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    cends in every way all English rivals we have seen . It is a scholarly book , yet fitted for universal reading . He has the spirit of true scholarship , and understands his subject better than many whose scholarship ( in the English restriction of the word ) is greater . He has also poetical gusto and poetical feeling enough to guide him where mere scholarship would blindly stumble . " VVe have versions here of plays horribly difficult to read , and over-estimated in proportion to the difficulty , since that not only

    destroys perspective and increases our notion of the grandeur , as objects tower into gigantic forms when seen through mists , but also disposes us to believe that what we have taken so much trouble to acquire must needs be worth the trouble bestowed ; and these versions are at once accurate and spirited . In the matter of accuracy a too microscopic criticism must not be applied , since it is difficult always , and often impossible to settle the meaning which the original had in the ears of the audience . To name but one

    source of error—a constant one : How is a modern to determine the precise amount of metaphoricalness in the metaphors ? How , in a dead language , are we to adjust the nice shades of meaning when we cannot do so in our own living tongue ? All language is built up of metaphors . But in time the metaphor drops out of sight , and the words are used without calling up any picture whatever . For example , iEschylus , in the Agamemnon , makes the watchman say he must be silent , for a great ox hath gone vpon his tongue .

    Analyze this and you find that the ox is symbolical of money ( pecus , pecmiia ) , and money placed upon the tongue amounts to ' * stopping his mouth with a bribe ; " if the present situation admitted such an idea we should , therefore , simply assume that the watchman meant "he was bribed to silence ; " but it happens that there is no bribery possible in the case , so that we are driven to the conclusion that the original meaning has been effaced ( words , like coins ,

    always get their original pictures rubbed out during currency ) , and only the idea of silence is retained , consequently , that the phrase of an ox passing over his tongue merely suggests secrecy , the image , as a visual image , no more rising to the mind than it does in our phrase ( with fine tact selected by Professor Blackie in this case ) , " a seal is laid upon my tongue , " where the practice of sealing up letters , packets , and boxes , with a view to secrecy , never occurs to any one using it . We have taken one example , and now we

    ask—How is the translator to distinguish the force of the original image ? how is he to ascertain the amount of effacement it has undergone ? If he is literal , and says , "A great ox hath gone upon my tongue , " he presents an image to the English eye which assuredly never presented itself to the Greek ; yet , if he shirk the image altogether , he is inaccurate , and a critic will beset him ; finally , if he paraphrase it , he does so by a purely arbitrary rule of his own . Thus , the Chorus says of yEgisthus , that he struts before Clytemnestra like a cock before a hen—a simile so

    undignified that Potter only dared to gay : — " The craven in her presence rears his crest !" in other words , shirking the original , he paraphrases it in that milk-and-water style ; for , indeed , it is a moot point whether to a Greek audience the image of the cock strutting before his hen was not one of those metaphorical expressions which passed current like that of the ox upon the tongue ; but , if it were a bit of homeliness such as Shakspeare and our old dramatists never shrunk from , the translator misses a characteristic touch by paraphrasing it .

    The drift of these remarks is , that minute accuracy is impossible ; for we cannot accurately understand the original , we can only approximate thereto , and our translation must be an approximation to our approximation . At the same time accuracy should be the constant aim ; and one very simple rule would be , never to insert an epithet by way of filling out the ihythm or heightening the expression . Professor IJhtekiosins less in this respect than others ; buthesins . Thus , in a celebrated passage of the Prometheuswheie the Titan , enumerating the benefits he conferred upon mankind , says rvfjjhxg eu avrotq itoti ^ oiq Kutantierst ,

    " In them I gave a dwelling to blind hopes "a grand trait , which Professor Blackie paraphrases into , ' niind hopes of gand I planted In their durk breasts . " "Good" is execreseent , and " dark " is absurd : if their breasts were dark there was no need of blind

    hopes ; and " planting hopes " is a branch of agriculture which no poet can admit . We just indicate our po sition : space for a fuller laying out of our v iews cannot be here occupied . Let us therefore briefly say that these volumes are valuable to all lovers of poetry and the Greek drama , containing as they do a large amount of erudition and criticism , together with translations of more than usual excellence . In a second article we shall examine one of these dramas with a view to its choral and statuesque capabilities .

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    PRIZE ESSAYS ON THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SELF-SUPPORTING VILLAGE . The Destitution and Miseries of the Poor Disclosed , and their Remedies Suggested ; being an Exposition of the Principles and Objects of the Church of England Self-Supporting Pillage Societtj . By the Reverend Henry Smith , Senior Chaplain of the Government Juvenile Prison , Parkhurst , Isle of \\ lght . The Condition of the Labourer in Agricultural Parishes . By the Reverend W . B . Ady , M . A ., Vicar cf . Little Baddow . The Present Circumstances of the Poor Displayed , and the Means Suggested for their Improvement , in Accordance with , the Plans of the Church of England Self-Supporting Village / Society . By the Reverena William Stafford Finch , M . A . Curate of St . James ' s , Curtain Road .

    London : John W . Parker , West Strand . The appearance of these Essays is itself a great and startling fact , and one which every friend of Social Improvement will recognize as of no ordinary importance . Were they , which they are not , characterized by ignorance of associative doctrine ; were they , which they are not , clouded with bigotry and fettered by fanaticism ; were they again , which they are not , the wordy declamations of mere warmhearted but inexperienced philanthropists—they would still be of value as conveying the solemn protest of ministers of the church against the incoherent and antagonistic system of the age .

    Through these essays , through the meeting at which the prizes they have earned were presented to their respective authors , and at which so many influential members of the Church , both lay and clerical attended , and , above all , through the society whose plans they are intended to elucidate—the Church of England has shown that she is at last in earnest in a desire to return from the corrupted and worldly conformity of modern , to the pure and unselfish practice of apostolic times .

    Mr . Smith , the author of the elaborate essay to which the first prize was awarded , evinces the desire no where more eloquently and forcibly than in the following passages of his *• conclusion . " Of the piinciple of the Self-Supporting Village Society , he says , " That it is most consistent with the spirit of Christianity every one must allow ; nay , it is Christianity itself . " " The love of God would be supreme . * This the first and great commandment . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart , and with all thy soul , and with all thy strength . ' "

    ' * But if this is the first and great commandment , the second is like unto it , ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself . ' This , alas ! is not the casein general society . A spirit of grasping selfishness reigns there ; man is disconnected from man , and even ' the natural bond of brotherhood is severed ; ' the prosperity of the one is opposed to the welfare of the other ; all seek their own . We hesitate not to affirm that , according to present customs and practices , much of what the Bible says respecting the duties of the second table is a dead letter . In the self-supporting community it would not be so—it

    could not be so , for there would be in it no opposing interests ; indeed the interest of one member would be that of the whole : the two could not be dissevered , and it would be seen that this plan would secure individual interest far better than where each one thinks only of himself , without regarding his brother . How inconsistent this is with the spirit of Christianity , which is theoretically acknowledged in this country to be the foundation of legislation , let the following texts show : — ' That there should be no schism in the body , but that the members should have the same care one of another .

    And whether one member surfer , all the members suffer with it ; or one meinb ? r be honoured , a . 11 the nvmbers rejoice with it . ' This is what the whole Catholic Church was intended to be . « There is one body and one spirit , even as yc are called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord , one faith , one baptism , one God and father of all , who is above all , and through all , and in you all . ' The primitive church was founded on this very model . They were taught of God to love one itnothcr , and this love showed itself in the plans of what I shall call a

    selfsupporting community . * And all that believed were together , and hud all things common ; and sold their possessions and goods , and parted them to all men as every man had need . And they , continuing daily with one accord in the temple , and breaking bread from house to house * , did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart , praising God , and having favour with all the people . ' ' And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one mind ; neither said any of thein that ought of the things which he possessed was his own ; but th ? yhad all things common . Neither was

    there any among them that lacked ; for as many as were possessed of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold , and laid them down at the apostles' feet , and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need . The plans of the society , which owe s its rise to the untiring exertions of its founder , Mr . J . M . Morgan , are clearly expounded by Mr . Smith . Its object is the formation of " the religious , moral , and general improvement of the working classes :

    *'—" Permanently , " says Mr . Smith , " to accomplish such an object as this , any superficial and ephemeral plan would be useless . We may completely dram the ocean of benevolence and charity , and the evil will still remain . We must teach the poor how they may help themselves , and show them thai their welfare must , afte * all , depend mainly on their own well-directed efforts . We see no adequate remedy but to go to the very root of the evil , and gradually alter the complexion of general society , by introducing new framework and principles of action .

