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TILiv FIRST TRACES OF LIFK IX Till-: KA.U TIL'S ' ... ' . ' • .CKL ' .iST. ' * .'-
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edifices which adorned Athens in the time of Pericles , and Rome in that of Augustus . This is obviously impossible ; but are there no means of treating' these buildings as Professor Owen would treat some . huge mammal of the Eocene or the Triassic period ? We can , iri ' niany cases , tell their dimensions and their position from their ruined remains , often enough to . make us wonder that even barbarians could destroy them—is it a hopeless wish to see something ? like a restored plan and elevation ? Not altogether ; some scores of them lire represented upon the medals of the period , sometimes with great care and by artists of genius , but often , unfortunately , in a very slovenly and inefficient -mariner . . Nevertheless , the very worrit of " these has a distinct and appreciable ! value , and becomes , in the hand of so able an architect as Professor Donaldson , no mean aid in restoring the edifice itself to our view as it stood in its palmy days , with the gloss of novelty upon it ; and the crowds of Athenian or JRoman citizens many ages ago turned to their dust , gazing upon it with wonder and pleasure . - . .
Thete is a- certain degree of fidelity about these representations which only a professional eye can defect ; the ordinary collector does not know how far he is gazing on a fancy picture , and how-far the few lines traced- on the metal before him give a correct idea of the temple , the tomb , the bridge , or the circus . Here he is in a very different .-position from the observer of nature . Mr . Owen knows that there . has-been no tampering" with the bone , oi" the foot-print ; no imperfect artist hits given his notion of what it was or might be ; but he- has . the unerring work of a divine hand before him . Professor Donaldson has a different material , and is obliged to take it with all . its disadvantages , But , on the other hand ,, he has the eye to detect the errors of the copyist ; he sees where the picture may be depended '" updo , and where the artist has failed ; and while he " is thus considerably 'damaged' as to the extent of the information lie obtains , lie loses little if auvthinir . as to its accuracy .
Let us suppose thatwe desire the picture of a certain , temple —• happily Yitruvius or Pausania . s has left . us a description , of it . Stiiibo may have added a , few .-particulars : —there may .. be some remains of the building itself , and it may be .-depicted on " -it . large brass medal of the least period . Here " the . difficulty is minimized ; from these various elements we may make , if it so please us , a fite-. < imi ! c of the temple , and be sure not t > err in any important particular . But if we have no description—if the edifice itself . be altogether swept away by the besom of time , and we have onl y coins , such as the colonial coins of Qovdiiui or- Philip—rwhat then ? Whv then we place , these coins ; in the hands of such a man as Professor Donaldson , and he proceeds as follows : —First , he collects all the examples that can be procured of the coins on . wliich the building is represented , that he may find every part of the coin perfect . An exnm-ple . perfectly sharp on one . part , say on the the leftwill
no remains o any such arches now , nor are they described ' by . any ancient writer ; and Nibley , whose opinions Professor Donaldson . always treats with great respect ,- thinks that there was , When the Colosseum was built , a Communication between the palace occupied by the Einperor and the great theatre itself , which was very closely adjacent . This does not seem at all an improbable solution * and if it be a correct one we have an additional instance of the defects of written history being supplied by ' medals .. An interesting : representation of the Basilica Ulpia , restoredby a careful study of coins and written documents , will be found-in-the book before us ; and the steps of-the' process are described in a way wliich leaves no room whatever for doubt in the reader ' s mind as to the accuracy of the result . On the whole , we must congratulate the author , the public , and the architectural . profession alike on the appearance of this work . It will help the numismatist to be something more than a mere collector , and it will show artistic writers what treasures of archaeology are to be discovered in a good , collection of ancient coins . One remark we must make , and we make it with regret . We fear that the time has passed for the current coiii of the realm to be adorned with the trophies of arts or arms . The Koman citizen could not take up his denarius , or his sestertius , without being reminded of some new victory gained by the Emperor , some new province added to the empire , or some new . ornament -to the . metropolis . His feelings of-patriotism- and of national pride were stimulated , and he felt the glory of being able to say " cicLi llonianus sum . " Now if we take up our daily gains we are instructed in nothing . Xo feelings are appealed to : art is , . as far ; is possible , ig . iored , and history entirely forgot ten . We are told , that the ¦ florin is one-tenth of a pound ! ' Wondrous truth ! —philosophical discovery !