while we strenuously oppose these, I should be sorry that the bounds of moderation should be crossed.'

6

Like many other good men, he deeply grieved over the divisions existing among Christians, and would fain have seen these brought to an end. But he goes on to say in the letter just quoted: 'I would rather that the members of 'the Church should be at variance than that they should agree in that which is evil.' Such was the consistent position ever occupied by Casaubon-a position highly honourable to him as a lover both of truth and concord, but a position which exposed him to much obloquy, and made him the object of many bitter attacks on the part both of Protestants and Papists.*

The time had now come when our great scholar was to end his painful pilgrimage through the world. After having suffered from wretched health for many years, it became obvious in the spring of the year 1614 that the feeble body, in which there dwelt such a 'vivida vis animi,' could not endure the strain put upon it much longer. Terrible is the account which the journal contains of the agonies which Casaubon now endured. These were borne with the most pious and patient spirit, while still, almost to the last, he lived among his books. The following are from among the last entries which the 'Ephemerides' contain:

'June 15, 1614.-My illness increases, and the physicians are unanimous in predicting a fatal result. Thy will, O Lord, be done. Only grant me that patience which befits a follower of Christ. Amen.

'June 16.-To-day blood-letting was tried for my relief, but both the past night and the whole of this day have been spent in the greatest torment. It is right, it is just, O Lord, because it is Thy will. Grant

On the one hand, his writings were placed in the 'Index' by the Spanish Inquisition. He refers to this as follows in a letter, of date, June 16, 1611:'Heri ostendit mihi Rex Indicem Expurgatorium Hispaniæ ipsi missum, in quo furorem suum impudenter exercuerunt Patres in Scaligeri scripta et mea. On the other hand, he was accused to the last by the French Protestants of being at heart a Papist. Molinaeus, soon after Casaubon's arrival in England, wrote to Montagu, Bishop of Bath, by all means to retain him in that country for that, should he return to France, he would at once go over to Rome:'Denique oro, obtestor, facite ut quocunque modo vester sit; nam si ad nos redierit, certa est defectio!'

To his friends counselling rest, he said, 'Non morbo sed morte gravior est desidia.'

patience, and relieve my agonies, if it so please Thee. But I see it is all over with my studies, unless the Lord Jesus determine otherwise. In this also may Thy will be done, O God. Amen.'

During his last illness, Casaubon enjoyed the best medical advice which London could furnish, and seems to have greatly endeared himself to his physicians. But the mysterious disease under which he laboured baffled their skill; and, as appeared from examination after his death, no human power could have averted the fatal result.* A most interesting account of his last days exists from the pen of Thorius, who had been his friend for years, and who did all for him that medical science could effect. He tells us of the exemplary piety and patience which the great scholar displayed during the intense sufferings which marked his last days on earth. When a paroxysm of anguish occurred, he would bear it in silence with compressed lips, while as soon as some slight relief was experienced he would break forth into fervent thanksgiving to God for such a token of His goodness. The only point in which he felt it hard to submit to the Divine will was that he could study no longer. As the final struggle approached, we are told that he seemed free from all thoughts of an earthly nature, and held 'perpetua de Deo et cum Deo 'colloquia,' except that, from time to time, he expressed regret that he had to leave his work on the History of the Church unfinished. But again he would check himself in such utterances, and humbly seek entire resignation to the will of the Almighty. Having arranged his family affairs, and bidden farewell to his friends, one of his last acts was to partake of the sacred emblems of Christ's death along with his wife and children. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, and few better or more learned men have ever been laid to rest within that venerable pile. A handsome monument to his memory was erected in 1631 by his former friend Morton, then become. Bishop of Durham. To the inscription on that monument are appended the following lines, which, with all deference to

A remarkable malformation of the bladder, which must have been congenital, was discovered. In the words of Thorius, Signa oinnia calculum in vesica attestabantur et mentiebantur. Nam aperto abdomine pro calculo inventa est vesica monstrosa conformationis ab utero matris. ut videri posset altera vesica naturali adjuncta.'

Mr. Pattison, who sweepingly declares (p. 487) that 'Isaac 'Casaubon's books are now consigned to one common oblivion,' we hold to express no unduly exaggerated truth:-

Qui nosse vult Casaubonum,
Non saxa sed chartas legat,
Superfuturas marmori

Et profuturas posteris.

CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE.

HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, AND TRAVELS.

The Age of Pericles. A History of the Politics and Arts of
Greece, from the Persian to the Peloponnesian War. By
WILLIAM WATKISS LLOYD. In Two Volumes.
Macmillan and Co.

London:

A work written with sobriety of judgment, ample resources of scholarship, and a capacity of rising from the details of history to its wider generalisations, can never fail to be of value, whatever may be the period chosen for illustration. How specially this must be the case when the period in question is the very heyday and time of brightest bloom of the Hellenic national life, which plays so essential a part in the universal life of humanity, will need no enforcement by words. The age of Pericles is not strange to the scholar, and in some of its leading incidents is familiar even to the general reader. But the age of Pericles, as an organised whole in its strict union of parts, its connection with the history of the Greeks that went before, and its fruitful influence on the ages that followed, is a work which might well occupy the time and labours of a scholar and thinker. A competent author of such a work must be both, and Mr. Lloyd's book shows that he is both. His erudition though ample is never obtrusive, and the carefulness of his judgments, even when we feel compelled to dissent from his conclusions, instruct by the evident maturity of thought and consideration of which they give evidence.

