The Poets of Greece. By Edwin Arnold, M.A. (Cassell and
Co.)— To deal satisfactorily with sixty and more poets in about thrice as many loosely printed pages is indeed a task which exceeds mortal powers, and which therefore Mr. Arnold does not accomplish. If he had given us instead his views about some six or seven he would have made a much better, and what the " eminent firm " which invited him to write would probably value still more, a more readable book. Scholars are not likely to go to this volume, and who save scholars care for such names as Stasinus, Arctinus, Hipponax, Afesomedes, Lams, kn.? No inconsiderable part of the work is necessarily nothing more than a rechauffe of the information to be found in classical dictionaries. And there are other parts where Mr. Arnold is obviously not at home. The article "Pinder," for instance, is very poor and inadequate, and yet Pinder deserves a careful notice, especially because he displays in a greater degree than any ancient writer some of the characteristics of modern poetry. What can possibly be Mr. Arnold's meaning when he says, "As for rhythm, the music of these renowned triumphal chants, let it be frankly said that there is none at all, at least for modern eyes and ears "? Metre, indeed, though the exact correspondence of the strophe and antistrophe may well be called by the name, there is not ; but who can fail to see the "rhythm and music "? It is positively shocking to find these mag- nificent lines compared to "the stanzas of Mr. Walt Whitman." This is the more to be regretted, because Mr. Arnold, when he knows his subject, can write with much grace and true feeling for poetry, and he has a very decided gift for translating. His versions of Theocritus, for instance, are very spirited, though why he should devote eleven out of sixteen pages to the " Pharmakentria," to the exclusion of such exquisite poems.as " The Summer Walk " and " Polyphemus," and apiece so cha- racteristic of Greek life as " The Syracuse Women" we cannot understand, except we suppose he had the version ready.
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