Retrospect of French Literature-— Miscellanies, 65.5 



't4 architecture moft appropriate to dif- 

 fen-iit countries and (iillercnt nations, 

 ought to be fcrupuioully attended to. 

 Hut, above all, the clioicc of fubjeCts is 

 4ine of the irioll important confidcrations, 

 uud wlieu the work is fmiihed it becomes 

 abfolutely neceliary that the painter 

 iliould have courai^e fuflicicnt to hfleii to 

 the voice of truth relative to his produc- 

 tions. TJiis introduction is tcrwiiuated 

 by an article On the neccflily of a rigor- 

 ous obfervance of cojlumc. 



The rcmaintler of the voUunc is dedi- 

 cated entirely to the Romans ; and we 

 aie prefented \\ith a minute defcri[)tion 

 of the head-drcfs, the beards, the clotiies, 

 and the female ornaments of this extra- 

 ordinary people. The engraviiigs convey 

 an idea of the diiVerent fpecies of the 

 toga, the laticlave, the trabea, the tu- 

 nic, &:c. 



. Uur falliionable dames of the prefent 

 day will lie altonillied at the profufion of 

 finuy made ufe of by the ladies of tliat 

 age and country ; fur luxury' was there 

 tarried to fuch au excels, liiat at length 

 the Oppian law proliibited the employ- 

 ment of more than half an ounce of gold 

 abont the pcrfon, and forbitl the wear- 

 ing of clothes of dilVerent colours, or to 

 make viiits in Home, or witliin tlie cir- 

 cumference of a thoufand paces, with a 

 carriage drawn by horfes, unlcfs to thofe 

 vsIk) iJiould affilt at the pulilie-faciihces. 

 ]3ut this edict, ivhich happened to be 

 prouiulged a lliort time after the battle 

 of Cannaj, was aboliihcd in the courfc 

 of a few year?, when Hannibal and tlie 

 Carthaginians ceal'cd to be formidable. 



From the drefs of private citizens, i\\q 

 author proceeds to defcribe that made 

 ufe of on great occahons, by the kings, 

 the fenators, tiie confuls, the diilatoi-s, 

 tiie general of the cavaliy, and, finally, 

 the emperors. 



As if ijiis were not fuflicient, we are 

 prefented with a dclcription of the cof- 

 tume of all the dilierent female branches 

 of the iniperi;d fawiily ; while that of the 

 various ningiflrates, fuch as tlie procon- 

 fuls, the jjiuBtors, the ceufors, the ediles, 

 tfie triliuncs, &c. is alfo particularized 

 with an uncommou degree of precihon. 



JMcanwhilc, the niihtary portion of 

 the fubject is not Ibrgotten. We fee the 

 innnner hi which the legion was tonned ; 

 \4e have a defcrijitiou of its enligns, its 

 iiiftiuments, the drefs of the foldier, his 

 arms both offeiiiive and dcfeniive, the 

 machines of war, and, in fliort, the or- 

 der of niarchhig and en<-amping the 

 VoOpK. 'J'J^e inaruie, too, is not over- 



looked ; nor is the ceremonial of mi- 

 litary recoinpetices and triumphs omit- 

 ted. 



Thence the aKthor palTes on to civil 

 cnftoms, and makes tlie llnves, the pea- 

 fmits, and the freedmen, pafs i;i review- 

 before hiin. He defcribes the penalties 

 and punilhmcnts ordaiued by the crimi- 

 nal laws ; dwells with complaifanee on 

 the details i;f Roman politenefs, the 

 marriages and births, the baths, the fur- 

 niture of the houfps, the repafis, and the 

 funerals. The lull of thele atl'ords hiui 

 an opportunity of dafciibing the tuf- 

 tomary ceremonial recurred to for the 

 apotheolis of an emperor. 



In tine, he enters into the particulars 

 of the ulages, the feuivals, and religious 

 ceremonies ; the facriiices, a^ well as 

 the functions of the different miniflers of 

 religion. The veftals, efpcciahy, occupy 

 a dillinguiflied place on the prefent occa- 

 fion ; and notwithllanding the extiaordi- 

 nai'y honours which were lavilhed on the 

 prieftefs, it is evident that it became ex- 

 tremely difficult to replace her. This 

 circumllance gave birth to a law, by 

 which it was enatted that twenty young 

 virgins, cliolcn by the ponti.'l", (lioulJ de- 

 cide by \uX which of them was to attain 

 this dignity ; fo that the candidates were 

 brought togetiicr by a fpecies of con- 

 fcription. 



The firft volume tenninates with de- 

 tails of the f|3ectacles and public fports, 

 which neccilkrily leads to the inrtiinneiits 

 of niulic, &c. The ceremonial of the 

 facred games, celebrated yearly at tne 

 coniniencement of the month of Sep- 

 tembei-, in honour of all the gods, will 

 be read with a conliderable degree of 

 iuterett. This grand fellival was termi- 

 nated with chariot-races, and the com- 

 bats of difterent kinds of gladiators. 



The lecond divifion of the work, or 

 that which comprehends all the peoples of 

 the ancient continent, cunlills of three 

 parts: Africa, Alia, and Europe. I\I. 

 Martin introduces each nation with a 

 prefatory difcourfc, containing much iiif- 

 torical and geographical information; 

 but he dwells with more than a common 

 portion of complaifanee on the J-'.siyp- 

 tians, among whom he hasrelided. Com- 

 mencing with the topography of thoir ' 

 conntry, he dcfcribes its afpe6t and phy- 

 fiognoiiiy, as it were, with tlie mod 

 brilliant colours, while he at the fame 

 time recounts the hiftory of the people, 

 from the period of their kings until the 

 prefent times. He remarks, that i'-gypt, 

 which had been fo happy and tlourilhmg 

 4 (J 2 uii ic-r. 



