vanity, has led to various claimants being brought forward on very slender grounds, and to their claims being upheld and defended for centuries. The controversy is not over yet, though the great body of cultured opinion now is in favour of the modest monk in the monastery of St. Agnes in Over Yssel, in Holland-Thomas à Kempis. Mr. Wheatley has for years been a devoted student of the literature connected with this controversy, and has been at great pains to examine the most valuable manuscripts that can shed light on the authorship and original state of the text. An earnest of his labours in these fields was given by him in the pages of this Review (July, 1885), and another was contributed shortly before to the Bibliographer. In the present volume he has condensed into small space a vast amount of information as to the book itself, its history, its MSS., its early printed editions, and the various editions since. The various claimants to the authorship of the book have their claims fairly stated and judicially weighed. Mr. Wheatley entertains no doubts as to Thomas à Kempis being the author of the book, and he has gathered together here what is known of his history, of his character, and of his other writings, and endeavours to prove how all these are in keeping with the style and spirit of the Imitatio. A summary of its contents may help our readers to form an idea of the comprehensiveness of this volume. The first chapter gives an account of the book and of the esteem in which it has all along been held. Chapter II. is taken up with a short sketch-entitled 'German Mystics of the spiritual movement to which the Imitatio owed its existence, and of which it is the reflex. Chapter III. discusses the birthplace of the book and its sources. Chapter IV. describes 'The Brothers of the Common Life,' to which order Thomas à Kempis belonged. Chapter V. details what is known of the history of Thomas à Kempis. In Chapter VI. the other works from the modest monk's pen are treated of. Chapter VII. describes Dr. Carl Hirsche's investigations of the various MSS. of the work. Chapter VIII. is taken up with the controversy as to the authorship. Chapter IX. enumerates and describes the MSS., and Chapter X. the printed editions and translations. Chapter XI. brings together the opinions of various writers as to the spiritual value of the book. In Chapter XII. we have a series of extracts from the Imitatio, and in Chapter XIII. another series from the other writings of Thomas à Kempis. In this volume we have also a valuable bibliography, an index, a specimen page of the Brussels' codex, and a photographed portrait of Thomas à Kempis, taken from the picture of him preserved at Gertruidenberg. Lovers of the Imitatio will find here in a neat and handy form all that is worth knowing of the history of the book, and all that is known of the life of its author. Mr. Wheatley tells the story in simple language, and to him the work has evidently been a labour of love. It will be prized as such, and because of its own literary merits, by every one who has read—for to read is to esteem-the Imitatio Christi itself.

Il Principe. By NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI. Edited by L. Arthur Burd. With an Introduction by Lord Acton. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press. 1891.

While this edition of The Prince is mainly intended for the use of those who are not already familiar with Machiavelli's life and writings, the editor has endeavoured to summarise the results at which Machiavellian studies have now arrived and to indicate the most important sources from which further information may be obtained. To the accomplishment of his aim Mr. Burd has brought a rich and varied knowledge of Machiavelli, his works, and times, and critics which has been rarely equalled. We have

the high authority of Lord Acton that he has here given a more completely satisfactory explanation of The Prince than any country possessed before. Few are in a position to question that authority, but whether the assertion be true or not, it may safely be said, that Mr. Burd has produced the best book on the subject which the English language possesses, and has ‘redeemed our long inferiority in Machiavellian studies.' The work indeed is a piece of editing which has few equals. It is a rich storehouse of information on all that concerns Machiavelli and is the result of well nigh infinite labour. To say nothing of the learned introduction by Lord Acton on the critics of The Prince, we have a long introduction by Mr. Burd, in which he deals almost exhaustively with the bibliography of The Prince, its purpose, and the criticism it met with down to the close of the last century; next a series of genealogical tables, including the Machiavelli, Borgia, Medici, Visconti and Sforza families; and next an Historical Abstract running to over eighty pages, in which are enumerated the principal events which occurred during Machiavelli's lifetime and recounting with considerable detail all the events with which the author of The Prince was himself personally connected. The notes are extremely elaborate. They aim chiefly at the illustration of Machiavelli's political and ethical ideas. History is largely dealt with in them, so as to enable the reader to follow the argument, and to understand Machiavelli's criticisms. At the same time an attempt is made to determine the chief authorities to which Machiavelli was indebted, and to illustrate his statements in The Prince from his other writings. Occasional passages are cited from other authors, but chiefly for the purpose of showing that in the ideas he put forth Machiavelli was not alone, but that his views were shared, in a more or less modified form, by many Italians of the period, Mr. Burd being of opinion that Machiavelli is his own best interpreter. On the question whether the author of The Prince was acquainted with Greek, Mr. Burd joins issue with Triantafillis, and adduces cogent reasons why it should be answered in the negative.

