By birth he was a Syrian Jew, suffering from the prejudice attaching to such an origin, and apparently2 with little prospect3 of achieving the great place which he did achieve in the eager life of our generation.
But his indomitable energy and his vast comprehension of men permitted him before the close of his long and useful life to impress himself upon his contemporaries as very few even of the greatest have done.
Our late beloved sovereign, Tiberius, perhaps the keenest judge of men in the whole Empire, is said to have remarked one evening in the smoking-room to his guests, when Herod had[Pg 321] but recently left the apartment: "Gentlemen, that man is the corner-stone of my Eastern policy," and the tone in which His Majesty4 expressed this opinion was, we may be sure, that not only of considered judgment5, but of equally considered reverence6 and praise.
It is a striking testimony7 to Mr. Herod's character that while he was still quite unknown (save, of course, as the heir of his father) he mastered the Greek and Latin tongues, and we find in his diary the shrewd remark that as the first was necessary to culture, so was the second to statesmanship.
It would have been impossible to choose a more difficult moment than that in which the then unknown Oriental lad was entrusted8 by the Imperial Government with the task which he has so triumphantly9 accomplished10. The Levant, as our readers know, presents problems of peculiar11 difficulty, and though we can hardly doubt that the free and democratic genius of our country would at last have solved them, we owe it to the memory of this remarkable12 personality that[Pg 322] the solution of them should have been so triumphantly successful.
We will not here recapitulate13 the obscure and often petty intrigues14 which have combined to give the politics of Judæa and its neighbourhood a character of anarchy15. It is enough to point out that when Mr. Herod was first entrusted with his mission the gravest doubts were entertained as to whether the cause of order could prevail. The finances of the province were in chaos16, and that detestable masquerade of enthusiasm to which the Levantines are so deplorably addicted17, especially on their "religious" side, had baffled every attempt to re-establish order.
Mr. Herod's father (to whom it will be remembered the Empire had entrusted the beginnings of this difficult business), though undoubtedly18 a great man, had incurred19 the hatred20 of all the worst and too powerful forces of disorder21 in the district. His stern sense of justice and his unflinching resolution in one of the last affairs of his life, when he had promulgated22 his[Pg 323] epoch-making edict to regulate the infantile death-rate—a scientific measure grossly misunderstood and unfortunately resented by the populace—had left a peculiarly difficult inheritance to the son. The women of the lower classes (as is nearly always the case in these social reforms) proved the chief obstacle, and legends of the most fantastic character were—and still are—current in the slums of Tiberias with regard to Mr. Herod Senior. When, some years later, he was struggling with a painful disease which it needed all his magnificent strength of character to master, no sympathy was shown him by the provincials23 of the Tetrarchy, and, to their shame be it said, the professional and landed classes treasonably lent the weight of their influence to the disloyal side.
It was therefore under difficulties of no common order that Mr. A. Herod, the son, took over the administration of that far border province which, we fear, will cause more trouble before its unruly inhabitants are absorbed in[Pg 324] the mass of our beneficent and tolerant imperial system.
As though his public functions were not burden enough for such young shoulders to bear, the statesman's private life was assailed24 in the meanest and most despicable fashion. His marriage with Mrs. Herodias Philip—to whose lifelong devotion and support Mr. Herod bore such beautiful witness in his dedication25 of Stray Leaves from Galilee—was dragged into the glare of publicity26 by the less reputable demagogues of the region, causing infinite pain and doing irreparable injury to a most united and sensitive family circle. The hand of the law fell heavily upon more than one of the slanderers, but the evil was done, and Mr. Herod's authority, in the remote country districts, especially, was grievously affected27 for some years.
Through all these manifold obstacles Mr. Herod found or drove a way, and finally achieved the position we all look back to with such gratitude28 and pride in the really dangerous[Pg 325] crisis which will be fresh in our readers' memory. It required no ordinary skill to pilot the policy of the Empire through those stormy three days in Jerusalem, but Mr. Herod was equal to the task, and emerged from it permanently29 established in the respect and affection of the Roman people. It is a sufficient testimony to his tact30 and firmness on this occasion that he earned in that moment of danger the lasting31 friendship and regard of Sir Pontius Pilate, whose firmness of vision and judgment of men were inferior only to that of his lamented32 sovereign.
Unlike most non-Italians and natives generally, Mr. Herod was an excellent judge of horseflesh, and his stables upon Mount Carmel often carried to victory the colours—rose tendre—of "Sir Caius Gracchus," the nom-de-guerre by which the statesman preferred to be known on the Turf.
Mr. Herod's æsthetic side was more highly developed than is commonly discovered in level-headed men of action. He personally supervised the architectural work in the rebuilding[Pg 326] of Tiberias, and, of the lighter33 arts, was a judge of dramatic or "expressional" dancing.
During the earlier years of this eventful career Mr. Herod's life was greatly cheered and brightened by the companionship of his stepdaughter, Miss Salome Philip (now Lady Caiaphas), whose brilliant salon34 so long adorned35 the Quirinal, and who—we are exceedingly glad to hear—has been entrusted with that labour of love, the editing of her stepfather's life, letters, and verses; for Mr. Herod was no mean poet, and we may look forward with pleasurable expectation to his hitherto unpublished elegiacs on the beautiful scenery of his native land.
By the provisions of Mr. Herod's will he is to be cremated36, and the ceremony will take place on a pyre of cedar-wood in the Place Bellecour at Lyons.
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1
personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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2
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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recapitulate
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| v.节述要旨，择要说明 | |
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intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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anarchy
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| n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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promulgated
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| v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等） | |
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provincials
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| n.首都以外的人，地区居民( provincial的名词复数 ) | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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dedication
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| n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞 | |
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publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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36
cremated
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| v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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