SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Under this heading we notice such Books of the week as have not been weserred for review in other forms.] The Practical Wisdom of the Bible. Edited, with an Introduction, by J. St. Loe Strachey. (Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons. 2s. 6d. net.) —Of course we cannot express an opinion about the merits of this book. Our readers, however, may like to see some account of its contents. After an introduction in which the purpose of the volume is set forth, with what it does and what it does not seek to do, there are ten sections, "Political and Ecclesiastical Wisdom" coming first, and being followed by "Concerning Alms" -and "Meat and Drink " ; "Domestic Wisdom" and "Wisdom -Concerning Women" come next, and may be regarded as closely akin. Then we have "Moral Wisdom" and "Wisdom Concerning Friendship,"—this last is far more prominent in ancient than in modern ethics; friendship has been put into the background by the elevation of marriage. Finally, we have "Social Wisdom" and The Beginning of Wisdom." Each of these sections is sub- divided. In the first we find such headings as "Constitutional Monarchy," "King and Servant, or Tyrant and Slave," "Causes -of Instability in States," "The Rule of the Wise," "The -Citizen's Duty." It should be noted that the " Bible " is taken in the proper sense of that word, as including the Apocrypha. Ecclesiasticus in the "Index of Texts" heads a longer list than any book except Proverbs. This last is a book which scarcely receives its due. It occupies, indeed, a fair amount of space in the daily lessons (nineteen pages). But this is not more than a sixth of what is allotted to the historical books (Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles). On Sundays it is not heard more than once in four years. For private use the Lectionary of the Prayer-book certainly has to be supplemented.
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