40S On the Merit of the Ancients 
ancient Painting are much inferior to modern 
productions. They are deficient in colouring, 
chiaro-obfcuro, and keeping. Several of the 
Clajfics* tell us, there were, but four colours or 
pigments in ufe amongfl the ancient artifts, viz. 
black, white, yellow, and red. Now, it is im- 
'poflible to produce, from thofe colours only, the 
variety of tints neceflary to equal even a tolerable 
colourift of the moderns. Although this evinces 
nothing againft the abilities of the ancients, we 
may fairly conclude, that the rich and luxuriant 
deicriptions, handed down to us, are inflated 
with hyperbole, fufficient to make us doubt 
the veracity of fome of their authors. Unfortu¬ 
nately for thefe warm advocates, the difcoveries 
of Herculaneum have fpitefully contradicted their 
afifertions, and furnifhed us with means to draw 
our own conclufions. It is very poflible they 
might admire, and be furprized at a fight of, what 
appeared to them the ultimatum of perfection. 
The ftories of Zeuxis, and Polygnotus raife 
a fmile. The former is faid to have painted 
fruits fo naturally, that birds attempted to eat 
them ; the latter to have delineated the' charac¬ 
ter and features of the face fo truly, that phyfiog- 
nomifts, upon fight of the portrait, could foretel 
the precife time of the party’s death. Sir Jofhua 
Reynolds, who may be juftly confidered as the 
firfl artift in the world, thus delivers his opinion, 
“ Iq 
* Pliny, Cicero, 
