Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 2.djvu/110

 102

NOTES AND QUERIES. [&* s. it A, e, is.

Treves, and Nimes, examining the abundant traces of Christianity in its parasitical stage which have been and are being unearthed there, are pretty familiar with early Chris- tian architectural methods. The thing indeed is to find a noble building of the early Empire that has not been deformed by one or more churches settling among its columns and arches, in the hollows and armpits of basilica and forum, on the top of gates and triumphal arches, in the baths, in the prisons, &c., but nowhere, so far as I am aware, fashioning its own columns and architraves, but every- where deliberately and unstintingly appro- priating, in a truly commercial spirit, the materials and decorations of other edifices. Of course, I am writing of the fourth and fifth centuries, not of times mediaeval.

The explanations of this are close at hand. Art of every kind had grossly degenerated, even down to the handwriting and the coinage. The blood of Rome was corrupted beyond recovery corrupt as the Tiber water she soon had to consume owing to the dis- repair and destruction of the aqueducts. Even the brick-stamps are badly lettered. Communism was hard at work. But I will not enlarge upon these matters here. The more distant colonial possessions we can scarcely suppose to have retained artistic superiority to the maternal cities of the Empire. And what was the significance of Silchester in the remote and precarious colony of Britain ?

Moreover, we cannot but seriously call to mind the rapid and violent imperial fluctua- tions to and fro in that fourth century between Christianity and its antecedent paganism, and the survival of paganism in second and third rate provincial centres long afterwards.

To conclude this note, the so-called narthex or vestibule-portico, so necessary a feature in the climatic conditions of Britain, was not otherwise than a familiar feature in Rome. If we turn to the basilica of Constantino in the latter city in its first condition, what do we find 1 It had a nave and two aisles ; at its N.W. end an apse ; and at its S.E. end, or entrance, a vestibule-portico. But some will perhaps say that was built by Constantine, the first Christian emperor. Unfortunately, even were that the case, which it is not, its con- struction would not belong to the period of Constantine's extremely shady Christianity. As matter of fact, it was built by his pagan predecessor Maxentius, and appropriated and altered by his conqueror, the man who deco- rated his own trvv-nphal arch with the bas- reliefs and marbles stolen wholesale, within

and without, from the splendid arch of Trajan and the monuments of the Fabii. ST. CLAIR BADDELEY.

SMITH'S 'CYCLOPEDIA OF NAMES.' I HAVE already pointed out in these columns (8 th S. x. 85) some of the errors which detract from the usefulness of this very modern and scientific work, but there are still others, the correction of which, I think, may both interest and instruct. Let us take first the Russian language, one of the half dozen chief languages of the world. It is perhaps too much to hope that some day it will be taught in all our schools ; but at any rate it would be of very great use if the editors of our gazetteers and bio- graphical dictionaries could acquire suffi- cient knowledge of this noble tongue to enable them to figure the correct pronun- ciation of its proper names. The book I am criticizing very rarely shows such knowledge. Potemkiri is, indeed, the only name which it treats with minute appre- ciation of the niceties of Russian ; in an astonishing number of instances it shows carelessness of them. I do not pretend to have searched out all the Russian names in this comprehensive volume ; but looking out at random some of the governments or larger territorial divisions, I find many, if not most of them, given incorrectly. It is difficult to say what excuse could be found for this. It is just as easy for an English- man to say Mohileff, Olonetz, Pultava, Sara- toff, Taurida, Tchernigoff, Vologda, Voronezh, as it is for him to accent the wrong syllables marked by Smith. Among other names I have come across which are wrong I may quote the following :

1. Lake Onega. 2. The compound Tsar- skoye Selo. 3. Smith gives Jaroslaw as the name of a town in Galicia, and Yaroslav and Yaroslavl as alternative forms for a town in Russia, whereas in correct usage Jaroslaw and Yaroslav are alternatives for the Galician town, and Yaroslavl alone is Russian. 4. Borodino, Tarutino, are treated as if Italian, which might pass, were only some notice given that Russians pronounce them Borodin6, Tarutino. 5. Barnaul, according to Smith, is like " Barn-owl," two syllables, but according to a Siberian I know, a native of the town, is three syllables. 6. Riazan, on the other hand, Smith makes three syl- lables instead of two. 7. Vladikavkaz should have its last syllable pronounced as in English, and not like "cats." 8. Conversely in Akhalzikh Smith reduces tz to z. 9. In