—that a certain round - ' piece of silver is one shilling ! Valuable iiifonnation ; but for this the careless observer might have imagined it to be a cow , or a lamp post , or , peradventuro , a pound of potatoes . Even in tin ; new bronze coinage , specimens of which we have been permitted to inspect , no improvement 1 ms taken place . Mr . Wyon has produced a masterpiece of art , but he has l > ee ' n ¦ restricted to . the old conventional device of Britannia-seated upon a ro :-k ; and instead of theword BuTTAXxrA . we have the edifying legend , ..--O-V i ^ " 1 * l-: n : \ ; v . . Proh 2 > i ' - < lor ! When may we look for something better ? Professor Donaldson's book is a livrc do luxe , It is magnificently printed on fine thick paper , and profusely illustntttMl . We wish for it the success which it deserves .
right side Of the reverse , but defaced and blurred on , be of great value to him , though to the collector it may be of no value' at all . One with the obverse worn will be very probabjy thrown-aside by the museum , but for architectural purposes it will bo none the worse ; while one which has a line head and a decently preserved reverse will be kept in . the cabinet , . though : of little value , comparatively , to the architect . This involves the necessity of examining 1 tray after tray of coins when _ they can be procured , in order that by comparison of ' many specimens the enyniver ' s idea may be perfectly represented . Tlio ne \ t step is " to make a perfectly accurate drawing of the building , as it appears upon the perfect coin , and then this must be sutHciontly enlarged to give it a . practical value- Mr . Donaldson has pursued this plan , and him had the enlarged drawings lithographed , mid he has performed his task with such accuracy that we seem to be looking—and indeed are so—upon magnified impressions of the
coins t | ioiusolvos . The art of the- medallist hns now boon made available , us tar as possible , for the , restoration of the building . The skill . and learning of the architect are next to be brought into exercise . It has t . <» be decidud what portions of the representation are to bo depended upon , and what two / iiilurod through tlio want of skill in the engraver ; this can only bo ascertained by a careful examination of similar edifices of the . same em , mid by noticing what variations fro , m accuracy seem to be the result of eliuu . sines . s , and what from want of spaco , . or a too great liveliness of inwigination . Architectural skill can soon disposoof most of the , s < o , and tlio ilosign becomes apparent ; step by atop the process goes on , and even from these unpromising materials we are able to give u tolerably yood account of wluil tlio temple was .
One very curious and inexplicable representation occurs on a com of Titua . The artist depicts tlio Colosseum ; wo lmvo the elevation , and from above a partial view into tlio interior . We see the spectators iu their places , and in a large box , surmounted by u somicirouliii arch , sits a personage of consequence ; one ' s first notion would bo Unit tin ' s was the Kmporor himself , but a little fUrthor consideration would allow Unit , though a good place , the position was certainly nut the best in the theatre , and Unit one many nmks lower down would be more advantageous for viewing the . sports of the circus . The box in question was , as Professor Donaldson thinks , ocoupiod by the Pr <; jlotus Zucloruw , or master of Ilia gamut ) . Wo iu'o inelinod to doubt this appropriation , as it Booms probable that this ofliuor would bo so nlnced us to have voiuly access to tho n-renu itself , which IVom tho position horo represented would be obviously impossible . Howover this may bo , tho modal is of tho groatest architectural value , and gives u vory oloar notion of tho groat Flavian aniphithoutro . Hut on one sido is nn objuol which has boon called tho niola sutfans , nnd on the other double uories of iirches , ¦ looking very like an aqueduct or n portion of ti portico . There arc
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1 T / . HEN , as in the late Easter holydnys , thousands of . visitors . v V thronged the . geologirnl gallery of the British Museum , and when , in . more quiet times and in more private buildings , inquiring visitors look over a cabinet of Jiritish fossils , they an ; generally perplexed with the multitude and comp lexity ' of tho organic remains presented to their view , and nothing but a very confusi'd remembrance of an accumulation of strange forms is retained , The reason is that the visitors . . have attempted too much , and therefore have gained nothing—but a headache . Too many fossils are like too much fruit at one time . It would bo better for the inquirer , pressed for time , rather to contract his view , and to make a limited investigation correspond with his limited time .
