the unseen world and other essays-第67章

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posite　advantages　were　combined。　The　twenty…five　thousand　free　inhabitants　might　perhaps　all　know　something　of　each　other。　In　this　respect　Athens　was　doubtless　much　like　a　New　England　country　town；　with　the　all…important　difference　that　the　sordid　tone　due　to　continual　struggle　for　money　was　absent。　It　was　like　the　small　town　in　the　chance　which　it　afforded　for　publicity　and　community　of　pursuits　among　its　inhabitants。　Continuous　and　unrestrained　social　intercourse　was　accordingly　a　distinctive　feature　of　Athenian　life。　And；　as　already　hinted；　this　intercourse　did　not　consist　in　evening　flirtations；　with　the　eating　of　indigestible　food　at　unseasonable　hours；　and　the　dancing　of　〃the　German。〃　It　was　carried　on　out…of…doors　in　the　brightest　sunlight；　it　brooked　no　effeminacy；　its　amusements　were　athletic　games；　or　dramatic　entertainments；　such　as　have　hardly　since　been　equalled。　Its　arena　was　a　town　whose　streets　were　filled　with　statues　and　adorned　with　buildings；　merely　to　behold　which　was　in　itself　an　education。　The　participators　in　it　were　not　men　with　minds　so　dwarfed　by　exclusive　devotion　to　special　pursuits　that　after　〃talking　shop〃　they　could　find　nothing　else　save　wine　and　cookery　to　converse　about。　They　were　men　with　minds　fresh　and　open　for　the　discussion　of　topics　which　are　not　for　a　day　only。

A　man　like　Sokrates；　living　in　such　a　community；　did　not　need　to　write　down　his　wisdom。　He　had　no　such　vast　public　as　the　modern　philosopher　has　to　reach。　He　could　hail　any　one　he　happened　to　pass　in　the　street；　begin　an　argument　with　him　forthwith；　and　set　a　whole　crowd　thinking　and　inquiring　about　subjects　the　mere　contemplation　of　which　would　raise　them　for　the　moment　above　matters　of　transient　concern。　For　more　than　half　a　century　any　citizen　might　have　gratis　the　benefit　of　oral　instruction　from　such　a　man　as　he。　And　I　sometimes　think；　by　the　way；　thatcurtailed　as　it　is　to　literary　proportions　in　the　dialogues　of　Plato；　bereft　of　all　that　personal　potency　which　it　had　when　it　flowed；　instinct　with　earnestness；　from　the　lips　of　the　teachereven　to　this　day　the　wit　of　man　has　perhaps　devised　no　better　general　gymnastics　for　the　understanding　than　the　Sokratic　dialectic。　I　am　far　from　saying　that　all　Athens　listened　to　Sokrates　or　understood　him：　had　it　been　so；　the　caricature　of　Aristophanes　would　have　been　pointless；　and　the　sublime　yet　mournful　trilogy　of　dialogues　which　pourtray　the　closing　scenes　of　the　greatest　life　of　antiquity　would　never　have　been　written。　But　the　mere　fact　that　such　a　man　lived　and　taught　in　the　way　that　he　did　goes　far　in　proof　of　the　deep　culture　of　the　Athenian　public。　Further　confirmation　is　to　be　found　in　the　fact　that　such　tragedies　as　the　Antigone；　the　Oidipous；　and　the　Prometheus　were　written　to　suit　the　popular　taste　of　the　time；　not　to　be　read　by　literary　people；　or　to　be　performed　before　select　audiences　such　as　in　our　day　listen　to　Ristori　or　Janauschek；　but　to　hold　spell…bound　that　vast　concourse　of　all　kinds　of　people　which　assembled　at　the　Dionysiac　festivals。

