The Press.
London, England, 1853-11-05 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

emits be avoided ;--and then he proceeds to give the
true version of the story of Tantalus, which he lams had
been corrupted and misrepresented by fable mid
trwditi
lie repeatedly etnumemomtes the great I torieut hero
Hercules but dimwit his labours had been imposed by
the hatred MO spite of .1 ono, yet Milo: only iblasti
tions this cause t Kent. i. 1,1); and then he dismisses the
subject, without dwelling on it. lle would have regarded
it as impious to dwelliutinuitiea of a deity. To
finder " the fear of the Lord was truly " the beginning
of wisdom."
Some ten years ago. in the examination for
the Ireland scholarship at Oxford, the subject
proposed for the Latin essay was " Qualls et
unde deducts sit months Philosophia in Car-
minibus Homerieis visa." Waiving comment on
the pretence of requiring so suggestive a thesis
to be treated in Latin prose within the three
hours usually allowed for that paper, we may ob-
serve that the morality inculcated by the
poems of Homer is not of the highest stan-
dard. It is the ethics of the prairie and the
desert. The epithets woXvioixec, 14430 s
I:Lisic, and the like, so htvishly bestowed
by the titther of Poetry on his heroes,
might suit a red Indian on the trail. or a Kaffir
lifting bullocks, but they are scarcely rerun
citable with the notions of a Christian Univer-
sity. Again, to adopt the words of Mr. Cookes-
ley. " Homer represents even the gods as the
" slaves of every human passion and vice, and
" by his sweet verse disfigured truth, and
" secured for the deceitful Ulysses a greater
" reputation than the honest Ajax." While
the moral tendency of Homer may, therefore,
be questioned, the raltAsi so profusely seat-
tered through the works of the Theban, not
inaptly compared by Mr. Cookesley to those
of Theognis, are not unworthy to be investi-
gated by the light of revelation. Indeed our
editor thinks that the most learned of the
apostles, in his celebrated speech at Athens,
referred to the magnificent idea of Pindar,
that " men and gods are the children of the
" sante mother ; but they are widely sera-
" rated, for the human mee is nothing ; but
" the gods are imperishable and eternal."—
(Nem. vi. 1.1
Mr. Cookesley thus elaboritt es his illustration
of the manner in which Pindar deals with the
ancient myths which attributed to the gods
human passions and infirmities :
Ile cannot bear the thought of the gods quamelling;
very different in this particular front Ihnuer,who describes
(Applies UN a seem of perpetutd disagreement and dim.
cord, occasionally of open violence and war, amongst the
utembers of Jupiter's family. There WAS a fable that Her.
:Wes had opposed Neptune and Pluto by open violence:
it is worth while to observe the horror with which this
story fills the mind of l'itobir. After alluding to it (01.
ix. he txelaiuts, "I•tter no such story, 0 any gismo':
to speak evil of the gods is to make a hateful of poetry;
and to use such offensive boastful language, as if a demi-
psi could resist the gods, is mere madness. Let us not
speak such vain things ;—let us nut suppose the gods
capable of lighting."
Pinder speaks, indeed, of the love with which the gills
were inspired by Qtr beauty of mortal women : but it is
no vulgar, sensual passion. The poet treats so thinellit
subject with exquisite delicacy and grace. Whitt Call be
more delicate and graceful than the description in Pyth.
ix. N ? When a god falls in love with a mortal, it is not
for the mere purpose of gratifying passion, but for some
great and ofttis holy object. Apollo loved Evailue (01. vi.
); but lamas their child was to be a great prophet, as
well as the founder of a glorious prophetic fatuity, destined
to minister to the most high Jupiter, at the must magnifi-
cent of all assemblies dedicated to his honour 4,v.64, req.),
Apollo fell in love with Cyrene : but their son Aristiens
was to be a groat benefactor to man ; and Cyrene 114T/Wif
we. IA) become the tutelar protectress of a famous city in
th. ix. 59, meg.) .Ittpiter became enamoured
of the daughter of Opus; bill the result and object of hie
love was that Locrus, who had hitherto been childless,
shmudd be blessed with aU. ,1.14. and mighty son.—(f )1. ix.
mob) In short. finder uniformly represents the pas-
sious of the gods as buncticial to mankind.
On the other hand, from his belief in the
equally e hint. origin of man, Pimlar "assumes
" the human s'lo'e to be capable of excellence
" in virtue," and he is therefore the " patriot,
" philosopher, and preacher," to whom the
great games of Greece were at solemn opportu-
nity for inculcating the cultivation of what-
ever was good and noble. We may re-
mark with Mr. Cookesley au admirable ex-
ample of this. The amur Write of a
Greek would on must occasions induce hint
to refer to that glorious struggle during
whose contintutuee Euripides was born, in
the thanksgiving for which Sophoeles was a
performer, in which fEsehylus manfully bore
his part, which Thueydides and Herodotua
have detailed ; but it was the highest love of
political virtue which could introduce such a

