LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3197, 22 September 1917, Page 11

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

> Greek Ideals. r The extensive and deep-seated influence, l which tho Greek philosophy o£ life, in _ connection .with politicul institutions, _ art, and literature and aesthetics genor- . ally,, has been the subject of many , learned disquisitions by economists, edii- ; cationists, and public teachers, "both . ancient and modern. Of lato years, how--3 ever, \here has been n certain tendency ,to belittle this' inli 110 nee and to ignore I it as a. factor for practical good m ; everyday modern life. The appearance,. ! therefore, of such a book iis "Greek Ideals; A Study of Social Life," i,y C. Dcliele Bums (Q. Bell and Sons, per . Whitcombe aJid Tombs) is to be welcomed i in that the author clearly proves how I much of real value twentieth century i civilisation c.tn learn from a study of the Greek ideals. of life. briefly sumi niarised, Mr. Burns's argument is that , Greek life and thought constitute an i inheritance belonging to every man. of intelligence. The author's leading idea ■is that the Greeks valued "sociability" ; most highly. This stands out among tbe various Greek conceptions of an admir- ■ able life and an ideal character. In so far as society was organised politically, the ..Greeks' admitted a law more.flexible than ours, and an individual law less unsocial.; The author refers to Greek literature and: philosophy ' as: indicating the heights to which Greek idealism could reach. Sohrate; is treated as the finest achievement of : Athens, and I'lato, tho critic of Greek art and kterature,. is treated as the clearest exponent of nearly • all that-was best in 1 Greek thought. _■A certain elementary - acquaintance'-. with ' Greek history and literature is jerhips necessary to an intelligent study of the subject dealt with, - but" although t.ho treatment is Scholarly it is never marred by pedantry, and the book can- he read and enjoyed by any reader of fair educational equipment. If rend as a supplement to or enlargement of, say, such a useful little'work, as Mr. Fyffe's "Greece" (in Macmillan's History Primers) it would, I feel sure, be greatly enjoyed hy readers who at first sight might be deterred by, the apparently 'abstruse character , of the sub-, ject. : Mr. Burns has made, to m© at least, the political; social, and artistic life of Athcn? far more of a reality than ever. I had deemed it possible to bo. He .has a clever knack: of ni .iking com pari-, icons between ancient tind modern institutions, and there are many passages •in his book whiohpossess quite a topical interest. This is particularly noticeable in the chapter headed "Politics." Altogether a most useful and admirable; boos. (N.Z. price, 65.) ' ! Thß Poems of Ralph Hodjjson. I referred last week to the remarkable poems of Air. Ralph .Hodgson, of which a collected edition m .one volume has recently been published by Macmillans. In a rocent issue of that admirable weekly journal, the New York "Nation," -the "Spectator" of America—l.. find a most eulogistic appreciation of Hodgson s verse. The American critic specially commends Mr. Hodgson's extraordinarily"dtlicate workmanship. . He says:—"Mr Hodgson, without' ' divorcing his' muse from the lyrical tradition of. the_ past, has at the same time used his patrimony to make the freest and most daring experiments, in. rhyme and metre. His command' of the refrain, of the dissyllabic rhyme, of the rhyme varied in different stanzas of the same poem, repeating and, '60 to 'speak, doubling upon itself, so as -to catch the swell or/dying fall, the ebb and flow, the fluctuations of the poetio emotion—is a technical triumph, 60 pure and subtle that it ought to convince the recruits in the ragged, regiment of' 'Imagist' crusaders that there is some life left in- the old dog As an example of Mr. Hodgson at his best I may quote the last three stanzas of his. "Song of Honour":—

