CURRENT LITERATURE.
The Purgatory of Dante Alighieri. Edited, with Translation and Notes, by Arthur John Butler. (Macmillan.)—We quite agree with Mr. Butler in his choice of the Purgatorio rather than the "Inferno" or the "Paradise" for his translation. And for his translation itself all students of Italian will thank him. It is most conveniently arranged, with the original and the translation on the same page. Any one who possesses a fair acquaintance with Latin will find, not without some surprise, if he has never made trial of it before, how easily the English equivalents for the Italian are found, if only the help of a little suggestion is given. And after a little practice, he will be
delighted to observe that the help of the translation can, for the most part, be dispensed with. Apart from this special use of the book, it will please many readers who simply want to have Dante put before them as plainly as possible. To put him into a poetical shape re- quires so much manipulation, that we find our attention taken off too mach to the form from the matter. A good, readable, prose trans- lation is exactly what is wanted, and this Mr. Butler has given us.
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