Still　further　proof　is　furnished　by　the　exquisite　literary　perfection　of　Greek　writings。　One　of　the　common　arguments　in　favour　of　the　study　of　Greek　at　the　present　day　is　based　upon　the　opinion　that　in　the　best　works　extant　in　that　language　the　art　of　literary　expression　has　reached　wellnigh　absolute　perfection。　I　fully　concur　in　this　opinion；　so　far　as　to　doubt　if　even　the　greatest　modern　writers；　even　a　Pascal　or　a　Voltaire；　can　fairly　sustain　a　comparison　with　such　Athenians　as　Plato　or　Lysias。　This　excellence　of　the　ancient　books　is　in　part　immediately　due　to　the　fact　that　they　were　not　written　in　a　hurry；　or　amid　the　anxieties　of　an　over…busy　existence；　but　it　is　in　greater　part　due　to　the　indirect　consequences　of　a　leisurely　life。　These　books　were　written　for　a　public　which　knew　well　how　to　appreciate　the　finer　beauties　of　expression；　and；　what　is　still　more　to　the　point；　their　authors　lived　in　a　community　where　an　elegant　style　was　habitual。　Before　a　matchless　style　can　be　written；　there　must　be　a　good　style　〃in　the　air；〃　as　the　French　say。　Probably　the　most　finished　talking　and　writing　of　modern　times　has　been　done　in　and　about　the　French　court　in　the　seventeenth　century；　and　it　is　accordingly　there　that　we　find　men　like　Pascal　and　Bossuet　writing　a　prose　which　for　precision；　purity；　and　dignity　has　never　since　been　surpassed。　It　is　thus　that　the　unapproachable　literary　excellence　of　ancient　Greek　books　speaks　for　the　genuine　culture　of　the　people　who　were　expected　to　read　them；　or　to　hear　them　read。　For　one　of　the　surest　indices　of　true　culture；　whether　professedly　literary　or　not；　is　the　power　to　express　one's　self　in　precise；　rhythmical；　and　dignified　language。　We　hardly　need　a　better　evidence　than　this　of　the　superiority　of　the　ancient　community　in　the　general　elevation　of　its　tastes　and　perceptions。　Recollecting　how　Herodotos　read　his　history　at　the　Olympic　games；　let　us　try　to　imagine　even　so　picturesque　a　writer　as　Mr。　Parkman　reading　a　few　chapters　of　his　〃Jesuits　in　North　America〃　before　the　spectators　assembled　at　the　Jerome　Park　races；　and　we　shall　the　better　realize　how　deep…seated　was　Hellenic　culture。

As　yet；　however；　I　have　referred　to　but　one　side　of　Athenian　life。　Though　〃seekers　after　wisdom；〃　the　cultivated　people　of　Athens　did　not　spend　all　their　valuable　leisure　in　dialectics　or　in　connoisseurship。　They　were　not　a　set　of　dilettanti　or　dreamy　philosophers；　and　they　were　far　from　subordinating　the　material　side　of　life　to　the　intellectual。　Also；　though　they　dealt　not　in　money…making　after　the　eager　fashion　of　modern　men；　they　had　still　concerns　of　immediate　practical　interest　with　which　to　busy　themselves。　Each　one　of　these　twenty…five　thousand　free　Athenians　was　not　only　a　free　voter；　but　an　office…holder；　a　legislator；　a　judge。　They　did　not　control　the　government　through　a　representative　body；　but　they　were　themselves　the　government。　They　were；　one　and　all；　in　turn　liable　to　be　called　upon　to　make　laws；　and　to　execute　them　after　they　were　made；　as　well　as　to　administer　justice　in　civil　and　criminal　suits。　The　affairs　and　interests；　not　only　of　their　own　city；　but　of　a　score　or　two　of　scattered　dependencies；　were　more　or　less　closely　to　be　looked　after　by　them。　It　lay　with　them　to　declare　war；　to　carry　it　on　after　declaring　it；　and　to　pay　the　expenses　of　it。　Actually　and　not　by　deputy　they　administered　the　government　of　their　own　city；　both　in　its　local　and　in　its　imperial　relations。　All　this　implies　a　more　thorough；　more　constant；　and　more　vital　political　training　than　that　which　is　implied　by　the　modern　duties　of　casting　a　ballot　and　serving　on　a　jury。　The　life　of　the　Athenian　was　emphatically　a　political　life。　From　early　manhood　onward；　it　was　part　of　his　duty　to　hear　legal　questions　argued　by　powerful　advocates；　and　to　utter　a　decision　upon　law　and　fact；　or　to　mix　in　debate　upon　questions　of　public　policy；　arguing；　listening；　and　pondering。　It　is　customary　to　compare　the　political　talent　of　the　Greeks　unfavourably　with　that　displayed　by　the　Romans；　and　I　have　no　wish　to　dispute　this　estimate。　But　on　a　careful　study　it　will　appear　that　the　Athenians；　at　least；　in　a　higher　degree　than　any　other　community　of　ancient　times；　exhibited　parliamentary　tact；　or　the　ability　to　sit　still　while　both　sides　of　a　question　are　getting　discussed；that　sort　of　political　talent　for　which　the　English　races　are　distinguished；　and　to　the　lack　of　which　so　many　of　the　political　failures　of　the　French　are　egregiously　due。　One　would　suppose　that　a　judicature　of　the　whole　town　would　be　likely　to　execute　a　sorry　parody　of　justice；　yet　justice　was　by　no　means　ill…administered　at　Athens。　Even　the　most　unfortunate　and　disgraceful　scenes；as　where　the　proposed　massacre　of　the　Mytilenaians　was　discussed；　and　where　summary　retribution　was　dealt　out　to　the　generals　who　had　neglected　their　duty　at　Arginusai；even　these　scenes　furnish；　when　thoroughly　examined；　as　by　Mr。　Grote；　only　the　more　convincing　proof　that　the　Athenian　was　usually　swayed　by　sound　reason　and　good　sense　to　an　extraordinary　degree。　All　great　points　in　fact；　were　settled　rather　by　sober　appeals　to　reason　than　by　intrigue　or　lobbying；　and　one　cannot　help　thinking　that