, 1874-04-27

In "Realrnah " (chsp. 1v.). Sir Arthur Ho1ps
makes Ellesrnere say, "What, dulll wien you
| ha.o travelled over 40 few minds, and hnyo not
road tho hundred great books OF tho world-for
thore have bsen al least = hundred books writton
by mon who uero not dull, and whoae works
fulall the words Of Samson when he went down
tinos, and found tlst which ho aad combined
leopino strength with sweotness." Thia brings
| mo reaucat from an Intelligent correspondents
that will point out to my roaders the 100 great
should bc se sure an antidote against dullnoaB.
Hir John Ellesmore's phrase seoms preolBo, but
Ia really vague. Before wo sot about finding out
which arc tho 100 gront books Of tho world. We
What IL q book, as Ellcnmero uses tho word Ia
It volume containing, for example, all Of ehak-
spoaro's works, Or all Of Alilton'a poems Surely
not II we could have all Of dootho's writings
IN certain sense aud 60 In . certain sensc tho
Bible ia spoken Of az book, ~ aaored
distinct compositions, from tho pens Of
Cd through speriod Of 1900 years Plainly, thore-
| fore, "book must here DO takon in tho sonRe-
tho proper aenae-in which - Wilho1m MeiHter,"
ono work Of Goethe'a, Is a book, and n Which b
necessary Limitation ia to mako Enesmere's ap-,
parently simple and significant speech almost
inoauingless+ For In that case our tale OF q 100
great books would DO noarly made up by the
q
others We should start with denesis and Exo-
dug. aud Ruth, and Job, and tho Psalms, aud tho
Proverbs, and Eccleslastes, and Iaaiah aud Jere-
| miah, and Ezoklel, and tho Epistlo to the
calypso. Honor would furnish us with the 1llad
| aud Odyssey; 4saohylus with five tragedies out
Of tho seven which haVe survived OF hts seventy;
sophooleg with Eve, po.haps etx, 20 having writ
to which q place could not ba refused and from
| the twenty comedies Of Plautus VIC should cor
| tatnly take five. 1ehpinR to modern timos,
would fnrns Us wtn ~
in their distinctive merit; Goethe With aB many
Distinct works of almost equally conspicuous e1-
cellence; and Scott With half Q dozen novels on
titled to place among the beat books Of their
Sir Arthur Helps intended his century of books
to be made up. H., we n,ay be sure, had
vaguely in his mind the Bib1e - one book,
"Siakspeare" az ono ether book; but whom he
gard the "Bentinnental Journey" as one book
and "TristraIn Shandy" ns another, while he
would probably lcavo YorIok's sermons out Of
tho question altogether as little httod for doc
struction In righteousness.
The only way in which tho grand circle Of lit
erary em.nence indicated by Ellesnere's speeeh
Saa Sne huadred ] great authors to whom tue world
light. That may 30 done; aud as tho
task ia q ploasant and suggestive one,
| have undertaken 1t with anna cirounspeo-
ton, protesting howsver, against the proorus-
toan limitation Of the number Of inmortals to
exactly ono hundred. In making the selection
OF these uameB originality, with which there al-
ways goes certain strength, has boon first con-
Bidored.' The writer who first te'la the world a
now truth, or teaches it o new faith, or who
leads II Into q noH train OF thought OF mode Of
action o. who gives II q new delight, "a the great
uan not only Of bis ago, but for all time: Ne1t
to originality coma style and subject, which aone-
times ratae q man Of intrinsic secondary quality
Into the first rank. Xsnophon, for example,
would not take 'piaoe among tho hundred by
oLarm,' But the A3henian SCHOLAR was born
| soldier fashioned In tho womb to bo captain,
and he happened to have tho opportunity oi
conducting the tetreat OF 10000 Greeks out oi
Persia, whloh he did successfully In tho face oi
all the armies Of The great King; and be has
| told tho story of this grent military feat and
stirring adventure In Btyle 80 elegant. with t
self-reVolatiou soHweet aud afmplo, that the very
boys forgive him for writing the Anabasia, and
lovo him as they ioil with him over hia daily
parasanga. He therefore takeB hB place among
tho hundred, although il he had not been the
A+henian bee, and had not volunteered agains
Arta1erxoa, hia nero native force Of mind wonlt
not hnve carried his naJne beyond his century
So Polybius attains bis eminenco chiefly by lii
opportrnities. With thuH much Of caution ant
OF explanation, I Introduce the following list O.
ONE HUNDRED anEAT WAlgERa.
HEBREW.
Mosos tas the author Of !saieh,,
AS'sos y lid tns bssf Eaaas " oD t. fs
| 81. jnh1l {nf ADnna.