Greek Story and Song. By the Rev. Alfred J. Church.
With 16 Illustrations after the Antique. (Seeley and Co. 6s.)— Professor Church, who has done so much to make the unlearned value the literary wealth of Greece and Rome, and who in the manner of his presentation has laid both the learned and the un- learned under so heavy a burden of obligation, is still indefatigable. This volume of Greek story and song will doubtless be as widely read as the " Stories from Homer," which we observe is in its twenty-seventh thousand. The present volume deserves at least as wide a popularity. The power to re-tell old tales is a rare one, for it needs an unusual combination of poetical fancy and glamorous prose. That combination Professor Church wields with ease, and the result is always charming and sometimes haunting. This book contains four stories of " the elder world," —the binding of Prometheus, the deeds and death of Hercules, the voyage of the Argo,' and the story of Theseus. These are followed by "The Story of Troy" in eight tales, "The Return of the Heroes " in six tales which contain the story of Ulysses, and the story of Orestes. In addition we are given three stories from Aristophanes (including " Bird Land "), and the charming-
"Going to the Adonis Show," after Theocritus. Lastly, we have thirty-two extracts from the Anthology. The translations are close and charming. We must quote " Phosphor and
Reaper Bright as the morning star in life, thy head
Shines now a star of evening to the dead" ;
and "look answers look "
" Ny star, stargazing! Would I were the skies, To answer look with look thin' myriad eyes."
We wish Professor Church had given us a translation of Sappho's--
Orav rav boxtveor iv odped•t wo4seves &Aim irdan turracreit3ouri, Aucti irororpipei areos-
roughly to be rendered
Mountain•reared hyacinth under foot trodden by shepherds Purple thy blossom lies bleeding, kin to a maid unwooed."
Of the prose stories, the most charming among many that are very charming seems to us to be " The Voyage of the ' Argo.' " In parts of the story the prose rises to a very high level. We give the passage which describes the first meeting of Jason and Medea :—" Then Jason and his companions de- parted from the palace ; and Medea looked upon Jason, as he went, ; from behind her veil, and loved him. And when he was gone she thought to herself of his face, and of the garments wherewith he was clothed, and of the words which he had spoken." We cannot conclude this notice without quoting the reference to the first Free-fooders given in the same story :—" In their next sailing they came to the land of the Chalybes. These care not to plough the land with oxen, or to plant seed or to reap harvests ; nor have they flocks or herds ; but they dig iron out of the earth, and change it with other men for food. Never doth morning come, but it seeth them at their toil, where they labour without ceasing in the midst of reek or smoke."—We must also notice the .cheap " People's Editions" of the same author's Josephus, and Stories from Virgil (same publishers, 6d. net each). It seems hardly possible that editions of these invaluable and charming bobks could be produced at such a price. The print is clear and (in the case of Josephus) really large.
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