HISTORIES OF GREECE.

I.      GENERAL HISTORIES.

Cox, George W.—A General History of Greece from the Earliest Period to the Death of Alexander the Great. With a Sketch of the Subsequent History to the Present Time, 1876.

One of the best of the smaller histories of Greece. The style is unusually attractive, and the book is well supplied with maps and tables. The volume is somewhat better adapted to the wants of a general reader than to those of a special student. Perhaps the most striking peculiarity of the work is the importance the author attaches to mythology as a key to the characteristics of early civilization. With the mythology of the Greeks as a guide, he is confident that he can trace the sources of Grecian culture to the earliest Aryan civilization. He even goes so far as to be­lieve he can detect the circumstances which led the Ionians to soften the exclusiveness of ancient society, and the Dorians to keep it alive. In these theories he follows Curtius and rejects Grote.

 

Cox, George W.—A History of Greece., 1879.

These volumes treat of the history of Greece to the end of the Peloponnesian war. The author announces his intention to carry the narrative in the third and fourth volumes down to the revolu­tion that ended in the reign of King Otho.

The work has the merit of being written with rare literary skill, but it can hardly claim to be founded on any such thorough Greek scholarship as that which characterizes the histories of Grote, Curtius, and Thirlwall. On the contrary, it follows, for the most part, the investigations of previous laborers in the same field. The author attaches little importance to traditions, regard­ing them generally as solar myths or etymological legends. He therefore indulges in no confident portrayal of early Greek life.

Of all the histories of Greece, it is perhaps the one best calcu­lated to interest the general reader. It is Grecian history made easy through the charm of a delightful style. Though it lacks the qualities of originality that give to the works of Curtius and Grote their importance, it has the advantage of a greatly superior literary workmanship.

 

Curtius, Ernst.—The History of Greece. Translated by A. W. Ward, 1871-74.

The author is probably more familiar with the climate, re­sources, and physical characteristics of Greece than is any other writer on Grecian history. As an archieological and historical investigator, he travelled over and examined all parts of the Greek peninsula. With classicalliterature he isalso very familiar; and he seems to have a special gift for the work of interpreting it. These qualifications doubtless go far towards justifying a manner of treating the subject which in a scholar of less general and special information would have been very unsatisfactory. With­out taking the time and space to indicate his authorities, the author contents himself with advancing his theories and indicat­ing his conclusions. As he differs on many points from the high authority of Grote, it would afford great satisfaction to the care­ful student of Greek history to see the reasons for the author's views. This absence of all references to authorities is the most unsatisfactory feature of the work, though the explanation is that the volumes were not so much intended for the use of scholars as for the use of general readers.

In his treatment of political questions the author resembles Thirlwall and Mitford more nearly than he resembles Grote. His sympathies are monarchical, and, therefore, he attaches far less importance than does Grote to the characteristics of self-govern­ment as an inspiring influence. He also differs from Grote in re­gard to the origin and movements of the early Hellenic races. Former historians have found no connecting thread till after the Dorian migrations. But Curtius, taking the myths as the foun­dation, and bringing to his assistance the results of modern philo­logical research, has built up a theory which he puts forward with considerable confidence. He even goes so far as to describe the manner in which, as he believes, the ancestors of the Ionians sep­arated from the ancestors of the Dorians. The book is in every way scholarly, and is entitled to careful attention.

 

Felton, C. C.—Greece, Ancient and Modern. Lectures delivered before the Lowell Institute. 2 vols., 1880.

These entertaining volumes consist of four courses of lectures, prepared for audiences of the cultivated people of Boston. The first course was entitled ‘The Greek Language and Poetry’ the second’,  ‘The Life of Greece’ the third, ‘The Constitutions and Orators of Greece’; and the fourth, ‘Modern Greece’.

For the purposes of a general student who would get an insight into the activities of Greek life and culture, these volumes are of the first importance. The lectures not only give the results of an ardent enthusiasm and a thorough scholarship, but they also present their results with rare literary art. On the whole, they give to the general reader perhaps the most satisfactory picture of Greece we vet have. The object of the author was not criti­cal inquiry, but a popular presentation of the subject.

On some points modern scholarship has somewhat changed its position since these lectures were prepared. For example, on the subject of the unity of Homer the author did not hesitate to say, " No person of common-sense would ever suspect while reading the Iliad or Odyssey a want of unity, coherence, or completeness." But, in spite of an occasional extravagance of this sort, the au^ thor's judgments are generally trustworthy, and his opinions are entitled to the highest respect.

 

Grote, George.—History of Greece. 12 vols., 1851-56.

