NICIAS. 



NICOLAS I. 



tele*. Praxit*le. dourixhcd, according to Pliny, in ulymp. 104 ; and 

 if this date is to be understood n the beginning f his career, be was 

 SMubslly the contemporary of Nicias ; and if as the middle, ho win 

 about one generation hi* senior. This it in all probability the cue ; 

 for it reconciles all the fct recorded of Nicias, and it U much more 

 probable that Praxiteles would employ a young man to colour his 

 ttatuce for him, who wa only ruing in his profession, than a great 

 I ainUr, hi* equal in age and reputation. Statue-painters, iya\fuiTuy 

 /juanrrol, constituted apparently a class of themselves, and Nicias 

 may bare been one of these in his youth : this is more probable than 

 that one of the greatest pointers of bis time should be thus employed. 

 One of Sillig's difficulties in identifying these two as one, is, that 

 Nicias was the pupil of the pupil of Euphranor, who was the contem- 

 porary of Praxiteles. It is a mere assumption however to suppose that 

 there must necessarily be a generation between master and pupil : the- 

 master is frequently only a very few yean older than his pupil, and is 

 sometimes even younger. But if we suppose that Nicias was a gene- 

 ration younger than Praxiteles, there is not the slightest difficulty in 

 the way of his having been the pupil of the pupil of a contemporary 

 of Praxiteles. 



Nicias painted in encaustic, and besides the one already mentioned 

 Pliny notices the following pictures by him : an Alexander (Paris), a 

 sitting Calypso, an lo, an Andromeda, and another Calypso, in the 

 hall of Pompey ; a Bacchus, a Diana, and a Hyaciuthus, in the temple 

 of Concord. The Hyacinthus was brought to Rome by Augustus 

 from Alexandria, and was consecrated afterwards by Tiberius in the 

 temple of Augustus, on account of his great delight hi it : it U men- 

 tioned by Pausanias (iii. 19), who says that the figure of Hyacinthus 

 was very elegant 



Augustus dedicated and fixed in the wall also a picture by N icing 

 in the Curia Julia, of Nemea sitting on a lion, holding in her hand a 

 palm twig ; and by her side was standing an old man, resting upou 

 his stall ; above him was hanging a picture of a Biga. It was brought 

 from Asia by Silanns, and WM most probably the same of which a 

 Teutonic ambassador, being asked his opinion, said, according to 

 1'liny. " That he would not have him even if he were real and living," 

 alluding to the old man with his staff: entirely overlooking the art 

 which embodied the picture, and measuring the man apparently by 

 his sii.ews. Leasing (' I.aocoon,' p. 2-0, note) proposes to substitute in 

 the place of the ' picture of the Biga ' (' tabula bigcs'), hanging above 

 the man's head, which he supposes to be a corruption of the text, a 

 'name tablet,' called by the Greeks wTvxtov. Nicias wrote on this 

 picture that he had burnt it iu, NIK/OS Mnawrti>, that U painted it iu 

 encaustic. These words were, in the opinion of Lessiug, written upon 

 the small painted tablet which was hanging over tli head of the old 

 man cuju.t supra caput tabula bigaj depended Nicias scripsit se 

 innsfUse; tali cuim usus est verbo. The passage is obscure ; only one 

 picture U spoken of ; the words ' tabula bigio ' may be corrupt ; it is 

 certainly difficult to give them a suitable meaning. The Bigro, says 

 Leasing, can have no respect to the Neuican games, because ' in 

 them four-horse chariots were used. (Schuiidius, 'in ProL ol 

 Nemconicu,' p. 2.) 



