Carlyle's "Reminiscences" and Correspondence, and has long been regarded 3. CICERO. Marcus Tullius Cicero, the greatest of Roman orators, was born B.C. 106 In the war between Cæsar and Pompey, Cicero at first gave adherence to Pompey, and was with that general in the disastrous battle of Pharsalia. Despairing of the success of the Pompeian party, he soon afterwards returned to Italy, where he was greeted by Cæsar with the greatest kindness and respect, and allowed to resume his former honors at Rome. 4. CATO. Marcus Cato, commonly called Cato the Younger, was five years younger than Cæsar. He was noted for his rigid morality, and stern, unyielding character, and at an early age distinguished himself in oratory and philosophy. In the war between Cæsar and Pompey he united his fortunes with those of Pompey, and was that general's strongest adherent. After the defeat at Pharsalia, Cato retired with a remnant of Pompey's army to Utica. When he found that submission to Cæsar was inevitable, he resolved to die rather than fall alive into the hands of the conqueror. Therefore, after spending the greater part of the night in reading Plato's "Phædo," he put an end to his life by stabbing himself. He was forty-nine years old. Read Addison's "Cato." (See note on Addison, page 455.) 5.-PRÆTOR (pre' tor). A civil officer, judge, or magistrate among the Romans. 6.-Lucius Junius Brutus (born about B.C. 500) was the son of Tarquinia, the sister of Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh king of Rome. His elder brother was murdered by Tarquinius, and Lucius escaped the same fate only by feigning idiocy. He afterwards roused the Romans to expel the Tarquins, and after the banishment of the latter he was elected first consul of the Roman republic. Marcus Brutus, who aided in the assassination of Cæsar, had been educated by his uncle Cato, and, like him, had been an adherent of Pompey. After the death of Cæsar he took possession of the province of Macedonia, where he was joined by Cassius. Being defeated by Antony and Octavianus in the second battle of Philippi (B.C. 42), he put an end to his own life. 7.-HARUSPICES (ha rus'pi çes). Those who professed to discover the will of the gods by observing certain phenomena of nature, or by examining the entrails of animals that were sacrificed. 8.-PONTIFICES (pon tif' i çes). Officers, or high-priests, who had supreme jurisdiction over matters of religion. From Lat. pons, bridge, and facere, to make, because the first bridge built in Rome was constructed and consecrated by the high-priest. ADDITIONAL READING SUGGESTED: The history of Julius Cæsar in "Student's History of Rome"; Abbott's "Julius Cæsar '; Shakespeare's tragedy of "Julius Cæsar," and "Antony and Cleopatra." XVIII-ANTONY'S ORATION OVER CESAR'S BODY. Page 93, Note 1.-SHAKESPEARE, see Note 1, Page 500. This article is a selection from the tragedy of "Julius Cæsar," act iii., scene 2. ANTONY. Marcus Antonius was born in 83 B.C., and had long been one of Cæsar's most active partisans. He was consul with Cæsar at the time of H the assassination, and it was he who had offered the kingly diadem to him. After the death of Cæsar, Antony pronounced the speech over the dead body, obtained the private property of Cæsar, read his will to the people, and, by appearing as his representative, endeavored to succeed to his power. The story of his successes and reverses, and of his final overthrow and death (50 B.C.), is too long to relate in these notes; the reader is therefore referred to the standard histories of that period, among which may be mentioned Smith's "Student's Smaller History of Rome"; Merivale's "General History of Rome." 2.—LUPERCAL (lū pēr' cal). A festival in honor of Lupercus, a divinity worshipped by the Roman shepherds as the protector of their flocks against wolves. 3.-DINT. Force; impression. 4.—Drachmas (drăk'mas). The drachma was a Greek silver coin, the average value of which was about eighteen cents. Gr. drachme, a handful. ADDITIONAL REAding suggested: Shakespeare's tragedy of "Julius Cæsar." XIX.-APHORISMS. He was Page 97, Note 1. -JONATHAN SWIFT, Dean of St. Patrick's, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1667; died there, October 19, 1745. educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and is best known as the author of the "Travels of Lemuel Gulliver." Among his other writings are "The Battle of the Books"; "Tale of a Tub"; "A Journal to Stella"; numerous prose essays, and a few poems. He was, perhaps, the greatest of English satirists. "The peruser of Swift," says Dr. Johnson, "wants little previous knowledge; and it will be sufficient that he is acquainted with common words and common things; he is neither required to mount elevations nor to explore profundities." For biography of Swift, see Forster's "Life of Swift." For criticisms, read Thackeray's English Humorists;" Masson's "Novelists and their Styles," and Stephen's "Dean Swift " (English Men of Letters). 2.