No one of the great historical works produced in the course of this century has received more general or more hearty commen­dation than has the work of Grote. It possesses nearly every quality of an historical work of the very highest order of merit. In extent of learning, in variety of research, in power of combina­tion, in familiarity with the byways as well as the highways of Grecian literature, it leaves nothing whatever to be desired. Al­most the only regret one feels in making use of this noble work is that the author never acquired a mastery of an easy, correct, and graceful English style. His sentences are often involved and awkward, and sometimes obscure and ungrammatical. This, to be sure, is a small drawback, when placed in comparison with the great merits of the work; but it is sufHcient to drive many read­ers from its pages.

The work may with some propriety be called a constitutional history. The author was a decided Liberal in politics ; and in his work he exerts a manifest effort to counteract the influence of such historians as.Mitford. One of the obvious motives of Grote was to display the inspiring influence of political freedom on the actions of human intelligence. In dealing with Athenian politi­cal affairs, as distinguished from the affairs of other Grecian states, he had the amplest of opportunities.

Like the chapters of Gibbon, each of this author's chapters is in some sense a monograph complete in itself. And some of these chapters are among the most admirable specimens of histor­ical work ever produced. The last volume closes with the loss of Athenian liberty under Macedonian rule, at the period when the history of Greece became merged in the history of surrounding nations. For accounts of the Achaian League, therefore, the stu­dent must rely on other authorities.

 

Mitford, William.—The History of Greece, from the Earliest Ac­counts to the Death of Philip, King of Macedon. 1888

As Grote’s is the great Liberal history of Greece, so this is the great history of the same country. Before the appearance of Thirlwall, it was the history most often consulted. In the use of terse and cogent English, Mitford was superior to his suc­cessors. He could praise tyrants and abuse liberty in a manner that was sure to interest his readers; and even his constant par­tialities and frequent exhibitions of anger give favor to his narra­tion. He hated the popular party of Athens, as he hated the Whigs of England. These characteristics give spirit to a book which, with all its labor and learning, is merely a huge party pamphlet. Though it has had much influence in England, it is no longer of any considerable importance.

 

Smith, William.—A History of Greece, from the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest. With Supplementary Chapters on the History of Literature and Art

First published in 1854, this is still one of the best summaries in our language of the ancient history of Greece for the use of schools and colleges. It follows Grote as an authority, many of its parts being chieRy an abridgment of that distinguished histo­rian. To the general reader it will, perhaps, be found less inter­esting than the work of Cox; but its conclusions are probably quite as trustworthy, and, on that account, its intrinsic merits are somewhat greater. The maps and illustrations are good and abundant.

Thirlwall, Bishop Connop.—The History of Greece, 1845.

A work which, as a whole, is not perhaps to be compared fa­vorably with that of Grote, but which still has some points of great advantage. It shows learning, sagacity, and candor; but it falls far short of Grote in that power of combination and gener­alization which has made the later work so justly famous. The English of Thirlwall is superior to that of Grote, although the style of neither of them is entitled to very high praise.

Thirlwall’s sympathies are aristocratic rather than democratic—the exact opposite of the sympathies of Grote. The books, there­fore, may well be read at the same time, in order that convicting views may be compared and weighed. Another difference be­tween the two works is that while Grote is especially strong on the earlier history of Greece, Thirlwall is strong on the later his­tory. Perhaps the best portion of Thirlwall’s book is that which relates to the age beginning with the period at which Grote ends.

 

II.     HISTORIES OF LIMITED PERIODS.

Benjamin, S. G. W.—Troy, its Legend, History, and Literature. With a Sketch of the Topography of the Troad in the Light of Recent Investigation. 1880.

This little volume is an attempt to tell the Trojan story in the light of recent discoveries and explorations. The story is pleas­antly narrated, and is perhaps as near the truth as any other ac­count in our possession. As a preliminary, or as an accompani­ment to the reading of the works of Homer, or of Dr. Schlie- mann, the volume may be of some value. It must be remembered, however, that it rests upon no very firm historical basis.

 

Muller, C.O.—The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race.

Translated from the German by Henry Tupnell and Geo. Corn­wall Lewis. 2 vols., 1830.

On the appearance of this work it was greeted as one of the most scholarly of modern time. It is still entitled to high praise, though the archaeological studies of the past twenty-five years have shown that some of the author's positions are untenable. His theories concerning the early life of the Dorians are essen­tially the opposite of those held by Curtius and, probably, by a majority of modern scholars. The second volume is devoted to the political institutions of the Dorians, and still retains its great importance. The characteristics of the Spartan government and society have nowhere been more satisfactorily presented, unless it be in the recent work of Jannet.

