Of the immense number of orations-upwards of two hundredwhich Lysias is believed to have composed, only thirty-four have reached us, and of these some are undoubtedly spurious, some mutilated, and the text is often in the most unsatisfactory condition. In ancient times there were, indeed, upwards of four hundred orations extant under this orator's name, more than the half of which, however, were considered by ancient critics not to be genuine. There have also reach ed us the scanty fragments of some hundred other speeches of Lysias; but they consist only of a few sentences, or lines, or, often, of nothing but single words. Such being the existing state of our author's works, we cannot but perceive what a loss we have to regret, when we consider his reputation, and the mass of facts, respecting Athenian life and law, which must have existed in his speeches. Photius (the myriobib liakist!) says, that a certain Paulas of Mysia rejected, as spurious, many fine speeches which went under the name of Lysias, and thus deprived men of very great benefit, because the speeches, once condemned by calumny, became neglected and lost; "the calumny," adds the Patriarch, "as in many other cases, becoming stronger than the truth." But who this misguided critic or editor Paulus was, is entirely unknown. The learned English scholar Taylor says, amusingly, in his style of Latin, something to the following effect: "Who that Paul

It is quite amusing, by the way, to see how the scholars rail at and vituperate one another in their notes. Taylor is constantly astonished at some other commentator's absurdity or ignorance, and is perpetually making a pedantic display of his own extent of erudition, even by digressions quite foreign to the subject matter of the text. For this he is reproached by Reiske, who declares himself so free from such a disease of vanity, as, in that respect, to be leaner-more skin and bone ("strigosior") than others are by such disease obese. In fact, he thinks that by such a method of commenting, one might write upon any author volumes enough to overload a camel-(“quot vel camelum fatigent.") Poor Schott is a standing mark for Taylor's sarcasm; while Reiske condemns Taylor's latinity, and even says that he has known few Englishmen who had learned to write a Latin style; and Dr. Donaldson, an English scholar, also speaks of "the laxity of modern Latin scholarship." It is, however, so well known what an anthology of learned Billinsgate can be culled from the writings of the older scholars, that it would here be superfluous to say more about the matter.

We have above alluded to the unsatisfactory state of the text of Lysias, as we now possess it: we will only here add, that the chief manuscript seems to have been one brought from Mount Athos by Constantine Lascaris, from which Aldus printed the editio princeps of this orator. And, so far as we know, all the known manuscripts. of Lysias' works are deplorably de

fective. We have, however, most fortunately, the works of a critic, who must have had better opportunity than we can possess for forming a judgment respecting our orator. Dionysius, of Halicarnassus, who was a really learned and judicious man, with a genuine critical faculty, has left us invaluable commentaries upon ancient authors. His remarks upon Lysias afford a pretty complete analysis and summary of that author's characteristics; and, therefore, from the commentaries of Dionysius we shall select and condense some of the most remarkable features of our orator's style. It may be remarked, in passing, that many writers and orators of the present day might profit by the study of Dionysius' criticisms, as to taste, propriety of diction, and the genuine elements of real and natural eloquence.

Dionysius having expressed generally his opinion with regard to the superiority of Lysias as an orator, proceeds to justify his views, by an examination, in detail, of the peculiar excellencies which characterize the style of our author's compositions. The critic pronounces the diction of this orator to be, in the highest degree, pure, and the best canon of the Attic tongue, not in the archaic form, but as it existed in the orator's time; and in this respect, Dionysius affirms that Lysias was never surpassed, if ever equalled by subsequent writers. Of those who followed Lysias, our critic regards Isocrates as purest in diction. Another excellence, is the clearness and simplicity with which our orator expresses his conceptions, not endeavouring to impart force to them or to render them striking by rhetorical arts and strange expressions; but, although possessing great copiousness of language, he renders every thought lucid by the selection of always the most appropriate word, and by never employing any