Nicias painted also the interiors of tombs, as that of Megabyzns, 

 high priest of Kphesua, and one at Tritfca. Pausanias says, before you 

 come to TriUoa from Pbane there was a sepulchre of white marble, 

 which was ]>articularly worthy of inspection on account of the paintings 

 of Nicias upon it a beautiful young woman was represented seated 

 on an ivory chair, and behind her was a female servant holding an 

 umbrella ; a beardless youth also was standing near her, dressed in 

 purple ; by the youth was an attendant with hunting spears and a 

 leash of dogs (Nicias was, according to Pamnnias, the most excellent 

 animal painter of his time); the names of these people were not 

 known : Pausanias supposed them to be man and wife. Nicias was 

 honoured with a public burial, and was interred iu the road from 

 Athens to the Academy, the cemetery of all great Athenians : Pausanias 

 notices his tomb there. He appears to have been a very studious and 

 absent man. ^K.ian says he used to forget to take his meals (' Var. 

 Hist,' iii. 81). 



It bus been laid above that Nicias painted some of the statues of 

 Praxiteles : this requires some explanation. Pliny relates that Praxi- 

 teles being asked which of bis marble statues he preferred, answered, 

 " tho-e which Nicias had had a hand in ; so much did he attribute to 

 bis eirtuntiiio." This word ' circumlitio ' has been variously inter- 

 preted: Kuscli supposed it signified the outlining of the clay model; 

 but Pliny is speaking of marble statues, and the circumlitio must have 

 been some superficial application, and cannot be applied to a correction 

 of form ; the question is also about a process which the marble statues 

 have undergone at the bands of a painter. Cicero has " Persse mortuos 

 eera circumlitos conduct." (' In Tusc.,' i. 45.) There is a prejudice 

 against the idea that the Greeks painted their statues ; that th.-y did 

 so however Is an indisputable fact, though it was not a universal 

 practice. The statue-painters, oi iu'tfidrrtu ypdiporrti, as Plato calls 

 them, are definitely spoken of by Plutarch (' JJt- Ulor. Atben.' 6), as 

 ]A-)oAidTttr iyxaooral the encaustic painters of statue* and the art 

 iUelf a* AraVaTor lyxcaHra. Statue* seem to have been sometimes 

 entirely painted, which appears from the following words of Plato 

 (' D* Kcpubl.' iv. 420. ,:.). He observes, in speaking of statue-painters 

 " It is not by applying a rich or beautiful colour to any particular 



part, but by Riving every part its local colour, thnt the whole i 

 beautiful." That it was not however the common practice to paint 

 the marble entirely is evident from the conversation between Lycinus 

 and Aristr.itu-s in the dialogue of the ' Portrait*.' or ' Panthea,' in 

 Lucian ; from which it i plain the Venus of ( 'nidus, by Praxiteles, 

 and other celebrated statues, were not painted, though parts may have 

 been coloured, and the whole body covered with an encaustic varnish. 

 i Lucian, ' Imag.' 5-8.) 



We may infer therefore in this csse that the ' circumlitio ' of Nicias, 

 applied to the marble statues of Praxiteles, was the iryt&iiAniv (yxavms 

 of Plutarch, and that Nicias was himself an b.ya\n&Twv ifxavarrtt. or 

 painter of statues, in his youth. In his ' circumlitio ' the naked form 

 was probably merely varnished, the colouring being applied only to the 

 eyes, eye-brows, and lips, to the hair, the draperies, and the various 

 ornaments of dress ; and there can be little doubt that marble statues, 

 especially of females, must have had a very beautiful appearance when 

 carefully coloured in this way. 



(See Dictionary of Qreek and Roman Antiquiiirt, article Painting. 

 (Pictura in 2nd edit.), by the author of this article ; Pliny, Jfui 

 xxxv. 10, 36-40; Paurania.", i. 29, iii. 19, vii. 22; Plutarch, Mur. 

 'Epicurus,' c. II. ; Junius, Catalogue Artiticum.) 



NICOLAl, CHltlSTOI'HKK FKEDER1K, a writer to whom German 

 literature is greatly indebted, not only on account of what he himself 

 contributed to it from bis own pen, but also what he did for it by 

 establishing several critical journals, and exciting the talents of others. 