 

Cox, George W.—The Greeks and the Persians. 1876.

The design of this little volume is to give a history of that great struggle between the despotism of the East and the free­dom of the West, which came to an end in the Anal overthrow of the Persians at Plataia and Mykale. The aim of the author is to show how much of the history and traditions is trustworthy, rather than how much is to be set aside as untrue. It is a narra­tive rather than a critical account, and is a clear exposition, not only of the great conflict which it is the more especial object of the volume to describe, but also of the political and military institu­tions of the Persians and of the several Grecian states. The au­thor's studies preliminary to his larger work had admirably fitted him for the preparation of this. The style is clear and interest­ing. The maps are admirable.

 

Cox, George W.—The Athenian Empire, 1877.

An account of Greek history from the rebuilding of the walls of Athens at the close of the Persian invasions to the surrender of the city at the end of the Peloponnesian war. The author shows this period to have been one of struggle not only between two cities, but also between two contending elements of society. Opinions favorable to the extension of popular liberty were ar­rayed against those desiring to establish the narrow and exclu­sive power of an oligarchy. The success of Sparta is attributed in great part to the fact that the Peloponnesians were powerfully aided by members of the haughty Eupatrids in Athens. The work is a reproduction, in more popular form, of much of the second volume of the author's larger history.

 

Herodotus.—A New English Version. Edited, with Notes and Essays, Historical, Ethnographical, and Geographical, by Canon Rawlinson, 1859.

This must be considered as by far the most valuable version of the works of ‘The Father of History’. The writings of the author are illustrated by the editors from all the most recent sources of information. Copious historical and ethnographical results are embodied in the illustrative notes. The superior schol­arship in Eastern history of Sir Henry Rawlinson and Sir J. G. Wilkinson gives great importance to the essays furnished by these gentlemen and published as an appendix.

The history of Herodotus was probably not written until near the end of his life—it is certain that he had been collecting ma­terials for it during many years. There was scarcely a city of importance in Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Persia, Arabia, or Egypt that he had not visited and studied; and almost every page of his work contains results of his personal inquiries and observations. He visited the sites of all the great battles between the Greeks and Persians; followed the line of Xerxes’s march; went to nearly all of the Greek islands; visited the tribes on the Black Sea; went to Babylon, Ecbatana, and Susa; made excur­sions into Arabia; saw with his own eyes the wonders of Egypt; travelled as far south as Elephantine, and as far west as Cyrene.

The object of these extensive journeyings was to procure infor­mation for his account of the struggles between the Greeks and the Persians. It will be seen that he brought to his work certain remarkable qualifications. His purpose was to sketch, in a man­ner that would interest as well as instruct, the long struggle which extended from the time of the first dispute in Asia Minor between the colonists to the final repulse of the Persians and the perma­nent establishment of Grecian authority. The history is a kind of prose epic, into which the author has wrought, with remarkable skill, the varied and interesting results of his inquiries and obser­vations. It abounds in episodes and digressions; but these are given in organic connection with the other parts in such a way as not seriously to impair the unity of the whole. The work is woven together in a style so charming as to give at least plausi­bility to the story of Lucian that when the author, in his old age, recited his history at Olympia, the youthful Thucydides was moved to tears, and the assembled Greeks, in their enthusiasm, gave to the books of the history the names of the nine muses.

As an authority, the work of Herodotus must be used with discretion. Care must be taken to discriminate between what came under the author's own observation and what he relates as having been received from others. The stories related to him by priests are to be received as of little or no historical value. But recent researches in the East have tended to confirm the au­thority of the author in all matters that came under his personal observation. Many things laughed at for centuries as impossible are now found to have been described in strict accordance with truth. As a narrator of his own observations, he is now seen to have been a model of truthfulness and accuracy.

 

Xenophon.—The Whole Works of.

Xenophon is doubtless entitled to high praise as a writer of simple, clear, and unaffected style. His numerous histories are to be regarded as remarkable for their literary qualities, however, rather than for their great historical merits. His mind was not adapted to the deepest insight into political affairs, and therefore his work is not for a moment to be compared with that of Thu­cydides. The ‘Anabasis’ and the ‘Hellenica’ are the works of greatest importance from an historical and literary point of view. The ‘Cyropaedia’ is a political romance, of no historical value whatever. The author’s purpose in this, as in several of his other works, seems to have been to represent what a state might be, and ought to be, in contrast with the actual turbulent condi­tion of Athens. It is evident that he preferred the aristocratical institutions of Sparta to the more democratic methods of Attica. Even the ‘Cyropsedia’, though of no historical consequence, is of some importance as showing the political opinions of an intelli­gent observer. Throughout his works Xenophon shows that he had no faith whatever in the extreme tendencies to absolute de­mocracy that prevailed at Athens.

