

LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1884. (GBEECE-- ITALY.) 



451 



as well as interesting. Among works of this 

 year properly to be termed historical, Ranke's 

 fourth volume of Ancient History stands first. 

 In this the venerable historian, now in his 

 ninetieth year, brings the record down to the 

 transfer of the empire to Constantinople in the 

 East, and the foundation of the Germanic king- 

 doms in the West. Various portions* and pe- 

 riods of German history have received this 

 year close and careful attention, from A. 

 Dove, H. Ullman, H. Bresslau, K. Miillenhoff, 

 etc., and H. Schliemann has pushed his investi- 

 gations in the Trojan plain and published the 

 results. His zeal and earnestness are freely 

 acknowledged, but the actual value of his dis- 

 coveries is much questioned by scholars. No 

 specially remarkable work has appeared this 

 year in the department of philosophy. Bud- 

 dhism has been largely studied, and some good 

 books on Indian philosophy have been pub- 

 lished. Lotze, whose premature death is much 

 deplored, still exercises influence in philosoph- 

 ical study. Kant is still criticised as well as 

 studied, and many of his countrymen are in- 

 clined to reduce the substance of "scientific 

 philosophy" to the study of knowledge, or 

 rather to the criticism of knowledge. But the 

 German mind still turns strongly toward meta- 

 physics, and it seems as if Schopenhauer was 

 right in his assertion that the metaphysical im- 

 pulse in man is immortal. 



Greece. Periodical literature has flourished 

 in Greece during the year. The u Archssologi- 

 calJournal," the" Bulletin," the "Estia," as well 

 as journals of learned societies, are excellently 

 supported, and exercise large influence through- 

 out the kingdom. Light literature meets with 

 only partial success, most of the publications of 

 this kind being tales, narratives, letters, etc., 

 and appearing in the magazines. Poetry in a 

 mild way, and the drama, are cultivated to some 

 extent, and several contributions of the year 

 are worthy of notice, as Drossinis's "Idyls," 

 Phermbos's versified " Fables," Antoniadis's 

 " Tragedies," and a comedy, etc. As modern 

 Greek is studied in the middle schools, there has 

 been supplied a collection of Greek reading- 

 books, under the title of Neo- Hellenic Readings. 

 Some additions have been made to theology. 

 Among these is Bishop Bryeminis's " Teaching 

 of the Apostles," which is quite well known 

 now in America. Church history, pastoral 

 theology, Christian archsBology, with kindred 

 works, show that diligence and scholarship are 

 rewarded with good success in Greece. Phi- 

 lology and art are also well cared for, and his- 

 tory proper receives its due share of study and 

 research in such works as the "History of 

 Greece from the most Ancient Times to our 

 Day," by Venizelos (vol. i), the "Second Siege 

 of Missolonghi " (1825), by Michos, and "The 

 Alexandrian World," biographies of eminent 

 Greek Hellenists of Alexandria. 



Holland. The anniversary of the death of 

 William the Silent was celebrated in July of 

 this year, and gave rise naturally to a number 



of papers on the subject of the house of Orange 

 and the Dutch people. These were not only 

 interesting and appropriate, but also valuable 

 for historical purposes. History has been cul- 

 tivated during the year with much diligence, 

 and a number of volumes published, treating of 

 the Eighty Years' War, the Dutch power in the 

 East Indies, the surrender of Amsterdam in 

 1795, etc. Huet's excellent work on the prog- 

 ress of sciences, letters, and arts in Holland, 

 in the seventeenth century, is very suggestive 

 and useful and has just reached its conclusion. 

 Philology meets with its usual share of atten- 

 tion, as shown by several publications of merit 

 during the year. Dante's "Divine Comedy" 

 has just been translated into Dutch in the ter- 

 zarima, and is said to be well executed. Shake- 

 speare also has found an appreciative translator 

 in Burgersdyk. Poetry and the drama main- 

 tain their accustomed place, and novelettes 

 abound. Many of these are lauded by the crit- 

 ics. Beets, the venerable Dutch author, cele- 

 brated his seventieth birthday this year, and 

 published the fifteenth edition of his admirable 

 work, " Camera Obscura." He is pronounced 

 by those who seem to know whereof they 

 speak to be not only of noble character and 

 uprightness, but also possessed of such talent 

 and pure taste as to render him universally 

 honored and loved in Holland. 



Hungary. Literature, in tire usual sense of 

 the word, appears to be giving way in Hungary 

 to strictly scientific investigation and research. 

 Scientific periodicals absorb most of what is 

 prepared for the press, and consequently few 

 volumes of importance are published. His- 

 tory is extensively cultivated, and quite a large 

 number of works have appeared, which treat 

 of the history of Hungary and Austria, the 

 history of the Jews in Hungary, the history of 

 civilization, the biographies of eminent Hun- 

 garians, etc. The origin of the people of Hun- 

 gary, about which there is great diversity of 

 opinion, is treated with much spirit by Hun- 

 falvi, Barna, and Rudenz. Philology and phi- 

 losophy are freely cultivated. In the former 

 may be named an excellent Finnish-Hungarian 

 Dictionary by Szinnyei, and in the latter a work 

 on " The Pessimism of the Nineteenth Cent- 

 ury," by M. Alexander. This volume obtained 

 the academical prize, and it is said well de- 

 serves it. M. J. Kiss's poem, " A Tale of a 

 Sewing-Machine," is much praised. Jokai, the 

 famous novelist, maintains his position, and has 

 written the best novel of the year. Numerous 

 other writers, however, have done well in this 

 line. The drama remains much the same as 

 last year, the production being only of average 

 merit. On the whole, the literary future of 

 Hungary is hopeful, though not very clear. 



Italy. Literature in Italy, during the year, 

 can hardly be said to have flourished, and on 

 the whole presents a discouraging aspect. G. 

 Prati and G. Carcano, who were poets of con- 

 siderable reputation, have died at seventy and 

 seventy-three years of age respectively. Tlie 



