believer! Would that neither the one nor the other had ever obtruded their officious speculations on the world, but confined them to the precincts of their own breasts. In the Eternal City, antiquarian lore is indeed a drug-but one more poisonous to the reveries of Fancy, Philosophy, and Memory, than aconite to the corporeal functions of man. More than half our enjoyments in this world spring from the "pleasures of hope" and of imagination; but the sceptic and the antiquarian, like true Marplots, seem to derive their chief gratification from the infusion of gall into the cup of their neighbour. Standing on the Tower of the Capitol, and viewing these magnificent arches, without the aid of an antiquarian telescope, the re-kindled memory and the excited imagination roam over the awful events of the Judæan war, the destruction of the Temple, the conservation of its holy relics beneath these proud arches, the fond hopes of "eternal peace," which inspired Vespasian's breast, after the direful conflict*-and, lastly, the terrific conflagration which annihilated the sacred emblems, the effigies, the entire mystic machinery of a religion dictated to trembling man by the Creator of the Universe, amid the thunders, lightnings, earthquakes, and miracles of MOUNT SINAI! Yes, the precious sanctities of Jehovah's temple-the tributary gold wrung from bleeding nations-the accumulated treasures of bloated Patricians-the blood-stained spoils of ruthless warriors -the darling pelf of griping usurers-the precious jewels of prudent matrons-and costly decorations of virgin beauties, were all consigned to the devouring element of fire-evaporated into air, crumbled into dust, or melted and precipitated into the bowels of that earth from which they originally sprang ! * The inscription " Pæci Æternæ, &c." which was found on a fragment of marble near the Temple of Peace, was one of the reasons for supposing these ruins to belong to that august edifice. COLISEUM. "Omnis Cæsareo cedat labor AMPHITHEATRO Of all the monuments that now exist to attest the decline and fall of the Roman empire, this is the most stupendous ;—and, could it be dissociated, in the mind, from the causes which gave it birth, or the cold-blooded hideous barbarities which it exhibited, it would be the most majestic, even in its ruins. But the springs of action are more philosophic objects of contemplation than the mere machinery by which these are brought into operation. In the early years of a state, as in those of an individual, the sensibilities, though keen, respond only to natural impressions. But as time rolls on, as wealth accumulates, as luxury prevails, and as virtue decays, the sensibilities become not only blunted, but perverted-wholesome stimuli cease to call forth the usual, or at all events, the desired excitementand then nature is outraged in every possible way. Such was the condition of the Romans, when the manly, or at least the innocent, contests of the circus, and the fictitious sorrows of the stage became insipid—and yon gigantic structure rose, arch over arch, and order over order, Titan-like, to scale the heavens; or, rather, to usurp the privileges of the gods, in receiving the incense of slaughtered victims-in breathing the odour of human gore, jetting in crimson fountains from a thousand pierced and palpitating hearts. To feast their eyes on the mangled and quivering members— on the reeking entrails of man and animals-to view, with exquisite delight, the murderous conflicts of the ensanguined arena, hither flowed daily the impetuous tide of human existence, the lords of the creation, the venerated, the god-like Romans! Here took their allotted seats, the sceptered prince and laurelled consul-the war-like knight and solemn senator-the haughty patrician, and factious tribune-the vestal virgin, and stately matron-the tuneful bard and grave philosopher. These and countless multitudes of Roman citizens and Roman rabble, rushed daily to yon gorgeous structure-all for the sake of that EXCITEMENT which simple or innocent pleasures could no longer elicit ! Yes! and when the wounded gladiator fell before the superior force or fortune of his fierce antagonist, and sued for life—when the victor poised in air his gory falchion, and looked for the signal of mercy or murder-these polished Romans-the fair-sex themselves, vestals maidens and matrons, held up their hands for BLOOD; nor would they forego the poignant pleasure of seeing the reeking steel plunged into the vitals of a fellow-creature !* Such was yon colossal slaughter-house, where every ferocious animal that roamed the wilds or haunted the rivers of Asia, Africa, and Europe, was conducted to view, as well as to encounter, with horror and astonishment, the still more ferocious animal-MAN.† * "Two aqueducts were scarcely sufficient to wash off the human blood which a few hours sport shed in this imperial shambles. Twice in one day came the Senators and Matrons of Rome to the butchery: a virgin always gave the signal for slaughter, and when glutted with blood-shed, those ladies sat down in the wet and streaming arenæ to a luxurious supper."