274 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of Mr. F. York Powell, the different vol- 

 umes being prepared by various writers. 



The volume on Edward III is necessa- 

 rily very much occupied with the wars with 

 France and Scotland, yet the social and re- 

 ligious affairs of the country are not neg- 

 lected, and in the "Misrule of Henry III " 

 these subjects are the principal ones. This 

 latter volume exhibits in a striking manner 

 the tyranny and extortions of the Papacy 

 during the thirteenth century, while the 

 Statute of Provisos, the Statute of Praemu- 

 nire, and other measures of Edward Ill's 

 reign, illustrate the means taken to counter- 

 act the evil. The fearful epidemic of the 

 black-death and its effects claim attention, 

 and are briefly but vividly related. One of 

 the most striking effects of this plague was 

 a great rise in wages, owing to the reduction 

 in the number of laborers, and the chroni- 

 clers relate the attempts that were made by 

 law to keep wages down. Thus, we read 

 that " the king sent proclamation into all 

 the counties that reapers and other labor- 

 ers should not take more than they had 

 been accustomed to take, under the penalty 

 appointed by statute. But the laborers 

 were so lifted up and obstinate that they 

 would not listen to the king's command, but 

 if any one wished to have them he had to 

 give them what they wanted, and either lose 

 his fruit and crops, or satisfy the lofty and 

 covetous wishes of the workmen." These 

 passages arc curious reading now, as are 

 also those denouncing the taking of inter- 

 est; but they show in clear light the su- 

 premacy of natural law. 



Such works as these can not supply the 

 place of the ordinary historical treatises, 

 since they do not furnish a complete and con- 

 nected view of the periods to which they 

 relate. But they are very interesting and 

 valuable, as giving what may be called an 

 interior view of the times and subjects of 

 which they treat ; and students of history 

 will look with interest for the remaining 

 volumes of this series. 



Pbinoiplks of Art. By Joiix C. Van Dyke. 



New York : Fords, Howard & Hulbcrt, 



1887. $1.50. 



This book is an elementary treatise on 

 the history and theory of art. It makes no 

 pretension to originality or to scientific pro- 

 fundity, but is intended for the mass of peo- 



ple that are interested in the subject. The 

 discussion chiefly relates to the arts of form 

 and color — architecture, painting, and sculpt- 

 ure ; the other fine arts, such as music and 

 poetry, being introduced only for purposes 

 of illustration. The book is divided into two 

 parts, the first of which deals with the his- 

 tory of art, the second with its philosophy. 

 The author's views of the development of art 

 are substantially those generally held by 

 writers of the historical school. lie regards 

 the art of a nation as the product of its 

 civilization, and thinks that " nothing can 

 record so truly the nature of a people or a 

 country's civilization as its art" (page 13). 

 lie holds that " art is what its age and its 

 environment make it" (page 173). "The 

 artist lives in his own time, and seldom 

 ahead of or behind it. If he is striving to- 

 ward the unattainable of the future, there 

 is some impulse of his age that urges him 

 on. If he goes back to imitate an art of 

 the past, again some tendency of his time 

 promotes it. Whichever way he turns, and 

 whatever he may do, the circumstances of 

 his surroundings rule him unconsciously " 

 (page 13). These extracts show the author's 

 views of artistic development ; and the his- 

 torical part of his work is an attempt to ap- 

 ply these principles to the facts of art-his- 

 tory. Several pages are devoted to the the- 

 ory of art, but we have no space to discuss 

 or even to explain the author's views. As 

 regards the art of the present day, he thinks 

 its leading characteristic is the expression of 

 individual tastes, a view which he illustrates 

 by numerous examples. 



The Essentials of Perspective, with Il- 

 lustrations BY THE Author. By L. 

 W.Miller. New York : Charles Scrib- 

 ner's Sons. Pp. 107. Price, $!l.50. 



The author calls this little book " The 

 Essentials of Perspective," because it seems 

 to him that it contains as much information 

 about the science of which it treats as the 

 artist or the draughtsman ordinarily has oc- 

 casion to make use of. He has aimed to 

 produce a work exhaustive enough to pre- 

 sent the subject adequately, and yet be as 

 free as possible from the technical difficul- 

 ties which the unscientific mind will en- 

 counter in the profoundcr treatises. Some 

 unessential things are left out, in the effort 

 to make clear the really important truth. 



