THE AGE OF PERICLES. 135 



the Propyleeum or vestibule belonging to the citadel, together with the 

 sculptured picturesque ornaments and immortal works, which, as Plu- 

 tarch remarks, when new, expressed the mellowed beauties of time and 

 maturity, and when old still retained the fresh charms and alluring 

 graces of novelty. The Parthenon which still remains justifies this 

 panegyric. It is 21,729 inches long, composed of beautiful white mar- 

 ble, and acknowledged by travellers to be the noblest piece of anti- 

 quity existing in the world. The Pcecile was a splendid edirice painted 

 by Pana3nus, designed to contain paintings of the most important events 

 in Grecian history. Here was painted the siege of Troy, the victory of 

 Theseus over the Amazons, also the battle of Marathon, where the only 

 distinction allowed Miltiades was to be represented more conspicuously 

 than the rest. What a stimulus to glorious achievements must have 

 been such an edifice containing the collected heroism of the whole na- 

 tion ! The whole extent of the Acropolis, above six miles in circum- 

 ference, was so diversified with works of painting and statuary that it be- 

 came one continued scene of elegance and beauty. The crowning work 

 of this great master was his statue of Minerva set up in the Parthenon, 

 The first efl!ect of these works of art, so unrivaled in their excellency, 

 unquestionably was to increase their devotion to the deities represented 

 in such a masterly manner. Such splendor and wealth and pomp could 

 not fail to strike the minds of the multitude with awe. If the unaided 

 genius of man could produce such a representation, what must be the 

 originals ? But these arts, which at first were hand-maids to virtue and 

 religion, which elevated and refined the feelings, degenerated into sources 

 of impurity and licentiousness. To paint a Venus, or to make her sta- 

 tue combining in one all the charms of form and face, is but to pander 

 to the lowest passions of our nature. Licentious pictures are mention- 

 ed by ancient writers as a general source of corruption, and considered 

 as the first ambush that beset the safety of youth and innocence. If 

 moral excellency, patriotism, disinterestedness, or some form of public 

 or private virtue, or piety is not to be illustrated, these arts tend to de- 

 grade rather than elevate, and the skill and genius of the artist are em- 

 ployed in sapping the foundations of all that is holy and good in man. 

 Thus it was at the close of the life of Pericles and subsequently. He 

 sought to embellish the city, and with those embellishments, introduced 

 corruption and crime. Other causes, however, were equally operative 

 and far more powerful in their nature. The very genius of her religion 

 tended to licentiousness, and when the frugality and sobriety of the 

 laws of Solon were violated by the introduction of every species of lux- 

 -ury, and the public purse filled by contributions from the auxiliary 



