Finally, every man should keep a family record. Each generation owes it to those that are to follow to keep such facts as may be of service to them. With a little care and effort almost any man can make a worthy beginning of what will prove to him an interesting pastime, and to those that are to follow a most valuable source of information. Here, as elsewhere, a suitable book of record is almost a sine qua non. Some two years ago, the writer of this notice, after a careful examination of such books as were then published, discarded the one in which he had made his previous records, and used one arranged and published by Rev. F. W. Bailey. A new edition of this work1 has just been issued, retaining all the advantages, and correcting the mistakes, of the first edition. One may here record, in regular and perfect order, whatever facts, few or many, he can obtain concerning seven generations of his ancestors in all lines, direct and collateral. For additional generations, in the case of those who are able to trace some lines farther, the supplementary pages are a great improvement over the first edition, as the added sheets do not cover the perforations in the pages. There is blank space for photographs, newspaper clippings, references to books, etc. The book is incomparably the best of its kind. The writer has not attempted to speak of different books of a kind, but only to mention what he believes to be the best of each kind. This he believes to be true of each of the above-mentioned books. SOME GOOD BOOKS FOR SUNDAY-SCHOOL LIBRARIES. The Congregational Sunday-School and Publishing Society is doing much to raise the standard of Sunday-school literature, and is adding to its list of stories some of exceptional interest, as well as biographies and works of travel attractive and of solid value. Rev. C. C. Tracy's TALKS ON THE VERANDA OF A FARAWAY LAND is an excellent guide-book to Turkey. Mary O. Nutting's THE LAST DAYS OF PRINCE MAURICE is a very good history of the Netherland War, and is well timed in view of the increasing interest in the history of the Dutch, and the influence of the Netherlands upon early American life and thought. A biography of FATHER EELLS deserves more than the passing mention which we are able to give it, both for the character of the man, and the merit of the biography. Cushing Eells was a man who was always held in high honor by his associates upon the Pacific coast, from his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains in 1838 until his death in 1892. He was a man of great vigor of body and mind, a shrewd Yankee in practical affairs, but, above all, a man of unstinting liberality and high Christian devotion. It was his character which made the greatest impress upon those for whom he labored, whether Indians or whites, whether as a teacher or as a preacher. The 1 The Record of My Ancestry. By F. W. Bailey, New Haven, Conn. $3.00. story of his life has been told by his son in such a way as to bring out the marked traits of his character. Our country owes much to the band of missionaries who saved Oregon and Washington to the United States, both for their political and for their social services. Among these missionaries the name of Cushing Eells stands next to that of the martyr Whitman. His life should become familiar to both young and old. HISTORY FOR READY REFERENCE. From the Best Historians, Biographers, and Specialists. Their Own Words in a Complete System of History. By J. N. Larned. With Numerous Historical Maps by Alan C. Reiley. In five volumes. Springfield, Mass.: The C. A. Nichols Co.; Boston: Charles Jacobus. 1894. Vol. I, A-Elba, pp. xxxi, 768; Vol. II, El Dorado-Greaves, pp. 795; Vol. III, GreeceNibelungen Lied, pp. 793. 84x5. Sold by Subscription only. A new work of reference by an experienced librarian, whose plan has met, in advance of publication, the approval and commendation of some of the best historians in the country, may well attract the attention of students and librarians. The plan of the work differs little, at first glance, from that of an ordinary encyclopedia. The difference, however, is marked, and consists in this, that the articles are compilations from standard works of history, frequently abridged and rarely paraphrased, but usually in the exact language of the original writer, with reference to volume and page, the whole being woven, as a rule with better success than would seem possible, into a continuous narrative. The number of eminent authors who have consented to having their works thus used, is in itself much to the credit of the plan. The space at our disposal is altogether too short to enable us to go into the work at length: but the plan of the work will appear if we indicate the sources of a portion of a single article,-Christianity. This contains thirty-six double-column pages and a double-page map, and closes with the tenth century, leaving the remaining history to be sought under cross references. The periods are indicated by bold-faced type. The article begins with a quotation from H. W. Hurlbert's paper on “The Historical Geography of the Christian Church," from the papers of the American Church History Society, which is followed by a paragraph on the Jews in the time of Christ, quoted from Edersheim. The next is from Lechler's "Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Times," and following this are notes from Sabatier's "The Apostle Paul," Heard's "Alexandrian and Carthaginian Theology," Lightfoot's "Apostolic Age," and Harnack's "History of Dogma." This introduction brings us down to the period of Apostolic Christianity. The period 33-111 B. C. is treated with extracts from Lechler, Lightfoot, Moeller, De Pressensé, Wiltsch, Plummer, Dollinger, Ramsay, Fisher, Weiss, G. B. Brown, Sabatier, Neander, and Edersheim; fresh works like Ramsay's "The Church in the Roman Empire" being freely quoted, and the article throughout showing an acquaintance with a wide range of literature, recent and standard. In cementing to gether this mosaic, the author uses less than half a column of original matter. Thus the article becomes not a treatise merely, but a guide-book and a bibliography. It is good for ready reference, and will assist in guiding to the sources. The maps and "logical outlines" which constitute the chief original feature of the work are, in these first three volumes, well suited to the articles which they accompany, and will add much to their value. The ingenuity of the plan, the success of its execution, and the rapidity with which the volumes issue from the press alike challenge admiration. It will find its way instantly into the best libraries, and will soon stand among the foremost of our standard works of reference. THE HOME LIFE OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS. Translated from the Ger man of Professor H. Blümner by Alice Zimmern. New York: The Cassell Publishing Co. (Pp. 548. 