-Forsyth. Who would expect that Cicero should not only defend, but warmly commend gladiatorship! "Oculis nulla poterat esse fortior contra dolorem et mortem disciplina." If this diabolical insensibility to scenes of blood and murder was expected to re-kindle the valour of the degenerate Romans, the expectation was most woefully disappointed! The horrible and debasing inference of Cicero, indeed, is negatived by the examples of ancient Greece and modern Europe. Compare the heroic retreat of the ten thousand Greeks with the shameful flight of Julien's Roman legions from the banks of the Euphrates. ↑ The licentious and blood-thirsty Romans did not always enjoy these sights with impunity. When the Emperor Probus was preparing for his triumph, nearly 300 years after the birth of Christ, fourscore desperate gladiators, out of 600 who were reserved for the inhuman sports of the Coliseum, disdaining to shed their blood for the amusement of the populace, broke from the place of their confinement, and filled the streets of Rome with slaughter and confusion. They were overcome at last; but not before they avenged their fraternity by torrents of blood in the Eternal City. Erected by a Pagan-purged of its inhuman rites by a Priest* --and propped in old age by a Pope-the Coliseum shadows out some faint emblematical picture of Rome itself. It was once the stormy theatre of bloody deeds—it is now the peaceful asylum of holy crosses. Part of it still stands erect, or renovated; part of it totters over its base; but the greater part has vanished. Eloquent in its silence, populous in its solitude, majestic in its adversity, admired in its decay, the ruins of the Coliseum, like the remains of Rome, excite the curiosity of the antiquary-the ruminations of the moralist-the zeal of the Catholic-the admiration of the architect-the sigh of the philanthropist the sneer of the cynic-the humiliation of the philosopher-and the astonishment of all. ARCH OF CONSTANTINE. I never look at a triumphal arch, without feeling a thrill of horror run through my veins. Behold the ARCH OF CONSTANTINE-the FIRST CHRISTIAN EMPEROR, who waded to the throne ankle-deep in the blood of his rival (Maxentius) as well as of his whole race! But that was a legitimate procedure, according to the imperial maxims of ancient days! The murder of his wife of his virtuous son (Crispus)-of his innocent nephews -and of a few thousand other victims, were only episodes which fill a few pages of impartial history, but which are prudently slurred over by historical bishops ! The arch itself is a memorable instance and record of the instability of human power, and the uncertainty of triumphal honours! The fortune of a battle converted a traitor into an emperor-while an abject senate changed the edifices erected by Maxentius into trophies for his conqueror-demolished the Arch of Trajan to build up the heterogeneous Arch of Constantine, * St. Telemachus, (an Asiatic Monk) who, in the reign of Honorius, jumped upon the arena to separate the gladiators, and was stoned to death for his humanity! This procured a decree against gladiatorship. without regard to the memory of the virtuous dead, or to the rules of architectural propriety-confounded times, persons, actions, and characters, in a chaos of anachronism, and a mass of inconsistencies-prostrating Parthian captives at the feet of a prince who never crossed the Euphrates—and placing the head of Trajan over the body of Constantine ! That Arch recals many a scene of deception as well as of cruelty in the MAN to whom it is raised. The "standard, the dream, and the celestial sign," rise in imagination-the mystic LABARUM floats before our eyes-and we almost involuntarily look up at the azure vault of Heaven, to behold the radiant cross over the meridian sun-and read the awful words-" sub hoc signo vinces," traced by the finger of God. But the delusion soon vanishes; and although the first Christian Emperor is still portrayed in the portals of St. Peter, as viewing the miracle in the skies, reason as well as history convinces us, that" in the account of his own conversion, Constantine attested a wilful falsehood by a solemn and deliberate perjury." ARCH OF TITUS. "Princes who without success, had defended their thrones or freedom, were frequently strangled in prison, as soon as the triumphal pomp had ascended the capitol."-GIBBON. This awful RELIC, enchased with the sacred symbols of our holy religion-symbols "Which Jews might kiss and Infidels adore " still strides over the via sacra, or via triumphalis, in solitary grandeur. The vice-gerent of Christ, the descendant of the Apostles has piously restored and propped up the triumphal arch of a heathen warrior, who demolished, in verification of prophecy, the Temple of Jerusalem. A grateful people, or an obsequious Senate raised the trophy of Pentelic marbleadorned it with fluted columns-embellished the interior of the arch with bas reliefs representing the conqueror TITUS in a car U |