December 22, 1910] 



NATURE 



239 



v.iried a character, and certainly none has Mr. 



Hogarth's gift of vivid narrative. Many readers will 



.ubtless be surprised that the siudy of archaeology 



From "Accidents of an .\ntiquar>-'s Life, 



>hould prove so attractive and picturesque an occu- 

 pation, but it is not without its hardships, as Mr. 

 Hogarth's pages bear witness. Saddle-sores, poor 



by anyone who would take part in the exploration of 

 the less accessible countries of the Nearer East. But 

 .Mr. Hogarth lays no undue stress on what he has 

 undergone, and in his introductory 

 chapter, which he entitles an 

 " .Apology of an Apprentice," he 

 examines the basis of the faith 

 that has sustained him. 



We do not pretend to an opinion 

 as to whether an antiquary, like 

 a poet, is born, not made, but 

 there can be little doubt that care- 

 ful training may do much to 

 mould an original, though perhaps 

 latent, inclination. .Apart from 

 the fact that he is more curious 

 of the past than the present, Mr. 

 Hogarth well describes the anti- 

 quary as loving detail for its own 

 • 'ke and as caring less for ends 

 than means. His ideals are, in 

 fact, rather different from those of 

 the purely scientific mind. The 

 severe man of science may extol 

 the pursuit of knowledge for its 

 own sake, but at the back of his 

 mind there is always an idea of 

 benefiting somebody or something. 

 The true antiquary has no such 

 obsession. The results of his 

 labours, when set out and labelled 

 in public museums, mav perhaps 

 hnve an educational value — 

 archaeology may after all be the handmaid of history 

 — but to him the pursuit is an end in itself apart 

 from its results. 



Fig. 3. — ihe Iheatre of Aspendus. 



food, the necessity to keep going even when half- 

 dead with malaria, and the absence of skilled advice 

 when suffering from other ailments, have to be faced 



NO. 2147, VOL. 85] 



F om "Accidents of an Antiquary's Life." 



j Though such may be the philosophy of " the anti- 

 quarian trade," Mr. Hogarch does not fail to recog- 

 nise that plunder is a real incentive, even to the most 



