lor's preface and notes, as well as in his volume on the nature of historic proof. On the whole, it will be found that, considering the state of knowledge in his day, the interest which some of his informants had in deceiving him, and the fair explanation that may be given of his real or apparent errors, Herodotus is to be ranked among the most high-minded, as well as the ablest of historians.

This great man has been fortunate in his editors, his annotators, and his translators. Gale and Wesseling distinguished themselves, long since, by excellent editions; and the comprehensive work of Schweighæuser, in our own day, has left nothing to desire in the way of critical apparatus. In annotation, it is a complete and well-digested 'variorum'; while the collection and collation of various readings deserves the greatest praise. Schweighæuser was not a critic of Bentleian or Porsonic calibre, but he was a sound and discriminating scholar, and his various editions of the classics are of high value. It is to be regretted that the foreign publication, which passed through the press under his own correction, should be exhausted, and a complete and correct reprint is a desideratum. Among the various translations of Herodotus, Larcher's, if not in the best taste, is unquestionably the most valuable, with its extensive and judicious accompaniments of note and commentary. It contains almost every thing that can illustrate Herodotus. His biography; the life of Homer, erroneously attributed to him; the abstract of Ctesias; Plutarch's treatise on the malignity of Herodotus, with the reply of the Abbé Geinoz; are all included in this voluminous but excellent work. Concerning the translation itself, we so entirely agree with Mr. Taylor, that we shall put him forward to express our opinion.

'Larcher, whose translation will, of course, be consulted by every one who wishes to make himself master of Herodotus, and whose notes comprise the substance of all that is most important in the commentaries of his predecessors, seems to make no attempt at a characteristic rendering of the original: on the contrary, he sedulously modifies and modernizes whatever is most antique and most Grecian in his author. His version is, in fact, an annotator's paraphrase, comprising and amplifying every particle of his author's meaning. It ought in justice to be remembered, that the genius of the French language is infinitely remote from that of the Greek, and can never adapt itself to the style of the great writers of antiquity. A French Homer, or a French Herodotus, is as like the original as the Hectors, and Cæsars, and Catos of the stage in the last century were, in their costumes, like the warriors of Greece and Rome.'

There are two circumstances relating to the last edition of this translation, too interesting to be passed by without notice. In his preface, he makes a manly and affecting recantation of the infidel principles which he had cherished in earlier years;

and at the close of the last volume, apologizing for occasional errors of the press, he bespeaks the indulgence of his readers towards an old man in his seventy-seventh year-cruda viridisque

senectus.

When we used the term 'fortunate' with reference to the translators of Herodotus, we were certainly not thinking of the accredited English translation, the inadequate version of Mr. Beloe. It is readable enough, but inaccurate and feeble, and deserving of utter condemnation, were it only for having misled that able illustrator of Herodotus, Major Rennell, whose ignorance of Greek compelled him to trust to this untrustworthy version. His notes, though with the admirable example of Larcher before him, are, when unborrowed, generally insipid and unprofitable. His mistakes are sometimes absurd, and his carelessness is sufficient to destroy all confidence. In a note to Clio, 92, he points out an error as committed by Larcher, when the latter expressly disavows the blunder imputed to him. For the purpose of enabling ourselves to give a more distinct opinion, we have occasionally made specific comparison between the Latin rendering of Schweighæuser, the French version of Larcher, and the two English translations of Beloe and the present Writer. The first is excellent. The second is admirable of its kind, but essentially uncharacteristic, and scarcely to be distinguished in point of style from the same Author's valuable version of Xenophon. Mr. Beloe is loose and tasteless, without any feeling of the peculiar qualities of his original; free and vague, where a close rendering would have been not only more expressive of the Author's manner, but better English. Of Mr. Taylor's production, we have no hesitation in saying, that it is, in our opinion, precisely what a translation of Herodotus ought to be. In all the instances where we have brought it to the test, it has stood the trial perfectly; it is clear, close, and archaic; it reads delightfully, and will convey to the unlearned reader a fair representation of the expressive simplicity of the original. There is one particular in which it stands, so far as we know, alone, and which will, of itself, sufficiently recommend it to general adoption in the family and in the school. There are passages in Herodotus-not that he was a prurient writerwhich render his history unfit for indiscriminate perusal; and these have usually been rendered, as a matter of course, without sufficient regard to delicacy. Here, Mr. Taylor has deserved well of the public. Without mutilation, or sacrificing the smallest fragment of valuable information, he has scrupulously expurgated his translation, by the rejection of all that is unseemly or impure. Extracts, unless copious and consecutive, or unless occurring in the course of an analytical or argumentative review, are but inadequate exemplifications of the character of a book; and to bring forward an insulated specimen or two,

