&Hoot, Booss.-- We have to notice three additional volumes of
Messrs. Macmillan's "Classical Series." The Hiero of Xenophon, by the Rev. Hubert A. Holden, is an edition for which everything that care and industry, and a scholarship that is very seldom at fault, could do has been done. The book, the genuineness of which not a few critics have doubted, is the not very happy selection of the University of London for the intermediate examination in arts. But it has anyhow the merit of brevity ; and the twenty-eight pages of text have been furnished by Dr. Holden with an introduction, a chronological table, notes, and indices, Greek and Latin, that fill a space about five times as large, and, from the smaller type employed, exceed them still more largely in bulk. This looks as if excessive help had been given ; and it is, indeed, true that little is left for the student to discover for himself. But there is much valuable matter in the notes, &o., which should have a bearing and a use beyond the book itself. The practice of selecting books finds, indeed, its chief justification when teachers make the selected book a text, as it were, for general teaching in the language. In this work they will naturally often want help, and Dr. Holden is an editor admirably fitted for giving it.—Demosthenes : the First Philippic, by the Rev. T. Gwatkin, is a useful edition, in which the guidance of the late C. Rehdantz has been chiefly followed. Mr. Gwatkin has added an introduction, in which he gives a sketch of the operations of Philip from the eight years beginning 359, an account of the early part of Demosthenes' political career, an essay on finance and military matters in Athens and in Macedonia, " a short sketch of the history of oratory," and an estimate of Demosthenes.—Homer's Odyssey, XXI.-XXIV. By Sidney G. Hamilton.—Mr. Hamilton ranges him- self on the side of conservative criticism in the matter of the author- ship of the Homeric poems. The Odyssey is, he thinks, mainly the work of one hand, to which he would also attribute the greater part of the " Iliad." Starting with this view, be brings to bear on the text an appreciative criticism,as well as a sound and acute scholarship. The notes on rrarbAs &Le, on the olive-tree bedstead of Ulysses, and the puzzling passage about the axes through which the archers, in their trial with the great bow, were to shoot, may be noted.—To Mr. E. Hardy's Juvenalis Saturae XII1., we hope to be able to return on some future occasion.—We have also received two of Mr. Paley's useful editions of single Greek dramas. These two are the Phoenissae and the Hercules Furens, the latter certainly a play which well deserves to be more commonly read than it is. Few things in Euripides are finer than the two long speeches of Hercules towards the end of the drama.—A new edition of The Hecuba, one of the " Rugby Edition of Scenes from Euripides," by A. Sidgwick, M.A. (Riving- tons), has also reached us. Most schoolmasters, we should hope, know the value of these adaptations. Better introductions to the study of Greek dramatic poetry could not be found.—The Philoc- tetes of Sophocles, translated into English prose, by M. T. Tatham (Spottiswoode and Co.), is a creditable effort to hit the difficult mean of a translation which should be faithful, and yet idiomatic. It is somewhat wanting, we should say, in beauty and rhythm; but if sixth forms, and moderations and tripos candidates could translate as well, great would be the content of head masters and examiuers.— An Introduction to Greek Verse Composition, with Exercises, by Arthur Sidgwick, M.A., and F. D. Morris, M.A. (Rivingtons), seems to us to be jest what such a book should be. It gives a complete analysis of the principles of Greek writing, especially as applied to the construction of iambic verse. After some preliminary information on various matters of prosody, we come to what may be considered the characteristic part of the manual. Here we have " Hints on Poetic Forms and Usages," showing, among other things, variations from or peculiarities in grammatical usage ; and " Hints on Structure and Style." The teaching thus given is admirably exemplified, as such teaching always should be. A passage from Sophocles is turned into English verse, the divergences of the two in the important matter of particles being pointed out. The process is then re- peated conversely, by the translation of a passage from "Philip van Artevelde " into Greek. Particles (which certainly make up about half of the difficulty of Greek verse, so ignorantly and care- lessly do beginners use them) have been already discussed, and this practical exemplification of their use completes the treatment. Then follows a carefully graduated series of exercises, furnished with hints, the number and fullness of which are gradually diminished.