Page:English Historical Review Volume 35.djvu/307

 1920 SHORT NOTICES 299 earliest instances of impressed, or ' plaque ', seals on documents, as to the relative dates when changes were introduced in England and on the Continent, and as to a number of other interesting points. E. Dr. Wallace E. Caldwell's Hellenic Conceptions of Peace (New York : Columbia University, 1919) is a sketch of the history of Greek civilization, as revealed by the attitude of Greek states, writers, and political leaders towards warfare, in the style of Mahaffy's Social Life in Greece. Naturally it contains little that is both new and true ; but there is an ingenious comparison between the methods of Philip of Macedon and the Germans — organization, efficiency, spies and agents, bribery, disregard of treaties and the rules of war, and ruthless brutality — as well as between the supineness of Athens and either England or the United States or both ; for Dr. Caldwell does not actually name his modern instances. The book as a whole is interesting and trustworthy. W. A. G. Signor Ettore Ciccotti's work on the history of Greece has been translated into German and published with the title GriechiscJie GeschicTite (Gotha : Perthes, 1920). It is a mere ' short history ', differing from others only in paying a little more attention to economic history and in containing a very defective chronological table. There are no references to authorities, ancient or modern. W. A. G. A thoroughly satisfactory disquisition upon the relations between the Hellenic or Hellenistic world and that of India remains to be written. Professor Rawlinson's work entitled Intercourse between India and the Western World (1916) ^ deals with only part of the subject and lacks accuracy. Mr. Gauranga Nath Banerjee, Lecturer on Ancient History in the University of Calcutta, essays to fill the gap by his treatise on Hellenism in Ancient India (Calcutta : Butterworth, 1919), which is so comprehensive as to deal with art, science, writing, literature, religion, philosophy, mytho- logy, and fables. A less ambitious plan probably would have resulted in a more useful book. The author's reading displays an astonishingly wide range, including books written in French and German. But the material has not been thoroughly digested, and the text has too much the appear- ance of a note-book, with references inserted in the page. Actual mistakes of fact are few. It would, however, be difficult to prove that the Assyrians ever held any part of the Indus basin ; edicts of Asoka have not yet been found in the Kabul valley, and an absurd remark on p. 258 is due to the misreading of ' pavana ' as ' Yavana '. Small but irritating clerical and typo- graphical slips, such as 'Prilaux' for 'Priaulx', 'Vetruvins' for 'Vitruvius', and the like, are too numerous. The absence of an index is a serious defect. The author deserves commendation for his readiness to examine all sides of a question and for the obvious sincerity of his endeavour to hold the balance evenly between opposed opinions. While his work lacks something of the finish expected by European readers, it may deserve the attention of a considerable public in India. The scepticism of the author concerning the reality of Roman influence on the art of Amaravati may, perhaps, be cured, or at least shaken, by perusal of chapter i, ' The Roman Origin of
 * See ante, xxxi. 661.