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m aiden , the minds of men are brought to a just conception of the vast but latent resources of their inner life . As we travel onwards along the path of ecclesiastical history it is melancholy to trace the rapid decline of the early spirit and power of that faith which had so wondrously enchanted the world . At first we find the Church without a written creed at all , then with an Apostles ' , an Athanasian , or a Nicene creed , the decline of her divine faith and power keeping
pace with the severity of her logical terminology and dogmatical arrogance . At last , as we are told , «« Dogma has eclipsed the sun . Even the religion of Jesus itself begins to wear the look of a work of darkness . It is as if all the discords of hell had broken loose . " The pages of ecclesiastical history stained with the blood of a thousand martyrs and illuminated with the lurid flames of persecution , bear witness to the triumphs of theology over faith : these are familiar to all students of history .
Mr . Bushnell ' s audience , it appears from these discourses , had been agitating for a restoration of what are called " revivals " of religion as the proper remedy for the faithlessness of the generation . "We sympathize with his objections to this formal and mechanical mode of restoring the suspended vitality of the national faith . Revivals have , no doubt , had their uses when they gushed spontaneously out of the labouring heart ' s-blood of the time . But events such as these never repeat themselves in the same
form ; and a true enthusiasm in one age is generally little better , when imitated in its outward manifestations , than a cold and formal pedantry in the next . Men cannot be made enthusiasts by appointment , and without a true enthusiasm a religious reformation is impossible . That all faith has died out of society , low as we are sunk , we do not believe . On the contrary , we believe that men are daily becoming mor 9 thoughtful , more earnest , more sincere in their religious convictions ; but we must be content to receive these good omens in a form consistent with the genius of the age . Men of the present age will not abandon
science for the sake of religion , nor reason for the sake of faith ; but will seek , with a deeper insight than their forefathers , to discover the great overruling law of harmony and unity that reconciles and identifies them with each other . Mr . Bushnell thinks that the great want of the time is that " more light should break forth from God ' s holy word ; " meaning , we presume , that we should give a freer interpretation to the sacred writings , by utterly abandoning the doctrinal system in which they are at present confined . This will assuredly be a considerable progress ; it is in fact the Jirst step it is necessary for us to take . But we must still be careful that we do not make the Bible , instead of the spirit that inspired it , the law of our consciences . If we do , however we may strive to disguise it , we are abandoning the spirit of religion and adhering to the letter .
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July 27 , 1850 . ] gft g Hcaftgt . 425 _____ . - ¦ ¦ ———^ " —^ ' " " ' ' ' ' i ¦ i i —— » m ¦ ¦ W receive him
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BLACKIE ' S AGAMEMNON . The Lyrical Dramas of JEschylus , from the Greek ; translated into English Verse . By John Stuart Blackie , Professor oj Latin in the ? arischal College , Aberdeen . 2 vols . J . W . Parker . { Second Notice . } Having disposed in our first article of such generalities as we deemed necessary to notice , we will now give a specimen of Professor Blackie ' s powers in translation , and at the same time endeavour to place before the reader a rapid sketch of " What the lofty grave Tragedians taught In Chorus or Iambic , teachers best Of moral wisdom , with delight received In brief sententious precepts , while they teach Of fate , and chance , and change in human life , High actions and high passions best describing !" What writing ! with what a grand processional rhythm this period sweeps onwards to the close ! Milton was worthy to speak of the Tragedians , for he ^ ved them with his kindred soul . We choose the Agamemnon because , with due deference to the critics , we regard it as the chef d'eouvre of iKschylus . The Prometheus and the Eumenidas mny interest us more from the nature of their subjects , hut in the matter of treatment the Agamemnon best shows us yEschylus in his fulness and power . It opens with the soliloquy of the " Watchman , " who has for ten years been awaiting the Beacon light which is to tell that Troy has fallen : — " | And when night-wandering 1 shades encompass round My tkw- » prent dreamless couch ( for fear floth tit Jn slumber ' s chair and holds my lids apart ) I chaunt some dolorous ditty , "