 

Thucydides.—The History of the Peloponnesian War.

By all critics in all ages this has been considered one of the most remarkable pieces of historical composition ever produced. It is no exaggeration to say that the author has given us a more exact and a more complete history of a long and eventful period than we have of any modem period of equal length and importance. From beginning to end, the work shows the most scrupulous care in the collection of facts, and the utmost exact­ness in statements of chronology. Occasionally the author has a chapter of political and moral observations, showing the keenest perception and the deepest insight into human nature. He sel­dom pauses to make rejections in the course of his narrative. He relates his facts in the fewest possible words, without parade of ornament or of personal impression. Some of the events he de­scribes he himself witnessed, others he became acquainted with through the most painstaking, and often diiEcult, investigations. But throughout the whole work there is the moderation and self­restraint that evinces a great mind and a lofty purpose. It is said that Macaulay read the work oftener than any other histori­cal production, and was accustomed to say that though he might sometimes hope to rival any other work with which he was ac­quainted, he could never hope to rival the seventh book of Thu­cydides.      

 

Plutarch's Lives.—Translated from the Original Greek, with Notes, Historical and Critical, and a Life of Plutarch, by John Langhorne and William Langhorne.

This writer, one of the most celebrated of antiquity, lived in the Rrst century of our era. The work that has immortalized his name, and made him a favorite with wise men and promising youth, is the lives of forty-six Greeks and Romans. These lives he wrote in pairs, portraying one Greek and one Roman, and then drawing a comparison between them.

The author has often been criticised for his peculiarities of style, for some mistakes in antiquities, and for an apparent par­tiality for the Greeks. But whatever criticisms of a minor nature may be made, it is still true that Plutarch's Lives are among the most delightful sketches ever written. As an ultimate and con­clusive authority they cannot be accepted. But they are able to inspire, to charm, and to instruct. They take the reader into the heroic stir of Roman and Grecian life. They do more than that; they raise the Greek and Roman heroes from the dead, and clothe them again with Rcsh and blood.

 

Lloyd, William Watkiss.—The Age of Pericles. A History of the Politics and Arts of Greece, from the Persian to the Pelo­ponnesian War. 1875.

A work that endeavors to give a broader view of Greek life and culture than had before been given by any English author. It aims to represent the Greek mind, not only in its political, but also in its artistic activity. The nature of the book may be cor­rectly inferred from the following titles of chapters : ‘Athenian Democracy as Administered by Pericles; Poetry, Lyric and Dramatic, in the Age of Themistocles; Painting, Rudimentary and Advanced Music in the Age of Pericles. To this breadth of method the author has brought thoughtful and scholarly re­search, and a judgment usually sound. Unfortunately, the merits of the book are in some measure counterbalanced by one serious drawback. The author does not add to the abundance of his good and strong qualities the graces of a literary artist. In his preface he gives expression to his contempt for writers only on the lookout for opportunities to be smart, in the first place, and, in the second, picturesque and this clause, both by its sentiment and by its awkward method, conveys a correct intimation of the author’s entire lack of appreciation of a good English style. His modes of expression are so awkward that the reader often finds his attention put to a severe strain to understand his meaning. Long sentences sometimes appear to have been transferred from the German almost without transposing a single word. This very serious drawback must limit the use of what is, nevertheless, a very useful and excellent book.

 

Curteis, Arthur M.—Rise of the Macedonian Empire. 1878.

A rapid but a clear and graphic picture of Macedonian power from its earliest development to the death of Alexander the Great. The special quality of the book is to be found in its judicious omission of encumbering details and its agreeable admixture of narrative and comment. While it is a book of facts, ^it is also a book of ideas. The most important events are described in such a way as to convey a clear impression of their peculiar signifi­cance and importance. At the beginning is a short but sugges­tive chapter on the influence of geographical peculiarities on the character of Grecian history. It is by far the best short history of Alexander we have.

 

Droysen, Joh. Gust.—-Geschichte des Hellenismus. Erster Theil: Geschichte Alexanders des Grossen. Zweiter Theil: Geschichte der Diadochen. Dritter Theil: Geschichte der Epignoten.

The first edition of this work was published as early as 1836, and did much to establish that reputation which the author has now for many years enjoyed. Its importance was at once uni­versally acknowledged. Though it was the production of a very young scholar, it was seen to be the best history of the period of Alexander the Great.

