the imbecility of extreme old age depicted in every wrinkle of his withered limbs, and his arms upheld by others, unable, from the feebleness of sickness, to support themselves, the Saint makes one last effort to extend them to receive the Holy Sacrament, which the cherub angels above only wait for; while his soul, anticipating release from earth, and the eternal beatitude of heaven, seems hovering but to partake of this last ghostly comfort ere it flit from its mortal hold.

If I do not describe, let me at least mention, the invaluable Martyrdom of St. Peter by Guido; the Madonna, Saviour, and Saints, by Titian; St. Romualdo's Dream by Andrea Sacchi; and Raphael's Madonna di Foligno.

The Capitol.

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CHAPTER XXV.

THE CAPITOL-EQUESTRIAN MARCUS AURELIUS TROPHIES OF MARIUS, &c.—SCULPTURES-THE DYING GLADIATOR➡ SUMMARY OF THE MOST CELEBRATED SCULPTURES, VASES, BASSI-RILIEVI, INSCRIPTIONS, &c. &c.-PLINY'S MOSAICHALL OF EMPERORS-EGYPTIAN RELICS-ROSTRAL COLUMN-BRONZE GEESE-BRONZE SHE WOLF-HISTORY, AND VARYING OPINIONS-PRINCIPAL PICTURES-BASSI-RILIEVI

THE modern Capitol.-Very inferior indeed is the building now occupying the brow of the Capitoline Hill to the majesty of the former temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, of which I have already spoken. The eye is arrested, and far more struck, by the equestrian statue occupying the centre of the square; that of Marcus Aurelius. This work of art, like many others, has been the unfortunate medium of proving the sagacity of critics, by the faults they have found with it. Methinks that, to an unprejudiced mind, and to an observer of art,

a more spirited, or finer, horse was never cast in bronze. Proud of his imperial rider, his eyes shoot fire; he seems to disdain the earth he treads upon, and appears in rapid progress to leave behind him the pedestal upon which he is placed.

The Museum has a collection of sculptures inferior only to the Vatican. In speaking of them I shall not have much opportunity of finding fault, as I only mean to quote the best; neither, if I did

consider myself as qualified so to do, would it be my present aim.

In traversing Rome, in examining its relics of art, I seek not so much to scan them with an hypercritical eye, or try to point out a possible inaccuracy, or contradiction; my pleasure is rather derived from their classical associations, and from the veneration I feel for relics which have been preserved through so many ages, empires, and revolutions, and which, at this day, tell us so forcibly and intimately of the glories, of the policies, and of the habits of this once acknowledged Mistress of the Globe.

One of the most repulsive feelings excited, at least to me, on entering the Capitol was to find a handsome ball room, a Salle de Bal, erected by the French on the brow of the Capitoline hill! perhaps on the very spot where, once, nations prostrated themselves at the feet of the Thunderer! and this also close upon a relic of old Rome, dictated by so opposite a national feeling; a statue of Rome triumphant, armed; a lance in her hand, and a captive kingdom, probably Dacia, at her feet! So great was the confidence of Rome, latterly, as frequently to exhibit such vain-glorious monuments of her own omnipotence. Two statues of kings are by her side; their hands are wanting; and, according to Winkelman, they represent two kings of the Scordisci, in Pannonia, or Thrace, thus

The Dying Gladiator.

27

originally sculptured, from the Roman practice of cutting off the hands of their Thracian prisoners.(Florus.)

On the balustrade of the staircase are those two antique sculptured marbles, known as the Trophies of Marius, and erected in consequence of his victories over the Cimbri. Even in the days of Fabricius these were much mutilated, as appears in his fourteenth Chapter, where he describes them as two trunks of marble hung round with military spoils, helmets, shields, &c. with images of victory; and having a captive youth in front.

Ascending the staircase, we see inserted in the walls twenty-six fragments of plans of the ancient city. In viewing these curious remains, and in perusing the innumerable inscriptions found at various times, all illustrative of foreign or domestic Roman history, and which are here systematically arranged, it is wonderful to find so much remain, and how much information on every point may be gleaned therefrom.

In the Gallery of Sculpture, among the principal beauties, is that ever-famed and matchless representation of an expiring man, the Dying Gladiator, or Warrior, or Herald, or Shield-bearer. The criticisms on both sides, to prove it the one or the other, I waive; I look at it with admiration for its force of expression, where life seems fast sinking away, and where shame for defeat yet mingles with

28

The Dying Gladiator.

other, better, greater, feelings; or, in the words of Byron, which form the best panegyric upon this wonderful statue that I can give,

I see before me the Gladiator lie;

He leans upon his hand ;-his manly brow
Consents to death, but conquers agony,
And his droop'd head sinks gradually low.

and again,

-His eyes

away:

Were with his heart, and that was far
He reck'd not of the life he lost, nor prize;
But where his rude hut by the Danube lay,
There were his young barbarians all at play;
There was their Dacian mother ;-he, their sire,
Butcher'd to make a Roman holiday.

Childe Harold.

This oft admired sculpture has been affirmed, with apparent reason, to be a copy of that masterpiece of Ctesilaus alluded to by Pliny.

Cupid and Psyche embracing. How delicate and chaste!

The Faun with his goat, about the size of life, This inimitable sculpture of antiquity, in red marble, was found in Adrian's villa, at Tivoli, and is a most animated and matchless representation of the laughing, drunken, grape-loving deity. The goat seems as merry as his master.

Of the Venus, surnamed the Venus of the Capitol, I have not much to say, thinking her inferior to many others I have seen. The two