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THE GREEK GENIUS AND MEANING TO ITS US BY R. W. LIVINGSTONE FELLOWANDASSISTANTTUTOROFCORPUSCHRISTICOLLEGE OXFORD V* SECOND EDITION OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1915 OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY HUMPHREY MILFORD M.A. PUBLISHERTOTHEUNIVERSITY d^U PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION InthiseditionI havemadeafewalterations. Ishould likealsoto correct an impressionwhichmythirdchapter seems to have made on some critics. I never intended, there or elsewhere, to exalt Greek literature at the expense of English, or indeed at all to compare the two as wholes my English instances were chosen to bring ; out certain qualities of Greek literature by contrasts with it, which some English poetry, not the best, affords. v»'U . »; PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION When I begantoteach LatinandGreek,a friendasked mewhatIsupposedmyselftohavelearnt fromthem, and whatIwastryingtoteachothers. Thisbookwaswritten as an attempt to answer the question, as far as Greek is concerned. It was written to inform, primarily my- self, secondarily my pupils. It is therefore intentionally popular, and, like the poems of Lucilius, designed neque indoctissimis neque doctissimis : it uses modern illustra- tions, and tries, as far as possible, to put what it has to sayin areadableform. I hope it mayserve as a general introduction to the study of Greek literature, and for that purpose be acceptable, not only to such students or teachers of the classics as feel themselves to be in the class indicated above, but also to the considerable public who take a humane interest in what Greece has done for the world. For my intention has been to try and make thespirit of Greece aliveformyselfat the present day, to translate it, as far as I could, into modern language, and to trace its relationship to our own ways of thinking and feeling. If I do not apologize for the manner in which this ambitious task has been executed, it is not because I have no misgivings. Few people could write a book on this subject, and feel satisfied with it. Still, if I am not convincing, I shall at any rate be contentious, and educationallythesecondqualityis perhapsmorevaluable thanthe first. Onthesamegrounds I would excuse my- self for having raised many questions which are left half- PREFACE 5 answered : the method may stimulate readers, if it does not satisfy them. ' TheGreekGenius 'isanunsatisfactorytitleforabook which says nothing about Greek politics or Greek sculp- ture but theGeniusofGreekLiterature wastoonarrow ; ' ' formypurpose, and 'SomeAspects of theGreek Genius', which I should have preferred,was alreadyappropriated: sothat the present name hasbeenadopted, andtheexact scope of the book indicated in the introductory chapter (seeesp. pp. 13, 14). That chapteralso explainswho, for my purposes, ' the Greeks ' have been taken to be ; it is intended to safeguard the book against certain obvious criticisms, and may well be omitted by general readers who are not concerned with these points. As I am writing for a general audience, I have either quoted in English or else translated my quotations. For Thucydides and Plato I have generally made use of Jowett. Gaps in the quotations are not indicated unless they affect the general sense of the passage. For a book ofthiskindanindexisoflittlevalue, andIhavetherefore substituted a full table ofcontents. The book owes much to my mother and sister, who have helped me with criticism and in other ways to ; Mr. P. E. Matheson, my former tutor, and to Mr. R. W. Chapman of the University Press, who have corrected theproofsandmadesuggestions andtoProfessorGilbert ; Murray, to whom I should like to express especial grati- tude, not only for reading and criticizing most of the book in draft, but also for teaching me, as he has taught so many others, to look on Greek thought as a living thing.1 1 I have, however, no right to imply that Professor Murray- agrees withwhat the bookcontains. A3 . 