A dazzled Dane
Sir: That Jens Mommsen was so called in his family is no mystery (Books, 5 October): the man was a Dane, born in Slesvig. His first serious research, in Italy, was under Danish sponsorship. Obviously in his time a classical scholar had better chances of an international reputation working in Prussia than in Denmark; so he betrayed his king and country and in due course enthusiasti- cally 'supported the Prussian takeover of Slesvig. He was a typical Prussian by con- version, like Treitschke and Houston Stew- art Chamberlain. His adulation of Caesar and contempt for Cicero are of a piece with this, as is his hatred of Christianity. As Wordsworth wrote,
Never may from our soul one truth depart That an accursed thing it is to gaze On prosperous tyrants with a dazzled eye.
Peter Geach
3 Richmond Road, Cambridge
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