[vooRHis] ANCESTRY OF ARCHIBALD LAMPMAN 105 



val times and the origins of nations, his knowledge became broad and 

 his appreciation of the hidden philosophy of economics based on 

 antecedent causes was a guide in forming his judgment. Genuine 

 sympathy and love for his fellow man bespoke the largeness of his 

 heart. So acute were his perceptions that no weakness or stain 

 escaped his observation; yet he never revealed in unkindly manner 

 his knowledge of another's faults but, nevertheless, the offender 

 instinctively knew that his secret was revealed. His estimate of the 

 world's doings was enlightened by his keen sense of humour. The, 

 ludicrousness of man's littleness and self-deception amused him 

 intensely, because the wider vision of his trained mind enabled him 

 to look beneath the surface and to recognize realities. 



Though he thought of other nations thus objectively, his interest 

 in Canadian affairs was subjective in the highest measure. What 

 happened in Canada was to him a personal affair of magnitude and 

 seriousness. His loyalty to the Dominion and his unbounded faith 

 in the future of Canada were an inspiration to his friends. Through 

 him they gathered strength. Patriotism was born in him for his 

 ancestors had fought and died in the defense of Canada, and it is 

 significant that the poet's son with all the eligible young men of the 

 immediate family and others of collateral branches were among the 

 earliest to enlist in the last war. Such a course to them seemed but 

 natural. 



Lampman's early training in the classics had developed' a pro- 

 found respect for the thinkers of ages past. They were like living 

 personalities to him and to his last days they contributed in no small 

 measure to his enjoyment of life. In the midst of a busy life already 

 well filled with the duties of his office, the cares of home, and his own 

 writing and reading, he always found time to devote to his Greek. 

 He Afas well read in Plato, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Homer, and the 

 comedies of Aristophanes furnished him with material for many a 

 delightful discourse while on camping trips. Latin authors did not 

 so strongly appeal to him for he recognized their lack of original 

 imagination and literary inventive genius. It was the polish, refine- 

 ment and beauty of Greek art that attracted him. 



In reading the history of his father's and mother's families one 

 sees that the outstanding characteristics of the poet's mind existed 

 in his ancestors. His remarkable love for nature, his clear percep- 

 tions and keenness of vision, his fondness for the classics, his student 

 habit of mind, his literary judgment, his patriotism, are all traceable 

 to his forefathers. Lampman was descended from two United Empire 

 Loyalist families, the Gesners and Lampmans, both of whom had 



