of their captors.* The example and exertions of the emperor were equally directed to the furtherance of his object, and his success induced him to assert, that he had "found Rome brick and left it marble."† But notwithstanding * Of the domestic architecture of the Greeks our accounts are exceedingly imperfect; one thing alone we are aware of, that their houses were neither of ample nor costly dimensions; and it is only the regularity and judicious arrangement of their streets that is worthy of mention. + Suetonius in Aug. c. 28. "Contracta pisces æquora sentiunt, Jactis in altum molibus," &c.-1. 33. His Satires and Epistles abound with parallel passages. (Sat. iii. L. ii. 1. 305. Epist. i. lib. i. 1. 100. &c.) Sallust, in his Catiline conspiracy, introduces in his account of the luxury of Rome at the period some pithy observations on the same absurd propensity: "Quid ea memorem," says he, "quæ nisi iis qui videre nemini credibilia sunt: à privatis compluribus subversos montes, maria constructa esse," &c. &c. (Bell. Catil. sec. xiii.) And in his speech of Catiline to the conspirators the circumstance is ably introduced: "Etenim quis mortalium," exclaims Catiline, "cui virile ingenium tolerare potest, illis divitias superare quas profundant in extruendo mari, et montibus coquandis; nobis rem familiarem etiam ad necessaria deesse? illos binas aut amplius domos continuare; nobis larem familiarem nusquam esse? Cum tabulas, signa, toreumata emunt, nova diruunt, alia ædificant, postremo omnibus modis pecuniam trahunt, vexant, tamen summa libidine divitias vincere nequeunt," &c. (Ibid. sec. xx.) this imperial protection of the art, the corruption I have alluded to had already commenced; and in several of the surviving monuments of the Augustan age, we can trace that tendency to ornament, that confusion of orders and abandonment of principles, which finally led to the utter degradation of the science.* The successors of Augustus, from Tiberius to Nero, pursued the same course with redoubled extravagance but diminished taste; and the "golden house" of the latter was a worthy instance of that passion for external splendour, to which was sacrificed every idea of elegance, grace, and proportion. During the succeeding century the science rapidly declined in point of excellence, but was * Such is the temple of Melassus in Caria, built, as its inscription imports, in honour of Augustus and the city of Rome.-Winkelmann, l. vi. c. vi. + Petronius alludes pointedly to this extravagant passion for architecture in the age of Nero: Luxuriam spoliorum et censum in damna furentem; Edificant auro, sedesque ad sidera mittunt, still sedulously cultivated by the emperors; by whom it was employed more extensively in works of public utility, than in edifices of ornament or religion. It was during this epoch, that not Italy alone, but Gaul, Spain, and the other Roman provinces, were indebted for the theatres, aqueducts, bridges, roads, and arches of triumph, whose remnants are still surviving to us. Harbours and ports were not only improved and enlarged, but even founded in those spots where nature had omitted to place them; and from Civita Vecchia† to Terracina, the remains of no less than seven artificial harbours are still to be traced. It is in the monuments of this age likewise, that we find the earliest examples of the Composite, or, as it has been called, the Roman Order; which, by confounding the styles of the Ionic and Corinthian, admitted a wider scope for innovation and the introduction of cumbrous ornament.§ The most stupendous monument of this era is the Coliseum, or Amphitheatre, commenced by Vespasian and completed by Titus; but its reputation rests rather on its bold and gigantic dimensions than on its architectural merits, since it presents, in numerous particulars, infringements of the legitimate principles of art. + The ancient Centum Cellæ. Agincourt, vol. i. Archit. Introd. p. 6. Gibbon, c. ii. One of the most conspicuous names during this period of the decline was that of Hadrian: possessed himself of the feelings and talents of an artist,* his efforts were unceasingly directed to the embellishment of the empire; and the period of his reign, and that of his immediate successors, affords a striking contrast to the earlier ages of Rome; the energies of its rulers being then as strenuously devoted to the adornment of the world, as those of their predecessors had been to its spoliation. The taste of Hadrian was, however, deficient in discrimination and delicate perception. Eagerly attached to every branch of the arts, his universal passion developed itself in incongruous forms, which blended every order and violated every established principle.† I have alluded elsewhere to the liberality with which he raised or restored the public edifices of Greece and the other provinces, and the munificence displayed in the same pursuits by his exalted friend, Herodes Atticus. But still this profuse display merely served to accelerate the decay Elmes, Dict. Fine Arts. Agincourt, vol. i. Arch. Introd. p. 7. * Le Roy, vol. i. p. xvi. vol. ii. p. 17. + His villa at Tivoli is a sufficient instance of this vitiated taste. Vol. i. p. 20. Gibbon, c. ii. of the art, by spreading more extensively the principles and practice of a corrupted taste. The Antonines were, equally with Hadrian, the protectors and patrons of architecture as well as the other ornamental sciences;* but from the period when the first impetus was given to its decay, the Greeks and its other professors wanted either the talents or the energy to effect a pause or a retrogression in its course of deterioration. During the in terval which ensued from the decease of Hadrian to the transfer of the seat of empire to Byzantium, its debasement was rapidly progressing; and so torpid had the taste of the empire become, that it was seldom, in this gloomy era, that patronage was vouchsafed it by the court; and if we except some few edifices erected by the Severi and Dioclesian,† the third century was productive of scarcely any monuments of architectural genius. The arts, as well as literature, underwent a serious alteration on the transfer of the impe "Il (l'art) se sutint sous les Antonins, successeurs d'Adrien. Telle est, sur le sort des beaux arts, l'influence soit des qualités personnelles du souverain, soit des circonstances générales de son règne, que presque toujours on peut juger sainement de l'un par les autres."-Agincourt, Tab. Hist. vol. i. p. 4. + For an account of his colossal and incongruous palace at Spalatro, see Winkelmann, 1. vi, c. 7. Gibbon, c. xiii. |