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of the most interesting chapters is occupied with the discussion of Pindar, in some respects the most interesting individuality in Greek literature,- "the most wonderful, perhaps, in lofty power, that the lyric poetry of any age can show." In the last chapter, on 'The Permanent Power of Greek Poetry,' Professor Jebb sums up the great elements in our present civilization directly traceable to the force and genius of the Greeks. In this work he unites rare literary skill with the ripest scholarship. To the student who seeks to know what Greece and her literature means to the present age, but who has no time for superfluous dates or facts, or disquisitions, this work is indispensable; for the author, a true Greek in a modern age, stands among the leading interpreters of her greatness.

Epictetus, The Morals of, consisting

of his 'Manual' and 'Discourses,' are the sole writings preserved to our age, through the assiduity of his pupil Arrian. Published in the early second century, they afford our only record of the doctrines of the greatest of the Stoics. The Manual,' still a favorite with all thoughtful readers, is a guide to right living. Its tone is that of a half-sad serenity that would satisfy the needs of the soul with right living in this world, since we can have no certain knowledge of the truth of any other. "Is there anything you highly value or tenderly love? estimate at the same time its true nature. Is it some possession? remember that it may be destroyed. Is it wife or child? remember that they may die." "We do not choose out our own parts in life, and have nothing to do with those parts; our simple duty is to play them well. The 'Discourses,' also, display a simple, direct eloquence; but they introduce frequent anecdotes to enliven an appeal or illustrate a principle. Both disclose the Phrygian freedman as a singularly noble soul, unaffected, pure, selfcentred, supremely gentle, and winning.

Alcestis, a tragedy, by Euripides. Ad

metus is doomed to die, but the Fates consent to spare him if he can find some one willing to die in his stead; and he is unmanly enough to beseech his aged parents, who refuse. His wife Alcestis, however, offers herself, and the unheroic Admetus accepts. Hercules passes that way, is entertained by Admetus, and

becomes scandalously merry and roystering, till he discovers the cause of the wailings and the signs of sorrow in the house, when he undertakes to rescue Alcestis from her fate. The Chorus of old men bewail the lot of their mistress. Admetus reproaches his father bitterly for not saving her by the sacrifice of his life; and the old man hurls back his insults, and taunts him with his cowardice in consenting to accept the offer of Alcestis. In the midst of this, Hercules once more stands on the threshold, this time with the veiled form of Alcestis beside him. Alceste, ou Triomphe d'Hercule' was acted with great success at Paris in 1674. The music was by Lulli. The libretto of the 'Alcestis' of Gluck, the most admired opera of the great master, was written by Calzabigi; and unlike most librettos, is a dramatic poem of a high order, full of strong situations and instinct with fervid passion. Browning deals with the same subject in 'Balaustion's Adventure.'

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a drama, by Euripides. (423 B. C.) The story, wrought into a drama of high patriotic and of profound human interest by Euripides, was that of Ion as the ancestor of the Ionians, or Athenian Greeks, reputed to be the son of Xuthus and his wife Creusa, but in reality a son of Apollo and Creusa. The god had caused the infant to be taken by Mercury from the cave where his mother had left him, and to be carried to his temple at Delphi, and brought up as a youthful attendant. Ion's character, and the part he plays as a child devotee at the time of the play, offer a singularly beautiful parallel to the story of the child Samuel in the Hebrew Scripture. The situation in this play, which circumstances had created, is that of Creusa, the mother, in a distracted state, seeking unwittingly the death of her own son. One of the finest passages is a dialogue of splendid power and beauty between Ion and Creusa. For freshness, purity, and charm, Ion is a character unmatched in all Greek drama. The whole play is often pronounced the finest left by Euripides. Its melodramatic richness in ingenious surprises was a new feature of Greek drama, which was especially characteristic of the new comedy of the next century. Mr. Paley says that "none of the plays of Euripides so clearly show his fine

mind, or impress us with a more favorable idea of his virtuous and humane character." The revelation of domestic emotions in the play, the singular beauty of the scenes which it presents, and the complexity and rapid transitions of its action, suggest a modern romantic drama rather than one strictly Greek. In its general design to represent Apollo, the god of music, poetry, medicine, and prophecy, as the head, through Ion, of the Ionians, the play was of great religious and patriotic interest to its Athenian audience. It can never fail, with its revelations of Greek "sweetness and light," to be of the deepest human interest.

The Ion of Talfourd bears no relation beyond that of a borrowed name to the play of Euripides. Its Ion figures as king of Argos, and the dramatic interest centres in his readiness to give his life to appease the Divine anger shown by a pestilence raging at Argos. The king's character is finely brought out, and the impression given of the relentless working of destiny is in the Greek spirit.

