place, B, it is alleged, may, if a susceptible person, be guided to the place so as to discover the object hid without any assistance from A other than being permitted to hold the back of his (B's) hand on A's forehead. The believing explanation is that thought-force, nervous energy, or the like passes in a perfectly natural but as yet unexplained manner through A's forehead into B's hand, and so to B's mind. The unbelieving theory is that A inevitably, but quite unconsciously, communicates a succession of slight but sufficient muscular indications to B, which B instinctively follows without being aware of them severally. Enthu siasts have sought to include thought-reading in the sphere of spiritualism; see the Proceedings of the Psychical Research Society.

Thourout, a town in the Belgian province of West Flanders, 11 miles SW. of Bruges. Of great commercial importance in the middle ages, it now manufactures linens and hats. Pop. 8972.

Thousand Islands. See ST LAWRENCE. Thrace, a name used by the ancients somewhat vaguely for a large region to the west of the Euxine (Black Sea) so as to include the whole country between the Ister (Danube) and the Egean, and even part of the Scythian country beyond the Ister. Under the Romans, however, part of this vast region was joined to Macedonia; the country between the Ister and the Hæmus (Balkans) became the province of Mosia (mod. Bulgaria); so that the province of Thracia was the remaining district between the Hamus and the Propontis, and from the Nestus River (mod. Karasu) to the Euxine; see the map of the Roman empire, Vol. VIII. Thracia was hilly in surface, Rhodope (q.v.) being the chief mountain-system; the chief river was the Hebrus (Maritza); great part of the area was occupied by forest. Who the ancient Thracians were has been much disputed; their language has perished utterly; but there seems no doubt that they were a branch of the Indo-European stock, and kinsmen, more or less remote, of the Greeks, though they were regarded by the Greeks as barbarians. Thrace never constituted one powerful monarchy, though at times the kings of one or other of the Thracian clans extended his power over great part of the country, so as to be formidable to the Athenian colonists or to the Macedonian monarchs. The accepted Roman suzerainty long remained half independent; but under Vespasian Thrace became a province of the empire, and its people became Romanised so entirely that it seems not improb. able the Thracian provincials were the direct ancestors of the Vlachs, speaking Roumanian, who are still numerous south of the Danube. Goths and Huns overran the country; Bulgarians occupied the north; and since the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks the fortunes of Thrace have been largely bound up with those of that city. Latterly the northern part of Thrace has become the province of Eastern Roumelia (see BULGARIA), while the remainder is still an integral part of the Ottoman empire.

Thrale. See PIOZZI.

Thrashing is the separating of the grain or seeds of plants from the straw. The earliest method was doubtless the beating out of the grain from the ears with a stick. An improvement on this was the practice of the ancient Egyptians and Israelites of spreading out the loosened sheaves of grain on a circular piece of hard ground 50 to 100 feet in diameter, and driving oxen backwards and

forwards over it, so as to tread the grain out; but, as this damaged part of the grain, it was partially superseded by the thrashing sledge, a heavy frame mounted on three rollers, which was dragged over the heaps of sheaves. Similar methods of thrashing were employed by the Greeks and Romans— the stick, the treading by men or horses, and the thrashing-sledge being found in common use among them. The primitive implement in northern Europe was the stick, and an improved modification of it, the flail (two sticks loosely fastened together at one end by stout thongs), has not yet disappeared.

