LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN 1899. 



455 



rot, and others; and A. L. Paternostro's Soqui 

 . . . veri (protest against ultra-modern novel- 

 ists). E. G. Zoccoli's Federico Nietzsche: La 

 Filosofia religiosa La Morale L'Estetica (1898) 

 is a considerable study of sources; Nietzsche's re- 

 lations with Wagner are dealt with specially in 

 detail. Classical studies are assiduously pur- 

 sued. There are G. Vitelli and G. Mazzoni's ex- 

 cellent Manual of Greek and Latin Literature; 

 good translations of The Knights of Aristophanes 

 (by A. Franchetti) and the Hymns of Bacchylides 

 (in prose, by N. Festa) ; Giussani's studies on Epi- 

 curus; and a new periodical, Atene e Roma, pub- 

 lished by the Societa Italiana per gli Studii Clas- 

 sici. Vox Urbis is a new periodical, entirely in 

 Latin, published at Rome. Art literature has been 

 enriched by A. Venturi's iconographic study of La 

 Madonna and G. Magherini-Graziani's L'Arte a 

 Citta di Castello. 



Of fiction that is noteworthy or signed by 

 familiar names we find A. G. Barrili's Raggio di 

 Dio (last of the five novels of the Columbus cycle) 

 and Sorrisi di Gioventu; La Carrozza di Tutti, 

 by E. de Amicis (sketches of life in the public 

 conveyance) ; E. Castelnuovo's I Coniugi Varedo 

 (a simple story, true, without phrase or pathos) 

 and Natalia ed altri Racconti; Capuana's II Brac- 

 cioletto: Novelle (1898; concise; naturalistic); 

 Marchese F. Nobili Vitelleschi's La Roma che 

 se ne va (" interesting and vivid picture of Roman 

 society about 1870"); E. A. Maresciotti's Arturo 

 Dalgas (fifth edition; not remarkable, though 

 psychologically interesting) and Clara Albiati (a 

 sultry orgie of sensuality; the participants psy- 

 chologically explained) ; A. Panzini's Moglie 

 nuova (offers little new in the woman question) ; 

 A. Albertazzi's Ora e sempre (marital infelicity; 

 dramatic material skillfully handled) ; Edoardo 

 Calandra's La Bufera; and Tullio Giordana's Le 

 Greche (three graceful and delicate stories of the 

 Graeco-Turkish War). We are told that, as on 

 the stage, so in fiction, French influence and fash- 

 ion vitiate literature; the novel of adultery is 

 much cultivated even by the increasing number 

 of women writers. Verse worth noting is found 

 in A. Orvieto's Sposa Mystica and The Veil of 

 Maia (favorably received) ; A. Baccelli's L'Iride 

 Umana; In Umbra, by Giovanni Cena, a new 

 poet, original and sincere, of no school (shows 

 strong feeling, vivid imagination) ; Ugo Fritelli's 

 Primule (graceful) ; and Enrico Giacobini's Tem- 

 pre (delicacy and fine elaboration). The drama 

 of the year includes Sogno d'un Mattino di Prima- 

 vera, Sogno d'una Notta d'Autunno, Gioconda: 

 Tragedia (melancholy, unpleasant, highly poet- 

 ical language, fine description of scenery, says 

 a German critic ; " imperfections, due to inexperi- 

 ence, . . . but what poetry! what a wave of pas- 

 sion! " a noble attempt to replace grotesque real- 

 ism by " fresh and fragrant poetry," says an Ital- 

 ian writer), La Gloria: Tragedia (declined by the 

 public ; symbolic, introducing " glory " in the 

 extreme potentiality of a demoniac force; lacks 

 " definite personages, de^nite action, and definite 

 time " ; a spirituel piece of work, whether we 

 agree with the author or not) all four by G. 

 d'Annunzio; Roberto Bracco's drama Tragedie 

 delP Anima (triumphant success; author shows 

 psychological depth and dramatic skill) ; Gio- 

 vanni Bovio's Leviatano (first of a trilogy; for 

 the student, not for the stage) ; and Giannino 

 Antona Traversi's interesting comedy La Scuola 

 del Marito. 



Norway. Local history is contributed to in 

 D. Gronvold's Bergen, Past and Present, and 

 Kaptein Abildgaard's Christiania. Questions of 

 law are considered in A. Taranger's trustworthy 



Retrospect of the History of Norse Law ; E. Hertz- 

 berg's learned Rights of Possession of Norse 

 Church Properties; and B. Morgenstierne's Lse re- 

 bog i den norske Statsforfatningsret. C. O. E. 

