The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-10-14
W..

The beginnings If prose writing IN Greece
do not appear 20 60 back beyond the sixth
century + G. Toward n" end Of that century
a number of 'loCographers, ashley were called.
had eudeavored to describe. cv"n 70 the making
Of a map, the world a. they knew II or conceived
It, and 10 reduce to some kind Of order the
confused mass of legends which were current
about the past history 81 the cities Of Greece
" these men HccatRgs Of MIctuS was the
most remarkable. His works on geography
and history attained the widest reputation;
such at least Is the conclusion to be drawn
from the constant illusions Of nerodotus TO
"Ioniau writers" Hcrodotus, who did not
die until 40 b G., was. like H"catRIs, an Ash
attic. a Dorian of IalcarnasSu,. but lonlan
in all but birth. His work, both in range and
conception, was far in advance OF anything
which had preceded him, lie IS the historian
Of the great Persian invasion, but the treat
ment Of that subject occupies only a portion
of his work, which i intended 10 save from
oblivion the great and wonderful things that
had been done in the world, and 10 trace from
its origin the cause OF the long conflict between
East and West. In structure his work closely
resembles the odyssey, in the earlier books
We are carried To all the distant regions OF the
world. 70 Bahylonia. Egypt, India, libya
and ScvtLia, but after the NTH book the narra-
tive becomes more and more concentrated
IN the duel between Greece and Persia. in
conception the work belongs to the age before
the sophists. Not that IIerodotuS Is wanting
in critical power; he j. often led by his own
observation and meditation to diler from the
opinions current in his time. He is moved to
laughter at tho sight Of the Iouian maps, in
which the earth i circular, az IF turned out
Of a lathe" and surrounded by the ocean stream,
Reason and research have convinced hin that
snch n theory is untenablc. and that the River
OceanuS does not exist. Though a deeply
religious man who sees In everything the touch
Of n suprrhuman power. a firm believer in
rctrihution and divine envy iNcmesisl,
he has the Ionian interest In natural philosophy,
he regards the sun rs a mass of floating vapor.
driven to and fro by the winds. he IL
averse to mysticism, he will not accept the
doctrine Of a future life. at any rate as he finds
it current in Egypt and in Thrace, what is
more remarkable still. he seems To have doubt
whether any God has ever assumed a human
form. or whether any God has been the de-
scendant OF a God and a human mother. A
younger contemporary OF Herodptus was
Hcllcuicus of Mytilcnc. whom ThuCydides
mentions as almost the only historian who had
trratcd Of the period subsequent TO the Persian
wars. Thucydldcs also may be called a
Younger contemporary Of Herodotus, though
the intellectual difference between the two
historians imi els us to assign them TO different
generations. lie was an Athenian, and his
work bears the stamp Of Athenian thought
as strongly as does that Of Herodotns bear the
stamp Of lonian inquiry. The curiosity Of the
traveller whose attention is attracted by any
strange custom or new belief is replaced by an
intense application 10 the great subjec! which
:he writer has chosen aS the work Of his life
and the possession Of mankind forever. Thucy-
dides is the historian Of the Peloponnesian war.
with the purpose Of being such kept in view
he studied the early history of Greece and
ayailed himself Of every opportunity OF ascer-
tanning precisely Ia" events of the war and
tho motives which weighed with the belliRer-
euts. On the one hand. he estimates the effect
Of the war on character in Hellas, and on the
other hand he shows how national character
i>ticS contributed to success or failure. In
the details Of their criticism Heredotus and
1huCydidc- are at times not unlike
each other. for both have a distrust
Of the poets. and both are guided by indica-
tions. in forming an opinion on the events
Of past history; in, the general principles
which they follow. however. they APP far asun-
der. In the place Of the religious feeling