Various attempts were made to supersede the flail by a machine, but with little success, till 1787, when Andrew Meikle, an ingenious Scotch mechanic, produced a thrashing-mill so perfect that even after having run the gauntlet of nearly a century of improvers it is essentially the machine of its original inventor. In Meikle's mill the sheaves are loosened and spread out one by one on the feedingboard, A (fig. 1), with the ears towards the machine; they are then pushed forward till caught between two revolving fluted rollers of cast-iron, B; and as soon as one sheaf disappears between the rollers another is presented to them. Behind the rollers is

Fig. 1.

a rapidly revolving drum or cylinder, C, having four beaters, D, D, D, D, or spars of wood armed with iron placed along its surface parallel to its axle; and these beaters, striking the heads as they are protruded from between the rollers, detach the seeds and husks. Grain and straw then pass together over the cylinder, the former falling through the wire-work, F, F, while the straw is carried forward by the circular rakes, G, H, and, being by them thoroughly tossed and separated from the grain and chaff, is ejected at K. The grain which has fallen through the wire-work is received into a winnowing-machine, where it is cleansed from chaff, &c., and then is either discharged upon the barn-floor or, as is the case with the most improved machines, is raised by a series of buckets fixed on an endless web, and again winnowed, to separate the perfect grains from the light and small seeds. Barley is, previous to the second winnowing, subjected to the process of 'hummelling,' by which the awns are removed; but the rest of the process is the same as above.

The earlier alterations upon Meikle's invention were chiefly confined to modifications of the drum; such as diminishing the distance between the drum and its cover, E, E, increasing the number of the beaters, and accelerating the speed of the drum. The speed of the thrashing-machine was next increased, while appliances were attached by means of which at the one operation the grain was thrashed, dressed ready for market, elevated to the granary, and perhaps even sacked, the straw being carried on endless webs to any given part of the straw barn.

THRASIMENE

The portable thrashing-machine, now so generally employed in America and England, and to a lesser extent in Scotland, has not the two grooved rollers, the loosened sheaf being at once submitted to the action of the thrashing-machinery; the drum, which is a high-speed drum, is provided with six or eight beaters, and its cover is capable of being set at any required distance from it by means of

screws.

The attention of inventors and manufacturers of thrashing-machines has been turned of late not only to the question of securing increased speed and more finished work, but also to providing against the risk of accidents to those employed about the mills. The feeding of those high-speed drums which were getting so common was attended with considerable danger, and to prevent this safety-drums of different patterns have been introduced by the various makers. The best of these are so effective that accidents in feeding now rarely occur. Some of the modern machines thrash from 12 to 16 or even more quarters of oats per hour. From 6 to 8 quarters per hour are common quantities even for comparatively small machines.

The driving-power is wind, water, horse-power, or steam; but the first is so very uncertain and unequal in its operation that it has nowadays been mostly superseded by the others. Water power is always desirable, and when it can be had in sufficient quantity or regularly it is much to be preferred in point of economy, its mode of application to thrashing being either by the ordinary Water-power (q.v.) or by Barker's Mill (q.v.). Horse-power was the agent in most common use in the earlier days of thrashing-mills, the horses being yoked to beams attached to a vertical revolving shaft which communicated motion by means of bevelled gear to the thrashing-machine. But it was found that this kind of work was very trying for the horses, and interfered considerably with the other work of the farm; and accordingly steam-power, as being more economical, has extensively superseded horse-labour, engines of 4 to 10

Fig. 2.

horse-power being generally employed. Portable thrashing mills and engines (fig. 2) are thought by many to be more economical, from their saving the labour of transporting the crop from the stack to the barn, and from their adaptability to the requirements of a farmer who may rent more than one holding in a district. On the other hand, however, some prefer the fixed machine on account of cheapness and diminished liability to derangement. Hand-power thrashing-machines are made for use on small holdings. They are hard to drive, but do their work admirably.

Thrasimene. See TRASIMENE. Thrasybu'lus, Athenian general and statesman, fought in many campaigns at home and abroad, and was a strenuous supporter of the democracy. In 411 B.C. he helped to overthrow the

oligarchy of the Four Hundred, and was banished by the Thirty Tyrants, but restored the democracy in 403. He conquered Lesbos, and defended Rhodes, but was slain in 389.

Thread-cells, another name for Stinging-cells (q.v.), given on account of the coiled thread or lasso that springs out and stings.

Thread-manufacture.

