PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Booxs.

History of Europe front the .Fall of Napoleon in 1815 to the Accession of Louis Ntgolcon in 1852. By Sir Archibald Alison, Bart., D.C.!... Author of the of Europe from the Commencement of the roach Revolution in 1781/itowge Battle of Waterloo." &c. am. Volume VI.

Bongs of the Cacaliers and Roundheads, Jacobite Ballads, Sze. 8m. By George W. Thornbury, Author of 'Art and Nature at Rome and Abroad." With Illustrations by H. S. Marks.

The Works of Francis Bacon, Baron of Ferniest's, Viscount St. Alban, and Lord High Chancellor of England. Collected and Edited by James Spedding, M.A., of Trinity College. Cambridge ; Robert Leslie Ellis, ALA., late Fellow of Trinity. College, Cambridge ; and Douglas Denon Heath, Barrister-at-law, late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Volume 111.

The Metaphysiciaiss : being a Memoir of Frans Carrel, Brushmaker, written by Himself; sad of Harold Vreandling. Esquire, written and now republished by Francis Drake, Esq. With Diecussions and Revelations relating to Speculative Philosophy, Alonda, and Social Progress.

Miscellanies upon rarious Babjeets. By John Aubrey, F.11..S. 'The fourth edition.

TAO Gospel according to St. John, after the Authorized Version. Newly compared with the original Greek, and revised by five clergymen.—A. most careful, laborious, and conscientious attempt to give an exacter translation of St. John's Gospel, with a full regard to the authorized version, which is printed in juxtaposition with the revision. The publication is a sign, as the translators admit, of the attention which the subject is exciting; and the labours of many scholars both in this country and America are praiseworthy. What practical results may follow as respects the authorized version is a question. If the alterations be alight, the churches will not think it worth while to make them • if they be considerable, they will oppose the change ; the dread in either ease being the unsettlement of meu's minds. N or in the several versions we have looked at do we see much to earnestly desire in the new translations. If the rendering is to be strictly accurate, we doubt whether the objection against the plain-speaking of the old version will be got rid of, but rather the reverse. The removal of obsolete words involves the risk of a patched and piebald style ; nor are there many words that are not quite intelligible either in themselves or from the context. The change of the order of words, or of diction, goes beyond mere style; the poetry and fire of the old translation often evaporate under the process. In cases where doctrines or duties are involved, if there are any such, no doubt a change should be made ; though we suspect there would be a practical difficulty in getting even that done. Such versions as we have seen for the most part deal in smell matters : " Commas and points they set exactly right."

Even where more than verbal alterations are 1111114 they do not amount

to much ; that is, they do not affect the sense. liereisaninstancein the painstaking version before uri. Two of the translators were of opinion that the 37th verse of the 4th chapter should be rendered as understood by the greatest modern German critics, but were overruled. We give the three versions.

"And herein is that saying true, one soweth and another reapeth."— Authorized Version.

"For herein is [fulfilled) that true saying, one is the sower and another the reaper."— Version of the Five Clergymen. "For herein the saying is the true, or genuine, aaying."—ilefected Version.

.As regards meaning, we she not see much substantial preference between the three. We have no doubt where the preference lies as regards terseness, directness, and Bible feeling. It may be that much of the lastnamed effect is merely from association; but we are speaking of the fact, not of its cause.

Jewish Literature : an Historical Essay from the German of M. Steinschneider. Revised throughout by the Author.—This survey of Jewish literature, from the cessation of the inspired writers to the last century, was originally written for a German encyclopedia. The limited space allotted to the writer, (which, however, he considerably exceeded,) and the rich materials the Bodleian Library opened to him, have induced a revision and extension of the original essay. It combines the catalogue raisonne with the "article," The book is classed into three divisions : 1. from the time of Ezra till the Arabian philosophy began to be felt, and the Jewish mind to be connected with mediaeval Europe ; 2. till the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and the invention of printing ; 3. to the time of Mendelssohn and the commencement of German philosophy. The different classes of literature that appeared during the time of each division are presented under it. A general criticism, often running into vagueness, and dealing rather with Jewish characteristics and objects than with the merits of the works in reference to the progress of universal literature or literary merits, opens each branch of the survey, and is followed by an enumeration of books and authors. The most iinportant question connected with the subject is, in what degree the Jewish writers have contributed to the advance of the human mind by original knowledge, discoveries in science, or the production of a new class of literature. A satisfactory reply to those points will not be obtained from this book ; partly perhaps from the extent and difficulty of the subject, and partly from the fact that the author's purpose was not to solve this problem. Except in travels during the dark and middle ages, we believe the contributions of the Jews to original and progressive literature were nil. Their light went out with the Captivity.

Gotthold's Emblems; or Invisible Things Understood by Things that are Made. By Christian Binder, Minister of Magdeburg in 1671. Translated by the Reverend Robert Menzies, Hoddam.—A series of religious reflections on incidents, natural phenomena, and anything that turns up capable of being what is called "improved." The book resembles some modern works having a similar object; each reflection being devoted to a day in the year, the present volume coming down to June 30. During the life of the author, and for some time after his death, the Emblems were very popular. They dropped out of sight during the cold and artificial days of the eighteenth century, to have their German popularity restored in the present age.

_Principles of Natural Theology. By Robert Anchor Thompson, ALA.—This publication seems to be a sort of abridgment of the author's "Burnett Prize Treatise" called Christian Theism. Without neglecting the reasons drawn from the principles of order traceable in the universe and inferring design, Mr. Thompson bases his argument on the ground "that man's knowledge of God is as natural and fundamental as his knowledge of other men and of the material world." For popular purposes the treatment is too scholastic ; the arguments can only be satisfactorily followed by a metaphysician.

