480 



LITERATURE AND LITERARY PROGRESS IN 1878. 



but has developed social phenomena novel 

 among us, presenting problems for the states- 

 man, the philosopher, and the philanthropist 

 to solve or attempt a solution. " Socialism," 

 by Professor Kos\vell D. Hitchcock, D. D., pre- 

 sents in small compass a thougthful and discrim- 

 inating view of the subject, which is adapted to 

 do good, not so much by definite suggestion of 

 remedy for the evils pointed out, as by aiding an 

 enliirhtened appreciation of the nature, forms, 

 and aims of socialism, some of the ends of which 

 he considers legitimate and not provided for by 

 the ordinary social machinery. Some political 

 problems are courageously dealt with in " The 

 Commonwealth Reconstructed," by 0. P. 

 Clark, M. D. Fundamental questions in poli- 

 tics are those which are discussed, and in a 

 suggestive manner, in " The Elective Franchise 

 in the United States," by G. D. C. McMillan, 

 and in " The Electoral System of the Unit- 

 ed States," by David A. McKnight ; while a 

 special feature of the subject is expounded in a 

 monograph on "Suffrage in Cities," by Simon 

 Stern. The last-named essay is one of a series 

 of " Economic Monographs," including discus- 

 sions on " Our Revenue System and the Civil 

 Service " and related topics. Other economical 

 questions are treated in " Railroads, their Ori- 

 gin and Problems," by Charles Francis Adams, 

 Jr., whose ample knowledge of the subject 

 makes him an authority ; " Money," by Fran- 

 cis A. Walker ; " Free Ships," by Captain John 

 Codman; and "Seamen, Past and Present," 

 by Robert B. Forbes. A plea for country liv- 

 ing, and a volume full of suggestion for the im- 

 provement and elevation of rural life, is "Vil- 

 lages and Village Life," by Nathaniel Hillyer 

 Egleston ; it is withal a book the literary charm 

 of which is enough to create an interest in a 

 less worthy subject. " The Armies of Asia 

 and Europe," by General Emory Upton, is a 

 contribution of valuable materials for military 

 science. And, serving a humbler department 

 of human life, but one of prime importance 

 and eminently worthy of notice, are "Lessons 

 in Cookery : Handbook of the National Train- 

 ing School, South Kensington," edited by Eliza 

 A. Youmans, and " The Principles of Diet in 

 Health and Disease," by T. K. Chambers, M. D. 

 RELIGION AND THEOLOGY. The publication 

 of a somewhat exaggerated report of a sermon 

 by the Rev. Canon Farrar, of Westminster, on 

 the subject of punishment in the future life, 

 drew pulpit and press into a discussion running 

 through several months, and led to the issue 

 of several publications of more than ephemeral 

 interest. Dr. Edward Beecher's " History of 

 Opinions on the Scriptural Doctrine of Retri- 

 bution " is a work of labor and research not 

 to be adequately characterized in a brief notice. 

 Critics differ in their estimate of it, as they 

 iiffer in their judgment of the conclusions 

 proper to be drawn from study of the extensive 

 literature of the subject. A small production 

 but weighty from the authority of the writer 

 as an exegete, is "The Teaching of Christ on 



the Duration of Future Punishment," by Pro- 

 fessor W. S. Tyler, of Amherst College. The 

 same subject is discussed in " The Valley of 

 the Shadow," sermons by Rev. C. H. Hall, D. D. 

 A special view is presented in " Conditional 

 Immortality," by W. R. Huntington, D. D.; 

 while a restatement of the Universalist position 

 in the light of recent discussions is given in 

 " Old Forts Taken : Five Lectures on Endless 

 Punishment and Endless Life," by A. A. Mi- 

 ner, D. D. ; and a treatise by Professor L. T. 

 Townsend, in his well-known popular style, 

 on " The Intermediate World," calls attention 

 to a point in eschatology in which the theolo- 

 gical mind in this country has shown a rela- 

 tively slight interest. 



Mr. Joseph Cook, besides the volume noticed 

 under the previous head, has put forth a vol- 

 ume of lectures on " Orthodoxy," which was 

 the occasion of a more polemic excitement than 

 was roused by those in which he discussed the 

 relations of science with metaphysics. " Cath- 

 olicity in its Relations to Protestantism and Ro- 

 manism," by the Rev. F. C. Ewer, represents 

 another type of u orthodoxy," that of Angli- 

 canism, with an ability and outspoken direct- 

 ness of utterance adapted to command respect, 

 if not to compel conviction. Still another 

 "orthodoxy," that of Calvinistic Presbyterian- 

 ism, is ably and authoritatively set forth in the 

 "Outlines of Theology" (rewritten and en- 

 larged), by the Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander 

 Hodge ; who has also introduced to the pub- 

 lic " Discussions in Church Polity," by his 

 honored father, lately deceased, the Rev. 

 Charles Hodge, D. D., selected from articles 

 contributed by him to the " Princeton Review," 

 and arranged by Rev. W. Durant. "Essays 

 and Reviews " of Dr. Charles Hodge on vari- 

 ous subjects, contributed to the same Review, 

 have also been published. On the opposite 

 extreme that of rationalism we have "The 

 Rising and Setting Faith," discourses by O. B. 

 Frothingham ; " What is the Bible? " by J. T. 

 Sunderland ; and " The Bible of To-day," by 

 J. W. Chadwick. 



Dr. Schaff's edition of Lange's " Commen- 

 tary," the successive volumes of which have 

 been for some years issuing from the press, 

 is at last completed, the whole forming a mass 

 of critical and exegetical learning, the work 

 of numerous German and American scholars, 

 with which there is nothing to be compared 

 in the English language. The plan is open to 

 criticism, and the bulk of the volumes is swol- 

 len by some things of small value. But it is a 

 storehouse of material for the use of preach- 

 ers, for whom, indeed, the work was designed. 

 Dr. Schaff, in conjunction with Dr. M. B. Rid- 

 dle and several gentlemen actively connected 

 with the revision of the English Bible now go- 

 ing forward under the auspices of an Anglo- 

 American committee, has undertaken a popu- 

 lar commentary on the New Testament, one 

 volume of which has appeared. " The Book 

 of Job : Essays and a Metrical Paraphrase," 