Any fibrous substance, such as cotton or flax, when it is to be called thread. woven, is first spun into yarn, which is sometimes consists of at least two or more yarns twisted Sewing-thread, however, always together. In the spinning of yarn the process is the same whether it is to be woven into cloth or twisted into thread (see SPINNING). Beginning manufacturing a six-cord cotton thread (a very with the spun yarn, the stages in the process of common kind) are: (1) The yarn is doubled and twisted into a two-ply thread; (3) the thread is wound upon bobbins; (2) the double yarn is then next rewound on bobbins for the second twist; (4) the thread is twisted a second time on the twisting-frame, three two-ply threads being thus formed into a six-cord thread; (5) the thread is rewound on large bobbins, from which it is reeled into hanks for bleaching or dyeing; (6) the bleached or dyed thread is next rewound on bobbins for spooling; (7) spooling-i.e. winding the thread on small bobbins called spools or pirns for use. spindles of the spooling-machine run at a speed of 7000 revolutions per minute. See also BOBBIN.

The

Cotton thread is made at Manchester and in its

neighbourhood, as well as at Glasgow. Paisley is, in Great Britain. The making of thread on an however, the principal seat of the manufacture Christian Shaw of Bargarran. She had obtained industrial scale was begun in that town in 1722 by information from Holland about the process of making linen thread, and what she and her friends manufactured was sold at the time under the name of Balgarran thread.' The industry did not bematerial used. come of great importance so long as flax was the But in the early part of the 19th century, when the spinning-machines of Hargreaves, Arkwright, and others came largely into use, the manufacture of cotton thread was begun in Paisley, and its progress has been on the whole rapid. This has been especially the case since 1860 through the constantly increasing use of sewing-machines for both domestic and factory purposes. From 10,000 to 12,000 hands were in 1892 employed at the Paisley thread-mills. The mills of Messrs J. & P. Coats, Limited, are spread over 40 acres of ground, and give employment to fully 5000 persons; and this firm has also established works at Pawtucket in the United States, and at St Petersburg. Next in importance are the works of the Messrs Clark. In the United States thread is made in more than one of the north-eastern states. Linen thread is made at Johnstone near Paisley, Belfast, Nottingham, and other places. Although a much less quantity of it is manufactured, it is perhaps used for a greater variety of purposes than cotton thread. Fine kinds are required for lacemaking, and strong kinds for sewing heavy fabrics, as well as for shoemakers', saddlers', and bookbinders' use. Silk thread, the stronger kinds of which are called twist, is now used to a very large extent for sewing dyed articles of dress.

Threadneedle Street, in the City of London, got its name from the Merchant Taylors' Company, whose present hall is built on an estate acquired by them as early as 1331. It leads from Bishopsgate Street to the Bank of England, which hence is often called the 'Old Lady in Threadneedle Street.'

Thread-worms, a popular name for Nematoda, a class of more or less thread-like worms,

many of which are parasitic, while others are freeliving. The body is unsegmented; there is a welldeveloped cuticle; there is a complete alimentary canal surrounded anteriorly by a nerve-ring from which six nerves run forward and backward. The sexes are separate, and the life-history is often intricate. Several species are often parasitic in man-Ascaris lumbricoides, in the small intestine; Oxyuris vermicularis, in the cæcum and large intestine; Dochmius duodenalis, in the small intestine; Filaria sanguinia hominis, in the blood; Dracunculus medinensis, the Guinea-worm; Trichina spiralis; Trichocephalus dispar, in the cæcum and large intestine. Not a few are parasitic on plants-e. g. several species of Tylenchus, which infest wheat and other crops. Some occur in domesticated animals-e.g. Strongylus armatris, the palisade worm, which causes aneurism in the horse, or Filaria immitis in the heart of the dog, or Ollulanus, which passes from mouse to cat. Others live freely in water and putrefying substances-e. g. Euoplius and many other genera.

