Part 17

61. Q. When was Xenophon, the author, born and with whom was he not far from contemporary? A. He was born about 431 B. C., being thus not far from contemporary with the Hebrew prophet Malachi.

62. Q. What did Xenophon’s presence of mind and practical wisdom give him in the retreat? A. A kind of leadership which he maintained until a prosperous issue was reached on the shores of Greece.

63. Q. Among the other chief works of Xenophon what one is prominent? A. The Cyropædia.

64. Q. What is the story of the Anabasis in large a part? A. An itineracy, that is a journal of halts and marches.

65. Q. What was the starting point of the expedition? A. Sardis.

66. Q. At what time was the start made? A. In the spring of the year 401 B. C.

67. Q. In what supposition does Xenophon say Artaxerxes indulged which prevented him from suspecting Cyrus of plotting against him? A. That Cyrus was raising troops for war with Tissaphernes, a Persian governor of certain parts near the satrapy of Cyrus.

68. Q. During the march the army plundered what city where four hundred years later the Apostle Paul was born? A. Tarsus.

69. Q. When they reached the river Euphrates what did Cyrus openly tell the Greek captains as to the object of the expedition? A. That he was marching to Babylon against the great king Artaxerxes.

70. Q. What was the result of this disclosure when made to the men? A. They felt, or feigned, much displeasure, but by lavish promises the majority were prevailed upon to adhere to Cyrus.

71. Q. The remainder of the advance of Cyrus lay along the left bank of what river? A. The Euphrates.

72. Q. What Persian commander among the forces proved a traitor and met with a tragic death? A. Orentes.

73. Q. Where did the armies of Cyrus and of Artaxerxes finally encounter each other? A. At Cunaxa.

74. Q. In what way did Cyrus meet with his death? A. While engaged in a personal contest with Artaxerxes Cyrus was struck with a javelin under the eye and slain.

75. Q. During the truce that followed what five generals among the Greeks were enticed into the tent of Tissaphernes, made prisoners, and afterwards put to death? A. Clearchus, Proxenus, Menon, Agias and Socrates.

* * * * *

76. Q. What was one of the first steps now taken to secure the safety of the Greeks? A. A general meeting was called of all the surviving officers and new commanders were chosen to take the places of those lost, Xenophon being put in the place of his friend Proxenus.

77. Q. After this had been done what action was taken as to the rank and file? A. The men were called together and stoutly harangued by three men in succession, Xenophon being the last.

78. Q. What was one of Xenophon’s heroic propositions that was agreed to? A. To burn everything they could possibly spare on the homeward march.

79. Q. What answer did they return to Mithradates, a neighboring Persian satrap, when asked to know what their present plan might be? A. If unmolested, to go home, doing as little injury as possible to the country through which they passed, but to fight their best if opposition was offered.

80. Q. Being convinced that the mission of Mithradates was a treacherous one, what resolution did the Grecian generals take? A. That there should be no communication with the enemy by heralds.

81. Q. What was the general direction taken by the Greeks in the first part of their retreat? A. A northerly direction toward the Black Sea.

82. Q. By whom were they followed and almost daily attacked during the first portion of their retreat? A. Tissaphernes and a Persian army.

83. Q. What hostile tribe of barbarians violently opposed their march through their territory near the headwaters of the Euphrates? A. The Carduchians.

84. Q. What Persian governor did they encounter in Armenia? A. Tiribazus.

85. Q. With what foes in the elements did they next meet? A. Deep snow and a terrible north wind.

86. Q. In one portion of Armenia at what kind of a village did the Greeks find rest and food after a prolonged march through the snow? A. At an underground village.

87. Q. What do travelers tell us at the present time as to the manner in which the Armenians of that region build their houses? A. That they still build them under ground.

88. Q. Into what country did the Greeks next advance? A. The country of the Taochians.

89. Q. With what difficulty did they here meet? A. Great difficulty in obtaining a supply of provisions.

90. Q. At what mountain did the Greeks get the first view of the Black Sea? A. Mount Theches.

91. Q. At what place did they reach the sea two days afterwards? A. At Trebizond.

92. Q. What universal desire did the sight of the sea awaken in the army? A. To prosecute the remainder of their journey on that element.

93. Q. On what mission did Chirisophus go forward to Byzantium? A. To endeavor to procure transports for the conveyance of the army.

94. Q. While awaiting the transports how were the ten thousand employed? A. In marauding expeditions, and in collecting all the vessels possible.

