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Leader (1850-1860), 8th November 1851, Edition Country of 2, Page 14, It is with books somewhat as with puns; ...

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      1066 8! 11 % T A & T *? Esaturd Av,

      1066 8 ! 11 % t a & t *? ESaturd av ,

      Literature

      literature

      Critics Are Not The Legislators, Biit Th...

      Critics are not the legislators , biit the judges and police of literature . They do not make laws—they interpret ana try to enforce them . —Edinburgh Review .

      It Is With Books Somewhat As With Puns; ...

      It is with books somewhat as with puns ; after the very best rank the very worst . If you cannot with expanded pinions reach the sublime , fly dauntlessly at the ridiculous , and your courage meets with jubilant reward . As an example , take Mr , Warren ' s Lily and the Bee . On reading it , a witty friend of ours declared , that the only explanation he could offer of such a phenomenon was , that " the author had gone mad from unmerited success . " Well , this inexplicable piece of inflated nonsense has gained the distinction of being

      " talked about . " It is only mentioned to be laughed at , but it is mentioned ; nay , gossip is big Avith illustrations of the " eminent men " who have written to the author to express their admiration , one adroit old flatterer evading the delicate ground by declaring it to be " above criticism . " ( We thought it below notice , and , therefore , left it to die in peace . ) But , as you know , the value of private criticism on presentation copies , such praises will not astonish you . If you wish to see the lengths official Criticism can go we advise vou to read the two pages of

      " critical opinions" Messrs . Blackwood are advertising—selected from the London and Provincial Press . They form a literary curiosity . All authors should study these two pages—they may learn there to be modest under eulogies , and patient under blame . If these journals vaguely praise you , say to yourself , They praised the Lily and the Bee ! if these journals vaguely blame you , say to yourself , They praised the Lily and the Bee !

      This Is Magazine Week, And, " Laughter H...

      This is Magazine week , and , " Laughter holding both her sides , " dra ^ s us away from Punch ' s Pocket Booh to Albert Smith ' s amusing Month , and A'Beckett ' s immense burlesque upon Iioman History . That is enough for one evening , the more so as the Drama of A Wi fe to be Sofd ; or , Les Noces de Champ-deft mil ft in Pun ell's Pocket Book will bring tears of laughter into your eyes . Next evening you can in

      graver mood begin with luackwood , in which you will find a criticism on Henry Taylor ' s works , of the highest order ; it treats Henry Taylor as a classic , and is itself a study of art . In Fraser a new story is commenced which promises well ; it is evidently written by an officer ; and is not the article on Colonial Wars written by Charles Adderley ? A History of the Hungarian War is also commenced , which interested us so much that we felt disappointed at being obliged to wait till next , month for the continuation . In Poets

      and Players the writer . sets forth an ancient paradox on the unfltncsH of Siiakspkark for the stage ; he does it skilfully , but we remain wholly unmoved by bin arguments . Tait . concludes its paper on 1 Lie ink , and gives us an excellent paper on Oaiilyi . e'k Life of Sterling . Having gone through the Magazines , here are three Quarterlies to solicit attention . The liritish Quarterly opens with a remarkable paper , Monarchies and , Nationalities ; which is followed by a pleasant discourse on the Pleasures of Literature . The Doctrine of Sin , : \ h expounded by ( jScrmaii

      theologians , will be attractive to a certain class—to un decidedly not attractive ; we prefer wandering with the gossiping antiquarian through the Old Jiniflish Houses and Households , or following the scientific writer of that excellent paper on ( leolo-( jiv . al Observations , who , by tin : way , makes u confession which will startle all true philosophers , viz ., thai ; there are few geologists who have paid that attention to physical science which is necessary to iiihiire a correct interpretation of phenomena ; hence we find , in many geological works , speculations which are at variance with the real operations of physical causes . After all , what is this but the

      same vicious method of study which allows Physiology as a science to be commenced with Man ? , It is as if in learning Greek one were to commence with ^ Eschylus , and finally descend to the Analecta Minora ! The Duke of Argyll ' s Twofold Protests-Bushnell ' s Discourses , —The Rise and Development of Popery , — and Martineau on Apostolic Christianity , are four polemico-theological papers , all directed against what the editor of the Review distinctly sees and aptly expresses as the condition of our Churches , viz ., " According to a certain class of high

      churchmen , the only way by which you can hope to save some sort of Protestantism is by becoming all but a Papist ; and , according to a certain class of Unitarians , the only way by which you can hope to save some sort of Christianity is by becoming all but infidel . " Truly : Roman Catholic or Spiritualist—there is the alternative men are daily choosing from ! Besides this theology we have a paper on Modern French Historians , and two hold , thoughtful articles on English Statesmanship with regurd to Italy , and on Louis Kossuth and Lord

      Palmerston . The North British and the Prospective Reviews we have still to read . Apropos of reviews , the Italians are holding out their hand to us . In Tuscany they have established a journal on the policy of the late Revue Britannique , to which they have given the title of Rivista Britannica . Their purpose is to select articles from our great and small periodicals , and offer them to their countrymen in good Italian versions . French

      newspapers , novels , and magazines come in freely , too freely into Italy . The good ones will sometimes be seized at the frontier , or at the postoffice , by the jealous police of Rome , Naples , and Tuscany : but against anything that is corrupt and debauched no Italian despot , prince , or priest , was ever known to shut his door . French literature , such as it is under most circumstances , can only have

      the mpst baneful influence in that enslaved country , and , unfortunately , scarcely an Italian is to be found in the country able to read , who has any difficulty inianderstanding the French language . As an antidote to this Gallic poison , the Editors of the Rivista Britannica have thought of ministering copious draughts of sober , healthful English . The difficulties they have to contend with are immense . The Tuscan Government has so framed its laws

