sentiment of each, ac-
cordlng to his education in this or that church.
In this or that society. Heaven has provided
each nation with its own religious instruc-
ton. We have had, in Asia, the grandest
revelation that has been made in the world.
1t Is very curious that these Asiatic minds
seem, more than any other portion of the
world, to have had the religious inspiration:
not only in our gospels and in our Jewish his.
tories, but the Hindoos have also the most
extraordinary books, which they compare
with certain happiness to those of our own,
which we also owe to Asia. So the Chinese
have also their books of Confucius in which
we are very happy to trace almost identical
inspirations with those which we have receiy-
ed from Judea. For instance, the great doc
trine, ''Thon shalt do to others as thou
wouldst have others do to thyself," is 900
years before the coming of Christ, as given
US py the Confucians. This singular genius
the Asiatics seem to have had for moral rev.
elation; and it is given in these commanding
forms to the different nations there. Ours,
which we owe directly to the Jewish nation.
we esteem the most pure and most command
ing of all. But it is delightful to me, as a be-
lever in the universality of religious truth,
10 nnd that 1t Is framed in similar and almost
in the same language in distant nations.
But out of the circle of religious books 7
set Shakespeare as the one unparalleled mind.
NO nation has produced anything like his
equal. There is no quality in the human
mind, there is no class of topics, there is no
region of thought, in which he has not SCARED
or descended, and none in which he has not
said the commanding word. All men are i'm
pressed, in proportion to their own advance
ment in thought, by the genius of Shakes
Peare. The greatest mind values Shakes
peare the most. 1t is wonderful that it has
taken ages to esteem him. We find with
wonder that he was not appreciated in his
own time; that you can hardly find any con-
temporary who did him any justice. Still.
his fame and the influence of his genius have
risen with the progress of time. As there has
been opportunity to compare him with other
poets and writers, his superiority has been
felt, and never so much as at this day. In
reading Shakespeare, you will find yourself
armed for the law, for divinity, and for COM
merce with men.
Burke is an author that no young man, GER
tainly in the law, can live without. For the
nobility of his sentiment, for the truth, hon
or and justice of the man, for his great pow
ers, for his fine perceptions, should think it
would be the pride OF all the young men study
ing law that they had master so command
ing and so beautiful as Burke always before
them. dis character was as pure as his
mind. There is period in the education of
every young man literally educated when
Burke is his master. Happy is that Young
man. l have found such young men ALWAYS in
colleges. They always came to time when
Burke seemed their only guide. 1t is COM
monty about the time of leaving college that
they lind out that Burke is charming writer
They read all his speeches. They read his
letters. You will find him again in BoswelPs
Life of johnson. The Regicide Peace, all
the Letters on the French Revolution, his
speeches on the American question, all his
writings, his letters to the noble lords,
every one of his papers is deserving of your
reading in teaching you to form your style.
The essay on the Sublime and the Beautiful
had once certain attraction which it has
not now. 1t is not superior, and would not
commend it.
If any of yon have taste in letters you
must take the German Goethe, whose books
are almost all translated into English. Since
Shakespeare there has been no mind of equal
compass to his. There is the wise man. He
has the largest range of thought, the most
| catholic mind; person who has spoken in
every science, and has added to the scientific
lore Of other students, and who represents
better than any other individual the progress
sive mind of the present age. He is the ora
Gle of all the leading students in every nation
at this time-Goethe, who died in 1892
II you want a pleasant introduction to
him, take the book of his Conversations
with Eckermann. Professor Eckermann
lived in his house for a time, and lust
as Boswell wrote out Johnson's conversation
so Eckermann wrote out the conversation of
Goethe. That book is a very entertaining
and instructive One Opinions upon every
modern question are there. II you want his
more serious book, i should Faust" Faust
is the book by which Goethe is best known.
1t is one OF the most disagreeable books that
can read. While l consider Shakespeare's
Hamlet great and noble work, Goethe's
Eaust is to me very painful work. And yet
enat stands with society generally as his lead
| ing WORK. 1t represents the modern mind,
anu tnat Is what he aimed at. But it does
not represent the Eternal Mind, alone of val
ue in every age. 1t is a very Ipainfill hook
The History of Poetry and Fiction'' is the
name by which Goethe calls the memoirs of
his own life. Then there are his poems In
| general, and his prose writings on art, on so -,
| ciety, on light. He was a student of light
| and made important discoveries. His book
upon optics contains history of progress and
the history of Sir Isaac Newton; ana his rela-
tions to that science are given, and so the
whole history of philosophy in that direction.
book which is not yet printed In English !
believe, is his Sentences-Spruche. 1t win be
Immediately put into English, presume, for
they are multiplying it in German. 1t was
printed originally in Schiller's work. They
edited together''The Hours ('sHoren"), and
in every one there were certain collections of
sentences. Goethe wrote whole essays, but
also continual redundance of maxims and
rules. These are now gathered in book
that 1 think is one of the most important
that we possess. believe that more Of his
books are in English every year, so that you
can always find access 10 them. The '1tal-
ian Travels" is another important book of
his.