life in that half-instructed state which, if it does not absolutely seal up the primary authorities in the envelope of their original language, renders them, at least, hard to open; and, of this numerous and well-informed class of men, we should say unhesitatingly, that they will acquire far more extensive and efficient information by dealing mainly with the best translations, and using the originals only for the purposes of reference and verification. In point of taste and feeling, nothing can compensate for the absence of first-hand composition; but with respect to instruction, it matters little which we take; and it is obviously far better, in all kinds of operation, to use tools that we can manage skilfully, than to work ill with those of a finer quality. A superficial linguist may be a profound historian; and it is better to secure positive advantages at some small sacrifice, than to hazard their neutralization by over-refinement.

We do not, for one moment, mean to intimate, that a mere average reader will gain a more accurate and complete notion of the history, for instance, of Greece, by taking Herodotus, Xenophon, and Thucydides, even with the addition of Pausanias, in preference to Gillies or Mitford. The entire range of Grecian story includes much that is not to be found specifically set down by the regular historians. There is a large body of indispensable illustration to be derived from indirect sources,from the orators, the philosophers, the poets, and dramatists of Greece; from monuments, inscriptions, medals, with other auxiliaries of formal and continuous narrative; and these, it is the business of the general historian to collect from all quarters in aid and elucidation of the direct statements of ancient chroniclers. Hence, the expediency of larger and more comprehensive histories, combining the scattered sections and fragments of intelligence into one clear and consecutive whole; and hence the inestimable value of a work like that, for example, of Gibbon, who has ransacked materials inaccessible to common examination, and reduced within manageable compass, a series of events that were to be brought together from all points of the compass, harmonized from conflicting authorities, and sifted from among perpetual contradictions. Whoever, then, is anxious to obtain, at common cost of labour, a general view of the history of Greece, will do well to begin, at least, with some one among the secondary historians. But if he would ascertain for himself the truth of their representations, and at the same time enjoy the highest intellectual gratification, he will devote his studious hours to the examination of such works as that in our hand.

The spirit of quickened curiosity', it is well observed by Mr. Taylor, will, no doubt, soon pervade every department of this, as well as of other studies; and ere long, a common course of historical reading

must include the perusal-not merely of modern compilations, but of the principal historians of antiquity. That an acquaintance with the original writers is the only efficient and satisfactory method of becoming correctly and familiarly informed of the condition of mankind in remote times, will not be questioned by any one who is competent to give an opinion on the subject. Compilations must always have their use; and if no more is desired than a mere knowledge of events, conveyed in the pleasing amenities of modern style, and accompanied by a few necessary explanations, then the English reader need wish for nothing better than what he already possesses in this kind. But whoever turns from the pages of even the most exact modern writers, to those of the ancient historians, will feel as if he had actually traversed the interval of centuries. Nothing reminds him of the great changes which have taken place in the sentiments and manners of mankind during the intervening ages; the style, the opinions, the allusions, are all in harmony with the period to which the narrative belongs. Even those defects of method, and those trivial digressions, or excrescences of style, which the modern compiler carefully exscinds from his welldigested pages, contribute very perceptibly to assist the imagination in its efforts to realize the interesting scenes of ancient story. In truth, during a continued perusal of these original works, the impression spontaneously formed upon the mind is so strong, that it requires more effort, often, to dissolve the illusion, than to maintain it.'

We cannot conceive of more attractive reading than is to be found in the nine Muses' of Herodotus. " With an almost epic unity of subject, he has mingled an extensive variety of romantic detail and episode. Incessantly ranging to all extremities of the known surface of the globe, he yet keeps attention fixed on his central subject; and, if it be the highest art to conceal all artful appearance, he has in perfection this mastership of his craft. We shall, however, again avail ourselves of the clear and expressive language of Mr. Taylor, whose general estimate of his Author's merits is at once discriminating and just.

