The Twilight of the Gods is always passing rapidly into
night when laughter takes the place of invective. Lucian of Samosata made the gods of ancient Greece as ridiculous as Anatole France has made some of the beliefs of the modern world. And how did he do it ? Simply by taking all the perfectly authentic and venerated legends of the gods and clothing them with personalities talking to each other as they must have talked if the legends were true or if such gods ever existed. In the present beautiful edition (The Dialogues of Lucian, translated by William Tooke, F.R.S., now edited by N. M: Fenzel-: The Navarre Society 17s. 6d.) the spirit of the author is admirably caught by the illustrator, Blanch. The feelings of Paris when appealed to for his famous judgment, the Modesty of Mercury at the scene, the insoucianii of Venus, the combined dignity and desire to display her Charms of Juno are exquisite.' Helen of Troy, again, is just a minx reclining with mirror in hand on a cloud above the sea on which a thousand ships are sailing' to Troy. There is exactly the due admixture of La Vie Parisienne and Homer which interprets Lucian so well; But it will not do to say too 'much; the pleasures iwaiting those who Acquire this charming volume have been hinted at, but sufficiently clearly, it is hoped, to make them
numerous. * * * *
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