Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1866-04-16

" IkOl lhCl "
the municipality!
Honest citizens will vote for John Piper,
the PEOPLES CANDIDATE. The GRAND
Jury will sufficiently nominate and the
Courts should duly elect Scrippy to his
proper office. Jones has undoubtedly
become a ward of the city, county and
State; but his place is not in the Mayor
atty, if the law quoted has any vitality
whatever.
We call upon the Grand Jury to do
their duty in the premises.
WHY THE ENGLISH STATESMEN
STUDY GREC1AN MODELS.
To a superficial observer it may seem a
strange thing that at this moment all the
leading statesmen of England are deyoting
themselves to the close and critical study
of Homer and Plato and the fathers of
Greek literature, as if these studies were
fountains above all others Of political wis.,
dom. One noble lord produces a new
translation of Homer in English poetry,
and a dozen follow his example. Another
man, who has been a leading statesman,
Mr.. Grote, not content with giving us the
best English history of Greece that we
possess, has, within a few months, pro-
duced a complete and thorough account
Of Socrates and his friends, including,
above all, Plato and his writings, their
purposes and their ideas, literary, theo-
logical and political-such an account as
the world has never before seen.
1. is q clear and plain matter OF fact
that our citical theologians are nov pro-
ducing more exact copies of the original
Greek Scriptures than it has before been
possible to produce since the loss of the
original manuscripts, and better transla-
tons and better exhibitions of their true
meaning. And SO it is equally true that
at no former period, since Plato's Acad-
envy lost its wonderful head, has it been
possible to get so clear and perfect a view
of the principles he believed, those which
he doubted, those he was entirely ignor-
ant Of, and those he firmly and assuredly
taught, as we are now able to obtain
through the assistance of Mr.. Grote's new
work.
Heretofore it has always been supposed
that the Germans alone had cultivated the
scientific study of these writings with
philosophic thoroughness and care. But
there is a practical wisdom and common
sense about one who has been q successful
London banker and member of Parlia-
ment that has enabled him to review all
the theories Of those theorizers, accept the
true and reject the false. Just as Arnold
made q better history of Rome out Of
Niebuhr's speculations than Niebuhr him.
self could write, so has Mr.. Grote done in
regard to Plato. And a moderate student
may now be more sure, with this guild
ance, that he has the true sense Of that
great masters whole views on every point
than almost any living man could have
been twenty years ago.
The great question and matter of sur
prise is, why this class of studies should
have become so much the rage and recrea-
ton Of English statesmen, and we think
wc can trace many both Of the best and Of
the worst points Of Eugland's political
course to this source. 1t is IN that ac-
count that we chiefly call attention to this
fact. In on address by Mr.. Gladstone, on
resigning the CHARACTERISTIC of the Uni
versity of Edinburgh, he took this ground:
that the Greek philosophers and history
were as necessary to prepare and educate
the world for the reception Of Christianity
on the one side us the ancient Jewish
Scriptures were upon the other. In fact,
he seemed to think that in order to the
complement Of religious truth n was
about as important and useful as the
other.
Now we all know the effects on English
and on Puritan history that were pro-
duced, both in Roman Catholic times Of
old and in the revolutionary days of the
Commonwealth Of England, from over
reliance on the Old Testament as the
source of political precedents and rules.
Not only were the ecclesiastical Courts
governed by the Jewish laws, but the
whole civil institutions OF the land were
thus fashioned, and stand so to this day in
great measure. Questions Of marriage
and the forbidden degrees, of the Sabbath,
and much more, have been decided on in
terpretations Of the Old Testament rather
than the New. Indeed, in Cromwelfs
time, Charles the Firsts head was cut of
and the act justified on the principle that
Samuel " hewed Agag to pieces"
Many other Of the laws Of Christian
States after the time Of Constantine and
Justinian have rested on the basis of the
old Roman law, and hence Grecian politi-
cal speculations, so far as they formed the
earliest basis Of civilized statesmanship,
are now being studied, and will be in
creasingly, as the earliest clue and key,
next to the Jewish law, to the statesman
Of the present age. Webster and his COM
panions, we all know, in their later years.
took much pleasure in these old studies,
and the statesmen who keep them up will
always have an advantage over those ig-
norant of them.
There is, however, a greater danger
still, that of idolizing them for in moral
principles they were Of course far below
the progressive standard which Christiani-
" has given to our age. Indeed, it seems
to us that some Of the diplomacy of Eng
land within the last few years has retro
graded in morals precisely through taking
the policy Of Greece and the overbearing-
ness Of Roman craftsmanship for its