The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1908-11-14
.FERRERO Who PUT
HISTORY ON NEW
BASIS IS HERE
Distinguished Italian 6 Feet 8
Inches and Thin as
Don QuiXote.
TO VISIT ROOSEVELT.
He Regards the President as
One of the Greatest Men
of the Day.
TO VISIT ROOSEVELT.

Signor Guglelmo Ferrero, the dIstin
gushed Italian historian, who has
been SCATTERING great many idols
and putting much OF our ancient his
tory on a mythical basis, arrived here
to-day on the Savoie. OF the French
line He was accompanied by his tai
ented wife, who is daughter of LON
broso.
The historian stands over s feet c
inches in his stockings, and is a. thin
as Don Quixote. with lank, ganglng
figure and gaunt features. relieved only
by a little yellow muStache and goatee.
Signora Ferrero, on the other hand, is
a slender little woman. above whom
her famous husband towers like
mast.
The Signor Ferrero will spend the win
ter in the United States lecturing at
the various universities and visiting the
distinguished men OF the nation. He
will re a guest of President Roosevelt;
of President Eliot. OF Harvard, and Of
many noted authors and scientists.
'Sheds New Light on History.
The Italian scholars most famous
work is The Grandeur and Decadence
Of Rome" III this and many other
works he has given new aspect TO
ancient history.
He discovered many gross eXaggera-
tons in Roman records and has found
among other things that Cleopatra was
not a beauty, and that she never had
romantic affair with Mark Antony
In fact. she was merely clever wnm-
an and an ugly one Her intrigue with
Antony was purely political.
He has also given a new complexion
TO the career OF Caesar. whom he finds
10 have been a democratic politician
who sought to lambaste the plutocrats
of his period, succeeding fairly well
until Brutus and his gang fell upon
him.
Now, according to Ferrero, are we TO
accept the current version OF the
Greeks defense of tile pass of Their
mopylae. Leonidas was something of a
captain, but not nearly so great a hero
as we have been wont 20 believe
Earlier historians have greatly over
drawn the Marathon incident and other
famous denouements OF history.
Shakespeare was way off in a great
many OF his facts. and so was Plu-
tarch, whose biographies furnished the
immortal bard with so much of the
groundwork for his historical dramas.
Shakespeare fooled in his picture OF
Caesar. but drew skilfully and truly in
the case OF Brutus. 1t seems that Plu-
tarch drew almost entirely on his i'm
agination in writing up Caesar. whereas
in the biography of Brutus he followed
the memoirs of Brutus's friend, NJ Cor
vinus.
Many "Facts" Only Legend.
And so it has been in many features
of ancient history. We have been swal-
lowing legends for facts. F'errero has
been called yellow by great many
European savants, because OF his icono-
elastic methods He has nevertheless a
great following among scholars and
scientists.
to-day. the greatest achievement in
human reason OF the past century was
Darwin's Origin OF Species"
In the next breath signor Ferrero
that he had read i, RS wTitngs 0 With With
great interest, and considered him one
of the greatest men of his day, if not
the most forceful figure in modern his
tory.
After remaining in New York for two
days, the distinguished Italian will go
to Boston, where he will begin series
of eight lectures before the Lowell In
stitute. Later he Will lecture at Cam
bridge, before the University OF Chicago,
Cornell and Columbia.
Signora Ferrero is also a woman of
broad culture and has written a treatise
on degeneration. Since she was a very
young girl she has been vastly interested
in the scientific studies OF her father.
Lombroso.