The Odyssey must continue to appeal to adventurous persons more
powerfully than any other of the ancient stories because, blent with
the classic quality of its pure Greek style, there can be found in it
that magical element of thrilling romance, which belongs not to one
age, but to all time.
3. THE BACCHANALS. THE BACCHÆ OF EURIPIDES. _Translated by Professor
Gilbert Murray_.
Euripides, the favourite poet of John Milton and Goethe, is the most
modern in feeling, the most romantic in mood of all the Greek poets.
One is conscious that in his work, as in the sculpture of Praxiteles,
the calm beauty of the Apollonian temper is touched by the wilder
rhythm of the perilous music of Dionysus.
4. HORACE. _Any selection in Latin of The Odes of Horace and
complete prose translation published by Macmillan_.
Flawlessly hammered out, as if from eternal bronze--"aere
perennius"--The Odes of Horace are the consummate expression of the
pride, the reserve, the tragic playfulness, the epicurean calm, the
absolute distinction of the Imperial Roman spirit. A few lines taken
at random and learned by heart would act as a talisman in all hours to
drive away the insolent pressure of the vulgar and common crowd.
5. CATULLUS. _Any Latin edition and the prose translation published
by Macmillan bound up with Tibullus_.
Catullus, the contemporary of Julius Caesar, is, of all the ancient
lyrical poets, the one most modern and neurotic in feeling. One
discerns in his work, breathing through the ancient Roman reserve, the
pressure of that passionate and rebellious reaction to life, which we
enjoy in the most magical of all later poets from Villon to Verlaine.
6. DANTE 'S DIVINE COMEDY. _Best edition the "Temple Classics," in
three small volumes, with the Italian original and English prose
translation on opposite pages_.
Dante's poetry can legitimately be enjoyed in single great passages,
of which there are more in the "Inferno" than in the other sections of
the poem. His peculiar quality is a certain blending of mordant
realism with a high and penetrating beauty. There is no need in
reading him to vex oneself with symbolic interpretations. He is at his
best, when from behind his scholastic philosophy, bursts forth, in
direct personal betrayal, his pride, his humility, his passion, and
his disdain.