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    348 NOTICES OF BOOKS.

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    0 Greece And The Howitt G-Reetis . . B 2...

    future higher development of this ancient Church , and this hope seeins to be held very generally by the most intelligent of its

    members . Miss Bremer tells us that she picked up a few words of Greek

    before she left the _coimtry , . which , few as they were , added tothe pleasure of her intercourse with the people . We wish she had

    done more than thisj that she had really tried to learn " modern Greek , " so called , , and had given us the results of her experience .

    We were much struck some years ago by a remark in a very racy article of the Westminster _Hevieiv ( vol . vi . New Series ) on the

    perversity of learning Greek , painfully and imperfectly in six yearsor more , as a dead language , while it might be learned easily and

    delightfully , as a living language , in six months . On this point the author of the able paper we refer to will speak better than

    we can do : — " On the real condition of the Greek language , a prevailing ignorance

    has begot the usual amount of confusion and misconception—one party asserting roundly that the spoken language of the Greeks is a new conrposite , and differing from classical Greek as Italian does from Latin ; another

    party Athenian , talking theolog of ian the , as language not one of whit Professor less pure Pliarmacides and Hellenic , the than modern the views language _j _> resents of Pericles the whole , the truth Athenian with regard statesman to the . _JSTow language , neither of the of living these

    Greeks , ; and the former , moreover , is a very crude and unscientific exdoub pression t , that of amid the hal the f strange truth which confusion it recognises and dire . neg It lect is of perf the ectl middle y true ages , no , the living Greek languawas in some laces fast hastening to a state

    where it only required the ge commanding genius p of a Dante to stamp upon , app it the ear , ch but aracter the crude of a elements new language of a ; new but language not only , did which that seemed Dante waiting never

    when and for him not in , Crete were among or found Corcyra the onl whole y among under peop the very le equall influence small y . sections of At the the Franks of time the , Greek for all examp the nation con le - , ditions of a new composit , e language were being fast generated , , in

    spoken Byzantium language and , Trebizond though d , efective so long in as certain the Oriental classical emp flexions ire lasted and Attic , the sty terms le loried of construction in a _jDurity , was of hraseology substantially ing pure the Greek anti ; whil that e the would written have

    delighted g the hearts of the p most minute , ap grammarians que of Alexandria , . The prolonged existence of the ancient Greek empire , stretching , as it did _,,

    alread through the in whole character weary length letel of the modern middle was ages , the and dipping d cause into times wh the anci y ent Greek language comp could y not follow , the examp gran le of the ancient y

    Latin language almost , as and hoar die as . Etruri _3 _STay , even athe in continued Italy , where existence political of the Rome ecclesias is a - tical memory society has preserved the Latin , language in a sort of cloistered vitality

    political up to the fabri present c till within hour . the Much last more four the hundred Greek years , preserved , and by as an it ecclesias was by a - the tical purp fabric le domination whose basis of lay the much deep . er Comp in the ared hearts with of these the peop two le potent than

    influences conservative of the Greek popes language , the corrupting influences , fe whether eble . Between of Turkey Turks in the and eas Greeks t , or , of indeed Italy , in the the action west , was were at extremel all times y

    more more towards that of repulsion political amal than g attraction amation ,, ; had while , on the the Italian religious influence side , elements , if tending of .

    348 Notices Of Books.

    348 NOTICES OF BOOKS .

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Jan. 1, 1863, page 348, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01011863/page/60/