Book Review.

One of the books lately published by Putnam's Sons is a new translation of the first six books of the AEneid, by Henry Hamilton. The author prefaces the book with an apology for adding another translation to the already large number. Feeling, however, that Conington has not wholly succeeded in bringing out the spirit of the original, he has tried to improve on the latter's work It must be confessed that Mr. Hamilton has attempted a formidable task in entering into competition with so illustrious a translator as Conington. The author of this new edition has succeeded fairly well in what he has tried. While his metrical work is hardly above the average, he has adhered rigidly to the meaning of the original, and the result is a really valuable English presentation of Virgil's wonderful poem. Mr. Hamilton leaves the beaten track of translators. He introduces the innovation of making each character speak in a different metre. This, of course, is in direct violation of Virgil's hexameter. His plea in self-defense is an able presentation of his side of the case; but it is still doubtful whether it can be justified. The book is will worth a careful examination.

[Virgil's AEneid. The first six books translated by Henry Hamilton. G. P. Putnam's Sons. New York 1889.]