palace and amphitheatre, baths, an aqueduct, and a field of Mars for the exercise of the Roman troops. The severity of the climate was tempered by the neighbourhood of the ocean; and with some precautions, which experience had taught, the vine and fig-tree were successfully cultivated. But in remarkable winters the Seine was deeply frozen; and the huge pieces of ice that floated down the stream might be compared, by an Asiatic, to the blocks of white marble which were extracted from the quarries of Phrygia. The licentiousness and corruption of Antioch recalled to the memory of Julian the severe and simple manners of his beloved Lutetia,93 where the amusements of the theatre were unknown or despised. He indig nantly contrasted the effeminate Syrians with the brave and honest simplicity of the Gauls, and almost forgave the intemperance which was the only stain of the Celtic character." If Julian could now revisit the capital of France, he might converse with men of science and genius, capable of understanding and of instructing a disciple o the Greeks; he might excuse the lively and graceful follies of a nation whose martial spirit has never been enervated by the indulgence or luxury; and he must applaud the perfection of that inestimable art which softens and refines and embellishes the intercourse of social life. 93 Tùr plan Asusría. Julian. in Misopogon. p. 340. Leucetia, or Lutetia, was the ancient name of the city which, according to the fashion of the fourth century, assumed the territorial appellation of Parisii, "Julian. in Misopogon. p. 359, 360. END OF VOL. II. VOL. П. 2 Y IV Region Region VII Region XIII Region XIV Region VIII Region Fongs of tomshantine Braas on the left side of it. Banhou of Theodorus, XI Region XII Region IX Region Published by John Murray Albemarle Street London Drawn & Engraved, by J & C Walkow |