_Montaigne: The Endless Study and Other Miscellanies_, is a translation
from the French of ALEXANDER VINET, with an Introduction and Notes, by
ROBERT TURNBULL (published by M. W. Dodd). The principal part of these
Essays are addressed to the numerous class of cultivated minds, that
with a profound sense of the beauty and grandeur of the Christian
religion, have failed to receive it as a divine revelation, or as the
authoritative guide of character and life. With regard to the author, we
are informed by Dr. Turnbull, that "he was distinguished as much for
simplicity as dignity of character, for profound humility as for exalted
worth. Apparently as unconscious of his greatness as a star is of its
light, he shed upon all around him a benignant radiance. In a word, he
walked with God. This controlled his character, this shaped his manners.
Steeped in holy love, he could not be otherwise than serene and gentle.
He published a volume of philosophical criticisms, in which he discusses
with uncommon depth and subtlety, but in language of exquisite clearness
and force, some of the highest problems in philosophy and morals, and
dissects the maxims and theories of such men as Montaigne, Voltaire,
Rochefoucauld, Jouffroy, Cousin, Quinet, and Lamartine. His fine genius
for philosophical speculation, in connection with his strong, common
sense, and his unwavering faith in the Gospel are here strikingly
developed." Among the subjects treated of in this volume, are the
Character of Montaigne, The Idea of the Infinite, the Moral System of
Jouffroy, The Claims of Heaven and Earth adjusted, and others of a
similar bearing. They are discussed in the light of philosophical
principles, and with a certain breadth of view, not always found in
theological essays. The translator has not confined himself with rigid
fidelity to the phraseology of the author, although for the sake of the
vivacity and interest which it imparts, he occasionally retains the
French idiom--a dangerous precedent to be adopted by unskillful hands.

Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, have published a collection of
_Orations and Speeches_, by CHARLES SUMNER, comprising his Anniversary
Discourses on The True Grandeur of Nations; The Scholar, The Jurist, The
Artist, The Philanthropist; Fame and Glory; The Law of Human Progress;
The War System of the Commonwealth of Nations; a Lecture on White
Slavery in the Barbary States; Three Tributes of Friendship to Joseph
Story, John P