New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-07-27
SRELIGION OF THE GREEKS.
.sogoLAREY STUDIES ON IMPORTANT PHASES
OF CLASSIC WORSHIP.

Macmllah N w.
One place in this book attracts particular attention
fou, its display of something like temper in the moS'
of discussion marked throughout by wonoeriu res'So
and moderation and openncss to the evidence o az
sides OF matters In dispute. IL happehs h''"iis
lin treating Of the worship paid 10 AescuiapnS az HP
daurus and Athens that the author explains al some
Length the condition of medical and surgical practice
as revealed in the Homeric poems. lie SHOWS 'io"
accurate il far as IL went ana oeinoi>nos VI"
claim made for HlppocPatcs of Cos as the inventor Vi
Greek medicine. Then he goes out OF Ills way s@
lone may think to Guarda ana some o'her ca
tremsts for asserting that in ancient In modern
times there was recognized conflict between science
and RELIGION adding In another place. seVera"Ve'
gradually, indeed, but very early took place ue'"ee
secular and Aesculapan healing IL ho'
easy to recognize this fact, because ahcien'S
there never in any hcid, least Vi
all in the asd of ancient medicine the modern antaso-
nism between science and religion. Let those VINO
wfully misrepresent the past in order the more COM
pletely to misunderstood the present say lhaV 'ho
was so because science was unscitntinc' or pecau'0
religion was an empty show. The fact remains un'''
In spite of the severance above mentioned the o'0o
KENT n touoh with the worship Of Aesculapus' anu
the priests In his temples did not soorn sucs secular
knowledge as they could gain from lay prscuu'no''
But il is to be observed that in this respect there Nv
quarrel even at the present day between science anu
religion Nobody dares to ignore q fact that has po0
demonstrated 1t is only as 10 what sdenusos anu
tbeolorians respectively think of propositions "hi'h
they have not demonstrated and perhaps caIi"o'
demonstrate that there Is conflict ana TURMOIL "
true that there wa no such disturbance as " "
ancient times for the reason that religion hhen was
,r.v tho .niritual expression of what may be called
the natural science Of the times. With plants ana
trees and rocks and rivers and birth ana dta'h ana
even disease as symbols Of deity, even the inoSV h %
ca Of doematists and the most materoflao' s'uo0hV
Of nature could hardly got far enough apart 10 cohe
bandiIy TO blows. On the other hand IL IL Is meant
that fhare
,imes all those radical differences In human
nature which are the real underlying cause Oh tho
modern controversy alluded 10, that there were hoe
rualists and doctrinaires and dogmasts ana deVout
doubtcrs and ribad scofers and ratonslsts anu
naterasts and sceptcs In those days. Just as Vnere
are in these then the expression OF views quo'eu
above could easily be explained on the gIounu 'i'U
tho autbor had espoused the weak side of the argu
ment. "a,
with singular grace and felicity Of phrase with
abundant learning, and with accuracy que 10 per
sonal observation. Professor Dyer explains the de-
veopment of the cults of Demeter' at Eleus's anu
Cnidus: of Dionysus in Thrace lcaria' Athehs anu
Fleus,s. NJ Aesculapus at Epdaurus and Athens;
Of Aphrodite, at PaphOs, and OF Apollo, st DEUS
The most satisfactory portion Is the study OF Aphro
dite for the genesis Of that goddess is tacea Win
clearnes and historic certainty TO the dawn of cviza
tIon in the Orient The beautiful suggestion is made
and IL NAV vet turn out extremely useful one
that Eurpides seems almost to have the Assynan
poem on the Descent of Istar before him In the song
of the Helena describing the despair OF DemeVr
because of her failure to find Persephone' "heh
the earth stricken with barrenness, refused
TO allow the springs to flow, ana even
the gods were forced to give up their feasts III Is
notabe that this hint does not occur in the STUDY OF
Demeter, but rather as an afterthought IN the ue
cusson of Aphrodte. For the author nnds' as hlshV
be expected that the ideal of the Faphan soooes''
sIeyed az It had been through the civic-not the
1T esfa Asia and Northern A11CA anu
Southern Europe, and particularly as conceived OS
the lphthearted Inhabitants of the Greek oues' was
nlsuited to the mystery of woe in lstar lie says
Among Greek dvinities Demeter rather IMAM Aphro-
d represents this bitterness Of woe and this 1uhes
of sympathy for the calamities Of others" one
conld wish that this thought had been fully developed
in the discourse on Demeter. That majestic nsure,
the symbol of sorrewng motherhood, must have had
more adequate setting forth from the very outset IMAM
the rural myths indicate Indeed the whole corngod-
des and hypothesis has been worked up to t'
fullest oapacity and when 1t is applied TO the mythoI
ory of a race advanced in civilization its results
are more snowy than trustworthy. AS PITT remarked
of argument by analogy, anything can be proved
by ii. The difference between Greek even III
Homcr's day, and American Indian, for example,
barring the common elements of human nature, Is
almost incalculable, il the records obtained In
each case of any value The GREEKS were
the heirs of an earlier civilization. What they lacked
in originality they made up for in the beauty and
most vital fact In the history Of Hellenic development
and every pretended parallel between Greek life apd
so-called primitive should be scrutinzed with
jealousy IL not with positive antpathy. Professor
DYER certainly goes too far in his acceptance OF the
opinion that either the "orestea' of AeeChylus or
the Bacchanalsa Of Euripides preserve traces Of
transition from the matrlarcha to the paarchal stage
of society," 1t remains to be proved that there ever
was anything corresponding to what is described by
the word matriarchal among the Aryan races Unless
this can be shown to have existed an incident LIKE the
birth Of Donysus OF that Of Athene the acquitta
of Orestes can only be explained legendary ele-
ment non-Aryan in it's origin. To such incidents
by way of both proof and inference TO argue In
circle But II such elements not Aryan, they are
not necessarily prehistoric nor even primitive but may
have been matters of observation among savage Tribes
in classic times Just they are to-day. The very
fact that incidents which, in pure realism would be
revoltnc became beautiful in Greek fancy almost
demonstrates that they fore loans for the law
of suoh things when they tribal hertages Is law
of decay and of reduction from importance to trviaty
Pindars story of the birth of Aeseulapius has been
roundly declared an example of literary borrowing
from the older story Of Dionysus. 1t may be added
with considerable confidence that the borrowing did
not begin with Pndar.
A Greek deity the outcome OF q syncrusm, con-
scious or unconscious which usually left him as many
sided and seHcontradiotory as If he were living,
breathing, emotional human being. Such person
was Donysus whose character dehes analysis but WHO
was certainly not more diverse in his aspects than
the proverbial Philip drunk and Philip sober. As
Professor Dyer shows. the process OF combination
which brought Dionysus into being began long before
he rose to prominence in Attica As the god OF the
Thraeians he betrayed all the confusion OF national
iseas that existed among his worshippers Ruler of
the world of the dead and of morals because death
was the only certainty Of life. god Of wine and OF the
drink that kills. god Of the and of roaring names,
god of the sprngng water Of the shining gold master
axAA CIaNQR and
Of men-such was the special deity Of the Thraclans
Manifesty he was not the product Of remoiest saw
agery Wine and gold mark vast steps In the progress
of mankind. The primitive Aryans probably Knew
nothing of either. Thus even the widest member OF
the Hellenic pantheon came not as an utter savage