See ASCARIS, GUINEA-WORM, PARASITISM, TRICHINA; Leuckart, Parasites of Man (1876; Eng. trans. 1886); Schneider, Monographie der Nematoden (1876).

Threats, considered legally, are intimidation by moral terrorism. Their purpose is to make the person threatened surrender some right, or pay money, or do something to his detriment from fear of a greater evil. The usual form of the crime is sending anonymously or otherwise a threatening letter demanding money or valuable property, under the menace that the victim will be mur dered, or his house or property will be destroyed, or his cattle killed or wounded, or that he will be charged with some infamous crime. (The offence is committed though a guilty person be threatened.) To procure the execution of a deed by threats, or to threaten to publish a libel, are varieties of the same offence. In their extreme form such acts are punished with penal servitude for life.

Three Kings, FEAST OF THE, a famous mediæval festival, identical with Epiphany or Twelfth Night. For the kings, see MAGI.

Three Rivers (Trois Rivières), capital of St Maurice county, Quebec, at the confluence of the St Maurice and St Lawrence, 95 miles by rail, NE. of Montreal. It has a large trade in lumber, over $1,000,000 being invested in mills and booms where logs are accumulated on the St Maurice; and it manufactures boots and shoes, and great numbers of car-wheels and stoves from the bog-iron ore of the vicinity. Three Rivers was founded by Champlain in 1634; a severe battle fought here on 16th June 1776 proved disastrous to the Americans. The city is noted for its Roman Catholic institutions, and is the seat of a bishop. Pop. 9296.THREE RIVERS, Michigan, on the St Joseph River, 128 miles by rail E. of Chicago, has some manufactures and valuable mineral springs. 3122.

Thresher. See Fox SHARK.
Threshing. See THRASHING.

Pop.

Thrift (Armeria), a genus of plants of the natural order Plumbaginea, having the flowers collected into a rounded head, a funnel-shaped, dry, and membranous calyx, five petals united at the base, and narrow, often grass-like, leaves. Two species are included in the British flora, but one of them (A. plantaginea) is only found wild in Jersey. The other (A. vulgaris) grows in turf-like tufts, with linear leaves, scapes a few inches high, and beautiful rose-coloured, purple, or white flowers, an ornament of the seacoasts of Britain and of Europe generally, and also frequently found on high mountains. Under the names of thrift or

years, the smallest rootless sets growing, how ever, with great readiness in the moist weather of spring. The flowers are an active diuretic. Thring, EDWARD, a great educationist, was born at Alford Rectory in

Somersetshire, Common Thrift (Armeria vulgaris). November 29,

1821, and had his education at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, of which he was elected fellow. He took orders, and served in curacies at Gloucester and elsewhere, but in September 1853 found the work of his life in the appointment to be head-master of Uppingham school. He found it insignificant, but made it one of the healthiest and best equipped among the public schools of England. He finally limited the number of boys to 330, thirty to each boarding-house, and he gave himself for thirty-four years with restless energy to the task of educating these in the highest sense of the word. No man ever estimated more highly the worth of life: no schoolmaster since Arnold has been more successful in imprinting upon the characters of his pupils a high ideal of duty as the great end of life. The manly fibre of his own nature, his earnestness and honesty, his firm discipline, and his stern denunciation of cowardice and wrong gave a distinctive character to the school. He died October 22, 1887. His works include volumes of school songs and lyrics, an English grammar, a Latin Science, anonymously (1869), The Theory and gradual and a construing book; Thoughts on Life Practice of Teaching (1883), Uppingham Sermons (2 vols. 1886), Addresses (1887), Poems and Translations (1887), and Uppingham School Songs and Borth Lyrics (1887)-Borth was the Cardiganshire village to which the school removed on the outbreak of scarlet fever in 1874.

See J. H. Skrine, A Memory of Edward Thring (1889); and H. D. Rawnsley, Edward Thring, Teacher and Poet (1889); the Biography was entrusted to Prof. Parkin. Thrips. See CORN INSECTS.

