It would, we think, be extremely difficult to find any subject upon which persons, otherwise well informed, were so entirely ignorant, until the appearance of Mrs. Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art, as the one upon which that lady treated in those ably written and beautifully illustrated volumes. It seemed as if the Act of Henry VIII., which declared that the name and remembrance of Thomas à Becket should be erased from all documents, had had the effect of obliterating from all memories not only the often puerile, often offensive stories of the legend-mongers, but, with them, all remembrance of those holy men of old, whose piety towards God, and love for their fellow men, furnished example for all succeeding ages. To readers of all classes Mrs. Jameson opened up a new and most interesting subject: to lovers of Art almost a new world, from the light which her learning and criticism threw upon its master-pieces. What wonder is it, then, that the success of her Sacred and Legendary Art, confined as the two volumes necessarily were to legends of angels and archangels, evangelists and apostles, the Fathers, the Magdalene, the patron saints, the virgin patronesses, the martyrs, bishops and hermits, and the patron saints of christendom, should have led Mrs. Jameson to continue her labours? The first part of such continuation is now before us, under the title of Legends of the Monastic Orders: and most fitting it is that the three great divisions of the regular ecclesiastics should be thus commemorated, since of them Mrs. Jameson aptly remarks, that while each had a distinct vocation, there was one vocation common to all:—"The Benedictine Monks instituted schools of learning; the Augustines built noble cathedrals; the Mendicant Orders founded hospitals: all became patrons of the Fine Arts on such a scale of munificence, that the protection of the most renowned princes has been mean and insignificant in comparison." Nor is this their only claim; for the earliest artists of the Middle Ages were monks of the Benedictine Order. "As architects, as glass painters, as mosaic workers, as carvers in wood and metal, they were the precursors of all that has since been achieved in Christian Art: and if so few of these admirable and gifted men are known to us individually and by name, it is because they worked for the honour of God and their community, not for profit, nor for reputation." The merits of Mrs. Jameson's first series were universally acknowledged. The present volume may claim as high a meed of praise. If possible, it exceeds its predecessors in literary interest, and in the beauty of the etchings and woodcuts which accompany it. As a handbook to the traveller who wanders through the treasuries of Art, it will be indispensable; while to those who are destined not to leave their homes it will be invaluable, for the light it throws upon the social condition of Europe in those ages in which the monastic orders had their origin. It is a volume highly suggestive both of Notes and Queries, and in such forms we shall take occasion to return to it.
Messrs. Puttick and Simpson (191. Piccadilly) will commence, on Monday next, a four-days sale of the library of the late Rev. Dr. Johnson, Rector of Perranuthnoe, consisting of a good collection of theological and miscellaneous books.
We have received the following Catalogues:—John Leslie's (58. Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn) Catalogue of English and Foreign Theology, including several works of very rare occurrence, and forming the largest portion of the valuable library of the Rev. W. Maskell, M.A.; C. Gancia's (73. King's Road, Brighton,) Second Catalogue of a Choice Collection of Foreign Books, MSS., Books printed upon vellum, many of them great rarities, and seldom to be met with; J. Miller's (43. Chandos Street, Trafalgar Square,) Catalogue No. X. for 1850 of Books Old and New.
BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES
WANTED TO PURCHASE.
DAVIS, T., SOME INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLLECTING AND PRESERVING PLANTS, ANIMALS, 8vo., London, 1798.
THOMPSON'S REPORT ON THE FAUNA OF IRELAND, 8vo. London, 1844.
FORBES ON THE MOLLUSCA AND RADIATA OF THE ÆGEAN SEA. 1844.
WHITECHURCH'S HISPANIOLA, (A POEM), 12mo. London, 1805.