The first two volumes describe the growth of Macedonian pow­er up to the time of the death of Alexander. This is perhaps the most important portion of the work; but the remaining volumes are not without value, as they describe a period which, at the hands of most historians, has received very inadequate treat­ment. The work, as a whole, may be regarded as the best history we have of the century following the advent of Alexander.

 

Polybius—The General History of.

Beyond question, the writings of Polybius are among the most important that have come down to us from antiquity. Not many historical works, either ancient or modern, have more numerous or more striking excellences. He not only records, with great accuracy and precision, his impressions of what he describes, but he shows that he had studied the social, constitutional, and politi­cal institutions of the Greeks and Romans with great care. In his methods there are some striking peculiarities. He wrote with a manifest contempt for rhetorical graces, evidently striving to impart instruction rather than entertainment. He shows also an almost entire absence of imagination; and this peculiarity is the most conspicuous weakness of his writings. Originally the his­tory consisted of forty books, covering the whole of the period from B.C. 220 to B.C. 146. It was divided into two parts, the Rrst having for its object the work of showing how it was that in the short period of fifty-three years the Romans had succeeded in conquering the greater part of the world; and the second, the work of describing the important events between the conquest of Perseus and the fall of Corinth. A considerable part, however, has been lost, though the portions we still have throw invaluable light on the second and third Punic wars and on the Achaian League. Much of Livy's account of the wars with Carthage is but a literal translation from the Greek. Polybius himself was actively engaged in many of the scenes he describes. He was seventeen years in Italy, and was with Scipio at the destruction of Carthage. Though the work of Polybius is quite as impor­tant an authority in Roman as in Grecian history, it is, neverthe­less, of the greatest value in the study of Greek confederations, from the Macedonian supremacy to the fall of Corinth.

 

Freeman, Edward A.—History of Federal Government, from the Foundation of the Achaian League to the Dissolution of the United States. Vol. I. General Introduction, and History of Greek Federations. 1863.

Whether the learned author despairs of being able to complete the formidable task announced in this title, we are left to conject­ure. It is only certain that he has not yet published more than the first volume of the series.

For this fragment, however, every student of Grecian history and every student of political institutions should be grateful. It is devoted to a period subsequent to those dealt with by Grote; but the events it describes were among the most important in Grecian history. The relations of the states to one another and the forms and characteristics of the several confederated govern­ments are expounded with the author’s well-known powers of in­sight and generalization. The American student of the work will find it one of absorbing interest, and will often be surprised by the striking similarities between certain features of federal government in Greece and certain features of federal government in the United States of America.

 

Finlay, George.—A History of Greece, from the Conquest by the Romans to the Present Time.

This is a new and improved edition of a work on the Byzan­tine Empire and Greece, the several volumes of which appeared under separate titles as they were completed. The edition of 1877 received the careful revisions of the author, and has been edited by a competent and judicious hand.

It is no empty compliment to compare this work with that of the historian of the “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”. While some of the qualifications of Gibbon are notably absent, others that Gibbon did not possess are conspicuously present. The au­thor carried on his investigations in the very heart of the country whose turbulent vicissitudes he describes. Spending a large por­tion of his life in his library, immediately beneath the Acropolis, he had the good fortune not only to complete his great work, but also to subject it to such careful revision as the criticism of recent scholarship had made necessary.

The most prominent characteristics of the work are learning, accuracy, and fidelity. In addition, it may be said that the au­thor is severely critical. He is inclined to desponding views of those about him. This shows itself not only in the severity of his criticisms of Greek statesmen, but also in his judgments of English ministers who have had to deal with Greek affairs. He finds it not difficult to criticise the policy of Lord John Russell, or even that of Mr. Gladstone. He says of his book that “it has been its melancholy task to record the errors and the crimes of those who governed Greece, much oftener than their merits or virtues”.

The last two volumes are devoted to a history of the Greek Revolution, and of Grecian affairs during the last twenty years. As a help to those who would become acquainted with the history of the East, these learned and eloquent volumes have no equals. They are worthy to stand by the side of those of Grote.

 

III.   HISTORIES OF CIVILIZATION AND PROGRESS.

 

 

Coulanges, Fustel de.—The Ancient City. A Study on the Re­ligion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.

Whatever is written by Coulanges is worthy of the student’s most thoughtful attention. He possesses the rare gift of uniting a very profound and broad scholarship with a spirited and enter­taining literary style. Any one at all interested in Greek and Ro­man institutions will be enticed by a glance at the table of con­tents, and will not be disappointed when he puts the body of the work to the test of perusal.

