Matthew Arnold. By William Harbutt Dawson. (G. P. Put- nam's
Sons. 7s. 6d. net.)—" There is to-day a cult of Matthew Arnold ; it is growing ; it must grow." So Mr. Dawson begins his preface. We take it that this statement and prophecy do not accord with fact. There are many, we hope that there will always be many, who value Matthew Arnold ; but their apprecia- tion is of him as a writer rather than as a teacher. The effective teacher must speak to the common people, and he was of all men the most esoteric. Imagine the despair of a missionary, be his mission ranked among the " Home " or the "Foreign," who should have to preach the Gospel according to Arnold ! Mr. Dawson's book has many good things in it ; he does not admire without reason ; the reader may learn much from it, though he will probably be minded to stop far short of its conclusions. Perhaps the third section, "Politics," will be the One most generally approved.
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