      on the " free " press as to exercise the most galling censorship on all periodical literature . Consequently , the Rivista Britannica has come to a sudden death almost at its birth ; and only the first and second numbers were allowedalimitedandprecarious circulation . The persevering patriots , however , have tried to evade the stupid law by bringing out their journal in the shape of a series of separate pamphlets ; and in this new shape the Review has managed to reach its third or fourth number . Its

      present title is , Seritti Inglvsi di Politica Contemporanea ( English writings on political topics of the day ) . The translation seeinn accurate , and the selection such as may be expected of a similar enterprise on its first start . The subscription to English periodicals and newspapers , and the postage or carriage , must occasion a very heavy expenditure , and the precariousness of the sale in a country where literary property is at the mercy of most unscrupulous Governments , must needs be hazardous in the extreme .

      Nevertheless , the Editors seem bent on doing battle vigorously ; and , if driven out of Tuscany , they have always a safe refuge at Turin and Genoa , where the press , at the present moment , enjoys the most unlimited freedom . This good and honourable undertaking seems to us well worthy of the serious consideration of all serious men in England—especially of those who declare themselves " 1 * Vicik 1 h of Italy , " whether bound by any social compact or otherwise . A great deal is written in England concerning Italy : much that is merely rhetorical and sentimental : not a little that is outrageously harsh and

      uncharitable ; but mucH also that is fair and candid , and very inuc & to the ' purpose , Let the Italian * have the benefit of our strictures , good , bad ' indifferent . Any man who will send to therFloren * tine Editors an English paper or magazine , or any book or pamphlet worth a reproduction in Italia garb , may both contribute to the . enlightenment of a people that is left in utter , darkness , or onj dazz ) $ L by a false glare worse than Cinuneriau night , and to the good understanding of two nations which have so many reasons for mutual sympathy and cordiality , and none for jealousy or " hereditary " hostility .

      The Rivista Britannica has hitherto chosen its papers from the two Great Reviews , Quarterly and Edinburgh , from , Chambers ' s Journal * the Globe and Daily News , It reproduces Miss Martineau ' s ' Adventures on the Fiord , Thackeray ' s Ode on May . Day , and other light pieces , aiming at a due admixture of the utile dulci . Those , however who have spent a sufficient time in any Italian cities , must have been struck with the incredihlp

      difficulty o £ obtaining any English reading beyond a stray copy of Thompson ' s Seasons or the Vicar of Wakefield . Viesseux's Gabinetto Letterario , at Florence , is the only honourable exception throughout the Peninsula ; but even there , none but the old-established daily papers and quarterly journals are even seen ; our more youthful and vigorous Literature has actually no chance of making its way into the country . Could the " Society of the Friends of Italy " do nothing for a set of men who have virtually organized themselves into a " Society of the Friends of England" ?

      Kossuth Naturally Sets Many Pens At Work...

      Kossuth naturally sets many pens at work . In our reviews , magazines , and journals his name has a " damnable iteration in if . " Germany gives us the first volume of a biography , Ludwig Kossuth .-der Agitator und der Minister , by one Horn ; and Mr . Charles Pbidham lures us into reading a very strange volume of travels by calling it Kossuth and Magyar Land , though it has little or nothing to tell us about Kossuth . Then the Author of

      the Revelations of Russia publishes a stinging pamphlet called Kossuth and " the Times , " which every one should read who has read the " Leading Journal ' s " magnanimous attacks—which attacks are believed to have very materially damaged its circulation of late . While on this Hungarian question , let us not forget to add that Klapka has just published two volumes , Der National Krieg in Ungarn und Siebenbiirgen in denJahren , 1848 und 1849-

      Carlyle's Life Of Sterling. The Life Of ...

      carlyle ' s life of sterling . The Life of John Sterling . By Thomas ^ g ^^ ,, aI 1 ( , Hall . It is a vulgar error that the lives of authors arc necessarily uninteresting ; the fact being that tut sort of interest which lies in the subject requires more delicate handling than that of mere ' adventures" or " public services "; and hence it lies mor 1 - with the biographer to make it interesting , yocr , if proof were needed , might be seen in Carlyi bookWhat had John Sterling done that he slioun ¦

      . IJ \ . J \ JM \ * IT Allll * 1 JIIU « f Ullll K / tVI *»» 'ft »•« --- - p have this monument ? He had won the love ennoble soul . For anything that he with bm gilts iw achieved in Literature , Sterling ' s name was in water "; now it is graven on marble . U ) inl ' this biography with that of some ill'l 8 t rKll . , " blo recently published ; compare it with the nl ! " ( : I ' , J ( 1 trash called a Life of Wordsworth ; wiui rambling patchwork of incompetence the ' <'•/ , \ SoutHry ; with the Life of' CUHeridge , ^ 'f ' ^ ,, picture oi

      have been ho high and tragic a J life and baffled speculation ; with the JjtJeoJ . W J which ought to have been intensely »¦> <^ « and then compare Sterling ' s worth witU . I »• tWmen , no lean than the poverty ot f » ( . biographic materials . As a specimen oi biog i j art this volume wiU always ho referred "' interest . It will also claim attention as a y t , M , ofOarlyle himself under aspects less i ™»» " \ public . But thia , and many other point-, been ho beautifully touched on ulreudy » journal , that We , coding afterwards , icol « . ] io pass on ; and as 8 ft . nn * y Review * ^ ' £ Jf appeared « f the book , we give up our intention

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 8, 1851, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_08111851/page/14/