Aspects, Aorists, and the Classical Tripos. By Jane E. Harrison.
(Cambridge University Press. 2s. 6d. net.)—Miss Harrison's cryptic title conceals a clever and witty essay in praise of the Russian language as a key to the Russian character. As a classical scholar and an exceptionally gifted linguist, Miss Harrison, unlike most English students of Russian, has been amused rather than irritated by the baffling " aspects " of the Russian verb. However, her comparison of the Russian per- fective future with the gnomic aorist that we know in Greek is illuminating and encouraging. She turns aside from grammar in the closing pages to emphasize the " imperfective " trait in Russian literature in contrast to the clarity and finished treatment of Greek literature. " An accurate knowledge of the Greek and Russian languages, together with an intimate understanding of the two civilizations, should furnish a human- istic education at once broad and thorough." We should add that, for a fuller treatment of the theme of her essay, there is nothing better in English than Mme. Jarintzov's delightful book on Russian poetry.
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