New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-06-25
A "DICTTONARY OF THOUGHTS.'
WORK WORTHY OF MORE CARE.

A DICTIONARY OF THOUGHTS Being Cyclopedla
Of Laconc Quotations from the Be; An tho hG5n
Alphabetically a arranged By subjects PIP. xiv GA
One useful characteristic Of book Of this sort Is
that It presents authors, even those whose ~or"s
are most familiar In n aspect II Is found that
some who are most readable In bulk are least sus
gesve in minute epigrammaic phrase VINO
would think Of comparing Disfnei ">th thc great
writer's? Yet he capable Of sharper ana more
Quotable sentences than many OF them His remark
that the most noble criticism is that In which the
critic is not the antagonist much the rival
OF the author" Is very wise and plthy saying
Many writer's are incapable OF putting II Thought III
the fewest words; they seek TO make 1t more COM
prehensble with many, and are less lahoy IN com
monpace books than others more sPiring In phrase
Yet they are oftener the better 10 read quaint
antithesis makes a thought useful TO the borrower
which may be II distraction and an annoyance to the
person who only wishes to learn 10 admire
In the copous array OF paragraphs collected IN MS
volume one will find many of the vices ms well rs
the virtues OF style In English. The question Ii
whether the word dictionary can be applied TO such
n collection without some strain upon us meaning.
1t is certainly scattering definition OF word that
one gets by the group OF sentences arranged beneath
IT, Take the word world 70 which DR.. Edwar"S
dcvotcs two pages Of his book. How Is II possible
TO harm0nize what Eulwer called that one >a''
thought Of God with that place the only ichc'
against which, according 10 Locke, us 'horouoh
knowledge OF IT,. or with that where happiness
consisted as Walpole said, In n hard heart and "A
good DIGESTION Yet all these PAGES are called Tie
world and so was that which Augustine said never
paid what II promised. In these cases the thoughts
are as widely separated In their real purpNt ~
though they had not even sound In common
The connection among them Is merely phonetic or
verbal. 20 1t is not sure that The compiler nus
improved on the title OF his smaller work, The
80 temD "a "a
wor, of this kind some fanciful superscnptioh Is
shown in the list which DR.. Edwards has given
Of books 10 which he is indebted Burning Words
OF Brilliant Writer'S Living Thoughts OF Living
Thinkers, Stars from the Poets ara Thinkers
Heaven OF All Ages" Gems Of Thought "sced
GRAIN, and ~ Oh TO a pint where patience ceases
10 he virtue.
Dir. Edwarlss plan Of arrangement Is simple and
apparently IN WORKS fairly well. Quota
tons rule ranged under the most striking
word they contain or u suggestive cogiatc a sen
tence with the adjective worldly" Is likely TO BE-
fouid under world and another with the verb to
nate under hatred" But the rule Is by means
Uniform. The reader viii hardly think Of looking
under conscience" for the saying Of Garfield that
the who succeed best In public life are those
who take the risk Of standing by their own convlc
TONS Nor dots the word habit suggest the re-
mark of Burke. II an idiot were 10 tell you the
came story every day for year you would end by
believing MINI" Mess from the context IL Is not tbs
rtadi ST device 10 associate with courts AMI courcro
the phrase Of Dryden, see how he sets ms couite-
deceit those poor wrclches" In Shake
spearc that depend on greatness favor dream and
wake and find nothing Nor would one look az inc
| will execute under custom Tor the
world leads follow" translated from Seneca.
Dandy" hardly sug gests the quotation from RvarO
but II Is fools coat STILL IN this the
aphorism Is repeated In its proper place under the
heading FOOLS speaking OF dandics, DR.. Edwards
cites the sensible remark Of Bulwer that when irst
rate, they are generally very agreeable mcn." a
person VINO 10 be spoiled By line clothes will
generally be found to have been defective before the
clothes were put on.
lii general II the most significant word In n de-
sired passage be remembered the passage itself
may be found II In the book but as already pointed
these exceptions often the most quOtablc Passages
to be found In the list The names OF authors
the book. but no attempt Is made to indicate the
pages where they cited the render Is left without
The assistance which thorough index OF authors
would furnish. This Is serious matter where
nearly 1000 writer's cited. Another defect Is
that effort Is made to refer ~ the works from
which the thoughts taken. Riehtiully, each para
graph should be accompanied with indications Of It's
source. 2r at least OF the place from which the
compiler ob,afhed 1t. Even where there two
authors OF the same name-iOr example. the Dsraclis
no attempt Is made TO distinguish them. IN nj least
one case the remark Is credited TO different
PERSONS when the argument, You ask II shall
know friends In heaven; do you suppose We are
tributcd 10 Emmons and in another Ia Evans As
more Evanses than one are cited II the book. the
difficulty Of fixing the authority forNhls remark by
means OF this volume alone is insupcrablc. The |
aphorsm. Truth Is not only violated by falsshood
II may I've equally Outraged by silence Is attributed
TO an unknown author. Amien; but OF course the
reader w here e. rsnsy supply the NAM A,'
wards has made copions and intrinsicaiIy an rx
ceent collection. he has failed to make his material
accessible.