CURRENT LITERATURE.

Catena Classicorum. The Demonicus and Panegyrics of Isocrates. Edited by J. E. Sandys. (Rivingtons.)—There is no doubt but that the works of Isocrates are, as Mr. Sandys says, "a useful study in the choice of words." Though far inferior to Demosthenes in force and dignity of expression, he successfully cultivated during a life of all but a century in duration the profession of the rhetorician, and his style, though occasionally too complex and disfigured by an extreme elaboration and artificiality, is, on the whole, highly attractive. The two specimens of his writings which Mr. Sandys has edited have also an independent interest for us in their subject-matter. The Dernonicus is a series of shrewd and sensible maxims put together for the benefit of a youth with whose father the writer was well acquainted, and sometimes reminds us of Lord Chesterfield's "Letters to His Son." Demonicus was to be made a man of the world ; but there are occasional appeals to the love of virtue for its own sake and to aspirations reaching beyond the present world. The Panegyricus is a specimen of a kind of oratory to which Isocrates peculiarly devoted himself. He is said to have spent ten years in its composition. Its title indicates that it was designed for recitation at one of the great public festivals, and it is an appeal to the Greeks to undertake an expedition against Persia under the leadership of Athens and Sparta. The interest lies chiefly in the claims put forward on behalf of Athens to be a centre of intellectual life and culture ; the thought which runs through the famous funeral oration of Pericles. The notes of Mr. Sandys are sufficiently copious, and aeem to elucidate every difficulty. In the frequent translations which he gives the meaning of the author is accurately given in clear idiomatic English. We eometimes meet with what appears to be an exception, as in Demonicus, Note 10, where the antithesis between IrpoaipEac and cb4202 would have been better preserved by rendering the first "deliberate choice," instead of "principle." Words are carefully distinguished e.g., ylic6401, bassoia; vrkza, xpilaa ; ushrhav, rsx1.61119tos ; 807,acs, Ircepa&WA; dm. Mr. Sandys' notes on these words are very clear and precise. He has also evidently taken pains to keep abreast of the philological knowledge of the day. The etymology and meaning of the important word samtplaic, which often meets us in Plato, is discussed at some length, and the derivation from ace (to roll), and xpim (to discern) is preferred, as being most consistent with the prominent idea of the word, which is that of "separation," "purity." Occasionally Mr. Sandys corrects and supplements the imperfect renderings of Liddell and Scott. He fully deserves the credit of having made Isocrates more accessible to our students of Greek literature.

Among the Arabs: a Narrative of Adventures in Algeria. By G. Naphegyi, M.D. (Sampson Low and Co.)—This book has a very pro mising beginning. The anther tells the story of how he got to Algeria in a style which excites our interest, and his adventure in the cave where he is lost in the darkness, and makes his way out by help of torches made out of his companion's manuscript life of Augustine is

capital. But the promise is but indifferently fulfilled. To speak Plainly, the volume is a manifest case of bookmaking. It gives us

legends of the country, and copious accounts of native manners and customs, but very little that can be called "adventures in Algeria." Half of it might very well have been the work of a writer who had never been in the country. Dr. Naphegyi, we doubt not, has been there, and knows it well, and is quite capable, to judge from one or two specimens of his power, of writing a really good book about it ; here he has little more than carelessly thrown together some old materials.

Basilissa; the 7'ree of a Secret Craft. A Poem. By Compton Road& (Sluimpton, Oxford : Whittaker.)—Basilissa is a teacher of music who is loved by "Amaranth, son of a Marquis," and who loves him wildly In return. He is shallow and false ; she all that is pure and noble. His father, of course, seta his face against the marriage ; and he does not care to make any sacrifices for it ; but her passionate reproaches rouse him to promise that he will wed her when she has made herself his equal. She learns in a dream how she may raise herself ; makes herself the etnancipator and acknowledged leader of her sex ; and when she is about to receive their formal homage learns that her Amaranth has been faithless to her and dies of a broken heart. The moral is this:— "You may make women free of the most celestial craftship, Be it of stars, or dreams, or sensational exquisite feeling, But to be free from love, is not giv'n to man, or to woman."