-LORD BOLINGBROKE (bol' ing brook). Henry Saint John, a celebrated writer on philosophical subjects (1678-1751). He was an intimate friend of Swift and Pope. Dr. Johnson said of him: "Having discharged a blunderbuss against morality and religion, he had not the resolution to fire it off himself, but left half a crown to a beggarly Scotchman to draw the trigger after his death." 3.-"If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he... is worse than an infidel " (1 Tim. v. 8). ADDITIONAL READING SUGGESTED: The following selections from Swift: "Argument against the Abolition of Christianity"; "The Academy of Lagado "; "Directions to Servants." XX.-OLIVER GOLDSMITH. Page 101, Note 1.-THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY was born at Rothley Temple, England, in 1800. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 1826 was admitted to the bar. In 1830 he entered Parliament. He afterwards spent some years in India as legal adviser to the Supreme Court of Calcutta. Upon his return he was appointed Secretary of War under the administration of Lord Melbourne. He was returned to Parliament in 1839. In 1857 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Macaulay. He died in 1859. Macaulay's best literary and critical essays were written for the Edinburgh Review (1825-1844); his best biographical essays were contributed to the Encyclopædia Britannica " (1857–58). His fame as a poet was established in 1842, when he published his "Lays of Ancient Rome." Of his great work, the "History of England," he lived to publish only four volumes-a fragment of the fifth being published after his death. Read Macaulay's essays on "Milton," on "History," and on "Samuel Johnson." Read also his poems, "Horatius,” “ Virginia," and "The Battle of Ivry." For the best account of the man himself, read Trevelyan's "Life and Letters of Macaulay," also Morison's "Macaulay" (English Men of Letters). 2.-BANISHED DYNASTY. The Stuarts, of whom James II., banished in 1688, was the last to occupy the throne of Great Britain. 3.-SIZAR. From O. E. size or assize; literally, a settled portion of bread. Hence applied to students who received a stated allowance at reduced rates. 4.-WOOL-SACK. In the House of Lords the seat of the Lord Chancellor is composed of a large square bag of wool covered with red cloth. It was introduced during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to commemorate the act of Parliament forbidding the exportation of wool. The word wool-sack is used in general to denote the seat or office of a judge. 5.-USHER. A name applied in England to a subordinate or assistant teacher. From Lat. ostiarius, a door-keeper.-HACK. A drudge; a person overworked on hire. From Sp. haca, an ambling horse. 6.-"The Life of Nash has been reprinted at least three times-in Prior's edition (vol. iii. p. 249); in Cunningham's (vol. iv. p. 35); and in the 'Globe' edition (p. 513). This last, however, has appeared since Macaulay wrote the above."-ROLFE. 7.-"THE DUNCIAD." A poetical satire by Alexander Pope (see Note 1, p. 490). The object of the satire was to ridicule certain persons who had rendered themselves obnoxious to the poet. The first three books were published in 1728-29, and the fourth in 1742. 8.-MAUPERTUIS. Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (mō per twē'), a French astronomer (1698-1759). ADDITIONAL READING SUGGESTED: Macaulay's "Essay on Samuel Johnson"; Irving's "Life of Oliver Goldsmith "; Thackeray's "English Humorists." XXI.-THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. Page 117, Note 1.-OLIVER GOLDSMITH. See Macaulay's "Essay on Oliver Goldsmith," preceding this selection. 2.-BARBARY ALLEN. The old English ballad, " Barbara Allen's Cruelty," may be found in Percy's "Reliques." It is probable that Goldsmith had seen it in Allan Ramsay's "Tea-Table Miscellany," published in 1724. Pepys refers in his Diary (1665) to “the little Scotch song of Barbary Allen." 3.-PADUASOY. A kind of silk. From Padua, in Italy, and Fr. soie, silk. 4. PATCHED. It was the fashion to paste upon the face small pieces of silk of different shapes and sizes, partly to conceal defects and partly to heighten beauty. ADDITIONAL READING SUGGESTED: Goldsmith's "The Traveller," and "The Deserted Village." XXII.-KING CANUTE. Page 121, Note 1.-WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY was born in Calcutta, India, in 1811. He was educated at Cambridge, but did not take a degree. At about the age of thirty he determined to adopt literature as a profession, and his first work was a series of sketches written for Fraser's Magazine. In 1851, when the publication of "Vanity Fair" had made him famous, he delivered in London his lectures on the "English Humorists of the Eighteenth Century." In the following year he visited America, where he lectured on "The Four Georges." In 1859 he became editor of the Cornhill Magazine. He died in 1863. Thackeray's best sketches are included in the volume entitled "Roundabout Papers." His best novels are "Vanity Fair," 'Henry Esmond,' ," "Pendennis," and "The Newcomes." His lectures on "The Four Georges," and the "English Humorists of the Eighteenth Century," are works of enduring interest and value. 