第43章

IdonotmeantosaythattheAtheniansdidnotengageinbusiness。Theircitywasacommercialcity，andtheirshipscoveredtheMediterranean。TheyhadagenciesandfactoriesatMarseilles，ontheremotecoastsofSpain，andalongtheshoresoftheBlackSea。Theywereinmanyrespectsthegreatestcommercialpeopleofantiquity，anddoubtlessknew，aswellasotherpeople，thekeendelightsofacquisition。Butmypointis，thatwiththemtheacquiringofpropertyhadnotbecomethechieforonlyendoflife。Productionwascarriedonalmostentirelybyslave-labour；interchangeofcommoditieswasthebusinessofthemasters，andcommercewasinthosedayssimple。Banks，insurancecompanies，brokers’boards，——allthesecomplexinstrumentsofMammonwereasyetunthoughtof。TherewasnoWallStreetinancientAthens；therewerenogreatfailures，nocommercialpanics，noover-issuesofstock。Commerce，inshort，wasaquitesubordinatematter，andtheartofmoney-makingwasinitsinfancy。 Thetwenty-fivethousandAthenianfreementhusenjoyed，onthewhole，moreundisturbedleisure，morefreedomfrompettyharassingcares，thananyothercommunityknowntohistory。 Nowhereelsecanwefind，oncarefulstudy，solittleofthehurryandanxietywhichdestroystheeventenourofmodernlife，——nowhereelsesofewofthecircumstanceswhichtendtomakemeninsane，inebriate，orphthisical，orprematurelyold。 Thisbeinggranted，itremainsonlytostateandillustratetheobversefact。ItisnotonlytruethatAthenshasproducedandeducatedarelativelylargernumberofmenofthehighestcalibreandmostcompleteculturethananyothercommunityoflikedimensionswhichhaseverexisted；butitisalsotruethattherehasbeennoothercommunity，ofwhichthemembershave，asageneralrule，beensohighlycultivated，orhaveattainedindividuallysuchcompletenessoflife。InproofofthefirstassertionitwillbeenoughtomentionsuchnamesasthoseofSolon，Themistokles，Perikles，andDemosthenes；IsokratesandLysias；AristophanesandMenander；Aischylos，Sophokles，andEuripides；PheidiasandPraxiteles；SokratesandPlato； ThukydidesandXenophon:rememberingthatthesemen，distinguishedforsuchdifferentkindsofachievement，butlikeeachotherinconsummatenessofculture，wereallproducedwithinonetowninthecourseofthreecenturies。Atnoothertimeandplaceinhumanhistoryhastherebeenevenanapproachtosuchafactasthis。 Myotherassertion，aboutthegeneralcultureofthecommunityinwhichsuchmenwerereared，willneedamoredetailedexplanation。WhenIsaythattheAthenianpublicwas，onthewhole，themosthighlycultivatedpublicthathaseverexisted，I referofcoursetosomethingmorethanwhatisnowknownasliteraryculture。OfthistherewasrelativelylittleinthedaysofAtheniangreatness；andthiswasbecausetherewasnotyetneedforitorroomforit。Greecedidnotuntilalatertimebegintoproducescholarsandsavants；forthefunctionofscholarshipdoesnotbeginuntiltherehasbeenanaccumulationofbygoneliteraturetobeinterpretedforthebenefitofthosewholiveinalatertime。Greciangreatnesswasalreadybecomingathingofthepast，whenscholarshipandliterarycultureofthemoderntypebeganatRomeandAlexandria。ThecultureoftheancientAthenianswaslargelyderivedfromdirectintercoursewithfactsofnatureandoflife，andwiththethoughtsofrichandpowerfulmindsorallyexpressed。Thevalueofthismustnotbeunderrated。Wemodernsareaccustomedtogetsolargeaportionofourknowledgeandofourtheoriesoflifeoutofbooks，ourtasteandjudgmentaresolargelyeducatedbyintercoursewiththeprintedpage，thatweareapttoconfoundculturewithbook-knowledge；weareapttoforgettheinnumerablewaysinwhichthehighestintellectualfacultiesmaybedisciplinedwithouttheaidofliterature。Wemuststudyantiquitytorealizehowthoroughlythiscouldbedone。Buteveninourday，howmuchmorefruitfulisthedirectinfluenceofanoriginalmindoverus，intherarecaseswhenitcanbeenjoyed，thananyindirectinfluencewhichthesamemindmayexertthroughthemediumofprintedbooks！