2. Greek Literature.—The language which we call Greek, was not the prim itive language of Greece, for that coun try was originally inhabited by the Pe lasgi, whose language had become extinct in the time of Herodotus. With regard to its origin, there is a diversity of opin ion among the learned, although it evidently terms a branch of the exten sive family of languages, known by the name of Indo-Germanic. It has existed as a spoken language for at least three thousand years, and with the exception of the Arabic and the English, has been more widely diffused than any other tongue. Out of Greece, it was spoken in a great part of Asia Minor, of the south of Italy and Sicily, and in other regions which were settled by Grecian colonies. The Greek language is divided into four leading dialects, the [Folic, Ionic, Doric, and Attic, beside which there are several secondary dialects. The four principal dialects may, however, be reduced to two, the Ilellenic-Doric, and the Ionic Attic, the latter originally spoken in the northern part of Peloponnesus and At tica, the former in other parts of In each of these dialects, there are cele brated authors. To the Ionic dialect, belong in part the works of the oldest poets, Homer, Ilesiod. Theognis ; of some prose writers, especially Ilerodotus and Hippocrates: and the poems of Pin dar, Theocritus, Dion, and Mosehus. The Doric dialect was of the greatest. an tiquity. We have few remains of Doric prose, which consists chiefly of mathe matical or philosophical writings. Af ter Athens became the centre of litera ry cultivation in Greece, the works of iEschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aris tophaneg, Thucydides, _Xenophon, Plato, Isocrates, Demosthenes, and so forth, were regarded as standards of style, and made the Attic the common dialect of literature. Poetry, however, was not written in the Attic dialect. The pecu liarities of Bonier were imitated by all subsequent poets, except the dramatists, and even they assumed the Doric to a certain degree in their choruses, for the sake of the solemnity of expression which belonged to the oldest liturgies of the Greeks. According to the gen eral tradition, Cadmus the Pheenician,• was the first who introduced the alpha bet into Greece. His alphabet consisted of but sixteen letters; four are said to have been invented by Palamedes in the Trojan war, and four more by Simonides of Ceos. It has been maintained how ever by some persons, that the art of writing was practised by the Pelasgi before the time of Cadmus. On the other hand, many of the most sagacious critics, place the origin of writing in Greece at a much later period.
The origin of Greek literature, or the intellectual cultivation of the Greeks, by written works, dates at a period of which we have few historical memorials. The first period of Grecian cultivation, which extends to SO years after the Trojan war, is called the ante-Homeric period, and is destitute of any literary remains, proper ly deserving the name. Of the poets previous to Homer, nothing satisfactory is known. The most ancient was Olen, who is mentioned by Pausanias. He was followed by Orpheus, Musmeus, and others, but the poems which are circu lated under their names cannot be re garded as their genuine productions. It was in the Greek colonies of Asia Minor, that the first great impulse WilS given to the development of literature ; and among theta we find the earliest. authen tic specimens of Greek poetry and his torical composition. Situated on the borders of a noble sea, enjoying a climate of delicious softness and purity, abound ing in the most nutritious and tempting products of nature, whose fertility was not inferior to its beauty, these colonies possessed a character of refined voluptu ousness, which, if not favorable to the performance of great deeds, allured the dreamy spirit to poetical contemplations, and was manifested in noble creations of the fancy, which have not been surp.issed in the progress of cultivation. Living near the scene of the Troj in war, the bards devoted their first poems to the celebration of Grecian heroism. With them, commenced the second period of Greek literature, which we call the Epic age. Of these, Homer alone has survived. We have from him the two great poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, with several hymns and epigrams. Ile gave his name to the nomerhhe, an Ionian school of minstrels, who preserved the old Homeric and epic style, and who are probably the authors of much that has been ascribed to Homer himself.
Next to the Homeridie, come the Cyclic poets, whose works embrace the whole circle of mythology and tradition, de scribing the origin of the gods and of the world, the adventures of the Heroic times, the Argonautic expedition, the labors of Hercules and Theseus, the principal events of the Theban and Trojan wars, and the fortunes of the Greeks after the fall of Troy. A transition between these historic-poets and the later school of Ionian minstrelsy, is formed by who conducted poetry back from Asia Minor into Greece. Of the sixteen works
ascribed to him, we have the Theogony, the Shield of Hercules, and Works and Days, the last, an agricultural poem, in terspersed with moral reflections and pre dential maxims.
