Welsh Journals

Cyfrinach y Dwyrain: By Rev. D. Cunllo Davies. Cymru Office, Carnarvon, pp. 120. Is. nett. This book forms a useful addition to the mis- cellaneous series issued as Uyfrau Ab Owen." It attempts to compress into small compass a rapid review of the most important discoveries in the countries of the Bible. The book is divided into seven chapters and deals with writings on stone, on clay-bricks, on papyri, on pottery and on parchment, in most attractive fashion. What a glorious enthus- iasm has been shown by devoted scholars in turning over the sods and pavements of the cities of long ago. The standpoint of the writer is that of one who seeks for material to corroborate and substantiate the narratives of the Bible, but the evidence is set out fairly and attention is drawn to the difficulty of judging which of two contemporaneous narratives may be the more correct. The problems sometimes present the same difficulty as that with which the student of the official communiques issued by the belligerent countries is faced to-day. Into the dry bones of archaeology is breathed a living spirit and the author does not lack a sense of humour. The human and personal touch is emphasized and we are made to sympathi?e with the dim figures of a far past. The discoveries recited have settled many a dispute and had they been made earlier would have scotched many a heresy. The importance of contemporary documents in interpreting the words used in the Gospels, as well as many an obscure reference to obsolete customs, is well shewn. We wish this little volume, which is so full of helpful information, could be placed in the hands of all earnest Bible students. They may have some of their precon- ceived notions disturbed, but they will gain a wider outlook and a greater respect for those who have laboured in the cause of truth. The author is quite confident that the latest researches confirm the authenticity of the Scriptures. We can imagine that the task of surveying Palestine undertaken by Lieutenant Kitchener in 1874, for the Palestine Exploration Fund, is not regretted to-day by the Minister for War. "What is wrong with Germany?" By William Harbutt Dawson. London: Longmam, Green & Co. Pp. 227. 2s. 6d. net. There are always bookmakers ready to write on Chinese Music and to prepare themselves for the task by turning up the Encyclopaedia Britannka under China and again under Musk. So with the literature which the war has called forth: those who have never set foot in the country or read a line of its language are prepared to reveal the innermost recesses of Germany's soul--if she has one, about which there is some doubt. Mr. Dawson is not of this sort, as all students know. From the day, over a quarter of a century ago, when he began to tell us of German Socialism and Lasalle to yesterday, when he published his most ambitious book, The Evolution of Modern Germany, he has instructed those who were willing to learn in the social and economic organization of Germany. He married the daughter of a distinguished Berlin Poor Law administrator he has heard Bismarck speak in the Reichstag and seen the tears roll down the cheeks of Professor Treitschke in the lecture-room. This last touch alone justifies this new book, for Treitschke was rapidly assuming a monstrous and inhuman shape in the public imagination. Similarly he holds the Emperor to be a deeply religious man in an Old Testament sense. Mr. Dawson moves easily through the philosophic and political literature of Germany and knows its daily press. Hence his book, though hurriedly written, has not been hurriedly thought out or deflected by the passions of the hour. It is. indeed, one of the most intimate and reliable introductions to a well balanced knowledge of our great enemy. Welsh Periodicals. "Cymru." Edited by 0. M. Edwards, M.A., Cwmni y Cyhoeddwyr Cymreig (Cyf.). 6c. Cymru for more than a quarter of a century has held, and still holds, the premier place among Welsh Monthlies. The January issue is always a double number; and the current number well maintains the high traditions of its predecessors. No man possesses a deeper and truer insight into the soul of Welsh life than the Editor of Cymru. This month he proves this anew in his admirable leading article on Wales' attitude to the War, the hesitation of the people at first to rush thoughtlessly to participate in the mad conflagration, and their readiness on realizing the issues at stake to give of their best and sacrifice beyond their neighbours to ensure a victory for those ideas of freedom and democratic rule which are so sacred to all Welshmen. He shows how the workers of Wales at last are realizing fully that this is a war against autocratic militarism and oppression. His grave and sane words will reach many in the glens and among the hills where the English newspaper is seldom seen, and where its language is still a foreign tongue. The whole number is full of interesting and readable matter, and the pictures are very good. The aim of Cymru has ever been educational rather than artistic; and in the last twenty-five years it has taught thousands of Welshmen to love our native tongue and cherish and read Welsh literature.