New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-09
BENTLEY. BY X. c. JEBB, NJ. A., IL. ID. 1Gmo, PIP
02l IIarper & Brother.

BENTLEY. BY X. c. JEBB, NJ. A., IL. ID. 1Gmo, PIP.
22l. Harper Br0ther
Richard Bentley has properly place, and not an
inferior one among English men of letters, but he
is not to be reckoned among English writers. lie
contributed nothing to English literature; and it
may be doubted whether it vas worth while, so far
az the general public IS concerned, for Mr.. John
Morley to include him in the series which he is
editing with distinguished ability. Bentley, if not
the greatest of British scholars, was the first
British scholar who took high position as a critic
of the classical literature of Greece and Rome And
he not only did this but he made himself, in the
course of life largely filled with dIsputaton, the
father of the modern school of criticism which has
accomplished much for the purihcaton OF the
text of the Greek and Latin authors whose works
were brought anew to the attention OF the world
at the time of the Renaissance but which were left
in a deplorable state of imperfecton and corrup-
ton. The modern German school Of criticism may
be said to begin with the work of Richard Bentley.
Tho life of such a man has little of incident to
attract the attention of posterity. Nor was there
in Bentleys personality anything either very strlk-
ine or very pleasing. He "pegged away" at his
opponents. and generally vanquished them by a
nnon of learning of critical insight and of down
right arrogance He made rough places plain by
clearing away rubbish, and by rolling the heavy
weight of his pondcrous learning over them. Crlti-
| cal scholarship is greatly indebted to him; but
| having said this of him we have nothing more to
say. There is hardly a less interesting object
| among the noble crowd of British men of letters.
Remarkably this man who was so subtle and so
sound in his classical criticism is known in the his
tory of English literature by work which is from
beginning to end stupendOus and ludicrous
blunder. He undertook to edit the paradise
Lost; he toiled and sweated over it he almost re-
wrote it, and the result was an edition which has
passed into utter oblivion except one of the
curosities of literature. Copies of 1t now rare
simply because they have for hundred years been
absolutely worthless They are good to kIndle fires
wIthal for nothing else. A copy would not sell at
auction now rare as the book is, for 80 cents And
| this leads us to say that the real value Of the
critical ability and the learning of such men as
Bentley is apt to be much overrated There is
nothing in literature barren of living interest
verbal criticism One song of Burns, one chapter CT
The Scarlet Letter." is in real literary value for
| the world worth the whole of it.
Dr. Jebbs work. as might have been expected, is
excellent of its kind. 1t is discreet candid, ap-
preciative and admirably written critical history OF
its subject. Those for whom that subject has in
tercst will find it satisfactorily full and notably
| discriminating One fact which is candidly SCI
| forth by Dr. Jebb will be new even to most
scholars. Bentley first attained his great reputa
ton by dispute with Boyle upon the Epistles o.
Phalaris the spuriousness of which he demonstrated
from internal evidence The discussion was Ions
! and bitter. 1t proves now that Boyle himself die
not believe them genuine; and it matters little
whether he did or not.