Shorthouse's John Inglesant in a
description of the Argonautics of Apollonius Rhodius; and when we are
told that the superb Pavilion erected in Alexandria by Ptolemy
Philadelphus was a 'sort of glorified Holborn Restaurant,' we must say
that the elaborate description of the building given in Athenaeus could
have been summed up in a better and a more intelligible epigram.

On the whole, however, Mr. Mahaffy's book may have the effect of drawing
attention to a very important and interesting period in the history of
Hellenism. We can only regret that, just as he has spoiled his account
of Greek politics by a foolish partisan bias, so he should have marred
the value of some of his remarks on literature by a bias that is quite as
unmeaning. It is uncouth and harsh to say that 'the superannuated
schoolboy who holds fellowships and masterships at English colleges'
knows nothing of the period in question except what he reads in
Theocritus, or that a man may be considered in England a distinguished
Greek professor 'who does not know a single date in Greek history between
the death of Alexander and the battle of Cynoscephalae'; and the
statement that Lucian, Plutarch, and the four Gospels are excluded from
English school and college studies in consequence of the pedantry of
'pure scholars, as they are pleased to call themselves,' is, of course,
quite inaccurate. In fact, not merely does Mr. Mahaffy miss the spirit
of the true historian, but he often seems entirely devoid of the temper
of the true man of letters. He is clever, and, at times, even brilliant,
but he lacks reasonableness, moderation, style and charm. He seems to
have no sense of literary proportion, and, as a rule, spoils his case by
overstating it. With all his passion for imperialism, there is something
about Mr. Mahaffy that is, if not parochial, at least provincial, and we
cannot say that this last book of his will add anything to his reputation
either as an historian, a critic, or a man of taste.

Greek Life and Thought: from the Age of Alexander to the Roman Conquest.
By J. P. Mahaffy, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. (Macmillan and Co.)

MR. MORRIS'S COMPLETION OF THE ODYSSEY

(Pall Mall Gazette, November 24, 1887.)

Mr. Morris's second volume brings the great romantic epic of Greek
literature to its perfect conclusion, and although there can never be an
ultimate translation of either Iliad or Odyssey, as each successive age
is sure to find pleasure in rendering the two poems in its own manner and
according to its own canons of taste, still it is not too much to say
that Mr. Morris's version will always be a true classic amongst our
classical translations. It is not, of course, flawless. In our notice
of the first volume we ventured to say that Mr. Morris was sometimes far
more Norse than Greek, nor does the volume that now lies before us make
us alter that opinion. The particular metre, also, selected by Mr.
Morris, although admirably adapted to express 'the strong-winged music of
Homer,' as far as its flow and freedom are concerned, misses something of
its dignity and calm.