THE RIOTS IN ATHENS.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 18 December 1901, Page 4

THE RIOTS IN ATHENS.

The hitherto inexplicable hostility recently shown by the students of Athens to the translation of the Bible into modern Greek receives a perfectly intelligible explanation in the Melbourne “Argus.,’ The riots, it will bo remembered, assumed such proportions that the troops were called out, and several students were killed, the incident subsequently leading to a dramatic scene in the Greek Parliamedt, and to tho resignation of the Premier. It appears that the action of the students was not duo to any objection to the Scriptures being popularised but to the manner in which this was proposed to be effected. If this had been carried out it would have largely undone the work which educated Greeks have been forwarding for a coni,uary—the establishment, as tho national tongue of modern of Greece, of a language to a great extent resembling that of ancient Gre.oe. Modern Grek is a compound of several local patois, burdened with vkgarisms, and corrQptions, the legacy of the days of Turkish oppression, and enlightened Greeks wished to substitute for it, if not the language of Pericles and Plato, which would have been impossible, but “ the general Greek tongue which prevailed for centuries from the Adriatic to the Euphrates, and from Egypt to the Black Sea.” This did not differ hopelessly from the language of tho educated Greek of the past centuary, and this was

the lahgaage Which iiien oi letters si: themselves to cultivate, upon which the more serious newspapers formed their style, which was gradually introduced into education throughout a country unusually well educated. The victory is not yet won-, although ‘it Was being won. There are still twd languages at least in use irt heU7spap&ts and ill conversation, The one is the educated compromise of the semiclassical Greek; the other is the vulgar nondescript collcqiiial Greek.’; Tht’ro arc many reasons why the better language should be encouraged, it is a link with the past, cf which every Greek is so proud “it fosters higli national ideals along with high national TeeoUedtions,’’ and It differs so little from the original language of the New Testament that the latter can he read with ease by educated persons. It was the dislike of the students to seeing the cultivation of this semi-classical tongue checked by the translation of the Bible into modern colloquial and corrupt Greek that led them to “demonstrate” with such unhappy results. If is Unfortunate, tiiat in this respect patriotism and pride of fiounlry are antagonistic to such treatment of tile Bible as would bring it within the comprehension of the unlettered common people.