Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-02-07
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

THE NORTH AMERICANS OF ANTIQUITY Their origin,
migrations and type of civilization considered.
By .ohn T. Short. New York: Harper g. Bros.
San Francisco A. L. Bancroft x Co. VOL; $40 !;
muslin boards illustrated
The great interest now taken in the origin,
migrations and life of the races of American
antiquity renders the work of Mr. Short very
timely. His work is another step by which
we are aided in our effort to go back of his
tory, penetrate the mysteries of the past and
separate the light from the darkness. With
every year the antiquarians and historians
are opening up new opportunities for us to
| delve in the early ages of our continent.
Mr. Shorts work is one of the most valuable
contributions to these opportunities yet known
to the public, and meets on the level the grow
ing taste for archaeological research. Mr..
Short has written his work, not to advance
and uphold any pet theories-to US he seems
to be conscientious inquirer, and not an
advocate his work is record of what is
known, record of the latest worthy infor-
nation, of accomplishment and fact-not an
essay to urge any doctrine as to the ancient
people of America or their civilization. I'm
| like many writers on antiquities, Mr.. Short
has not made his book the means of defend
| ing any hypothetical views he may entertain,
though he does not hesitate to state
his own conclusions. Mr.. II. H.
Bancroft's valuable labors in like
direction are well known, and he is entitled to
the credit of being pioneer among the i'm
partial searchers for the truth in these lines.
! Mr. Short seems to have taken Bancroft as
his model These writers will be found to
have walked in divergent paths, but they are
such as naturally grow out of all research
by several persons in the direction of that
which is buried in the obscurity OF the past
Archaeology has not, and never will entirely
| dissipate the clouds which shadow the his
tory of departed races and involve half known
nations in the mist of mystery. ct, with
| Mr.. Short, who believes that the Maya HE
roglyphics about to be solved, we can well
believe that we stand upon the threshold OF
great discoveries, which will throw food of
! light upon the North Americans of antiquity.
The work is by no means so extensive as MIR.
Bancroft's, but it will be Of special value to
| the general reader as presenting IN
a more concise form the latest de-
velopments on the subject of which
the writer treats. Mr.. Short begins with
sketches of the antiquity of the red men,
glance at bis place in the scale of progress,
the facts relative to the mount builders so far
as known, and passes thence to the unearthed
tablets and weapons, the ancient forts and
graded ways, the exhumed images and uten-
| sis. copper and stone relics, ETC., and comes
in chapter second to consideration of the
antiquity of man on the Western Continent !;
the diversity of opinion as to the origin OF
the ancient Americans how science views
the question tra6 itional history of the
origin of the Maya Nations, and of the
Nahua Nations. In chapter seven he reaches
the interesting subject of the ancient pueblos
and litf-dwellers, and then considers ancient
American civilization and supposed Old
| World analogies, architecture, sculpture and
hieroglyphics and, in chapter nine, chronol-
ogy, calendar systems andreligious analogies !;
and next, language and its relation to North
American migrations. In chapter eleven,
the next to the last, he considers the proba-
bilities that America was peopled from the
| Old World, as viewed from geographical and
physical standpoints, and as viewed in the
| light of science. The opening and closing
paragraphs of the last chapter we cannot re-
frain from giving i'll full
| The dim uncertainty which envelops the most an
Gent peri d OF American antiquity like that which
/
Trojan history, to say nothing of the origin OF the
venerable Asatc civilizations, renders much of the
effort in this field unsatisfactory. Still the results
| are Of surprising interest new cosmogony, my
thoogy and traditional history full of weird poetic
inspiration such is Legotten IN contemplating the
struggles OF natures children after higher deve-
opment, is added to the fund Of human knowledge.
| The poetry of the Quiche coSmogonv must some day
! find expression in verse of MtOnic grandeur. The
fall of Xibaba will no doubt afford the materials fol
heroic poem which will stand in the same relation
to America that the Iad does to Greece. The doc
trnes of the benign and sanity QuetZalcoat or Gu
kulcan must be cassed among the great faiths Of
mankind, and their author, alone of all the great
| teachers of morals except Christ himself, incu cat
ing positive morality must be granted prece
dence of most OF the great teachers OF Chinese and
Hindoo antiquity. IL is the custom OF many Eu-
ropeans to regard America as having no heroic or
| legendary period, heroes like Achilles 4Eneas,
sgfried, Beowolf, Arthur and the Cid but who will
review the romance of American antiquity and lon
| ger entertain this viewI few years ago, writers
dated North American history from the discoveries
| made by Columbus and his immediate predecessors
Now they go back to the Mortimer for a starting
point. Iay not the beginning be pushed even fur
ther back, and the ancient history Of America re-
ceive the attention of the histriographer?
The uniformity with which the human mind OPP
crates in all lands for the accomplishment OF certain
ends has in many instances resulted in the indie
pendent development Of institutions common to
several peoples This fact, together with the prob
the American shores, will be sufficient to account
for many features which have been discovered IN
Mexican and Central American architecture, art and
religion, presenting analogies with the Old Wo Id
The fact that civilizations having such apologies are
developed in isolated quarters of the globe, sepa
rated rom each other by broad seas and lofty
mountains, and thus indicating uniformity Of men
tai operation and unity or mental inspiration,
added to the fact that the evidence is Of prepen
derating character that the American continent re-
ceived its population from the Old World, leads us
to the truth that God " hath made OF one blood all
nations OF men,.
STUDIES OF THE GREEK POETS. BY John Addington
Symonds In two volumes New York: Harper
Bros. San Francisco A. L. Bancroft & Co.; Svo.,
cloth.
The Studies Of Greek Poets, now reprinted,
appeared in England in two series, published
at an interyalof three or four years. In this
edition, the chapters of both series have been
arranged in their proper order, and certain
additions made, with the view Of rendering
the book more complete as a survey of Greek
poetry. Thus there are inserted several new
TRANSACTIONS in the chapters on the Lyric
Poets and the Anthology. The criticism of
Euripides has been enlarged and the con-
Guiding chapter has been, in great meas
ure, rewritten. Each chapter has undergone,
the editor tells us. such revision and altera-
ton in minor details as might remove unnec-
essary repetitions and bring the whole series
of ESSAYS into harmony. At the same time he
Judged it inexpedient to introduce radical
changes into book which processes to be the
reprint of volumes already known to the pub
lie. The work of Professor Symonds has not
had that attention which it deserves from
a cultured people. These studies are
upon the highest plane of criticism, in
asmuch as they interpret and make
clear aud develop the beauties Of the Greek
text. They are also analytical, and filed
with the results of that research which is
conscientious and made out OF love for the Ia
Dor engaged in Professor Symonds defines
the FIVE periods marking the literature of