Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-01
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BookIOuer

men might fail to find a parallel. To
Hilaire Belloc. however, writing the
biography "Richelieu," the likeness APP
pears striking. He says: Were Plutarch
to return he would find no better mod
ern subject for parallel of lives than
| those of Richelieu and Bismarck" In
/ laying down his principal theses he con-
/ tinues: Each born in the nobility Of his
realm, each some distance from its high
| est ranks, each rose to be the chief in
! title. Each served a dynasty, and each
died leaving his crowned master at the
very summit of power. Each constructed
| and consolidated realm, and each tr1-
umphed through a combination of dip
| lomatic, political and military qualities"
Both Richelieu and Bismarck, depart
! ing from the turbulent scenes which
| they had helped to create left behind
| them brilliant succeeding epochs-Rich-
elieu the age of Louis XIV and Bis
marck the age of Prussian domination
under the latest Hohenzollern.
| X 4 x X
In physical appearance Richelieu, the
| subtle Frenchman, and Bismarck the
rough German, were in direct contrast.
No two figures are more opposed than
! the square, full-blooded, blunt face of
the one, the pointed chin and finely
| cut, pale features of the other; the
! subtle fire and readiness to restrain or
| spring which Richelieu's face conveys,
the deceptive mark of brute simplicity
which covers Bismarck's. The bodies
are in similar opposition. 1t is the OK
and the Leopard. II has been
said that the one might be likened to
strong ale, the other to a rare brandy"
Richelieu was always something of an
invalid, more so as the years advanced;
Bismarck enjoyed the most robust
health, even to old age, and in spite of
abuses of overeating. Both were men
of tremendous will power, but the quail
ity of their wills differed. "Bismarck's
Will had not that inciSive, rapier quail
ity, that quality of highly tempered
steel-fexible, unbreakable, of mortal
effect, decisive a sword-which' had
| Richelieu's. Bismarck's will had rather
the quality of a crowbar. sometimes to
be used as bludgeon. In the govern
ment of self, Bismarck's will broke
down from time to time, as Richelieu's
never did; and after all, the government
OF self is the supreme test of will. Bis
marck quarreled, often foolishly, in
private matters; under rebuff he was
even peevish. I am not suggesting that
his will was not strong; it was very
strong; and the metaphor I have used
of the crowbar and the bludgeon does
not suggest weakness. But it lacked
| temper. OF Richelieu think you may
say that it was the most highly tenn
pered will in modern history"
X X r
Both Richelieu and Bismarck devoted
~ served and were loyalty supported by
royal masters. Both created and made
skilled use of expert secret services.
Both commanded the assistance of good
subordinstes. but both had to contend
with court jealousies and hatreds, which
they were nevertheless able to combat,
outwit or ignore. Religious and politi-
cal differences hampered both states
men in their efforts to consolidate their
nations. The fundamental resemblance
between these two great historical fig
ures is one of both aim and achieve
ment. Rlchel1eu gave as a model to the
world united and organized French
state; Bismarck created an organized
ana outwardly unified Germany, though
Hilaire Belloc speaks of it as IAN artifi-
cal nation" whose very principle is the
denial OF German unity and the exclu-
sion from that Germany of whatever
among Germans could outweigh the
power of the Hohenzollerns. The
effect OF the joint accomplishment of
Rlchelleu and Bismarck was "the emer-
gence of nationalism as a chief motive
Tor action in men and the consequent or
accompanying reduction of the Catholic
culture to the defensive under the SUI
premacy OF anti-Catholic and mainly
Protestant forces"
With the first issue of the Subscrip-
tion BOOKS Bulletin, new quarterly,
the American Library Association Of
fers schools and homes a solution to
the perplexing problem Of selecting ref
erence works from among the MANY
DOCKS and sets presented by canyassers
throughout the United States and
Canada. Because bulky volumes cam
not be judged by glancing at few pic
lures or reading scattered paragraphs,
purchasers of subscription sets have
frequently made their selections at ran
dom. AS result reference books of
great merit have sometimes been neg
lected, while home and school IL
orarleS have acquired books which have
served no purpose save to fill a shelf
OF the bookcase. This new bulletin tells
definitely whether or not a set is ac-
curate, reliable. up-to-date, appropri-
ately' illustrated, and we'll indeXed. its
opinions being based on the investiga-
tons and experience of many librarians
throughout the country. If a book is
suited for home or school use, it is so
recommended, and if not, the objections
are stated clearly and concisely. Fiji
teen subscription sets are reviewed in
the first issue and others will be dis
cussed in subsequent numbers. In the
meantime information regarding still
other sets may be obtained through a
section of the bulletin given over to an
index of reviews previously published
elsewhere. On inquiry it has been
learned that copies of the bulletin will
be found in the reading room of the
Public Library.
Almost any book on China published
for a number of years past might be
called timely" The changing Chinese
situation, always tense nowadays, also
gives opportunity for any one who
knows anything about China to put 1t
into print, and hardly month passes
without some ones selling this oppor-
tunity. One of the recent books on
China is "A History of the Far East
in Modern Times" by Harold M. Vim
acke. 1t is book to be read with in
terest, both by the person who knows
much about China and wishes to have
his knowledge corroborated and system
atized and by the person who knows
little and wishes to have a brief con-
else account of the history of modern
China. Much attention is given to the
relations of the United States and
China, in connection with which many
references are made to Americans in
Eastern ASIA" by Tyler bennett of the
State Department
X X X X
Journeys to Tibet have almost the
flavor of Mandeville's travels, and so
few visit that forbidden land that it is
easy for writers about it to exaggerate,
somewhat in the style of Vaudeville.
John Easton, young Englishman, ia
miliar with India, enjoyed an adven-
turous holiday on the Tibet highway
and also enjoyed writing about 1t in
| Inf ItoI1 N. -,