Part 20

Keshub Chunder Sen, the famous leader of the Brahmo Somaj, is about to visit Europe and America again, to preach a new development of faith, in which Hinduism and Christianity are to be combined. Little good, we fear, will result from the Baboo’s advocacy of an eclectic system; for his adherents will be content to stop in that dim twilight instead of advancing into the full glory of the divine day. The teaching of the leader himself seems latterly to have degenerated into ceremonialism, and he attributes marvelous influence to external things; while some of his followers are giving themselves up with the wildest enthusiasm to perfect a sacred dance of a complex kind, organized with rotating rings of participants dressed in garbs of varied hue. All this mummery is a sad disappointment for those who hoped that Chunder Sen might destroy heathenism besides purifying it.

* * * * *

The Louisville _Courier_ of August 9, referring to the great Exposition, speaks thus of one of the exhibitions: “Last night the electric railway was in operation, and the locomotive with two cars attached made the tour of the park. To-day it will be running constantly, and visitors will see what is the latest achievement of science. It is an event of extraordinary interest. It is the practical demonstration of the power of electricity applied as a motor. Without fire or smoke, with no visible agent to propel it, moved by an unseen and even as yet an almost unknown influence, it follows the path marked out with all the celerity and certainty demanded by the most cautious and practical.”

* * * * *

The directors of the Western Union Telegraph Company have made a concession to their employes by issuing the following order: “Commencing to-day (September 1), seven and a half hours actual service in this office during week nights will constitute a day’s work, or, in other words, the hours of the night force will be from 5:30 p. m. till 1:30 a. m., allowing thirty minutes for lunch. Sunday service will be paid for the same as other over-time services, at the rate of one-seventh of a day’s pay for each hour. All payments for over-time, including Sunday service, or for a fractional part of a month, will be based upon the number of week days in the month.”

* * * * *

Professor Bell is reported as saying in a recent conversation that there are more than 500,000 telephones in use in the United States, and the manufacturers are unable to supply the demand so as to keep abreast of orders. He said that the progress of the telephone would have been greater but for the opposition of the telegraph companies, who regarded it as, in part, a competitor instead of an ally. In other countries the telegraph companies had very generally adopted the telephone as an auxiliary, especially at city branch offices and at small offices in the country.

* * * * *

Lord Chief Justice Coleridge, of England, is in this country, a guest of the American bar. English judges may be aristocrats, but they are generally above corruption. It is to be hoped that American ideas of judicial dignity and honor will be raised by what they may observe in this chief of the English bench.

* * * * *

Not a few Americans were astonished at the display of local manufactures which Ireland exhibited in the Boston “Foreign Art and Industrial Exhibition.” Among the objects were bog-wood ornaments, hair ornaments, furniture, marbles, sculpture, etc. The variety of work suggests that in the not distant future the distressed country will have manufactures and arts to employ its people. Its resources are particularly fitted to certain arts. Thus few countries boast so great a variety of marbles; its clay is particularly suitable for modeling: osiers grow readily on its soil, and the natural woods are incomparably fine. With these industries developed, and a system of railroads through the country, much would be done toward settling the Irish question.

* * * * *

When a woman marries, and learns that in the race of life she is better qualified to earn the family living than her husband, it will be helpful to have a precedent at hand by which to govern her husband. Here is one, taken from the communication of a successful working woman to a Boston exchange. She says: “I am a milliner, and have made between $1,500 and $2,500 a year in my business for some time past. I married four years ago. My husband is kind and good looking, but he never learned any trade, had no profession and could not average $500 a year. I loved him, however, but I saw that it would not do to depend upon him, so I kept on with my business. After a time I think he got a little lazy, and as we were both away during the day, we could not keep house and got sick of boarding. Finally I proposed that he should keep house and I would run the business and find the money. We have now lived very happily in this way for two years. My husband rises and builds the fire, gets breakfast, and I leave at 7:45 for my place of business. He does the washing, ironing, and cleaning, and I do not know of any woman who can beat him. He is as neat as wax, and can cook equal to any one in town. It may be an isolated case, but I think the time has now come when women who have husbands to support should make them do the work; otherwise they are luxuries we must do without.”

