258

BECKS' ELEMENTS OF MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. [July,

who atone for political deprivation by domestic faith, and cherish the ideal of nationality by sequestered devotion to the sentiment whose realization they consider not impracticable, but postponed. The fairest and the wisest of the group so fondly read in a little volume throughout the voyage, that we could not restrain a desire to know the title of her vade-mecum, especially as every time the sea-breeze stirred its pages a wild, melancholy frontispiece was revealed. It was the Ultime Lettere d' Jacopo Ortis. Years afterward, in America, we saw an exiled scholar of the same fair land continually solacing himself with a book inscribed with the farewell autograph of his most cherished friend. It was the Viaggio Sentimentale, translated by Didimo Chierico. Thus early and impressively were the actual and the assumed name of Ugo Foscolo associated in our thought with that intimate and household fame which is the dearest tribute humanity pays to genius.

ART. XIII. CRITICAL NOTICES.

1.- Elements of Medical Jurisprudence. By THEODRIC ROMEYN BECK, M. D., LL. D., and JOHN B. BECK, M. D. Eleventh Edition, with Notes by an Association of the Friends of Drs. Beck; the whole revised by C. R. GILMAN, M. D., Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1860. 8vo. pp. xxiv., 884, 1003, Index 23 columns.

THIS work appeared nearly forty years ago, and at once took the distinguished rank which it still retains, as the standard authority upon one of the most important subjects which can engage the attention of lawyer, physician, or citizen. It was republished in London, with notes by Dr. Dunlap, as early as 1825; was republished in that city no less than three times; and was translated into German and published at Weimar in 1828. A writer in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, in 1824, says:

"At length the English language may boast that it is possessed of a general work on medical jurisprudence, which will not only stand comparison with the best of the kind that the Continent has produced, but which may also be re

ferred to by every medical jurist as a monument worthy of his science, and as a criterion by which he is willing that its interest and utility should be tried. . . . . . We may securely assert, that a work on the subject is not to be found in any language which displays so much patient and discriminating research, with so little of the mere ostentation of learning."

The eminent Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Thomas Stewart Traill, says, in the Encyclopædia Britannica, that Beck's treatise is "the best work on the general subject which has appeared in the English language." The author of the "Popular and Practical Introduction to Law Studies" remarks:

"The best work by far upon the subject of Forensic Medicine, of all those which have come under the author's notice, is the Medical Jurisprudence of Dr. Beck, which is not only an instructive, but a highly interesting work."

It will be observed that these eulogistic notices apply to the earlier issues. The tenth edition, published in 1850, was not only carefully revised, but also enlarged to the extent of several hundred pages, numerous and important additions being made to almost every chapter. In the Eleventh Edition we find incorporated the large and latest manuscript collections of the deceased author, and valuable contributions by Drs. D. Tilden Brown, R. H. Coolidge, Austin Flint, B. W. McCready, Samuel St. John, John Watson, J. P. White, and the editor, C. R. Gilman. But we will let the editor speak for himself:

-

"After the death of T. Romeyn Beck, it was ascertained that he had, with characteristic industry, collected a large amount of matter for a new edition of his treatise on Medical Jurisprudence. These materials were by his family placed in my hands, with a request that I would prepare the new edition for the press. Conscious of my own inability to do justice to such a trust, I sought aid from the friends of Dr. Beck. The required assistance was cheerfully rendered, and I was soon enabled to place most of the more important chapters in competent as well as friendly hands. In this way I hope that the public are assured of a good edition of the book, while the friends of the author have a very welcome opportunity to pay a sincere and well-deserved compliment to the memory of a wise and good man. The names of the gentlemen who united with me in this labor of love and respect are subjoined. I hope the list will serve as a guaranty that something has been done in this edition, if not to elevate the character, at least to add to the usefulness of a work which, at home and abroad, has been recognized as an honor to the medical literature of our country."

In view of the formidable array of professional learning now zealously contributing to the illustration of this department of science, how forcibly are we impressed with its altered status, as compared with its position half a century ago, when

"Mr. Perceval, in the House of Commons, declared that he was at a loss to understand what they [the Fox ministry] could mean by the appointment of a Professor of Medical Jurisprudence; he could not comprehend what was meant by the science. Mr. Canning, in the same debate, said he could alone account for such a nomination by supposing that, in the swell of insolence, and to show how far they could go, they had said: We will show them what we can do. We will create a Professor of Medical Jurisprudence.'” — New Annual Register, for 1807.

It was still longer before the people at large-"the stuff which 'juries' are made of" could be induced to take any interest in the subject:

"The ignorant state in which jurymen continually come to the consideration of points of evidence, on criminal trials, is lamentable. In regard to men of any habits of reading, it is really sinful; and certainly not the less so because the works which they ought to read and master happen to be about the most interesting and amusing books in the world." - Blackwood's Magazine.

