While each of the twelve capitals of Etruria was a school of art—at once the rival and the Friend of her compeers—each exciting the industry and directing the advance of the other—each the Athens of ancient Italy; Rome, animated by the brutal spirit of military conquest, broke in upon these intellectual and refined labours. But force was no match for science; the Ito mans suffered severely from the first erects of their temerity. The opportunity, however, of the growing pest was allowed to pass away; and Etruria, with her free institutions, her elective magistracy, her solemn insignia, fell beneath the rude despotism of P.ome.
Thus terminated, 430 years after the foundation or Rome, the second era of Tuscan art. For some time afterwards indeed, i may discover that sculpture was practised to considerable extent. But it soon ceas ed to be marked by national character. The Roman dominion now embraced the circuit of Italy, and all former distinctions were lost. The Greek colonist, and the Tuscan freeman was alike the vassal of Rome From this period we again trace the union of the arta of the two nations, and Greece now repaid what she formerly borrowed, for soon after the reduction of the Etruscan republics, we conceive the finest specimens of their sculpture now remaining to have been produ ced. But their common masters did not foster the arts as internal and native ornaments of their empire, although they could place a meretricious value upon Ulm, as the spoils of war, as the prize of the captor, the evidence of conquest. Under this ungenial pa tronage the ancient arts of Ansonia soon ceased to flourish, and became as if they had never been.
We might now proceed to class, according to their respective dates, the monuments remaining. of these interesting periods. But without engravings of the various subjectE, we despair of rendering the descrip tions interesting, or even intelligible to the reader. Generally then, we consider the bronze remains as the most ancient, though not more authentic than the marble sculptures, where these display intrinsic evi dences of the Tuscan style. All arguments against the antiquity and genuineness of the latter drawn from the nature of the marble, on which so much stress has lately been laid, we regard at least as extremely suspicious. We would attribute the manufacture of the exquisite fictile vases, called Etruscan, chiefly to the period intervening between the expulsion of the Etruscans from southern Italy, and their subjection by the Romans—that is, to the second epoch of their arts and empire. Also these vases we believe to have been fabricated by the Greek colonists only; and it is known that in some places they formed subjects of a lucrative commerce. As a proof or this origin, vases
have been found throughout the whole extent of low er Italy and Sicily, but very few have at any time been discovered in upper Italy. Finally, that no exagge rated importance has been attached to the arts of the ancient Etruscans, will be sufficiently apparent from one of many facts; when the Romans captured Volsi num, one of the twelve capitals of Etruria, they car ried away two thousand statues from that city alone.
Grecian Sculpture.
The history pisculpture in Greece naturally divides into two branches of distinct inquiry. We prefer commencing with the chronology, masters, and la bours of the successive schools; the second branch will embrace the consideration of the principles and theory of the beautiful as conceived by the Greek ar tists. This arrangement, although differing from the methods usually followed, seems to promise facility and directness of inference, with a consequent veraci ty of judgment.
The imagination approaches the subject of Grecian literature, or of Grecian art, with something like to sacred enthusiasm. The mind anticipates the delight of unfolding, amid examples of perfection, the advan ces of taste and the march of genius. But, alas! the splendour with which the general subject is invested, is often but the reflection of brightness that has pass ed away—filling the thoughts with light and beauty, yet leaving few memorials of its progress or its au thors. Of those whose conceptions peopled the cities and temples of their country with a silent, yet breath ing population of matchless forms, a few names alone subsist. From the casual pages dedicated to this nar rative, we turn in sorrow, not unmixed with indigna tion, to the ample relations of war and bloodshed, of crime and misery, which history has so lavishly be queathed. Is human nature then, really so degraded as to take pleasure in preserving only the mementos of its own depravity; or is good, but an episode in the drama of human, existence, to be hurried over as stay ing the main action? Have the reigns of amity and wisdom been so brief, so far between, that the picture of the past is but as one mighty battle piece—where every figure is agitated with fury or convulsed with agony—where every arm is raised to strike or ward— where every eye flashes with hate, or closes in death? Perhaps it is thus ordered more deeply—more affect ingly to impress the t•uth—that there is no volume, save one alone, whose pages tell of unmingled love and peace and purity and holiness.