Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 9.djvu/554

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540 NEW BOOKS. often nor too seldom. But, unfortunately, it is impossible to speak favourably of the translation itself. It has no special merits, and a comparison of it with Jowett's translation results altogether in favour of the latter. In many passages it is clearly inaccurate. ' Shall ' and ' will ' are often interchanged : for instance, to take one example out of many, ' I shall try to explain ' (146 D) should be ' I will try to explain '. No doubt errors of this kind are trivial ; but they are rather annoying. But graver mistakes occur : for instance (198 E), ' learn again for himself (imp' (avTov) what he knows ' should be ' from himself '. Another example is at 152 c, where the words al<r6rj(TLs (ipti TOV OVTOS dfi imiv Km a^tvdfs a>s tniTTriij.Ti ova-a are translated ' and perception of reality, since it is know- ledge, can never be false ' (('/. introduction, p. 25). At 189 E a rather serious mistake occurs. ' Thinking (Xciyot ) is the soul's having a dialogue with itself over its own mental possessions.' The Greek for thinking is of course Stavofla-dat. which occurs two lines before : and one would hardly guess that the Greek represented by ' over its own mental possessions' is irtpl &v ai> a-Kany. One's confidence in the accuracy of the translation is further shaken by the carelessness with which the Greek is printed, especially in the matter of accents. It may be that the author holds that accents in general are a mere superstition, and utterly unimportant. But if they are to be printed at all they ought to be printed correctly. There are errors or misprints of this kind in the introduction and translation on pages 22 (three), 25, 29 (two), 38, 39, 77, 92, 99 (two), 139, 144, 155. A word about the general design of the work may be added in con- clusion. On the one hand, the introduction does not give a complete exposition of the Thextetus, for it contains no reference to the discussion of the third hypothesis (firurrfnui = 8d<i arj6t)s fifra Xoyou) : on the other, much of it is more directly concerned with other dialogues than with the Thi'ictetus ; for instance, the fourth chapter deals almost entirely with the Sophist. Hence one is inclined to ask whether there is sufficient reason for prefixing the introduction to a translation of the Thextetut in particular. Two suggestions might be offered. One is that the intro- duction might be expanded and made more general, and the translation omitted. The other is that a translation of the Sophist might be added and the introduction made more strictly relevant to the two dialogues. The former course seems preferable, and by adopting it Prof. Dyde would undoubtedly confer a benefit on students of Plato. History of Ancient Philosophy. By Dr. W. WINDELBAND. Authorised English Translation by HERBERT ERNEST CUSHMAX, Ph.D. From the Second German Edition. Professor Windelband's Oeschichte d. Alien Philonophie has already won a place for itself in Germany. There is probably no other text-book that combines in an equal degree the merits of condensed erudition and fulness of reference to the literature of the subject in Germany with freshness of treatment and general readableness. In sending forth the second edition from which the translation is made the author is therefore justified in wishing for it that " it may continue to fulfil its task : to solicit friends appreciative of a noble cause, to preserve alive the consciousness of the imperishable worth which the creations of Greek thought possess for all human culture ". On the occasion of its appearance in an English (though a fearfully Germanised) dress it will be sufficient to indicate one or two of the points in which Dr. Windelband departs from some of the older standard histories of philosophy.