M. Fabi Quintiliani Institutionis Oratoria, Liber Decimus. A Revised Text with Introductory Essays, Critical and Explanatory Notes, and a Facsimile of the Harleian MS. By W. PETERSON, M.A., LL.D., Principal of University College, Dundee. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press. 1891. For some cause or other Quintilian's fame has, in this country at least, fallen upon evil days. He appears to have been a favourite with Lord Beaconsfield, and to have been studied by William Pitt, Lord Macaulay, and John Stuart Mill; but since 1822 no British scholar has cared to undertake an edition of his writings, and even the famous Tenth Book has during the interval been only edited in part. The publication of the present work may help to call attention to a treatise which is at least deserving of study, if not for its style, certainly for its matter, more especially by those who respect the past or desire to excel in the art of which it more particularly treats, or to become acquainted with what one of the most enlightened teachers of the Roman Empire had to say in respect to the principles on which a liberal education ought to be based. The Tenth Book of the Institutio is remarkable, of course, chiefly for its literary criticisms, and whether Quintilian is here recording his own opinions or is simply reporting the current opinions of his time, what he has written is almost equally valuable, though it has always to be borne in mind, when reading his deliverances, that his primary object is not to appraise the literary value of an author, so much as to give directions as to what authors

ought to be read in order to the formation of a good style. In the preparation of his volume, Dr. Peterson has been largely aided by the labours of scholars on the Continent. There Quintilian is by no means so greatly neglected as here. In addition to the great editions of Spalding and Zumpt, and the more recent ones of Bonnell, Halm, and Meister, there is a valuable periodical literature about him which is continually growing. On all these Dr. Peterson has liberally drawn. At the same time his work is thoroughly independent, as a comparison of the text or a reference to pages 77-80 of the Introduction will show. In the Introduction we have five essays, each of which is of importance for the study of Quintilian. The first deals with his life. Here Dr. Peterson follows the now generally received opinion that Quintilian was born at Calagurris, and was consequently, like several of the leading men of his time, a Spaniard. He places his birth not later than A.D. 38, but appears to hesitate to accept for it A.D. 35, the year now commonly adopted. In passing, Dr. Peterson mentions Quintilian's statement, ego pro regina Berenice apud ipsam causam dixi,' and explains in reference to it: It was in all probability a civil suit brought or defended by Berenice against some Jewish countryman; and the phenomenon of the queen herself presiding over a trial in which she was an interested party is accounted for on the hypothesis that, at least in civil suits, Roman tolerance allowed the Jews to settle their own disputes according to their national law. On such occasions the person of highest rank in the community to which the disputants belonged, might naturally be designated to preside over the tribunal.' The second essay deals with the Institutio Oratoria, and the third with the literary criticisms of the Tenth Book. Quite as valuable and, indeed, more so to the student of the history of the Latin tongue, is the essay which follows these on Quintilian's style and language. Here Dr. Peterson enters minutely into Quintilian's use of words, and compares it with that of the Latin writers of the best period. The concluding essays deal with the MSS. In some respects this is probably the most important of the essays. The relations of the existing MSS. to each other are carefully discussed, and considerable attention is devoted to the Codex Harleianus (2664), in the British Museum, which Dr. Peterson identifies with the Codex Dusseldorpianus, and is disposed to accept as the very MS. Poggio discovered at St. Gall. The notes are an excellent feature in the work, and contain much that throws light on the text. As already indicated, the text is a piece of independent work, in which Dr. Peterson has followed none of the recent editors on the Continent, but has studied and collated the MSS. for himself. In the main his text may be said to be conservative. As compared with the ZumptBonnell text it is a great improvement and, in a number of instances, is preferable to that of either Halm or Meister. The printing of the variants beneath the text is an improvement to be desired. On the whole the work is a piece of excellent workmanship, and will deservedly take a high place among books of its kind.

The Works of William Shakespeare. Edited by WILLIAM ALDIS WRIGHT. Vol. IV. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. 1891.

The third volume of this, the new issue of the Cambridge Edition of Shakespeare's works, brought us down to the end of the Comedies. This begins the Histories, and contains in all five plays : King John, Richard II., the first and second parts of Henry IV. and Henry V. 1864 was the date when the first edition of the volume appeared, its preparation being the joint work of Mr. W. G. Clark and the editor of the present issue, Mr. W.

Aldis Wright. In preparing the volume before us, Mr. Wright has followed the same rule as in the previous volume, and has recorded all the emendations of the text which have been suggested since the volume first appeared. Besides the emendations and conjectural readings given at the foot of the pages, we have here a list of addenda et corrigenda taken from the second edition of the first volume of Mr. H. H. Vaughan's Notes on the Historical Plays, and from Bishop Wordsworth's edition of certain selected plays. The list is a long one and contains a number of readings which Mr. Vaughan subsequently gave up. During the quarter of a century which has elapsed since the first edition of this volume was issued great advance has been made in the textual criticism of Shakespeare, and the additions which Mr. Wright has added greatly increase its value.

A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; founded mainly on the Materials collected by the Philological Society. Edited by DR. JAMES A. H. MURRAY. Vol. III., Part 1, E-EVERY. By HENRY BRADLEY, Hon. M.A., Oxon. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press; London: H. Frowde. 1891..