In no other book has the organization of the ancient family been so briefly and clearly described; and nowhere else have the peculiarities of the Greek and Roman religious systems been so well presented. It will be a favorite book with every scholar that possesses it.

 

Geddes, William D.—The Problem of the Homeric Poems.

A successful attempt to bring within reasonable compass the arguments for and against the unity of the Homeric poems. The volume is perhaps the most satisfactory discussion of the subject accessible to the English reader. The author studied the question from every point of view, and without any preconceived theory arrived at substantially the same conclusion as that reached by Grote—viz., that the composite structure of the Iliad is the only theory that is tenable.

 

Gladstone, W.E. — Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age.

One would suppose, in looking over these volumes, that the dis­tinguished premier had abandoned the arts of statesmanship for the vocation of a professor of Greek. From the beginning to the end of these three huge octavos, the author's familiarity with the most minute details of Greek learning is curiously obvious. To the historical student the third volume is the only one to be of especial interest. Of this volume the first chapter, that on the Politics of the Homeric Age, will amply reward the student's ex­amination. In other respects the work is chieRy technical.

 

Goll, Hermann.—Kulturbilder aus Hellas und Rom.

These admirable little volumes were designed to take the reader into the life and stir of the Greeks and Romans. They are es­pecially adapted to the wants of college and university students. The plan and scope of the work is well indicated by the titles of a few of the chapters. " Popular Education" Professors and Students under the Roman Empire" Travelling in Antiquity " Physicians" The Police" The Greek and Roman Dress " The Book Trade;" " The Social Position of Women ;" " Wine and Beer;" are the titles of some of the chapters. The pages are not encumbered with references to original authorities, al­though they everywhere bear evidence of having been prepared with great care. The several chapters are to be regarded as de­scriptive rather than critical, and therefore may be read with proRt as well as interest by every master of easy German.

 

Guhl E. and W. Koner, W.—The Life of the Greeks and Romans, described from Antique Monuments..

The result of careful and unwearied research in every nook and cranny of ancient learning. Nowhere else can the student Rnd so many facts in illustration of Greek and Roman methods and manners. Any one in the least desirous of becoming acquainted with the ways of antique life will Rnd that this work is as inter­esting as it is informing. The illustrations are admirable, and the book is made easy of use by a good index.

 

Jannet, Claudio.—Les Institutions Sociales et le Droit Civil a Sparte.

The first edition of this monograph was published in 1873, and was received with general favor. In preparing the revised form here published, the author took advantage not only of the reviews and criticisms to which the work had been subjected, but also of such other studies on the subject as had appeared in France and Germany. It is now probably the best account we have of the social institutions of Sparta. It deals, Rrst, with the division into classes, then with the distribution of lands, the peculiarities of the constitution, the transformation of the constitution, and, Rnally, with the struggle between the rich and the poor. The work throughout rests on the basis of original authorities and of the most advanced modern criticism.

 

Mahaffy, J. P.—A History of Greek Literature.

We here find the same excellent characteristics as in the author’s other works. From beginning to end it has the favor of the open field and of fresh breezes. It is somewhat more descriptive and less critical than the work of Muller and Donaldson, doubt­less for the reason that it is designed for a less mature class of scholars. But though the author has written for pupils in the schools, he compliments the robust scholarship of young England and Ireland by giving the illustrative quotations exclusively in the original Greek. Mr. Mahaffy, in common with a large number of modern German scholars, has abandoned the belief in the unity of Homer. In support of his position on this point he has intro­duced as an appendix to his first volume an essay by Professor Sayce, who presents with great cogency the reasons that have led a very large number of modern critics to give up the doctrine of unity. The essayist says that “a close examination of Homer shows that it is a mosaic” and that “in its present form it can­not be earlier than the seventh century before the Christian era”.

The first volume is devoted to the poets; the second, to the writers of prose. It is furnished with a full index.

 

Mahaffy, J. P.—Social Life in Greece, from Homer to Menander.

A very interesting and successful attempt to portray the every­day life of the Greeks. The author visits them in their homes, in their temples, in their assemblies, and on their journeys. Every person in the least interested in the characteristics of ancient life and manners will read the book with profit and delight. It is as interesting as it is scholarly.

 

Mahaify, J. P.—Rambles and Studies in GreeceA delightful little book by one who is no enthusiast about the Greeks, ancient or modern, but who thinks that while the whole world is busying itself about the Slavs and Bulgars, the modern Greeks have failed to receive their due share of attention. The author is a Greek scholar, whose sympathies run to Greek litera­ture and life rather than to Greek philology. He rambles into different parts of Hellas, and records with rare literary art the result of his observations and impressions. While the book has largely to do with modern life, it never loses the delightful aroma of an antique scholarship.

