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1044 «ct>e a,iaagy* [Satom**
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Xiltxainxt.
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Critics are not the legislators, but the...
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The Literature of the Exhibition will fo...
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Alphonse Karr is one of the wittiest and...
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The only bit of Literary gossip this wee...
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In Germany there is not much activity, l...
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BROWNE'S GREEK LITERATU RE. ^ 2^1^ ° f C...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
1044 «Ct>E A,Iaagy* [Satom**
1044 « ct > e a , iaagy * [ Satom **
Xiltxainxt.
Xiltxainxt .
Critics Are Not The Legislators, But The...
Critics are not the legislators , but the judges and police of literature . They do not make laws—they interpret and try to enforce them—Edinburgh Review .
The Literature Of The Exhibition Will Fo...
The Literature of the Exhibition will form a large section of our annals for 1850 and 1851 . Large and singularly unwise . What a compendium of folly its true history would be ! The fears which endeavoured to paralyse execution , —the wild Cassandra tones of foreseen evils , —the variety of dreadful consequences this Exhibition was to produce ; and then the foolish , openmouthed astonishment when the marvels were displayed , — the anticipations of great results , as baseless as the
fears had been—the careless unexarnining acceptance of all that glittered for gold ; and now finally the grumbling and suspicion excited by the awards ! That no one would be satisfied with the awards was pretty generally foreseen . Every exhibitor , of course , privately believes in his valid claim . But the feeling manifested by France is , we regret to say it , deeply disgraceful to her—disgraceful to an extent she little suspects , implying- as it does a moral obliquity . The childish braggadoccio spirit
France manifests , is a standing topic of mirth to England and Germany ; therefore , only a smile passed over our lips when we read the foolish flatteries which her journalists petted her with a propos to the Exhibition . She was insanely envious of England having the " glory " of carrying out such a scheme ; but speedily consoled herself with the assurance that , in the first place , the Idea was French ; in the second place , France surpassed all other countries in the articles contributed ! Her
journalists told her so—they dared not tell her otherwise . Was the Idea taken from France ? Suggested by the annual "Exposition" it assuredly was ; but the greatness of our Exhibition , that which raised it above a mere Fair , was the cosmopolitan extension of the idea—the making it a Congress for the World ' s Industry—and this only an impudent Frenchman could believe to have been borrowed
from France . It is well to keep this point in view . That which made the Exhibition a great symbol , a marking point in history , was the universality of its aim : it was not a national , but a cosmopolitan , glory . Would France have ever admitted such an extension of her Exposition ? True to her ungenerous and self-betraying
tendency to suspect the motives of others , France asserts that England ' s " egoism " and " commercial insolence" originated this scheme—as " a triumphant defiance to the world—to show how superior ehe was to other nations . " ( What a truly French motive !) It may be well to remind the reader that this scheme of an Exhibition did not originate with Manufacturers or Exhibitors—that it was
steadfastly opposed by the " commercial world , " and that only by the aid of incessant propaganda could the commercial world be brought to see that it was a good thing for all nations , their own , of course , included . When we read such base nonsense as that which ( ills French newnpapers , when we read their ingenious suspicious of far-fetched
motives for actions which are simple and straightforward , how can we help seeing in their suspicion u betrayal of their own motives ? Mai . mjht finely Bays , that men only credit in others the virtues they feel capable of themselves : " ¦ Ubi dc mtujnA virtutc ci florid honor am memores , qua : sihi quisqitc J ' acitiii ftictu put at a : quo an into acci / tit ¦ supra ta velutr jictn pro falsis duett . "
Having swaggered herself into tho belief ( hat in every respect nIio transcended all other nations , Franco is now malignantly reproaching England with " partiality " and " dread of her . superiority , " n not awarding her all tho prizes . With a disregard of truth peculiar to semieivili / . ed -people , they write as if the Jurors had been all Em ^ HkIi , instead of English and Foreign , and overlook the fact thai , in proportion to the number of exhibitors , France lian received more prizes than England . We are
happy to say , that the Journal des Dtibats and the Republique have strongly and convincingly reproved the other papers for their miserable conduct in this respect . If France were not in a semicivilized condition , ehe would not be so ungenerous in her suspicions , nor so lost to a sense of decency , as not to perceive that these suspicions disgrace her more than England . Suspicion is evidence of a low type . All savages are suspicious .
