John muir became the fifth editor of this journal in 1964. He had been educated at Newbury (an ancient foundation from which there had emerged a long series of classical scholars) and at Keble College, Oxford. There followed some years of teaching at Public and Grammar School before he was appointed a Lecturer at King's College, London. So far he had little or no experience of the duties, and trials, of editorship, but he did bring to the task outstanding qualities, which soon proved that a worthy successor to Geoffrey Hooker had been found. In fact, Muir has left his own mark on Greece & Rome. Now, after six fruitful years, the pressure of work as a University teacher, as well as his own researches and—far more important—the ties of family (he and Mrs. Muir have three fine sons) have made it necessary for him to resign. We shall remember him for his scholarly approach, his modesty and a charming sense of humour—a virtue not always evident in a literary critic (which of course he had to become). He has earned the gratitude of us all. We wish him well.

Boni and improbi are political words. Political words change their meanings—as we all very well know today—but they also have histories, which suggest basic, fundamental value-judgements, and whose use reveals as much about the user as about the object to which he refers.

The exact situation of this historic opening within the compass of the Elburz mountains has long been in dispute among travellers and scholars, so a fresh review of the evidence is not untimely.

Discussions of otium in Catullus concentrate, naturally enough, on poem 51. The role of otium in poem 50 has, in consequence, been neglected. It is the point of this paper to show that 50 is far more than an amusing Gelegenheitsgedicht and that 50 and 51, whether or not intended by Catullus to stand in this order, shed light on one another through a complementary conception of otium.

The Phormio, if we consider it from the viewpoint of artistic originality, is the least interesting of all Terence's works, because more than any other it approximates to the conventional type of New Comedy. Although it is characterized by a very complicated intrigue full of vivacity and animation, it lacks any particular delicacy in the psychological delineation of the characters.—M. R. Posani, ‘Il Formione di Terenzio’, Atene e Roma, ix (1941), 29.

The philosophy of Epicurus is one which was designed for living in a world where truth is attainable through, and only through, the right use of the senses, which are a reliable source of information in that they faithfully relay to the mind all impressions which reach them: all perception is true, but if the impression reaches the sense organ ‘damaged’, or an incorrect interpretation is put on it by the mind, error can occur. Such false conclusions as to the nature of an object of perception, when the information being received about it is inadequate or in some way distorted, can be avoided by ‘filing’ the received impression, for confirmation or contradiction, without coming to a decision on it until conditions are more favourable.

Callimachus was the Housman of antiquity. He had formidable learning, combative pugnacity, and a rare capacity to put both aside and write with exquisite simplicity. His learning is seen in the traditions about his pupils, who were reputed to include Eratosthenes, Aristophanes of Byzantium, and Apollonius of Rhodes, with whom he was later on terms of enmity. It is seen in his association with the library at Alexandria. A scholiast to Plautus says that he held the post of librarian. That he was not chief librarian is proved by the list preserved in a papyrus at Oxyrhynchus, but there is no reason to doubt that he served on the library staff, especially as his published works included a library catalogue. It is to be seen in his later reputation: thus to Philippus Callimachus is the main weapon of the dry-as-dust army of commentators (AP 11. 321) and to study him is an investigation in the dark (AP 11. 347). It is seen in the volume of his works which numbered over eight hundred, and their general character. They show a taste for curious learning; one may instance a series on Local Nomenclature which included a book on Local Month-Names, or another on The Rivers of the World with separate volumes for Europe and Asia, or a volume on Foundations and Name-Changes of Islands and States, or Geographical Wonders of the World.

It has been the fate of the Jewish people to spend most of their history under foreign rule, and Rome, who governed Palestine during the period of the New Testament and for centuries after it, was only one of a series of powers who throughout the ages became masters of the country for varying lengths of time and controlled it with varying success.

The description of a seismic sea-wave has a long history, but the understanding of it a short one. Although the ancient Greeks did not have a name for it, until recently the moderns used a misnomer: tidal wave. Now that the phenomenon is correctly understood it has acquired a Japanese name: tsunami (soo-NAH-me), but misnomers often persist even among those who know better.