The Portland daily press., 1893-01-31
THE AGE OF PERlcLEs.
The Rev. Mr.. Bellows in Periods of Liter
allure Course.

Mr.. Bellows began his lecture yester-
day afternoon, at the Second Advent
church by calling attention to the essen
tial modernness of the productions of the
great Greek characters, poets and phil
osophers as interpreted through the
translation of Jowett, Fitzgerald and
Frere, reading a passage from the
'sBirds'' of Aristophanes that seemed
like an extract from one of Gilbert and
Sullivan's librettos. A selection from
Landors s'Pericles and Aspasia'' that
wonderful transcript of Greek life that
has all the sanity, the clearness of in
telligence and the beauty of old Greek
life, grouped together the great names of
the age. That Greek temper and spirit
may possibly find it's nearest likeness in
the freedom, the quick intelligence and
in our best representatives-the har
mony of development of American life.
Neither Taine's environment theory
nor Carlyle's ''great man. theory fully
explains such period as that of Pericles.
1t is rather the fortunate union of cir
cumstances with the personality of great
leaders and thinkers. The character of
Pericles was outlined, and taking the
general presentation of Plutarch, the
speaker drew a comparison between the
Athenian leader and our own Lowell and
Choate. In discussing the character and
influence of Aspasia, the general nature
of woman's mind and her achievements
in art literature and science were spoken
of, passage from Tennyson's "Prin-
cess being read to mark the true relai
ton of the sexes. The nature of the
Art of Phidias was discussed, and in
connection with the subject a part Of
Keats lode on Grecian Urn and a
sonnet on 1.-THE Venus of the Louvre
by Emma Lazarus were read. The phil
osophy of Anaxagoras, with its belief in
ruling intelligence, which las the high.
est thought is always regarded as dan
gerous) led to the Punishment of the
sage, and the impeachment of Pericles
and Aspasia for impiety, also gave oc-
casion for the reading of some stirring
lines of Lowell. Extracts from the RE
public of Plato showed the antiquity of
many of our socialistic schemes. Brook
Farm being largely based on some OF its
ideals; and the modern kindergarten
theory of education has also here its
beautiful exposition. Passages were
read from the dialogue of the s'Phe-
drus;' and the trial and death of Socra-
ties, revealing one of the noblest person
alties of all time, were briefly touched
upon. In presenting the Greek drama,
the difference betM cen the calmness, the
due sense of proportion and regard to
the unities of the old tragedies and the
piling of horrors upon horrors of the
modern stage was pointed out. One or
two great choruses from the Agamemnon
of .Eschylus, in the fine translationl of
Fitzgerald were read, and to Illustrate
the way in which, in different form, there
is today the same idea of an overhanging
doom which follows the sinner and at
to Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. Mrs.
Wilkins "Jane Field. and an extract was
read from Ibsen's drama of Ghosts"
Sophocles has far calmer and more Sc
rene genius than Hschylus. But he is
none the less great He has the unity
and harmony of a self-reconciled nature,
like that of Milton or Goethe. Phillips
Brooks also gave the same idea of per-
feet harmony and completeness, of the
unity of every part and faculty normally
developed, thus offering kind of ideal
of what human life coulds be. A selec-
ton was read from the "Antigone'' of
Sophocles, and the lecture closed with
the story of Alcestis and the passage de-
scribing her return to her husband from
the dead.