cannot be granted ad libitum: the author must finish it somehow, within the period prescribed; and be the book ever so valuable, there is a limit of price which it must on no account exceed. For all these reasons, we never expect a really good Lexicon, until the work is taken in hand by one of our universities. If Oxford were what she fancies herself, this would not long be wanting: but now she does nothing for us in her organized and collective capacity, except that which the Priestleys or the Talboyses with her means, would perform just as well, viz., execute judicious reprints of the German classics. The University ought to appoint a committee for compiling a Greek Lexicon; she could distribute it into a sufficient number of able hands to ensure its rapid completion, appointing a single editor, to attain uniformity: she could afford to remunerate them, and to print the work at a not extravagant price; while if composed under such auspices, it would find immediate entrance into every great library in the kingdom. It is wonderful that with all her pretensions, she has so little ambition; but tamely goes on reprinting from the Germans, whose universities she so meanly esteems.

When we form so high an idea of the arduousness of Dr. Giles's undertaking, and of the disadvantages to which he, as any other individual, is probably exposed; it is not to be expected that we should find his execution correspond to our desires. To judge thoroughly of a Lexicon, is a work of time; even if the judgment is to be one of comparison, and we are to ascertain only whether he has much improved upon other popular works of the same kind. The measure of examination which we have been able to give, leads us to believe that in the total amount of information conveyed, this dictionary will bear a comparison with any other of equal magnitude; but to estimate the author's improvements is the more difficult, since his preface does not explain to what he has specially directed his attention.

We do not, therefore, undervalue his work, nor mean to censure him for haste, when we add, that judging by an absolute standard, it seems to us very defective. As it is only by specimens that we can make an estimate, so there is no other way of setting forth the grounds of our opinion; and as no small portion of our readers are students of this noble language, we hope that those who are not, will not grudge us a couple of pages employed in verbal discussion uninteresting to them. We purposely looked to various words, which have some nicety of meaning not always well understood; others caught our attention in turning his pages; and thus the following miscellaneous list was produced in the course of, perhaps, twenty minutes. (We do not mean that this is the only portion of time which we have allotted to the book.) Our own remarks are in brackets: the rest is from Dr. Giles.

Aigiw....(aigu) to take:.... 'Aygiw, to catch in the chase. [We apprehend that Aigéw is not at all derived from άsigw or aïgw, to lift up; but is, as Buttman states, an Attic form of aygew, the y being guttural with the Greeks. Nor is ȧypew to catch in the chase, necessarily; but simply, to catch, to take; as is proved by rugάygn, tongs, and αὐτάγρετος, Ionic for αὐθαίρετος, chosen freely. It ought to be noticed in the Lexicon that dygew is Ionic.]

*

Ayw, to speak, say, tell, collect, gather, count, reckon, deliver, lay down, put to rest, quiet, soothe.'-[Rather: Aéyw, (1) to gather, (2) to count, (3) to recount in order, tell, (4) to speak or harangue, (5) to say or mean: chiefly in the present tense; igã, fut. and sina or εἶπον, aorist. There are several tenses formed from another root, with the sense of lying down: viz., perhaps in Attic, the 2nd aor. pass. as nareλeynoav, they lay: certainly in Ionic, λgov, cause to lie, mid. λέξεται, ελέξατο, έλεκτο. This root is connected with λέχος.]

Igovos, a person appointed to perform hospitality towards ambassadors.'-[Rather: a person who, in his own state, officiated as patron, or in modern language, as consul, for those of some other state: not for ambassadors solely.]

"OTT, for Toμaι, to see.'-[We believe that neither word has any existence. The Greeks said, ig, I see, fut. ouas, aor. εloov perf. iwgana, Poet. Twα-which cannot be found from Dr. Giles's grammar, any more than from his Lexicon.]

6

Σκέπτομαι, to behold. Σκοπέω, ήσω, to look out. [Σκέπτεο is found in Homer, but we believe the present is not used in Attic Greek : σκοπήσω is equally unknown so us. The Attics say, σκοπῶ or

σκοποῦμαι, fut. σκέψομαι.]

