The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-05
Books and Authors

Books and Authors
NEW BOOKS 4:
DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION OF THE
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, By John Culinary
50 and ii columbit street. Price. S.
This is very picturesque and attractive
story Of the early explorations of the Miss
issippi River valley including the original
narrative of those eminent pathfinders,
Marquette, Hennepin. Allouez, Membre
and Anastase Douay, with a fine steel
portrait Of La. Sale. There Is q facsimile
Of the autograph map of the Mississippi
or Conception river drawn by Father Mar
quette at the time of his voyage. from the
original preserved at st. Mary's College.
Montreal. The Mississippi river under
the name "River Of the Holy Ghost" was
not unknown to De Soto, who struck it by
very circuitous route and reduced theory
to fact, geographically speaking. SPANS
obtrusion upon the valley was weak from
the first. France crowded her out and be-
came the chief disputant as against Eng
land for the control of the North American
continent There is an interesting ac-
count of Father LIE Clerq's reimbursement
most of the interesting narratives in this
volume have been drawn. The book was
published in 1851 at Paris and dedicated
to the Conlte de Frontenac, governor OF
New France, and contains the narrative OF
the first attempt by La Sale to explore
the Mississippi. The new edition of this
book is a welcome contribution to the lit
erature bearing upon the centenary of the
Louisiana Purchase. -
MASTERPIECES OF LATIN LITERATURE,
Edited by Gordon Jennings Laing, Ph.D. Bos-
ton Houghton, Mifhin & Co., No. 4 Park
street.
While this is not as satisfactory a work
on Latin literature as Sirncox's fine history
which Is far more complete, yet, for an
outline of that literature and an indication
of it's quality, Mr.. Laing has acquitted
himself we'll. He did not have space in
which to give an adequate idea of the
quality of the wit and satire of Petro.
MUS and quotes only a small portion Of his
"Trimalchio's Dinner Horace and Vir-
gil are fairly we'll represented. Tacitus'
account of the fourteenth ward fire in Rome
is given. Livy is represented by some
fine passages, as is Cicero, and the De
Natura Rerum Of Lucretius is quoted suf-
f1ciently to convey a fair Idea of his atomic
theory adapted from Epicurus. Terence's
Mr.. Laing cites Catullus as the "sweetest
| of Roman singers" and gives him twenty
five, pages. Catullus was a most ardent
lover and showed his ardor by quarreling
with Lesbia forty times a day and making
| up. How the pretty woman played with
the youth Che was ten years her junior)
Mr.. Laing has included the poem on the
death OF Lesbia's sparrow and two Of
three on Lesbia's varying moods. CatJl
LUIS longest poem on the nuptials Of Peleu:
and Thetis he does not quote, and per
| haps 1t Is well. Mr.. Laing's biographies
| are admirably written. FIesvery properl,
contends in his Introduction that it is err
ronous to suppose that the Latin writers
were largely copyists from Greek models
The Romans admittedly made no origina
contributions to philosophy and founded
no school of philosophy, but in orator,
they had a method of their own, arth,
deep students of Greek rhetoric, ant
| IN history, satire, lyric poetry, Their
was developed real originality, while tn
Romans were lame in dramatic originality
JEFFERsoNIAN DEMOCRACY, By John R. Dun
IAN Ia.. New York; The Jeffersonian Society, 10
| Liberty street. Price, 80 cents " -
The author refrains from falling bac
platforms for a definition of "Jeffersonia;
democracy" He informs us, however
that 1T is the democracy Of Thomas Jeffer
son, Andrew jackson and Abraham LIN
coin. The first introduced the spoils sys
i TEN as far as the limited number Of OF
i fees permitted. promulgated the dognn
i Of state sovereignty eenabodying thee rich
1 or a state to- secede, ztat;.f dogrn
! which ultimately brought about the blood
struggle for the preservation Of til
! union; opposed the collection by the fed
eral government Of a national tax :levie
upon whisky for revenue purposes by cor
Il gress. and favored letting the revoltin
taxpayers alone. The second Jefferson
tan,' In 1888, gave the tJeffersonian doc
/ ma OF ton a clubbing with. tn
force bill which authorized him to us
troops for the collection Of customs
South Carolina, where the Jeffersonia
democrats undertook to oppose the co
lection Of tariff duties by the federal 20,
eminent. This exponent OF sJeffersonia
principles also acted upon the principl
as Webster put 1t, that it was permitte
to him to do whatever public 'opinic
y sanctioned; or to express it more simpl
that it was permitted to him to do wha,
!, ever he could do. An analysis of tn
principle reveals something which Je
fersonians tell us is not Jeffersonian at a.
The third "Jeffersonian'' named, is tt
man who met the peril and menace while
struck at national existence and whit
: were the outgrowth of the PARTICULARS
of Jefferson and the autocracy of Jacl
7 son, and actualized a, loftier sentine]
, Of human rights and. human liberty the
can be found in the platitudes of Jeffe
son, based on the, crude conceptions +
! Jean Jacques Rousseau, or in the pate
demagogism of jackson thru its who
r range. In this volume the author Civ
) q. very pessimistic view Of existing -cond
, tions In this country and concurrent
: assures US that his idol Jefferson's inf,
ence is still dominant and pervades eve
fibre of our governmental systems. If s
according to his own showing, the soon
4 we get rid of what remains of Jefferso
0 1anism the better will it be for the cou
:. try. The author knows very we'll tn
Jefferson said good many fine things
print which he never undertook to put
practice. After he became president
found that his theories were not built
meet positive, tangible conditions and CT
e cumstances. Hamilton's theories on t
n contrary, were SO adapted. Governme
: according to circumstances has triumph
: over the weaker Jeffersonian theory. viii
has been a failure in practice. :.