savours of the pedant in Hierocles, who, having a house on sale, tendered a brick by way of sample. It will be hardly courteous, however, to dismiss Mr. Taylor without laying a fragment, at least, of his version before our readers; and we shall take part of the story of Thermopyla.

'As the sun arose, Xerxes poured forth libations, and waiting till about the time of full market, set out;-thus he had been instructed by Ephialtes; for the descent from the mountain is much shorter than the circuit which must be made in ascending it. The barbarians with Xerxes now drew on, while the Greeks with Leonidas, marching as to death, advanced much further than heretofore in the passage, and until they reached the wider part of the defile. Hitherto the wall had afforded them protection, for they had fought on the former days only in the narrowest part of the road. But now they engaged the enemy beyond the narrows, and great numbers of the Barbarians fell. Behind each rank were seen the officers with whips flogging the men, and continually goading them to move on. Multitudes of them fell into the sea, and so perished; but many more were trampled to death by their own ranks, nor was any regard paid to the dying. The Greeks, well knowing that death awaited them from the enemy who had come round the mountain, put forth their utmost vigour in attacking the Barbarians:-reckless of their own lives, they fell furiously upon the enemy. Most of their spears being broken, they dealt upon the Persians with their swords. In this combat fell Leonidas, valiantly fighting, and with him those celebrated Spartans whose names, worthy as they are of renown, I have learned;-the names even of the whole three hundred. Many distinguished Persians also fell on this occasion. Among these were two sons of Darius-Abrocomes and Hyperanthes...

A great struggle took place between the Persians and Lacedæmonians over the body of Leonidas: at length, after four times repelling their assailants, the Greeks by their valour succeeded in withdrawing it. The combat was maintained until the Persians, led by Ephialtes, came up; when the Greeks were informed of their approach, the contest assumed another aspect, for now they retreated to the narrow part of the road, and passing the wall, they stationed themselves in close order-all except the Thebans, upon the rising ground, at the entrance of the pass, where now stands the marble lion on the tomb of Leonidas. On this spot they continued to fight-with their swords, those who retained swords, or with their hands and teeth, until buried beneath the missiles of the Barbarians, who came up-some in front, after demolishing the wall, and others on each side, who had made the circuit of the mountain. Though all the Lacedæmonians and Thespians behaved in this valiant manner, a Spartan, named Dieneces, is mentioned as the first in bravery. It is said of him, that before the battle joined with the Medes, when a certain Trachinian affirmed in his hearing, that if the Medes discharged their arrows, such was the number of their host, the sun would be obscured by the flight of their missiles; he, not at all smitten with fear, and utterly disregarding the numbers of the Medes, replied:-" Our Trachinian friend tells us nothing but good news-if indeed the Medes darken the sky, then we shall fight in the shade, nor be exposed to the sun.'

We have only to say further, that the preface and notes contain, in a compressed form, much valuable criticism and illustration; that the volume is excellently printed; and that the maps, though necessarily on a small scale, are well constructed, and neatly engraven. Neither pains nor reasonable expense seem to have been spared in the getting up' of this compact and, considering its size, exceedingly cheap volume.

