ARUNDELIAN MAnnr.vq, certain monuments of uy the earl of Arundel. They are also, in conjunction with other similar stones, known to the learned by the name of Marmora aroniensia, being now in the possession of the university of Oxford. Dur ing the reigns of James and Charles I. Thomas How ard, earl of Arundel, ungratefully requited by the Stu arts, for the exertions of his family in their behalf, re sided abroad, and particularly in Italy, for the greater part of his life ; where he devoted his leisure to the promotion of the arts, and the elegant pursuits of lite rature. The revival of classic architecture and sculp ture, was the leading object of his noble ambition ; but the curious literary monuments, both Greek and Latin, which continually fell in his way, suggested the design of forming a grand collection of inscriptions. For this purpose, he retained, among others, Mr William Petty, a most learned man, whom he sent on a journey of dis covery, to the most remarkable ruins of Italy, Greece. and Asia. In this visit to the ancient world, Mr Petty was eminently successful. At a vast expense, and with inconceivable industry, he purchased what was already discovered, and dug into the rubbish for more : and having thus explored, often at the hazard of his life, the Morea, Delos, Paros, Ephesus, Pergamus, Smyrna, and other places, he succeeded in procuring above two hun dred pieces of antiquities.
The greater part of the Greek inscriptions, which adorn the Arundelian collection, were found at Smyrna, where, if we may believe Gassendus, the celebrated Peirese, who was engaged in similar pursuits, had first discovered them. According to this account, one Sam son, the agent of Peiresc, paid fifty pieces 9f gold for the curiosities : but the Turks having seized on Samson and his valuable collection, with the view *extorting a greater price, the earl of Arundel commissioned Petty to redeem the whole : and thus was obtained, among othkr valuable marbles, the famous Parian chronicle.
These, and other superb remains of antiquity, arrived in England in the year 1627, and consisted then of 37 statues, 128 busts, and 250 inscribed marbles; not to speak of the sarcophagi, altars, fragments, nor the inva luable collection of gems. The inscriptions, with which alone we are at present concerned, were inserted into the wall of the garden belonging to Arundel house, in London ; where, soon after their arrival, they were exa mined by Selden and two other gentlemen, at the re commendation of that munificent patron of learning, sir Robert Cotton. These scholars, after incredible pains in cleansing and decyphering the monuments, and supplying the frequent obliterations, succeeded at length in transcribing 29 Greek and 10 Latin inscriptions, be ing those which appeared to Selden the most remarka ble ; and, in the following year, he published them in a thin folio volume, printed at Oxford, under the title of ilfarmora Arundelliana. This work, furnishing so
extensive a field of critical discussion, and enriched by the multifarious erudition of Selden, was bought up Ira a short time by the literati throughout Europe, with the utmost avidity.
Happy had it been for the republic of letters, had Selden and his coadjutors completed the exami lation of the whole. During the fury of the civil its ow ners were compelled to abandon Arundel house ; and the marbles, after escaping the hands of the Turks, fell into those of the parliament, by whom they were put under sequestration. During this reign of barbarity, the monuments became a prey to ; jury. Some of the fine tablets were employed for do mestic purposes, others were purloined for the sake of the marble : several inscriptions are said to have been given to the Spanish ambassador ; and many were bro ken down by the rude hands of a mason, for some house repairs. So that from first to last, not less than a full half of this princely collection, purchased in foreign coun tries, and formed at such a vast expense, perished by the hands of domestic barbarians ! The precious remains, still amounting to near 130 stones, were destined at length to fall into better hands. Henry Howard, grandson of the original collector, and afterwards duke of Norfolk, immortalised his name, by presenting the inscriptions to that noble asylum of lite rature and the Muses, the university of Oxford. There they were increased by the accession of Selden's pri vate collection, and of other donations ; so that the whole soon amounted to 150 inscribed marbles, consist ing of tablets, altars, pedestals, pillars, and sepulchral monuments; and presenting a most interesting wreck of a former world, to the eye of the scholar and the phi losopher. From the Oxonians, the marbles met with that attention which they deserved. The most learned dean of Norwich, at the request of bishop Fell, under took the Herculean task of publishing an edition of the whole, including most of the inscriptions edited by Sel den. When we reflect on the many difficulties attend ing such an undertaking, the indistinct characters which were to be decyphered, the lacuna to be filled up, and the corrosions and injuries incident to ancient marble, we cannot help admiring that learned patience, and that felicity of conjecture, by which the first transcribers of these inscriptions were able to accomplish their pur pose. These gigantic labours Prideaux published at Oxford, A. D. 1676, under the title of Marmora Oxoni ensia, in one elegant folio volume, containing the 41 scriptions in capital letters, and the lacuna as they oc cur on the marbles. Each of the Greek inscriptions is followed by two columns ; one containing a transcript, with the conjectural readings, in the common small character ; and the other a Latin version : and the whole is further illustrated by the annotations of the editor, Selden, Lydiat, and others.