 

Muller, and Donaldson.—A History of the Litera­ture of Ancient Greece.

For most students this will be found to be one of the most com­plete and satisfactory accounts of Greek literature. It is much less exhaustive in its treatment of the earliest period, than is the great work of Colonel Mure; but it has the advantage of covering a much longer period of time. In matters of literary judgment, moreover, it is probably quite as trustworthy as the larger work. The concluding chapters are devoted to Greek literature during the Middle Ages, and the work closes with the taking of Constantinople by the Turks.

 

Mure, William.—A Critical History of the Language and Lit­erature of Ancient Greece.

This great work of Colonel Mure was the result of a long, ear­nest, and thorough study, as well as of a profound admiration of the noble literature of which it treats. The volumes are addressed principally to the classical scholar. They occupy ground which had scarcely been trodden by any English predecessor, and there­fore at once on their publication they were felt to supply a seri­ous want. They are the scholar's history. To the general reader they will probably be somewhat tiresome, on account of the ex­ceeding fulness with which each author is treated. The five vol­umes bring the history down only to the death of Xenophon. On some points the author's judgments have not met with gen­eral favor from scholars; but these are exceptional cases, and the great value of the work, as a whole, has been everywhere ac­knowledged.

 

Overbeck, J.—Geschichte der griechischen Plastik.

For more than twenty years this work has been the highest authority on the plastic arts of Greece. It is the production of a specialist, and is much more elaborate than the books of Ltibke and Winckelmann. In matters of Grecian sculpture, therefore, it is to be regarded as of the greatest importance. The latest edition is much to be preferred, as it is purged of previous er­rors, and is fortiRed by references to the results of recent ex­plorations and discoveries.

 

Schomann, G. F.—The Antiquities of Greece

The work of Schomann, of which the fist volume is now pub­lished in translation, is in Germany one of a series of manuals de­signed to spread among a wider circle a vivid knowledge of an­tiquity. The book was designed for a class of educated readers who have not made a special investigation into the characteristics of the ancient world. The present volume, entitled “The State”, is to be followed by a second on “The Greek States in their Re­lations with one Another”, and “The Religious System of Greece”. The work, it will be seen from the title, is chiefly po­litical in its character; and, as such, it occupies a distinctive place among books on Grecian antiquities. While Boeckh deals chiefly with financial questions, and Guhl and Koner with social ones, Schomann discusses with similar insight and thoroughness the affairs of politics. Nowhere else is there to be found so good an account of the political assemblies, and of their significance in the life of the State. The work is written in a scholarly and attractive style, and the translation is excellent.

 

Schomann, G. F.—Athenian Constitutional History.

Especially valuable as a critical examination of the various au­thorities on the subject of which it treats. The most important of these authorities is the great English history of Grote. With the English historian's positions Schomann often agrees, but he occasionally appears to be successful in his attempts to overthrow them.

By far the most interesting, and probably the most valuable, part of the work is that in which he discusses the reforms of Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles. On these reforms, like most of the Ger­man authorities, he joins issue with Grote. Schomann argues his cause with great force, and all who are familiar with the recent researches into the characteristics of primitive society must admit that, aside from positive evidence, his view seems the more prob­able. The translation of the work is unusually good.

 

Winckelmann, John.—The History of Ancient Art.

Winckelmann was doubtless the most skilful and delightful connoisseur of ancient art that has ever written. It is more than three fourths of a century since the original of the work was pre­pared; but these volumes are by no means yet superannuated. The numerous illustrations are exquisite, and, what is remarkable, are far better in the translation than in the original. The au­thor’s spirit may be gathered from his canon of criticism : “Seek not to detect deficiencies and imperfections until you have learn­ed to recognize and discover beauties”.

 

IV.    SUGGESTIONS TO STUDENTS AND READERS.

1.       Perhaps the most interesting work in our language on Grecian history is Felton’s “Ancient and Modern Greece”. Smith’s “Stu­dent’s History” and Cox’s “General History” are excellent books for a summary of the growth of Greek civilization and power.

 The political life of Greece is best described by Schomann; the social life by Mahaffy; and the literary life either by Mahaffy or by Muller and Donaldson. Chapters from Grote’s History selected according to need or taste, may be read with great profit. The series of works under the title of Epochs of An­cient History is worthy of high commendation, especially for the general reader. The volumes, read in the order of the events they respectively describe, would form one of the best short courses.