Thoughts for the Holy Week for Young Persons. By the Author of "Amy Herbert," &c.—The subject of this little book is sufficiently indicated by the title. It is purely religious, and the tone juvenile--too much so, we should have thought, for persons to whom such a book could be usefully addressed.

The Epistles of Ovidius _Yaw, faithfully converted into a New Measure of English Verse. By John Jump.—The "new measure" of the title consists of a quatrain, the first and third lines of which are the common heroic verse, while the second and fourth consist of six syllables. Take an example in the opening of the epistle from Sappho to Phaon " Is't on inspection of our running hand

The autographer you know ? Or to the verse's end must we be scanned To tell our name, Sappho ? "

According to the author's custom when the meaning of his verse is obscure, he adds a foot-note upon running hand. " Practioe as an author gave her a fair pretension to write well and currently." It may be; but Ovid intimates rather the reverse : " studiosa littera dextras."

The translation is often better than the rather lame and prosaic sample above might lead one to suppose. There is, indeed, no poetry, and very often prose with obscurities whose meaning has to be explained. There is, however, a certain simple directness, and something pleasing in the fall of the short line ; though the measure is not so original as John Jump seems to suppose.

Panthea, a Greek Tale ; and other Poems. By Blanche Shakspere de Trepka.—The story of Panthea and Abradates King of Suss, who being subdued by the generosity of Cyrus and following his fortunes, was slain in battle ; whereupon his wife Panthea stabbed herself on his body. The tale is extended by some additions, and prettily told ; but as the manners and ideas cannot be truly revived, the subject is remote from our sympathies.

The Adventures of a Cat. By Alfred Elwes, Author of the "Adventures of a Bear," &c.—The object of Mr. Elwes in this tale seems to be allegorical ; to read certain morals for children and grown-up people in the guise of a cat's adventures from kittenhood to old age, and sometimes to shadow forth a resemblance between the doings of cats and "people," without any moral at all. The narrative argues both thought and observation in the author ; but the parallel is somewhat forced, and the treatment slightly heavy. 27w New Zealand Settler's Guide. By J. Rhodes Cooper, Captain 58th Regiment.—A compact and useful booksfor emigrants. It gives a good account of the six provinces into which the colony of New Zealand is divided, with the land-regulations of each. It also contains some sensible advice to persons proposing to settle and some observations on the work ing of the new constitution. The settle, of personal observation appear throughout.

An Elenzmitary .13riglisk Grammar. By the Viscount Downe.—A very able little book : thoughtful, inquiring, and learned without formality. We doubt whether it is quite fitted to answer the purpose for which the author composed it—the use of children and vikage schools, unless with very judicious teachers.

"Who lasts a century can have no flaw," may be true of imaginative and poetical authors, but it does not apply to arts or sciences which admit of improvement, or even of change, unless when the world is so torpid that it jogs on for a century or two without alteration or wish for it. English law may not be a science, but since Blackstone first published, ninety-one years ago, great changes have taken place • slowly enough for the first sixty years or so, rapidly during the remainder of the time. So vast and so numerous, indeed, have these changes been, that a work which possessed less of the greatest excellence—the ponere totum "—would have become useless. For thirty years and more, the improvements in the law were noted by commentaries on the Commentaries, the foot-notes getting more and more elaborate. A few attempts were next made, we think, with parts of Blackstone to separate the alterations from the text, marking them by typographical notification. Twenty years ago, the plan of incorporation was carried out by Mr. James Stewart, first by the publication of a single volume. This plan was received with so much favour by the profession and the public, that it gradually extended, till, after seventeen years' trial, the whole of the Commentaries appeared, bringing down the law to 1853, with the changes incorporated in thy text One drawback attended that edition, as we formerly remarked there WU no indication of the old and the new. This is done by Dr. Malcolm Kerr, by means of small inverted commas, clear to the watchful reader, but so well has the printer carried out the idea that there is no disfigurement of the page, though sometimes the inversions are pretty frequent. So far as we have examined the execution' it is clearly and closely done, with nothing of hiatus or jar. The book is very handsome, and will form, at all events, the country gentleman's edition of Blackatone.

Mr. Russell Smith's edition of Chapman's " Ilia& of Homer," is one of a series of reprints called-the "Library of Old Authors," of which Aubrey's Miscellanies is another. The design is judicious and useful : the works in the list are well selected ; the execution is neat, and the price reasonable.

The two volumes before us, containing the "Hinds," form, as we understand, part of a complete edition of Chapman's Translations. The present work is carefully edited by Mr. Hooper, whose first object has been to present an accurate text, after the best editions ; modernizing the spelling, but not seas to lose sight of the original forms—" the landmarks of our language," and adjusting the punctuation; not without necessity, it would seem, for the corrections amounted to thirty thousand, so careleaaly in this respect were the folios printed. The volumes contain all the matter which Chapman prefixed to his translation both in prose and verse, as well as the closing Sonnets. Mr. Hooper has added a life of the old poet and translator, with a critical estimate of his character, supporting his own panegyric by copious extracts from other writers. The frontispiece and the portrait are from contemporary, editions. The portrait exhibits the bard at the age of fifty-seven : it is a clear and open-looking face with a youthful expression, appropriate to a man who laboured so much, lived so long, and struggled, it is to be feared, through so many difficulties, yet retained his spirit and power some years beyond the threescore and ten.

Commentaries on the Lases of England. In four Books. By Sir William Blackstone, Knight, one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas. A new isfttion, adapted to the Present State of the Law. By Robert Malcolm Kerr, LL.D., Barrister-at-law.

The Marls of Homer, Prince of Poets; never before in any Language truly translated, with a Comment on some of his chief places. Done amording to the Greek, by George Chapman. With Introduction and Nova, by Richard Hooper. M.A. In two volumes.