Art. III. Historical and Critical Remarks on the Nine Books of the History of Herodotus; with a Chronological Table. Translated from the French of P. H. Larcher. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. 1219. Price 11. 8s. London. 1829.*

THE History of Herodotus is an account of the travels and

researches of an intelligent and curious voyageur, who had travelled through Greece, Italy, and Egypt, and visited many other portions of the world, as known in the geography of the ancients. In the books into which his classic work is distributed, bearing the names of the Muses, he has recorded his observations on the countries which he saw, and the customs which he found existing in them; and has accumulated an extensive collection of historical facts and traditions, which form no inconsiderable part of our knowledge of the people who flourished in the times of antiquity down to his own age. He has indeed been represented as a retailer of fables, and the Græcia mendax' of the satirist has been applied to his details and reports; but the honesty and simplicity of the Historian are less likely to be questioned, in proportion as the means of passing a true judgement on his character become multiplied. He has told us explicitly enough on some occasions, that he did not believe the truth of the relations which he had received; and on others, he has left us to infer his distrust of his informer. He has very faithfully described whatever he had personally observed in the countries through which he had passed; and the manner in which he has recorded the traditionary knowledge obtained by his inquiries, is a very available evidence of his diligence and accuracy. Modern discoveries have clearly established, that Herodotus had knowledge of facts totally unknown to later writers; and the result of the superior information which we now possess, has been the clearing of his reputation from suspicions and charges by which it had long been obscured. That he was, in too many instances, credulous and under the influence of superstition, is not to be questioned; and so was

* Accidental circumstances have placed in juxta-position this and the preceding article, by different contributors: our readers will not, perhaps, be displeased at the undesigned coincidence of sentiment.—

Ed.

Xenophon, whose fidelity every one allows. His collections have transmitted to us the transactions of very early times and of very celebrated individuals; and they enable us to correct, in many cases, the representations of less credible relators. In this country, although the recent impressions of the History have been numerous and at short intervals, little has been done by English scholars to enhance its literary value. The French Version and Notes of Larcher have long been known to classical students, and have maintained a reputation of the highest order; but his work has hitherto been much less accessible than could be wished. This inconvenience, so far as regards the notes, is remedied by the publication before us; while his Version is superseded by the English translation of Mr. Taylor.

The Notes of Larcher form a most valuable body of annotations on the whole of the nine Books of Herodotus. He had read the text of the Historian with a most watchful eye, and his vigilance was constantly exercised in detecting the occasions on which the application of criticism and learning might, by appropriate emendations and illustrations, impart perspicuity to his Author's meaning. His philological observations evince a nice discrimination in affixing the senses of words, and a very correct judgement in settling the import of many verbal combinations which others have mistaken. The student who is desirous of being instructed in the niceties of Greek prose, will find his advantage in the diligent perusal of these Notes. But the illustration of the Greek text of the Historian, is not the only feature which forms a recommendation of these volumes. They are replete with discussions of the interesting and varied subjects comprised in the History; and on these points, the Notes are not a mere collection of brief remarks which leave the reader disappointed and displeased, but are frequently of considerable length. The antiquities of ancient nations are a copious subject, to which Larcher has devoted very considerable labour, and which he has very successfully illustrated. Babylon, but particularly Egypt, makes a prominent figure in the History; and in the volumes before us, there is an accumulation of valuable observations relating to the latter country. Since the date of Larcher's Translation, indeed, Egypt has been visited, and its antiquities have been examined, by many learned travellers, who have materially enlarged our acquaintance with it. These Notes could be but little corrected or improved, however, by any additions that might be made to them from the more recent sources of information; the sagacity of their Author having enabled him to anticipate many of the results of subsequent investigation. The history of Croesus, of Cyrus, the identity and achievements of Sesostris, the Phoenician circumnavigation of Africa, the formation and repeated re-opening of the canal of Egypt,

VOL. II.-N.S.

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