 He was born at Berlin, March ISth, 1733, where his father was a book- 

 seller. At the age of sixteen, just as he was beginning to make some 

 proficiency iu hi* studies, he was obliged to abandon them, being sent 

 to Krankfurton-tue Oiler for the purpose of learning the bookselling 

 trade ; yet such was his eagerness for information, his love of read- 

 ing, and liis perseverance, that he employed every moment of leisure, 

 his evenings and the early part of every morning, in study, anil, 

 without other assistance than that of book?, made himself a pro: 

 in Qreek, Latin, and English, and likewise acquired a knowledge of 

 Forne pirts of mathematics and philosophy. He was an instance of 

 what may be accomplished by self-instruction, which, great as may be 

 the disadvantages it has to contend with, has that in its favour which 

 all advantages can hardly make amends for, namely, willingness and 

 resolution to learn ; while at the same time, if it occasionally may lead 

 astray, self-instruction leads also to numerous inquiries that iit-vn- 

 present themselves to those who merely proceed along the path 

 chalked out for them. 



On bis return to Berlin, in 1752, his attention to business did not 

 interrupt his self-imposed studies, of which both Knglish and German 

 poetry then formed a considerable share; and in 1755 he produced 

 his ' Letters,' when in he impartially discussed tlie pretensions of the 

 two literary sects headed by Itodmer and Qottched. This work 

 cxuited considerable attention, and led to his intimacy with I 

 an*! Moses Mendelssohn. After the deith of his father, he withdtvw 

 himself from the business, leaving it to bin hrot'ur, and detenniii" I 

 to content himself with lii< own slender means, in preference to tlx> 

 pecuniary advantages to be reaped by sacrificing his l:terary 1. i-mi- 

 and enjoyments. The unexpected death however of his elder brother, 

 in 17. 'S, put an end to this short interval of tranquil study, In 

 obliged to carry on the business for the benefit of the family in general. 

 But while on the one hand this only increased hi* iliii^Miee and 

 economy of time, It led, on the other, to eutering upon literary 

 plans which he bad before projected. In conjunction uith Mendels- 

 sohn he had already commenced (1757) the ' Bibliotbek . 

 Wissenschaften,' one of the earliest and best belles-letter* jo nn.,1, 

 in the language, which was afterwards continued, till tli 

 of 1805, under the title of the ' Nene Bibliothck,' &e. With 

 Leasing and Mendelssohn be established, in 1759, tho ' l;ri. 

 Neuesteu Literatur;' and in 1765 projected the ' Allirenieine Deutucl.e 

 liibliotliek,' of which periodical he continued to be editor till it 

 reached its 107th volume. Ho did not contribute much to it liitn-rlf, 

 but the management alone of such a periodical. so eminently useful in 

 its day, shows him to have been most indefatigable, as in the mean- 

 while, notwithstanding Till bis other avocations, ha produced many 

 original works. Among them are bis 'Anecdotes of Frederick the 

 Great,' 1788; an excellent and elaborate ' Description of Berlin and 

 Potsdam,' 3 vols., 1786; the ' Lif.i and Opinions of Sebaldus Noth- 

 nnker,' 1793, a sort of novel, which went through many editions, and 

 was translated into Kngli-h, French, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish; 

 ' Life and Opinions of Sempronius Uiindibert,' 1793, intended to set the 

 doctrines of Kant and his disciples in a ridiculous light Besides 

 these, his ' Essay on the Templars,' his ' Remarks on the History af 

 the Kosicrucisns and Freemasons.' his ' Tour through Germany,' Ac., 

 to say nothing of a number of smaller pieces contributed by him t 

 different journals, prove the variety of his information and the activity 

 of hi< iniiiil. He died in 1>11, at trie age of seventy-eight 



NICOLAS I., PAVLOV1CH, Emperor of Hussia (styled also Czar 

 and Autocrat of All the Rnssias), was born in the city of St. Peters- 

 burg, July 7, 1796 (June 25, Old Style). He was the third son of the 

 Emperor Paul, Alexander I. having been the first son, and the Grand 

 Dak* Constantino the second son. His mother, Sophie Dorothea, a 

 daughter of Friedrich Eugcn, duke of Wurtemberg, when she became 

 the second wife of the Emperor Paul, became also a member of the 