EDITOR’S TABLE.

Q. What is the meaning of boycotting?

A. Boycott was the name of an Irish landlord whose tenants refused to gather his crops, and endeavored to prevent his doing it. To withhold help and patronage, or in any way to obstruct or hinder the business of another—a meanness that is despicable—is to treat him as the tenants treated Mr. Boycott.

Q. Was General Grant the author of the expression, “We have met the enemy and they are ours?”

A. The above is very like to Cæsar’s “_veni, vidi, vici_,” and as a general’s report of a great victory just won, is remarkable for its comprehensive brevity. The words, though in harmony with the character and sayings of General Grant, were not, if used, original with him, but should be credited to Commodore Perry.

Q. Why was the son of Edward III. called the Black Prince?

A. Because of his black armor.

Q. Was Alexander of Macedon, who informed the Greeks before the battle of Platea of the intended attack, their ally?

A. Not openly; but secretly he was, or the information would not have been given.

Q. Where is the mountain lake Shawangunk?

A. The Shawangunk (Shon-gum) mountain is properly a continuation of the Appalachian, or Allegheny chain in New York. Like the Adirondacks and Catskills, south of the Mohawk, also outliers of the chain, it seems separated by intervening lands of lower elevation, and the relationship is shown by similarity of the geological formation. Look for the lake in the same region. It is probably small, and may not be found on most maps.

Q. Was it not Leonidas who, before the battle of Thermopylæ, said, “The Persians are so numerous that their arrows will darken the sun?”

A. No. Those words may intimate fear of the overwhelming force of the enemy, and the Greek historian does not mention their author, but says that on hearing them, a brave Spartan replied: “All the better, as we will then fight in the shade.”

Q. Which construction? “Thus were music and poetry born in the same family, and we shall notice how that they have clung to each other,” or “how they have clung?”

A. The latter is preferred. The conjunctive particle is not needed, and though occasionally thus used by a good writer, only encumbers the sentence.

Q. Who was Caius Cestius?

A. A wealthy Roman citizen of the Augustan age, a client of Cicero, of not much distinction, though rich. A part of his estate was employed in building for him a fine mausoleum, which remains to the present day, though most of the contemporaneous surrounding structures have long been in ruins. Near it lie the ashes of Keats and Shelly. After the death of Keats, Shelly wrote of his friend: “He lies in the lovely, romantic cemetery of the Protestants of Rome, near the tomb of Caius Cestius, and within the mossy walls and towns, now mouldering and desolate, which formed the circuit of ancient Rome. The cemetery is an open space among the ruins, covered in winter with violets and daisies. It might make one in love with death to think of being buried in so sweet a place.”

Q. Can you give the date of Mrs. Browning’s birth in 1809?

A. We can not. No records now at hand give the day or month. It is not best to be greatly troubled over our want of information on the subject, as it is quite safe to conclude she was “well born” some time during the year mentioned. Many other eminent writers have gone into history with the same uncertainty as to the day of their birth.

Q. In whose hands was the government of the United States from 1783 to 1789?

A. Nominally in the Continental Congress—a kind of quasi central government. Practically in the hands of the colonists and their legislators. The war was ended and the United States acknowledged a free, sovereign, and independent nation. But they were, as yet, united only by the “articles of confederation” adopted in 1778; a bond of union that was soon found inadequate to secure a strong, permanent government amidst the perils that threatened the new republic. The regulation of commerce, the adjustment of difficulties between States, and the public defense were not sufficiently provided for. Congress could devise and recommend measures, but had little power to legislate, even on subjects that concerned the whole. There was still more need of an efficient executive department. Feeling that the articles of confederation were, in the changed state of the country, no longer sufficient, the leading statesmen wisely framed, and the country adopted the American Constitution, giving us a strong central government, with the least possible surrender of rights by the States thus united.