theme with reference to Meru of Syracuse.
It is true that Gahm, the Rredecessor of Hieru,
had contemplated rendering ausistaueo to the
Greeks against their invaders, but Micro was
a tyrant, and his panegyrist took occasion, am
this blender ground, to celebrate the praises
of freedom anal order, to address bun with the
dignity and superiority of a monitor, and to
remind lab audieuee that constitutional liberty
is the only foundation on which the happiness
of a State can be based. Such a remarkable
instance bears out Mr. Cookesley iu his esti-
mate of the spirit in which Pinder performed
his part, and of the noble use to which he
could turn a great Ilenettle festival.
Mr. Cookesley, in opposition to Thiersch,
Boeekb, MO Burney—the last the earliest ex-
ponent of the theory. and whose family mane
would appear to give it additional weight—
denies with much elaboration that Pintlar's
poems were written for adaptation to musk.
But, in our present btato of ignonmee con-
cerning the extent of musical acience inuouget
the Greeks, it is impossible to pronounce a
decided opinion on this earota questio. For
the text of Pinder, us we aro informed by the
titlepage, Bovekh has been followed. That
editor, with true German talent and pertint,
eity, has been a careful pioneer for his suc-
cessors, Nissen and Sehneidewin. Their
labours have effected all that could be done
with the scanty materials ut haunt, leaving
nothing to be done by those who caste after
them. Pindar appears not to have been a
favourite with the monastic scribes. All the
MSS. !AVM to have been transcribed front
ono original. There are but few different
readings, and the text is not iu a very satis-
factory state. Mr. Cookesley, unlike Bent-
ley or Wakefield, has laudably refrained
front t.oiktectural emendations, and does
not hesitate to say wheu necessary, "There
"is only a choice of difficulties in the
" interpretations of this passage." A distin-
guishing characteristic of Mr. Cookesley's
notes is their perfect simplieity and clearness
and we are not sorry to see that they ignore
the interpellationa of Sauserit which are to be
found sates superfine in the works of another
English editor of Pinder. There has been,
in short, at fashion in Greek etymology,
as in many other human arrangements. etymology,
Datum, and Ilematerbuis, reversing the
natural order of things, referred sit words to
certain imaginary verbs as the original ruota
of the language. Bryant conceived that. Cireek
was Hebrew in disguise ; and for at time scho-
lars wore content with his perverse milkmen-
le to tied the taries. It is cow the
primi-
tives in Sanaterit end others of the great
family of Indo-European tongues. But the
legacy of Colonel Nolen must be turned to
better aceount before the connection between
Greek anal Sanscrit can be accurately defined;
and in the meantime we are for the most itart
compelled to take at second hand the labours
of German philologists whose fancy blinds
their judgment. Nlr. Cookesley has been
labouring in a soberer and better aehool ; he
is clear, sound, anal prat•tical; and his labours
will survive.

Moryoret ; or, Prejraliee at Mane. An Auto-
biligniphy. London : Bentley.
_

opened this novel with feelings of more
than ordinary curiosity, as it is the first of
those published under Mr. Bentley's new
system to whirl' we recently adverted. If
" Jane Erre" had never been written Ivo
would hail the authoress of " Margaret" as an
original writer : but " Brambletye House," by
llorsee Smith, does not scar it queer literary
relationship to the Waverley novels than
the history of the fortunes of Margaret Mar-
pies does to the records of ".lane Eyre." We
must hold the gifted authoress of the latter
work responsible for all the dismal stories of
unfortunate governesses who, since the publi-
cation of that striking work, have appealed
to the sympathies of novel-readers, in hopes
of alleviating the vicissitudes of their lot.
Hut, tl 1111 l " Margaret " belongs to thu
school of " .lane Eyre," its writer is no servile
imitator. Of the literary ability shown in her
volumes we can speak decidedly. Always
fluent, and often very graphic, she wields nor
only the pen of a ready, but of an eloquent,

writer, capable of rivetting novel-readers.
While, however, we commend her talents, we
must censure their application in this instanee.
When we Wee up a !novel we do not want to
be upbraided for all our faults, or to be lec-
tured for our national wrongdoings. We seek
for amusement from an intelligent companion,
who can chArm us away from the recollec-
tions of the sorrows and trials to which most
of us are subjected sooner or later. We do nut
want that our novelist should become our mer
chess censor, mocking our stniggling virtues,
and malignantly commemorating our imperfec-
tions.