95. Q. Chirisophus delaying to return, how did they continue their journey? A. Partly by land and partly by water.

96. Q. When they were finally joined by Chirisophus, what did he bring with him? A. Only a single trireme.

97. Q. At what place did the Greeks pass into Europe from Asia? A. At Byzantium.

98. Q. Afterwards whom did the army engage to serve in a war against Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus? A. The Lacedæmonians.

99. Q. To what number was the army now reduced? A. To six thousand.

100. Q. After the incorporation of the remainder of the ten thousand with the Lacedæmonian army, where did Xenophon go? A. To Athens.

OUTLINE OF C. L. S. C. STUDIES FOR DECEMBER.

For the month of December the Required C. L. S. C. Reading comprises the first part of Prof. Wilkinson’s Preparatory Greek Course in English, and readings in English, Russian, and Religious History and Literature, studies in Ancient Greek Life, and readings from Russian Literature. The reading in Prof. Wilkinson’s Preparatory Greek Course in English is from the commencement of the book to page 124. The remainder of the reading for the month is found in THE CHAUTAUQUAN. The following is the division according to weeks:

FIRST WEEK—1. Wilkinson’s Preparatory Greek Course in English, from the commencement of the book to page 33—Our Aim, the Land, the People, their Writings, the Start, First Books in Greek.

2. Studies in Ancient Greek Life, in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

3. Sunday Readings, in THE CHAUTAUQUAN, selection for December 3.

4. Questions and Answers on Preparatory Greek Course in English, from No. 1 to No. 25.

SECOND WEEK—1. Wilkinson’s Preparatory Greek Course in English, from page 35 to page 58—the Greek Reader.

2. Sunday Readings, in THE CHAUTAUQUAN, selection for December 10.

3. Questions and Answers on Preparatory Greek Course in English, from No. 26 to No. 50.

THIRD WEEK—1. Wilkinson’s Preparatory Greek Course in English, from page 59 to page 96—Xenophon’s Anabasis—Introductory, and first and second books.

2. History and Literature of Russia, in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

3. Sunday Readings, in THE CHAUTAUQUAN, selection for December 17.

4. Questions and Answers on Preparatory Greek Course in English, from No. 51 to No. 75.

FOURTH WEEK—1. Wilkinson’s Preparatory Greek Course in English, from page 96 to page 123—Xenophon’s Anabasis—third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh books.

2. Pictures from English History, in THE CHAUTAUQUAN.

3. Sunday Readings, in THE CHAUTAUQUAN, selections for December 24 and 31.

4. Questions and Answers on Preparatory Greek Course in English, from No. 76 to No. 100.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY.

By ALBERT M. MARTIN, GENERAL SECRETARY C. L. S. C.

1. How large is the county of Westchester, in the State of New York, which is about half the size of Attica? [Page 7.]

2. Why did the Romans give the name “Greeks” to the Hellenes? [Page 12.]

3. Give two examples of Spartan laconisms of speech. [Page 13.]

4. What are the literary tidings from modern Greece that seem to foretoken close at hand a signal renascence of Greek literature? [Page 20.]

5. Who was blind Melesigenes? [Page 36.]

6. Who was pronounced the wisest of men by an oracle, and by what oracle, and in what words? [Page 37.]

7. How is the monk Planudes apparently relieved of the imputation concerning the authorship of the biography of Æsop ascribed to him? [Page 39.]

8. What are some of the reasons for supposing this biography is a falsifying one? [Page 39.]

9. What is meant by “the Sacred Hetacomb?” [Page 45.]

10. Describe the ceremony of taking a prisoner by the mantle in token that he is to suffer death. [Page 81.]

11. Describe the scythed chariots of the Persians. [Page 83.]

12. From what author is the quotation, “When Greek joined Greek, then was the tug of war?” [Page 88.]

13. Describe the Persian slingers.

14. What is the origin of the familiar expression, “War even to the knife?” [Page 99.]

15. What occasioned the singular effect upon the men of the eating of honeycombs as related by Xenophon? [Page 119.]

[NOTE.—Answers are not required to questions for further study. The questions here given relate to subjects alluded to in the required reading for the month. After each question the page is given of Wilkinson’s Preparatory Greek Course in English, on which a reference is made to the subject. Members who are able to procure answers to all the questions for further study in this number of THE CHAUTAUQUAN will receive an acknowledgment if the replies are forwarded to Albert M. Martin, General Secretary C. L. S. C., Pittsburg, Pa., so as to reach him by the first of January. Answers will be published in the February number of THE CHAUTAUQUAN. The answers should be brief, and need not be sent unless to all the questions.]

