New-York tribune., 1908-06-13
r,, cambridge History of English
Literature.

En- In fourteen volumes. Vol l. From
The The End OF the Middle Ages Svo
Nol nv. ssI; i1 6o4 G. P. Putnam's Sons.
often that students are invited to use
,,re the one whose first two volumes
before US. OF briefer works there have
-eny quite as scholarly, not a few more
reen and attractive alike to the easygoing
.,s- snd the deliver after literary lore. But if
Fts already finished forecast the character
i ~ .re,ve volumes which remain TO be pub
u. Nr Ward and MIR. Waller promise to
U.s. history Of such magnitude and au-
,,s- ne other work he found with
~ 1, 20 cor1pare il. With unusual felicity the
- have struck the golden mean between
encyclopaedia and a handbook. The History
-.,s,ends the latter institution not merely by
- or size and thoroughness. but perhaps
-. effectively by avoiding the cardinal sin Of
- ,-s.f histories and historical compendiuns
~.,c, is the centring Of affairs about few
IS. men or events. The first result Of this
snd often useful. distortion is the dwarfing
.n the many lower orders Of genius. The
y. -es,,l. IS the total neglect of broad. sig
,e,e,r but hardly visible. movements Of
iAr.+ and style and the consequent overesti-
-, :, the few great men Of originality and
- Scarcely chapter in either Of the two
,-,es now at hand fails to fulfil the pledge,
-. =, the preface, ito consider subsidiary
ors-,ents and writers below the highest rank.
.-s n trace, in apparently arid periods. proc
.,..s which were often carried on, it were,
underground
7be attention given 10 fugitive literature adds
e. -he usefulness Of the History quite much
80. heishtens its charms. For. after all. is not
.,e greatness Of our literary lineage made ap-
r.-snt 10 less by the multitude of good forgot
san zri-ers than by the few solitary inmortals? q?
However much the scenes may thereby be crowd
~ their perspectives cleared BY the editors
,-.s-uent Of the literature Of science. philosophy
,oi-,cs. parliamentary eloouence. collegiate and
-.lieious matters. newspapers and magazines,
,ubIishers and booksellers: ''honlely books deal
i,r with precept and manners and social life;
domestic letters and street songs: accounts n
--sveI and records Of sport-the whole range Of
ts...-s in its widest acceptance. from the Cam
h-5s. Platonists TO the fraternity OF vagabonds."
That his 11nfenced territory is being covered
,4-hout turning the History into mere encyclo
nadia or stilted chronology is e happy circum-
rsuce which finds its explanation chiefly in the
wide lear lng and literary skill of the many dis
.i-ruished contributors. but also III the flexible
combination OF the historical and topical meth
nss Of exposition wisely adopted by the editors.
The first volume demonstrates the worth of
.s,s editorial policy and the rare merit Of
the individual essays Its twenty chapters
deal with as many phases Of pre-cyclic Eng
ust. and these come from the pens Of sixteen
authorities. To DO Justice TO all these contriou-
ions booklet OF reviews would have TO be writ
-s, The peculiar value Of the volume though,
nav be shown IN a comment or two upon the
,sorough treatment here accorded TO more or
l.x reoondite topics. MI. A c. Paues's brief
cbsp.r on ..Runes and Manuscripts summa-
@y,.. &c mr.
q panitive Germanic alphabets and writing
nst~1sls On the controversy over the origl-
nj Character and purpose OF runes Mr. Paues
likes the most conservative stand; he admits
The irnpo..s.r,tv 90 s-esas-. -sh-ther tho marks
we're primarily letters. ideogTaphs, or, as their
name suggests mystical signs, bearers OF po-
tent magic" Many interesting anecdotes from
primitive literature are cited TO show their magic
function; and other cases prove that, even when
runes were used a means Of communication.
the air Of mystery and witchcraft hung about
them Passing into the realm OF hypothesis, Mr..
Paues remarks that, since the power and force
Of the spoken word easily pass into the symbol
for which il stands. II is not improbable that
th. latter meaning is secondary, the spell be-
coming so 10 speak, materialized in the craven
letter" In making this conjecture he seems TO
confess ignorance. at least disregard, Of the
extensive snthropological records showing the
attitude taken by primitive tribes toward in
scnptions. Had the author considered these he
would doubtless have seen in runic magic moth
ing but function conveniently added to ordi-
rsy writing by priestcraft-
Mr ". Lewis Jones and M. J. z. Sandys con-
rbute each chapter upon neglected themes
ind succeed in showing their historical irnpor-
isnce. Mr.. Jones. writing about Latin Chroni-
4-oyr he Thirteenth Cen
turies" goe. far beyond the beaten path Of
English literature His subject belongs rather
70 the literature Of England. but il is none the
less relevant 10 the task Of the Cambridge His
tory However natural the scant attention may
De which the Latin chroniclers usually receive
in literary histories their writings deserve seri-
Gus notice Mr.. Jones properly calls the latter
tha most remarkable literary monument Of the
revival Of learning following the Norman Con-
guest He says:
Historian. they are far from being, a whole, the
eeooress records which concern the student Of
,v. Par more than their embellisamennts od oi
,5.e e Their tulness and accuracy OF detail ahe h
Anslo-Nornan chronicles is the sense which they
tnd sresT TonaIer 5e.cribe events
a. which they were eye-Hitnesses; they preserEs e
sccsss; tbeV refa a2eodotes gathered from the
ooister, the nnarketplaoe and the court
Nr. Jones's accounts Of Bede. William of
Nainesbury, Georrey of Monmouth and others
reflect this sympathetic appreciation. ana are
"1thal succinct. Mr.. Sandys moves acroSs
slghtly more familiar ground when ne WHITES
s6out English Scholars OF Paris and trancls-
cans Of Oxford These men, among Whofn Ioiili
o' Salisbury Roger Bacon and Duns S0o'us
tsno out prominently. have been nouceo' anu
even studied betirnes by students Of philosophy
Ar sandys however wisely devotes MS pages