— Professor Ramsay's Latin Prose Exercises (Maclehose and Sons, Glasgow) may well have a good place among its very numerous com- petitors. The author has never found a series of exercises which had been graduated with sufficient care and fullness to supply his wants as a teacher, and he has endeavoured to supply the need himself. He begins with the compound sentence in its easiest form, and carries on the pupil to Latin composition of a quite advanced kind, the latter pieces of the volume being as difficult as would be commonly set in University examinations. Some of them, indeed, come from this source. Of course it may be doubted whether, in the course of a hundred odd pages, a student will be able to progress from " Romulus divided the citizens into three tribes, which he called the Ramnes, Titles, and Luoeres," to "The patience of Job is proverbial ;" but all books of selections are liable to this criticism, and the necessities of space, &c., must be con- sidered. On the whole, we should say that this seems Likely to be a most useful book of its kind.—For the inffispensable practice of "translation at sight," we have before ns two manuals, Reddenda Minora, by C. S. Jerram, M.A. (the Clarendon Press), and Easy Graduated Latin Passages, by George L. Bennett, M.A. (Rivingtons). Mr. Jerram's book, it should be noted, supplies exercises both in Latin and Greek, Mr. Bennett's in Latin only. We do not pre- tend to see much difference between them. Both seem well adapted for their purpose, which is to exercise the lower forms of schools in the practice of translating at sight. It is quite surprising how rapidly this practice has come into favour. It would have been difficult a dozen years ago to find such books as these. The writer of these notices proposed, indeed, to a member of an eminent pub- lishing firm some such manual leas than a dozen years ago, and failed (he was not able at the time to communicate, except by letter) to make him understand what was wanted.—Eutropius, by W. Welch, M.A., and C. C. Driffield, M.A. (Macmillan), is a volume of "Ele- mentary Classics." Our recollections of this author, going back to a very far-away period of boyhood, are somewhat dreary, and we do not find him very different now. Still, his style is doubtless pure and simple, and affords a useful exercise for beginners. The peculiarity, and it seems likely to be a useful one, of this volume is that a series of simple sentences for retranslating into Latin is supplied at the end, the diction of these sentences being such is naturally suggested by the author that the pupils are reading.—The Samson Agonistes of Milton, edited, with Introduction and Notes, by John Churton Collins (the Clarendon Press), is a careful piece of work, a great classic receiving the attention which a classic should. Perhaps it is a little hurried, or, it may be, curtailed beyond the editorial intention, for want of space, towards the end ; but, as a whole, it strikes us as being distinctly good. We doubt whether " gyves," in line 1,093e means "handcuffs," rather than fetters. It is not easy, indeed, to say how Samson was bound, when, in 1237.1241, we find him threatening to "run upon" Harapha, and "with one buffet lay him low," though, it is true, we hear of "manacles.) The "officer," in 1410, bids him "doff these links," as if it were a matter of his own choice. Possibly the poet did not very distinctly realise the scene. We cannot but think that "within defensive arms," in the passage,— "Ones join'd, the contrary she proves, a thorn Intestine, far within defensive arms A cleaving mischief," is not rightly interpreted, in the note, " The meaning is that, while nestling in her husband's protecting embraces, she is like the poisoned tunic, of Nessus, the ' cleaving mischief.'" It means, we should say, a danger that, to use the language of the fencing school, gets inside the guard, which comes too near for defensive arms, i.e., arms of defence, to be of any use against. The internal evidence of this passage, by the way, as well as of many others in the drama, points, we think, to an earlier date than Mr. Collins assigns to the Samson. In 1667 the poet was probably more reconciled to life than the drama shows him to have been at the time of its composition.