Mr. Bradley, as need hardly be said, is the President of the Philological Society, and has already done excellent work in lexicography in his recently published edition of Stratmann's Middle English Dictionary, a work to which we had the pleasure of calling attention some time ago, and which, as we then said, is in every respect a decided improvement upon the work as it left the hands of Dr. Stratmann, to whom, however, no small credit is due, both for its conception and for the accumulation of material for its further improvement. The present part of the New English Dictionary is somewhat of a jump, the intervening part or parts containing the remaider of C from CONSIGNER, and the whole of B and D being not yet completed. At the same time the arrangement by which it has been brought out is one that commends itself as a means of facilitating the progress of the work. From the Prefatory Note we learn that the sub-editing of the part was for some time carried on by Mr. P. W. Jacob, who unfortunately has not survived to see its completion. It contains 6842 main words, 1565 subordinate words, 786 special combinations explained under the main words, or a total of 9193. No fewer than 25 per cent., or 1710 of the 6842 main words, are marked as obsolete, and 273, or 4 per cent., as alien or imperfectly naturalised. Two features noticeable in the part are: (1) the extremely small proportion of native English words which it contains as compared with the large number adopted from the French and of derivatives from the Greek and Latin; and (2) the abundance of technical terms belonging to modern science. As to these latter, care has been taken to ensure the greatest possible accuracy in the explanations given of them, and in the case of those of them which have been adopted recently, as often as possible they have been traced back to the authors by whom they were formed, and the inventor's own statements as to the etymology and the reasons for which the name was given have, in many instances, in fact wherever it seemed necessary, been cited. The prefixes and suffixes, which in this part are numerous, seem to have received special attention, and many of the articles are more than usually excellent. In most of them new etymological information is given. In the case of many words the etymology has, as usual been corrected or supplemented. Among these may be mentioned eager,'' Easter,' 'Easterling,' 'earnest,' ' either,' 'elope,' ember,' 'engineer,' 'enker,' enough,' enthusiasm,' 'ermine,' 'evening,' 'ever.' Many articles are interesting for the information they

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contain as to the history of the words in respect to the development of their meanings, as for instance the articles under ' economy, edge,' 'element,' elocution,' emperor,' 'emphasis,' 'engine,' 'English,' 'entail.' 'enthusiasm.''esquire,' establishment,' 'estate,' 'eternal,' 'euphuism,' evangelical.' The Scotch words are fairly numerous, and so far as we have examined, they are treated admirably. Jamieson may not, and probably will not be superseded by the New English Dictionary when completed, but the latter will be required as an indispensable companion to it. The work which Dr. Murray and Mr. Bradley, with their accomplished assistants, are carrying on, though now going on at a more rapid pace, is still keeping up its character for excellence and thoroughness, and is one of which every Englishman, and for that matter every Scotsman, ought to be proud.

A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, founded mainly on the Materials collected by the Philological Society. Edited by JAMES A. H. MURRAY, D.C.L., etc. Part IV. CLO-CONSIGNER. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press. London: H. Frowde. 1891.

This is the second part of this great national undertaking which has appeared during the present quarter. The publication of two such ample parts within so short a space of time is due mainly to the new arrangement referred to above. A work like this cannot be hurried, but its completion is now decidedly nearer. The present part includes the words from Clo- to Consigner, and contains 5215 main words, 708 special combinations requiring separate explanation, and 985 subordinate words and forms, in all 6908. Of the main words 24 per cent. are obsolete, and 3 per cent. alien or imperfectly naturalized. Words beginning with the Latin prefix col, com, con, predominate, threefourths of the pages being occupied with them. In the earlier pages are many words of old English origin, and among others the word 'come,' which occupies no less than 23 columns, the largest space yet devoted to any word in the Dictionary. The greater part of the words derived from the Latin, either directly or through the French, which are here dealt with, are used for the expression of some of the most important, general, and abstract notions in the language, and have, in many instances, presented considerable difficulty in respect to their sense-history. On the derivation and form-history of cockatrice,' 'cockney,' 'congeon,' 'closh,'‘clough,' 'clow,' 'comely,' and others, new light has been thrown. Particularly interesting in the sense-history of cockatrice' and 'cockney.' 'Cock-sure,' 'coif,' 'collop,' 'comb' and 'coat,' again, are interesting from their sensehistory. Fresh information is also given on such words as 'coach,' 'coco,' 'coffee,' 'colonel,' 'cornet,' 'communism,' etc. A number of bogus words have also been noted, and the editor has decided to give at the end of the work a list of such words. This of itself will be no small gain, more especially if their history is traced with the same fulness as that with which the history of cherisaunce' is here treated at the close of the preface. Altogether the work is not only going on at a more rapid rate, but the excellence of workmanship, which has characterised preceding parts is kept up, and its claims to a yet more generous support on the part of the public are being increased.

1891.

Daphne and Other Poems. By FREDERICK TENNYSON. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. This is the third volume of poetry for which we are indebted to Mr.