6x31⁄2.) THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE ROMANS. By Harriet Waters Preston and Louise Dodge. Boston: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn. (Pp. 167. 51⁄2 x34.) Professor Blümner's work is one of the best aids to classical study in the German language, and there is good reason to be glad that it has been made available for English-speaking readers. The translator has done her work well,-the better that she has not slavishly followed.the original, but has given us the thought in good readable English. The illustrations are numerous and excellent, and the whole work is admirably issued. The essay on "The Private Life of the Romans" is an original work, but is based on the encyclopedic work of Marquardt and Mommsen, "Handbuch der Römischen Alterthümer; Siebenter Band, Privatleben der Römer," published in Leipzig in 1886. The material has been greatly condensed, and the book is a small one, but contains a large amount of information, and will be valuable to students. It is well illustrated. That both these works should come to us from the pen of English women is a coincidence worth notice. THE CHAUTAUQUA BOOKS FOR 1894-95. The new set of Chautauqua books is already in the hands of a large number of readers. The five volumes of this series are of uniform size, as well as binding, and make a much more handsome appearance on the shelf than in some previous years. The publishers are now happily at a stage of their work which permits the selection for republication, from year to year, of those books which have proved best adapted to the needs of their wide circle of readers. Professor Henry A. Beers' FROM CHAUCER TO TENNYSON is reissued without change, so far as we have noticed, excepting that illustrations are added. Professor Alexander Winchell's 1 The Chautauqua-Century Press, Meadville, Pa. $5.00 a set. WALKS AND TALKS IN THE GEOLOGICAL FIELD comes out revised and edited by Professor Frederick Starr. Professor W. H. Goodyear, whose works on Art have proved so popular, contributes a volume on THE RENAISSANCE AND MODERN ART, with profuse illustrations, brought down to the close of the World's Fair. Professors Coman and Kendall of Wellesley give a clear narrative of THE GROWTH OF the EnglishH NATION, and Professor H. P. Judson has a vigorous and discriminating volume on EUROPE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. It is encouraging to learn that the year of hard times has affected but little the prosperity of the Chautauqua Course, and the fact is less surprising when the quality of the reading furnished is considered. BOOKS RECEIVED. ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES: an Attempt to Treat Some Religious Questions in a Scientific Spirit. By the Ven. James M Wilson, M. A., late Headmaster of Clifton College; Vicar of Rochdale; Archdeacon of Manchester. New York: Macmillan & Co. 1894. (Pp. 262. 5%x3%.) $1.00. LECTURES ON THE RELIGION OF THE SEMITES. By the late W. Rob- A SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF REV. JOSEPH HARDY NEESIMA, LL.D., President of Theology in Doshisha University. With many illustrations. New York, Chicago, and Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Co. 1894. (Pp. 156. 5%x3%.) $1.00. THE RELIGIONS OF JAPAN from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji. By William Elliot Griffis, D. D., formerly of the Imperial University of Tokio; author of "The Mikado's Empire" and "Corea, the Hermit Nation"; late lecturer on the Morse Foundation in Union Theological Seminary in New York. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1895. (Pp. xx, 457. 58x38.) $2.00. UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES; or, Asia Minor and Her Inhabitants. Descriptive, Historical, and Picturesque. By Antranig Azhderian. Cleveland: The Williams Publishing and Electric Co. 1894. (Pp. 277. 6x4.) BACK TO THE OLD TESTAMENT FOR THE MESSAGE OF THE NEW: An Effort to connect more closely the Testaments; to which is added a series of Papers on Various Old Testament Books and Subjects. By Anson Bartie Curtis, B. D., Ph. D., Instructor in Hebrew in Tufts Divinity School. Boston: Universalist Publishing House. 1894 (Pp.. 325. 54x32.) THE BIBLIOTHECA SACRA. ARTICLE I. CALVINISM: THE ORIGIN AND SAFEGUARD OF OUR CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES.1 BY THE REV. ABRAHAM KUYPER, D. D. THE ability of a plant to live depends on the root from which it springs. He who would guarantee our liberty to us should know where it originated and be able to tell whence it came. This requires a simple knowledge of history; hence the character of this paper is purely scientific. Our field of inquiry is determined by general and wellknown facts. It needs no proof at our hand, that in com 1 Translated from the Dutch by the Rev. J. Hendrik de Vries, M. A., Bronxville, N. Y. [The author here uses the word Calvinism in its broadest scope to signify the tendency, or life-principle, which makes the Soli Deo Gloria according to the Old and New Testament Scriptures comprehend all of life. This was the attitude assumed by the Church in Geneva; this is the attitude which the Reformed churches in the Netherlands strive to maintain in the face of the various isms of our times, all of which in lesser and greater degree tend to wrest the Scriptures away from under the feet of evangelical Christianity. And as natural outcome or consequence of this, there has been founded in Holland the Free University-1880-which claims the entire world of science (philosophy, medicine, law, and the arts) in willing and grateful subjection to the Absolute Authority of the Scriptures, by which the Soli Deo Gloria becomes the standard planted in every domain occupied by human research and thought. Of this whole tendency, Dr. Kuyper is the living exponent in our time.-TR.] |