Herodotus, with an ardour in the pursuit of knowledge very rarely equalled, when in early life he devoted himself to the task of collecting the scattered materials of universal history, did not think himself qualified for the work until he had visited every country to which the Greeks of his time had access;-every where examining documents, conversing with the learned, and collating connected evidence. The fruits of his industry we have before us; and it may confidently be affirmed, that, after every exception has been admitted which the most sceptical criticism can substantiate, there will remain, in the nine books of Herodotus, a mass of information more extensive, important, and instructive, than is to be found in any other author of antiquity. Unaffected, unambitious, mellifluous, perspicuous, in his style; bland, candid, and gay, in his temper; laborious in his researches; judicious, for the most part, in his decisions; and apparently free from sinister intentions and national prejudices; he holds up a mirror in which is

seen, without obscurity or distortion, the face of nature-the wonders of art-the revolutions of empire, and the characters of statesmen.'

6

Herodotus has been called an imitator of Homer. He does not, however, like the great Mæonian, rush at once into the middle current of events; he rather improves on the salutary advice of Count Antony Hamilton's enchanted ram, and begins before the beginning. He starts with the Phoenicians, and, as a preliminary to the battle of Salamis, gives the entire history of the Lydians, from Gyges to Croesus. But this maze is not without a plan: there is a distinct chain of fact and circumstance, giving succession and coherence to his narrative. The reader is carried on, with charmed attention and increasing interest, from beginning to end; nor is he once permitted to wander or grow languid until the mighty master himself dissolves the spell, breaks his wand, and destroys the circle of his enchantments. He opens with a brief reference to the tale of Troy divine,' and then, with a passing intimation of the 'instability of human 'affairs,' goes on to the history of Lydia, in which we have, of course, the war between Croesus and Cyrus. The latter affords a text for the introduction of the Assyrian annals, and the story of the Medes and Persians; then comes the conquest of Asia Minor, with that of the Greeks of Ionia; then the gorgeous description of Babylon, and the particulars of its fall. The first book closes with the Scythian expedition, and the death of Cyrus. The reign and conquests of Cambyses give opportunity for extensive and interesting details concerning Egypt, which occupy the second book; while the third, with a partial continuance of the same subject, contains the accession of Darius, son of Hystaspes; the conspiracy and destruction of the Magi; the episodic histories of Polycrates and Periander; the revolt and second capture of Babylon. The fourth section is devoted to the Persian expeditions against Scythia and Lybia; and the following book describes the Thracian campaign, the machinations of Histiæus, and the Ionian insurrection; with the armed intervention of the Athenians, remarkable as the immediate incitement to that series of invasions which commenced with the first inroad of Mardonius. This occupies a portion of the sixth book, which, after a digression on the state of parties at Sparta, terminates with the second invasion of Greece under Datis and Artaphernes; the battle of Marathon; and the death of Miltiades. The remaining books give ample details of the glorious events which followed; the armament of Xerxes; the battles of Salamis, Platæa, and Mycale; and the liberation of Greece. We have given this slight abstract without the smallest intention of exhibiting the character of this admirable history, and for the sole purpose of affording some idea of the way in which

connexion is maintained amid parts apparently so little accordant. But it is well nigh impracticable to obtain, without actual perusal, any adequate notion of the consummate skill with which, amid digressions, episodes, descriptions, and details of all kinds, the main subject is kept in hand, and all this excursive matter made to contribute to the general effect.

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We must decline engaging in the attractive, but too extensive investigation relating to the character and text of the Historian; and we do this with the less compunction, because we can refer our readers to another work by Mr. Taylor, recently published, "The Process of Historic Proof exemplified and explained," in which every thing relating to the genuineness, the authenticity, and the historic value of the books of Herodotus, is fully and ably discussed. There is, however, one point of considerable importance, not, indeed, immediately connected with Herodotus or his book, but referring to concerns of incomparably greater magnitude, on which we must allow Mr. Taylor to be heard. He is tracing the coincidences between the Scripture history and the present narrative; and he establishes the following heads of agreement: we omit his references to the pages of his volume.

