THE ROMAN EAGLE. 29 



Lessen'd herself, and in the beams o' the sun 



So vanish'd : which foreshadow'd our princely eagle, 



The imperial Caesar, should again unite 



His favour with the radiant Cymbeline, 



Which shines here in the west." 



Cymbeline, Act v. Sc. 5. 



In a paper " On the Roman Imperial and Crested 

 Eagles," * Mr. Hogg says, — " The Roman Eagle, which 

 is generally termed the Imperial Eagle, is represented with 

 its head plain, that is to say, not crested. It is in appear- 

 ance the same as the attendant bird of the ' king of gods 

 and men,' and is generally represented as standing at the 

 foot of his throne, or sometimes as the bearer of his 

 thunder and lightning. Indeed he also often appears 

 perched on the top of his sceptre. He is always con- 

 sidered as the attribute or emblem of ' Father Jove.' " 



A good copy of this bird of Jupiter, called by Virgil 

 and Ovid " Jovis armiger," from an antique group, repre- 

 senting the eagle and Ganymedes, may be seen in Bell's 

 " Pantheon," vol. i. Also " a small bronze eagle, the 

 ensign of a Roman legion," is given in Duppa's " Travels 

 in Sicily" (2nd ed., 1829, tab. iv.). That traveller states, 

 that the original bronze figure is preserved in the Museum 

 of the Convent of St. Nicholas d'Arcun, at Catania. This 

 Convent is now called Convento di S. Benedetto, ac- 



* "Annals and Magazine of Natural History.' June, 1S64. 