There is one decidedly clever thing in the poem, and that is, "The Dream of the Parable Garden." Basilissa has a vision of a garden, splendid with all manner of gorgeous flowers, but without greenness or shade, in which a bevy of beauties, imprisoned there by their lord, is dying of heat and thirst. A fast-locked door defies their single efforts, but yields to their united strength. This sots forth the slavery of pleasures in which woman is held by man, from which alb can sot herself free only by union. In this passage there is considerable power of description and of thought, but it is sadly disfigured by crudity and had taste. What are we to think of the following, when tho beauties have disrobed themselves for their labour ? They were, he says,

"Too suggestive, perhaps, for the coarse, for the every-day swinish ; Nature was framed for Eve, and the purity primal of Eden; Yet the freer the dress, the nearer the Paradise model, Freedom is God's gift to all, and all free things are celestial."

Such words as " procellous," "lacrymal," " mordacious " are intolerable. And sometimes, we must say it at the risk of giving unpardonable offence, Mr. Reads resembles Mr. Tupper. This has the genuine ring :—

" Thought was the parent of deed; and the offspring of deed disappointment." The verse is hexameter, and the metro is managed with a fair amount of success.

Moral Causation. By-Patrick Proctor Alexander, M.A. (Ninemo.)— To be brought suddenly into the middle of a controversy, where men "reason high of fate and free-will," is trying even to the omniscience of a reviewer. Mr. Alexander writes "notes on Mr. Mill's notes," and Mr. Mill's notes referred to criticisms on criticisms which he himself had passed on Sir W. Hamilton's philosophy. We may safely say, however, that Mr. Alexander seems to have a very good notion of holding his own, that he is well read in the literature of his subject, and that he uses a vigorous style, not altogether undeserving of the epithet of "rollicking," by which his great antagonist characterizes it, but certainly producing the result of a very readable volume.

The Chaplet of Pearls. By the Author of the Heir of Redclyffe. 2 vols. (Macmillan.)—This tale must be known to many of our readers as having appeared in Macmillan's Magazine. Those who followed the story there from month to month will remember how skilfully Miss Yonge protracted the agony of suspense, while she made them follow the young baron in the search for his lost wife. They knew that she dare not make the tale end otherwise than happily, but felt themselves, nevertheless, from time to time almost reduced to despair. The plot in truth is of the very first order of merit, seeming to have lent itself to the exigencies of periodical publication rather than, as happens so often, to have been injuriously affected by them. At the same time, the drawing of character and scenery, if not quite equal in excellence to the construction of the story, are of a high ordor of merit. Miss Yonge's second manner as a novelist, as shown in the Dove in the Eagle's Nest, and now in the Chaplet of Pearls, is a success such as the second manner of any artist seldom reaches. It has, indeed, a very manifest connection with the first, a singular skill in portraying the interests of domestic life. But the skill in reproducing the life of a bygone time and in the construction of the plot are new characteristics.

The Statesman's Year Book. Second Edition. By Frederick Martin. (Macmillan.)—We find, on the title-page, that this is the "sixth annual publication," and so feel that the book has got beyond the need of commendation, or even of description. Such of our readers as may not happen to know it should be told that it supplies copious information about the territory, population, government, revenue and expenditure, trade, dzc., of every civilized community in the world ; that they may find, for instance, as much as they may want to learn on these subjects about the dominions of their Majesties the two Kings of Siam, about the Empire of China, &c. The information seems, as far as our limited knowledge suffices to check it, both accurate and recent,—some errors having been corrected in this new edition. Selected facts can give no idea of the value of the book, but here are one or two, taken from some very useful tables with which it is furnished, which will be now to many readers. The death-rate varies from 1 in 76 in Tasmania to 1 in 27 in Russia ; bat Russia, by a curious compensation, has the highest birthrate, 1 in 21, a distinction which it shares with Victoria. The birthrate seems to be lowest in Greece and, of all places in the world, Ireland, where it is 1 in 38.

