SIR JOHN SEELEY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1202, 15 March 1895, Page 11

SIR JOHN SEELEY.

From Our Special Correspondent. London, January 26

The death of Sir John Seeley, author of “ The Expansion of England ” and Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, deprives the colonies of an unwearied and unwearying advocate and the world ©f one of its cleai'est and most logical thinkers. To me, I must confess, Professor Seeley (as he was till recently) will always seem greatest as the author of that wonderful and most enlightening book, “ Ecce Homo.”' I well remember the stir the work created when it came out, in 1865, though I did not read it till years after. I was only a lad then, but I can recall hearing my elders read passages aloud and speculate as to the authorship* The Chronicle, in its obituary, says:—/‘ECCE homo!” , No one could help admiring it, but the orthodox regarded it as an insidious attack, on Christianity. Mr Gladstone criticised it in a series of papers; Dr Parker .wrote “Ecce Deus ” in reply to it; and Lord Shaftesbury is reported to have described; it as “ the worst book ever vomited forth from the jaws of Hell.” Briefly put, .the; book set forth the human side of Christ, and endeavoured to elucidate the essence of His teaching as recorded in the Gospels, in much the same way that Matthew Arnold afterwards performed the same task. Religious and literary people wondered who this striking writer was, and, after many guesses, the secret leaked out that Seeley was the author. He never denied or positively confirmed the rumour, but that “ Ecce Homo ” was his work there can be doubt. Y In person, Seeley "was broad andvetout, smooth shaven, and with a most inagiiifr--cent head. He lectured occasionally at the Royal Institution, and was invited to lecture in the United States, but he was not much known outside learned and academic circles. He was a J/iberalTJnionist in politics, and though ultracritical to the verge of scepticism in his attitude towards all institutions, was Ht bottom profoundly aristocratic in feeling, and became more Conservative with advancing years. He received a knighthood last year. He was a man of wonderful accomplishments and immense learning, and his death will be severely felt at Cambridge, for he was by far the most important oebupant which the Chair of History in that University has ever known, albeit it was held by Gray the poet and by Kingsley.