Q. Was there any reason for calling Alexander the Great a Greek?

A. Alexander was not a Greek, though educated by Greek teachers, and, as other Macedonians, using the Greek language. Macedon was not a part of Greece, but held Greece as a dependency, and used her power in expelling the Persians.

Q. After the confusion of tongues and the dispersion of mankind, into what families lingual were they divided?

A. Into _Shemetic_, _Hametic_, and _Japhetic_. The descendants of Shem peopled central Asia, particularly the parts about the Euphrates. The dialect or language called Aramaic prevailed in their northern and northeastern territory, the Arabic in their southern, and in their central and western the Hebrew. These are cognate languages, and profitably studied in connection. The descendants of Japheth spread over Europe and the northwest of Asia. Those of Ham occupied the southern part of the globe, particularly Africa. The languages spoken in these sections, respectively, may also be grouped together, and, however different, give evidence of a common origin. The general division into the above three classes has been found convenient, though the patronymics are used only to indicate remote origin and kinship.

C. S. L. C. NOTES ON REQUIRED READINGS FOR OCTOBER.

HISTORY OF GREECE.

Instead of indicating the sounds of the vowels in the Greek and Latin names given in the notes, we follow the plan of Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, giving rules for pronouncing the vowels and consonants. As the two principal marks ([= ][) ]) are in Greek and Latin used differently from what they are in English, indicating the _quantity_ instead of _quality_, it will be found less confusing to adopt this method.

RULES FOR THE VOWELS.

1. Any vowel at the end of an accented syllable, and _e_, _o_, and _u_, at the end of an unaccented syllable, have the long English sound.

2. _A_, ending an unaccented syllable, has the sound of _a_ in _father_, or in _last_.

3. _I_, ending a final syllable, has the long sound. At the end of an initial unaccented syllable it varies between _i_ long and _i_ short (like _i_ in _pin_). In all other cases _i_, ending an unaccented syllable, is short.

4. _Y_ is like _i_ in the same situation.

5. _Æ_ and _æ_ like _e_ in the same situation.

6. If a syllable end in a consonant the vowel has the short English sound.

7. _E_, in final _es_, like _e_ in Andes.

RULES FOR CONSONANTS.

1. _C_, before _e_, _i_, _y_, _æ_, _œ_, is pronounced like _s_; before _a_, _o_, and _u_, and before consonants, like _k_.

2. _G_, before _e_, _i_, _y_, _æ_, and _œ_, or another _g_ followed by _e_, has the sound of _j_; before _a_, _o_ and _u_, and consonants other than _g_, the hard sound.

3. _Ch_ is like _k_, but is silent before a mute at the beginning of a word.

4. Initial _x_ is like _z_.

5. _T_, _s_, and _c_, before _ia_, _ie_, _ii_, _io_, _iv_, and _ev_, preceded immediately by the accent, change into _sh_ and _zh_; but when the _t_ follows _s_, _t_, or _z_, or when the accent falls on the first of the vowels following, the consonant preserves its pure sound.

6. Initial _ph_, before a mute, is silent.

P. 1—“Autonomy,” au-tŏn´o-my. The word is formed from the Greek words for _law_ and _self_ and means a law unto one’s self, or self-government.

P. 1—“Koroneia” or Coronea, cor=´=o-ni´a.

P. 2—“Antalkidas,” an-tal´ci-das.

P. 2—“Phœbidas,” phœb´i-das. A Lacedæmonian of whom nothing of importance is known save his part in the seizure of Thebes. Phœbidas was slain in battle by the Thebans in 378.

P. 2—“Leontiades,” le-on-ti´a-des; “Ismenias,” is-me´ni-as; “Pelopidas,” pe-lop´i-das; “Mellon,” mel´lon; “Charon,” ka´ron; “Gorgias,” gor´gi-as; “The´o-pom´pus.”

P. 3—“Hegemony,” he-gĕm´o-ny. Leadership. Formed from the Greek word for guide or leader.

P. 3—“Polymnis,” po-lym´nis.

P. 3—“Sparti,” spar´ti; the sown-men. The dragon from which these ancestors of the Theban patricians sprung guarded a well near the site of the Cadmeia. The men whom Cadmus had sent there to draw water had been killed by the monster, and in return Cadmus had slain it, sowing its teeth as Minerva advised. Fearing the armed men which sprang forth he caused a quarrel among them, in which all but five were slain.

