ATHENS. 371 
by one of the most powerful agents of supersti- CHAP. 
tion. The priests at Jerusalem have profited 
by a similar mode of construction, for their pre- 
tended miracle of the "holy fire" attheTow&o/' 
the Messiah; and the remains of many antient 
crypts and buildings in Egypt and in Greece seem 
to prove that the earliest places of idolatrous 
worship were all calculated to obstruct rather 
than to admit the light. Even in its present 
dilapidated state, the Parthenon still retains 
something of its original gloomy character: it is 
this which gives such a striking effect to the 
appearance of the distant scenery, as it is 
beheld through the portal by a spectator from 
within, who approaches the western entrance. 
The Acropolis of Corinth is so conspicuous from 
within the nave, that the portal of the temple 
seems to have been contrived for the express 
purpose of guiding the eye of the spectator 
precisely to that point of view. Perhaps there 
was another temple, with a corresponding scope 
of observation, within the Corinthian Citadel. 
Something of this nature may be observed in 
the construction of old Roman- Catholic churches, 
where there are crevices calculated for the 
purpose of guiding the eye, through the dark- 
ness of the night, towards other sanctuaries 
remotely situate; whether for any purpose of 
B B 2 - * 