C. L. S. C. ROUND-TABLE.[F]

Dr. Wm. M. Blackburn, of Cincinnati, was at once introduced, and delivered the following address:

“HOW ENGLAND MAINTAINED HER NATIONALITY DURING THE MIDDLE AGES.”

Several persons have asked me in regard to the method of studying history by maps, that is, by making your own maps as you go along. If I had time I would like to talk about that, and I will explain it to anybody who wishes to know more about it. What I would do is this: if I were studying, for example, the history of Greece, I would read over some period, some particular part of it, an epoch—no matter what you may call it. I would get a good map of Greece, lay some thin paper over it, and trace the map over it in colored inks. Upon that map you put the events of that period or era, and then make another map of another period or era; stitch them all together. Perhaps you will never look at them again, but you have got them in your mind. That is all you want.

Now to the lecture. We have seen in outline how Britain became English, and how England became Christian; how the Church was unified; and how the unification of the English people was fairly begun. So we have an English Church, and an English Nation, with a capital “N.” Now, how were these to be carried through the Middle Ages? Let that be our main question to-day.

In general the means were these: wiser kingship, resistance to enemies, incorporation of new national elements (do not gnash on me if I do not always “nash” that way), improvement of the constitution, as seen in the Magna Charta and the House of Commons, and the reforms in the church. These means I shall treat under seven points, and if I do not get through the seven I will get through as many as I can.

1. Wider, broader and superior kingship. This begins with Alfred, the first really great king, and the only Christian king that was ever styled the Great. All his life was one of illness, yet he always maintained a cheerful, a devout spirit, and a busy hand. He reminds us of King David in his various trials and activities.

Now some of the things which Alfred did were these: in national affairs he tried to rescue, defend, unify, and greaten England. He was an organizer; he created a navy. He made good roads. He repaired fortresses. He brought London from the ashes; he started it on its way to universal commerce. His long-lost and curious jewel bears the words “Alfred made me.” And this might almost be said of England. Her realms became one nation, that is the southern realm. The old Britons were in the west.

Thomas Hughes has written a life of Alfred the Great; this is the best one you will find concerning him. I presume you have read it. He worked his way out of ignorance; he gave an impetus to popular education and literature; I do not believe that he was unable to write. Why, in those days it was not considered to be the manly and royal thing for a man to write his own name; he had a servant to do that. Sometimes he simply put a sign there; the sign of the cross, a mark. Now that is what is meant by a man signing his name. It does not mean that he could not write it, but the man who can write subscribes his name.

His schemes of education were vast; they were the last vigorous attempt at popular enlightenment in the Middle Ages. I have not time to dwell on all these things, but you will remember that Alfred gave a great impetus to the study of the Scriptures, and that from him and his co-laborers came a version of the Psalms and other portions of the Scriptures. Then his education recognized the supremacy of the moral law. He believed in the ten commandments and he worked them into the laws. Labor on Sundays was forbidden. Women of every class were carefully protected from insult; monks must not be idle and vicious; they must go to work educating people in the villages. He made out a rule for his aldermen to attend the schools or resign their offices; and that was a good thing for the aldermen. If they would not go to school, they resigned; and that was a good thing for the people. The clergy must have wives; bishops must visit among the dioceses, visit and preach to some purpose. In all respects his laws were designed for the greatest good of the greatest number. Judges must be hung if they caused the scales of justice to be swayed by bribes. He probably did not introduce, but probably modified, trial by jury. In those days the jury was formed in this way: they took the men who knew the most about an act or a crime, the men who had been eye-witnesses; they called them together and got what they knew about it, and made up the decision. In our day they take the men who know the least about it, and the biggest fools in all the land; (I hope one thing will come, and that is this—I do not suppose anybody here has been on a jury, or I would not make this remark—I hope the day will come when we will have such times as this, that you can get a jury who will not let a scoundrel off and perjure themselves. Let us reform the jury laws. The Chautauqua Circle might accomplish much in that way).

One account of his death is this: When he was dying, in 901, he called to his side Edward, and said: Now, my dear son, sit down beside me and I will deliver to you the true counsel. I feel that my hour is near: my face is pale; my days are nearly run; we soon must part; I shall go to another world and thou shalt be left alone with all my wealth. I pray thee, for thy heart, my dear child, strive to be a father and a lord to thy people. Be the children’s father, the widow’s friend, comfort the poor, shelter the weak, and with all thy might do thou right whatever is wrong. And, my son, govern thyself by law, and then the Lord shall love thee, and God, above all things, shall be thy reward.

