Duncan's Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons; il lustrating the Perfections of God in the Phenomena of the Year. 4 vols. Old Humphrey's Addresses. Old Humphrey's Thoughts. These volumes are among the happiest of the many efforts made in our time to communicate moral and religious instruction in a kind, cheerful, and yet impressive manner. Old Humphrey is a quaint humorist, full of wise hints and consoling or admonitory thoughts, overflowing with love to God and good-will to men. Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates. (Translated.) This is one of the most remarkable and instructive books which has come to us from the literature of ancient Greece. Herbert's Country Parson. A quaint, but beautiful sketch of a faithful Christian pastor. Cecil's Remains. Full of weighty and sagacious reflection. Its matter is so miscellaneous, that it is peculiarly fitted as a table-book to fill up leisure moments. VI, CRITICISM AND BELLES LETTRES. "There's no want of meat, sir; Portly and curious viands are prepared To please all kinds of appetites."--MASSINGER. Kames's Criticism. In this elaborate work, it was the object of the author to subject the impressions made on the mind by the productions of the fine arts to the standard of reason, by showing that what is generally called taste is by no means arbitrary, but depends on certain principles or laws of the human constitution.-Edinburgh Enc. 8vo, $2 00, 11th edition, London, 1839. Blair's Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres. With a view of teaching to others that art which had contributed so materially to the advancement of his reputation, Mr. Blair prepared these Lectures, which do honour to the taste and judgment of the author.-Edinburgh Enc. They contain, in addition to a system of elementary rhetoric, a fund of useful information in regard to the literature of preceding times. Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric. This work affords a display of grammatical skill, critical acumen, discriminating taste, and philosophical talent, of which there are but few examples in the republic of letters. The style is simple, perspicuous, and precise.-Edinburgh Enc. 8vo, $1 50, New-York. Whately's Rhetoric. This able work of the present Archbishop of Dublin is confined, for the most part, to that part of rhetoric which treats of the selection and management of arguments. 8vo, $1 50, New-York. Crabb's Synonymes. We find in this work a patient examination of words in all their bearings, and a collection of remarks on the peculiar uses of each that are highly valuable.-Quart. Rev. 8vo, $2 38, Harper & Brothers, New-York. Horne Tooke's Diversions of Purley. This celebrated work contains ideas concerning grammar and the formation of words. The knowledge of language and logical acuteness which he displayed in this performance raised the author to a high rank as a philologist.-Enc. Am. 8vo, $3 75, London. Eschenburg's Manual of Classical Literature. The general design of this work is to exhibit in a condensed but comprehensive summary, what is most essential on all the topics belonging to the department of classical literature and antiquities, and, at the same time, to give refer ences to various sources of information, to which the scholar may go when he wishes to pursue any of the subjects by farther investigation.-Preface. It is a work of the highest authority, and the American editor has made many useful additions to the original. Mrs. Jameson's Female Characters of Shakspeare. Mrs. Jameson says in her introduction, "I have endeavoured to illustrate the various modifications of which the female character is susceptible, with their causes and results. I have illustrated certain positions by examples, and leave my readers to deduce the moral themselves, and draw their own inferences." William Hazlitt's Essays, collected by his Son. These Essays on subjects of taste and literature are deservedly popular. He is a writer of force and ingenuity, of illustration, strength, tenderness, and vivacity.-Penny Cyc. 16mo, $1 62, London, 1839. J. Montgomery's Lectures on Literature. Containing much interesting matter in an agreeable dress, and recommended by the pure moral feelings which characterize Mr. Montgomery's poetry. Abbé Maury's Principles of Eloquence, with an Introduction and Notes, by A. Potter, D.D. This work is decidedly the best which has yet appeared upon the subject, and is, as it were, an excellent emblem of the oratory on which it chiefly dwells: admirable in its arrangements, full of good sense in much of its detail, with a felicitous and judicious application of Cicero and Quintilian to his subject, but at times flashy in style.-Quart. Rev. 1 vol. 18mo, 45 cents, New-York. Newman's Rhetoric. A useful text-book in seminaries of learning. Sir Joshua Reynolds's Discourses on the Theory and Practice of Painting. They are written in an easy, agreeable manner, and contain many just observations, much excellent criticism and valuable advice; but being undertaken before he had profoundly considered the subject, they are frequently vague and unintelligible, and sometimes contradictory.—Fuseli. Translation of Cicero's Orations, by Duncan. As the merit of Mr. Duncan's translation of Cicero's select orations is well known, we need to add nothing to recommend this work to public notice-Monthly Rev. 3 vols. 18mo, $1 25, New-York. Translation of Cicero on Oratory, by E. Jones. This translation appears to be executed with great fidelity. The language is clear and perspicuous, smooth, nervous, and elegant.-Critical Rev. Translation of Quintilian's Institutes of Eloquence, by Patsall. This is the best version known to us; it is distinguished by a superior degree of spirit and energy.-Critical Rev. 2 vols. 8vo, $5 00, London, 1774. Rollin's Belles-Lettres. Rollin's writings are distinguished for purity and elegance of style, but they are diffuse and prolix.-Enc. Am. 3 vols. 8vo, $6 00, London. Pliny's Letters, translated by Melmoth. The letters of Pliny are valuable to us, as all original letters of other times must be, because they necessarily throw much light on the period in which they were written.-Anthon. 2 vols. 8vo, $2 50, London, 1757. Demosthenes's Orations, translated by Leland. In energy and power of persuasion, in penetration and power of reasoning, in the adaptation of the parts to the whole, in beauty and vigour of expression, in strong and melodious language, he surpassed all his predecessors.—Enc. Am. 2 vols. 18mo, 85 cents, New-York. Cicero's Letters, translated by Melmoth. They give a more exact and lively idea of the state of the republic than any of Cicero's other works, and display most strongly the characteristic traits of the author.-Enc. Am. 2 vols. 18mo, 85 cents, New-York. Longinus, translated by Smith. The only remaining work of this Platonic philosopher is a Treatise on the Sublime. It illustrates with great acuteness the nature of the sublime in thought and style, by rules and examples.-Enc. Am.. 8vo, $100, London. Fuseli's Lectures. They contain (if we except some of his remarks on contemporaries, which were sometimes all but unavoidably modified by personal feelings) some of the best criticisms on the fine arts in the language.-Penny Cyc. 4to, $5 00, London. Flaxman's Lectures on Sculpture. Although of no extraordinary merit as literary compositions, they are full of good sense and good feeling, and may be studied, not by those alone of his profession, but by artists and men of taste generally.-Penny Cyc. 8vo, $5 50, London. Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia and Progress of Poesy. The work by which Sir Philip is principally known is his Arcadia, which is one of the earliest specimens of the grave or heroic romance. It is a mixture of prose and verse, the latter exhibiting various attempts to naturalize the measures of Roman poetry.-Enc. Am. $7 00, London. John Selden's Table-Talk. It is full of vigour, raciness, and a kind of scorn of the half learned. His style is often laboured and uncouth, although his speeches and conversations are luminous and clear. Hallam. Sir Thomas Browne's Religio Medici, &c., &c. A book replete with sound sense and great information. |