Homer's Sense of Colour

Abstract

THIS appears to be Part I. of a monograph on the colour-sense developed in ancient times, although chiefly based on the language of the Homeric poems. It is to a large extent a criticism of the essays of Mr. Gladstone and Dr. Magnus (of Breslau) on this subject. It is generally admitted that the colour-nomenclature of the Homeric poems is far less copious and less precise than that of modern times. Various theories have been proposed about this. The author represents (p. 22, c.) Mr. Gladstone's view to be that Homer's perception of colour was ill-defined, and that his so-called colour-terms are often really descriptive of luminosity rather than colour. And he describes (p. 6, c.) that of Dr. Magnus similarly, with the addition that the human eye was in those days less perfect in colour-perception than now, and has gradually improved to its present state.

Le Sens des Couleurs chez Homère.

By Dr. Alb. de Keersmaecker. Part I., xii. + 152 pp. (London: Trübner, 1885.)