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within the compass of his finite powers. The great object of the poetry and the fine arts of Paganism, is pleasure. “Here," says Maroncelli, "is the secret of the whole; selfish pleasure, without elevation."

Far different from this, are the fine arts and poetry of Christianity. The Christian regards himself, not as a solitary, independent being, but as bound to the human race by the social ties. Every act which he performs, every effort of mind, is to be viewed, not merely in reference to himself, but as having an influence upon his fellow men. The great object of Christian art is Good, which is to be taught not less by epic, lyric, or dramatic poetry, than in the didactic form; this great lesson is infused into every branch of Christian art, and forms the essence of its being. The great model which the Christian places before him, not for imitation, but as the source of his inspiration, is the Deity. He regards creation as the mirror of the Almighty, and in his own works of art he endeavours to portray the same Infinite existence. "The Pagan artist," says Maroncelli, "scales the loftiest summit of the Andes; but there heaven is excluded from his view as by a vault of adamant, which (save in its proportions) is to him like the wall of his studio, bounded on every side. Hence he surveys the earth, to him the universe, and this supposed universe is the palette which supplies him with colors to paint; what? Himself." "The Christian artist feels himself unbound, not only from earth, but from the whole creation over which he has dominion. He grasps it in his hand, and bearing it upward to Him of whom it is the image, they there repose in a divine union with the universal Being.

Pagan and Christian art agree in one respect, which is in accomplishing their objects by the representation of outward forms, as sculpture, poetry, painting. Hence they are said to be plastic, that is, creating forms as the means by which they effect their purposes. The great difference between them is in these purposes; that of Pagan art being merely selfish pleasure, while Christian art has for its object the good of the whole race. The former is material and selfish, the latter spiritual and benevolent.

Having drawn this comparison between Christian and Pagan art, Signor Maroncelli proceeds to give a definition of the term Cor-mentalism. The word is derived from two others; core, which signifies heart or sentiment, and mente, which is

translated mind, comprehending thought and imagination. "In this compound, the word mente is used to denote every creation properly intellectual; and the word core, every creation emanating from the feelings, from the gentlest breath of affection to the strongest emotion. Christian art, in the highest and abstract sense of the term, is characterized by this union. Still there are many poets in Paganism, who deserve to be called cor-mental, and many Christian poets to whom the term cannot be applied; and the remaining portion of the chapter is occupied with an examination of various writers, principally Italian however, as bearing the test of Cor-mentalism or not. For the concise and masterly view which it gives of Italian literature, especially of a later date, this treatise will be read with great interest. But little is known here of the modern writers of Italy; indeed the chapter on Cor-mentalism will be found to contain many names which have never reached this continent. The literature which was elicited by the "Conciliatore" had scarcely drawn the breath of life, before it was stifled by the oppressive hand of Austria; and they whose talents and genius would have been recognised and admired by the world, had they lived under happier auspices, the authors of a regenerated literature, were hurried away to Spielberg, and buried alive in its gloomy dungeons. And with them their literature has been consigned to oblivion.

And now, one by one, they are beginning to emerge from the frightful tomb where they have dragged out the best years. of their life; and they come, with minds strengthened and hearts purified by suffering, to address the whole civilized world in tones of deeper pathos than Tragedy ever uttered. They come to tell us the story of their wrongs, to claim an asylum, to mourn over the ruin of their country, to wait calmly till her call shall again summon them from beyond the seas, and from every land of freedom, to put forth their energies for her liberation, and again perhaps to enter the vaults of Spielberg. But there were some, who might have beheld over their dungeon door the awful inscription which Dante read on the gates of Hell,

"Lasciate ogni speranza voi che 'ntrate," who were never to leave their prison but to be transferred to the mad-house or the tomb. Their companions, who survived the horrors which destroyed them, now come to tell their fate, to relate how one who was "condemned to death, as a

Carbonaro," and, "by the grace of the Emperor Francis I.," received a commutation of the sentence to "only fifteen years of carcere duro," died of hunger in the second year of his imprisonment; how another, goaded to madness, has been removed by order of the Emperor to end his days in another prison; and how others are still pining in hopeless captivity, loaded with chains, condemned to servile tasks, and tormented by their savage keepers.

Such is the story which we read in Maroncelli's "Additions." The most interesting part of the book is undoubtedly that which relates particularly to himself. We seemed to be acquainted with him through his friend Pellico, before he reached our shores. We had followed him with intense interest through the various scenes and horrors of his imprisonment; we had read with tears the story of his sufferings, his illness, his courage during the fearful operation to which he submitted; we had rejoiced with him at his liberation; and when he came among us and we grasped his hand, when we gazed on his mutilated form and remembered all that he had passed through, since he had been removed in the flower of youth from the society of man, we felt that one, whose character had undergone such an ordeal, had laid up for himself treasures which no rust could corrupt, and no thief could steal.