P. 3—“Kadmus,” cad´mus. The mythical founder of Thebes, the son of a king of Phœnicia and the brother of Europa.

P. 3—“Simmias,” sim´mi-as. The two principal speakers, besides Socrates, in Plato’s “Phædon” are Simmias and his brother.

P. 3—“Tarentine,” ta-ren´tine; “Spin´tha-rus.”

P. 3—“Grote.” (1794-1871.) An English historian, famous chiefly for his History of Greece.

P. 4—“Lysis,” ly´sis. An eminent philosopher driven out of Italy about 510 B. C., during the persecution of the Pythagorean club. He spent the remainder of his life in Thebes, where he was held in the greatest honor.

P. 4—“Pythagorean Brotherhood,” pyth´a-gō´re-an. See p. 119, Vol. 1, Timayenis. As a political and social power the brotherhood died out before the death of Pythagoras, though the sect still lived and kept up their religious observances.

P. 4—“Kadmeia,” cad-me´a.

P. 5—“Polybius,” po-lyb´i-us. (204-122 B. C.) A Grecian historian.

P. 6—“Leuktra,” luke´tra; “Mantineia,” man´ti-nei´a; “Megalopolis,” meg=´=a-lop´o-lis; “Kleombrotus,” kle-om´bro-tus; “Agesilaus,” a-ges-i-la´us; “Kithæron,” ci-thæ´ron; “Naxos,” nax´os; “Chabrias,” cha´bri-as.

P. 7—“Timotheus,” ti-mo´the-us. The son of the famous general Conon.

P. 7—“Tegyra,” te-gy´ra; “Harmost,” har´most; “Orchomenus,” or-chom´e-nus; “Polemarch,” pōl´e-march.

P. 8—“Chæroneia,” chær´o-ne´a.

P. 8—“Eurotas,” eu-ro´tas. The largest river of Laconia.

P. 9—“Zacynthus,” za-cyn´thus. Now Zante; called by Homer the “Woody Zacynthus.”

P. 9—“Korkyra,” cor-cy´ra. Now the island of Corfu, one of the Ionian islands belonging to the nomarchy Corfu of the kingdom of Greece.

P. 9—“Periplus,” pĕs. A rare word from the Greek, meaning to sail around a sea or coast.

P. 9—“Iphikrates,” i-phic´ra-tes.

P. 9—“Poseidon,” po-si´don. The Neptune of Roman mythology, the god of the sea.

P. 9—“Helike,” hel´i-ce; “Bu´ra.”

P. 10—“Kallias,” cal´li-as. An Athenian family famous through several generations for its wealth.

P. 10—“Autokles,” au´to-cles; “Kallistratus,” cal-lis´tra-tus.

P. 10—“Bœotarch,” bœ-o´tarch. One of the chief civil officers of Bœotia.

P. 10—“Xenophon,” xen´o-phon.

P. 11—“Philo-Laconian.” Friendly to Laconia.

P. 12—“Ephors,” ěf´or.

P. 14—“Helikon,” hel´i-con.

P. 14—“Kopais,” cop´a-is. The largest lake of Greece.

P. 14—“Kreusis,” creu´sis. The harbor of the city of Thespiæ.

P. 14—“Krissæan,” cris-sæ´an; “Thespiæ,” thes´pi-æ.

P. 16—“Deimon,” dei´mon; “Sphodrias,” spho´dri-as.

P. 16—“Kleonymus,” cle-on´y-mus. The dearest friend of Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus.

P. 17—“Ægospotami,” æ´gos-pot´a-mi.

P. 17—“Peiræus,” pi-ræ´us. The principal harbor of Athens, situated about five miles southwest of the city.

P. 18—“Archidamus,” ar-chi-da´mus.

P. 18—“Pheræ.” A city of Thessaly, the site of the modern Velestino.

P. 18—“Ægosthena,” æ-gos´the-na.

P. 19—“Aristotle,” ar´is-to-tle.

P. 19—“Epiknemidian,” e-pic´ne-mid=´=ian; “O-pun´tian.” The inhabitants of Eastern Locris were divided into two tribes: the Locri Epicnemidii, inhabiting the northern and the Locri Opuntii the southern part.

