William Alexander Hammond

“ The views of this revered Nestor in the history of philosophy do not, however, detract from our interest in the English publication. It is interesting to get the views of a member of a younger generation of scholars, the more so when he comes from a different nation from the Berlin savant. Burnet is quite independent in his treatment of the period, and we find him all the while going counter to Zeller, though not always happily. In fact, he seems frequently to join issue with the younger investigators against Zeller, where the weight of evidence is overwhelmingly with the senior. ”

“ There is, indeed, ground for associating democracy with the Individualism of the Sophists, though to attempt to carry out such analogy in the development of philosophy is quite as futile as Hegel's application to it of the categories of pure thought or Boeck's employment of Plato's theories in Epistemology for the same purpose. ”

“ The German books, to which in the main we have to look for the history of ancient educational institutions and theories, are so fortified with quotations and references to all kinds of authorities that it is like scaling a bristling rampart to get at them, and the references frequently constitute their greatest worth. ”

“ There will be no one, however, who will not regret that more was not said about Aristotle, to the presentation and discussion of whose theories only fifty pages are devoted. The chapter on Plotinus, whose position in the history of pedagogy is unimportant, might easily be spared and the space given to the further elucidation and criticism of Aristotle's ideas. Brief, however, as this account of Aristotle is, one does not know where to look for so direct and lucid a treatment of this side of the Stagirite's philosophy. ”

“ In the matter of classification the author follows in the main the divisions of Zeller, though she prefers the pre-sophistic division of Überweg-Heinze to the pre-Sokratic one of the former historian. Inasmuch as we have both in English and German an abundance of passably good histories of this period of philosophy, and the materials have been in the main already critically sifted, there is no likelihood of a writer nowadays making very glaring mistakes in the compilation of a handbook. ”

“ Xenophanes, however, regards the universe as a unit and if "the universe is really a god, there can be nothing more primary than itself." In this way, Burnet supposes, Xenophanes arrived at his theistic doctrine. Within the universe, interpreted as a unity, there is room for other gods which are "reduced to material phenomena." The conception of a personal god is unknown to Xenophanes, as is also the distinction between matter and spirit. ”

“ Among those who do not suffer separation of body and soul are those who, without dying, go to the Elysian Fields, beyond Okeanos or the Fortunate Islands. Rohde finds this union of the body and Psyche necessary, because, as he says in connection with Odys. ”

“ In this treatment of Greek conceptions of the spirit-world, Rohde gives us an exceedingly valuable contribution to one of the most interesting branches of Anthropology. The book is occupied with description of facts rather than with exposition of them, and is conservatively written. ”

“ The dialogues are not classified on any satisfactory principle, and the student gets very little instruction on the important question of the chronology, though, to be sure, a detailed discussion of this difficulty would not be in place in a work of this compass. Most students, we venture to think, will find the account of the Republic (pp. 146-150) rather meagre and not very clear. A good deal of space is taken up with the myth of the cave, which of course is very beautiful, but it does not give the student the salient features of the Republic. ”

“ In speaking of the book more in detail, we should like to call attention to certain minor defects. The characterization of the periods of Greek Philosophy by political parallels (p. 82 seq.) is not felicitous. To call the Ionic philosophy "kingly" and that of Pythagoras "aristocratic," does not tend to elucidate the character of the two philosophies, although the philosophical order or school of Pythagoras may well be characterized as aristocratic ”

“ Did any one before her ever suppose that Aristotle meant a purification of the emotions of fear and pity (p. 224) , and not through (διά) pity and fear? This, however, is not more inaccurately stated than Xenophon's (Mem. iv. 8. 11) characterization of Sokrates on page 65. Instead of new academy (p. 254) , the author evidently means to say middle academy. These are a few of the defects, from which one can readily conclude that the volume is ill-fitted for a handbook of reference. ”

“ To supplement these three papers, Pearson has edited and given us a critical commentary on these three hundred fragments. He prefaces this by an introduction of fifty pages, which, to the general student of the history of Philosophy, will prove the most valuable part of the book. For the student working specially in Greek Philosophy and Literature, the commentary on the fragments will be found a serviceable supplement to Zeller and Hirzel. ”

“ The author identifies the "dark" vapors of Herakleitos," which increase the moist element" (p. 157) , with darkness itself, and this seems to me a plausible explanation. When, however, he applies his theory to the extinction of the sun he says, "it" (i.e. the "dark" vapor) "could no longer rise upwards unless the sun gave it motion, and so it becomes possible for a fresh sun (fr. 32) to be kindled." ”

“ The volume presents nothing new in matter or original in treatment; it is further marred by many inaccuracies, which render it unserviceable for pedagogical purposes; and scholars familiar with the theme handled (though these are evidently not the persons for whom the book was intended) will find it smacks strongly of dilettantism. ”