43 



the finest to be seen in this or any other country ; and 

 of the greatest importance, not only as tending to im- 

 prove the public taste, but as an enduring and an unri- 

 valled national school of art. Although this collection 

 may be looked upon as the most valuable to the artist, 

 it might not be most interesting to the public. Such 

 is the fragmentary nature of the collection, and such is 

 the elevated character which these fragments are suffi- 

 ciently perfect to shew, that to enjoy them thoroughly, 

 it is not only necessary that the individual should pos- 

 sess a taste for sculpture, but also of feeling for the 

 grand in art, and for that purified simplicity, which are 

 often united in the works of the Greeks. This feeling 

 may be excited, if not created, by frequently and atten- 

 tively viewing them. It is thus that a real value will 

 be given to them : it is by purifying and elevating the 

 national taste, by holding up a high and enduring stan- 

 dard of excellence to our artists, that they will honour 

 the nation which possesses them, and repay the people 

 who bought them. Most of the sculpture in this sa- 

 loon originally adorned three of the most splendid edi- 

 fices that Athens, in the zenith of her grandeur, pos- 

 sessed: these were the Parthenon, or temple of Mi- 

 nerva, the Erectheium, and the Propylcea. The erec- 

 tion of her most splendid buildings was committed to 

 Phydias, the greatest architect and sculptor that proba- 

 bly ever lived : and it is supposed, that many of 

 these works, which the Earl of Elgin has been the 

 means of rescuing from the destroying hands of the 

 Turks, who, it is said, pounded some to dust to make 

 lime, were designed and even carved by him. The 

 most celebrated are the two in the middle of the saloon. 



No. 93. Statue of Theseus, an Athenian hero : he is 

 represented as half reclined on a rock, which is covered 

 with a lion's skin, as if resting after some great exer- 

 tion ; extraordinary breadth and grandeur, as well as 

 profound knowledge of anatomy, are displayed in this 

 figure. The same may be stated of 



No. 99, which is supposed to represent Ilissus, the 

 River God. 