But the Beacon , suddenly blazes , and in a lyric movement , half joyous , half foreboding , he gives vent to his feelings . The Chorus then enters , and in a retrospective ode conveys to the audience an outline of the story up to this opening scene . The reader will be pleased to recollect that this is al / micAx Spectacle , not a Play in our sense of the word ; and then this retrospective description will be regarded as a fitting occasion for choral magnificence . The deep undertones of sadness which are heard occasionally , like the solemn basses moving amidst melody , prepare the mind— attune it for what is coming . And what is that grand terrible figure now emerging into view ? It is Clytemnestra . There is exultant joy upon her brow , and yet the brow is dark . The cause of that joy is the news that Troy has fallen ; and this bears with it another event in the return of Agamemnon , her lord , her king , the murderer of her child , the destined victim of her vengeance and adultery . Her description of the flight of the Beacon is celebrated ; let us see how Blackie can wield the ponderous verse of JEschylus : — " From Ida shot the spark ; And flaming straightway leapt the courier fire From height to height ; to the Hermsean rock Of Lemnos , first from Ida ; from the isle The Athtfan steep of mighty Jove received The beaming beacon ; thence the forward strength Of the far-travelling lamp strode gallantly athwart the broad sea ' s back . The flaming pine Rayed out a golden glory like the sun , And winged the message to Macistus' watch-tower . There the wise watchman , guiltless of delay , Lent to the sleepless courier further speed ; And the Messapian station hailed 'he torch Tar-beaming o ' er the floods of the Euripus . There the grey heath lit the responsive fire , Speeding the portioned message ; waxing strong , And nothing dulled across Asopus' plain The flame swift darted like the twinkling moon . And on Cithreron ' s rocky heights awaked A new recei \ er of the wandering light . The far-sent ray , by the faithful watch not spurned , With bright addition journeying , bounded o ' er Gorgopus lake and .. Egiplanctus' mount , "Weaving the chain unbroken . Hence it spread Not scant in strength , a mighty beard of flame , Flaring across the headlands that look down On the Saronic gulf . Speeding its march , It reached the ntiglibour-station of our city . Arachne ' s rocky steep ; and thence the halls Of the Atridte recognised the signal , Light not unfathered by Idaean fire . Such the bright train of my torch-bearing heralds , Each from the other fired with happy news , And last and first was victor in the race . Such the fair tidings that my lord hath sent , A sign that Troy hath fallen . " Admirable ! close to the letter and spirit of the original , retaining its characteristic touches even to that bold and graphic one , ( pKoyoq [/ . eyoty tcwyuva . " the mighty beard of flarne . " And what a passage ! Imagine a Pasta declaiming that to some recitative by Rossini ! Clytemnestra quits the stage with this dark hint : — " If they [ the returning chiefs ] have sinned , the Gods their own will claim , And Vengeance wakes till blood shall be atoned . I am a woman ; but mark thou well my words , I hint the harm ; but with no wavering scale Prevail the good . " She leaves the Chorus to their song again ; and their song becomes more and more sombre and foreboding . Had not the lyrical portion been paramount in importance the audience would have been spared this ode ; and the modern reader feels that it is a retardation of the piece . Indeed , so strongly have moderns felt this that they object altogether to the Chorus as a clumsy invention . An old Edinburgh Reviewer ( 1828 ) does " not hesitate to pronounce the Chorus to be the most notable discovery for the interruption of all action , the extinction of all passion , and the introduction of the most relentless , hardhearted moral prosing that ever was made in any age or country . " But how if action and passion were not the objects of the dramatist , and choral amplitude were his chief concern ? We digress , however . Clytemnestra returns to salute the Herald who appears with a " full , true , and circumstantial account" of the return of the chiefs . By the way , what would the French critics , prating about unities , have said to this ? The Herald is only a few minutes slower than the courier flame whose leaping progress lighted up all Greece ! To him , however , the gracious Queen is all smiles , and bids him hasten to her lord to hasten his return . Again she departs , and the Herald gives the Chorus a description of the storm which scattered their ships . Hero occurs that fine phrase , ot $ nv itovTitv , which Blackie translates *• Ocean hell , " following Medwin , to whom he expresses gratitude for the phrase , forgetting that Byron anticipated it , viz ., the " hell of waters . " But , let us hurry , for the King of Men is coming ,
