New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-08-30
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
M, ,NcppoYE AND voLrAIRE.


xrvcppoEE: An Historical study. And vOLTAIfh
BoLN ENGLAND. BY john CHURros COLLINS lzmo
M xit 28i Harper brothsrs
The ESSAYS here reprinted from The Qaare'y
pc,i,,r and The CornMU Magazine are OF inucn
more permanently important character IMAM mus
contributions TO the general periodical press iney
are historical monographs embodying the result Vi
n good deal of independent research. partly ahio"s
nnpublished materials and throwing light upon
.srsst,no periods in the lives of their iliustrlous
,h;scts which have been very imperfectly stuIiou
no all the biographers. The 6rst might without
rraue ur,tenson have been STYLED a Lille oil bohhS-
hroke. for although il 10 brief 1T covers all 1no
necessary ground parrates the whole of that eNna.
binary mans exciting public career explains III u0'".
the polit:cal contests in which he pisyeu p'
araws a lively portrait of his character, ana sur
veys his literary and philosophical writings ""u no
influence upon the thought of his time i.'''0
wanting to set before us a hvirg image VI o"
tho ahles, n,eanest most brilliant most prohiga'e'
most accomplished. and most treacserouS " ."
Fnulish statesmen who have ever shohe III pam"
,~ao,arv contests or excelled in cabinet lntrgues'
o,e Of the most notoriously unprincipled OF no"'
Ia was M the same time one of the most Iasc'n"'
;,o Ua fascinates even in the posthumous'rccoiu
ot his disgraeeful Ife A wit. scholar. a 'n"o''-
pher renowned for the perfection OF MS "'sn,"o''
and the charm of his address the iiiou" VI Wv,
Cav Swift. Atterbury. Prior. VOltalre' lover Oh
i,,a .tters nd of all refined society," MS country
h,use was tho meeting place OF all that was oeS'
49,, Lnov,na 10 the higher circles of literature
ana in the famous company assembled 'ne'e ',o
49,, himself was the most cultivated and agreeable
e., while he was winning hearts by his personal
craces. he was earning immortal dishonor by his
nautical rascalities. The type is not uncommon
but OF all known combinations of the scamp anu
the gentleman Bolin gbrOke is the most liIustriouS
He was master of an exquisite English STYLE ana
he would be of the greatest prose writers In 're
language if tie value of his matter bore Il .usV
nroportion to the beauty of his expression but his
noltical writings were designed for a temporary
and often ienobe purpose and. like his correspond
ence we're habitually insincere; while his phh'-
soohieal essays once he'll in esteem, are now admired
10 he superficial and uusound. His attacks upon
Christianity are far below the requirements o the
modern free-thnker. If religion at the present
day had no more formidable enemy to confront than
Lord Bolingbroke the churches might feel secure.
Mr. Collin. rasses Judgment upon Bolingbrosc 5
works without subjectiug them TO critical analy-
sis giving US his conclusions but not the process
by which he arrives at them. We do not know ln''
there is any ground for complaining OF this re- /
Gomez although IN the case of an author 50 widely
celebrated and, we suspect, 80 little READ, mort
thorough a. examination Of his productions would DC
interesting His personal influence upon oluel
au,hors is well known to have been powerful, ana
be impressed his age far more by the prncipie'
which re insilled into his literary friends than by
ALI that he published over his own name. As
every one is aware he the source OF the deisti-
cal philosophy of Pope; it is hardly too much 10
attribute TO him the whole scheme ana llne ol
thought of the Essay on Man." and no was tne
inspiration of the Moral Essays" and the " I'M
itations of Horace" 1t is not gen orally known now
ever how much he did TO frame the opinions OF a
writer very different from Pope we mean Noltaire'
and to this topic Mr. Collins devotes some ireSn
and valuable pages. VOitaire was intimate WIN
Bohngbrokc during the EnGlisimaDs exile III
france and afterward during his own exile in Eng
lnd and to the end of his life he made no secret OF
his obi sations to philosopher whom he regarded
a. ms MASTER As their connection has never been
carefully treated by the biographers. either French
DR. English, the estimate of it presented by Mt
Collins is worth serious attention.
Voltaire's residence ir England certainly had a
profound and permanent influence upon his oph
ions, perhaps may say upon the whole current o
European thought 1t is remarkable therefore
that this period of three years should have been 50
generally treated a hopelessly obscure chapter III
his life Mr. Collins following partly the recent
biorraphy ly Desnoiresterres and partly certain
lines of investigation of his own. has succeeded III
setting forth pretty clear and complete account OF
sVpltaire in England" 1t is the story of his per-
sonal lic-not always very creditahle rather than
of the origin and growth of his opinions. Told
with vlvacity and with ample knowledge OF the
society III which Voltaire moved. it is a highly en-
PERTAINING as vel valuable addition to the popu-
lar knowledge of Voltaires career
II is a pity that the praise demanded by the sub
stance of Mr.. Collnss book cannot also be ex
tended to its style, That is an imitation OF Ma
caulav 80 fragrant that one cannot take it quit
seriously even when II is most successful. MI
Collins gives Us all the mannerisms OF his orgna
as well as all that he of his merits The rhetor
ical pomp the swift falling emphasis the m as
ured pauses the balance of epigram and antithesls
the ingenious variety of illustration, the frequen
substitution of alusion for direct statement, TIN
trick of defining person instead of naming him
all these characteristics noticeable in his pages
Sometimes the imitation is won derfully clever
now and then it is little droll. But good or bad
the essential fault remains that 1t is an imitation
For quarterly reviewer, the style OF Macaulay /
exceedingly effective-n the hanus of Its owner
But nobody looks well parading in what we know
O be borrowed fneIy.