Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-05-27

Roman, Gan FRANCISCO.
The last fifty years have completely
changed the method Of writing history.
Dynas.ies, battles, treaties, no longer
make up the body Of historic material,
for the worlds lite is seen to exist in the
lives of its great men--the opinion max
ers, the revolution. starters, the thinkers
of great thoughts, aud doers of great
deeds. The vital essence Of history is
biography. scientifically considered. with
reference to the powerful currents
which have swayed empires, directed the
movements of raees and controlled the
destinies OF mankind.
Few men have contributed SO much to
the new and rational mode Of studying
the past as DR.. John Lord, who has been
famous as a historical lecturer and au-
thor for over forty years, both in Amer
lea and England, and was one Of the
earliest to introduce the Biographical
method" in history. His name is farnil.
lar as household word, and it is not
alone the master minds of our land who
have commended him (sush men as
Webster, Cboate, Prescott, Sumner,
Everett, Woelsey, Dwight. Peabody,
Raymond, Greeley and a long list of
leaders in every department of thought
and activity. but thousands on thou
sands of men and women of superior in.
telllgence, and students in colleges all
over the land, who know we'll tho fasci.
nation laid upon them by Lords His.
torical Lectures" DR.. Lord has been
frequently importuned to publish these
delightful lectures, and at last has con-
cluded that the time has come for him
to put his life's labor into such perma.
nent shape as he is willing to leave it in,
and for several years he has been busily
working over it to that end.
The work as a whole deals with vast
stretch of time and with all the civilized
nations of the earth, and with every
considerable historical event; and yet all
this is done in such an interesting fash
ion, using great individuals twhom
he calls Beacon Lights") as
representative of these epochs
aud movements and events, that one is
ca2tivated by the personal element, and
takes in history almost without realizing
it. You read in these lectures about
great man, his grand qualities and weak
nesses, his loves and hates. his ambi.
tions aud achiev ements, and at the end Of
the discussion of the hero, you find you
have received vivid impression Of the
men and manners and events of great
nation, at a critical epoch in its exist
ence.
Volume deals with Antiquity, from
Moses, "The man who gave the first
recorded impulse to civilization" down
to the foundation Of the Papacy, under
Leo tHt NrTtdt. foOCrdtco ts tuhSh 10 thc
representative of Greek Philosophy;
Pnidias of Greek Art; Julius Caesar, the
type of Imperialism; Cicero of Roman
Literature, the Glory of Rome and
enthronement OF Christianity, while
sacred eloquence, episcopal authority
aud christian theology is represented by
such august names as Chrysostem,
Ambrose and Augustine. They are
grand essays, every ono of them, en-
trancingly interesting, grrndly des-
criptive, entertaining and instructive
beyond expectation; so much so that the
most fulsome praises Of eastern press
notices of this work as the standard
historical work of the age do not do it
more than scant justice. 1t is admirable
literature, and anyone having preten-
sions to library will add to its worth by
placing DIR. Lords Lectures on its
shelves.