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Krumbacher's History of Byzantine Literature Geschichte Der 318 THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. to Rome before 729 A.U.C. (25 B.C.) ; he was The chapters on the language and metre one of the first of the poets included by cannot be here summarized. It is enough Philip of Thessalonica in his Corona, and was to say that the author has shown much the friend and contemporary of Parthenius. insight and acumen in his observation and He was in all likelihood a tep.cher of Greek analyses, and that his task is indispensable and was perhaps the tutor of the children of to the student of the Greek Anthology, Octavia, as his fellow-countryman Potamon especially from the point of metre, and of (according to Westermann) became the contemporary historical references and al- teacher of Tiberius. lusions ; it is not without its value to the In a brief niantisa Variana the author student of Roman poetry, as well as in endeavours to controvert Mommsen's view pointing out many Latin turns of thought that in Ep. 33 (A.P. ix. 291) the defeat of and expression, as in giving us in a con- Varus is referred to; he claims that the venient form a collection of epigrams which reference is to the expedition of Germanicus without doubt the poets of the Augustan in 769 A.U.C. (16 A.D.). Likewise in Ep. 24 age were wont to con over and aimed to (A.P. vii. 741) he cannot, with Mommsen, reproduce in Latin form. see a necessary reference to the defeat of J. H. WEIGHT. Varus. KRUMBACHER'S HISTORY OF BYZANTINE LITERATURE. Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur, von division is in the reign of Heraclius. The Justinian bis zum Ende des ostromischen writers of the sixth and of the first half of Beiches (527—1453). Von KARL KEDM- the seventh century, says Dr. Krumbacher, BACHER. Miinchen : Beck. 1891. (lland- ' bilden eine Nachbliite der antiken Littera- buch der klassischen Altertums-wissensdiaft, tur, nicht eine Vorfrucht des Byzantinismus.' von IWAN MULLEB. Band ix. 1 Abtheilung.) But, unluckily, Dr. Krumbacher is unable Mk. 8. 50. to act up to his own sound theory. His book is written for a series, and he has to LIKE many of those who have treated this begin where Christ or somebody left off. period, whether from the historical or from Unluckily, I said, thinking of Dr. Krum- the literary side, Dr. Krumbacher finds bacher's theory ; but by no means unluckily, that he has to begin by correcting old estab- I incline to think, for his readers. Nothing lished errors. He has a clear view of the could be better than his treatment of Pro- whole history of Greek literature, and he copius and Theophylactus Simocatta, and has eyes to see that the succession of writers, I for one am glad that he was compelled to both in verse and in prose, is continuous up take in the period of Justinian. But it to the reign of Heraclius. We cannot draw occurs to one that he would have done well a line at Procopius any more than at to choose a somewhat different title. His Zosimus or at Libanius or at Aristides. ' History of Byzantine Literature' deals We cannot say that Greek literature ends with the literature of a whole century, and ' Byzantine' literature begins in the which according to his own definition is not reign of Justinian any more than in the ' Byzantine.' Why did he not write a reign of Julian. If we include Priscus and Geschichte der spatgriechischen Litteratur ? Nonnus under the first head, it is arbitrary It is pleasant to note that Dr. Krumbach- to exclude Agathias and George the Pisi- er has learned something from England. dian. Dr. Krumbacher is perfectly justified Usually it is the other way; we learn so in his complaints against Bernhardy and much more from Germany than Germany those who made the beginning of Justinian's learns from us. But tho very simple facts reign a terminus and a starting-point. The which were crushed and hidden under a natural division falls about a century later. multitude of empires,—the Lower Empire, From the middle of the seventh century to the Western Empire, the Eastern Empire, the middle of the ninth there are no verse- the Byzantine Empire, the Greek Empire, writers, no writers of polite prose; only the Holy Roman Empire, the Graeco- a few chronicles. If then we are to have Roman Empire,—were never, either in two historians of Greek literature from France or in Germany, set forth in such a Homer to Chalkokondyles, the right line of clear light as in England by Mr. Freeman. THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. 