on the portico of the Basilica Laterana, in itself from its ele vation and magnitude, a grand object, and now rendered unusually splendid and majestic, by the blaze of glory that seemed to play around it. The groves of deep verdure that arose on each side, and the dark arches of the ruined aqueducts, bending above the trees, formed a striking contrast, and gave the approach a magnificence and solemnity highly conformable to the character and destinies of the Eternal City.

CHAP. III.

MAGNIFICENCE OF ANCIENT ROME—ITS CLOACÆ-AQUEDUCTSVIE-FORUMS--TEMPLES--THERMÆ-THEATRES-INSTANCES OF PRIVATE MAGNIFICENCE-GREATNESS THE CHARACTERISTIC OF ROMAN TASTE AT ALL TIMES.

I KNOW not whether the traveller is not more struck with the appearance of Rome on his return from Naples, than he was on his first entrance. Not to speak of the grandeur of the objects that meet his eye, even at the gate, and are certainly well calculated to make a strong impression, it has been justly observed that the stir, the animation, the gaiety that pervade the streets of Naples, still fresh in his recollection, contrast singularly with the silence and solemnity that seem to reign undisturbed over all the quarters of Rome. The effect of this contrast is encreased by the different style of building, the solidity and magnitude of Roman edifices, and the huge masses of ruin that rise occasionally to view, like monuments of a superior race of beings. We seem in our journey to have passed over not miles but ages, and arrived at a mansion where the agitations of the present are absorbed in the contemplation of

the past, and the passions of this world are lost in the interests of that which is to succeed it. Rome is not therefore like Naples, the seat of mirth and dissipation; of public amusement, or even of private conviviality. The severe majesty that seems to preside as the genius of the place, proscribes frivolity, and inspires loftiness of thought and gravity of deportment. It imposes even on scenes of relaxation a certain restraint, that without infringing on the ease of conversation, and the confidence of familiar intercourse, gives a serious bias to the mind, and disposes it imperceptibly to reflection *.

But if in Rome, we seek in vain for the lighter amusements, such as balls, routs and operas; we are supplied with other entertainments of a much higher, and to man of a solid judgment, of a much more satisfactory nature. Not to speak of the arts and sciences, that seem to expand all their treasures, and to court our observation at every step, he who delights to range in thought over the past, and converse with the great of ancient times, will here find an inexhaustible fund of occupation in every street and the memory of some noble achievement or illustrious person meeting him at every turn. "Id quidem infinitum est in hac urbe," says Cicero, speaking of Athens, quacumque enim ingredimur, in aliquam historiam vestigium poni

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• Il decoro is the word used at Rome to express this restraint so peculiar to the place; a word little used, as the quality expressed by it is little known in other parts of Italy. English is the only transalpine language, I believe, that possesses the word, as indeed England is almost the only country, where its influence is constantly felt and acknowledged.

mus*,” an observation far more applicable to Rome, because it is a grander theatre, more fertile in events and more productive of heroes.

To these recollections, which spring from the very soil itself, and are inseparably attached to its localities, we must superadd the antique statues that fill the cabinets both public and private, and place the worthies of ancient times before us in all the dignity of dress and attitude. The Capitol, in fact, was never so crowded with heroes and senators, with consuls and dictators, as it is at present; never were so many kings assembled in its halls, and never was it visited by so many emperors in succession, as are now united in one grand assembly under its roof.

1

The same may be said of the collection in the Vatican where long galleries and capacious temples are lined with rows, frequently double, of busts and statues representing all the demigods and heroes, the statesmen and orators, the poets and philosophers, in short, all the great persons real or imaginary, that have figured in the history and literature of the ancients, and filled the world with their renown for so many ages.

Ora ducum et vatum, sapientumque ora priorum.

Stat. Syl. 11. 2.

Private cabinets, some of which are almost as considerable as the two great repositories just mentioned, increase the pro

* De Fin. lib. v. 2.

digious stock, and give altogether a number of statues that equals the population of some cities; combining the most perfect specimens, not of Greek and Roman only, but of Etruscan and Egyptian art, and expanding before us, in the compass of one city, all the treasures of the ancient world*. Encircled with such company, and surrounded with such monuments, who shall dare to complain of want of occupation? especially as the classics are always at hand to heighten the enjoyment; and where can they be perused with more pleasure or advantage than at Rome, amidst the monuments of the heroes whom they celebrate, and on the very theatre of the actions, which they describe.

But to proceed to the immediate object of this chapter.— On our first visit we contemplated ancient Rome as she now appears, and from thence we passed to the consideration of the modern city. We will now turn to ancient Rome again, and while we still tread the spot on which she stood, we will recollect what she once was, and endeavor to trace out some of her majestic features still faintly discernible through the gloom of so many ages. The subject is intimately connected with

the views of a classical traveller, and is indeed forced upon him in every morning walk. In fact, while he ranges over the seven hills, once so crowded with population and graced with so many noble fabrics, now inhabited only by a few friars, and covered with piles of ruin, he cannot but recollect

* "On trouve ici," exclaims the Abbé Barthelemi, on his first visit to the Capitol, "l'ancienne Egypte, l'ancienne Athenes, l'ancienne Rome!"