Whatfellowofacollege，placedamidthemostabundantandefficientimplementsofstudy，evergetssuchastimulustothehighestandrichestintellectuallifeaswasaffordedtoEckermannbyhisdailyintercoursewithGoethe？ThebreadthofcultureandtheperfectionoftrainingexhibitedbyJohnStuartMillneednotsurpriseuswhenwerecollectthathisearlierdayswerespentinthesocietyofJamesMillandJeremyBentham。Andtheremarkableextentofview，thecommandoffacts，andtheastonishingproductivenessofsuchmodernFrenchmenasSainte-BeuveandLittrebecomeexplicablewhenwereflectuponthecircumstancethatsomanyableandbrilliantmenarecollectedinonecity，wheretheirmindsmaycontinuallyanddirectlyreactuponeachother。Itisfromthelackofsuchpersonalstimulusthatitisdifficultorindeedwellnighimpossible，evenforthosewhoseresourcesaresuchastogivethemanextensivecommandofbooks，tokeepuptothehighestlevelofcontemporaryculturewhilelivinginavillageorprovincialtown。Anditismainlybecauseofthepersonalstimuluswhichitaffordstoitsstudents，thatagreatuniversity，asaseatofculture，isimmeasurablysuperiortoasmallone。 Nevertheless，thesmallcommunityinanyagepossessesonesignaladvantageoverthelargeone，initsgreatersimplicityoflifeanditsconsequentrelativeleisure。ItwastheprerogativeofancientAthensthatitunitedtheadvantagesofthelargetothoseofthesmallcommunity。Inrelativesimplicityoflifeitwasnotunlikethemodernvillage，whileatthesametimeitwasthemetropoliswheretheforemostmindsofthetimewereenabledtoreactdirectlyupononeanother。Inyetanotherrespecttheseoppositeadvantageswerecombined。Thetwenty-fivethousandfreeinhabitantsmightperhapsallknowsomethingofeachother。InthisrespectAthenswasdoubtlessmuchlikeaNewEnglandcountrytown，withtheall-importantdifferencethatthesordidtoneduetocontinualstruggleformoneywasabsent。Itwaslikethesmalltowninthechancewhichitaffordedforpublicityandcommunityofpursuitsamongitsinhabitants。ContinuousandunrestrainedsocialintercoursewasaccordinglyadistinctivefeatureofAthenianlife。And，asalreadyhinted，thisintercoursedidnotconsistineveningflirtations，withtheeatingofindigestiblefoodatunseasonablehours，andthedancingof“theGerman。“Itwascarriedonout-of-doorsinthebrightestsunlight；itbrookednoeffeminacy；itsamusementswereathleticgames，ordramaticentertainments，suchashavehardlysincebeenequalled。Itsarenawasatownwhosestreetswerefilledwithstatuesandadornedwithbuildings，merelytobeholdwhichwasinitselfaneducation。Theparticipatorsinitwerenotmenwithmindssodwarfedbyexclusivedevotiontospecialpursuitsthatafter“talkingshop“theycouldfindnothingelsesavewineandcookerytoconverseabout。Theyweremenwithmindsfreshandopenforthediscussionoftopicswhicharenotforadayonly。 AmanlikeSokrates，livinginsuchacommunity，didnotneedtowritedownhiswisdom。Hehadnosuchvastpublicasthemodernphilosopherhastoreach。Hecouldhailanyonehehappenedtopassinthestreet，beginanargumentwithhimforthwith，andsetawholecrowdthinkingandinquiringaboutsubjectsthemerecontemplationofwhichwouldraisethemforthemomentabovemattersoftransientconcern。Formorethanhalfacenturyanycitizenmighthavegratisthebenefitoforalinstructionfromsuchamanashe。AndIsometimesthink，bytheway，that——curtailedasitistoliteraryproportionsinthedialoguesofPlato，bereftofallthatpersonalpotencywhichithadwhenitflowed，instinctwithearnestness，fromthelipsoftheteacher——eventothisdaythewitofmanhasperhapsdevisednobettergeneralgymnasticsfortheunderstandingthantheSokraticdialectic。IamfarfromsayingthatallAthenslistenedtoSokratesorunderstoodhim:haditbeenso，thecaricatureofAristophaneswouldhavebeenpointless，andthesublimeyetmournfultrilogyofdialogueswhichpourtraytheclosingscenesofthegreatestlifeofantiquitywouldneverhavebeenwritten。 ButthemerefactthatsuchamanlivedandtaughtinthewaythathedidgoesfarinproofofthedeepcultureoftheAthenianpublic。