319 Dr. Krumbacher has grasped these very and chronographers, and he makes one point simple facts. He speaks of a development which as far as I know is new. He shows ' des spateren romischen Reiches.' He that these two classes of writers appealed knows that ' von einem ostromischen oder to different audiences, (p. 34). The pub- byzantinischen Reich kann man genau lic for whom the historians wrote was an genommen, erst seit dem Jahre 800 sprechen,' educated public, consisting chiefly of the and that ' das sogenannte ostrbmische oder court circle, the higher orders of the clergy byzantinische Reich' begins only ' in einem and the higher ranks in the official world. gewissen Sinne ' in 395. The chroniclers on the other hand composed Dr. Krumbacher is full of enthusiasm for for the great mass of the people, chiefly his subject. He contradicts the general perhaps for ill-educated monks who desired prejudice that Byzantine literature is mo- pious instruction touching the events of notonous and that Byzantine authors have of secular history. In his treatment of no individuality. He asserts that the By- special chroniclers and historians, Dr. zantines were not Chinese and that their Krumbacher is obliged by the conditions of works were not wanting in variety. his work to be short, but it is wonderful ' Wenn wir uns freilich mit der Versiche- how much he contrives to press into a small rung Bernhardys beruhigen, dass alle By- space. His sections on Theophylactus, Anna zantiner eine gewisse Familien'ahnlichkeit Comnena and Nicephorus Gregoras strike besitzen, werden wir in der Erkenntniss me as especially good. I turned with in- nicht weiter kouimen. Denselben Eindruck terest to his account of Kinnamos, for der Verwandtschaft erhalt der ferner ste- whom I have a weakness, and I was re- hende Beobachter auch von den meisten warded by finding a neat German ex- Autoren anderer Litteraturen. Wie lang pression about his style : 'die Darstelling bedarf es z. B. bis man aus der scheinbar des Kinnamos hat etwas soldatenmdgsig ziemlich gleichmassig realistisch-erotisch Knappes.' But Dr. Krumbacher insinuates a gefarbten Masse der franzb'sischen Roman- rebuke to this writer for the very feature schriftsteller die Typen herausgreifen und which won my heart; that is to say ' seine von einander so unterscheiden lernt, dass zahe Betonung der ausschliesslichen Legi- eine beliebige Stichprobe zur Bestimmung des timitat des ostromischen Thrones.' In this Autors hinreicht. Auch in Byzanz existie- respect Kinnamos, although his motives were ren so grundverschiedene Gestalten wie patriotic, was perfectly right. He had Victor Hugo, Daudet, Zola.' a clear idea of the continuity of the Roman Empire ; he protests against the attempt to Indeed Dr. Krumbacher puts forth many distinguish between a Roman Empire and a views which may surprise those who, even Byzantine Empire. Let us give him credit if they admit the importance of ' Byzantine' for having put the matter more clearly than history, are accustomed to regard Byzantine any other historian before Mr. Freeman. historians with contempt. He tells us (p. 39) that most of them possessed what he Dr. Krumbacher is thoroughly master of calls ' historical sense ' (geschichtlichen Sinn) his subject and he deals with almost every and were critical in dealing with their part equally well. It is hardly fair perhaps materials. to criticise details in a work which covers ' Dass sie hinter der modernen Genauigkeit such an immense field. He is sometimes a weit zuriick bleiben, ist kein Vorwurf; little too positive. I am not yet convinced denn diese ist erst durch die gesteigerten that John Malalas lived in the reign of Mittel der Veroffentlichung und Verviel- Justinian; and I cannot admit that the faltigung moglich geworden. Soweit es Procopian authorship of the ' Secret History' aber die persbnlichen Krafte und die Bedin- is ' vollig erwiesen.' In regard to the gungen des Zeitalters gestatten, streben die difficult question whether the Biftktov TJ}S Geschichtscbreiber in Byzanz nach Infor- K-ovyKea-ras or the Livre de la Conqueste was mation und bemiihen sich von wohlunter- the original from which the other was a richteten Personen ausfuhrliche Nachrichten free translation, Dr.Krumbacher adopts the zu erhalten. Sie verschmahen es nicht zu conclusion of his friend Mr. J. Schmitt, and diesem Behufe rohe Kriegsleute, die wich- assigns the priority to the Greek chronicle. tigen Ereignissen beiwohnten, griindlich I read with the greatest interest Mr. auszufragen ; sie verstehen sich sogar dazu Schmitt's able monograph and, though I fremde von ' Barbaren ' wie Armeniern quite admit that he has made out a very abgefasste Schriftwerke zu beniitzen.' strong case, I do not believe that the last Dr. Krumbacher has some excellent re- word has yet been said. Certainly the marks on the differences between historians observations of M. Kohler in a recent num- 320 THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. ber of the Revue Historique deserve con- afford to neglect. Valuable papers are sideration. In the unduly short note on constantly appearing in the Zhurnal Minis- Kritobulos (p. 107) it might have been terstva Narodnago Prosviestchenia.
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