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Leader (1850-1860), 28th August 1858, Edition 2 of 2, Page 19, SHUCKFORD'S HISTORIES BY WHEELER. The Sa...

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      J^^^^M^^A^^^A^Ma^Ammm ^^Mlaw Novels Ani>...

      tempt any analysis or classification of Mr . Dickens's numerous conceptions . They constituted a world in themselves , and to become fully acquainted with each of them -would require a long period of study . "What is remarkable about the entire collection of them is that , notwithstanding their numbers , there are no repetitions amongst them ; no old friends peep out in the later stories , taken from the characters of the preceding tales , and only dressed in slightly different costumes . Mr . Dickens is always now and without precedent in Iris conceptions ; he never , as it is termed , " reproduces himself . " To say that an author is prone to repeat himself is no charge against him , if the repetition is an

      improvement on the first attempt . Mr . Thackeray is a remarkable instance of au author using and re-using and using yet again the characters , situations ,-events , descriptions , and even conversations of his works ; but with him reiteration is never significant of barren wit , for every time he reproduces an old piece he adds strength and delicacy to the picture . It does not , therefore , at all follow that we should have a lower estimate of Mr . Dickens , if it could be proved to us that he had made the same materials do service on several different occasions . Still it is a fact that naturally arouses our wonder that the motley throngs that people his fictions , each of which is ark-like in its abundance of living creatures , are so constituted that no two persons are exactly alike . There are many fops , many Villains , many ruffians , many misers , many wretched children ,

      many foolish old maids , many high-blooded young men , and many blushing maidens , but they are all different from each other . Stiggins is other than Chadband j and Mr .. Pecksniff can never be confounded with Mr . Casby . Each character from that dense crowd not only is unlike any other in the fair , but its distinguishing features are clear aDd definite . The distinctiveness of Shakespeare ' s creations has always been insisted upon by his critics as a striking illustration of the inexhaustible fertility of his imagination ; but it has long teen piir opinion that Dickens ' s conceptions surpass those of our great poet in this important quality as much' as they do in number . Certain it is that in the entire range of our noble literature , Shakespeare alone can be for a moment compared with Dickens , as a noble and prolific delineator of human character .

      It would be a long task to say all that Dickens has done for the English novel . It would be easier to state what he has not done for it . Indeed the novel of this generation' is so completely a work of his re-creation , that it would be meTe ingratitude backed up by stupidity not to hail him as the immediate parent of it . He took it up when at best it was lmt a cold imitation of Sir Walter's polite formality and elegant prolixity , and too . often was scarce fit for a servants' hall , in ¦ which a fac-simile cf Theodore Hook presided as butler . He raised it from its low estate , and made it what it 5 s , —loved antl honoured bv the wise and good as much

      as by the simple and unenrjuiring . He put ah end to the hateful calumny of Sir Walter Scott that it was calculated only to amuse ; for he gave it earnestness of purpose—and , as means for arriving at its aim , wit \ mprecedenfed , and language such as men had never before listened to . Of « 11 the novelists now figuring in our literature , there is not one who is not largely indebted to him ; and the popular and applauded ones are not few ; wliose characters , plots , tricks of handling , modes of description , even to the slightest mannerisms of expression , may be immediately traced to him , although their artistic aspirations may be the exact reverse of his elevated and benevolent ones .

      This judgment may lead the reader to an estimate of Mr . JenflVeson ' s own genius ; for it is the key to many of his opinions and unlocks the mystery of much of his criticism . The idea of comparing Shakspearc to Dickons ( not Dickens lo Shakspcare ) , as the only approachable author , is wortl )} r of Ilic worshipper ot the modern school ; nevertheless , we shall adhere to the ancient worship , regardless of the outcry from the young licrd of " sickening cant aud' irredeemable uuiidcrhciidiiiu . " finally .

      we may say of these volumes that , they arc lively and pleasant , reading ; that they revive and stimulate many pleasant reminiscences , and contain the result of a good deal of hard labour and some conscientious criticism ; although they arc often disappointing , sometimes unjust , and not a little short-connng . If the author be young he will live to correct these blemishes , and may make the work in future editions a standard one in English literature .

      Jsto. 440, August 28, 1858.] Tee Leader,...

      JSTo . 440 , August 28 , 1858 . ] TEE LEADER , ' Q 7 K

      Leaves From Lulclunrf. J. 1nyn. (Vk Indo...