and we must be ready to . He comes , " the sacker of the town divine , " and with him the ill-fated Cassandra , who with wild eyes remains aloof , mute , statuesque , " like a wild beast new caught , " the poet says . The group is complete . In the foreground are the Senators of Argos—in the centre stands the King of Men imperial , and Clytemnestra receiving him with cold courtesy—behind are Cassandra and the guards : what a tableau for an artistic audience ! The King of Men thus replies : — " jf gamemnon . " Daughter of Leda , guardian of my house ! Almost-thou seem ' st to have spnu thy welcome out To match my lengthened absence ; but I pray thee Praise with discretion , and let other mouths Proclaim my pseans . For the rest , abstain From delicate tendance that would turn my manhood To woman ' s temper . Not in barbario wise With prostrate reverence base , kissing the ground . Mouth sounding salutations ; not with purple . Breeder of envy , spread my path . Such honours Suit the immortal gods ; roe , being' mortal , To tread on rich-flowered carpetings wise fear Prohibits . As a man , not as a god , Let me be honoured . Not the less my fame Shall be far blazoned , that on common earth I tread untapestried . A sober heart Is the best gift of God ; call no man happy Till death hath found him prosperous to the close . For me , if what awaits me fall not worse Than what hath fallen , I have good cause to look Bravely on fate . " There is a mournful gravity in this speech which , strikes us as very fine ; and the sentiment at the close must have been very significant to the audience , who , knowing the legend , knew that assassination awaited him in the halls of his fathers . He passes into the palace . The group is broken up , therefore once more the lyrical element must come forth into prominence , and assert its supremacy in this Goat Song . Accordingly the Chorus renews its waitings . Now it is more than sombre ; the air is charged with , thunder , and distant mutterings are heard ; the storm , will not be long before it bursts ; and hark ! Cassandra sends forth the lightnings of her prophecy ! Talk of " effect , " here is a lyrical situation to task the imagination of the greatest composer ! Cassandra , having poured forth the torrent of prophetic fury , rushes into the palace , at the threshold of which her wild heart bursts . The Chorus moralizes on the dangers of " high estate ; " its moralizing is interrupted by a cry of agony , and that cry is from Agamemnon , " struck down like an ox . " The King of Men is dead , and now for a grand statuesque group as the scene opens from behind , discovering Clytemnestra standing over the dead bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra , the bloody axe resting on her shoulder , a pale , grim satisfaction on her face ! Listen to this daring devil , how she addresses the Chorus : — " Clytemnestra . " I spoke to you before ; and what I spoke Suited the time ; nor shames me now to speak Mine own refutal . For how shall we entrap Our foe , our seeming friend , in scapeless ruin . Save that we fence him round with nets too high For his o ' er leaping ? What I did , I did Not with a random inconsiderate blow . But from old Hate , and with maturing Time . Here , where I struck , I take my rooted stand Upon the finished deed : the blow so given , And with wise forethought eo by me devised , That flight was hopeless , and to ward it vain . With many-folding net , as fish are caught , I drew the lines about him , mantled round With bountiful destruciion ; twice I struck him , And twice he groaning fell with limbs diffused Upon the ground ; and as he fell , I gave The third blow , sealing him a votive gift To gloomy Hades , saviour of the dead . And thus he spouted forth his angry soul , Bubbling a bitter stream of frothy slaughter , And with the dark drops of the gory dew Bedashed me ; I delighted nothing less Than doth the flowery calix , full surcharged With fruity promise , when Jove ' s welkin down Distils the rainy blessing . Men of Argos , Hejoicc with me in this , or , if ye will not , Then do I boast alone . If e ' er 'twas meet To pour libations to the dead , he hath them Injustice measure . By most righteous doom . Who drugged the cup with curves to the brim , Himself hath drunk damnation to the dregs . Chorus . Thou art a bold-mouthed woman . Much we marvel To hear thee boust thy husband ' s murder thus . Clytemncstra . Yo tempt mu as a woman , weak , unschooled . But what I say , ye know , or ought to know , I say with tearless huart . Your praise or blame Is one to me . Here Agamemnon lien , My husband , dead , the woik of thit » right hand—The hand of a true workman . " Is not that grandiose r What follows is so inferior that we will say not another syllable about it . "Wo have ventured upon no criticism ; our object has been merely a rapid survey of the situations , with a view to their choral and statuesque effects . Let the curious reader take Professor Bluckie ' s volumes in hand , and follow out for himself the scent we have barely opened .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 27, 1850, page 425, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1848/page/17/
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