New-York tribune., 1895-02-10

since, OF transferring tne nle oi HIS wv" ee''N'-
ton to a past more nr less remote "hch "e
had the clear guidance of tradition. Tor eXampe'
as to the royal state OF the Pelopohhesia''
princes his descriptions were such as inode'h
archaeology cannot traverse. When he asc'ioe"
the same gorgeous state to the chiei'ai"S Vi
Troy he was in error When he talked Of fu-
neral pyres ne fixed the locality to which ne D.
Ionoed but he did not describe the general prac-
tice of the Greek world in his time nor III 'l'a'
~ which he sang. This point. as to the burning
Of the dead. is the one upon which 'ui"s '"e
whole nroblem OF restoring the history Of Greek
life and art to a unity In which the stages OF an
order,v evout,on can be dsccrned. At first the
..r,,,n,;or was general that the custom men
toned by Homer must be the one looked FOR IN
tho burial paces of Mycenae. Every spot black
cned bv smoke was deemed new evidence that
,, ,,.,o,ior vas correct But gradually 1t
aawned upon investigators that all these traces
=, s,,oLa taken together would not answer for a
,,.,o funeral fire while the condition In which
,ha bopes cf The dead were found precluded the
Thought Of cremation. Then the whole subject
oar,o to its true bearings. The Greeks OF the
oar,ies, neriod like other sedontary savageF. had
hurled their dead and their srccessors continued
this practlce down through all the stages OF
.ho,r evolution as a race until the Mycenian
mower was overthrown. The only CONFUSION
known TO Greek legend which could nave de-
stroyed this power was that caused d! the
Dorian Invasion. and to this was due also 'he
movement Of the Ionians back iro" european
Greece to the shores OF Asia whence 'he' ia"
frat come Converted thus into nomadic peo-
ple unable for generations perhaps 10 ma places
whore they could settle in peace the ionian ana
Aeolian exiles forgot much that the' o'iee h"e"
and adopted practices to which 'hey hau h''nei
80 hoo, s,rapeers They did not forget their
art. nor their enterprise. The frs; glances OF
,;~,orv find them engaged In wide commerce ana
1, oxtnnsjve schemes of cooniZat tlon. as was the
aaso ,,i,h Ni,etus: cuitivating philosophy in the
,orso, q, TbaIes: sending musical experts to
ruronean Greece as In the case of Ierpahder'
I'd rroducine the first poets and artists or
uo,,as Meanwhile their journey had been
neither short nor easy. n. Perrot' foIlowihs inc
suggestions of Curtius. imagines them s"ar"h'"s
out OF the Peloponnesus. sweeping up as''"s.
,ho horders OF Nacedon and then SOUTHWARK anu
eastward into Asia Minor. Al hrs' 'he cia@e
for disbursement was confined 10 'hose ''a"S
that had been rooted out OF theT hho'''uo"''
and whose regret for their lost na'iNe ianu was
aggravated by the hardship and the diihcu''' vi
settlements; but ere long IL spreao every '""''''
and attacked even Such "s WIZ f''''
tiled with more land. too. than they knew
how to till. The restless Impulse OF h''s'a'o"
,as kor, alive by the innate mobility OF the race
the temptation which navigation he'n OUT 'o'
r,o, se,,Iements. such as the early engrants-
-. .,,.,or .a,a-had everywhere found" These
eo,,ences NAV be colored BY a Vivid fancy. hut
,hav bavs n BACKGROUND Of truth. They reveal
condition. which must have been iatai 10 many
cherished customs
,rc.e,or vorship requires for its Development
so,,,ed ufe on the part - It's votares II
presunposes a wish in the departed soul to mover
,h,,,. Tho Mace. which II knew In i!c and cspe-
c,ally about the spot where tn, body has been
,orositca , wandering tribe knows no surh
,,.ces II must adopt inTlc deN.cc otncr IMAM
ordinary burial The same is true OF an army
!, q hostile country According to Pliny thiS
,rss tho reason why the dead were burned ny
tho Rornans NJ Perro;. taking hini from
pohdc supposes that a similar change nom
hurial 10 burning took place among Inc Wlgta'
,orv tribes Of Greece In this general wandering
of the nations" which he describes linus "'
author or authors Of the HomerIc pcems hNhs
in Asia at the conclusion Of this unsettled pcrlon
,vould have been familiar with the practice o'
generations Immediately preceding out not 'ha'
of ,,rnes more remote But now attention must
he maid to the religious meaning FOR FOLK tha'
Rad only partially emerged from sa'agery o'
such a change in their customs. AS long ss '"e'
remained in settled homes near the places "n''e
they buried their dead. their advance III cutu''
was marked by the growing care "mch '"'E
took OF the tomb. They studied 10 make " per
manent and secure. to beautiiy 't-in snort u
make II a place which the shade might pe s'"o
to visit. They developed an elaborate 'er'mo"'
for funerals and a sacrhciai cult by "h'eh u
keep themselves In favor with the uean' Al
other words. they treated their iombs IKE tenn
pies and their dead like deities dead prince
was stul In an importan, sense the iather Oh h''
people But when they took on migratory hap'
its they ceased TO FEEL the presence OF theii
dead When they had reduced the oody 10
hea, Of ashes they found IL less easy TO imagine
the shade returning to them In the shape "hich
they In life. They came even 10 oreao i's
ro,nrn and the funeral games took on ne"
mea ming: instead OF being given In honor OF th'
dead an invitation to dwell among his people
thesc now became n means or placating MIN aho
~ insurjne his entrance to the Unseen Land
whence he never could return This IL exactly
what the shade OF Patroclus said to Achilles
and Elpenor at the entrance cf iades met UIys
ses with threat to enforce his demand for due
funeral rites Imprisoned in a remote region inc
dead lost their divine character. ana the poeis o
the Homeric circle fell back upon those delue'
whose fame was more general They gave UNI
versal meaning 10 ideas ,nd personages whose
influence had hitherto been vague or limited
For the same reason the affection which thcii
ancestors had cherished for particular region
they now transferred to the whole OF Greece
A national ideal such as Greece was never des
unod to realize was revealed In the Had Thl!
,dea, was raised upon a foundation which was
aetna, and substantial Mycenae. which seemed
TO the wanderers In Asia the centre OF GreeE
nover and OF all the beauty which the Greeh
mind was capable OF creating, had beer
within the memory OF men a rich and wonderful
city. To those with whom it was personal OF
inherited remin!sccnce II was far richer and
more wonderful and its princes were far gfandei
ILL h..Ia tL,e,: had Leen In