“Of all the collections of Fables which have appeared since La Fontaine, that of Florian is, beyond dispute, the best. It is also, of all the works of the author, that in which his talent as a writer and as a poet shows to the greatest advantage. In regard to merit of originality, the author avows himself that he has put under contribution all his predecessors; Æsop, Pilpay, Gay, and above all, the Spanish poet Yriarte, who has furnished him the most pleasing apologues. It is worthy of remark that in this kind of literature, whose object is no less to instruct than to please, Florian has one advantage over La Fontaine, that of being in general better adapted to the unaffected simplicity of childhood.”—Grand Dictionnaire Universel du xixe. Siècle.
“Good of every description prevails in this collection. You find here some fables of touching interest, others of a sweet and playful humor, others of a biting subtilty, and still others in a loftier strain without being above that of the fable. The poet understands how to vary his colors with the subjects; he can describe and converse, relate and moralize. We nowhere feel the effort and are always sensible of the metre.”—La Harpe.
“In the writings of Florian we are solely interested with the meaning of the tale, with its moral, which is always refined and delicate, and with his ingenuous and even epigrammatic style. Florian loves Horace, Virgil, La Fontaine, is delighted with Montaigne and the poetic tales of the 16th century; he notices the caprices and little irregularities of human nature, without being a biting critic or a profound moralist. Under the gentle form of fables he threw an agreeable breeze of ridicule both upon the individual and upon society, as if he hoped to reform.”—M. St. Marc Girardin.
“Few readers of French are unacquainted with the works of Florian. His style, at once elegant and easy, has universally recommended him to the teachers of language, and Telemachus is commonly succeeded or supplanted by some work of Florian. In the circulating libraries the Tales of Florian are almost as generally read as those of Voltaire and Marmontel. He possesses indeed very great attractions for the lovers of light reading. His narrative is spirited and interesting. Love, Friendship, and Heroism are his themes, and he commonly descants upon them with that genuine warmth which results from the combination of sensibility with genius.
“The feelings with him are never exalted at the expense of virtue. His women are tender without licentiousness, and his heroes daring without violating the laws of their country, or questioning the existence of their Creator. He combines the morality of Fenelon with the enthusiasm of Rousseau or St. Pierre. His writings derive an additional charm from his glowing descriptions of the beauties of nature. He seems tenaciously to uphold the poetical connection between rural life and moral purity, and loves to annex to tales of love and hardihood their appropriate scenery of rivers, woods, and mountains.”—London Quarterly Review.
The Unity of the Truth.
The Unity of the Truth in Christianity and Evolution. By J. Max Hark, D.D. 12mo. 293 pages. Small Pica type, leaded, cloth, gilt top, uncut pages, 90c.
Few books of its kind recently published have aroused more discussion and called forth more varied and contradictory opinions. For example, The Andover Review gave fifteen pages to a criticism of its positions; while The Christian Union, of equal authority, declares that “The volume deserves to take rank with the works of Munger, Newman Smyth, and Prof. Drummond.” The N. Y. Independent, though granting that “in many respects the volume is instructive and suggestive,” and “its aim merits commendation,” has devoted over four columns to combatting its arguments; whereas the critical Sunday-School Times has heartily commended it in a leading review. While the Presbyterian Quarterly (S. C.) condemns it as being “of no more use than to show the antagonism of the human heart to the things of God,” the Reformed Review (Pa.) praises it as “an earnest effort towards the solution of a grave and difficult problem,” and says, “The author deserves the thanks of all who are sincerely interested in the progress of religion and in the welfare of the Church.” Such contradictions from such sources are the strongest proof of the importance of the work, and of the need of every intelligent person’s reading and judging it for himself. At the same time, however, by far the greater weight of criticism, religious and secular, is favorable to it, as will be seen by the following few
Critical Comments.
“A very remarkable book, written in a nervous, brilliant style, each phrase a squarely-planted and advancing step. That it will bring peace and conviction to many restless souls cannot be doubted.”—The World, N. Y. City.