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PAGE i. TheachievementofGreece . . . . . 1 2. Questionssuggestedbyit,andaimofthisbook . . 13 3. Some difficulties and the attitude taken up to them H init . . . . . • • • (a) Is therea Greekgenius ? (b) InwhichoftheGreekracesisittobesought? (c) Inwhatepochs ? {d) Are we to consider the ordinary man or only thewritersandthinkers ? 4. Our aim is to form some idea of Hellenism. Con- clusionsfromthis . . . • . 21 CHAPTER I THE GREEK GENIUS .THE.NO.TE.OF.BEAUTY : VariousviewsoftheGreeks 23 A. Theideathatmoral.striv.ingw.asth.eirgr.eatm.ark 24 1. Objectionstoth.is: .itsab.sence.int.ypica.lGre.eks . 25 2. PlatoandS.Paul 26 3. TheGreeks 27 (a) Hadnosenseof sin. (b) Were not exclusively interested in the moral side of man. (c) Tookupanattitude of reason,not of passion, in thesematters.. ...... B. The idea that the Greeks were primarily lovers of beauty 29 1 ThisviewnotborneoutbyThucydidesandothers . 3 2. Buttheirsense.ofbe.auty.wasm.ore.gener.alth.anou.rs . ^34 3. TestimonyofHeineandRenantoit . . . . 35 4. Itappearsin 35 (a) Theirnames. (b) Theirsayings. — (c) Thefinishoftheirpoetry Homerand.Sco.tt.. (d) Their use of the word koKos. ... 5. Theyweremorethanloversofbeauty 39 Note. AcertaincharacteristicofGreekstyle 40 .. CONTENTS CHAPTER II THE NOTE OF FREEDOM .... PAGE i. The meaannidngIroifshGlreeg.eenkdtc.rountthrfa.usltneeds.s: G.reek.liter.ature 43 2. Primary cause of it the religious and political freedom ofGreece 45 A. Religiousfreedom. ....... 1. Fewattacks on freethoughtin Athens: contrastwith Inquisition 47 2. Thisfreedompromotedby . . . . . 51 (a) Anthropomorphism of Greek religion tending to toleration. (b) AbsenceofaBible. (c) Greek instinct for rationalism: stories of Job andofPrometheus. (d) Greek attitude to God: contrasted with Jewish andChristianattitude. *B. Politicalfreedom. 1 Greekinstinctforpoliticalindividualism: i.nsta.nces.. 62 2. TheoldComedy 64 3. TheoryoflibertyintheFuneralSpeech 66 4. Contrast with Rome: inter.feren.ces .with.li.berty there 69 5. Reasonsforthisdifference 72 CHAPTER III THE NOTE OF DIRECTNESS 1 ThereisafurthercauseofGreek.trut.hfuln.ess .. .. 74 2. DirectnesasndinMrGsr.eBerk.owdnesic.nrgipti.ons .of Na.ture.: Al.cman 76 3. Similar quality generally in Greek view of life: Greek ideason 77 (a) Love. (&) Children and friends. (c) Death. 4. Meaning of this quality: it is neither an absence of 5. DuetothceonGvreenetkisonb,en.ionrguan.perrirmii.ntgitvreu.ptehofupl.lnees.s...... 8980 5. Consequent absence of mysticism, ro.mant.icis.m, s.enti- mentality 90 7. Buttheywerenotbrutalrealists 92 8. DeviationsfromdirectnessinGreekliterature . . 94 .. 8 .CO.NTE.NTS.... ..... PAGE 9. Whyitpersisted 95 10. Definitionofit; itseffects 96 11 Criticismofitandcontrastwithmodernliterature . 96 12. Instances of poetry, Latin and English, which is not direct ....... 99 13. Directness leads to increased.ple.asure.in.com.mon things 105 14. Itishostiletosentimentality 107 Note. FurtherexceptionstoitinGreekliterature . . 108 CHAPTER IV THE NOTE OF HUMANISM 1 TheGreeksviewedtheworldfromahumanstandpoint,.110 andhumanized . . . . . (a) God. (6) Nature. (c) Life. 2. Greekhumanismillustratedfrom . . . .113 (a) Theirviewsofafutureworld. (b) Three Greekdefinitions ofhappiness. 