Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1903-04-04
Books, Bookish People and Things
We get no good BY being unsenerous even to a book.
E. B. Browning

letters, laziness or downright dishon-
esty.
Many book is never read. but mere
ly glanced over, yet spoken of favor
ably or otherwise. (
The reviewer on n newspaper should
be perfectly Independent of the policy
of the paper: a free lance so far as his
opinions of books are concerned, I'M
affected by the mere side Of ques-
ton; neither religious nor anti-relig-
ious. democratic nor republican, expan-
sionist nor anti-expansionist. Yet we
find columns in which book advance
ing certain theories cannot hope for
fair treatment, and so, with the ex-
ception of a few of the best reviewers,
the hired critic pitches into any book
that does not agree with the policy of
his paper.
Some time ago a certain book was
sent to certain newspaper of large
circulation which published the fol-
lowing favorable notice:
IAN interesting up-to-date book
The author is a careful writer, and has
given us much OF value"
Owing TO some error, the publishers
three months later, sent another copy
of the same book to the same paper,
and the same reviewer, having forgot
ten his previous notice of the book,
said in his column:
1T does not seem possible for a man
10 say anything new on this dull sub
ject The author does not give the i'm
preston OF ready writer"
This emphasizes the truth of what
one Of our best authors wrote me re-
gently:
"Guesswork, as you have doubtless
noticed that the average newspaper
notice Is. 1t may say anything, and,
generally, says nothing"
!. = !.
Love and Its Affinities. By George
f. Butler, VI. ID. illustrated. G. p.
Englehardt q Co., Chicago. 1873 pages
sl.25.
While this book may not appeal to
a large class Of readers owing to the
inherent subtleties OF the subject, many
will welcome II for this very reason,
and approve Of the tasteful way in
which delicate questions have been
treated The author lays no claims to
special originality or force OF. argu-
ment," but he has gathered from all
sources both prose and poetry. from
science and art, what will interest any
reader who owns philosophical mind.
In his preface the author says:
The subject of the present thesis is
one which lies at the foundation OF So
ciety; permeates albeit unconsciously,
the thoughts. the aspirations and the
spiritual welfare OF mankind II is
consequently impossible to present in
Il few general observations the mani
fold phases Of so vast an inquiry"
For the space provided, the author
has done this very well, showing a
wonderful amount of reading on the
subject, and ready facility OF reference
TO classical and scientific works bear
ing upon love and its manifestations
He begins with the treatment Of the
early life OF man when Phaelicism
held universal sway" traces the pc
ruliar relation Of religious impulsion
TO sexual instinct, and refers the read
or 10 such writers as Knight, Wester-
marCk, Irwin, Kroft- Ebing, Spitzka,
Clifford Howard, II. Ellis, Acton a.
STRENGTHENING.
DR.. Butler evidently has written this
hnnl a "a la hnr .F aals, "a.
reives from the reader no credit for
any new opinions, but impresses him
with the amount of selected material
which he so sklllfully uses in his work.
Spencer's definition of the Passion
that unites the sexes" is given on page
II, Other authors, more or less fully
quoted, are; Tn, Ribot, Delboef, Out
tard, Burton Goethe. Xavier de Mais-
tire, Ruiz Zorillo, Byron, Bronti, Plato,
Sappho, Aristotle, Socrates, Lucien,
Publius Syrus, Quintilion, Virgil, HON.
er, Ovid, Dante, Shakespeare, The Kor-
an, Milton, Sydney, Alferi, Gray,
Kingsley, Michelet, Nine. Roland, j. J.
Rousseau, Chateau Oriond, Shelby.
Pope, Cousin, Balzac, Gauthier, Hume,
Beeton, Campion, Weir, Rochefocauld,
Argouve, FuGusi, Sadi, Rosetti, Chas.
Lamb, Thackeray. Mozart, Hawthorne,
Francis Parkman, o. w. Holmes, Whit,
tier, Tennyson, Emerson, Browning,
Luther Gulick, Walt Whitman, lola,
James Lane Allen, Henry James, Z.
b. Browning, Coleridge, Barry Corn
wall, Symonds, DR.. Mott. Walhouse,
Lady Dacre, Margaret Fuller, John
Shorey, Prof, Dowden, Anne Bonner
man, Wordsworth, Thereau, Mere NEE.
Emma Lazarus, Heine, Nine. de stael
Hountin Garland.
+ + J.
Knunn,no.. A.. ~, -, .,