      Leaves from Lulclunrf . J . 1 nyn . ( Vk indonucre : Hamilton niul Adams . )—Those clover sketches have nlready appeared in several of our popular serials . "We need do no more—na thoy have already ' bi'cn well received by ( ho public—than say they deserved publication in a collected form . Jfoitrs of / Sun and tS / iuile . lly Vernon do Montgomery . ( Longman nnd Co . )—The author ia already well known aB a popular lecturer . This volume of Tales , l ' ocina , nnd Essays is an evidence of cultivated taste and poetic feeling .

      Shuckford's Histories By Wheeler. The Sa...

      SHUCKFORD'S HISTORIES BY WHEELER . The Sacred and Profane History of the World connected , from the Creation of the World to the Dissolution of the Assyrian Empire at the Death of Sardanapalus , and to the Declension of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel under the Reigns qfAhag and Pekah . With the Treatise on the Creation and Fall of Man . By Samuel Sliuckford , M . A ., & c . New Edition . Notes and Analyses , by J . Talboys Wheeler . 2 vols . Tegg and Co . Canon Shtjckford ' s work was intended by him to

      be introductory to Dean l rideaux's Connection , of Sacred and Profane History from the Declension of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel to the Time of Christ , but although the title of every edition , would lead the reader to imagine sueh to be the case , the learned canon ' s labours cease with , the death of Joshua , B . C ., 3426 . The hiatus , however , may be supplied by Dr . Russell ' s Connection , qf Sacred and J ? rofane History to the Decline of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah .

      The primary object of the author was to bring together and synchronize the ancient history of the world , as recorded in--tbe Scriptures on the one band , and as preserved in heathen traditions on the other . But in carrying out this design he has frequently been led into long and interesting digressions . He has thus entered into learned and curious inquiries respecting the longevity , population , religion , and arts of the antediluvians ; the geography of Eden ; the nature and origin of language ; the confusion of tongues ; the invention qf letters ; the religion of the Patriarchs as compared with the religion of the Persians , Chaldeans , Arabians , Canaanitesj and Egyptians ; the origin , and progress of the departure of mankind from the true faith ; the character and / constitution of the ancient priesthood ; and finally , he has appended to his Historical Connection a full and orthodox discourse on the Creation and Fall of

      J » la . n . . ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ ' ¦ ¦¦ ¦ - . ' ' . . . - . ' . . ' .- ' . ¦ ¦ r _ : ' . No doubt much bad already been done to Ins hand , some half century earlier , by the celebrated Samuel Bochart , who , during his . residence at the Court of Queen Christina of Sweden , composed his llierozoicon , sive de Aninmlibiis 8 . Scnptiira } y and his Phaleg' et Canaan , sive Geographica Sacra ,, published in London in 1663 , and which were reprinted with notes by Leiisdcn aud Tillenaiidy , in 1692 , at Leyden . Speaking of these works , the learned Dr . Wotten has said that " the Ayhole natural history of

      the Bible is exhausted by Bochart \ w \\\ s . Hierozbicon ^ as thftneopuni Low the worM was peopled after the Flood is in his Piuileg find Canaan" Bocbart ' s labours were , however , inaccessible to mere English readers , aud hence those of Cauon Shuckford have always !) een to < hem "in every respect a valuable aud remarkable book ; " for in illustrating the extensive range of subjects which we have just enumerated , lie has brought to bear a clear and powerful intellect , and profound and varied learning , gathered for the most part from Greek and Roman literature and from Christian and . Rabbinical

      commentators . There is one merit due to our author which , in these days of rapidity and movement , we are apt to overlook ; at the foot of the page all passages referred to-are carefully noted , and so the reader , if at all in doubt , may go to the fountain bead and convince himself . We arc not going to criticise a book which is to be found on the shelves of every well-furnished library , and our remarks must necessarily , therefore , be confined to the additions and alterations made by its present editor , the son of one and the godson of another well-known and respected publishers , who , as partners in trade , did much to enrich our p hilological and philosophical literature by translations from tlie German more especially .