This might be effected by drawing him awsiy from 1-ho well-filled glass ciise . s and Kill and heavy drawers , nud opening only our drawer before him . In this drawer we might say lie the iirsl , truces of animal organized existence at present known to us . Scrutinize them well , for creatures of yesterday s— such jis inon nre -arc , now looking upon evidence ' s of life preceding man ' s existence b . v : i number of years that no man could reckon up , oven if he were to dc-v . ote tho beht years of his entire life to . tho proofs of (¦ numeration . Tlic mereexposition of the arguments for tho incalculable romotencsH ot geOl < i « "ical time would demand a volume . This is tho grout si inn Wing
block of . students , and not a few even of tho most iutulligent ol our jM'ofcBsio ' iiul men fail to get over it , principally bucausu tli « 7 conic Lite in life to tho contemplation of this grout thcim ) . h . von the cler' -y m-e only beginning to admit that such things may be , and that there are ' stranger things than iu : o dromnt of in their thuulogy —not bttciuiHU thoology and goology nre really opposed , lint Ihm-huho ninny nion ' s minda aro too nnrrowod , too strnitoned by tlio « leiuloning rules , of an inoxpaudinj . ? colle ^ iato odiicntioii t . » eiihu ^ v , and compreiiond tho ^ retit and indisputable truths of natiiml h < moiico without u violent effort—an ( .-Hurt wliich tho indolent Jiml llio
too fortiumto nro rehictnut to nuike . . Holtor than thu more display of tho contents of tho drawer would bo mi oxoursion to tho localities whence its trousuros him- boon derived . It may be easily imulo ; wo oursolves huso lvcently oiijoyodit } and if our roadyrs like to accompany us > n nniiHiiniLiou we will indicate its courso und its curiosities . Iho druvvur is now open in our own cabinet , which contains the upoliu o / mita ot our oonfliot . with hiuninor and chjsol in hiind . ... , ,. „ To find , or sue whoro may bo found , tho first truces ol animal hfo in our own country , wo have only to talco tho train to hln-owsbury , and thoncu to Church StroUon , i » Wln'opshii-o . Alighting wo wu 1 c up to one of tlio most , pleasing of neighbourhoods , roinuilcably lilco Mulvorni but of courso uuiVoquantud as y « t , nnd thoroloro lnv pveftji-ublo to that fashionablo watorjug ov wntor-drinkiiitf ^\ uropsterHhiro town . A very comfortable little inn provides far our low
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April 21 , I 860 . " ] The Leader and Saturdciy ' Analyst . St 7
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: irh' « irv ^ e SH fHn > <» i < i >« ™<> 'i \ : Ti «> M" « " « 'iC * fc : / f """" 1 l < " vlcii ' Uy H . J . MaoKIH . London ! Groomln'idKO auJ Worm . J «" -
Tiliv First Traces Of Lifk Ix Till-: Ka.U Til's ' ... ' . ' • .Ckl ' .Ist. ' * .'-
TlLIv FIRST TRACES OF JJFK JX Till-: KARTIL'S ... ' . CKL ' . iST . ' * . ' -
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Leader (1850-1860), April 21, 1860, page 377, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2344/page/13/
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