388 An Excurfion through France to Geneve. 
among the people feon afterwards became 
enthufiattic, and many a grave philippic 
was pronounced againft them by the cold 
‘grey -headed philofophers of that day, as 
iikely to produce effeminacy, and the ne- 
Je&t of thofe employments and martial 
amufements by which Rome had_ then 
rifen to her fuperiority in power.* 
After the example of Marcellus, the Ro- 
man generals vied with each other who 
fhould- enrich his triumph with the greateft 
number of ftatues, pi@ures, vafes, &c. &c. 
and in the war with Greece, which imme- 
diately fucceeded the fecond Punic War, 
they were enabled to make the fineft ac- 
quifitions. It is faid that when Aimilius 
reduced the kingdom of Macedon into a 
province of the Roman empire, the two 
firft days of his triumph were almoft en- 
tirely taken up in bringing the choiceft 
ftatues, fculptured veilcls, and other fpe- 
cimens of art-from the collection which 
Philip had formed. When Scipio Afvi- 
canus deitroyed Carthage, he tranfported 
the ornaments of that city into Rome. 
Th's fort of plunder, at length, became a 
matter of mere fafhion, alchough it ori- 
_gimated in taite. When Mummins con- 
quered Corinth, he, like other generals, 
ftripped the city of all its beauties, which 
he transferred to Rome, although his ig- 
norance of the arts, and want of tafte tor 
them, were not exceeded by the meanet 
foldier’s in his army. What are we tothink 
of a man who could tell the foldiers who 
conveyed thefe fpecimens, that if they loft 
or injured any of them, they fhould fuffer 
for their careleffueis, by being forced to re- 
place them with others in their ftead! Bo- 
naparte, furely, aéted more wilely in fol- 
lowing the fteps of a Scipio Africanus, an 
fEmilius and’a Marcellus, than he would 
hhave cone in following thofe of a Fabius 
(Maximus, who, when he captured Taren- 
tum, fent the money and plate to Rome, 
but left the ftatues and pictures behind 
‘him. 
Whether or not the French will reap 
** ‘Virgil himfeif, when Rome monopo- 
clized ali the elegance and refinement of the 
world, feems fearful,that a tafte for the polite 
-arts fhould enervate the martial fpirit of his 
countrymen : 
»Excydent alii {pirantia mollius era, 
Credo cquidem: vivos ducent de marmore 
vultus : 
Orabunt.caufas melius; celique meatus 
Lelcribent radio, & furgentia fidera dicent : 
“Tu xegere in p2rio populos, Romane, me- 
~ mento: 
Fiz tidi erunt a tes; pacifque imponere mo- 
zem, 
Farcere iubiectis et debellare fuperbes, 
[ Pec.1, 
much advantage from the importation of - 
fuch perfect {pecimens of art into their 
metropolis, is a queftion about which there 
may be a wide difference of opinions; the 
Romans certainly profited but litle by the 
fimilar acquifi:ions which they made ; they 
had tatie enough to admire the productions 
of the Grecian chifel, but not fufficient 
fkill to rival them. Ts it that they were 
already fatisfied with the pofleffion of fine 
{pecimens, and, imprefled with a fenfe of 
their own inferiority, ventured not to en- 
gage in the competition? But there is an 
obiervable difference in the fituations of 
the French and the Roman artifts : if emu- 
lation is extinguifhed by too profound a 
fenfe of inferiority, and if, in dereliétion 
of their general character, the Freuch fhould 
feel that lofty admiation for the perform- 
ances before them, which forbids even a 
hope to rife in their bo!om of fuccelSfully 
rivalling their exceilencies; yet have they 
an excitement to profecute their. labours 
left, namely, an honourable emulation 
with each other. The Romans, in a great 
meafure, deprived themfelves of this fti- 
mulus to improvement,; for, not! content 
with tran{porting into their capital,the moft 
excellent works of art, they obtained the 
refidence among them, of the artifts them- 
felves, who, advancing as they advanced, 
would keep them ever at an equal and dif- 
heartening diftance ; and durely. it was far 
more refined and exquifite cruelty, to fe- 
duce from Greece the hand which could 
Xe-chifel the fiatue, and re-paint. the pic- 
ture, than it would have been to.have taken 
from it the flatue and the pitture alone. 
If the Romans, however, wanted either 
the ambition, or the {kill, or both, to rival 
the mafter-pieces of art which they im- 
.ported, they at leaft profited .by the ge- 
neral tate for the arts which they ac- 
quired, and beftowed it with. fuperlative 
fuccefs on architeéture ; it was the honour- 
able boat of Auguftus, that he found his 
capital of brick, and that he left it of mar- 
ble. Where are we to find fuch Rupend- 
ous and majeftic monuments of architec- 
ture as were conftruGted.by the Romans? 
Nor were thefe magnificent ereétions con- 
fined to the capital, they adorned every 
province of the empire; they were not in- 
-Gebted for their exiiience to. the wealth 
of the imperial coffers alone, but many of 
them.to the private munificence of opu- 
lent individuals. But inftead of profe- 
cuting this fubjeét farther, Fought rather 
to apologize for the lengthto which I have 
already digrefled : we muft return to Ge- 
neva. 
The Genevans have an_ extraordinary 
cufiom, and it is the only ene which fron 
is 