superfluous terms. It is this excellence which imparts liveliness to his statements, and brings before his hearers the facts which he relates as vividly as if they were being really transacted. And not only so with regard to facts, but the thoughts, sentiments, and feelings of the orator are so conveyed, that the hearer seems to conceive and feel them as his own. As might be expected from the possession of such qualities, Lysias is also an acute penetrator and delineator of character. He possesses, in an eminent degree, the art of concealing his art, and is thus a model of naturalness and truthfulness of style. Hence, too, he is one of the most persuasive of orators; at the same time, his style is characterized by conciseness, terseness, and wellrounded compactness. While not sublime or magnificent, it is not pompous, artificial, nor windy: it persuades rather than compels: it exhibits Nature rather than Art: it is more forcible in the delineation of character than of passion; and especially is it more elegant and graceful than vehement and bitter. A peculiar "grace," indeed, is considered by the critic as so especial a characteristic of this orator, that, by it, independent of other proof, the genuineness of the speeches current under his name may be tested. This characteristic is even regarded by Dionysius as the surest criterion by which to test these speeches, and, in absence of all external testimony, he unhesitatingly rejects or accepts a speech by the application of this single touchstone. Other orators may equal or excel Lysias in other respects, or may successfully imitate him; but in this quality he is unapproachable and inimitable. The critic confesses, however, that this "grace" is as indescribable as it is inimitable. Like the grace and beauty of the bloom of youth, or the rhythm and

harmony of music, it can only be perceived and felt, but cannot be described by words. Every one can have some perception or feeling of it; but only an intimate familiarity with the orator's works will produce that tact which instinctively recognizes the true Lysian grace. After having analyzed our author's style, the critic then examines Lysias' mode of dealing practically with the cases which he undertook. Here he is awarded the praise of possessing sound judgment, large comprehension of all the circumstances involved, foresight of everything which, as pleader, he would have to meet or anticipate, as well as the skill of making the most excellent and effective arrangement of his materials. If the orator was not equally excellent in all of the different species of oratory which he was called upon to exercise, (as, for instance, legal, deliberative, public speeches, &c,) his powers may be judged of from the alleged fact, that of all his speeches for clients only two failed to be successful, and those only on account of the hopeless badness of the causes. It must be remembered, also, that Lysias wrote his speeches for the use of others, and is said to have delivered, personally, only one of the orations extant. To him appears to belong the old anecdote, that having prepared a speech for a client's use, it was returned to him with the remark that upon the first perusal it appeared admirable, but that several subsequent perusals made it seem rather tame and feeble; whereupon the orator replied, with a smile, "but you expect to deliver it only once to the court."

Were we to follow all the criticisms of Dionysius, we should exhaust our limited space without producing any material directly from our author's works. But has tening on over criticisms, lives, readings, &c., ancient and modern,

we will turn at once to the Orations themselves. In pursuance of our design, as already stated, we shall enter upon no learned questions, but merely gather, as we skim the pages of our author, a few illustrations of modern life in ancient times.

The first speech with which we meet, is a defence of a homicide, perpetrated under very aggravating circumstances. The whole case might be taken for a modern one, but as it is no part of our design to report it, we allude to it only in order to pick out one or two little facts illustrative of familiar life. For instance, when a husband declares that he was always careful about his wife, so that she should neither be annoyed by his authority, nor yet have too much of her own way, and that he committed entirely to her the management of the household economy, considering her one of the very best wives in the city; we seem to be listening to a model husband of our own day. Many folks think that the Greeks had not much respect for their women, but how like modern politeness does it sound, when he tells us that he gave up his apartments on the lower floor, and moved his quarters up stairs, in order to accommodate his wife when she had a little baby to attend to. When he mentions, too, that he made the change of his quarters, in order that his wife might not run any risk by having to go down stairs, (the word for staircase and ladder being, by the way, the same,) we appreciate the more his thoughtful care; for we can almost imagine that there were houses in Athens closely resembling, in certain respects at least, some modern structures in which we have lived, and where we have incurred dangers similar to those from which the husband in question delivered his wife, by saving her from the perils