Throat, AFFECTIONS OF THE. The term throat is applied somewhat loosely to the back of the mouth and front of the neck; its diseases may therefore be taken to include those of the Larynx (q.v.) and upper part of the trachea, of the upper part of the oesophagus, and of the thyroid gland (see GOITRE). Sore throat, however, as commonly used, refers to inflamed and painful conditions of the tonsils and neighbouring parts (see under PALATE), which are numerous. One of the most important (Quinsy, q.v.) has already been discussed; and those attending diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, syphilis, and other infectious and contagious diseases are sufficiently referred to under their several headings. throat may also be a result of the gouty or rheumatic diathesis, or of the action of certain

Sore

THROAT

drugs (especially belladonna and iodide of potassium). See also THRUSH, MUMPS, &c. A few other conditions remain to be considered here.

The disease popularly known as Clergyman's Sore Throat first shows itself by huskiness of the voice, with more or less coughing, hacking, and expectorating, from an uneasy sensation in the throat;

there is, moreover, a constant inclination to swallow. On examining the back of the throat, its mucous membrane is seen covered with elevations, caused by an accumulation of secretion in the follicles, which sometimes burst and discharge their contents, which are of an elastic consistent nature. This

discharge is occasionally followed by ulceration. The disease commonly arises from too prolonged or powerful exercise of the voice by persons in whom the mucous membrane of the throat is in a relaxed condition. Perfect rest from public speaking, preaching, acting, &c. is of more importance than anything else in the way of treatment, and a resi dence during the winter and spring in a mild and equable climate is expedient. Tonics, such as iron, quinia, and strychnia, should be tried, but local applications are usually of far more service than internal remedies. The most important of these are strong caustics, carefully applied by the surgeon to the affected spots : solid nitrate of silver, 'London paste' (equal parts of caustic soda and unslaked lime), and the galvano-cautery are among the means chiefly employed.

Simple or catarrhal sore throat is usually a slight affection, most common in young persons, and often resulting from cold. The throat is reddened, but little swollen. A day or two in the house is usually sufficient to effect its disappearance; the sucking of astringent lozenges (e.g. tannin or red gum) or chlorate of potash pellets is also useful. In its chronic form (relaxed sore throat) it is more troublesome, but will generally yield to continued use of astringent lozenges, or the application, twice a day with a brush, of glycerine of tannic acid, or solution of perchloride of iron (one drachm to the ounce of water), if attention be at the same time paid to the general health.

Ulcerated sore throat is generally the result of unhealthy conditions acting on persons in a weakly state. It is particularly common in nurses and students occupied in hospital work, and is generally speedily recovered from when the patient is placed in healthy surroundings and put upon tonic treatment. The white spots seen on the tonsils in follicular tonsillitis, a more common and slighter affection, are often mistaken for ulcers, but they really consist of excessive and thickened secretion from the recesses of the tonsil.

Cutting the throat is comparatively seldom the result of accident; it is more often due to a murderous attack, and most frequently to an attempt at suicide. The first duty of the surgeon in treating a case of cut throat is to arrest the flow of blood. Ligatures should be applied to wounded arteries, and steady pressure with the finger (beneath which a small pad of lint is placed) to wounded veins, such as the external jugular. If the internal jugular is wounded, fatal hæmorrhage will very rapidly ensue, unless the wound is immediately plugged with small pieces of sponge, or pressure with the finger is maintained as long as necessary. With a knowledge of these means of checking hæmorrhage by pressure, an intelligent non-professional person may be the means of saving life. When the bleeding has completely ceased, but not till then, means may be taken for bringing together the edges of the wound. When the air-passages are wounded there is great risk of the occurrence of bronchitis or pneumonia, and the patient must be kept in a warm room, and care taken to prevent either food or discharges from

the wound from passing down the windpipe. See Sir M. Mackenzie's Diseases of Throat and Nose.