1. The description of the extent, magnificence, and wealth of Babylon, and of the dissoluteness of its inhabitants, accords well with the allusions of the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

2. The story of Hercules will remind every reader of the history of Samson, though disguised in its circumstances by the Egyptian priests.

3. The capture of Jerusalem by Shishak, king of Egypt, in the reign of Rehoboam, 1 Kings, xiv. 25. 2 Chron. xii., is certainly the same event as is mentioned by Herodotus, and attributed by him to Sesostris. He says, he had himself seen in the Syrian Palestine, the columns erected by the Egyptian king in commemoration of his conquests; and that these bore the emblem of ignominy, indicating that little resistance had been made to the conqueror. This agrees with the manner in which the invasion is spoken of by author of the book of Chronicles.

'

4. Herodotus mentions Sanacherib, Sennacherib, and gives a corrupted account of his miraculous defeat, as reported to him by the Egyptian priests. See 2 Chron. xxxii. and Isaiah xxxvi.

5. The defeat of Josiah at Megiddo by Pharaoh Nechoh, as related 2 Kings xxiii. 29., and 2 Chron. xxxv. 20., is referred to by our author: he misnames the place where the battle was fought, calling it Magdolus. In a note upon the passage, the reader will find the evidence which proves, that by Cadytis, Herodotus intends Jerusalem.

6. În adjusting the history of the Persian kings, Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes, to the Scripture history, some disputable questions arise, which could not fairly be stated within a narrow compass; the reader who wishes for information on the subject, will consult the writers already mentioned; to which ought to be added

Sir John Malcolm's History of Persia; or he will find the subject treated in a compendious and lucid manner in that ably conducted work, the Modern Traveller-Persia, Part I. Those instances in which the testimony of Herodotus contains the fulfilment of prophecies, are adduced by Bishop Newton; or the reader may find the subject presented in a condensed but forcible manner in Keith's Sketch of the Evidence from Prophecy.'

ance.

Readers to whom the writings of antiquity are not familiar, will recoil from many of the statements which are to be found in Herodotus, as indicative, not merely of credulity or carelessness, but of absolute mendacity. And the Græcia mendax has passed from hand to hand, until many, even among the learned, have questioned his veracity in more instances than that particular case to which the rebuke was applied. That there is a sprinkling of the marvellous, an occasional touch of the incredible, and a few scattered specimens of statement obvious to direct disproof, may be allowed without any invalidation of his integrity. Surrounded as we are with facilities of all kinds for the acquisition of knowledge, we are slow to make due allowance for the difficulties under which the ancients laboured. Does a writer of the present day take up a subject for inquiry, he finds materials in the next street: extensive libraries throw open their doors almost without solicitation, and his table breaks down under the weight of subsidiary aids. Folios, duodecimoes, pamphlets, gazettes, placards, all contribute to his assistThe archives of the State, the memoranda of individuals, the elucidations of eye-witnesses, direct correspondence with all parts of the globe,-these, and a thousand other sources of accurate information, come in aid of his labours. And yet, with all these auxiliaries, how difficult does every inquirer find the acquisition of correct intelligence and explanation! Compare, now, with these advantageous circumstances, the situation of Herodotus. He had every thing, even the very foundations of his history, to ascertain by personal and laborious inquiry: his task was herculean, and with an herculean determination and devotedness did he engage in its accomplishment. He travelled far and wide; sifted rumours; compared evidence; consulted the depositaries of learning, the priests; explored localities; and, by dint of inexhaustible exertion and perseverance, achieved, amid incredible difficulties, one of the noblest compositions that intellectual skill and energy have yet wrought out. Plutarch has charged him with malignity, but proved nothing except his own partiality. Ctesias accused him of downright lying, and enforced his indictment by exhibiting himself as a liar of the first magnitude.' In all these matters, Herodotus has been amply vindicated by Larcher and the Abbé Geinoz; and much valuable reference to them will be found in Mr. Tay