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mencement, the improvement, and the perfection of the Doric order.

The first temple that presents itself to the traveller from Naples is the smallest; it consists of six pillars at each end, and thirteen at each side, counting the angular pillars in both directions. The architrave is entire, as is the pediment at the west end, excepting the corner stones and triglyphs, which are fallen, and the first cornice (that immediately over the frieze) which is worn away. At the east end, the middle of the pediment with much of the frieze and cornice remains; the north-east corner is likely to fall in a very short time. The cella occupied more than one-third of the length, and had a portico of two rows of columns, the shafts and capitals of which, now overgrown with grass and weeds, encumber the pavement and almost fill the arca of the temple.

The second temple has six columns at each end, and fourteen on each side, including those of the angles; the whole entablature and pediments are entire. A double row of columns adorned the interior of the cella, and supported each another row of small pillars; the uppermost is separated from the lower by an architrave only, without frieze or cornice. Of the latter, seven remain standing on each side; of the former, five on one side and three on the other. This double story, which seems intended merely to support the roof, rises only a few feet higher than the external cornice, and on the whole produces no good effect from the great disproportion between the under and upper columns. The cella had two entrances, one at each end, with a portico formed of two pillars and two antæ. The whole of the foundation and part of the wall of this cella

still remain; under it was a vault. One of the columns with its capital at the west end has been struck with lightning, and shattered so as to threaten ruin if not speedily repaired; its fall will be an irreparable loss, and disfigure one of the most perfect monuments now in existence. It might indeed be restored to its original form with little expense and labor, as the stones that have fallen remain in heaps within its enclosure, and might be replaced without difficulty.

The third edifice is the largest; it has nine pillars at the ends and eighteen on the sides, including the angular columns as before. Its size is not its only distinction; a row of pillars, extending from the middle pillar at one end to the middle pillar at the other, divides it into two equal parts, and is considered as a proof that it was not a temple. Its destination has not been ascertained; some suppose it to have been a Curia, others a Basilica, and others a mere market or exchange. In the centre there seems to have been an aperture in the pavement, leading, it is said, to vaults and passages under ground; there is indeed at some distance a similar aperture, like the mouth of a well, which, as our guides informed us, had been examined, and was probably intended to give air and light to a long and intricate subterranean gallery, which extended to the sea on one side, and on the other communicated with the temples. Such are the peculiar features of each of these edifices. In common to all it may be observed, that they are raised upon substructions* forming three gradations (for they

* These substructions are observable in all the Doric temples of Italy and Sicily, and seem essential to give a corresponding support as well as relievo to the massive forms of that order. Ordinary steps seem to sink under the weight, and

cannot be termed steps, as they are much too high for the purpose) intended solely to give due elevation and relievo to the superstructure; that the columns in all rise without bases from the uppermost of these degrees; that these columns are all fluted, between four and five diameters in height, and taper as they ascend, about one-fourth; that the capitals are all very flat and prominent; that the intercolumniation is a little more than one diameter; that the order and ornaments are in all the same; and the pediment in all very low; in fine, that they are all built of a porous stone, of a light or rather yellow grey, and in many places perforated and worn away.

In the open space between the first and second temple, were two other large edifices, built of the same sort of stone, and nearly of the same size. Their substructions still remain encumbered with the fragments of the columns and entablature, and so overgrown with brambles, nettles, and weeds, as scarcely to admit a near inspection. It is a pity that neither the government of Naples, nor the proprietor of Pastum, have public spirit enough to remove the rubbish that buries the monuments of this city, and restore to their primitive beauty edifices which, as long as they exist, can never fail to attract travellers, and not only redound to the glory, but contribute very materially to the interests of the country.

All the temples which I have mentioned stand in a line, and border a street that ran from gate to gate, and di

are quite lost in the cumbrous majesty of the Doric column. I need not observe that the second temple is the most beautiful of the three, and the nearest to the proportions of the temples of Agrigentum.

vided the town into two parts nearly equal.

A hollow space

scooped out in a semicircular form seems to be the traces of a theatre, and as it lies in front of the temples gives reason to suppose, that other public buildings might have ornamented the same side and made it to correspond in grandeur with that opposite; in which case few cities could have surpassed Pastum in splendid appearance. The walls of the town remain in all the circumference, five at least, and in some places twelve feet high; they are formed of solid blocks of stone, with towers at intervals; the archway of one gate only stands entire. Considering the materials and extent of this rampart, which encloses a space of nearly four miles round, with the many towers that rose at intervals, and its elevation of more than forty feet, we must acknowledge that it was on the whole a work of great strength and magnificence. Within these walls that once encircled a populous and splendid city now rise one cottage, two farm-houses, a villa, and a church. The remaining space is covered with thick matted grass, overgrown with brambles spreading over the ruins, or buried under yellow undulating corn. A few rose bushes, the remnants of the biferi rosaria Pasti*, flourish neglected here and there, and still blossom twice a year in May and December, as if to support their ancient fame, and justify the descriptions of the poets. The roses are remarkable

* Virgil Georg. Iv. 1. Virgil and Ovid just mention the Pastan rosesPropertius introduces them as an instance of mortality-Claudian employs them to grace a complimentary comparison. Ausonius alone presents them in all their beauty and freshness.

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for their fragrance. Amid these objects, and scenes rural and ordinary, rise the three temples like the mausoleums of the ruined city, dark, silent, and majestic.

It was now dusk, and on our entrance into the bishop's villa we found a plentiful repast, and excellent wines waiting our arrival. Our beds and rooms were all good, and every thing calculated to make our visit to Pæstum as agreeable in its accompaniments as it was interesting in its object. The night was bright, the weather warm but airy, a gale sweet and refreshing blew from the neighboring hills of Acropoli and Callimara; no sound was heard but the regular murmurs of the neighboring sea. The temples, silvered over by the light of the moon, rose full before me, and fixed my eyes till sleep closed them. In the morning the first object that presented itself was still the temples, now blazing in the full beams of the sun; beyond them the sea glittering as far as sight could reach, and the hills and mountains round, all lighted up with brightness. We passed some hours in revisiting the ruins, and contemplating the surrounding scenery.

Pæstum stands in a fertile plain, bounded on the west by the Tyrrhene Sea; about a mile distant on the south by fine hills, in the midst of which Acropoli sits embosomed; on the north, by the bay of Salerno, and its rugged border; while to the east, the country swells into two mountains, which still retain their ancient names Callimara and Cantena*, and behind them towers

* These hills and the neighboring plain were the theatre of some bloody skirmishes between the Roman armies and the bands of Spartacus.

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