    " The society proposes to attain its object * by forming establishments fur three or four hundred families , iu which instruction may be afforded , and religious ordinances may be administered on the principles of the Church of England , and combining agricultural with manufacturing employment for their own benefit . ' " The arrangements for the material comfort ^ and , the intellectual and spiritual improvement of the members of the community are set forth at length , and

    the probabilities of success in all these three departments weighed and fairly stated . Mr . Smith , whosfe experience at Parkhurst fairly entitles his opinion on these matters to respect , speaks most favourably of these probabilities ; while his minute and painful delineations of the sufferings and degradation of the poorer classes under the prevailing system of competition and laissezfaire may rank as statistics of misery of high and useful value ; and his adducing instances of successful associative experiments proves

    that he has studied his subject . We cannot , however , praise the way in which he makes mention of the labours Of those patriarchs of Social Reform , to one of whom , at least , the Church of England Self-Bupporting " Village Society owes , through its founder , no small amount of obligation . It is , of course , easy to account for this from the sphere in which Mr . Smith ' s prepossessions have been formed and his opinions generated ; but the regret is natural at the prejudices which divide earnest and thoughtful men . More mature study on the subject upon which he has so cordially entered will , we trust , enable Mr . Smith to surmount them ; they act as no barrier to those whom he now regards with suspicion .

    We must defer to our next number the review of the second and third prize essays , and conclude the article with the following powerful vindication of Mr . Smith , of the Providence of that Supreme Being of which he is a minister , from the foul aspersions which too often proceed from human shortsightedness and incapacity : — " The providence of God has ordained that there should be different degrees and stations among men , and in the self-supporting community there would he nothing inconsistent with this ; but we do say , and would strenuously contend for it , if need were , that God has

    not ordained that among so large a portion of the human brotherhood there should be so much squalid wretchedness , so much poverty and starvation , so much ignorance » nd degradation , so much vice and misery as do exist . God has not ordained that some of his creatures should be burdened with riches , and rolling in wealth and in the comforts and luxuries of this life , while others of themequally deserving—if , indeed , that word can be used in connection with fallen beings—should lack what would keep body and , soul together . It is man ' s arrangements and not God ' s ordination that has done all this ; and it is with exulting pleasure we announce the fact , that many

    of the most noble , and the richest , of this country deplore , equally with ourselves , the destitution among their poor brethren , and are anxious to remove it , but so dense is the mass of evil that they know not how . We propose to them the scheme of Mr . Morgan , as exhibited in these pages . We will not ask them to give their money , this need not be done ; but we ask them to invest their money , or rather a small fraction of it , in this way . The evils cannot be cured all at once : they have existed so long , and are so inwrought with the houses , the habits , and customs of our people , that time will necessarily be required ; but we can tuke care that the means we adopt shall produce permanent results , and prevent the

    recurrence of the same or similar evils . We say again , private charities , however extensive , poor-laws , however effective and benevolent in themselves , can never accomplish this . 'J hey but atop for a moment the running of present sores , while they cause other and larger ones to break out , and the labouring poor become more and more prostrate and unable to help themselves . Give the poor the means to do so ; this is all they require , and all we ask . At least give the Self-supporting Village a start , and , by God ' s blessing , we will show you that it is self-extending also , and that the plenty , cleanliness , Rood order , loyalty , morality , and piety of the inhabitants of such a village will prove that at last you have

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    Jour 20 , 1850 . ] ® fc * & *»*«*? *

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 20, 1850, page 401, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1847/page/17/