FurtherconfirmationistobefoundinthefactthatsuchtragediesastheAntigone，theOidipous，andthePrometheuswerewrittentosuitthepopulartasteofthetime；nottobereadbyliterarypeople，ortobeperformedbeforeselectaudiencessuchasinourdaylistentoRistoriorJanauschek，buttoholdspell-boundthatvastconcourseofallkindsofpeoplewhichassembledattheDionysiacfestivals。 StillfurtherproofisfurnishedbytheexquisiteliteraryperfectionofGreekwritings。OneofthecommonargumentsinfavourofthestudyofGreekatthepresentdayisbasedupontheopinionthatinthebestworksextantinthatlanguagetheartofliteraryexpressionhasreachedwellnighabsoluteperfection。I fullyconcurinthisopinion，sofarastodoubtifeventhegreatestmodernwriters，evenaPascaloraVoltaire，canfairlysustainacomparisonwithsuchAtheniansasPlatoorLysias。Thisexcellenceoftheancientbooksisinpartimmediatelyduetothefactthattheywerenotwritteninahurry，oramidtheanxietiesofanover-busyexistence；butitisingreaterpartduetotheindirectconsequencesofaleisurelylife。Thesebookswerewrittenforapublicwhichknewwellhowtoappreciatethefinerbeautiesofexpression；and，whatisstillmoretothepoint，theirauthorslivedinacommunitywhereanelegantstylewashabitual。Beforeamatchlessstylecanbewritten，theremustbeagoodstyle“intheair，“astheFrenchsay。ProbablythemostfinishedtalkingandwritingofmoderntimeshasbeendoneinandabouttheFrenchcourtintheseventeenthcentury；anditisaccordinglytherethatwefindmenlikePascalandBossuetwritingaprosewhichforprecision，purity，anddignityhasneversincebeensurpassed。ItisthusthattheunapproachableliteraryexcellenceofancientGreekbooksspeaksforthegenuinecultureofthepeoplewhowereexpectedtoreadthem，ortohearthemread。Foroneofthesurestindicesoftrueculture，whetherprofessedlyliteraryornot，isthepowertoexpressone’sselfinprecise，rhythmical，anddignifiedlanguage。Wehardlyneedabetterevidencethanthisofthesuperiorityoftheancientcommunityinthegeneralelevationofitstastesandperceptions。 RecollectinghowHerodotosreadhishistoryattheOlympicgames，letustrytoimagineevensopicturesqueawriterasMr。Parkmanreadingafewchaptersofhis“JesuitsinNorthAmerica“beforethespectatorsassembledattheJeromeParkraces，andweshallthebetterrealizehowdeep-seatedwasHellenicculture。 Asyet，however，IhavereferredtobutonesideofAthenianlife。Though“seekersafterwisdom，“thecultivatedpeopleofAthensdidnotspendalltheirvaluableleisureindialecticsorinconnoisseurship。Theywerenotasetofdilettantiordreamyphilosophers，andtheywerefarfromsubordinatingthematerialsideoflifetotheintellectual。Also，thoughtheydealtnotinmoney-makingaftertheeagerfashionofmodernmen，theyhadstillconcernsofimmediatepracticalinterestwithwhichtobusythemselves。Eachoneofthesetwenty-fivethousandfreeAthenianswasnotonlyafreevoter，butanoffice-holder，alegislator，ajudge。Theydidnotcontrolthegovernmentthrougharepresentativebody，buttheywerethemselvesthegovernment。 Theywere，oneandall，inturnliabletobecalledupontomakelaws，andtoexecutethemaftertheyweremade，aswellastoadministerjusticeincivilandcriminalsuits。Theaffairsandinterests，notonlyoftheirowncity，butofascoreortwoofscattereddependencies，weremoreorlesscloselytobelookedafterbythem。Itlaywiththemtodeclarewar，tocarryitonafterdeclaringit，andtopaytheexpensesofit。Actuallyandnotbydeputytheyadministeredthegovernmentoftheirowncity，bothinitslocalandinitsimperialrelations。Allthisimpliesamorethorough，moreconstant，andmorevitalpoliticaltrainingthanthatwhichisimpliedbythemoderndutiesofcastingaballotandservingonajury。ThelifeoftheAthenianwasemphaticallyapoliticallife。Fromearlymanhoodonward，itwaspartofhisdutytohearlegalquestionsarguedbypowerfuladvocates，andtoutteradecisionuponlawandfact；ortomixindebateuponquestionsofpublicpolicy，arguing，listening，andpondering。ItiscustomarytocomparethepoliticaltalentoftheGreeksunfavourablywiththatdisplayedbytheRomans，andI