3. HumaniXsemnoipnhoprnactice: pictures of Greek life from.116 4. HumanismandChri.stiani.ty .. .. .. .. ..112233 5. Itssignificanceforus . . . . . 6. Humanismleadsto (a) Stressonbodilyexcellence . . . .124 (i) Greek feeling for beauty, (ii) Physicalpleasures, (iii) Theirfestivals, (iv) Dread of old age. (b) Stressonintellectualexcellence . . . 133 (i) Intellectualactivityat Athens, (ii) Socrates. 7. AthensandanEnglishUniversity . . . .137 CHAPTER V TWOTYPESOF.HUM.ANI.SM:.PIN.DAR.AND.HE.RODOTUS Thedifficultyoff.indin.gat.ypical.Gre.ek .. ... 139 A. Pindar 140 1. Hisideals 140 2. Gloomy viewof life combined with a power of enjoy- ingit . . . . . ..... . 142 3. Hisphilosophy . . . . . 145 . CONTENTS ....... .... PAGE B. Herodotus 146 i Notascientifichistorian 147 2. Yetimpartial; Plutarch,DeMalignitateHerodoti 147 3. Omnivorousintellectualinterest 150 4. Notareligiousnoramoralgenius 152 5. Howheisarepresentativ.eGre.ek .. 154 6. Gloomyyetcourageousviewoflife . 157 7. Ideasofhappiness 158 CHAPTER VI THE NOTES OF SANITY AND MANYSIDEDNESS ....... Some similarities and differences of Greek and modern ideals 160 A. Inliterature. 1. Phenomena of modern literature which were mainly.162 absentfromGreek . . . . 23.. THhoemeGrreaenkdsaOtstcraarctWeidldbeyb.road.human. inte.rests .. ..161644 4. Thetragedians: absence of morbidity: the Oedipus.166 Tyrannus . . . . . . .168 5. Greeksanitydueto . . . . • (a) Theirprimitiveness. (b) Theirkeepingin touchwith ordinarylife. 6. Hence no Art for Art's sake, nor Intellect for In- tellect's sake 17° 7. Traces of these in Euripides and elsewhere: Daphnis.171 andChloe . . . . . . B. Inlife. 1. Modern divorce between thinking and acting un- 2. GreekmGarneyeskidednes..s ... ... ... ... ....•..1177l7564 3. Itsdangers . . . . • • • 4. Itsadvantages 178 ConnexionofthevariousnotesofHellenism . . 179 CHAPTER VII SOME EXCEPTIONS. PLATO Exceptionstotho.seno.teso.fHel.leni.sm .. 180 A. Plato. 1. Heisoften 183 (a) Notdirect: theorieson poetryandlove. . io CONTENTS PAGE (b) Hostile to liberty: political restrictions in the Republicand the Laws. (c) Hostile to humanism: dislike of the body; of 2. HiskinspholiiptiwciatlhliCfehr:isgtoisapneiltoyfa.nothe.rworl.d. . .195 3. Thisseeninhismistrustofhumannature . . . 196 B. Otherunhellenicelementsin Greekliterature. 1. OrphichaunmdanEilsemusinian mysteries opposed to .197 2. Extentoftheirinfl.u.ence.o.nGr.e.ek.lit.era.tur.e.limi.t.ed . 199 3. Still Greece gives examples of the opposite of humanism 202 CHAPTER VIII THE FIFTH CENTURY AND AFTER 1 ThefifthcenturyandtheGreek.geni.us .. .. .. 203 2. Commencementoftheageofreason: Thales . . 204 3. ItreachesitsacmeinAthens 207 4. ThesignificanceoftheSophists . . . ....212110 5. Theirteaching . . . . . . 6. ItsnatureasseeninThucydidestheirpupil . .. 212163 7. Itsresults . . . . . . . (a) GrowthofCriticism. (b) Dawn of the spirit of Science. The Socratic method. (c) Interestinmorality. ThemissionofSocrates. 8. TheGreekunionofthoughtwithmorality. . .224 9. Euripidestypicalofthefifthcentury . . . 226 (a) Of its critical spirit. His treatment of legend (b) Ofitsmoralin.teres.t. T.heI.on. ... 10. In the fifth centurythe Greekgenius enters on anew course 236 11. Whyitssubsequenthistoryislessattractive . . 238 (a) DecayofGreekLifeandPolitics. (b) Spiritualdegeneracyofthefourthcentury. MenanderandAristotle. EPILOGUE ....... 1. The'modernity'ofGreekliterature . . . 245 2. Reasonsforit 247

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