And so departed the peaceable, the truth-teller, England’s darling. His bones are dust, his good sword rust, his soul is with the saints we trust.

And Edward followed him, a truly great ruler. He held all the realm south of the Humber. He claimed the lordship over Northumbria, Wales and Scotland. That lordship came to be contested. For the first time all the isle of Britain came to be united under one monarch. And he was a West Saxon. Thus the unity of England was virtually established.

There were fierce struggles by the succeeding king, but one final result was that the Scots gained some ground, some territory. Their southern line was brought down to about here [pointing], that is from the Solway to Berwick, where it remains, and where a new basis was laid for Scottish civilization. In that portion of the country is the border land so long renowned for many a story, for many a fight, for many a poem. Walter Scott celebrates many of the marches in many of his stories and songs.

Now a third thing: The incorporation of the Danes. If England would retain her national character, she must have power of absorption and a Christian spirit. What was to be done with the Danes—with all the Danish element here in the Danelagh. That same Danish element was here when you have the map even in this form. There were some other people mingled with them, but the Danes held the controlling power, and those Norse settlers, in some parts of it, may have been few, but still they had the power. Now they gradually learned English, English manners, and acquired the English spirit. They learned English Christianity, and gradually conformed in everything. And here is one remarkable fact: the Scandinavian people, the people of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, have always been a people disposed to conform to the people with whom they lived. In France they became Frenchmen; in Russia they became Russians; in Italy they became Italians; in Ireland they became intensely Irish, and so now in this country, they become Americans more readily and more gracefully than the Germans.

About 911 a viking left Norway, left his two little isles, and sailing about came down here [pointing]. Alfred warded him off. He sailed about for some time and then he entered the Seine (911), got possession of this valley, married a French princess, put on white robes and for a few days acted as a Christian gentleman. He invited all sea-rovers into this valley, and they made a splendid country of it. Still more and more of these settlers came, and thus Normandy rose among the nations. It became a tremendous power. Not so much at first with her sword as with her civilization. It may seem rather strange that this Norse colony should take the lead in western Europe, should take the lead in civilization, in culture, learning, architecture, scholarship; yet that is the fact. Norman will, both of the noble and weak kind, had its way in enlarging this realm during the sway of four successive dukes.

Then we come to Robert the Magnificent, who wedded the sister of Canute. He attempted to invade England and failed. He was father of William. He would not fail, and the enterprise with which the father had been unsuccessful remained as an inheritance for the son. His father died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1035. He was left ruler over some of the most lawless and turbulent barons in Europe. He was scarcely eight years old, and his record of thirty years while reorganizing Normandy and in bringing the nobles to order is a proof of his real greatness. He fought his way, he gained his dukedom, he broke up nests of treason, he destroyed castles, he upset conspiracies, he showed what one young man could do, when he had definite aims, wise plans, fixed principles, and industry and resolution, courage and firmness, and the ability to keep what he had gained.

William was a hard man, austere, exacting, persevering. His heavy hand made the English themselves comprehend their own national unity through a unity of suffering. If they had not perished for a moment, they would not have survived for ages. My time is spent or we would leap from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, and emphasize our last points, _resistance to the Pope, and organization of the House of Commons_. But these you can think of at your leisure.

FOOTNOTE:

[F] Held in the Amphitheater, at Chautauqua, August 4, 1882.

REASONS FOR THE STUDY OF GREEK.

By PROF. H. LUMMIS.

By those best qualified to judge, the thorough study of Greek is conceded to be the very highest kind of mental discipline and culture.

George P. Marsh, in his lectures on the English language, thus speaks: “Let me repeat, that so far from dissuading from the study of Greek, as a branch of general education, I do but echo the universal opinion of all persons competent to pronounce on the subject, in expressing my own conviction that the language and literature of ancient Greece constitute the most efficient instrument of mental training ever enjoyed by man: and that a familiarity with that wonderful speech, its poetry, its philosophy, its eloquence, and the history it embalms, is incomparably _the most valuable of intellectual possessions_.” Such testimony from so eminent a scholar, and from so critical a mind is decisive in regard to the value of the study of Greek as a discipline, as well as in respect to the richness of the literature which it contains.