oward
an equalization of human intellect, it has, perhaps, made the deeps of
thought shallower, and weakened the concentration and devotion of mind
which marked the scholars of former centuries. The fields of
knowledge, once but a small manor, have broadened into a kingdom; and,
grasping at total possession, men prefer the shortest and easiest ways
of obtaining it. Works of the imagination, and fictions, illustrative
of life and society, which are now multiplied to an indefinite extent,
unfit the common mind for those grave and serious studies which were
once almost the only road to literary distinction.

The consequence of this is, that books are written with a view to
their being _read_; and where the subject is addressed to the
understanding alone, polished and classic language, or more frequently
an assumed peculiarity of style, is used to hold the ear captive, and
through it the intellect. The modern writers of history especially,
seize upon scenes and situations which involve strong dramatic effect,
endeavoring, as it were, to reproduce the past, by painting its events
with the most vivid colors of description. They do not give the
polished, stately _bas-reliefs_ of the old historians, but glowing
_pictures_, perhaps less distinct in their outlines, but conveying a
stronger impression of real life. The works of Prescott, (who has
maintained, however, a happy medium between these styles,) Michelet,
Lamartine, and Carlyle, furnish striking examples of this.

The present work fills a blank which has long existed among historical
works--that of a Universal History, which, embracing the prominent
events of all ages, placed before the reader in a clear and
comprehensive arrangement, shall yet be so simple and brief as to
command the perusal of the great laboring classes, who would shrink
from the study of Rollin or Rotteck, as a task too serious to be
undertaken. The abridgment of Schlosser's "Weltgeschichte," which we
believe has never been translated, contains these qualifications in an
eminent degree; yet its high philosophical tone is rather adapted to
the scholar than the general reader. Gibbon's great work, from its
magnificence of language, long retained a place in popular favor, and
will always be read by the diligent historical student, but of late
years it has ceased to be in common use. Our knowledge of ancient
history has been wonderfully extended by the study of the modern
Asiatic languages, and the resto