New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-08-22
SEPTEMBER MAGAZINES.
THE ATLANTIC.

THE ATLANTIC.
The number opens with an unusually soou
magazine article on Caesars Art OF war "uu u
Writing" in which The genius OF the great Roman
nander is treated with equal intelligence anu oi'e
nifty both from a military and arhetorical poi"toi
The merits OF Caesar a general conpaieo WI" -PV
leon are summed up in pregnant paragraph i" oUo
respect Caesar was the superior OF the great moueI
commander with whom we most naiu'aiN coulP'i'
him. His method Of war was more various 'uau N"po-
leou's more pliabe to the unstable cbanceS OF ""li'
and less open 70 the Cuesses OF an opponent Inc Cor
s,can had a systeu-the system Of great discoverer
aud genius to he sure. hut still somewhat 100 constant
svsten He was quite irresistible Ouy so long as ms
enemcs failed to divine his leading principle OF bringing
t some important point, large force against sua"e
one Cesar had no fixed system; he had the unforeseen
His articles and coutrvancos were muutudinous al
WAYS suited 70 the passing situation. and almost always
81 sunrise The generals OF Holy Alliance learned at
last to calculate what wou be NapoIeohs ma
nWuvrCs. under gwen circumstances. but the E"UiS
the Germans and the Pompeaus never could guess WIN
any saIvat0ry certainty what Cesar wouIu no. hc
might assault their 'front.' he might move on thei'
rear or he might entauge them m feld-worEs IL occa
sion demanded ne might bury himself in toithcatons
and then # chance favored he might leap out ike
tiger from his Jungle He attacked the vast most OF te
Ispotes and Tcnchther suddenly and hiurprSe II not
with real perfdy On the other hand, Doe patiently ana
inreuiousv and delicatey amused himself with manGu
without fighting. There have been few offensive cam
,aions 40 audacious as that OF Pharsala. There has
perhaps never been defensive campaign so near 10
miracle OF patience and precauuon as that OF Aesia III
each ease Caesar enormously outuumOefeu' III INC
one he conquered by field tactics and bold III
itiative; in the other, by such intrenchmehts
as no other General ever conceived Inc
following remarks the literary style OF 'fe'aI
are exceedingly well put: Extreme simplicity an"
naturaluess of is another characteristic o ''
STYLE of Caesar Nothing could be more hgh pI'u' moIc
thoroughly like the speech Of finished gentleman ana
less given to points aud articles OF rhetoric. II has
paugat of that balancing clauses aud that seduous
meditation OF closes which mark The writing OF our So
called classic authors, the imtators OF lsOTates ana
olntus Curtius rather than OF Henophon aud Ciesar'
Translated literally INTO English, aud somewhat OK
panaed as in English it must be. It reads more IKE
ppnvan or Defoe than like Addison. Nor there ever
the slightest attempt at mpreSsiyeness, or what the
French call empbGSe. Cesar never bears on ana
never struts not even when he is relating sublime deed
OF heroism,-not when he is explaining Wonderiu
strokes Of genius. At first it strikes one with complete
astonishment that any human being who had taken
leading and passionate part in such performances
could write about them tone Of such entire SIM
pcity We can understand IL only when we remember
that here was a very extraordinary man. VINO heces-
sarly looked upon his extraordinary iabOrs aud acheNe
neuts as the natural things in the world On the
whole, taking into consideration the professional value
OF the matter in the Commentaries AMI the perfectly
prosperous and gracefully simple manner in which
that matter Is presented, must allot to Cesar
the singular distinction Of having produced tue
best military narrative thar ever was written
"iIiss Magdaena Peanuts" by Phoebe Yates Pem0cr Is
ahvely story, giving some agreeable rccglectOus OF
Southern life Wilson Flagg describes the Songs
and Ecceutrcucs Birds" from personal observation
In which he is exceed by few Of popular writers ON
sylvan themes "A Ieuuysoniau Retrospect 10y julius
H. Ward furnishes some novel and interesting deall.
concerning the favorite English poet Who has recently
completed his SEVENTEEN year; Recent Novels are
the subj .ct of thoughtful and subtle critical paper;
and Mr. Grant White continues his attractive jottugs.
down OF English travel I'm an article Mobility ana
Gentry" The poetry is mostly from wekuown names
including Edgar Fawcett Mrs. 5. VI. b. Piat Christie
pler CrHuch, ana others.