Without pausing to comment on the adjective "amusing," as used by this writer, it is certainly true that the volumes before us possess an absorbing interest; and as every man is liable to be a juryman, it is every man's duty to avail himself of the knowledge thus placed in his hands. How many lives have been sacrificed by the wilful ignorance of juries upon the points referred to in the copious Index to these volumes! Surely, then, a work of this character should be in every private as well as public library; and as regards the lawyer and physician, whose professional reputation requires them to know the latest decisions connected with their respective departments, a book brought down to the present year is indeed a goodly boon, and one which would be cheap at many times the price demanded for these volumes, the beautiful workmanship of which reflects great credit upon the publishers.

2.-1. A Sketch of the Life and Educational Labors of Philip Lindsley, D. D., Late President of the University of Nashville. By LEROY J. HALSEY, D. D., Professor in the Theological Seminary of the Northwest, Author of "Literary Attractions of the Bible," etc. Republished from Barnard's Journal of Education for September, 1859. With Portrait. 8vo. pp. 46.

2. The Works of PHILIP LINDSLEY, D. D., Late President of the University of Nashville. Vol. I. Educational Discourses. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 8vo. pp. 588. pp. 588. With Portrait.

Or the intellectual fathers of the generation now on the stage, Dr.

Philip Lindsley was one of the most eminent, useful, and indefatigable in life, and his name will be held in deserved honor in coming years. Born December 21, 1786, near Morristown, New Jersey, he entered the Junior Class of the College of New Jersey in November, 1802; was graduated in September, 1804; taught school for about three years, first at Morristown, and subsequently at Basking Ridge; and from 1808 to 1810 performed the duties of Latin and Greek Tutor in the College at which he had been educated, preparing himself meanwhile for the ministry. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, April 24, 1810. In 1812 he became Senior Tutor, and in 1813 Professor of Languages, in the College of New Jersey. His learning and abilities as an instructor had now become widely known, and from his thirty-first year until the impossibility of inducing him to change his sphere had been thoroughly ascertained, he was in receipt of frequent invitations to honorable appointments, to an extent perhaps unparalleled in the collegiate history of our country. In 1817 he was twice chosen President of Transylvania University, Kentucky, and in both cases declined. In the same year he was elected Vice-President of the College of New Jersey, and in 1822, after Dr. Green's resignation, was for one year its acting President. In 1823 he was chosen President of Cumberland College, Tennessee, and also of the College of New Jersey, and declined both appointments. In 1824 he refused to consider overtures respecting the Presidency of Ohio University, at Athens, and in the same year at length yielded to repeated requests that he would accept the Presidency of Cumberland College (in and since 1826 styled the University of Nashville), Tennessee, where he labored until his resignation in 1853. As we have already intimated, his acceptance of the important position last referred to did not discourage the boards of trustees in various parts of the country from pressing their claims upon his attention. He was obliged to decline the Presidency of Washington College, at Lexington, Va., and of Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Pa., in 1829; that of the University of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa, in 1830; the Provostship of the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, and the Presidency of the College of Louisiana, at Jackson, in 1834; the Presidency of South Alabama College, at Marion, in 1837; and the Presidency of Transylvania University in 1839. When the aggregate of learned judgment represented by the action of so many boards of trustees is for a moment appreciated, we shall be justified in saying that the abilities and personal characteristics of no man who ever lived among us have received a more weighty indorsement. All literary men, especially all educators, therefore, will feel a lively interest in an attentive

examination of the suggestions of such a mind, as expressed in the thirteen Educational Addresses, Speeches, and Discourses contained in the beautifully printed octavo before us.

3. Wycliffe and the Huguenots; or, Sketches of the Rise of the Reformation in England, and of the Early History of Protestantism in France. By REV. WILLIAM HANNA, LL. D., Author of "Memoirs of Thomas Chalmers, D. D., LL. D." Edinburgh: Thomas Constable & Co. 1860. 16mo. pp. xv. and 276.

THIS volume comprises two courses, each consisting of four lectures, one on the age of Wycliffe with special reference to the ecclesiastical condition of England at that time, and one on the Huguenots down to the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, both delivered before the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution within the last three years. The design of both courses is the same, to present a vivid sketch of each period, together with a clear statement of the principles involved in the various theological controversies of the age. But the treatment is not the same in both cases, the first course being episodical and discursive, while the second adopts a more strictly narrative order. Both, however, give evidence of a large familiarity with the subject, and a strong and vigorous grasp of intellect, and both are well fitted to raise Dr. Hanna's reputation as a scholar. His style is clear and direct, with no peculiar graces, and with few peculiar faults. "Got its name from," "got estranged," and such uncouth phrases, however, are obvious blemishes; and a careful reader will not fail to notice the omission of the conjunction "and" from sentences composed of several members, or including a succession of epithets. The author's narrative is luminous, and his general observations are weighty and well considered; his judgment is almost always candid, and his pages show little of sectarian prejudice. Perhaps the best of his lectures are the lecture on “The Mendicant Orders," in the first course, and that on "The Massacre of St. Bartholomew," at the close of the second course. They present in a flowing and picturesque style the results of the most recent researches of Continental writers, and are worthy of special commendation for their freedom from rhetorical exaggeration. Several of the other lectures are scarcely inferior to these in thoroughness and vigor of treatment; and in all there are many striking and suggestive passages. We commend the volume to those interested in ecclesiastical history, as a judicious contribution to the literature of that department.