P. 20—“Panarkadian,” pan-ar-ca´di-an. Belonging to all Arcadia.

P. 20—“Tegea,” te´ge-a; “He-ræ´a.”

P. 21—“Dorians,” do´ri-ans; “Lacedæmon,” lac´e-dæ=´=mon; “Kephisus,” ce-phi´sus. There are four rivers in Greece which bore this name. One the chief river of Bœotia, two in Attica (one of which is its chief river, and the one here referred to), and a fourth in Argolis.

P. 22—“Phliasians,” phli-a´si-ans; “Helots,” hē´lots, or hĕl´ots; “Kinadon,” cin´a-don.

P. 22—“Periœki,” per-i-œ´ci. From the same derivation we have the word “periecians,” or “periœcians,” meaning those who dwell on the opposite side of the globe, in the same parallel of latitude.

P. 22—“Ithome,” i-tho´me. A strong fortress had stood on the mountains for centuries.

P. 23—“Peltasts,” pel´tasts; “Pol´y-phron”; “Pol´y-do´rus.”

P. 24—“Larissa,” la-ris´sa.

P. 24—“Pharsalus,” phar-sa´lus, now “Phersala.” Chiefly celebrated for the battle fought there between Cæsar and Pompey in 48 B. C.

P. 24—“Aleuadæ,” a-leu´a-dæ; “Amyntas,” a-myn´tas; “Krannon,” cran´non; “Eurydike,” eu-ryd´i-ce; “Perdikkas,” per-dic´cas; “Pausanias,” pau-sa´ni-as.

P. 25—“Alorus,” a-lo´rus; “Oneium,” o-nei´um.

P. 26—“Pammenes,” pam´me-nes. A Theban general, and a friend of Epaminondas.

P. 26—“Dyonysius,” di´o-nys´i-us.

P. 28—“Susa,” su´sa. The Shushan of the Old Testament; the winter residence of the Persian kings.

P. 28—“Rescript.” The answer of the Roman emperor when consulted on any question was called the _rescript_.

P. 29—“Drachmæ,” drăch´mæ. A silver coin of the Greeks, worth about eighteen cents.

P. 30—“Chersonese,” cher´so-nese´; “Chalkidike,” chal-cid´i-ce.

P. 30—“Byzantium,” by-zan´ti-um. Now Constantinople.

P. 31—“Kynos Kephalæ,” cy´nos ceph´a-læ.

P. 31—“Magnesians.” The inhabitants of Magnesia, the most easterly portion of Thessaly. It contained the two mountains, Ossa and Pelion.

P. 31—“Phthiotæ,” phthi-o´tæ.

P. 32—“Ænianes,” æ´ni-a´nes. An ancient race originally near Ossa, but afterwards in Southern Thessaly.

P. 32—“Pallantium,” pal-lan´ti-um; “A´se-a.” Towns of Arcadia.

P. 33—“Isidas,” is´i-das.

P. 34—“Kephisodorus,” ce-phis´o-do´rus; “Gryllus,” gryl´lus; “Euphranor,” eu-phra´nor; “Mænalian,” mæ-na´li-an.

P. 35—“Tripolitza,” tre-po-lit´sa.

P. 36—“Diodorus,” di´o-do´rus. A contemporary of Cæsar and Augustus. He wrote “The Historical Library,” consisting of forty books, not half of which are extant.

