John Milton: a Short Study of his Life and Works.
By William P. Trent. (Macmillan and Co. 3s.)—Mr. Trent is an American author who is painfully convinced of the fact that both English- men and Americans do not think so highly of Milton as they ought, and do not read him as much as they should. He has consequently written this little work on Milton in order to stimu- late Miltonic study. He apologises for the work, since already so many works on Milton exist. But, although Mr. Trent's style does not possess the charm or distinction which we find in the monographs of Mark Pattison, Mr. St,opford Brooke, or Dr. Richard Garnett, yet this little book is welcome, not only by reason of the subject, but also because it aims and succeeds in getting at the heart of Milton as man and writer, because it is charged with a fine enthusiasm while yet being quite sane and critical in tone. Here and there we are a little offended by Mr. Trent's diction, as when, for instance, he uses " fault " as a verb, but, taken on the whole, we have read this work with pleasure and approval. Nothing new of course is to be said about the facts of Milton's life, and there is not much that is new to be said in criticism of his works, though Mr. Trent once more essays the familiar com- parison between him and Dante, asserting the superiority of Milton from some points of view, as, e.g., sublimity and sweeping, forceful power. We do not agree with the author in thinking that the greater admiration for Dante is due to any Catholic or mediteval revival. Our critics are not influenced by any such con- sideration; they look at the substance of the work, and its positive excellencies and value for mankind. The principal points of interest in Mr. Trent's study are his defence of Milton's tem- porary abandonment of the Muses when the cause of liberty was at stake, his insistence on the splendour of the chief prOse works of Milton in opposition to the depreciatory criticism passed upon them, and his excellent analysis of the reason why the poetry of Milton makes such an impression of grandeur on the reader. He defends Milton's involved Latin syntax as the chief agent in working out this magnificent effect. We welcome this work along with all sincere attempts to spread and to prolong the glorious fame of John Milton.
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