514 



The Review of Reviews. 



June 1, 1906. 



eible for Russia and England to arrive at an entente 

 with reference to their Asiatic possessions similar to 

 the Anglo-French entente, and he is sure that both 

 in England and Russia the idea has warm partisans. 

 Considering the past, it may seem unlikely and Uto- 

 pian, but to-day, and especially in the futui-e, an 

 entente would be justified. It is worthy of a wise 

 policy to look ahead and to see in it a future law to 

 regulate the relations of England and Russia in Cen- 

 tral Asia. 



BEETHOVEN'S SONATAS. 



Camille Bellaigue, writing in the same number, has 

 an interesting article on Beethoven's Piano Sonatas. 

 The sonatas, he says, are the most " intimate " mas- 

 tei-pieces of their composer, and the most personal, 

 being the only works he himself interpreted. But 

 who can define the elements of Beethoven's sonatas? 



In rhythm Beethoven is the greatest of all musi- 

 cians — ni the domain of passion and in the domain 

 of peace and calm. As to melody, Beethoven, after 

 having sought it in pain and anguish, as his sketch- 

 books show, gives it to us at once and for always as 

 soon as he has got possession of his idea. Sometimes 

 it runs to several lines, at other times a veiy few notes 

 suffice. The sonatas are musical, even in their silence. 

 As Reinecke says, we must take care to observe " the 

 admirable and wonderful silences which Beethoven 

 has composed." 



But the moral beauty of the sonatas surpasses all 

 their other beauties. The kingdom of Beethoven is 

 in himself. With a soul for suffering and anger, he 

 is none the less capable of tenderness and joy. There 

 is nothing comparable to his desolation but his 

 ecstasy and rapture. He knew every form and every 

 degree of sorrow, as well as every manner and 

 every subtle variety of joy. Every sonata 



represents a struggle — the struggle of life — 

 but it always ends in victory. Nothing is more beau- 

 tiful tlian his rebellion, except his patience and his 

 resignation, for it is not by violence that he liberates 

 himself. His whole work is a counsel and a command 

 embodied in the two words and the three notes of the 

 first theme of one of the greatest sonatas, " Lebe 

 wohl !" (Live well), the admirable formula of the 

 German adieu. 



VENEZUELA. 



In the second March number Rene Pinon writes on 

 Venezuela and the French diflficulties. For States a.'i 

 well as for individuals, says the writer, it is some- 

 times a calamity to be born too rich. Nature has 

 overwhelmed Venezuela with advantages, which 

 though they may be the measure of her future pros- 

 perity, are none the less the source of her present 

 troubles. This country pckssesses such elements of 

 wealth as attract emigrants and foreign capital, and 

 provoke a constant movement of change. Too far 

 from Eurooe to fear a military expedition, the Re- 

 publics of South America aie most favourable centres 

 for ferment and revolution. They are spared the 

 necessity of the struggle for life which is the stimii- 

 luK which maintains the moral force of nations and 

 the national cohesion of neoples. With regard to 

 the present conflict with France, the writer thinks 

 the ideal solution would be a revolution which would 

 relieve Venezuela of the tyranny of President Castro. 



THE ITALIAN REVIEWS. 



Each of the March numbers of the Eassegna Xa- 

 z>on<ile contains, as a first article, a contribution to 

 the discussion aroused by the Bishop of Cremona's 

 remarkable Pastoral urging the advantages of a sepa- 

 ration between Church and State, published within a 



few days of the Pope's encyclical condemning separa- 

 tion ais it has been imposed by the French Govern- 

 ment. A\ hen it is remembered that Bishop Bonomelli 

 is the most distinguished and popular prelate in 

 North Italy, the excitement caused by his Pastoral 

 can be imagined. The effoils of the liasseQiw are to- 

 wards minimising the apparently irreconcilable differ- 

 ences in I he the two utterances, and the well-known 

 Senator, F. Nobili-Vitelleschi, affirms that the 

 Bishop's object was merely to encourage Catholics by 

 showing that where a State maintains an inimical, 

 attitude towards religion, separation is preferable to 

 subjection, and can be turned to the advantage of the 

 Church. He further points out that the Pope's final 

 letter disapproving of the Pastoral condemns neither 

 the author nor the ideas, but merely the inopportune- 

 ness of the publication in view of the actual condi- 

 tion of affairs in France. 



Events in the Far East give a peculiar interest to 

 St. Frances Xavier's impressions of the Japanese in 

 the sixteenth century, summarised in an article in the 

 Civilta Cutfoticd. It would seem that their intellec- 

 tual gifts and their many moral virtues were as 

 marked then as now, and of the first Japanese brought 

 to him at Malacca by some Portuguese merchants, 

 the great missionary wrote : "If all are as eager for 

 knowledge as this one, their nation is the most re- 

 markable of any we have come across." Later letters 

 from Japan describe their honesty, their sense of 

 honour, their domestic virtues, and their extraordin- 

 ary eagerness to acquaint themselves with the teach- 

 ings of Christianity, qualities which made Xavier 

 declare that the Japanese were the only Asiatic na- 

 tion that gave hopes of permanently embracing Chris- 

 tianity. A chatty, series of articles describing in 

 sympathetic vein a visit to Ireland begins in the 

 same number (March 17th). 



Einaschnento is one of the more recent of the 

 Italian magazines, which has for its aim the chronic- 

 ling and interpreting the newer literary and arti.stic 

 tendencies of the day, more e.specialiy those that 

 have their rise in Paris. A recent number (February 

 20th) contains an extremely well-informed summary 

 of the symbolst movement in France. L. Caouana 

 reviews eulogistically the Memoiis of Linda Murri, 

 an autobiography in the guise of fiction, in which the 

 heroine of a recent cause celebre lays her case before 

 the public. 



The Eiristo d'ltalia publishes an excellent article 

 on the electoral successes of the English Labour Party, 

 and discusses also the evolutionary theories of Pro- 

 fessor George Darwin, t'nder the title, " The Cal- 

 vai-v of a Queen," G. Galatti sketches the tragic fate 

 of Marie Louise of Bourbon, danghte-- of ' Monsieur " 

 and of Henrietta of England, who became the wife of 

 Charles II. of Spain. The author describes her as 

 "adding one more victim to the martvrologv of 

 foreign princes.'^es who have paid bitterly for" the 

 proud privilege of sitting as Queens on the throne of 

 St. Ferdinand." 



Perhaps the most noteworthy article in the Suova 

 Autoloqio is that by the Editor. Maggiorino Ferraris, 

 describing the amazing growth of agricultural co 

 operation in Germany, as reported to the great co- 

 operative Congress held at Strasburg last autumn. 

 Increasing steadily at the rate of 1000 a year, there 

 are to-day over 19,000 co-operative societies — loan- 

 banks, dairies, etc. — throughout Germanv, with a 

 membership of 2.000,000. It is what Ferr.iris rightlv 

 calls " a colossal edifice, stronger than granite, built 

 up, step by step, on a basis of thrift, brotherhood, 

 and labour." The German Government has had its 

 share in fostering the moven>ent. and the writer 

 appeals to his own country to do for the Italian pea- 

 sant what has been so successful elsewhere. 



