16

"This is one of the most excellent Works of that excellent series, the Catena Classicorum. Isocrates has not received the attention to which the simplicity of his style and the purity of his Attic language entitle him as a means of education. Now that we have so admirable an edition of two of his Works best adapted for such a purpose, there will no longer be any excuse for this neglect. For carefulness and thoroughness of editing, it will bear comparison with the best, whether English or foreign. Besides an ample supply of exhaustive notes of rare excellence, we find in it valuable remarks on the style of Isocrates and the state of the text, a table of various readings, a list of editions, and a special introduction to each piece. As in other editions of this series, short summaries of the argument are inserted in suitable places, and will be found of great service to the student. The commentary embraces explanations of difficult passages, with instructive remarks on grammatical usages, and the derivation and meanings of words illustrated by quotations and references.

Осса

sionally the student's attention is called to the moral sentiment expressed or implied in the text. With all this abundance of annotation, founded on a diligent study of the best and latest authorities, there is no excess of matter and no waste of words. The elegance of the exterior is in harmony with the intrinsic worth of the volume."-Athe

næum.

4s. 6d.

"This Work deserves the warmest welcome for several reasons. In the first place, it is an attempt to introduce Isocrates into our schools, and this attempt deserves encouragement. The Ad Demonicum is very easy Greek. It is good Greek. And it is reading of a healthy nature for boys. The practical wisdom of the Greeks is in many respects fitted to the capacities of boys; and if books containing this wisdom are read in schools, along with others of a historical and poetical nature, they will be felt to be far from dry. Then the Editor has done every thing that an editor should do. We have a series of short introductory essays; on the style of Isocrates, on the text, on the Ad Demonicum, and on the Panegyricus. These are characterized by sound sense, wide and thorough learning, and the capability of presenting thoughts clearly and well."-Museum.

"By editing Isocrates Mr. Sandys does good service to students and teachers of Greek Prose. He places in our hands in a convenient form an author who will be found of great use in public schools, where he has been hitherto almost unknown. Mr. Sandys worthily sustains as a commentator the name which he has already won. The historical notes are good, clear, and concise; the grammatical notes scholar-like and practically useful. Many will be welcome alike to master and pupil."-Cambridge University Gazette.

18

Persii Satirae.

Crown 8vo.

"This is one of the ablest editions published in the Catena Classicorum under the superintendence of Mr. Holmes and Mr. Bigg. Mr. Pretor has adopted in his edition a plan which he defends on a general principle, but which has really its true defence in the special peculiarities of his author. Mr. Pretor has given his readers translations of almost all the difficult passages. We think he has done so wisely in this case; for the allusions and constructions are so obscure that help is absolutely necessary. He has also been particularly full in his notes. He has thought and written with great independence. He has used every means to get at the meaning of his author. He has gone to many sources for illustration. And altogether he has produced what we may fairly regard as the best edition of Persius in English."-Museum.

"In undertaking to edit for the Catena Classicorum an author so obsure as Persius confessedly is, Mr. Pretor has boldly grappied with a most difficult task. He has, however, performed it very well, because he has begun, as his Introduction shows, by making himself thoroughly acquainted with the mind and temper-a sufficiently cynical one-of the poet, and thus laying a good basis for his judgment on the conflicting opinions and

35. 6d.

varying interpretations of previous editors. The bulk of his commentary is from Jahn; and if we were disposed to object, we should say that some portion of the matter he has transferred to his pages might as well have been omitted. To explain Persius satisfactorily, i. e. to make him really intelligible, it is necessary rather to keep before the reader the thread of the story, and to point out the less obvious, because purposely obscured, allusions and the sudden changes of the characters in the dialogues, than to dwell too much on the explanation of the words. If the satires of Persius are difficult, they are also very short; and the more a commentary can be kept within reasonable limits, the more willing students will try to master the matter. All that can be required by the student of Persius, including an elaborate introduction, a preliminary exposition of each satire, and a very copious index verborum, is now compressed in a volume of less than 150 pages. It is a most useful book, and will be welcome in proportion as such an edition was really very much wanted. The good sense and sound judgment shown by the editor on controverted points give promise of excellent literary work in future undertakings of the like kind."-Cambridge University Gazette.

19

Part I. The Electra.

"We have no hesitation in saying that in style and manner Mr. Jebb's notes are admirably suited for their purpose. The explanations of grammatical points are singularly lucid, the parallel passages generally well chosen, the translations bright and graceful, the analysis of arguments terse and luminous. Mr. Jebb has clearly shown that he possesses some of the qualities most essential for a commentator.". Spectator.

"The notes appear to us exactly suited to assist boys of the Upper Forms at Schools, and University students; they give sufficient help without over-doing explanations.

His

critical remarks show exact and acute scholarship, and a very useful addition to ordinary notes is the scheme of metres in the choruses."-Guardian.

But

"We have seen it suggested that it is unsafe to pronounce on the merits of a Greek play edited for educational purposes until it has been tested in the hands of pupils and tutors. our examination of the instalment of 'Sophocles,' which Mr. Jebb has put forth, has assured us that this is a needless suspension of judgment, and prompted us to commmit the justifiable rashness of pronouncing upon its contents, and of asserting after due perusal that it is calculated to be admirably serviceable to every class of scholars and learners. And this assertion is based upon the fact that it is a by no means one-sided edition, and that it looks as with the hundred eyes of Argus, here, there, and every where, to keep the reader from straying. In a concise and succinct style of English annotation, forming the best substitute for the time-honoured Latin notes which had so much to do with making good scholars in days of yore, Mr. Jebb keeps a steady eye for all questions of grammar, construction,

Part II. The Ajax.

3s. 6d. scholarship, and philology, and handles these as they arise with a helpful and sufficient precision. In matters of grammar and syntax his practice for the most part is to refer his reader to the proper section of Madvig's 'Manual of Greek Syntax:' nor does he ever waste space and time in explaining a construction, unless it be such an one as is not satisfactorily dealt with in the grammars of Madvig or Jelf. Experience as a pupil and a teacher has probably taught him the value of the wholesome task of hunting out a grammar reference for oneself, instead of finding it, handy for slurring over, amidst the hundred and one pieces of information in a voluminous foot-note. But whenever there occurs any peculiarity of construction, which is hard to reconcile to the accepted usage, it is Mr. Jebb's general practice to be ready at hand with manful assistance."-Contemporary Review.

"Mr. Jebb has produced a work which will be read with interest and profit by the most advanced scholar, as it contains, in a compact form, not only a careful summary of the labours of preceding editors, but also many acute and ingenious original remarks. We do not know whether the matter or the manner of this excellent commentary is deserving of the higher praise the skill with which Mr. Jebb has avoided, on the one hand, the wearisome prolixity of the Germans, and on the other the jejune brevity of the Porsonian critics, or the versatility which has enabled him in turn to elucidate the plots, to explain the erbal difficulties, and to illustrate the idioms of his author. All this, by a studious economy of space and a remarkable precision of expression, he has done for the Ajax' in a volume of some 200 pages."-Athenæum.