The New Testament, Illustrated. Edited by E. Chtuton, Arch- deacon
of Cleveland, and W. Basil Jones, M.A., Prebendary of York.
2 vols. (John Murray.)—These very handsome volumes are neverthe- less not of so costly a character as to take them out of the list of works intended for daily use. As to the text, that of the authorized version is followed, but any inaccuracy is pointed out in the notes, which are short and explanatory ; those of the first volume being the work of Archdea- con Murton and those of the second of the Rev. W. B. Jones. In the second volume, however, which contains of course the Epistles, the editor has "thought it right to point out what appeared to him to be the inevit- able conclusions from certain passages in which the fundamental articles
of the Christian faith are involved." Without accusing the workof being conceived in any spirit of partizanship, we may state, for the information of our readers, that it emanates from writers who have certainly no in- clination towards either the Liberal or Evangelical schools of theology. Moderate High Churchmen, on the other hand, will find their prejudices in no way shocked. The main feature of interest about this edition is of course the illustrations. They are chiefly views of places mentioned in the sacred text, from sketches by the Rev. S. C. Malan and photographs by Mr. J. Graham, both taken on the spot. The latter selects his points of view with an excellent eye for pictorial effect, but Mr. Malan never- theless holds his own. It is not uninteresting to compare a view of "the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane," by Mr. Graham, with Mr. Malan's "aged olive trees on the slope of the Mount of Olives," in which the camera is, we think, decidedly worsted in its rendering of foli- age by the hand. In the second volume, however, M de Laborde is an important contributor, and there are others. The idea of illustrating the Bible by really faithful representations of the places spoken of is, we think, a peculiarly happy one, for this is in fact a kind of commentary. It does help the reader to feel that the events recorded really are historical facts, and in this sense even the hardness and total absence of "com- position" of photographs are a positive advantage. With respect to imaginative designs even by the greatest painters it may be doubted whether they are very serviceable in an edition of the New Testament intended for daily use. They look like a kind of royal road to devo- tional reading, and certainly Overbeck's designs have neither the simpli- city nor the truth which fits them to serve as any kind of road to it. If it was necessary to eke out the landscapes in the first volume with figure pieces, it would surely have been better to take the compositions of some of the older Italian masters. This book taken as a whole is, how- ever, a work of very great elegance and sound scholarship, a combina- tion not very often met with. It is admirably adapted for a present.
Previous page