P. 37—“Iolaidas,” i-o-la´i-das.

P. 38—“_Status quo._” The state in which.

P. 39—“Tachos,” ta´chos; “Nectanabis,” nec-tan´a-bis.

P. 39—“Kyrene,” cy-re´ne. The chief city of Cyrenaica, in Northern Africa.

P. 40—“Klerouchi,” kle-rou´chi.

P. 41—“Thebe,” the´be; “Timoleon,” ti-mo´le-on.

P. 42—“Amphiktyonic,” am-phic´ty-on´ic.

P. 43—“Kirrhæan,” cir-rhæ´an; “Delphi,” del´phi.

P. 43—“Magnetes,” mag-ne´tes. The same as the Magnesians.

P. 43—“Perrhæbians,” per-rhæ´bi-ans; “Athamanes,” ath´a-ma´nes; “Dolopes,” dol´o-pes.

P. 44—“Philomelus,” phil´o-me´lus; “Thracidæ,” thra´ci-dæ; “Pyth´i-an.”

P. 45—“Onomarchus,” on´-o-mar´chus.

P. 46—“Illyrians,” il-lyr´i-ans; “Pæonians,” pæ-o´ni-ans; “Eupatridæ,” eu-pat´ri-dæ; “Lykophron,” lyc´o-phron. The brother-in-law of Alexander, and his assistant in his murder.

P. 47—“Æschines,” æs´chi-nes. The Athenian orator.

P. 47—“Kleobule,” cle-o-bu´le; “Gylon,” gy´lon.

P. 47—“Bosporus,” bos´po-rus. Literally the _ox-ford_. The name given to any straits by the Greeks, but particularly to that uniting the Sea of Azof with the Black Sea. The country on both sides this latter was called Bosporus. Its cities became important commercial centers, and from them large supplies of corn were annually sent to Athens. It was in this country that Gylon made his money.

P. 47—“Demochares,” de-moch´a-res.

P. 48—“Aphobus,” aph´o-bus; “O-ne´tor.”

P. 48—“Palæstra,” pa-læs´tra. In Greece a place for wrestling was called _palæstra_.

P. 48—“Plato.” The philosopher. After having been instructed by the best teachers of his time Plato became a follower of Socrates. After the death of the latter he traveled in many countries, seeking knowledge, and at last returned to Athens to open a school in his garden, near the academy. Here Plato taught and wrote almost continuously until his death, about 348 B. C. His works have come down to us very complete and perfect. They are mainly in the form of dialogues, Socrates being one of the chief characters. His most important doctrines are the existence of the soul before entering the body, its independence of the body, and its immortality.

P. 48—“Isokrates,” i-soc´ra-tes. (436-338 B. C.) One of the ten Attic orators. He was carefully educated, but as he was too timid to come forward as an orator, he devoted himself to teaching the art and writing speeches for others. Although he took no part in public affairs he loved his country, and despairing of its freedom after the battle of Chæroneia, he took his own life. His style was artificial and labored, but exercised immense influence upon oratory at Athens.

P. 49—“Isæus,” i-sæ´us. One of the ten Attic orators. Instructed by Lysias and Isokrates. We have no particulars of his life. Eleven of his orations in existence are remarkable for their vigor and purity of style.

P. 49—“Thucydides,” thu-cyd´i-des. (471?-400?) The historian. Little more is known of his life than is related by Timayenis (vol. i., p. 337). The accounts of his death are uncertain. The work which gives him his place in history is his account of the Peloponnesian war.

P. 49—“Lysias,” lys´i-as. (B. C. 458-378.) An Attic orator. When a youth, Lysias emigrated to a colony in Italy, where he finished his education. After the defeat of the Athenians in Sicily he returned to Athens, but only to be imprisoned as an enemy of the government. He escaped, and on the overthrow of the tyranny of the thirty tyrants went back to Athens, where he wrote speeches. Only thirty-five are now extant, but they are said to be specimens of the best Attic Greek.

P. 49—“Bema,” be´ma. The Greek for the stage on which speakers stood.

P. 50—“Phalerum,” pha-le´rum. The most easterly of the harbors of Athens.

P. 50—“Eunomus,” eu´no-mus; “Perikles,” per´i-cles; “Satyrus,” sat´y-rus.

P. 50—“Euripides,” eu-rip´i-des. (B. C. 480-406.)