Ow, to burn incense, sacrifice, make an oblation, rush impetuously, flow in torrents, be in a state of fury. 'Aroów, to perform sacrifices in honor of; dedicate to.'-[Rather: Oúw, (1) fumigate or burn incense, (2) fume or rage, (3) sacrifice a victim. Ovóuar, sacrifice in order to consult the entrails; properly, as when a general orders a diviner to sacrifice (This middle sense is omitted). 'Aro, to sacrifice, by way of payment, a vow due to a god.]

Euvouxos, from suvǹ), où, ëxw.—[A truly extraordinary mistake, and, we think, original to Dr. Giles. Oů, not, does not enter into the word, any more than into xλngouzos. It properly means, a Chamberlain.]

Arávora, thought, understanding, soul, the mind, reason, consideration, resolution, thought.-[Rather, Aiávora, (1) an intention, (2) meaning of words, (3) the intellect, as vous, opposed to the moral sentiment.]

"Aɛλλα, a tempest, hurricane, whirlwind. λλa, a storm, hurricane. Karayis, a sudden blast. Aara, a great storm, hurricane.

We were directed to this word by Dr. Giles's remark in the preface: The compiler has thought it sufficient to give only the primary and principal meanings of Greek verbs, and considers it worse than useless, when he has once explained such words as kaì, λéyw, &c. . . . to extend the subject...' We were surprised after this to find so many meanings to Xéyw.

*Avapúrnua, a blast.-[Thus we do not learn any distinctions. "Αελλα, we believe, is foreign to the Attics. Aristotle (de Mundo) says, that Oveλλa is a squall; Kararyis, a descending squall; Aarλa, an ascending whirlwind; 'Avapiana, a puff of wind ascending from a hole in the earth.]

"Ogos, erect, &c.-[He does not explain geos óxos, a regiment in file, or with narrow front.]

ETTE, to wall, fortify.-[Properly, to erect a fort for offensive purposes; as, against another fortified place.]

Alouváw, to assign, administer, rule, govern.-[Rather, to govern, as elective king. No learner will guess this sense to belong to the whole family; though, under Aiouμmrs, Dr. Giles gives, as one sense, a magistrate chosen by election."]

Zopía, wisdom, skill, cleverness, art, prudence, knowledge, virtue. -[The three last senses, we presume, are only a fruit of Socrates's theory, that all virtue is knowledge, and all vice ignorance. But, if we may believe Aristotle, Zopía means, (1) cleverness in the arts, (2) knowledge in the exact sciences, (3) power of abstract speculation, also erudition, concerning things superhuman and unpractical. On the contrary, copía cannot be used for practical wisdom.]'

But we find that we must not proceed, although only about half of our list is finished.* The above will suffice to show that we cannot regard this Lexicon as having made great approaches to our beau idéal. The most serious defects running through the whole book, are-the want of distinction, order, and gradation, in the different senses assigned to words, which are often far too numerous; and, the total neglect to mark the dialect to which words belong; or, generally, the aorists and regimen of particular verbs. Such neglect, no thoughtfulness and examination on the part of him who consults the Lexicon, can remedy; the book itself provides him with no materials.

But it would be unjust to finish our remarks thus, since we have not yet noticed a part of the work on which Dr. Giles has, doubtless, spent much labor, probably more than on all the rest; viz. the English-Greek Lexicon. The importance of composing in any tongue which we desire to learn, is now generally recognised; and hence the value of Inverse Lexicons, even for the dead languages. We have observed, also, that in the Greek Lexicons which have been published successively in the last fifteen years, this department has been more and more carefully cultivated. To exhibit

As a specimen concerning the tenses of verbs, we looked out ȧkovw to hear. We had noted, that in his grammar, he first gives dкovw future, ἀκούσώ (active), and ἀκούσομαι (middle); and afterwards states that ἀκούω has only a future middle. We do not know whether a learner will understand that ákovo is a fictitious word, which is the fact. In the Lexicon, he gives ἀκούω, ἀκούσομαι, ἤκουκα. Is not ἤκουκα another fictitious word? We do not remember any other perfect than akýkoa, which is not down at all.

the fulness of Dr. Giles's information, we select, at random, a single paragraph:

Astonish, ἐκπλήττω, φοβέω, ἐκφοβέω, καταφοβέω, ἀτύζω, καταπλήττω, καταθορυβέω, ἐκφοβέω.* Astonished: ἐμβρόντητος, ε. ἀπόπληκτος, ε. ἐκστατικὸς, ἄψυχος, c. ἄπνοος, c. ἐκπλαγής. Το be astonished : δεδίττομαι, ἐμβεβρόντημαι, ἐκπλήσσομαι, θαμβέω, ταράττομαι, ἀναισθητέω. Astonishment, κατάπληξις, f. ἐμπληξία f. ἔκπληξις, f. θάμβος, m. λειποθυμία, f.