77 66 Read Hannay's "Studies on Thackeray," and Trollope's "Thackeray," in English Men of Letters. 2.-CANUTE (Ka nūte') King of Denmark and of England (995-1055). 3.-SILVERSTICKS. Field-officers of the English-life-guards.-GOLDSTICKS. Colonels of the life-guards, whose duty it is to attend the sovereign on state occasions. So called from the rods presented to these officers when they receive their commission. 4.-LACKEY. An attending servant; a footman. 5.-JEWISH CAPTAIN. Joshua. See Joshua x. 12. XXIII.-WEALTH versus ENJOYMENT. Page 126, Note 1.-JEREMY TAYLOR was born in 1613 at Cambridge. He was noted alike for his learning and his piety, and in 1640 was appointed chaplain to the King, Charles I. After the overthrow of that monarch he retired into Wales, where he taught a school and continued his ministry under the patronage of the Earl of Carbury. His sermons were noted for their fervency of tone and the rich imagery of their language. Upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 he was made Bishop of Down and Connor, and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin. He died in 1667. Among his numerous works the best is that entitled "Holy Living and Holy Dying (1650), of which Hazlitt says: "It is a divine pastoral. He writes to the faithful followers of Christ as the shepherd pipes to his flock. ... When the name of Jeremy Taylor is no longer remembered with reverence, genius will have become a mockery, and virtue an empty shade!" 2.-BRAVERY. This word is here used in a sense now almost obsolete, meaning magnificence, showy appearance. The older writers frequently used it in this sense: "Like a stately ship . . . With all her bravery on, and tackle trim."-MILTON. 3.-TO EAT. The active form used instead of the passive-to be eaten. 4.-Fire and the grave are two things which are never satisfied. XXIV. THE POOR RELATION. Page 129, Note 1.-CHARLES LAMB. The "gentle Elia," as this delightful essayist has been fondly called, was born in London, 1775, and educated at Christ's Hospital. He held for many years an appointment in the East India Company's offices in Leadenhall Street, retiring on a handsome pension in 1825. He wrote occasionally for periodicals, published a small volume of Album Verses," a tragedy, not very successful, called " Jolin Woodvil," and a volume of Tales founded on the plays of Shakespeare. It is by his "Essays of Elia," originally published in the London Magazine, that his reputation is sustained. He died 1834. "The quality of Lamb's humor," says Forster, was essentially different from that of other men. It was not simply a tissue of jests or conceits, broad, far-fetched, or elaborate, but it was a combination of humor with pathos-a sweet stream of thought, bubbling and sparkling with witty fanciessuch as I do not remember to have elsewhere met with, except in Shakespeare." See Hazlitt's "Spirit of the Age," Leigh Hunt's "Autobiography," and Alexander Smith's "Last Leaves." 2. AGATHOCLES (a gath' o clēs.) Tyrant of Syracuse and King of Sicily, died about B.C. 289. He was originally a potter. On account of his strength and personal beauty he was adopted by Damas, a wealthy Syracusan, whose widow he afterwards married. 3.-MORDECAI. An epithet applied to one who is a hinderance to another's ambitious projects. See Esther v. 13. 4. LAZARUS. See Note 6, page 452. 5. REMAINDER. Remaining. This use of the word is now obsolete, although formerly sanctioned by the best writers. "As dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage."-SHAKESPEARE. 6.-TIDE-WAITER. An officer who watches the landing of goods to secure payment of duties. 7.-The play referred to is Vanbrugh's comedy, entitled "The Confederacy," in which Amlet is one of the principal characters. 8.-GROTIUSES. Law-makers, jurists-a term derived from the name of Hugo de Grotius (grō' shus), a celebrated Dutch jurist (1583–1645). ADDITIONAL READING SUGGESTED: Robert Collyer's essay on Charles Lamb, in Harper's Fifth Reader. Also the following selections from the Essays of Elia: "Two Races of Men"; "The Old Benchers of the Inner Temple"; "A Dissertation on Roast Pig"; "Dream Children"; "Old China"; "The Child Angel"; "Popular Fallacies." XXV.-WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR AT ELY. Page 135, Note 1.-CHARLES KINGSLEY was born in 1819, near Dartmoor, in England. He was educated at King's College, London, and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He abandoned the law for the Church, and became the rector of Eversley, Hampshire. His writings are very numerous, and include "The Saint's Tragedy," 1848; "Alton Locke," a novel, 1850; Yeast, a Problem," 1851; "Westward, Ho!" a novel; "Glaucus, or the Wonders of the Shore"; "Andromeda," and other poems; "Hypatia"; and 'Hereward, the Last of the English "from which our selection has been |