I see that Sir J. Lubbock gives all Horace and no Juvenal. I may be peculiar, but I would willingly exchange all the Satires and Epodes of the former for three or four of the Satires of the latter. The realism (to use the modern phrase) of Juvenal is less offensive than the corruptness of Horace.
3. The modern list is admirable. Only in history why recommend Green's "Short History of England," at least to any who can get his noble "History of the English People?" As I have said, I would omit Lewes' "History of Philosophy," replacing it by Maurice; and would add Dean Milman's "History of Christianity" (the early period). There is not a single ecclesiastical history on the list. In biography, again, the catalogue seems defective. I would add Johnson's "Lives of the Poets," Walton's Lives, Stanley's "Life of Arnold," and Carlyle's "John Sterling." Among essayists I would suggest Carlyle (select essays, and lectures on "Heroes"), also, as I have said, John Foster and certainly Charles Lamb. For Emerson's Essays I would substitute his "Society and Solitude," and would limit the Macaulay list to about half-a-dozen. Mill on "Liberty" should also be included.
In Poetry I would add Milton's "Il Penseroso"—this, however, may be included in Sir John Lubbock's mention of the "shorter poems"—and "Paradise Regained." Wordsworth I would read; "not restricting the choice to Mr. Arnold's selection," and if room were thereby overfilled I would willingly give up "Thalaba" and "Kehama," with the rest of Southey's works. Then to Gray Cowper ought certainly to be added. Nor would I willingly surrender "Childe Harold;" although to part with all the rest of Byron would cause no pang.
The choice of fiction seems good, although here agreement can hardly be expected between any two readers. For instance, I should prefer "Mansfield Park" to "Pride and Prejudice"; I think "Esmond" Thackeray's masterpiece; and would add "Silas Marner" to "Adam Bede." It is wise, I think, to omit all living authors.—Faithfully yours,
Samuel G. Green, D.D.
VI.—Universities and Public Schools.
Among those to whom we applied for such advice as might help the rising generation to choose its reading more wisely we naturally included some of the leading men in our seminaries of true religion and sound learning. We give first the letters we received from the head masters of the two principal public schools.
THE HEAD MASTER OF ETON.
Dr. E. Warre wrote to us as follows:—
It seems hardly worth while to write over again the names of works which have already found a place on Sir John Lubbock's list, but I have jotted some names which strike me as absent from it. Taking the divisions of your classification as I. to IX., I have numbered them accordingly in the list which I enclose.
I see that Sir John Lubbock excludes living authors from his list:—
I.
Bouddha. (B. de St. Hilaire.)
II.
Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, Book V.
Stanley's "Jewish Church."
Ewald's "History of Israel."
F. W. Robertson's Sermons and Lectures on Epistle to Corinthians.
III.
Xenophon's Hellenica," "De Rep. Atheniensium," "Œconomicus."
Jowett's "Plato;" Thucydides; "Politics" of Aristotle; Church and Brodribb's Tacitus; Worsley's "Odyssey."
N. B.—"Guide to the Choice of Classical Books," by J. B. Mayor (Cambridge), will be found most useful.
VI.
Hallam's "Middle Ages," "History of Literature," "Constitutional History."
Green's "History of the English People."
Macaulay's "History of England."
Stanhope's "Reign of Queen Anne."
Stanhope's "Life of Pitt."
Lecky's "History of England," 18th Century.
Carlyle's "Frederick the Great."
Thiers's "Consulat et l'Empire."
Napier's "Peninsular War."
Hooper's "Waterloo."
VIII.
L'Abbé Huc's "China and Thibet."
Palgrave's "Arabia."
IX.
Gray's Poems and Letters.
THE HEAD MASTER OF HARROW,
Dr. J. E. C. Welldon, in sending us his list, prefaced it with the following remarks:—
I wish to apologize for my delay in replying to your courteous request of the 12th inst. I have been absent from home until to-day. You will do society a great service if by drawing attention to the best books of all the ages you can succeed in making young people believe there is something very much better worth reading than the newspapers and magazines of to-day. Without any thought of improving the lists of 100 books which have been sent you by so many distinguished people, I have tried to think how I should answer a boy's question if he were to ask me at any point of his school life what books it were best worth while to read before the end (let me say) of his thirtieth year.