Laura's Pride. By the Author of "Mary Constant." 3 vols. (Chapman and Hall.)—There is sufficient merit in the writing of this book to raise it above the dead level of fashionable common-place. We take exception, however, to the too common occurrence of narrative in the form of letters. This breaks up the continuity of the'story, and necessitates the introduction of one or more lay figures or dummies which have no possible connection with the plot. Mark Robinson is a bold sketch, with abundance of offensive individuality. Laura, the heroine, with her pride, is very wearisome, and, often enough, quite unbearable; the constancy of the hero is made positively ridiculous by the overweening vanity and self-assertion of the young lady. With these drawbacks, the story is very readable, and would be more so were there a little more art in the construction of the plot. As it is, the reader feels sure that be knows how it will all end long before he gets to the close of the book. He is convinced that the greater part of the third volume will consist of transposition in words of the fitful changes in the most fitful mind of this unamiable heroine. Not in Society. Edited by Joseph Hatton. (Bradbury and Evans.)— We regret very much that in this case we have not to discharge that office of criticism which concerns the interests of the author. Not in Society is the posthumous work of Mr. Vaughan Morgan, whose name, we may remark in pass*, might have been allowed to appear on the

title-page. Our readers will find it a very pleasant and amusing tale. They need not be frightened at the scene of the strange Brompton Grange establishment, which, like many other parts of the book, is improbable, but is in nowise improper. We confess that we are sceptical as to the versimilitude of Mr. Patrick Smith and Mr. Richard Bailey, but we have no doubt at all about their fortunes being pleasant reading.

Francesca's Love. By Mrs. Edward Palleyne. 3 vols. (Tinsley.)— There is nothing very strikingly original in this book. On the other

band, there is nothing sensational, save the fatal disaster to the express

train at Staplehurat, oddly enough assigned to the train going from London. If authors aim at realism in this fashion they should at least

be accurate in their facts. And, whether they are realistic or not, they

ought certainly to be accurate in their grammar. "The house was shook to its foundations" is not English, neither is "and now he was laying cold

and pale." And, if we wished to be strict, we might object to the use of " antiquarian " as a substantive. The moral intended to be conveyed in tho story is, we presume, that love must give way to religion. If so, the intention is badly carried out ; for our sympathies are constantly, though perhaps unintentionally, enlisted on the side of love. We venture to predict that Mrs. Pulleyne's lady-readers, notwithstanding her glowing portraiture of Father Angelo, will characterize his interference in the strongest language their vocabularies possess. Once more, we ask why we cannot have a novel nowadays without a breach of the Seventh Commandment meditated, if not accomplished ?

Messrs. Longman publish in a very elegant form, and in a shape which will suit the pocket, the text of Mr. J. E. George's edition of Horace, preserving the valuable feature of the marginal references.

Smug:a.m.—The Passover, and other Sermons. By the Rev. Hugh Stowell, MA. Sermons preached in Christ Church, Salford, by the Rev. H. Stowell. (Tegg.)—These sermons will, we should think, wholly fail to recall to their readers the fervid flow of speech which placed Mr. Stowell in that class of .rhetoricians which all but attains to genuine oratory. The commanding presence, the resonant voice, tho unfailing fluency are gone ; of beauty of language and the musical collocation

of words there is not, as it must be supposed there never was, a trace. Nor can we even discern the qualities without some measure of which one wonders that the reputation of a great preacher could have been even partially attained. Power of thought it might be unreasonable to expect, but for some theological knowledge, some aptitude in the appli cation of Scripture, some ingenuity in interpretation, it is not too much to look. Secular learning, or even the appreciation of it, of course would be out of place, and we are not surprised to find such a passage as this :—" Oh! what a miserable chaos ! Oh! what dark conjectures ! Oh! what wretched day-dreams ! Oh! what empty notions ! are those

of mere human writers, even the wisest and most learned and most intelligent of them—Cicero, Socrates, Plato, Seneca." And

soon afterwards he asks triumphantly, "Where are they now ?" Of course, the suppressed answer, which is necessary to give any force to the question, is" in hell." We may believe that the preacher, who, for all his narrowness and bitterness, was a man of sterling character and blameless life, has learnt better by this time. It is only fair to say that the sermons were not revised by their author, and that something at least of their incoherence is probably due to the reporter.—Mr. T. G.

