3^4 



NATURE 



[August i8, 1898 



See, also, how Dante characterises in the following 

 lines the mighty power of the sun : — 



" Lo ministro maggior della natura, 

 Che del valor del cielo i! mondo imprenta, 

 E col suo lume il tempo ne misura," 



Par., C. X., lines 28-30, 



It is also remarkable that the great Italian poet, differ- 

 ing in opinion from Aristotle ("il maestro di color che 

 sanno"), and Ptolemy, who believed that the light of the 

 Milky Way was caused by the density of the sky at the 

 zone through which it passes, thought, with Democritus, 

 that the puzzling galaxy consisted of an immense number 

 of stars, more or less bright ; as the following lines tell 

 us : — 



" Come, distiuta da minori e maggi 

 Lumi, biancheggia tra i poli del mondo 

 Galassia si, che fa dubbiar ben saggi," 



Par., C. xiv., lines 97-99. 



And, to finish with quotations, see in the following 

 lines how Dante held firm the true one of the many 

 theories of the tides which were advocated in the Middle 

 Ages : — 



" E come il volger del ciel della luna 

 Cuopre e discuopre i liti senza posa, 

 Cosi fa di Fiorenza la fortuna ; " 



Par., C. xvi., lines 82-84. 



The foregoing quotations are sufficient to prove that 

 Dante possessed a vast amount of scientific knowledge, 

 which, in most cases, he displays most judiciously to 

 interest his readers, and to inculcate in their minds the 

 truths he wants to teach them. In conclusion, I beg 

 leave to say again that if the fame of the great 

 Italian grows in proportion with the world's civilisation, 

 it is because he was not merely a great poet, but because 

 he was also a great artist, a profound philosopher, an 

 eminent astronomer, and an inspired theologian. 



N. Perini. 



COLENSO'S MAORI DICTIONARY. 

 A Maori English Lexicon. By the Rev. W. Colenso. 

 (Wellington, 1898.) 



MR. COLENSO'S Maori English Lexicon, being, 

 as stated on the title-page, a comprehensive 

 dictionary of the New Zealand tongue, including 

 mythical, mythological, "taboo" or sacred, genea- 

 logical, proverbial, poetical, tropological, sacerdotal, 

 incantatory, natural history, idiomatic, abbreviated, 

 tribal and other names and terms of and allusions 

 to persons, things, acts, and places in ancient times, also 

 showing their affinities with cognate Polynesian dialects 

 and foreign languages, with copious pure Maori ex- 

 amples, has a sad history to tell. To begin with, it is 

 only a first instalment, going no further than Anguta m 

 the Maori English part, and to come in the English Maori 

 part ; nor does it seem settled even now that Mr. Colenso 

 will be able to finish the publication of it. That such 

 a lexicon ought to have been published by the New 

 Zealand Government long ago, admits of no gainsaying. 

 It is a work practically useful to the whole Colony, and 

 who is to publish such a work if the Government declines 

 to do so? As far back as 1861 the Rev, W. Colenso 

 made his first proposal to the House of Representatives. 

 His motion, he tells us, was favourably received, and the 

 NO.. I 503, VOL. 58] 



resolution was passed, "That the House considers it 

 highly desirable that a sum of money be devoted for the 

 purpose of commencing a Standard Library Dictionary 

 of the Maori Language." But there followed the ominous 

 sentence, "as soon as the finances of the Colony will 

 permit." A new application was made in 1862, when 

 the finances seemed to be in a flourishing state, but 

 without results. Then came the war in 1863, and 

 nothing was done. The Governor, Sir George Grey, 

 took an active interest in the matter ; but in spite 

 of that, nothing was done in 1864. At last, in 1865, an 

 estimate was asked for, and Mr. Colenso stated that the 

 time required would be seven years, and the expense 

 would be 300/. per annum. In 1865 the House once 

 more decided that it is highly desirable that the Maori 

 dictionary should be commenced forthwith. Mr. Colenso 

 then devoted himself entirely to this work, shutting him- 

 self up, as he says, fourteen and even sixteen hours a day. 

 He gave up his official duties and his useful natural 

 history studies, which had made his name familiar to 

 students at home. He received, however, but scant 

 recognition from the Government, and in 1867 it seems 

 that an official inquiry was called for by the House, and 

 another gentleman was appointed to inspect and report. 

 The report was favourable, and so were some other 

 reports in 1868. But the House seems to have grown 

 impatient. Mr. Colenso was informed that the work must 

 be finished by 1870, and that no more money should be 

 paid after that date. After that, the relations between 

 the Government and the compiler of the dictionary 

 seem to have become strained. Unfortunately illness 

 supervened, possibly aggravated by disappointment, for 

 Mr. Colenso speaks of "having been goaded on to 

 desperation almost through the remarks made in the 

 House and the bad faith of the Government." In 1870- 

 Mr. Colenso entered the Provincial Council again, 

 and was appointed Inspector of Schools, so that he 

 could devote his spare time only to the prosecution of 

 his literary labours. A last appeal was made by Mr. 

 Colenso in 1875, offering to hand over his materials to 

 Government, or to go on again with his work if the 

 Government would grant the necessary funds. To this,, 

 we are informed, no answer was returned, but transac- 

 tions went on, more or less unsatisfactory, till at last the 

 first instalment of the dictionary was sent to press, and 

 published in 1898 ! 



This certainly seems a sad history, and, considering 

 Mr. Colenso's age, we can hardly hope that he will be 

 allowed to finish this great undertaking. In the mean- 

 time two Maori dictionaries have been published by 

 Williams and by Tregear, but on a smaller scale ; so that 

 Mr. Colenso's work may still be very useful as filling 

 many a gap left by his predecessors. It is difficult for 

 an outsider to form an opinion as to the rights of the 

 case. Scholars are sometimes dilatory, and Govern- 

 ments are sometimes stingy, and that on the highest 

 principles. Personal feuds, too, are difficult to avoid 

 when different parties divide the Government, and 

 patronage is put into the hands of whatever party is 

 in power. 



The loss to science, particularly to linguistic studies, is 

 very great, for by his long residence among the Maoris 

 Mr. Colenso seemed highly qualified for the work which 