      In the first place there is prefixed to each volume an admirable analysis of its contents , under appropriate headings , separating the different books into divisions , and the divisions into paragraphs . Analytical headings and dates arc also placed as headlines to every page . The dates arc cnlculatcd backwards from the Christian cvn , and liot onwards from the Creation , as in the older editions . Besides these the notes are both many and important , especially recording the results of modern discovery in the fields ' of comparative philology and physical geography , and beyond these numerous explanations , illustrations , and corrections arc introduced into the text ns well as into tho notes . Tho less lcamct

      readors will he gkul to find an English translation of all Greek nnd Latin passages quoted . We extract Ihc following paragraph from the editor ' s preface , wliieh applies equally to his edition of Widoaux ' s Connection as to tho work before us : — It was duo to the reputations of both Shuickfurd and IVidoaux that their widely celebrated connexions should be reprinted entire , -with no alterations , excepting such

      as could be thrown into the form of additions . Accordingly , in its present shape , the following book i * not only a valuable elucidation of primeval history , but it emphatically belongs " 'to the Imtory of human progress . The results effected by the eighteenth century are here brought face to face with the results effected by the nineteenth ; and the student will be better able to comprehend each subject in its several bearings , and to estimate the value of modern discovery , than by any other means whatever .

      We refer the reader to the sections headed respectively "The Nature and Origin of Language , " and "TheConfusion of Tongues , " as evidencing the great amount of careful editing which has been bestowed upon tliis reprint of Shuckford ' s celebrated book These occupy twenty-nine pages , the greater portion of which are supplemental and critical , and extracted from works of the highest authority . Thus we have Ewald ' s estimate of the changes of biblical Hebrew made ^ clear by reference to the changes in the Latinity of the Roman , classics as compared-with that of the Twelve Tables , Moses and Job with

      Lucretius , David with Horace , Isaiah with Virgil , and the Prophets who flourished about the time off the Exile with the later writers , Quiutilian to Claudian . Then , as to the changes in Greek , theeditor differs from his author in supposing that the Greek language has undergone such great changes-Modern travellers , , conversant only with the language of Homer arid Thucydides , have found no difficulty in making themselves understood in modern Athens .. Indeed * Romaic , or modern Greek , is much more nearly identical with tlie ancient Greek than Italian is with the ancient

      Latinlanguage . Most of the new grammatical forms can * stiff be recognised by a classical scholar . The declension of the ancient grammar has been preserved-The eonj ugation , also , hardly contains any new elements . Some forms have gone out of use , as , for instance , the dative in the declensions , the dual ia , declension and conjugation , the optative , and also , to a great extent , the old infinitive ; and there are also sonie few periphrastic tenses which have found their way into the modern Greek .

      We-would , iu conclusion , supply one remarkable connexion between the sacred narrative and profane history , which appears to have escaped both the learned canon and his painstaking editor , as it bears evidence that the miracle of the standing still of the sun was credited also by the Gentiles , and upon such a point the testimony of a pagan writer ot great antiquity is most valuable . "In those days , they say , " are the words of Herodotus ' ( JEuterpe , M 2 ) , " the sun rose four times out of his usual custom . Where lie now seta there he rose

      twice , and where lie now rises there he twice set . ' * We hear that Mr . Wheeler is now engaged in > editing Dr . Russell ' s portion on the same plan ,, and that with it he will give an historical review of sacred and profane history to the Bahyloniaiv captivity , which will be executed similarl y in all respects to that which is prefixed to his edition of Pndeaux . "When completed , the entire series will be sure to meet with the success it so justly merits .

      Humble Creatures. Humble Creatures; The ...

      HUMBLE CREATURES . Humble Creatures ; The Earthworm and the Common lfaiisefty . In Eight Letters . By James Samuelsoit , assisted by J . Braxton Hicks , M . D ., & c , with Microscopic Illustrations by the Authors , and Eight Plates . John Van Voorst .. Reader , have you a good pocket-lens P They are plentiful and cheap enough . You will never regret the investment of some three half-crowns in such a purchase . If you do not believe us , secure a copy of the book named above , study the eight microscopic illustrations , and admit that wonderful are all the works of Creation—the most despised insects not less so than the higher animals themselves . But we would court you to the enjoyment of many new and untold pleasures : —

      If you are not satisfied with the ipse dixit of another , who may appear to you an imaginative enthusiast , let us ask you to try the experiment yourself and form your own opinion on the subject . The nojet time j'ou go out on your morning or evening ramble , if you chance to sco a worm in your path , do not kick it aside nor atop over it ; but tnke it from the ground , nnd lay it on tho palm of your han < l ; and as it tries to crawl awny you will experience a slight aensation of roughness on your skin : Now take out your pocket-lens and examine carefully tho under sidoof tho worm ' s body , you will perceive several rows of fine sharp hooks extending from one end to tlio other . These minute hooks cnuso tlie rough . sensation alluded to ; and that portion of tho body on which they arc placed corresponds to tho abdomen of tho higher animals , tho hooks themselves being

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 28, 1858, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_28081858/page/19/