Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1881-02-24
sanrnsi alia Courier.
Thursday Morning, Feb. "a. 1881.
shef1ield Scientific school.

Sheffield Scientific School.
The Annual Winter Course to Meehan-
ics-Lecture by Professor ID. Cady En-
ton-subject, ssThe LaocoOn.''
CONCLUDED.
The agony is unbearabIe. His cries grow
feeble in the excess of torment. But the other
serpent has fastened itself about the legs of
the victim. These contract under the vice
like pressure. The veins swell with blood
which the heart has no longer strength to
send through them. With rage no less fe-
rocious the serpent fastens itself upon the
children. To one whom it holds fast in its
coils, it has already given the fatal bite. He
dies calling to his father with his last breath.
The other, still unbitten, seeks to free his
foot from the coil that binds it. He is fro
zen with horror at the sight of his unhappy
father, on whom his eyes are fixed. He cries
aloud with fear in the terror of double feaTSt
his own and his fathers. Oil illustrious ar
fists whom this has rendered immortal, you
might indeed have transmitted your fame to
us in a work less narrowing; but the subject
once selected, it is glorious to work it out to
perfection. You have succeeded in putin g
living figures into inanimate stone. We see
motion, rage, grief; we almost hear the
groans.
Centuries ago Rhodes knew and honored
you; for centuries have the honors of your
W.
honors you anew in the light of modern life.
How much nobler it is to devote ones ener-
gies to the development of talent than to
waste them in the service of pomp and lux
ury.
Sadolet's descriptive powers are strong
his criticism just. The execution of the
group is beyond praise, the rendition of the
conception perfect, but the subject is toe
painful. One regrets with Sadolet that such
wonderful powers should not have been en-
ployed with some less narrowing theme. TIC
60 back now with Sangallo to Pliny, who
lived and wrote in the first century of oul
era. In the 26th book of Pliny's 'sNatura
History" work which was intended to gave
full and accurate information on every sub
ject under the sun, is a long discussion OF
stones-gems precious stones and common
| stones. From cut stones Piny's mind wan
| ders to stone cutting and sculpture. Their
| follows an enumeration of artists and work.
| of art in marble the whole ornamented with
wonderful inaccuracies and most extraordi
nary criticism. Towards the end of one O
| the chapters of the book occurs this passage
Beside these that is, artists whom he hat
already mentioned, 'tthere are not man,
| sculptors of high repute, for in the case O
several works of art of very great excellence
| the number of artists engaged upon them ha
proved an obstacle to the fame of each, M
one being entitled to the entire credit, and j
| being impossible to divide it equally. Sucl
i is the case with the LAGOON in the palace o
| the Emperor Titus, work preferable to an
| other production of painting or sculpture
From a single block LAGOON, his children
and the serpents were made in concert, (marl
these words) by three most eminent artists
1 Agesandros, Polydorus and Athenodorus O
/ Rhodes" This is undoubtedly the passag
Sangallo had in his mind. His ready refer
ence shows with what assiduity the classic
were studied at the time of Julius II. Their
| is no reasonable doubt that the group mer
toned by Pliny is the one now in the Vat
can Pliny's description applies and tn
| place of the finding is an additional corrobol
alton Pliny indeed states that the grou
was made of one block of marble It Ger
tainly presents that appearance. When dil
covered after having been buried over
thousand years, the jointures were only az
parent on most minute inspection.
The scholars and amateurs of Revere
time did not bother themselves with quel
tions of date. With Sadolet they allowed th
statue to affect the emotions; they criticise
it and enjoyed it @sthetically. They accep
| ed Pliny's statement simply, not critically
1t was enough for them to know that the al
fists were of Rhodes, without asking whethe
| they lived at the time of Titus, or centurie
| before. Modern criticism is more exactinG
It must know when Agesander and his con
| panions lived; to what school they belonged
under what influences they worked; wit
what statues of known dates and know p,
RODS of art development is the LAGOON to
classified. Wincklemann put these question:
| Leasing thought he had answered them. Sui
sequent critics have all taken part in the di
cussion. The questions are as open as eve
The passage from Pliny has been an esp
| cial object of the closest scrutiny and til
words in the passage which have translate
Gin concert, f" and which in the original al
| &C consilii sententia, F" are those upon whic
this scrutiny has been most intensely fa
tened If the words mean Sin concert
they have no effect on the question of dat
| The artists of the LAGOON may have az
vised together and have worked in concert
one period of art history as well as
| another. But the words /" consilm sentel
tia are open to quite different interpret
ton. The two words constituted leg;
phrase, which denoted the determination
decision of a council, was appended to jud
cial decisions, to the mandates of conIml
| tees, ETC., etc. If this be the sense in whic
the term is used Pliny must mean that tt
work was intrusted to these three artists
certain consilium, perhaps the committt
having charge of the decorations of the pa
ace, the imperial house committee, who pc
haps desired group of a certain size to fit
| certain place. Titus himself may be selec
ing the subject from Virgil's Enead. II
artists therefore must have been alive at tt
time, natives of Rhodes, living at Rome, an
the question of date is answered.
| Against this conclusion it is maintained
the first place that Pliny was carelel
| writer and must not therefore be held r,
sponsible for the perhaps accidental use of
legal term secondly, that no artists of IL
| highest merit, 'summi artifces' as Pliny style
them, could in any period be found VIII
would work together at the beck of hout
committee and on subject issued to thel
| with the formality and authority of leg
decision; and in the third place, if thes
artists had lived at the time of Titus, whic
bear in mind was also the time of Pin.
| Pliny could not have classified them wit
those artists of whom he had not suficier
individual knowledge to estimate and assie
| the fame of each. At different times and
different places three pedestals have bee
| found which may throw some further light O
the subject. They all bear this Inscription
in Greek of course, ''Athenodorus, son {
Agesanaros OF Rhodes. made it, j" the inscril
l tons referring undoubtedly to statues thf
were placed on the pedestals. Here are tW
of the names given by Pliny and mentione
| in the relationship of father and son. It
| at least pardonable supposition that thes
inscriptions and Piny's accounts refer to tt
same artists. If we may go still further an
\ suppose the third artist mentioned by Pin
I-Polydorus-to be another son or perhaps
young pupil of Agesandros, we may unde
stand better how the work could have bee
done ''consilii sententia, !" accepting the wore
in their legal meaning, for the father alor
would have received the mandate and hay
designed the group, the sons only assistin
in the execution. This theory is strength
ened by the fact that the technique of La
coon is superior to that of the children
which may be seen the workmanship of sor
or pupils.
| DR.. Brunn, celebrated German archaeolt
gist, regards the inscriptions on the pedesta
as copies of earlier inscriptions. This he il
fers from the large size of the letters, for a
original inscriptions are modestly small an
in diminutiye letters Still the use of til
word "made, " 'epoiyoe," the aorist, woul
be an argument against the very great al
tiquity even of the original inscriptions. Fc
in the earlier times artists are supposed t
have used the imperfect eswas making
"epoie," indicating that work of art shoul
never be considered finished. On these fe
unsatisfactory things rests what may be Gale
the documentary part of the question {
date, a question which will ever occur in th