Bonney's Death and Life in Nations and Men, sermons preached before the University of Cambridge (Deighton and Bell), are of a very different

type of discourses. The style is rhetorical and correct, and they are even overloaded with learned allusions. Wo can well believe that they were listened to with pleasure, not the less that they occasionally deal some bard blows at the audience, and, which is perhaps a com mendation less frequently bestowed, they may be read without weariness. Mr. Bonney's theology and tone of thought are of a liberal

cast—Another series of sermons preached at Cambridge, Analogies in the Progress of Nature and Grace, by the Rev. C. Pritchard, M.A. (Deighton and Bell), touches a higher level. To four discourses

delivered by him as Hulsean Lecturer, Mr. Pritchard has added two sermons, which some of our readers will doubtless have seen, preached before the British Association in 1866 and 1867. In all of them he addresses himself to meet the scientific antagonism to Christianity, and he is in many respects, notably in that of scientific' attainment, eminently fitted for the task. We cannot hero do anything more than indicate his line of argument. He finds that Christianity is said to have failed, and to be now, like earlier forms of faith, passing away, and that this tranaitoriness is contrasted with a supposed immutability of nature. In answer to this, he seeks to establish the thesis that oontinnity of slowness of progress is a law of created things." He points out its existence in the physical world with very powerfully put illustrations from astronomical and geological science ; and draws out the analogy in discourses on the slowness of intellectual and of moral progress. All this, as well the application of it to his immediate object,—the proof of the vitality

Iand ultimately prevalent force of Christianity,--seems to us very able. One point we feel bound to notice, as apparently showing a certain narrowness in the use of theological terms. "Discovery not Inspired" is one of the page headings ; and in the text we are told that discovery never comes to the idle, the unobservant, the unprepared, but is the result of long labour and patience. Surely this does not exclude the true sense of inspiration, as opposed to the popular sense of a sadden frenzy or possession.—Sermorgs, by the Rev. John Ker, Glasgow. These sermons are well worth preserving. They are thoughtful, and singularly undogmatic and uncontroversial. Beyond a general impression that Mr. Ker is orthodox, we can conclude little or nothing as to his views or position.

Gsansw CLASS-BOOES.—A German Preparatory Course, with Exercises. By Edward Schinzel. In two parts. (Whittaker.)—These little books aim at leading the learner by easy steps to acquire the principles on which the language is based. They familiarize him with what is regular in its forms before bringing him face to face with the harder task of understanding its irregularities. The pupil's labour is lightened by the innovation of printing the vocabularies in English characters; the author recommends that these should be used at first ; we do not despair of seeing them used altogether. Altogether we should say, with the usual reservation that the want of an actual trial makes necessary, that this is a useful school-book.—Deutsches Lesebuch, or German Reader. By A. von Ravensberg. (Williams and Norgate.)—These selections in prose and poetry have been, on the whole, judiciously made. They comprise a considerable variety of subjects, and are intended, as the author states, to snit the differing tastes of boys and girls. Grimm, Goethe, Zimmermann, Humboldt, &c., contribute to the prose ; the poetical part comprises pieces taken from Goethe, Schiller, Ruckert, and Heine. The compiler adopts a plan which will meet a difficulty often very embarrassing to the young student. The compound verbs, or words derived from them, have that part of the word on which the accent falls printed in larger characters. In the notes subjoined to each piece the idioms are correctly rendered into English. We note, however, on p. 131, no. 33, an error, possibly typographical, by which the word " giihren " is rendered to foment, instead of to ferment.—A German Grammar, by Heinrich Wolfgang Just. (Longmans.)—This is called a "Companion to Dr. Ahn's German Method." The subject-matter of the work is compressed into 31 pages, certainly not an alarming quantity to the student of German. Such brevity, if it does not exclude clearness and comprehensiveness, is indeed a blessing in these days, when so much has to be learnt We should say that the book might be very useful, provided always that the student should have the power of referring to some more copious work.—Goethe's Egmont, with notes and vocabulary, by H. ApeL (Williams and Norgate.)—The footnotes are scarcely copious enough, but are on the whole fairly explanatory of the difficulties of the text. Some expressions, however, are ambiguously translated. For instance, what is the meaning of this—entzieht sich, translated by "he avoids himself" (p. 22) ?