The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-11-09
LITERARY LEAVES.
JOHN FIskE, THE DISTINGUISHED
HISTORIAN.

birthplace OF MIR. ftske-Connrctton
With Howard College Practice of Law
Outlines Of Co.mic Philosophy Ia
says ON Various Subjects
Among the men of the present gen.
GRAFTON, says The Book Buyer, who.
BY force and breadth of intellect have
won the respect Of scholars and the ad
miration Of the public. few. IL any.
Americans stand higher than John
Fiske. Possessing mind of extraordi-
nary strength and clearness, tena-
cious memory that places everything
that he has ever read at his immediate
disposal, and catholic and highly cult
waited tastes, his equipment Tor tne
work of original investigation IN the
field of history or philosophy is unu-
eualIy complete. Added to these quail
ties is n style of marvellous fiexlbllity'
simplicity. and lucidity. Mr.. Fiske IS
now ir the prime of life. lie was born
10 Hartford, Connecticut, on March on;
fSlS, being the only child OF Edmund
Brewster Green. of Smyrna, Delaware.
who married Mary Fiske Bound, OF
Niddletown, Connecticut. His fa,her
WAS the editor of newspapers
in Hartford, New York, ana
Panama. where he died in 1892. In
1858. when her son was thirteen years
old the widow married the Hon. Edwin
w. Stoughton, once United States Min
ister 10 Russia. Up TO this time the
iadi, name had beer Edmund Fiske
Green. but he now took the name OF his
maternal great grandfather, John Fiske.
From his earliest childhood until loOO
Young Fiske divided his time between
bis mothers home, in New York, ana
his grandmother in Niddletown. 10
tbis day he feels himself more at home
in New York than III Boston. which he
saw for the first time in 1860, when he
entered the sophomore class at Harvard
College. His strong taste for the
sciences aud the languages had long
since made itself manifest. Before he
was eight years old he had read all OF
Sbakespeare's plays. At eighteen, be-
sides his Greek and Latin, he could read
fluently French, Spanish, Portuguese,
Italian, and German, and had gained
a fair command of Dutch, Danish.
Swedish, and Anglo-Saxon. besides
making beginning in lcelandlc'
Gothic, Hebrew, Chaldee, and Sanskrlt.
Tn college the studies of which he was
e,pe,,islIy fond were history, philoso-
phy. and comparative philology. He
was graduated from the college in 1868,
and from the Hazard Law School two
wears later. Mr.. Fiske. opened a law
office in Boston, and found 1t conve-
nient place for studying history. while
ne waited six months for clients. Then
he made up his mind TO devote himself
exclusively to literature. His first
book, which was preceded by many
ESSAYS in reviews, magazines. and news
papers. was Myths and Myth
published in 1862. This was followed
M 1874 by a work which Immediately
attracted the notice of many Of the
keensst minds in England and the United
States-Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy.
Other volumes of essays on philOsoph-
ical. historical, religious, artistic, sci
entific. and literary topics followed
The Unseen World and Other Essays,
Darwinism and Other Essays, and Ex-
oursions of an Evolutionist. The pair
OF little books entitled The Destiny of
Man and its sequel, The Idea of God.
NAV be recommended as an epitome OF
Mr.. Fiske's general philosophical views.
During the last ten years Mr. Fiske has
devoted his time almost exclusively to
American history; and the beauty OF
his style and the philosophical spirit
with which he traces cause and
effect in the development Of politi-
cal ideas give fascinating in
terest to his historical works. Mr..
Fishes home. is in Cambridge.
Mass, where he spends all of his time
with his wife and six children when he
is not travelling about the country lee
turing. Since 1879 he has been men,
Der of the Board of Overseers of Har-
ward University, and from 1872 to 1879
he was assistant librarian in that insti-
tuition. He has visited Europe several
times, remaining once for an entire
year, and has lectured before the Royal
Institution in London and the Philoso-
phical Institution at Edinburgh. lie
numbers among his friends, most Of the
men in England. eminent in science and
literature, who were first attracted by
the skill with which he expounded the
philosophy of Spencer.