The History of the World front the Earliest Records to
the Present Time. By Philip Smith, BA. Vol. I Ancient History. (Walton and Ma- berly.)—The first of the eight volumes of which this work is to consist is now before the 'world. Mr. Smith writes not eloquently, but clearly and sheply. His style has no' very distinctive merit, but, we think, no fault. It is essentially the style of a compiler, colourless ; and eight portly volumes of colourless compilation is a thing to daunt the sternest heart. And yet if such a book as this is to be a success, the author must achieve it by stamping the mark of his own genius on every page of his narrative. It is the presence of the indi- vidual element in the "Decline and Fall" after all, has given it immortality, even if it has exposed it to censure. Its ac- curacy and research would only have made it a safe quarry for inferior men to dig materials from. But extensive research Mr. Smith cannot of course .pretend to. Indeed, the extent of the field he proposes to survey forbids it. For the subject matter of this volume we think Mr. Smith might have been content to begin with the Deluge, or even the Call of Abraham. The Scripture narrative of the preceding period may perhaps be historical, bat it cannot be paraphrased into Watery. The rest of the volume brings us down to the death of Agesilaus, B.C. 361. Up to this point the historian's task is compara- tively easy, for the empires of the East being successive can easily be bested without confusion. His power will best be tested after the death of Alexander, when history first divides into various streams. So far as we can judge from the present volume, we believe the work will be well done. But whether such a compilation as this, however well done, is worth the labour it costs is another matter.
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