 Arbo's Contributions to the Anthropology of the 

 Norwegians is praised for absolute cxactnesH, and 

 O. Rygh's exhaustive Nomenclature; of Country 

 Estates and Townships and A. Holland's Topo- 

 graphical Survey of the country districts have 

 also been well received. New titles in philosophy 

 and theology are G. Fasting's Om Sanivittig- 

 heden; O. Jensen's Om Soning og Forsoning; H. 



A. T. Dedichen's "physio-psychical" writings; 

 Rev. M. Lae's large work on the Deluge; and a 

 new edition of Pastor C. Bruun's Folkelige Grund- 

 tanker (made a stir two decades ago by its at- 

 tack on classical education). B. Arnulf writes 

 of Et retfaerdigere Samfund. J. Bing's Norske 

 Digte og Digtere and Nils Kjaer's Boger og Bille- 

 der: Kritiske Forsog (1898; "fresh, spirituel, 

 and impressionistic " in style) are noteworthy 

 contributions to literary criticism. There is no 

 very remarkable fiction. A fair share of. success 

 fell to E. Kraemmer's Byen's Faedre, G. Scott's 

 Fugl Fenix, H. E. Kinck's Hugormen, Mrs. A. 

 Skram's Afkom (1898) and Sommer, P. Egge's 

 Trondere, and others. V. Krag's Ralhel Stromme, 



B. Lie's Kaspar Bugge, and F. Viller's Gamle 

 Friks Diamant also appear in the record of belles- 

 lettres. Noteworthy poetry is found in Victoria, 

 en Kserligheds Historic ("a love song of the 

 finest," of a " wondrously clear and full melody," 

 replete with big, warm feeling), by Knut Hamsun, 

 whose poetry has undergone a " rich develop- 

 ment"; V. Krag's Vestlandsviser; and the ex- 

 cellent Digte of T. Anderson. New editions of 

 E. Storm's Doleviser (by H. Halvorsen, an author- 

 ity on dialects), finely illustrated, and of Hoi- 

 berg's comedies (carefully edited by N. Kjser) 

 are also noted. Foremost in dramatic literature 

 stands Bjornstjerne Bjornson's Paul Lange og 

 Tora Parsberg, marked by " deep, human interest, 

 but a rather unpopular subject"; the principal 

 character, a slightly veiled portrait of a noted 

 politician who committed suicide, is characterized 

 finely and with "eager sympathy"; the play 

 " vigorous and well wrought out." Of the other 

 plays, Mons Lie's lyrical drama Lombardo og 

 Agrippina and Mrs. Anna Munch's Sorte Svaner 

 are said to have a certain charm. The opening 

 of the new Norwegian National Theater at Chris- 

 tiania on Sept. 1, 1899, after twenty years of 

 effort and agitation, was a memorable event in 

 the annals of the stage in Norway; it had, also, a 

 political as well as an aesthetic significance. 



Poland. National history is illustrated in T. 

 Korzon's The Prosperity and Adversity of John 

 Sobieski (3 vols.) ; Vol. II of History of the 

 Polish Nation, by W. Grabienski (Smolenski) ; 

 R. Lubienski's General Tomasz Pomian hrabia 

 Lubienski; Hirszberg's The False Demetrius; and 

 A. Kraushar's The Bourbons in Exile in Mittau 

 and Warsaw. The Unconscious Traditions of 

 Mankind (Bezwiedne Tradycje Ludskosci), by J. 

 Ochorowicz, is " a study of the psychology of 

 history." The Hoene-Wronski affair is revived 

 again in I. Drzewiecki's pamphlet O Filozofii 

 Hoene-Wr6nskiego Polemika z powodu ksiazki P. 

 S. Dickstejna. To the great national poet are 

 devoted A. Belcikowski's Adam Mickiewicz: A 

 Psychological Study of the Poet ; P. Chmielowski's 

 The ./Esthetics of Mickiewicz; and a brilliant essay 

 by Mme. Konopnicka. L. Myet has brought out 

 a noteworthy new edition of the letters of Juliusz 

 Slowacki, the famous poet, and Vol. VIII of the 

 works of W. Spasowicz has seen the light. Be- 

 sides new works by well-known authors, such 