distinguished himself at the battle of Pinkie, was Throgmorton, SIR NICHOLAS (1513-71), Queen Elizabeth's ambassador in France, where he was imprisoned as having sided with the Huguenots, and was repeatedly ambassador to Scotland in the troublous period 1561-67. In 1569 he was sent to the Tower for a time as being concerned in the Duke of Norfolk." the scheme for marrying Mary Queen of Scots to

Thrombosis (Gr. thrombos, a clot of blood'), arteries), which essentially consists in a coagulation an affection of the blood-vessels (either veins or of blood (forming a true clot) at a certain fixed spot. Under certain morbid conditions the blood has a tendency to coagulate in its vessels during life on the least provocation. Thus, slight pressure on the side of a vein will sometimes induce this coagulation, while in other cases it is due to inflammation of the tissues which surround a vein, or laceration of a vein (as when the placenta is expelled from the uterus). A clot thus formed in a vessel may inreaches and finally fills a large vessel. crease and extend from one to another, till it

Throndhjem. See TRONDHJEM.

Thrush (Turdus), a genus of Passerine birds of the family Turdida. The bill is of moderate size and slightly convex; the gape is furnished with hairs; the nostrils lie at the base of the bill, partly covered by a membrane; the first wing-feather is very short; and the outer and middle toes are connected at the base. The genus includes numerous species widely distributed throughout temperate

and even cold regions. The largest known British species is the Missel Thrush (T. viscivorus), sometimes called the storm-cock 'from its habit of singing before or during wind or rain. It breeds freely throughout the British Islands, but migrates from the colder regions on the approach of winter. It breeds early in the year; its nest is usually in the fork of a tree, and neatly lined with grasses and moss. The adult male nieasures about 11 inches; the prevailing colour of the upper parts is grayish brown, under parts brownish white, with dark spots.

The

The Song Thrush or Mavis (T. musicus) also occurs in almost all parts of Britain. It resembles the missel thrush in general appearance, but is smaller in size, of a more olive-brown colour, and possesses finer powers of song. nest of the song thrush is usually composed of roots and grasses, lined with a thin coating of mud, decayed wood, or dung. The eggs are of a greenish-blue colour, with black or brown markings, and in the warmer parts of the country two broods are reared in a season. The food of the

song thrush consists of berries, insects, worms, and small molluscs, the shells of the last being broken by repeated knocking against a stone. Other species either resident in Britain or visiting it for a part of the year are the Blackbird (7.

Song Thrush (Turdus musicus). merula), the Fieldfare (T. pilaris), the Redwing (T. iliacus), and the Ring-ouzel (T. torquatus), all of which are described in separate articles. The genus Turdus is represented in North America by the Wood Thrush (T. mustelinus) and several other species. The flesh of all the thrushes is esteemed a delicacy, and they are snared in enormous numbers while they are assembling for their winter migration.

Thrush, known also as Infantile Sore Mouth, is commonly a disease of early infancy, although it may occur at any age. Its characteristic symptom is the presence of small roundish white specks or patches (Aphthæ, q.v.) on the lining membrane of the cavity of the mouth and throat, on the surface of the tongue, the angles of the lips, &c. In thrush crops of these little patches commonly succeed one another. They render the mouth hot and tender, in consequence of which the act of sucking is accompanied by difficulty and pain. In association with these local symptoms are indications of general constitutional disturbance, such as feverishness, drowsiness, sickness, flatulence, colicky pains, diarrhoea, &c. The complaint sometimes seems to be the result of improper diet, or of imperfect attention to cleanliness of the bottle, &c., if the child is being brought up by hand, or of unwholesome milk from a diseased or intemperate nurse; of bad ventilation, &c. ; but in some cases the cause of the disease is not evident. The disorder usually lasts eight or ten days, and is only attended with danger when the local affection runs into a low form of gangrenous ulceration. As a local application to the patches glycerine or honey of borax may be applied with a camel-hair pencil; or a pinch of a mixture of powdered borax and loaf-sugar (1 to 8 or 10) may be placed occasionally on the tongue, and the infant allowed to spread it over the mouth. An occasional dose of gray powder may be required; and in some cases a little brandy, or small doses of quinine and iron.