Birds, The, by the Greek dramatist

Aristophanes, is a comedy that appeared in 414 B. C. It belongs with the writer's earlier plays, in which farcical situations, exuberant imagination, and a linguistic revel, are to be noted. The comedy is a burlesque on the national mythology: the author creates a cloudland for his fancy to sport in without restraint. A couple of old Athenians, Euelpides and Peisthetairos, sick of the quarrels and corruptions of the capital, decide to quit the country. They seek Epops, now called Tereus, who has become King of the Birds. He tells them so much about the bird kingdom that they are interested; and after a council of the birds,—who, at first hostile, finally give the strangers a friendly reception,propose to build a walled city (CloudCuckoo-Land) to shut out the gods and enhance bird power. This is done under Peisthetairos's supervision. Various messengers come from Athens and are summarily treated; a deputation from the gods also comes, offering peace, which is accepted on condition that the birds a:e reinstated in all their old-time rights. The comedy closes with the marriage hymn for Peisthetairos and Basileia, the beautiful daughter of Zeus. Through

out, the bird chorus sings lofty poetry, and the comedy parts are full of rollicking audacity of wit,-much of it, however, so dependent upon local allusion or verbal play as to make it obscure for the English reader.

lexandra, a poem, by Lycophron of

A le

Chalcis, who lived in the third century before Christ. Alexandra is the name which the author gives Cassandra. The poem is in part a prophecy of the downfall of Troy, and is related, not by Cassandra, but by a soldier, who tells Priam that the princess is kept a prisoner by Apollo, and that he now rehearses to the king what he has heard from her lips. The work contains 1,474 verses, and is a confused medley of mythology, history, and geography, with here and there a few traces of real poetry. Some of Lycophron's inventions are of a very grotesque character. Among other marvels, he makes Hercules live a considerable time in the belly of a whale, and chop up the entrails of the monster for food.

Memorabilia, The. The Apomnemo

neumata, by Xenophon, is generally known by its Latin title of The Memorabilia,' an incorrect and somewhat misleading translation of the Greek word. This is the most important of the writings that the author has devoted to the memory of Socrates. Like Plato, he dwells principally on those doctrines of the master that harmonize with his own views. In the beginning, by way of preface, he replies to the positive accusations brought against the philosopher. Then he proceeds to develop his real purpose; which is to depict the true Socrates, not from the opinions of others, which are always controvertible, but from his own words and actions, and in this way place under the eyes of the Athenians a correct likeness of the man they condemned because they did not know him. He next treats of the many examples of right living given by Socra tes to his countrymen, and of the lesson of his life. After the lesson of his life comes the lesson of his discourses. This is embodied in a series of dialogues between Socrates and persons engaged in different occupations, upon the subjects which engrossed his whole attention: piety towards the gods, temperance, the duties incumbent on children with regard to parents, friendship, the political virtues, the useful arts, and the science

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of dialectics. As it was Xenophon's object to create a feeling of love and veneration for his master among the Athenians, he touches chiefly on those points in the character of Socrates that he believed would conduce to this end. Thus he describes him as teaching that in matters of religion every one should follow the usages of his city. Socrates, he says, sacrificed openly and publicly; he not only consulted the oracles, but he strongly advised his friends to consult them; he believed in divination, and paid close attention to the signs by which the divinity communicated with himself. More than half of the chapters in the third book are devoted to the conversation of Socrates with generals and hipparchs, and Xenophon attributes much of his own knowledge of military matters to his good fortune in having been acquainted with his master. The most beautiful dialogues, however, are those which deal with the feelings that ought to actuate the members of the same family, the love of the mother for her child, and of brother for brother. The chapters which conclude the work are noted for deep feeling, tenderness, and elevation of thought.

Ajax,

a tragedy, by Sophocles. After the death of Achilles, the Greek leaders decide to give his arms to Ulysses, as the most worthy to bear them. The neglected Ajax is furious, and goes forth in the night to avenge the affront. Minerva deprives him of reason, and he attacks the flocks of sheep in the Greek camp, mistaking them for his enemies. When exhausted with slaughter, he leads the surviving sheep, chained as prisoners, to his tent. When he recovers his senses, he sees into what abysses the wrath of the gods has plunged him. He must become the jest of the army if he remains before Troy; he will shame his

even for Troy, a land he lately called his foe, but become for him now a second country, by reason of so many years of combats and of glory. The names of his beloved parents are his last words on earth; the next will be uttered in Hades. Then follow the attempt to prevent his burial, which, if successful, would doom him to wander forever, an unhappy and restless ghost, through the infernal regions; the despair of his brother Teucer, Teucer's vehement invectives against the enemies of the hero, and the noble generosity of Ulysses, who undertakes the defense of the dead.

