spirit precedes, and is
the handmaid of, the Hebraic. In each case the influence of Greece is to
procure the open mind, that of Jerusalem, to mould the unsteady heart.
The Greek works first upon the intellect to make it supple, the Hebrew
comes after and gives robustness to the moral will. Such, in the main,
is the distinction and the historic sequence of the two forces. We have
twice passed under each, and we shall, I believe and hope, feel the
strong power of each again, for we sorely need, on the one hand,
something to give stamina to our weak moral conceptions, and, on the
other, something to give us clear principles of social life, art, and
culture.

Let us look a little closer at what our distinction implies.

Physically the unlikeness of Hebrew to Greek was very marked. Allowing
for climatic effects, the Hebrew physiognomy has preserved itself until
to-day. The true, or at least the ideal, Greek type is almost lost in
hybrid forms, yet we know what it was. The ideal Hellene was tall,
upright, strong and supple withal, his lightish hair and beard were
thick and curling, his features straight and firm, his brow broad, his
eyes full and light. The whole form and aspect expressed a healthy zest
of life, an open-eyed contemplation of men and things, and a belief in
the sovereign virtue of reason. The outward aspect of the Hebrew type is
very different from this. The inward difference of the two races was no
less great. The essential contrast between them is not one of brow and
eye, it is one of thinking and seeing, a contrast between two sets of
ideals and principles, two ways of looking at life and the world. Romans
like Juvenal, who saw both Greeks and Jews numerous in the imperial
city, could only superficially observe that the Jew was unsocial, narrow
in his prejudices and obstinate in his superstitions, while the Greek
was as devoid of principle as he was brilliantly versatile. The Jew and
Greek whom he saw were those of a demoralised period; but in any case
the Roman did not understand either; he did not know that each was the
representative of a certain important set of principles carried to
excess. He would hardly have thought it worth his while to reflect on
such a matter. It is otherwise with us, to whom all great human
phenomena are of significance for that sound thinking which is essential
to progress.

How can we describe in brief and intelligible terms these two spirits,
the Hebraic and the Hellenic?