"Rifatto sì, come piante novelle
Rinnovellate di novella fronda,
Puro e disposto a salire alle stelle."

We are very glad to see that works, which are destined to so high a place, appear in a form worthy of themselves. We have never seen any thing more beautiful from the American press, than the two volumes before us, which deserve a place by the side of the most elegant modern English editions.* That they would be classically correct we felt sure, when we saw that they had issued from the press of Mr. Folsom. That the work would in every respect be elegant, we felt no less sure, when we found the name of Mr. Norton, as Editor; his beautiful edition of Mrs. Hemans, begun, but left unfinished from want of encouragement, showed plainly what was his taste in getting up editions of classic writers. The beauty of these volumes is peculiarly gratifying, however, when we remember that they are American; that the copy-right is secured; and that they are not to be subjected to the debasing touch of

*We speak of those copies, which escaped mutilation by the binder.

those harpies of literature, the republishers of the United States, who defile the banquet prepared by the writers of England. That these volumes are sacred from all such violation, is a mercy for which we desire to be duly thankful. And while touching upon this subject, we cannot forbear calling the attention of our readers to the importance of the establishment of a law, enabling foreign writers to obtain a copyright for their works in this country, at the same time that they are published in Europe. This subject is now beginning to attract public notice. Several of our journals have expressed themselves in favor of such a copy-right law, and some have declared against it. We shall not pretend to offer here all the arguments in defence of such a law, nor to combat all that may be said on the other side. Our wish is to state the case as simply as possible, with the hope of engaging the attention and interest of others, who are better qualified to conduct the debate.

ers.

It is probably known to most readers, that English, and other foreign writers, are not allowed to take out a copy-right for their publications in this country. Any American has the liberty of republishing, abridging, altering, adding to a foreign book at his pleasure, without any reference whatever to the author. This liberty affords great advantages to our publishWithin thirty days' sail of us, there is a great country more populous than our own, where our language prevails. The success of a book is abundantly tried there; and if it is well received, the American publisher has only to reprint and sell it as his own. The copy-right costs him nothing, and he therefore enjoys the double profits of author and publisher. We say nothing of the injustice which is thus done to English writers, not because it is of small importance, but because we wish to view the subject exclusively as it relates to Americans. It must be obvious to every one, that, as long as this state of things lasts, and while there are as many writers and publishers in England as in America, our publishers will have quite enough to occupy them in reprinting English works. An American would not be so foolish as to pay a native writer a fair price for his copy-right of a work, which he is not sure of selling when printed, if he can obtain for nothing the work of some English author, of such well-known popularity, that the sale of an edition is certain. The most important consequence of this is, that there is no encouragement for Ameri

can writers, and therefore, comparatively speaking, there can be no American literature. There will be some undoubtedly, who will assert that it is not desirable that there should be any native literature; but with such persons we decline any controversy. Our whole argument is founded upon the supposition that it is a great want; that it is superior to all other considerations, which may arise in discussing the question; superior to the importance of having books sold very cheap; superior even to the consideration of our publishers' growing rich in five years instead of ten. The reason which has always been assigned for not passing such a law, is that the absence of it promotes the cause of literature in this country; inasmuch as it affords books at a much lower rate than they could be bought otherwise, and places within the reach of many persons, books which they could not buy, if the price were higher; and that it encourages home manufactures, by enabling our publishers to reprint all of the English works which are likely to be sought. The mistake here is, that the arrangement favors the wrong set of men. It is the writers who are to be regarded as the manufacturers, not the publishers. The American publishers, who reprint English works, are the importers and venders of foreign manufactures.

It may be said indeed that American writers are paid for their copy-rights. A very small number are paid; we doubt whether a dozen writers in this country could be mentioned, whose copy-right could be sold to any publisher for a sum sufficient to repay them for the trouble of writing a book. A very small number of writers of great celebrity are able to sell their manuscripts to advantage, because the publisher, when he puts out the reprint of an English work, incurs the risk of seeing his neighbour republish the work in a still cheaper form; whereas the work of an American popular writer, though not so profitable, is secure from the piracy of other publishers. The thing to be considered is, not how many American writers are paid for their works, but how many are not paid; what a vast number there are to enter the lists for competition, provided they are once fairly opened; how many original, thinking minds are prevented from coming before the public, from the mere inability to bear the expense of publication. It should be remembered that writers are more frequently poor, than rich men; and that numbers, who might have done honor to themselves and good to their countrymen,

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