—Of school editions of Shakespeare we have As You Like It, with notes, examina- tion papers, and plan of preparation. (W. and R. Chambers.) The " plan " may be noted as containing some useful hints to the stri- dent ; and Henry IV., the First and Second Parts, abridged and anno- tated by Charlotte M. Yonge. (National Society.) Miss Yonge prefixes to each part (the two are published separately) an introduction, brief and very much to the point, giving the real history of the time, and pointing out the chief deviations which Shakespeare made from it. For the purpose of these books, i.e., the use of schools, we are decidedly of opinion that the abridgement and other treatment which the plays have received at Miss Yonge's hands are a great improvement. But then Miss Yonge can be trusted with such a task, and that is more than can be said of every one who might be ready to take it in hand.—King John, edited by the Rev. C. E. Moberly (Rivingtons), is one of the Rugby series. It is furnished with a useful historical introduction and notes. It has not been abridged.—The object of Old England's Story in Little Words for Little Children, by "Brenda" (Hatchards), is described suffi- ciently by its title. But we cannot but think that it might have been done in a more businesslike way. Make the words as short as you will, we should say, but do not trifle even with the youngest readers. It is nothing better than nonsense to account for the lapse of a hundred years between the invasion of Caner and the expedition of Claudius by saying, "I don't wonder that the Roman soldiers were afraid of the savages, and wished to stay in their own sunny land, where the people were all nice and polite, and walked about properly dressed." " Brenda " should read about the cam- paigns of Germanicus beyond the Rhine, if she would see whether the Roman soldiers during this time only had to do with nice and polite people, who "walked about properly dressed." Of course, after this, we expect the Heptarchy, and get it ; and we are only surprised not to get the massacre of the Bards. Henry V. duly figures as " Madcap Harry," and is praised for treating Judge Gascoigne (whom as a matter of fact, he dismissed ten days after the beginning of his reign) with the "greatest kindness and favour." It is really high time that English history should be written even for children by persons who have a competent knowledge of the subject. It is a pity that Mr. Sydney P. Hall's very spirited illustrations are joined to so poor a text.—English Word Study, by Hugh F. Campbell, M.A. (Longmans), is a series of exercises, in the form of questions, on English etymology. There are also examination papers and selected sentences for analysis.—We have also received Sup- plementary Book-keeping by Double Entry, by the Rev. J. Hunter (Longmans); and from the same author and publishers, A Manual of Short Methods in Arithmetic.—Advanced Physiography, by Andrew Findlater,. M.A. (W. Chambers), a manual adapted to the syllabus of the advanced stage of physiography given in the directory of the Science Department, South Kensington.—Early Lessons in Botany, by Edward Step (T. Fisher Unwin), a "third edition."—Outlines of Human Physiology, by William B. Carpenter, M.D. (Ward and Lock), one of the series of "Science Primers for the People."— Stenography ; or, Shorthand Writing without a Master. By John D. Lewes.—We have to notice three books, which have for their object to teach the conversational use of German. The most elaborate of these is The German Conversation Grammar. By J. Sydow. (Fotber- ingham, Paris ; Kent, London.)—This contains grammar, exercises, and reader, with dictionary, and aims at doing a practical work in a scientific way. The Handbook of German-English Conversation, by G. Hein (Williams and Norgate), is a conveniently-sized and shaped treasury of ordinary phrases and sentences. The third is the first part of A. Practical Guide to German Conversation for Schools and Families, by Karl Gengnagel, Ph.D. (Lovejoy, Reading.)—In French, we have, with the same object, the Practical and Conversa- tional French Reader, by F. Julien. (Sampson Low and Co.)—We have also received The Rules of the French Language, by C. A. Chaudenal (William Collins and Sons), being a summary of the rules contained in previously published works of the author ; and The Teachers' Companion to Macmillan's Progressive French Course, Third Year, by Eugene Fasnacht. (Macmillan.) We have received the thirty-ninth anneal issue of the Newspaper Press Directory (C. Mitchell and Co.), and the eleventh annual edition of May's British and Irish Press Guide, both of which are corrected up to the beginning of the present year. The number of newspapers published in Great Britain are as follows :—In London, 401; in the provinces, 1,177; in Wales, 80; in Scotland, 181; in Ireland, 156 ; in the British Isles, 20,—total, 2,015. The magazines and reviews number 1,260.
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