The mu6ic of a , lion 6trone That shakes a hill a whole nisrht long, A hill as loud as he, The twitter ol a mouse among > Melodious greenery. . , , • The ruby's,and the rainbow s sons, ■ . Tho nightingale's-ali three, Tho song of life that wells and Bows From every leopard, lark, and rose, And everything that gleams or kocs , Luck lustre in 6ea. I Hoard it, all, each, every note, Of every lune, and tongue, and throat, Ay, every rhythm and rhyme Of everything that lives and loves, ■ And upward, ever upward, moves Prom lowly to sublime! ' Earth's multitudioue Sons of Light, I heard them lift their lyric mieht With eaoh and every chanting sprue That lit the sky that wondrous nirlit 1 As far as eye could climb! . I heard it all, I heard the whole Harmonious hymn of beinc roll ■ Up through the.chapel of my soul, ■ And at the altar die. ■ • . ■ And in the awful quiet theu, Myself I heard, Amcu, Amen, Amen, I heard mo cry! 1 heard it all, and then, although I caught my flying senses, on. . A dizzy man was I! I stood and'stared; the sky was i:t, The sky was stars all over it, I stood, I knew. not why. Without a wish, without a, will, I stood upon that silent hill, And stared into the sky until My eyes were blind with stars and still l stared into the sky: ' • For the benefit of those of my readers who have tu study economy , these war times, and who may not' care to buy Hodgson's complete poems, 1 may .say that his two most popular poems, Ihe Bull" and "The Song of Honour, are to be found in that delightful anthology ot contemporary verse, "Georgian Poetry (the second issue, 1913-15). One of his shorter poems, "Time, the Caravan,' is reprinted in "Poems of To-day edited .!»• F. S. (Sidswick and Jackson). Hodgson iias not written very much (Uiero are only some twenty or so poems in, the collected edition), but he is clearly in the front rank of latter-day English poets. Sherlock Holmes Once Again. Kir Arthur Couau Doyle, busy as ho is these days with his iiistory of the War, has found time to write yet another stury i" wliich our old. fneud tiherlui'k Uolnies is the leading figure. Mr. Hurray is publishing the UooK, the tiile of which is "His Last Bow; a ltemiiiisconcoof Sherlock HoinU-s/' The friends of Mr. Sherlock Holmes will bo glad tu learn that he i= Still »live arid. well though somewhat' crippk'd by occasional attacks of rheumatism. He has for many years lived on a small farm upon the Downs, five , miles,, from Eastbourne, wliero his lime is divided 'betwecu music and philosophy. During this period of rest he has refused the most princely olfers to lake up various casee, having determined that his retirement was a permanent'one. The approach of-tho German war caused him, hoivover, to lay. his remarkable combination of intellectual and practical activity at tho disposal uf the Government, will) historical results, which ato recounted in "His Last' Bow. Several previous pxperiencoa which rate lain long in tho portfolio of Mr. Watson havo boeri to "His Last Bow, so as to complete the volume. Stray Leaves. I am glaa to learn that Mr. Boyce Bow<i;'ii's booklet, "Wellington Versos," is ,-olling well. It would be a suitable gift to sund )»■ the .front, especially to a Wellington boy. Reviews of eome new novels held over. Ono of the most important biographies to bo published dunns the Enslish autumn Koiison will be "The Life ,md Letters of Sir J. D. Hookwr,* flic famous botanist, whose "Flora of New Zealand is 6uch a splendid, work. Althnvigh lirecminent' as ii botanist, aud world-famous for the making ot Kow, Hookor was

almost equally notable as a. traveller and explorer, aliko ia the Antarctic, tho Himalayas, and the Atlas. Hβ was Charles Danvm's special confidant, helper, and critic for many years previous to the appearance of Darwin's magnum opus, Liie Ongin if Species.' , Tho biography has been written by Leonard Huxley who wrote tho biography (if the groat scientist of that name, and is to bo published by John Murray. Tho long-promised "Life of Sir Charley Dime is definitely to appear uextiiionth. JL'ho work ,wa.s begun by -Stephen Gwynn, μ-i'., but has been completed :ind revised by Miss Gertrude 'i'uokivell, JJilku's niece and literary executrix. Mrs. Maud Diver's new story,, to be published in London this month, is intitled "Unconquerod: An Upisodo of 1911." It is Hie story of the enchantment cast upon a, strong man of hijjli ideals by a calculating beauty, whom Jove of selfish oase holds back from the 1111enwitioniug sacrifices demanded by the war. In the conflict of higher ai;d .lower ideals stirred up by the call of patriotism, tho struggles of battle rnd the ravages of wounds, the spell, half broken and then renewed, is finally shattered, and Mark's eyes are opened to the i;i;ef Jovo Tiesido him that has long been accepted as simply part of his daily life. A second series of extracts from Mr. 'Samuel Pepj'S, junior's, "Diary of rhe Warrc" is being published in London "Truth." I notice the diarist I.as loined a new nanio for (.he Irish irreconcilables. He calls them tho "Shin Fanians.' , In Sir William Watson's new volume "The Man Who Saw, and Uther J'oeins Arising Out of :tho War," thero is a iiuo reference to Britain and her resolve. It is from' a piece called "Crossing-, the Jiubicon." There settinc by her old sea. gate. ■ , Slow to be roused, slow 1o take five, And Blow, beihe Mndled, to abate The blast and volley of her ire— With grey brows catching from afar The red flare- of tho torch of -war— floluctant to the last, slie throws Her doubts bids dreams depart, Shakes off the rust that, in repose ■ ■Had gathered round her iron heart. In proud ead calm her anger clothes, ■ And leaps .to embrace the fate sh« loathes.