The third period commences with the 1 growth of lyric poetry, of apologises and philosophy, with which history gained to new development and a higher degree of certainty. Lyric poetry sprung up on the decline of the Epic school, and was much cultivated from the beginning of the epoch of the Olympiads (776 n.c.,) to the first Persian war. The poems of this psrio I are eonsidered among the most valuable produeti•ns of Grecian litcra tnre. Many of them resembled the epic, and contained the subjects of heroic song. They were sung by hands of youths and m thlens, accompanied by instrumental music. Among the Most celebrated of the lyric poets were Archilochus of Pares, the inventor of the iambus; Tyrtmns, Terpander, and Alcm(in, whose martial strains (initialled the valor of the Spar tans; Callimachus of Ephesus, inventor of the elegiac measure; Sinumides and An lemon of Coos ; the impassioned Sap pho of Mitylene; Stesichorms, Hipponax, and Pindar. Many didactic poems, fa blos, and proverbs were written during this period, and served to prepare the way for prose composition.
The philosophy of this age was marital by its constant reference to practical affairs. Among its expounders, we may consider the seven wise men of Greece, as they arc called, (Periander. or (weer-l ing to some, Epimenides of Crete, Pitts cus, Solon, Bias, Chilo, and ('leo balus,) of whom six acquired their fame, not by the teaching of speculative ab stractions, but by their admirable wisdom in the affairs of life, and their skill in the offices of state. Their celebrated sayings are the maxims of experience, applied to the practical relations of life. But with the progress of intellectual culture, a taste for speculative inquiries was un folded. This resulted in the establish ment of the Ionic philosophy by Tholes, the Italian, by Pythagoras, and the older and later Eleatic. With the development of these schools, we are brought to the scientific period of Greek literature. Tho Ionic school ascribed a material origin to the universe. Its principal followers were Pherecydes, Anixamander, Anaxa mines, Anaxagoras, Diogenes of Apollo nia, and Amidtaus of Miletus. Of the Pythagorean school, O" bleb ex pl eine!! the organization of the world by number and measure, were Ocellns Imcanus, Timrens of Locris, Epicharmus, Theagee, Arehy tas, Philolans, and Ealoxus. To the older Eleatic school, which cherished a more sublime, but less intelligible con ception of the origin of the world, as suming the fact of a pure necessary existence, belonged tienophanes and Par mcnides; to the later Eleatic, Melissus and D•ngoras. I7ntil about the com mencement of the 90th Olympiad, the philosophers and their disciples were dis persed throughout the various Grecian cities. Athens subsequently became their chief residence, where the class of men called Sophists first rose into importance as public teachers. Of these, the most distinguished names that have been pre served to us are Gorgias of Leontinin, Protagoras of Ahdera, nipples of Elis, Pralicus of Cos, TraSi !MOOS and Tisia 9. They were especially devoted to the sub jects of politics and eloquence, but also made a study of the natural sciences, mathematics, the theory of the fine arts, and philosophy. Professing the art of 1.7,ic as a Ira•le, they were less earnest in the pursuit of troth, than in he con struction of plausible arguments. Their fallacious pretences awakened the honest indignation of Socrates, who not only be came their zealous antagonist, but gave a vigorous and original impulse to the progress of philosophy. This shrewd and subtle reasoner opened a new direction to philosophical research, turning it to the study of human nature, and of the laws of psychology and ethics instead of barren speculations and theories. With out leaving any written record of his genius, he is known at the present day by the affectionate and beautiful memo rials which have been consecrated to his character in the productions of his disci ples. Among these, Plato was pre-emi nent by the force and comprehensiveness of his reason, the marvellous keenness of his insight in the region of transcenden tal ideas, the vigor and acuteness of his logical faculties, and the winning sweet ness and grace of expression, which lend a charm to his writings that has never been equalled in philosophical literature. The masterly conversations of Socrates, in which he expounded the principles of his philosophy in the streets and market place of Athens, are reproduced with ad mirable dramatic effect, in the glowing pages of his eloquent disciple.