LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1874. 



471 



author of tho excellent "Storia dolla Filosofla 

 Sirilia," has produced a volume of careful- 

 written prose miscellanies, called "Scuola 

 ienza o Critica." Emmannele Oelesia, of 

 ioa, baa written a noble and valuable work, 

 Storia della Podagogia Italiana," in two vol- 

 es. Prof. Romualdo Bobba has published, 

 oe, in four volumes, "Storia della Filoso- 

 Kispotto alia Ooscienza di I)i<>," that is 

 , as regards metaphysics. 

 Linguistic, studio, especially those which 

 . n Italian dialects and inquiries into tho 

 Italian language, continue to make good prog- 

 ress, thanks to the admirable labors of Profs. 

 ( I . I . Ascoli and Giovanni Flechia, and others 

 of their school, which is becoming numerous, 

 and is certainly important. 



I cannot, unfortunately, chronicle the same 

 amount of vitality in the study of the classic 

 tongues, which are at present far too much 

 neglected ; hence, at the present moment, 

 with the exception of some specialties, there 

 is not throughout Italy one eminent man who 

 is a scholar in ancient learning. Neither is 

 the present the time to expect from Italy the 

 solution of the great problem of the Etruscan 

 language. Though we may not solve the mys- 

 tery of tho Etruscan tongue, I repeat that we 

 turn our attention to our own living language. 

 In a remarkable work, in two volumes, pub- 

 lished at Milan, and written with much vigor 

 by the Prof. Luigi Gelmetti, there may be 

 found a resume of all the questions which have 

 recently been raised in Italy on the subject of 

 language. 



Among historical works to which special 

 importance may be attached, and which de- 

 serve particular mention, are a new edition of 

 two works by Oesare Cantu, "La Storia degli 

 Italian! ;" and "La Lombardia del Secolo 

 XVII., " and, also by tho same celebrated 

 author, a very interesting and minute contem- 

 porary history, " Della Indipendenza Italiana." 

 Cesare Cantu, who is at present the keeper of 

 the Lombard Archives, has also established at 

 Milan an excellent historical magazine, en- 

 titled Archivio Storico Lombardo. 



SPAIN: Among the great quantity of books 

 which treat of special subjects, and which may 

 be included within the circle of scientific pub- 

 lications, the best are : " Memoria sobre les 

 Montes de Filipinas," by Vidal ; " Diccionario 

 Militar," by Almirante ; " Estudio do la Poesia 

 Heroico Popular Castellana," by Mila; and 

 the supplement to " Los Bronces de Osuna," 

 by Berlanga. Vldal's essay on the " Forests 

 of tho Philippine Islands " is a very interesting 

 one, not only from tho skillful way in which he 

 treats the subject, but on account of the nu- 

 merous lists of works relating to the East 

 which accompanies this volume. The informa- 

 tion given about the different varieties of tim- 

 ber to bo met with on the islands, and the 

 comparison with tho timber of other colonies 

 in those regions, are most important. 

 Tho "Diccionario Militar," by Almirante, 



is a thick volume, the result of many years of 

 study. It fills a gap in tho military history of 

 Spain. Besides the words used by tho Spanish 

 army in modern times, hundreds are given 

 which are out of date, but which were com- 

 mon in Spain and Europe during the middle 

 ages and the Renaissance. 



Seflor Mila'a " Poesia Heroico Popular " is 

 tho best study which has yet appeared on the 

 subject. The ballad literature of the middle 

 ages is of interest to all Europe, and most 

 specially when the examples are of an earlier 

 date than the thirteenth century, either on 

 account of the personages themselves, or the 

 adventures which they relate, or the artistic 

 tendencies which have influenced the poets of 

 the time. 



Sefior Berlanga has published a supplement 

 to his " Bronces de Osuna," which appeared 

 last year. These bronzes constitute the most 

 important discovery of Roman epigraphy in 

 modern times; it is, therefore, necessary to 

 call attention, not only to the Lex Julia, the 

 text of which is given in these bronzes, a 

 municipal law unknown to the present day, 

 but also to the learned interpretations of the 

 author. 



It is a remarkable circumstance that, al- 

 though the Spanish nation is supposed to have 

 strong religious opinions, the number of mod- 

 ern theological works should be so small. 

 Among the very few which have appeared this 

 year, " Estudios Religiosos," by Father Zefe- 

 rino Gonzalez, is worthy of notice ; for if in 

 some details he does not sufficiently appreciate 

 modern scientific thought, he gives evidence, 

 on many occasions, of a strong intelligence and 

 courtesy when discussing the religious opinions 

 of other authors. 



"Works of fiction are in Spain most popular, 

 and have a large number of readers, but in 

 number and literary merit bear no comparison 

 to those which appear in England. 



A book which has just been published of a 

 more serious character, but which is written 

 with tho charm of a work of fiction, is " La 

 Alpujarra," by Senor Alarcon. The Alpujarra 

 is a district which is almost unknown, even to 

 Spaniards themselves. Hardly any one crosses 

 it, for it does not lead to any town of any 

 commercial importance. It is situated in the 

 province of Granada, between the southern 

 slopes of the beautiful Sierra Nevada and the 

 Mediterranean. The scenery is mountainous, 

 and picturesque in the highest degree ; there 

 are hardly even any bridle-roads, and the 

 means of locomotion are extremely difficult, 

 even with the mules of the locality. Very few 

 spots exist which have been more favored by 

 nature than the fifteen or twenty miles which 

 comprehend the width of this territory. On 

 the summit of the sierra, in the regions of 

 perpetual snows, the aromatic camomile and 

 rare lichens grow ; at the foot, the trees and 

 shrubs of the north, the chestnut, oak, and 

 pine ; below are tho fields of olives and vines ; 



