The Portland daily press., 1881-02-19
Recent Publications.


the usual way of his work, and alien to his es-
| sentially modern and everyday manner. But
| after reading some pages of the present work
| one discovers that the same even and minute
| style, painting quiet stroke upon stroke leisure
| ly and lifelike, is as effective in the biography
of an antique character as in the records of the
political aspirations and feats of Phneas Finn;
or of the ducal home of Omnium 1t must be
understood that Mr.. Trollope's work is not
written as literary study or as contribution
to the respectable but not widely read cl ass of
books that appeal strictly to the accomplished
student of the classics-but rather for the in
telligent, cultivated and social public that
know Cicero very well by name and fame
can quote some phrases of his perhaps, and
will be interested to know what manner of
man he was, in the midst of his contempora-
ries. Mr.. Trollope has taken an excellent
middle ground between erudite dryness on
the one hand, and inadequate and too easy
work on the other. His Life of Cicero shows
familiar acquaintance with the Latin litera-
ture and history; and has that indefnable fla
vor of ease and understanding the sympathy
with the spirit of the times of which he writes
that gives the reader sense of comfort in the
perception that Mr.. Trollope has not suddenly
prepared himself for the work. moved by some
new literary ambition or opportunity for max
ing his pen profitable by means of salable
popular life of Cicero-but has well assmilat-
ed his material; and can sketch the times of i
the great orator with broad effect, instead OF
the disconnected details which are the result
of sudden study and the combining of infor-
Ha drar = tba ~
ly, he places him against well-set scene, and
the accessories of anecdote and incidental por-
traits of Cicero's contemporaries are Syirited
and effective. This work IS something of
literary experiment in antique biography, the
translation, so to say, of the life of old Ro-
man into modern speech and ideas. 1t is vol
ume which will very greatly interest the re-
fined and intelligent public which Mr.. Troll
lope is in the habit of addressing. And there
appears to be no cause for the learned special
lists in Latin literature to look slightingly up
on its familiar and modern character. 1t is in
many ways remarkable work, and Mr.. Troll
lope should receive praise and substantial rec
ognition for so worthy and well-executed an
undertaking.
Certain Men of Mark. Boston: Roberts |
Brothers; Portland: Loring, Short & Harmony |
is a volume of well-contrasted sketches of prom
inent living men, written by Mr.. George Make |
peace Towle. This group of portraits includes |
Gladstone, Bismarck, Gambetta, Beaconsfeld, |
CASTELAR,, Victor Hugo, John Bright, and |
three Emperors. These sketches are clearly |
written and in an agreeable style. Mr.. Towle |
does not sacrifice brevity or historic truth to |
l..
bilities-and the result is volume of bio |
graphical essays of sound and fresh quality, set |
off by each other with excellent effect.
Shakspere. His Mind and Art. By Ed
ward Dowden, LII. d. (New York Harpers;
Portland: Loring, Short & Harmony The
mass of Shaksperian comment is immeasur-
able. 1t would seem that contact with Shaks-
peres thought electrifes peoples minds into
immediate activity-often more vigorous than |
useful. Every sentence of the great dramatist |
has been exhaustively discussed; his punctua-
tion and spelling, casual as they might be- |
gazed upon with the faith of devotees, and |
every word wrung dry to squeeze out some
meaning hitherto unguessed at. Fanciful |
critics have embroidered in their neatest style |
of verbal needlework the rich, plain texture of |
Shabspere's speech. Pompous reviewers |
have built top-heavy theories on some frail |
phrase of his; and all--except those who be- |
lieve he was Lord Bacon and thus shift the re- |
sponsibilty of Shaksperes genius by proving |
an alibi-agree in declaring that all wisdom |
and mystic meaning of life is gathered togeth-
er in these works, with premeditation and de- |
OF fboo
in believing to have occurred to the sunlit and |
healthful soul of Shakspere himself OF these |
Commentators, more or less ingenious and de- |
s.rable, Professor Dowden is one of the very |
best. The keynote which he strikes often in |
course of his work is Shaksperes continual |
looking to fact. Fact of every kinl, in the |
broadest meaning of the word, was, he thinks,
the foundation of Shakspere's plays. Profess
sor Dowdens position as Vice President of the
New Shaks2ere Society of course acquaints
him with the multitude of views which are
taken of the great dramatist and his work;
and partly, it is probable, from these, but still
more from his own very substantial and rea-
sonable way of looking at the subject, and
thorough and enthusiastic study has arranged
series of chapters which may profitably be
cisms are acute, sympathetic and by no means
fantastic. In them is to be noted similar
quality to that which makes Professor Rofe's
edition of Shakspere so valuable, direct and
unaffected desire to find the actual meaning
Of the poet without sef-conscious critical feats.
Professor Dowden's volume may rightly be
considered among the leaders of Shaksperian
comment.
Adam Smith. By j. A. Farrar, Author of
Primitive Manners and Customs New York:
G. P. Putnam's Sons; Portland: Loring, Short
& Harmony is designed as the initial volume
of Series of English Philosophers. The tone
of this series, the editor announces, will not be
especially critical, but they will lay before the
reader the systems of the various thinkers
which they represent without serving the in
terests of any one school of thought. This ex-
cellent method seems to have been adopted
lest the size of the series become unmanage-
able, since, as Mr.. Farrar wittily observes,
''the size and number of the volumes compiled
by each leading Philosopher are chiefly due to
the necessity which Philosophers have gener-
ally considered imperative, of demolishing all
previous systems of Philosophy before they
commence the work of constructing their
own"
So, for the most, the reader is left to take as
he pleases the old Adam Smiths views on
Ethics.
Don John, the most recent volume of the
No Name Series Boston: Roberts Brothers;
Portland: Loring, Short & Harmony must have
been written by Jean Ingelow. Indeed the
authorship is so apparent in every trait and
detail of the novel that it is impossible to
think of any other writer as concerned in it.
OF the MANY pleasant volumes which this sue