More could not be wished than this, as regards the number of words; and we could dispense with information concerning dialects in this part, if it were given in the Greek-English Lexicon. At present, if a student doubts whether ȧrúw and Oáμbos (or any other of these terms), are Attic, he cannot gain a reply from this work; it therefore does not furnish him with the materials for composing in Greek. It is indeed evident, that an Inverse Lexicon is always merely suggestive. The student who is of opinion that a certain word which it offers to him will suit his purpose, must turn to the other Part in order to ascertain more minutely its meaning. Thus for composition in Greek, each Part is equally needed; and, assuredly, few occupations of the mind exercise discrimination more, and cultivate the logical faculty more usefully, than the being thus forced to consider the shades of meaning by which words of languages so diverse are distinguished.

Dr. Giles has distributed the words into paragraphs, according to their families. While this makes a student a little slower in finding what he wants, the plan has some advantages. It would be a great improvement in the Greek-English part, to print the most elementary words of each family with some distinction of type which might catch the eye.

A Greek grammar also is prefixed to the Lexicon, but we do not feel called on to criticise it in detail. The author says, that it may be found useful to those who do not wish to multiply 'books;' but herein we think he miscalculates. No one who learns Greek, in our belief, will practically find this grammar tend to diminish the number of books which he needs. It appears to us too ample and too unexplanatory for a beginner, and inadequate to the wants of an advanced student. But even if it were a perfect grammar, it would be more convenient to have it separate from the Lexicon, than bound together with it. When a language has peculiarities, such that a Lexicon cannot be well understood without some grammatical preliminaries, then these must be prefixed; but we think the extent of such an introduction should be limited by the needs of the Lexicon itself.

This word is accidentally repeated; as is the word 'thought,' under Siávala, quoted above.

393

Art. III. Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries. By HENRY HALLAM, F.R.A.S., &c. Vols. II., III., IV. London. 1839.

IT is now more than two years and a half since we reviewed* the first volume of this extraordinary work. In that review we passed a high, but no more than merited eulogium on the author. After pointing out the gigantic magnitude of the undertaking, and the very various qualifications it demanded;-immense knowledge both of languages and of books; erudition, at once solid and multifarious; a capacity for appreciating whatever is good or beautiful in every department of literature, without any disproportionate partialities for any; talents alike for philosophical reflection and just criticism-the one to speculate on the causes which have advanced or impeded the progress and development of literature-the other to ensure a sound judgment on the authors who come under review; and last, though not least, exquisite powers of selection and arrangement,-skill in the most approved methods of packing,-in order that the multifarious matters of which such a work must consist might be exhibited in a moderate compass, yet in just symmetry and without mutilation; we stated our sincere conviction, that Mr. Hallam united these various qualifications in as great a degree as could be expected in any man, and in a far greater measure than any one of his contemporaries. We remarked-Of many ot these qualifications his former works sufficiently show that he was possessed. They evince his indefatigable research, his extensive erudition, his sound judgment, his impartiality and 'candor, in every page. But it will astonish some readers to 'find, that while Mr. Hallam was pursuing those studies which were necessary for exhibiting the political, social, and civil state of Europe during the middle ages, or for tracing the constitu⚫tional history of our own country, he was paying attention at the same time to polite literature, and that in his present volume he 'shows himself almost as much at home in poetry and the Belles 'Lettres, in discussing the merits of different schools of taste, in 'examining the works of great poets, in canvassing matters of diction and of metre, as (in his other works) the principles of 'politics and legislation, or the progress of wars and negotiations. He is apparently as much at his ease in discussing the con'stituents of the chivalrous and romantic spirit of the middle ages, as he would be in tracing the history of the Reformation,

* See Eclectic Review. New Series. Vol. II. 1837, pp. 298–315.