Ethiopica, by Heliodorus, bishop of

Tricca in Thessaly. This romance was written in his youth towards the close of the fourth century, or according to some, in the second century; and was the occasion of reproach to him in his manhood, though without reason. It is divided into ten books, and relates the adventures of the Ethiopian princess Chariclea; who, having as an infant been exposed to death by her mother, is discovered by some humane people and carried to Delphi, where she meets the beautiful Theagenes, and after innumerable adventures, marries him. The pair live happily for a while, and then encounter dangers of the most varied character. They are about to be killed, when Chariclea is recognized and restored to her proper station. This interminable ro mance enjoyed a great reputation from the Renaissance down to the close of the last century. It is now neglected, although in variety of incident it may be said to rival the modern novel. It has some decided literary qualities. What it lacks is observation of character and real passion. It abounds in curious details on the state of Egypt at the period of which it treats.

old father if he returns to Salamis: he Anthia and Habrocomus, or

resolves to end his dishonored life. The prayers of Tecmessa, his captive mistress, and of his Salaminian comrades, are unavailing. Yet it is with regret that he quits this beautiful world. The monologue in which he bids it farewell, and which is the most remarkable passage in the drama, contains entrancing pictures of the life he is about to abandon. He takes leave of his country, his father's hearth, the companions of his childhood, and of glorious Athens. He has tears

The

Ephesiaca, a Greek romance, by Xenophon of Ephesus, written during the fourth century of the Christian era. It was lost until the eighteenth century, and then found in the Florentine library by Bernard de Montfaucon. It was at once translated into most modern languages. The subject of the story is the lot of two lovers united by marriage, but separated by destiny, and coming together again only after a long series of misfortunes. Their beauty is the cause of all their

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afflictions, lighting the fires of passion, Elegantiæ Latina Sermonis: ELEGANjealousy and revenge, and constantly endangering the fidelity they have sworn to each other. But, by marvelous stratagems, they triumph over all the attempts made to compel them to break their vows, and escape unharmed from the most difficult situations. At length, after many wanderings over land and sea, they meet once more. Anthia declares that she is as faithful as when she first left Tyre for Syria. She has escaped unscathed from the menaces of brigands, the assaults of pirates, the outrages of debauchees, and many a threat of death. Habrocomus assures her, in reply, that no other young girl has seemed to him beautiful, no woman has pleased him, and he is now as devotedly hers as when she left him a prisoner in a Tyrian dungeon. The faults of the story are the grotesque improbability of many of its inventions and its want of proportion; its merits are pithiness, clearness, and elegance of style.

Alexiad, a life of the Emperor Alexis

Comnenus, by the Princess Anna Comnena, his daughter. This work, which is one of the most important authorities for the history of the closing years of the eleventh century, is written in modern Greek, and divided into fifteen books. It gives a vivid picture of the First Crusade, which the author had seen, and of the antagonistic interests of the Greeks and Crusaders, united indeed against the Infidels, but in a state of constant hostility to each other. Her father is her hero; she defends all his acts, and attempts especially to prove that the charge of perfidy brought against him by the Franks was baseless. She shows him to have been an active and energetic prince, a good captain, a thorough tactician, an intrepid soldier, and a consummate statesman. She reproaches the crusaders with all sorts of crime, particularly Bohemund, the son of Robert Guiscard and the personal enemy of her father. The work is crowded with useless details, which Byzantine etiquette rendered important; but Anna Comnena has preserved the knowledge of a multitude of curious incidents, which but for her would have been lost to history. She has been criticized for relating marvels as if they were real facts, a habit which simply proves that the Greeks were as superstitious as the Latins. The old Greek and the new Frank civilization contrast strongly in her pages.

CIES OF LATIN SPEECH, by Laurentius Valla (Lorenzo della Valle), 1444; 59th ed. 1536. A standard work on Latin style, written in the days of the earlier Italian Renaissance, when the Latin Middle Ages were coming to a close. It is notable as the latest example of Latin used as a living tongue. Valla was a thoroughly Pagan Humanist. His 'De Voluptate,' written at Rome about 1443, was a scholarly and philosophical apology for sensual pleasure; the first important word of the new paganism. The Elegancies' followed, and the two works gave their author the highest reputation as a brilliant writer, and critic of Latin composition. At an earlier date (1440) Valla had published a work designed to show that the papal claim of a grant made to the papacy by Constantine had no valid historical foundation. This was the first effort of skepticism in that direc tion; yet the successor of Eugenius IV., Nicholas V., invited Valla, as one of the chief scholars of the age, to take the post of apostolic secretary at Rome, and paid him munificently for a translation of Thucydides into Latin. Valla further did pre-Reformation work by his 'Adnotationes' on the New Testament, in which for the first time the Latin Vulgate version was subjected to comparison with the Greek original. Erasmus re-edited this work, and Ulrich von Hutten republished the attack on the papal claims. The permanent interest of Valla is that of an able initiator of criticism, linguistic, historical, and ethical.