Leaving this unpleasant topic and turning to the Literature of the Exhibition , we cannot but notice its singular poverty : the books printed have been innumerable , their value is very small . One work , however , stands eminent from the mass—a fit record of the gigantic scheme ; we mean the Official Illustrated Catalogue , which , in the prodigality and accuracy of its illustrations , and the brief yet full descriptions accompanying them , stands forth a permanent and valuable record of this great Industrial event .
Alphonse Karr Is One Of The Wittiest And...
Alphonse Karr is one of the wittiest and pleasantest of the second order of French writers , and has one superiority over his Parisian confreres —a loving knowledge of Nature , which will always endear him to English minds . His last novel , Clovis Gosselin , is charming , and may be recommended to those who " shudder at French novels , " for it is as innocent as need be . It is a simple story
of an energetic , ambitious mother , who slaves for her son's advancement with a devotion only women know . She dreams that he will be a Physician , and replace the old gentleman who pays visits on his piebald horse . That dream she devotes her life to accomplish . A pleasant love Idyll weaves its silver thread upon this canvas ; and altogether the tale pleasantly occupies the mind , and leaves it with a pleasant impression .
The Only Bit Of Literary Gossip This Wee...
The only bit of Literary gossip this week has furnished us is the subscription set on foot for a statue to Madame de Sevigne . The lines written for her by Menage ought to be inscribed on the statue , as suggested by Julks Janin : — " Questa , questa e la man leggiadra e bella Ch ' ogni cox prende , e , come vuol , l ' aggira . " In other words , This is the charmincr one who took
every heart in her hand and swayed it as she pleased . If glory justifies a statue , she assuredly deserves one beside the best ; yet what monument can equal that of her incomparable letters ? Statues to those whom otherwise we might suffer to fall into forgetfulness , may be becoming tributes ; we honour ourselves in honouring the good and great . But statues to those who live in every memory , of what use are they ?
In Germany There Is Not Much Activity, L...
In Germany there is not much activity , livery one is reading Gutzkow ' s Hitter vom Geiste with an avidity almost equal to that which Eugenic Surc ' s novels excited . Such , however , is the difference of English and German tastes in matters of fiction that English readers find the Ritter ineffably wearisome . ( Mem . for those who may be induced to plunge into German novels . ) AtimuiAcu is about to produce a new work , Neues Jjihcn , of which report speaks highly . A lively ami clever correspondent writes to us that "Aiikkiiach has
become rather Kiivage of late , in order to preserve his individuality , as lie says , or , as others say , his brutality . I called upon Gutzkow to-day and found his lovely little wife at home . His Ritter vom ( icista is so interesting that I pass the nights in perusing it . Hut ; our really great star , Uktty Paoi . i , will be in Dresden shortly to pass the winter here with me . Soiikokdkk Dkvkient
has been banialml from . Dresden to-day on account of her interest in the people ; in 181 H . Her friends give her a parting f < He . Sad times these ! " Sad times , truly ! What a bitter sarcasm upon the Governmental Towers that a singer ' a political sympathies can alarm or oilend ! Mile . Zrcuu , because she sings in London at a Concert , for Hungarians , is punished in Vienna ; Sciikokdku Dicviuknt i « thought " dangerous " in Dresden , Since tho
miserable farce of Imperial Government * ^ Rome under the patronage of the Oes ars , there h been no such pitiable , decrepit , and altogether hatefi spectacle as that presented by the Ruling P 0 J in Germany , and France at this hour . Hn ^ i ^' can it last ? W lon fi [
Browne's Greek Literatu Re. ^ 2^1^ ° F C...
