On the Attic Dionysia. 275 them before the philological public that any apology can be required. But it is necessary to explain and justify to the reader the mode in which this has been done in the followino; pages. He will find here not a translation, nor a detailed ana- lysis of the original essay, but a free description of it, intended to comprize what is most important and interesting in its con- tents. The motive for using this freedom was, that the length of the original, near eighty quarto pages, very far exceeded the space which could have been allowed for it in our Journal, while it seemed possible to curtail many parts without impair- ing the force of the argument, or doing wrong to the opposite side. The reader indeed will perhaps not be able from this summary fully to appreciate the value of Hermann'^s reason- ing: but he will regret this the less, because it was not di- rected against the opinion proposed by Boeckh, but applied only to the two between which the choice of the learned had till then been divided. The order pursued in the following abridgement corre- sponds to that of the original. We shall consider the subject under seven heads : . I. Evidence as to the time of the year when the Lenaean festival was originally celebrated : II. Express testimonies of the ancients to the coincidence of the Lensean festival with either of those with which it has been supposed to be identical, or to the contrary effect : III. Arguments drawn from the locality of the festival : IV. Arguments drawn from allusions to the subject in Aristophanes : V. Aro-uments drawn from, the mode in which the festival was celebrated : VI. ArtTuments drawn from its occasion and nature: VII. Traditions of the ancients as to the introduction of the worship of Bacchus into Attica: I. The first object of our inquiry is the month in which the Lensea were celebrated. That the rural Dionysia were celebrated in Poseideon, and the Anthesteria in Anthesterion, is admitted on all hands. The name Lensea clearly points to that of the month Lenseon, which was unquestionably derived from it. The earliest mention of Lenaeon occurs in Hesiod, who fixes it in the depth of winter:
