Ancient History from the .3f onuments. Egypt, by S. Birch,
LL.D.; Assyria, by George Smith, Esq. ; Persia, by W. S. W. Vaux, MA. F.R.S.
(Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.)—The Christian Know- ledge Society has followed the example of other publishers, and gives us these pretty little volumes of history by writers of real eminence in their own departments. It is, indeed, somewhat of a nnisdescrip- tion to call the history of Persia a "History from the Monu- ments," for though Mr. Vaux has given a full and interesting account of the Persian monuments and inscriptions, and made all possible use of them, the greater part of his history is of necessity drawn from the classical and modern historians. For Egypt and Assyria, the now deciphered papyri and monuments do supply more materials than the classical or other histories for a continuous account of these nations, and Dr. Birch and Mr. Smith have worked these up into very readable narratives. The reader of a short popular history of this kind cannot expect the critical apparatus of references to the original authorities which in larger histories enables him to verify and estimate these for himself. He must accept in simple faith the results at which the author of such a popular history has himself arrived, and trust implicitly to his learning and judgment in the matter. But though it would be unreasonable to complain of what is thus a necessity of the short popular history, and though we are quite willing to recognise the great authority of the writers before us, we still think it would have been better if each volume had contained a short account of the several sources of the history contained in it, and of the methods by which the papyri and in- scriptions have been deciphered, and the pictorial representations on tombs and palaces have been made to fill out the verbal records. Five or six pages would have been enough for all this, including a sufficient account of the fragments of Manetbo and Berosus, and the Canon of Ptolemy ; and this inappreciable addition to the size of each book would have given a seine of reality of the greatest value. No one reads any history without being compelled to ask himself perpetually,—is this fact, or the inference of the writer ? And though, as we have said, we must, after all, trust the author, it is pleasant to have him tell us in plain words that he did get his facts from this or that specific source.
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