2.      Grote should be the basis of study for a longer course. On the earlier periods the bold theories of Curtius and the profound learning of Muller should not be neglected. The much disputed Homeric Question is expounded in Geddes’s Homeric Question, where the subject, from opposite points of view, is fairly present­ed. In Mahaffy's Greek Literature is also a valuable paper on the same theme. Gladstone’s Homer advocates the theory of Homeric unity; and the same author’s Juventus Mundi aims to show the conditions of life in Homeric days. Lloyd’s Age of Pericles is the best monograph on Greece at its most brilliant period. Bulwer's Rise and Fall of Athens is a descriptive work, showing many of the author’s best characteristics. Holm’s Geschichte Siciliens im Alterthum is the most important au­thority on the condition of Sicily under Greek rule and in­fluence. Schafer’s Demosthenes for one who commands German, is an invaluable portrayal of Grecian difficulties in the pe­riod of decline. Droysen’s Hellenismus is also of the first importance. Freeman’s Greek Federations is a very scholarly and a very interesting portrayal of the efforts made to bind the several states into a single nationality, and of the difficulties that beset these efforts. For an American scholar it is one of the best of books. For the subsequent history of Greece Finlay has no equal, and, indeed, no rival. The last half of Duncker’s History of Antiquity is a History of Greece of acknowledged excellence.

3.       Plutarch’s Lives are a wonderful source of inspiration for bright boys, though somewhat too heroic and exaggerated for mature scholars. Landor’s Imaginary Conversations have a delightful favor of antique and refined scholarship. Especially to be commended is the volume on ‘Pericles and Aspasia’. As works of reference, Smith’s Classical Dictionary, and the same author’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, either in the larger or in the abridged form, are of supreme value. On social life in Greece, Mahaffy is the most readable book; but Guhl and Koner’s is the great work of reference. The religion of the Greeks is well treated in Clarke’s Ten Great Religions," and best of all in Coulanges’s Ancient City. Cox’s Mythology of the Arian Nations is the latest and best English author­ity, though Bulfinch's Age of Fable" is designed for more pop­ular use. In the  for July, 1869, is a valuable discussion of the relations of the religion of ancient Greece to her mythology. On Grecian art, Winckelmann and Overbeck are the great authorities; but Muller’s Ancient Art and its Remains, and Taine’s Art in Greece, are better adapt­ed to the wants of the general reader. Grecian landscape has been treated with characteristic force by Ruskin in vol. 3. of his "Modern Painters. Woltmann and Woermann’s History of Painting deals with Grecian painting in a most fresh and satis­factory manner. Schlegel’s Dramatic Literature presents an admirable review of the Greek dramatists, and gives, especially in its account of Aristophanes, some very striking comments on the comic poets as sources of historic information. Jebb’s Attic Orators is a scholarly but somewhat technical work. Macaulay’s essay on the Athenian Orators is in the author’s enthusiastic vein. Brougham’s paper on Demosthenes is plainly the work of a genius; but it is exceedingly immature and uncritical, and is a good illustration of Brougham’s habit of talking like an authority on subjects of which he knew comparatively little. The essay on Demosthenes in Legare's collected writings is vastly better, and is, perhaps, the most brilliant and scholarly summary in our lan­guage of the great orator’s work. In Mill’s Dissertations is to be found a suggestive review of Grote. The physical character­istics of Greece arc delightfully shown in Mahaffy’s Rambles and in Christopher Coleridge’s finely illustrated work. Still more minute information may be gained from Barthelemy’s Anacharsis, a book of imaginary travels in the ripest days of Greek civilization. The great original authority on the subject is Pausanias, whose travels and observations were translated into English, and published in three volumes in London in 1824. Becker’s Charicles is a dull novel, designed to present the fruits of Greek scholarship in a form that would least tax the powers of the reader. On all financial matters Boeckh is not only the great authority, but is a marvel of comprehensive scholarship. Wachsmuth’s Antiquities of Greece and Hermann’s Political Antiquities have each been translated into English, and were pub­lished in Oxford in the early part of this century. When they appeared, they were of the first importance; but at the present time they are somewhat antiquated. Life among the Alexandrian Greeks is portrayed in a very striking manner by Kingsley in his novel of ‘Hypatia’. Blackie’s Horae Hellenicae, published in 1874; Abbott’s Hellenica, published in 1880; and Newton’s Art and Archaeology, also published in 1880, are each volumes of interesting and valuable discussions of subjects on Greek po­etry, philosophy, history, archaeology, art, and religion. Schliemann’s Troy and its Remains, London and New York, 1875; Mycenae, London and New York, 1878; and Ilios, London and New York, 1880, are illustrated octavo volumes, describing the results of the recent discoveries by the author.