Welsh Journals

is not much more than he should have the glory of going on and still to be ? If Plato is to be blamed for this, the same defect might be alleged against such sayings as Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth or He that loseth his life shall save it.' If we are to look for a definite statement of the excellence of sacrifice without any reference to reward, I should think it is to be found neither in the utterances of Plato nor in those of Christ, but rather in the treatment of Friendship by Aristotle (a writer to whom Mr. Temple appears to be nearly always little less than just). The contrast between Plato's conception of Justice and the Christian conception of Love does no doubt bring us somewhat nearer to what is wanted but even this is hardly fair, without a good deal of explanation and qualifica- tion. Plato certainly did not ignore the value of love even less did Aristotle. That Christianity gave it a fresh emphasis and depth of meaning, and claimed for it a wider range, can hardly be questioned; but to see how the attitude of Plato and Aristotle are related to those of Christianity, it would be necessary to trace the development through Stoicism and other later forms of Greek speculation, and also to take some account of Oriental influences and of several other things. Happily most of the necessary material is to be found in Edward Caird's two books- The Evolution of Theology in the Greek Philoso- phers' and The Evolution of Religion.' Mr. Temple could not, of course, be expected to provide such material in a short course of lectures but one might have anticipated that his power of putting a great deal in a little space would have enabled him Cofiant Watcyn Wyn." Gan y Parch. Penar Griffiths. (Caerdydd. Educational Publishing Com- pany. 1915.) It may be as well to blurt out the truth at once by saying that this biography leaves one, when the end is reached, with a certain feeling of disappointment. It is not that the author has not put his best into what is obviously a labour of love. He admires Watcyn Wyn, and has taken pains to present every aspect of an unusually versatile life. Nor is he disqualified by a blind and indiscriminating hero-worship. On the whole, his criticism is fair and sound, though one feels inclined to dissent from certain of his judgments, as, for instance, when he says that the bard was well able to keep the ball rolling, whereas, to do rather more in this respect than he has done. There are also some smaller points on which criticism is possible. In general, Mr. Temple has a fine gift of humour, which prevents him from taking Plato's statements in too literal a fashion and he has one or two good gibes at German commentators for the lack of this saving salt. Yet cannot but think that he has somewhat failed to perceive the humourous intent of Plato's reference to the idea of a Bed in the I Oth Book of the Republic and in the so-called theory of Art set forth in that Book-which, surely, is hardly a theory of Art, but rather an indi- cation of the way in which Art may be degraded by a misguided attempt at realism.' But there seems to be a general conspiracy among Plata's commen- tators to ignore his humour at this particular point and to treat his delightful satire as a solemn theory. Mr. Temple cannot fairly be blamed for following a multitude in this respect and perhaps it may be admitted that Plato himself (like some more recent writers) did not always clearly distinguish between his fun and his earnest. But certainly no one is likely to have a proper appreciation of Plato who does not constantly remember that lie was one of the subtlest of humourists, as well as the greatest of philosophers. But, even if these criticisms are sound, and even if we add one or two irritating misprints (such as Hobbe for Hobbes on p. 100). it still remains true that the book is one that can be very heartily recommended. J. S. Mackenzie. REVIEWS as a matter of fact, there is an effort to make a joke go further than it has power to go, as in the song to Gruffydd Rhys and Annie Gruffydd, and in Rhannu'r Supplies." The author's style, though not free from consider- able blemish, is clear and readable enough. Its chief defect is a tendency to indulge in needless "palaver," as when he expatiates in obvious and needless fashion on Watcyn Wyn's great hymn Rwy'n gweld o bell y dydd yn dod." It is the preacher's vice to be always on the look-out for texts on which to hang his homilies, and it has intruded rather unpleasantly into this book. There is also a tendency to overwork such words as chware