The period between the Persian and the Peloponnesian War is more precisely the section which occupies him. Thucydides supplied a summary of the period before entering upon his history of the Peloponnesian Wars, but it was slight and defective; and by its omission-for example-of the history of the arts left unnoticed one of the most essential interests of the time. Mr. Lloyd truly observes, that during the happiest and mcst tranquil period of the ascendency of Pericles, the life of the people was as much engrossed by poetry and the arts as by politics; and of the two interests, at present so distinct, each is found among Greeks reacting

History, Biography, and Travels.

523

on the other, so that it is often difficult to determine which is predominant. Mr. Lloyd modestly says that it has been his object to make the most of every help to determine the order of incidents, and 'to disentangle con'fusion that was indifferent to biographers, intent exclusively on the 'illustration of character; to compilers, who were more concerned to be ' comprehensive than critical; and to theorists, who care more for general 'philosophy than for its particular development; to say nothing of writers ' only on the look-out for opportunities to be in the first place smart, and in the next picturesque." There are, he admits, elements of conjecture in all history, and the utmost care and inquiry can only reach conclusions which are judgments of greater or less probability, in matters that must be investigated by each man for himself.

It requires little consideration to show that Mr. Lloyd has succeeded in attaining the end he had in view. As a Grecian student he has studied minutely various special periods in the light of their arts, philosophy, and science, and has come to the age of Pericles thoroughly equipped with the materials obtained through the latest exercises of modern culture. A lucid and comprehensive introduction brings us to the first chapter, in which the results of Salamis are carefully estimated, and with considerable power and occasionally picturesque effects, the retreat of Xerxes and the effects of his defeat are clearly exhibited. The subsequent struggles of the Persians, the final triumph of the Athenians, the subtlety and successful policy of Themistocles, the rivalry between Athens and Sparta, the subsequent Athenian developments in literature, art, and the drama, and in politics, are treated with fulness and impartiality. The narratives of these events, and of the subsequent wars and truces between Sparta and Athens, are of much historical value; but to some extent they are here introductory to the main purport of the work. Following them, we have a series of essays on the régime of Pericles and its characteristics. Athenian democracy, as administered by Pericles, is the subject of an essay, and is followed by a series of separate studies. The student will find occasion for objection and hesitation in the chapter headed 'Pericles 'and Aspasia,' and there is much debateable material in 'The Problem of 'Politics in Relation to Religion in Hellas.' Mr. Lloyd's treatment of Greek philosophy is more slight and unsatisfactory than his essays on the arts and his special studies of the tragedians, which are full of critical insight as well as occasional novelty of view. There is scope for diversity of opinion in regard both to the individual theories of Mr. Lloyd, and his views on the application of Æschylus' Prometheus, for example, to Themistocles, a conclusion which is supported with much ingenuity, but scarcely carries conviction to the reader. But by giving occasion for differences, Mr. Lloyd stimulates intellectual activity, and, as a true scholar, he will be best pleased by the stimulus he gives to scholarship. He has laid us under obligation by an excellent work, which will be a permanent gain to English scholarship. We trust the reception of his book will be of such a character as to encourage him to continue to produce similarly thoughtful and valuable contributionselucidating the phases and periods of Greek history.

Akim-Foo: the History of a Failure. By Major W. F. BUTLER,

C.B. With Route-map. Sampson Low and Co.

Like the Crimean and Abyssinian wars, the Ashanti campaign is likely to have its most important fruits in the knowledge of the country and people which the profuse literature which it is producing will convey. War is one of the ways in which knowledge of the earth is diffused. The intrinsic importance of both the Abyssinian and the Ashanti expeditions is nil; but upon the moral effects produced by them the fate of empires may turn. In both we have every reason to be proud both of the prowess and the magnanimity of our countrymen. Major Butler's expedition was one of the most interesting and instructive episodes of the campaign. It was an attempt to excite to resistance the Akim tribes of the country east and north-east of Cape Coast Castle. A more pitiful representation of poltroonry, degradation, and imbecility, the surface and history of the globe could not furnish. Valour is the redeeming virtue of the savage. The Akim tribes, with their wretched 'kings,'-save the mark!-one and all are sneaking cowards; and Major Butler's attempts to excite their patriotism had no chance against the possibility of a 'dask,' or present, and eating fetish' (African for rum-drinking) at Accra. Major Butler was to fall upon the Ashantis on the Prah, from the east, so as to co-operate with Sir Garnet Wolseley's advance from the south. Every inducement failed with the venal cowards; every weapon broke in his hands. With unwearied patience and consummate tact Major Butler pursued his end, but in vain: he could achieve nothing, save indeed by the alarm and necessity for defence which his enterprise itself excited. This probably is in part retributive: white traders have so often dealt treacherously with Africans, that all faith in them is lost. Not a word that Major Butler said was believed. The narrative of the negotiations with King Coffe Ahencora would be amusing were it not so melancholy. The magic of Cockle's Pills as administered to his queen is rich in fun. When Major Butler reached the Prah he had an army of thirty men. Major Butler has no great sympathy for the missionaries; but his unconscious testimony to their moral elevation of the Fanti boy Dawson is very suggestive. Ultimately some 2000 Akim men were got together near Coomassie, but some rumours of the Ashantis frightened them, and they all ran away. All that he could do after this utter collapse was to join Sir Garnet Wolseley's force. Major Butler's judgment of Captain Glover's expedi tion to arouse the eastern tribes of the Volta is not favourable. It would have demanded three years for the achievement of its purpose, and a great number of lives; and was the idea of a man who dreamed of political results rather than of a man who had an immediate practical work to do. We need not inform readers of 'The Great Lone Land' that Major Butler wields a very graphic pen-that he is a man of large resources and of great experience of uncivilized life. Perhaps the English army does not possess an officer better fitted for the work which he undertook but failed to accomplish, or for giving an intelligent and interesting account of the country and people connected with it.