" Margaret ; or, Prejudice at Home," is the
life of a governess in England, written appa-
rently for the purpose of satirising the social
character of " England mid the English." The
" Christianity " of our country is derided as
beinF in most instances little better than by-
poensy, and the popular homage for mere
wealth is most unjustly exaggerated. Who-
ever wishes to think badly of the people of
England, let them store themselves with the
ha:moons and bitter invectives of " Margaret."
Tho heroine is introduced to us as the illegiti-
mate daughter of Colonel Leigh. Her grand-
father is the verger of a cathedral, iind she is
the niece of a David Murples (a strongly-
drawn character), represented as an Infidel,
because he can find no Christians living up to
the creed professed by them ! As a matter of
course,the people with whom she takes service as
a governess are each successively worse than the
other ; and we must do the authoress the justice
to any that the clasp; to which they belong, whe-
ther high or low, makes nu difference in the
severity of her strictures. It is a pity that so
clear a writer should look at the world with so
much obliquity ; and, if she again aspire to a
high place amongst fictionists, she must learn
to take a less defiant tone, and to refresh
her readers with sceucs of cheerfulness and
joy-
We will give some specimens of her pecu-
liar manner. We first select a fitvourable
olio. Here is a vigorous portrait of a boy whose
mind is excited by hearing of heroism. The
picture is a very graphic one :

I had never Steen much of children, mid certainly I hood
never seen a child so beautiful as this one was. Standing
her a al. ousvist, irresolute whether to adv Mies' er retreat, he
pave me a full view of his very tair and handsome face
his noble head with it clustering curls of s 11111 l y hair ;
Isis large, liquid blue eyes and pouting lips :—and
making a sudden dash forward he flung himself head-
Wig into Mary's hip, dragging her work out of her
hands.
" I'm not going to stand this any longer," he said: "you
all make auch a liet of me, and it's nothing but nonsense.
mean to be a soldier."
" Oh, he's a brave boy " said Mary, holding his bead
caressingly with both " and you can't think how
patriotic he is, Miss Marples."
England," said the child, raising his :soma fusee. and
bolding out his chubby hand, and elevatim.t his forefinger.
" England shall never lie at the proud foot of a conqueror'
Didn't WO boat the Froltell at Waterloo?"
"We did, love," said Mary, kissing him, and her
whole heart seemed to be in the caress—" we did, and
we always shall whilst we have such bravo fellows as pat

are."
" Oh, yes ! it's all very well talking about brave fellows,
and kissing me that way !" said the boy. " I'm not
going to stand it, I tell you, so lie quiet. IVonien are so
silly! "
He glanced slyly at me out of the corners of his blue
eyes as he spoke.
"Well,l never saw such a little Turk," said Susan.
The boy retreated to the end of the room, and stood
against the wall with his hands behind him.
When I'm a man." he said, " 1 mean to march under
the ' flag that braved a thousand years the :tattle and
the breere I shall be a soldier or a sailor ; I don't know
which yet. But I'll let the Freneh al'e it's true what the
song says :
' Britannia needs uo bulwark+,
No towers along Ow steep:
Iles march is o'er the mountain wave,
Iler home is on the tleep;
Nobody ever conquered ll', did OW, M airy ?••
" No, hive."
"Now you were boats:tying heat night, while rending the
Bible, that fighting was sinful," said Susan.
" Now you know nothing about it," said the boy, and his
baby lip eurled with all expression of contempt. we
said it was sinful to quarrel, but not to defend ourselves.
You would look very queer if the French came over
some fine day mid bunied all our houses and took us
prisoners. We're not going to let them do that, I should
think. I've been reading about Nelson, Mary ; all about
his funeral, you know. lbon't you think Nelson went tight
to Inuiven ? •
1 holy so," said 'Mary.
" lit' was MO brave " said the child. But 1 should
like to lac buried as Sir John Moore Nab."