The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-06-27
THE PRESS.
SATURDAY MORNING, JUNE p. 1874
Recent Publications.

COURSES OF REASON. By Octavius B. Frothing-
ham. New. York; Asa X. Butts & Co.
A book so good that one wishes it were
better! The "Radical belief" as enunciated
by this author, is comprehensive faith.
''God is; not has been or will be; and He is
more than the best believe OF the hsppiest
hope" ga dream Of all conceivable perfec-
ton, the perfect thought, will, care, provi-
dence, in whom none die, but in whom all
| who live at all, live and move and have their
being'
Here, and wherever Mr.. rockingham de-
clares his own internal consciousness, he
speaks with rare force and power; but when
he assails the traits of others it is evident
that he does not quite know whereof he
speaks. He unclothes the Gcspel of yester-
day OF its true meaning, ard treats its oren-
tai drapery as an organic part of itself; but
his Gospel of Character and the Chapter on
Immortality are at least worthy of careful
consideration. Ineffective, harsh and cold
| in their first aspect, they develop warmth
and beauty upon nearer view; when one
has penetrated to their centre they seem al
most practicable And this, strange to say,
is representative instance. The author,
iconoclast though he be, creates better than
he destroys. He cannot grasp another mans
ideal sufficiently to learn where its strength
and its weakness lie, but his own is always
clear, and glows with the light of some great
truth. How often the two are identical he
does not perceive. l.m
G,l., Ix,,e Ii
it was but a part OF the old to him! But in
the world Of thought the same shore seems
ever new to its explorers, as they approach it
from various points, in summer or in winter,
in sunshine or in shadow-and this book
belongs to the world of thought. One closes
it with sad regret that here, too, the grand
eur of the whole truth is so often lost in the
confusion, and seeming contradiction of its
parts.
THE GREAT Ice AGE, by James Geike. f. R. s. E.
Published by d. Appleton s. Co., New York. For
sale by Bailey and Noyes
Though many years ago, it seems but
very short time since my father stopped
short in a walk which he was taking with his
boys in the country, and pointed out to us on
the broad fiat surface of a large rock, on the
top of hill, many deep furrows and scratch
es, which he to our great astonishment and
wonder, said had been made BY other
stones, frozen into the bottom of ice-bergs,
which had touched the surface as they floated
along in the water, which covered the earth.
Many years have passed away since, but
the recollection of that event has not grown
dim. In this volume, with number of full
page Illustrations and numberless wood cuts,
we find complete history of that ancient
time. when not only icebergs, but fields of
ice Of immense thickness, oitentimes cover
ing the tops ofthe highest mountanr, ,ploughed
across the land, and left indelible traces,
behind them. The sister science, astronomy,
teaches us, that two hundred thousand years
ago, the earth was in position farthest dis
tant from the sun, and with its axis inclined
in such direction, as to admit of the posi-
bihty Of the formation of huge fields of
ice all over its northern hemisphere,
and geology. with its groopinss, furrowing-,
and scratchings of rocks, with its deposits of
clay, gravel, and sand, with its fossil remains
shows not only the probability, but the GER
tainty, as far as human knowledge can lay
claims to any certainty, that such fields Of
ice did exist, in long-gone-by ages.
We cannot too heartily commend the STYLE
Of this book, which is scientific, and yet pop
ular, and yet not so popular as to dispense
with the necessity of the readers putting his
mind to work, in order to follow out the au-
thor in his forcible, yet lucid arguments.
Nor can the attentive reader fail to leave the
work, with the same enthusiasm over the
subject. as is shown in every page by the tai
ented author.
The LIFE AND DEATH OF JOHN OF BARNEvELp.
By John Lothop Motley. New York: Harper g.
Brothers. For sale by Loring Short & Harmon.
These two volumes are in effect an intro
duction to Mr. Motley's proposed history of
the Thirty Years War, and comprise view
OF the primary causes and movements of that
remarkable conflict They form connect
ing link between that work aud the History
OF the United Netherlands. The volumes
are no: biography in the ordinary sense, and
give only in detail that portion of the life of
the great Advocate subsequent to the Twelve
Years Truce. At that time John of Barne-
weld was sixty-two years old, and occupied
the proud position of the foremost statesman
of Europe. How he achieved this greatness
is set forth in the History of the United
Netherlands. The work under consideration
gives rapid summary of it in less than fifty
pages. The major portion of the volume is
devoted to the last ten years of the Advo-
Gates life and to a minute account of the
death.grapple with Prince Maurice.
No one ever accused Mr.. Motley of possess
ing judicial mind, and surely the accusation
will not be brought against him now. His
portraits are all sketched in chalk and char
coal. But in these days of pale and impair
tial historical tableaux they stand out with a
vividness that persuades the reader OF their
oraisemblance The canvass is crowded with
notable figures; the great Bearnois, strong in
all things but one-his insane passion for
women; Sully, faithful minister and patri-
OF, in time of intrigue; the gbbering ped
ant, who sat on the throne of England; Maui
rice of Nassau, splendid and cruel; and the
grim theologans who sat in council at bort.
The rare industry of Mr.. Motley speaks for
itself in the copious citations from the old
manuscripts at the Hague and elsewhere.
Indeed these citations are at times too CO.
pious; the author ceases to be a historian and
becomes merely an editor of manuscripts.
This fault, which seems to grow upon him,
seriously impairs the unity and strength of
his latest work. 1t should be an epic with
the deeds of the great Advocate for the motif
The episodes, like that of Henry ofNavarre
and the charming Princess of Conde, though
of interest in themselves, are intrusions in
the foreground. Their true place is back in
the shadow little.
"The dividing line of nations" says the
author, "or at least of alliances, was not a
frontier of language, but of faith" So in
writing the history of John of Barneved he
must of necessity give history of the war
fare between the Vatican and the princes of
the Augsburg Confession, and not this only,
for sketch of the conflict between Germany
| and Geneva, between Arminians and Gro
4 .-1I