The Catechism of United States History is made from the larger work, and is in every way suitable for parish schools and junior classes in academies. The narrative is continuous, so that it can be read without the questions as a regular history.
Le Progres du Catholicisme Parmi les Peuples D’Origine Anglo-Saxonne depuis l’annee 1857. Par Mgr. De Haerne, Membre de la Chambre des Representants (de la Belgique). Extrait de la Revue Catholique de Louvain. Louvain: Peeters. 1878.
This pamphlet is an evidence of the awakening of a great interest in Catholic Europe in the Catholic Church existing and increasing within the dominion of the British Empire and the republic of the United States. Ample justice is done by the author to the great Celtic element which pervades the church in English countries, although the term Anglo-Saxon appears so distinctively in his designation of the territory which he has made the object of his investigations. It is almost impossible to give an account of a pamphlet so full of statistics without translating the whole bodily. The author has made it as full and correct as he could, considering the means within his reach. The defects are those of his sources of information, and his few mistakes are those which a foreigner would easily make—as, for instance, in making Seton Hall College an institute of the Jesuits, and attempting to enumerate the generals of the army of the United States who have become converts. A translation of this interesting pamphlet made by a competent hand, with the corrections and additions in respect particularly to our own country and British America which a fully-informed writer living among ourselves could make, would furnish some very valuable information both to the friends and the enemies of the Catholic religion. We owe grateful acknowledgments to the eminent Belgian prelate and statesman for his excellent and elaborate essay, and for his kindness in favoring us with a copy.
I. Ancient History. II. History of Rome. III. History of the Middle Ages. Adapted from the French of Rev. P. F. Gazeau, S. J. New York: The Catholic Publication Society Co. 1878.
Whoever knows the above works in their original French will be glad to see them in their present convenient, cheap, and attractive English form. The series makes delightful reading, even in a desultory sort of way. They are full of sound learning and philosophical inference; indeed, it would be hard to find books containing more wealth of research in so small a space. As might be expected, the style is concise and yet smooth, flowing, and agreeable.
Such books as these are needed. Without denying the zeal and learning of most of our teachers, it is still safe to say that few of our higher students ever finish a course of history. The difficulty lies with the text-books generally in use. They are for the most part so large and full of detail that the pupil leaves school without a fair knowledge of the events connected with the Roman Empire, the formation of the modern states of Europe, the conversion of the barbarians, the Crusades, the events that led up to the Protestant Reformation, and the important changes and revolutions that have occurred since that period, because all or most of the time available for history has been consumed in the epochs preceding the time of our Saviour.
The Ancient History is a complete compendium of the history of Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia, Media and Persia, Phœnicia and Carthage, Greece, Macedonia, Alexander’s Empire and the states founded on its ruins. The History of Rome treats of the Eternal City and its dominion from the time of Romulus to that of Romulus Augustulus.
The History of the Middle Ages, of which we have before us advance sheets, is now in press. Scholars will be surprised by its wonderful combination of learning, sagacious reflections, and convenient grouping of events. Its narrative stops with the taking of Constantinople (1453). A Modern History of the same series is in preparation, and will follow as soon as possible. It will bring the series down to our own times.
The orthography of the proper names is made to conform to the practice of the best modern English and American writers. The judgment and learning of the American editor are apparent in the many wise alterations and additions which he has made. Review questions are given at the end of each chapter, except in the Middle Ages, where the questions will be printed at the end of the book, so as not to break the continuous appearance of its pages for the general reader. The three books may be gone through in one term of ten months without any resort to “cramming,” and we can recommend them to our high-schools, academies, and colleges as the most compact, complete, and continuous set of histories yet given to the Catholic public.
Dosia. From the French of Henry Greville. Boston: Estes & Lauriat. 1878.