The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-12

Of works OF art enumerated and described ri,
cumstance which reflects the popular taste OF IN.
period.
Neither docs Prof. Thomas overlook the vo,
geous furniture which was so much admired bv
Status in the villas and houses Of his patrons
Even when some allowance 10 made for eScoa.i,.
enthusiasm and indiscrihinato admiration on
Status part the fact rcmainsiha these houscsot
villas were simply cfammcd with statues In which
their owners took great pride. Collections of IN,
kind are never made except at period and IN
country where there IL an innate taste for mt n,
where the feeling or passion for things artists
Obtains Status tells us that, AT the house oi hi,
friend yindex no saw a multitude Of statues and
s,atuetles In brass and antique. ivory and WAY.
Among the artists represented were Miro rtax.
i,eles, Polycletus and Appcllcs. Assuming tina,
the works were merely copies VIC must still regard
the list as significant These arstocratic collect.
ors were not all OF them ignorant men. Their,
IL no good reason why VIC should refuse TO cred,
some OF them. at all events. with an enlightened
passion for tho masterpieces Of ART To sum
up during the first two centuries Of our era the love
Of luxury, and even desire for comfort, were
pervadcd by a feeling for art. To the Romans
OF the imperial epoch. art was not . moro ornament
hut necessary part Of their lives. A single
glance al such q building a. Hadran's
villa, or tho beautiful house OF Ve,uus
recently unearthcd al Pompcii. should be enough
10 demonstrate tho aesthetic superiority Of thu
Roman world no matter how great may be our
admiration for the civilization Of the present day
To what extent wero the Romans OF the nrs,
century OF our ora Influenced H moral IDEAS
There is no doubt that excuses OF all kinds were
plentiful enough. Thanks to an assured peao.
and 10 tho stream Of wealth which flowed Rou.-
~af frnr prnvince the proDla a.
we'll as the mobiles and the emperors gave them.
selves up without restraint 10 tho pursuit Of pleas.
uro. Tho Rome OF the frst century A. d. was
community swaycd by the within Of the hour
dominated by tho spirit Of refinement and eciecu.
cism. neurotc, easily moved to passion turbulen,
and cruel on occasion. especially whom the slight
est obstacle was intsrposed 10 Its pleasure /,
would be unfair. however. 10 content ourselves
with this view Of the Romans OF the first century
The practice OF virtue was not unknown to,thern.
and In this they displayed the same fsverish en-.
crgy an In all else AZ the beginning Of his HE
toria- Tacitus has drawn q striking picture Of
some Of the noble deeds which had been witnessed
in his time In vice or virtue the Romans
always went TO extremes Tho only quality they
lacked was . certain unity Of life, certain bal.
anco OF character, which moro than once In their
history was conspicuous BY It's absonoe Prof.
Thomas brings forward even stronger evidences
In favor OF the hfst and second centuries than hs
testimony OF historians: works Of the highest i'm
portanoo. from which Observation-Disclosures no less
than pagan-has derived the utmost benefit have
come down 70 us from this epoch We fcfor. Of
course TO the Letters and Dialogues Of Seneca,
tho -Moditations- Of Marcus Aurelius, and the
Dissertations" Of Epictetua
II these writings had persisted amid tho vidssi.
tudes Of the ages, the moral life of'each succes-
Gi Oeneratiop wauld have been ms Inn.
poverishcd. In the Interim, Christianity has un.
scaled hcrfountsins: mystical literature has spread
from one nation 70 another and our imAgina
tons have been attracted by IT, but all thoss
inspirations and mental revolutions have bu,
added 10 the value Of The great works which pre-
coded them by so many years These shine
out the more brightly amid tho corruption
Of ancient times They differ from one another
alike In language, in purpose and In the character
Of their author: Grcek rivals Latin in these in.
ternh oommunings In their struggle however.
with The vices OF the time. the same protests
sail US, from the most widely different standpoinis,
from the summit Of The throne, from the cell Of
rich and powerful minister, who having attained
10 the highest power. realized the vanity OF great
asnss r iRS hs1. msnon.d oush NO,
be ,o q @
and eIoquenes he IDEAS and fseIinss which are
10 DO found scattered broadcast over the Itera-
es.s for eHsnSs al Arss .espuss and Even
syniGa g5 e s, serious as Year, rol, on There
Ties and somewhat stilt,d style cling TO Inc mem.
change, nigh, almesi pass fcr quotations from
Why, sccord,ns 70 cain,iiIisn. u n. lid. sccG
had yon for him q srea, name. Then, leaving
nsS Trade: v" q SS
Srs pYsS h hsR E. n I s. s h. Te:
Them all his lffo In The PASSAGE dealing with
The respect due 10 The young, with the prayer.
the guilty, We have an ininItahle outpouring
straight from The depths Of an honest heart which
nmos, m 80 o e soSis Of e oSs How
many outcries Of The human soul have found
their echoes in these lines How many aspirations
which has appealed 70 the emotions Of genera.
ton after generation, Of century after century,
should saed and ac So
= rSs,; ans ana EnsSa S%si Ssnsn.
criticisms s q Ken p. :shs hour sSa
70 come II the exemplary Efforts made By ali
these moraiists arc kept In view. NO cannot deny
sn. an ss.aosd.nars VIC eonsnsden ., e III X;
higher faculties Of the human soul Was enlisted
IN hs attempt 70 rsss THnkind 70 higher po1i
tanned
VI.
We should not leave the book before Us without
glance al the chapter which treats Of One Roman
batha II Is well known that the bath, which IN
tho time Of the Punio wars had been regarded
merely as matter Of personal cleanlinees. played
very important part In the life Of the Romano
under the Empire To hem II was one Of the
chief objects In life In The inscription on the
gaming table discovered a, Tingsd the bath occu.
pics place between hunting and gambling. BY
bathing twice q day the Romans Of tho epoch
under review believed that they could make two
days out Of one. and thus double the length OF
theirlives. Since they had no hesitation In taking
the second bath Immediately after dinner. we need
scarcely wonder at the serious results which fro.
quenuy ensued. The bographers Of tho Ills.
toha Augusta" are careful TO inform us, In no
case OF each emperor, how often he was accus.
toned 10 battle in the day. Most Of them took at
least two baths every day In the year while some
| took az many dozen in the summer time with
banquets between. flying about the city from