New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-03-05

Mct!ucn n Co.
II l. not easy 10 determine al hr'' Nlih' me '''''
character and scope OF This work. In his in'f""n'"'>
remark, the author claims and dhc!aim' H'N"r"'
thing. na-mucli ~ he was led lni" ~" nho'r"N'"N
hy an examination ~ The metal, and portrait statue
In scxcr, Of the musoim. - Rome. wh"rc the book
came TO lee written, II t. natural 10 find that II "u'
,rotion from thee source has been made an I'M
uor,ant object; and that IL l. indeed highly valuable
ami Interesting feature Of the work. The A"'h"
nirs and observation, upon he" h'lhI- DhH'' "''
saiuc, are also umnaiivc. ani h. i enabled 20 '"f
rect ,arIou, error, Of identification which hh'" deem
,o,,od down in the usual way from author 10 author.
The opening chapter On Roman Porirni'iIe' a'''
NJ .,,nc length with the whole sab cl. and. "il' III
directly related To the sui! cct Of ia" WORK. i quite
Necessary In IT. place.
Here also Will rc found hint, a, 10 III" author
purpose In general. Thu, Ia eay, - 7" t'o '"'l
., ,L Caesar. TO the extinction Of the Julian rlaudian
race n, tragedy to my mind {, comparable t. Il FOR
dramatic force and pathos 10 novel Of more human
iut,r.. or q, more thrilling Incident The story l.
in all Histories Of Rome somewhat oscurcd. honn'r
I'm History the politica! and military events al IN"
period claim paramount attention. ln'' "A" con
TIMES, with ia" faces OF the 'acsarcan houa" before
me- | thought Of the men and women Themselves
t,lr indi,dual lives, their characters, their sorro~s
their iovs their trials and their irinmphs. J. =" To
sneak. lived among them for two winters. spending
Thorn, and | felt rs though had made "A personal
acmiainiancc with them and had come 10 understand
them III n none could. apart from these galleries
Of speaking lkcnes>cs. TO read Tncltus, suctoniu,
and bio in England ana 10 read them looking up INTO
III. faces Of those whose acts recorded. two
very different thing. II seemed 10 me that The r'udy
l those face. helped TO understand the characters
and p,rsonal historic, OF these IIans and Canadians
In q way Impossible apart from them. and that II
enabled me 10 correct many partial judgment ara
explain many psychological puzzle
The outcome OF bis iabors. however. H. not n mere
patch Of random gucsswork. ror does II involv" de-
I,cnd.ncc upon iniuiiion, which ar dungeons anx-
ularIcs In The writing Of history. Mr. Barring t'ond
has II + tr;c and n he states, cut away boldly most
of th reference, with which hc al first crowded lis
voumc- considering that Oh subjects Ike this all std
dents know where 10 look for their ail critics and
whcrcabout 10 find what Is quoted When writ"
about the fall Of 1,anns he knows, without refer
cicc that lie must look at bio and net Tncus. and
turn 10 .mvcnal's Tenth satire. II | tell him that
1ibcrins lkcd BRUSSELS sprouts and sent to Germany
for parsnips. he knows without being told that lac
must 20 to Pliny for this" And h" adds: "Ths book
Is not II history Of the Roman world or ~ the Roman
state. but Is purely biographical" Thus
have said nothing about the Galllc wars Of Caesar
Of the invasion Of Britain. nothing about the struggles
ON the armenian frontier with The Parihians. hut
have noted that Julius Caesar ate rancid I'll without
making face IT, and that AgripIina the Younger
had n pet white nightingale that Augustus every day
kissed the little bust Of Il lost grandchd, that
rihcrus scoldcd Drusus for dsdnlnIng cabbage, and
that Gcrmanicu, could not endure 10 hear Il cock
crow
should IT be- Imagined, from these PREDATORY
marks by the author that his book l. lacking In
scholarship, however, the deduction would be- IN
founded. In truth he has slf"d his matter carefully
and con,centiousy. and at every step has made The
boot and fullest Of he latest German crudton. Not
that hc follows any commentator sla,lsly. lie has
his ideas. and they are clear and strongly held
Ills departures from some long accepted Views are
directly in point, instance his inquiry Into tlc
statements Of Tactus about Tiberius. OF course he
4, not alone IN holding that the historian malign
he Emperor very gTavely but he comes near 10
proving this lies In the nature cf the Tacitus
has evidently Invented elaborate and cruel libel
upon man whom he hated and III order TO support
and give 1t pausibii,y hc has misrcprcsentcd facts
with what might be- termed quite modern reckless
ness. The cases Of Caligula and Nero also in
point or the real insanity OF the former there never
could have been any sc'ous question. aud perhaps
what confused the world that so many other
Juans and Caudians displayed almost like aptitude
for the preparation OF atrocities.
But in Mr.. Barring .Goulds well -limned portraits as
In the rougher outline sketches OF the older chronicles
the same general state OF facts mpresscs itself upon
the reader. and prominent. II not preemnen In this
is the cruelty OF that Roman world. 30 large ana
universal Is the contempt for human life that the In
PRODUCTION OF the "Cnstoms' OF DahOmey into that
saneuinary period would hardly appear out OF keeping
AND Why IL has often enough been asked. did the pe0
pie ana the MOBILES put up long with their tyrsnts
and butchers' When the time rife aud the
ord Inll no difficulty was ever experienced In remOv
Ing the rcgnne monster. Why, then. was he always
allowed 80 much scope before being suppressed! The
answer TO that question be sought In the general
Character Of the Romans. They aud the world they