Thrush, or FRUSH, in the horse, consists in

inflammation of the sensitive surfaces within the frog, giving rise to a fetid discharge, constituting unsoundness, and sometimes causing lameness. Want of cleanliness is the chief cause. Daily, when the horse returns to his stable, the foot should be washed out with soap and water, carefully dried, and the fissures filled with mineral tar. If amendment does not speedily ensue, a dressing of calomel should be substituted for the tar several times a week. Ragged or loose portions of the frog may be removed by the knife or scissors. Thuanus. See THOU, DE.

Thucydides, the great historian of the Peloponnesian war, born in the deme Halimus most probably in 471 B.C., was the son of Olorus and Hegesipyle, and was related to Miltiades and Cimon. It is probable that his literary model was Antiphon, and that he was influenced in his views on philosophy by Anaxagoras. Certain it is that, Athenian as he was, of good family, and resident in the most cultivated community in Greece, he must have known Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Phidias, Protagoras, Gorgias, and possibly Herodotus and Eschylus. He was further possessed, either by inheritance or by acquisition through marriage, of gold-mines in that part of Thrace lying opposite the island of Thasos. We know from himself that he was one of the sufferers from the terrible plague of Athens, and also one of the few who recovered. He held military command, and he had under him an Athenian squadron of seven ships at Thasos, 424 B.C., when he failed to relieve Amphipolis, which fell into the hands of Brasidas. Condemned to death as a traitor, he took refuge in exile and retired to his Thracian estates. His exile enabled him, as he tells us, to associate with the Peloponnesians quite as much as with the Athenians; and he probably spent some time also in Sicily, as we may infer from his minute descriptions of Syracuse and its neighbourhood. According to his own account, he lived in exile twenty years, and probably returned to Athens after the destruction of its walls, in 404. How or when he died is unknown; but he did not live long enough to revise book viii. or to bring his history down to the end of the war.

If Herodotus was the father of history,' Thucydides was the first of critical historians, and no better account of his methods can be given than is contained in his own words: Of the events of the war I have not ventured to speak from any chance information, nor according to any notion of my own; I have described nothing but what I either saw myself or learned from others, of whom I made the most careful and particular inquiry. The task was a laborious one, because eye-witnesses of the same occurrences gave different accounts of them, as they remembered or were interested in the actions of one side or the other' (i. 22). There is hardly a literary production of which posterity has entertained a more uniformly favourable estimate than the history of Thucydides. This high distinction he owes to his undeviating fidelity and impartiality as a narrator; to the masterly concentration of his work, in which he is content to give in a few simple yet vivid expressions the facts which it must have often taken him weeks or even months to collect, sift, and decide upon; to the sagacity of his political and moral observations, in which he shows the keenest insight into the springs of human action and the mental nature of man; and to the unrivalled descriptive power exemplified in his account of the plague of Athens, and of the Athenian expedition to Sicily. Often, indeed, does the modern student of Greek history share the wish of Grote, that the great writer had been a little more communicative on collateral topics, and that some of his sentences paragraphs into chapters. had been expanded into paragraphs, and some of his But this want cannot have been felt by the contemporaries of Thucydides, while the fate of other ancient historians warns us that had his work, like theirs, been looser in texture, or less severely perfect, it would not have survived, as it has done, the wearing influence of time, or remained, in its own language, the ktema the world. es aei-the possession for ever'-it has proved to

It has been reserved for the 19th century to impeach the credibility, depreciate the matter, and to condemn the style of Thucydides. these indictments, however, usually conclude with

As