The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-10-04
s0afss NEW BOOKS.
sehiiemaa.'s Dsscsverse..


|tftr
~ sehiiemsnn's Discoveries.
5k has neyor been asserted that the late DR.
I. HkKhY SCHlIEMANN was scholar in the exact
4 sense which the term bears in Germany and
4 knkland. He lacked the training which seems
!, 20 BIO IN indispensable condition OF accuracy.
i Scholars, liko other mon. are human: they
hsvo their vanities and they do not like to be
! placed under woighty obligations TO one
4 who, In their opinion. wants the SCI
I, Sntinc groundwork OF genuine orudition.
~ was hard for them to admit that
NE inexhaustible enthusiasm and unshak-
sb.o liberalization Of IN amateur could
I, succeed in throwing moro light on the
! lrehistoric civilization depicted In the
\ Honneric poems thnn the united labors Of
) scholars had managed to shed in centuries.
|, The truth Is that in the province OF classical
excavation and identification Schliemann's
role was similar to the part played by Stanley
IN African exploration. Neither had the scien-
mo qualifications supposed TO be requisite
Tor the task undertaken. and therefore their
alleged discoveries were long subjected to
Jealous and suspicious scrutiny at the hands
~ experts. Each lived to see the cloud OF de-
ersction and distrust liGhtened II not wholly
Aissipsted. but in the case of Schiiemann death
preceded the complete vindication OF the value
~ his researches. 30 far at least as English
readers arc concerned. q clear and orderly ac-
eount OF the merchant enthusiasts discoveries
= now for the first time made accessible In
Me translation OF the book compiled by DR.. G.
WcHucHHARDr under the name OF Sohlicnann's
Excavations. an Archaeological and Historical
ehdu tMscmillans.)
a4 I.
h. wc do not mean. Of course. that some
2 In rnfo oh hv ~ NJ
fruitful researches may not long remain
unsettled What. for instance. was tho true
relation Of the MycenGan civilization to
the Homerto poems. and what Is It's place In
the development OF classical Grcecea Those
questions are touched upon By DR.. 6chuoh-
hardt, but they are not BY any means exhaust
lively considered. nor are his replies likely to
satisfy the majority OF scholars. What he has
done is to bring order into chaotic mass Of
materials. schliemann's plan Of publishing
the results Of his excavations as fast rs
ihey were made had some disadvantages.
although It was an excellent plan IN the
main. Either the whole material had to be
published twice over as soon as other explora-
lions and experiences brought new light-to
bear upon the first crude and imperfect con-
illusions. or else the later deductions had to
be given separately apart from . portion at
least Of the evidence on which they are
Founded. Thus 1t was laborious task to ex-
tract from Iios and 7roja distinct and CO.
mon the hill OF Hissarlik. The dificuItv Of
course would he stIll ereater vhen a
iromnIeta change ~, view tool nIaca "A once
happened. during the publication Of single
volume In TRIMS. the instance We have in
view. the elaborate explanation Of the cit
adel waIls given IN the taxt IA abaolute.
IN contradicted in an equally elaborate
appendix. What Or. schuchhardt has done
An the book before i,s- IA to arrange
NE facts in Ineligible seouence. And Il IA no
mail merit that he should have brought
into the compass OF single handy
volume nil that ia OF Ara. rate imnortance IN
lSchliemann's various works. He has. moreover.
rome on to analyze and explain than And his
estfma te Of the sipnifcance os details Ia NOT
,ikelv tn he disnuted although bis ultimate
and broad conclusions will doubtless provoke
controversy. With some OF his hypotheses Mr..
Walter Leaf. who contributes an Introduction
10 this Enriish Translation. does NOT conceal
his disagreement. although he appreciated the
saryice rendered by Sohuchhardt A An Ar
sranaer Of materiais. and recoonixes sch,ie.
mann himsalf "a nothing leaa than the
creator Of prehistoric Greek srohnoloey. he
comedies that schliemann was in this branch
Of study an epoch maker. hut he adds that IL
"a not for epoch.makine men to sea the round
ing. of and compilation OF their task. That
tmust be the labor Of the ensuing peneration.
"A man who can formulate an entirely now
,roblem may we'll be content to leave the solu.
.on Of II to those who come after him,
81 II.
Tbis volume ~ 400 napes aums nm the "a.
suits Of schliemann,s excavations prosecuted
during neatly twenty vaars at Hissarlik NV
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