Bohn's Libraries. A uniform Publi

cation Series of standard works of English and European literature, of which Thomas Carlyle said: "I may say in regard to all manner of books, Bohn's Publication Series is the usefulest thing I know." It covers the whole ground of history, biography, topography, archæology, theology, antiquities, science, philosophy, natural history, poetry, art, and fiction, with dictionaries and other books of reference; and comprises translations from French, German, Italian, Spanish, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Greek.

The originator of the enterprise, Henry George Bohn, a London bookseller, who startled the English trade by issu ing in 1841 a guinea catalogue of some 25,000 important and valuable old books, began in 1846 with the Standard Library.

His design was to promote the sale of good books by a cheap uniform issue of works of a solid and instructive kind. The choice of type, paper, and binding was most judicious, and for cheap books nothing equal to it has ever been done.

The Standard now numbers 302 vols. The other libraries added later are (with present number), the Historical, 23 vols. ; the Philosophical, 15 vols.; Ecclesiastical and Theological, 15 vols.; Antiquarian, 35 vols.; Illustrated, 78 vols.; Sports and Games, 16 vols.; Classical, 103 vols.; Col

losopher'; and in 1854, after the death of Souvestre, it awarded his widow the Lambert prize, which is always bestowed upon the most useful author of the year, on Popular Brand's Observations Antiquities. By John Brand. An entirely new and revised edition, with the additions of Sir Henry Ellis. (1887.) A work devoted to popular explanation of the customs, ceremonies, superstitions, etc., of the common people. It is at once instructive and very entertaining.

legiate, to vols.; Scientific, 44 vols.; Eco- Hereditary Genius, by Francis Gal

nomics and Finance, 5 vols.; Reference, 32 vols.; Novelists', 12 vols.; and Artists', 9 vols.; making 709 volumes classified under 13 heads. The great success of Mr. Bohn's scheme initiated a half-century of inexpensive production and wide distribution of books of real value, which cannot but have done much for the spread of real culture throughout the Englishspeaking world. The Libraries passed into the hands of Bell & Daldy, later Bell & Sons, in 1864; and the American interest is now that of Macmillan & Co.

ttic Philosopher, An (Un Philo

Attic

sophe sous les Toits') appeared in 1850. The author, Émile Souvestre, then forty-four, was already well known as a writer of stories; but this book was less a story than a collection of sympathetic moralizings upon life, "the commonplace adventures of an unknown thinker in those twelve hostelries of time called months.» He shows us one year in the life of a poor workingman who, watching brilliant Paris from his garret window, knows moments of envy, ambition, and loneliness. For these moods he finds a cure in kindness to others, in a recognition of his own limitations, and in a resolve to make the best of things. The voice is that of Souvestre himself, deducing from his own experience lessons of contentment, brotherly love, and simplicity. His character sketches include the frail and deformed Uncle Maurice, learning self-abnegation; the drunken Michael Arout, regenerated through love and care for his child; the kind and ever-youthful Frances and Madeleine, middle-age work women, cheerful under all hardships; and many more vivid personalities. He excels in presenting the nobility hidden under commonplace exteriors, and the pathos involved in commonplace conditions. In 1851 the French Academy crowned the 'Attic Phi

ton. (1874.) In this intelligent and interesting study an attempt is made to submit the laws of Heredity to a quantitative test, by means of statistics. To the result desired Mr. Galton contributes many figures, many facts, and few generalizations. His pursuit is purposely confined to the evidence of the inheritance of the fine mental condition or quality called genius,-whether a man endowed with it is likely to have inherited it, or to be reasonably certain to pass it on to his sons and grandsons. The author began his researches with a work on English Judges' from 1660 to 1865. In these two centuries and a half he found that out of the 286 judges 112 had more or less distinguished kinsmen, a result favoring the theory of a transmission of qualities in the ratio of 1:3. He goes on to study seven groups composed of statesmen, generals, men of letters, men of science, artists, poets, and divines, the number of families considered being about three hundred, and including nearly one thousand more or less remarkable men. His conclusion is, that the probability that an exceptionally able or distinguished man will have had an exceptionally able father is thirty-one per cent., that he will have exceptionally able brothers forty-one per cent., exceptionally able sons forty-eight per cent., etc. He does not find it to be true that the female line bequeaths better qualities than the male line; and he suggests the explanation that the aunts, sisters, and daughters of great men, having been accustomed to a higher standard of mental and perhaps of moral life than the average prevailing standard, will not be satisfied with the average man, and are therefore less apt to marry, and so to transmit their exceptional qualities. He admits, how ever, that it is impossible, with our

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