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that imperfect method of recording facts. The Rev. Charles 
Forster, who deciphered these symbols, published his discoveries 
many years ago in a most interesting work, called “The One 
Primeval Language”; and further information was subsequently 
afforded by the late Dean Stanley, who travelled over the same 
ground to verify the inscriptions, and strengthen the proof of the 
aid which Art has given to Science. But sometimes Science, if 
not the originator, is at least the great help-mate of Art. Of this, 
Sir Christopher Wren is a striking example. Originally he was a 
scientific man, and Professor of Mathematics at Oxford, but the 
happy combination of a mathematical and an artistic mind made 
him the greatest of English architects. 
These instances serve to show the interdependence of Art 
and Science in one way. There is another aspect, however, in 
which we may consider them, namely, their effect in furthering 
the moral and intellectual improvement of mankind, and their 
separate and their joint influence on civilization. It has been 
said, “The object of the Fine Arts is to please,” which at first 
sight might be considered an objection, and truly so, if they 
merely pleased an individual only. But the pleasure afforded by 
looking upon a beautiful scene, a fine picture, a noble statue, or by 
contemplating the grandeur of an imposing building, is not of a 
selfish kind, as it can be enjoyed by many simultaneously, for, as 
Keats has so well expressed it, “A thing of beauty is a joy for 
ever.” Of this the ancient Greeks, with all their faults, were an 
instance. Their love of painting, statuary, and architecture, was 
one among the many circumstances which made them what they 
were, the most intellectual people the world of ancient times had 
produced. And this love of Art indirectly made them the students 
of Nature and of scientific investigation. ‘The other great nation, 
the people of Rome, had not the same devotion to Art. The ex- 
hibitions of the circus had greater attractions for them, and 
brought out the brute force and athletic propensities of the popu- 
lace, which made them the ruthless conquerors of antiquity, a 
people whose greatest pleasure was to witness the painful agonies 
of a dying gladiator or the cruel death of victims combating with 
the superior strength of devouring wild beasts. 
It may be thought that I have spoken too much of the 
higher productions of the Fine Arts and their influence on the 
moral condition of mankind, but the influence of the higher pro- 
ductions of Art have a very powerful bearing on the subordinate 
branches of Natural History. On this point Professor Ruskin 
says, “‘ Therefore the task of the painter, in his pursuit of ideal 
form, is to attain accurate knowledge, so far as may be in his 
power, of the peculiar virtues, duties, and characters of every 
species of being : down even to the stone, for there is an ideality 
of stones according to their kind, an ideality of granite and slate 