BROWNE ' GREEK LITERATU RE . ^ 2 ^ 1 ^ ° Cl ( Usical ¦&» '' « " «*« " . ' Bf B . W . Browne , A ~ Beutlev ' Coming after K . O . M tiller ' s History of GrJt Literature , Bernhardy's Grundriss , Bode ' s Za Ulricas Geselichten , Schoel ' s LitUrature Greem , and other learned works on this subject , Pr ofess ? Browne ' s History presents a modest figure anil would suggest "derogatory comparisons did we iw
, remember how singularly deficient our Literature is in similar works . All depends upon the point of view taken : if the book be regarded as an addition to Literary History , little can be said for it ; if On the other hand , we regard it as a handbook , sun . plying a place not yet filled , it may be welcomed as a very acceptable , and on the whole meritorious work . Colonel Mure's History of Greek Litera . ture is for scholars ; this is for the " general public "
This History contains a survey of Greek Poets Historians , Philosophers , and Orators , with biographical notices and some critical discussion of a not very elaborate kind . The extent of such an undertaking necessitates a brevity often amounting to dryness ; it also implies that a great portion of it is mere compilation . The distribution of space is somewhat capricious , and might have been beneficially economized by the omission of the commonplace reflections . Still more so by the omission of the philosophers . In the Literature of a nation , Philosophy has no more claim to a place than
Science ; and even if its claim be conceded , Professor Browne is ill-fitted by previous training to treat it successfully . Neither his knowledge nor capacity can be said to lie in that direction . We should urge him to reject all those pages devoted to philosophy , and fill their place with more ample accounts of purely literary works . The chapters on the Tragedians , for example , are unwarrantably jejune and poor ; yet they might be made very interesting without much trouble . It is true that to make them so , would require a greater familiarity with them than he seems to have .
The best pages in the book are those which relate to the Homeric Poems . We altogether dissent from his conclusions ; but the copiousness and clearness of his exposition are such as to prove that , had he taken the same pains with the other portions , he would very materially have improved the book . He is a staunch defender of the Unity of Composition and Authorship—following Colonel Mure very closely . We attach no weight to his arguments , but commend them for their
clearness of statement . Some of them , however , seem to tell more against his opinion than in favour of it . For example , he calls it a proof of Homeric unity that the language of the Iliad is , throughout , evidently that of one period , " it does not exhibit so much variation as might be supposed to take place during the course of two successive generations . ' Now , we beg the reader to observe : —First , that the counter hypothesis , declaring that the Homeric Poems were collected and written down by
Peisistratus , or under his directions , and were c onsequently subjected to severe revision and adap tation to the language of that period , cannot be affected by such an argument as this ; because unity of language must result from such a process ( Dry den a Chaucer is an example in point ) . / Secohdly , l r 0 " fessor Browne himself has , in a previous passage , thus cut the ground from under his own position . At page forty-six he declares that , according to all the laws of progress in language , the dialect aim metre of the Homeric Poems unanswerably prove
that they must have been recited or sung 1 <> "K before they were committed to writing , Pornon remarked that the digamma must have been pronounced ; yet no trace of it exists in the i » a « u " Hcripts . " It is also plain that tho slight diflcroiic « between the language of Homer and later ^ reoi > when compared with the rapid changes observable in other languages , presents a philological ano »> y very diflicult of explanation , except on the nyi ' . thesis that the poems wen ; subjected to much revision and adaptation to language of a more advance *
period . A newspaper is not the arena for the Homeric controversy . We content ourselves with intimating , that the notion of Unity of Authorship is <¦<> ° ! iiiimlN a delusion fontered by rhetoric and tra < - tional errors : and that Professor Browne has in »
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 1, 1851, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01111851/page/16/
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