

THE VITAL FORGE, 



THE RHODIAN GENIUS. 



THE Syracusans, like the Athenians, had their Pcecile, in 

 which representations of gods and heroes, the works of Gre- 

 cian and Italian art, adorned the halls, glowing with varied 

 colours. The people resorted thither continually; the young 

 warriors to contemplate the exploits of their ancestors, the 

 artists to study the works of the great masters. Among the 

 numerous paintings which the active zeal of the Syracusans 

 had collected from the mother country, there was one which, 

 for a century past, had particularly attracted the attention 

 of spectators. Sometimes the Olympian Jove, Cecrops the 

 founder of cities, and the heroic courage of Harmodius and 

 Aristogiton, would want admirers, while men pressed in 

 crowded ranks around the picture of which we speak. 

 AY hence this preference? Was it a rescued work of 

 Apelles, or of the school of Callimachus? No; it pos- 

 sessed indeed grace and beauty; but yet neither in the 

 blending of the colours, nor in the character and style of 

 the entire picture, could it be compared with many other 

 paintings in the Poecile. 



The multitude (comprehending therein many classes of 



