Aristotle's Politics. Books I., III., IV., VII. With English Transla-
tion by W. E. Bolland, and Short Essays by A. Lang. (Longmans.)— We incline to think that this translation of an author much studied and peculiarly difficult, well and carefully executed as it is, is hardly close and exact enough for the ordinary pasenian, for whom it appears to be specially intended. For instance, in Book III., chap. v. (where Aristotle has been saying that " men come together for the sake of life itself "), we have the words "few Ines; Ti seZ neao;ihOpiev, which are thus ren- dered, " Perhaps there is underlying some trace of a higher element." Granting that this substantially represents Aristotle's meaning, we can still well imagine that many a student would not quite understand it as a translation, and would want a little further explanation. In the. same passage, too, there is a rendering to which we must take excep- tion :—" Men," Aristotle says," preserve the social union purely with reference to life by itself, 'Ai, /.4 0-07f Ve X16.04 KG471 Tor /liev ualeQaAzrr alas," which sentence the translator renders as follows,—" Unless difficulties arise greater than this life can bear." We submit that this. is not quite an exact version, as the force of " lorief3caXe" disappears. The meaning, we take to be, is, "Unless in the discomforts affecting life there be a decided preponderance." We recommend the introductory essays, which are meant to explain Aristotle's political theories and their connec- tion with Greek life and history, to the attention of the student. His work. on polities is well worth study, though in many respects his whole line of thought is so widely divergent from ours on this subject. It abounds in acute remarks, and is most interesting, as illustrating the many various sides of Greek political life ; and difficult as it undoubtedly is in some parts, it is nearly always possible to got at the author's meaning.. After all, we find that Aristotle, as to his conception of what a State ought to be, was oftener in agreement with Plato than we might have supposed. If lie was what is called practical and averse to dreams and mysticism, ho still had an ideal side, so much so as to regard philoso- phical contemplation (eospfe) as that at which his citizens should aim.. He would, indeed, unlike Plato, have retained marriage and property, as having their roots in human nature ; but at the same time, he shows very plainly that ho was far from satisfied with the conditions of life in such States as either Sparta or Athens. Both were, in his view, narrow and defective. Like Plato, ho believed in natural distinctions between classes of mon. It is this belief which removes both these great men to such a distance from modern thought. It would be too much to expect that they should have completely surmounted the influences of their age.
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