largely in the work of the past year, having been encouraged by the Society of the History of the Revolution, and by a special chair established by the Faculty of Letters at Paris. Some of the books in this department are M. Aulard's "Le Culte de la Raison et le Culte de l'Etre Suprême, 1793-1794," the fourth volume of M. Albert Sorel's "L'Europe et la Révolution," and M. H. Houssaye's "1815." Other historical studies are M. Thureau-Dangin's work on the reign of Louis Philippe, M. Spuller's work on Lamennais, M. Leroy-Beaulieu's "La Papaute, L'Eglise, et la Démocratie," and M. Benoist's "L'Eglise et l'Etat." In poetry, M. Jose Maria de Heredia's "Les Trophees" is singled out for special praise. In fiction, the place of first importance is given to M. Zola's "La Débâcle," of which we read:
"When this work appeared its morality was the subject of much discussion. Some of its critics took exception to the mournful picture of the military disorganization, the despair and general hopelessness which marked the terrible downfall of the empire. Some, indeed, went so far as to accuse M. Zola of a serious lack of patriotism for having thus laid bare the story of our army's sufferings and defeats. These criticisms do not seem to me to have much foundation. The catastrophe at Sedan, terrible as it was, had certain lessons to teach, and it is well that someone should have interpreted them. There is a patriotism, as sincere and as ardent as the other, which finds in a defeat something to be learned and pondered over for future guidance."
Other noteworthy works of fiction are M. Bourget's "Terre Promise" aand "Cosmopolis," M. Margueritte's "Sur le Retour," M. Prevost's "L'Automne d'une Femme," M. France's "Rôtisserie de la Reine Pédauque," M. Barres's "L'Ennemi des Lois," and M. Lemaître's "Les Rois." In criticism are mentioned a volume of essays by M. Brunetière, M. de Vogüé's "Heures d'Histoire," and M. Doumic's "De Scribe à Ibsen." M. Reinach concludes his article in the following hopeful strain:
"The ethic—or, to use a less pretentious word, the moral character—of literature is regaining importance. The most of our men of letters are writers with a thesis—even those who seem to sacrifice the least to the desire of proving a truth; and the most wayward allow themselves to be impressed by the serious problems of the moment. In poetry, too, symbolism—efforts to express what young theorists call 'the mystery of things'—is a sign of the general state of men's minds. It is the same with the historian in the choice of subject, and with the character and part some assign to critics. 'L'art pour l'art,' 'le désintéressement littéraire,' are phrases that have had their day, as well as descriptions of gross realities. The object of our best writers appears to be to teach men what one of them calls 'le devoir présent et l'action morale.'"
Herr Robert Zimmermann, who writes the German article, says that the literature of his country at the present day has less to fear from a comparison with contemporary literatures than from a comparison with its former greatness, with the "time of its literary classicism and philosophical idealism," which is so obvious as hardly to be worth the saying. In dramatic literature, nothing published has been found worthy of the Grillparzer prize, which is awarded only to dramas of inherent worth and proved success upon the stage. We have mention, however, of Herr Fulda's "Das Verlorene Paradies" and "Die Sklavin," of Herr Sudermann's "Hirmat," of Herr Hauptmann's "Die Weber," of Herr Wilbrandt's "Der Meister von Palmyra," and of Herr Widmann's "Jenseits von Gut und Böse." The latter title is also given to the latest philosophical work of Herr Nietzsche. This is a very fin de siècle book, as appears from the writer's comment:
"The justifiable contention that the man who has arrived at complete moral control over himself no longer requires the leading-strings of duty and legal restraint goes too far when it is assumed that commands and precepts are only binding upon 'lower' mankind, and that the 'higher,' or so-called 'upper,' mankind is above the law and the opposite qualities of good and bad. The moral cynicism contained therein is veiled by the semblance of greatness that superiority to the law conjures up in the minds of naïve readers and onlookers."
Among novels, Herr Heyse's "Merlin" leads the list, followed by the "Per Aspera" of Dr. Ebers, the "Sonntagskind" of Herr Spielhagen, and the "Glaubenslos" of Frau von Ebner-Eschenbach. The Goethe Gesellschaft has been active during the year, and has done something towards the rehabilitation of Christiane. There has been no end of Bismarck literature, mostly ephemeral. Herr Nietzsche, besides the book already mentioned, has published the fourth volume of his principal work, "Also Sprach Zarathustra." Having fallen a victim to the curse of insanity, the career of this brilliant writer is probably closed.
Literature has been active in all three of the Scandinavian countries, and we much regret that Norway should be unrepresented in the "Athenæum" symposium. Herr Alfred Ipsen, writing from Denmark, tells us:
