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 The influence of liberty on taste, in th 
 
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TILE 
 
 Influence of Liberty 
 
 TASTE 
 
 AGES OF AUG-USTUS AlsTD LOUIS XIY. 
 
 JAMES PECH, Mtjs. Doc, 
 
 Of New College, Oxford. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 HURD & HOUGHTON, 459 BROOME STREET. 
 
 1869. 
 
To the 
 Rev. FREDEMIGK A. P. BARNARD, S.T.D., LL.D., 
 
 President of Columbia College, New York. 
 
 I deem it an honour to avail mi/self of your permission- 
 to inscribe to you, this — the fruit of my leisure hours. Your 
 reputation, and the titles appended to your name, present a 
 pleasing picture of a life spent in the study and advancement 
 of Religion and Learning. 
 
 In the wide range of your disquisitions, there can be hardly 
 amything too minute in practice not to be benefitted by your 
 observation; and the distinguished position you occupy as 
 President of one of the oldest and most honoured seats of 
 Learning in this country — while it removes you, in a measure, 
 fronts the accidental disturbances of caprice and fashion, by 
 which Art and Literature are so constantly surrounded — enables 
 you, possessed of science, culture, and a philosophic spirit, to 
 recognize and encourage the efforts of one, with whose Alma 
 Mater a liberal and classical education is the necessary intro- 
 duction to professional studies. 
 
 JAMES PECH. 
 
 Trinity Parish, 
 
 New York. 
 
THE 
 
 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE AUGUSTAN ERA. 
 
 It has been stated that the strongest efforts of genius will 
 probably be made by those who enjoy Liberty, and are inspired 
 by its animating infltience; but that justness and refinement 
 of Taste will generally be found to be more improved among 
 the subjects of an absolute, than among those of a free, govern- 
 ment. 
 
 That the first of these propositions is true, we shall readily 
 admit. The history of all ages, the noble monuments of all free 
 countries, confirm the truth, that Liberty appears attended with 
 whatever is great, spirited or ingenious. That the second is false, 
 we are persuaded, may be proved from history, too ; and the 
 same monuments bear witness that Freedom has also in her 
 train, genuine elegance, severity of taste, natural, simple and 
 unaffected truth. 
 
 Pope, who was as remarkable for his judgment as a poetical 
 genius, seems inadvertently to have given countenance to the 
 opinion, that an absolute government is more favourable to the 
 improvement of Taste than a free one, in those lines of his 
 "Essay on Criticism," where he touches upon ihd progression 
 of the Fine Arts when they were banished from Italy : 
 
 "But soon by impious arms from Latium chas'd 
 Their ancieiit bounds, the banished muses pass'd; 
 Thence arts o'er all the northern world advance, 
 But critic learning flourish' d most in France: 
 The rules a nation born, to serve, obeys, 
 And Boileau still in right of Horace sways." 
 1 
 
2 Influence of Liberty, on Taste. 
 
 Pope's authority justly claims the highest respect ; but what- 
 ever regard is due to so great a name, let it never mislead us 
 to believe, that those who are born to serve, naturally obey 
 rules in the Pine Arts and Belles-Lettres— for of these he 
 speaks — better than those who are born free. 
 
 The opinion that refinement and elegance will probably be 
 more studied and improved among the subjects of an absolute, 
 than among citizens of a free, government, seems to have arisen 
 from a partial observation of the condition of Taste in the French 
 Monarchy of that time, and of what happened in Rome when 
 ' Ootavius made himself master of her liberties and of the world. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding that polite figure which the Ages of 
 Augustus and Louis XIY. will forever make in the annals of 
 the world, we are persuaded it may be laid down as a certain 
 maxim that, in every country, not only Genius, but Taste also, 
 will be found to be in proportion to Freedom, unless the influ- 
 ence of this general law be counteracted by inferior circumstances 
 and accidents, as any general law, either in the physical or moral 
 world, may be observed to be in many particular instances. 
 
 To deny the truth of this assertion, one must forget in what 
 countries the best models of national and elegant compositions 
 of all kinds were produced ; at what time genuine Taste began 
 to be cultivated in those countries, when it was carried to its 
 utmost perfection, and when it began to decline and give place 
 to what was unnatural and false. 
 
 When did the inhabitants of any, even the most civilized, 
 absolute, Monarchy, discover such refined, elegant, correct Taste, 
 as did the citizens of the free States of Greece ? Did anyone, 
 born the subject of an absolute prince, more strictly obey and 
 severely follow those rules, which good- sense and nature 'pointed 
 out to be just, than they, who, in those States, were bom free f 
 It cannot be said with truth that they did : nor did anyone 
 appear, who lived ' after the Roman Emperors had established 
 their power upon the ruins of Liberty, that could dispute for the 
 prize of elegant composition with those who were educated in 
 better days. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 3 
 
 As the Age of Augustus is prior to that of Louis XIV., 
 we shall endeavour to meet the argument against the friend- 
 ly influence that Liberty undoubtedly has upon Taste, which 
 may be brought from the superiority and exquisite beauty 
 of, the works of the Augustan Age ; and to show tliat we are 
 indebted for the whole compositions of that ,Age, not to the 
 accident of Augustus' supreme power, but to the existence of 
 that Liberty, which, unfortunately for the world and true Taste,' 
 he overthrew, and which had already made Rome the seat of 
 genius and refinement, before fortune had raised Octavius to the 
 imperial sway, or he had assumed to himself those powers 
 foi-merly divided among different ranks of the Roman people. 
 
 Liberty, indeed, cannot alone, or all at once, refine the genius 
 or Taste of mankind: other circumstances must concur, but 
 Liberty is still the animating cause, and a total deprivation of 
 it would soon be found to extinguish every spark of genius and 
 Taste. A people may be free, and yet rude and uncultivated 
 in their Taste as well as manners; but a nation of slaves will 
 either evince a complete want of Taste, or a vitiated and false 
 one. The Romans long retained a rusticity of manner, 
 despising the graceful and refined. Their first attempts in 
 composition, like those of every other nation beginning to 
 extend its dominion and importance in the world, and to form 
 its government and laws, were rude and barbarous, and their 
 first productions in the Fine Arts rough and unj)olished. But 
 when -their Constitution was fully established, when their Taste 
 in elegance began to be refined, when Carthage and the world 
 bowed before the Roman Eagle, when th6 governors of conquered 
 provinces brought immense wealth to Rome, and raised families 
 whose great opulence enabled them to cultivate and encourage 
 everything that was beautiful and finished, and when the Muses 
 had forsaken Greece, no longer now the seat of Liberty, then 
 did the Romans, under the direction of the learned who came 
 from that country, begin to study the proprieties of Taste, to 
 love the Arts, and to give a completeness to their style and 
 manner. 
 
4 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 It will in vain be objected against the elevating influence of 
 Liberty, that the Romans, or any other free people, -were for a 
 long time unsusceptible of cultivation. "A multiplicity of causes 
 may retard improvements in elegance and the Fine Arts. The 
 Lacedaemonians were free as well as the Athenians ; but, as 
 among the first every refinement was discouraged, and among the 
 latter everything ingenious and polite was held in the highest 
 esteem, their characters for learning and culture are extremely 
 different. The rural condition of the ancient Romans proves 
 very little. But if we consider how short a period intervened from 
 their beginning to study the Arts, until they lost their freedom, 
 and reflect that the despotism of their Emperors put a sudden 
 and unnatural termination to further improvement, it will afibrd 
 a convincing proof that liberty is favourable, and arbitrary power 
 unfavourable, to the liberal Arts. That this was the case will 
 appear evident from the best authorities. 
 
 There is a remarkable passage in TuUy— cfe Claris oratorihus — 
 in which, speaking of Cato, after having highly commended his 
 great and various talents as an orator, he admits that his style 
 was antiquated, and that he made use of some barbarous words : 
 "Antiquior est ejus sermo, et quaendam horridiora verba, ita 
 enim tum loquebantur " — and, confessing that he was not suffi- 
 ciently polished, he adds, as a reason for it, that, with respect 
 to the age in which they lived, Cato was so old that there 
 did not exist any writing more ancient, that was worth reading. 
 
 " Nee vero ignore, nondum esse satis politum hunc oratorem .... 
 quippe cum ita sit, ad nostrorum temporum rationem vetus ut nullius 
 soriptum extet dignum quidem lectione, quod sit antiquius." 
 
 Yet , Cato, as we are expressly told in the same dialogue, died 
 only eighty-three years before Cicero was consul : " Qui 
 mortuus est annis lxxxiii. ipsis ante me consulem." 
 
 Thus it appears evident from the opinions of the most intel- 
 ligent and eloquent of the Romans themselves, that the Roman 
 style and manner long remained rough and unpolished. Active 
 and warlike, living perpetually within the din of arms, 
 alike interested in forming their government and fixing 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. c 
 
 their laws, they had not time to apply themselves to what was 
 correct and refined. " Nee enim in constituentibus rempublicam, 
 nee in bclla gerentibus nasci cupiditas dicendi solet. " ' It was after 
 their Republic had acquired its just form, and the enemies which 
 surrounded them on every hand were subdued, and no longer 
 in a condition to keep them in perpetual alarm, and after 
 the haughtiest of their rivals were humbled, that the Romans,' 
 now blest with some share of quiet and security, began to study 
 what was refined, and to speak and write in an agreeable 
 manner. 
 
 Before this time, indeed, while they were engaged in framing 
 their Constitution, and reducing, successively, each State in 
 Italy, to a dependency upon that of Rome, we must suppose 
 that a certain kind of oratory, such as their language, yet 
 unpolished, could aSbrd, and capable of afiecting a rough a,nd 
 brave people, flourished among them. We know that this was 
 actually the case, and that many of the citizens acquired great 
 authority by speaking. It was not, however, by an eloquence that 
 would have charmed them in their more polite days, but by a 
 plain kind of rhetoric, like that of Cassius, who obtained great in- 
 fluence, not by his eloquence, but by what he said : " Multum 
 potuit, non eloquentia, sed dicendo tamen," ^ as TuUy observes, 
 for the people knew he was a man of strict virtue, and on this 
 account he had great credit with them." It was the character 
 of the man, and the matter spoken, not the manner in which he 
 spoke, that had an influence upon the martial and honest 
 spirits of the Romans in those days of incorrupted integrity. 
 
 Though we find that it was late before the Romans began 
 to study the elegancies of style and composition, yet, when 
 they actually applied the force of their genius to acquire these 
 accomplishments, the lofty Roman spirit, fostered by Freedom, 
 and rendered manly and bold by that independence and share 
 of importance in the State which every citizen of Rom.e pos- 
 
 ' Cic. de Clar. Orat. ^ Cic. de Clar. Orat. 
 
 ' Severitate popularis. Cic. de Clar. Orat. 
 
6 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 sessed, enabled them to make as rapid a progress in oratory 
 and the Fine Arts, as they had formerly done in conquering 
 the world. In the same dialogue, in which the great master 
 of Roman eloquence informs us that none of the writings of any, 
 before the age of the elder Cato, were worth reading, he 
 gives it as his opinion that the Latin tongue had arrived at 
 full maturity, and Roman eloquence attained its almost complete 
 perfection, in the person of Crassus, who, in an oration, delivered 
 in the thirty-fourth year of his age, and the same year that 
 TuUy was born, gave eminent proofs of his consummate abili- 
 ties as an accomplished orator: 
 
 " Haso Crassi cum edita oratio est, quam te ssepe legisse certo scio, 
 quatuor et triginta turn habebat annos, totidemque annis mihi aetata prasst- 
 abat. His enim coss. earn legem suasit, quibns nati sumus ; quod idcirco 
 posui, ut, dioendi latine prima maturitas iii qua aetata extitisset, posset 
 notari, et ut intelligeretur jam ad summum piEne esse perductam." 
 
 Thus we see that for about a century before the birth of 
 Cicero, Rome being yet free, eloquence was continually mak- 
 ing rapid progress towards perfection, until at last, consummated 
 in the person of this great man, the same tyrannic stroke that 
 severed Tully's head from his body, gave a fatal blow to 
 Roman liberty and eloquence ; and, as Seneca observes of Cato, 
 freedom, eloquence, and liberty, which it was impossible to separ- 
 ate from each other, perished together, " Simulque extincta 
 sunt, quae nefas erat dividi"; from that moment oratory had 
 fallen from its perfection, and gradually became more and more 
 false, unnatural, and widely different from the chaste model of 
 the true and genuine eloquence of the days of freedom. 
 
 That the Roman eloquence must have had a mighty influence 
 in improving a good Taste in every thing else, can hardly be 
 questioned. The study of this art has, by the best judges, been 
 allowed to be naturally connected with whatever is graceful and 
 elegant, or can tend to improve or embellish the powers of the 
 human mind. In every country where eloquence is a necessary 
 accomplishment for those who expect to distinguish themselves 
 in the State, or to be eminent among their fellow citizens, it may 
 be reasonably supposed that, as the taste in oratory improves, the 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 7 
 
 general Taste of the nation must at tlie same time be corrected, 
 and its genius prepared for producing noble and finished works 
 of every kind, whenever the attention of the people shall be 
 turned to the study of the Fjne Arts. 
 
 But, besides the natural tendency of that perfection in oratory 
 to which the Romans had attained in the days of freedom, there 
 were several other circumstances that contributed to refine the 
 Taste of Rome, ^nd to form those immortal writers who flour- 
 ished in the last age of the Republic. 
 
 The conquest of Greece discovered to the Romans scenes 
 very different from any that had yet been witnessed in the 
 various countries they had formerly subdued. By creating an 
 intercourse and making them acquainted with the most gifted and 
 ingenious people that ever existed, it must have had a mighty 
 influence in forming their genius, and in giving them a taste for 
 the polite and refined. That this was actually the case, was the 
 opinion of the most critical among the Romans themselves, and 
 various proofs of it can be met with in almost all their classic 
 writers. " Multas (artes) ad auimorum corporumque cultum nobis 
 eruditissima omnium gens invexit," ' to use the words of the 
 great Roman historian. It was the Greeks who taught the 
 Romans almost every genteel and graceful exercise, and every 
 liberal and elegant accomplishment. 
 
 Before the time of the first Macedonian war, the Romans had 
 little intercourse with the Greeks. Their ambassadors ha,d, 
 indeed, about twenty years before that period, appeared for the 
 first time in the principal cities of Greece, and had entered 
 into a league against Philip, as auxiliaries to the ^tolians,^ in a 
 war which was carried on against that king, during more than 
 ten years immediately preceding the first Macedonian war. 
 
 But from the time that this latter war was concluded, that is, 
 from about ninety years before the birth of Cicero, and four 
 after the close of the second Punic war, the Romans had 
 a wider intercourse with the Greeks, travelled into their coun- 
 try, and studied the Arts and Sciences under Grecian masters. 
 
 ' Liv. lib. 39. ' Liv. lib. 36, cap. 34. 
 
8 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 The consequences of this war gave occasion to several embassies 
 to Rome from Macedon, and from several States and cities of- • 
 Greece ; and the behaviour of the Roman General, after he had 
 conquered Philip, seems to have been the most proper imaginable 
 to conciliate the minds of the Greeks, to create in them a favour- 
 able opinion of the Romans, and a desire to cultivate friendly 
 correspondence with them. He insisted with the Senate, and at 
 last obtained his request, that freedom should be restored to all 
 the cities of Greece, and what their future condition was to be. 
 The Roman General, in his own name, and in that of the Senate, 
 ordered freedom, and a liberty of living according to their own 
 laws and institutions, to be proclaimed to all the States of Greece 
 that had previously been subjected to the dominion of all the 
 kings of Macedon: "Liberos, immunes, suis legibus esse jubet 
 Corinthios," etc. The whole passage may be read with satisfac- 
 tion and pleasure, as charmingly related by Livy in his Twenty- 
 Third Book. It will there be seen with what rapture the Greeks 
 heard the dear names of Liberty and Freedom proclaimed, with 
 what graceful embraces they had almost stifled the Roman 
 Consul, what eulogiums they bestowed upon the Romans, and 
 what a favourable opportunity this must have been for beginning 
 a mutual intercourse and correspondence. 
 
 The inhabitants of Italy, who went to Greece upon this 
 expedition, must have acquired some knowledge of the Greek 
 language, as well as the Grecian manners and customs ; and a 
 great number of Roman captives, who had been taken during 
 the war with Hannibal and sold as slaves, and who had lived 
 several years in d liferent parts of Greece, being restored to 
 liberty, and returning to Rome with Flaminius, we may imagine 
 would diifuse among their countrymen a knowledge of the 
 Greek language, and a taste for the refinements of Greece 
 hitherto unknown in Italy.' Besides, a great many captives 
 and hostages of high rank adorned his triumph, and during 
 their residence at Rome could not fail to inspire the Romans 
 with a relish for the refinement of their country. 
 
 ' Liv. lib. 34, cap. 50. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. q 
 
 " Ante currum multi nobiles captivi obsidesque, inter quos Demetrius, 
 regis Philippi Alius fuit, & Armenes, Nabidis tyranni Alius, Lacedse- 
 monius." ' 
 
 Not long after this, -when the unhappy Perseus was de- 
 feated by Paulus ^milius, the inhabitants of Rome had still 
 greater opportunities of improvement by association with the 
 Greeks ; for, when ^milius returned in triumph, a great many 
 ingenious men came with him to Rome. These, in all proba- 
 bility, were the best men of Greece, who, being represented 
 by base infoi-mers and betrayers of their country as enemies to 
 the Roman interest, were called upon to appear at Rome, and 
 answer for their conduct.^ Pausanias, in his account of Achaia, 
 States their number to have been more than 'a thousand ; and 
 among those were the famous historian Polybius and his father 
 Lycortas, prsBtor of the Achseans, a son and sire worthy of 
 each other, and of the friendship of Philopoemen. Such men, 
 we may naturally suppose,- must have had great opportunities 
 of diffusing among the Romans a love of Greek letters, and 
 of improving their taste, as we know they did; for to the 
 instructions of a Polybius did the Romans owe one of the 
 greatest and most accomplished men their country ever 
 produced. 
 
 " Omnibus belli et togse dotibus, ingeniique et studiorum eminentissi- 
 mus sili saeouli. 
 
 " Scipio tarn elegans liberalium studiorum omnisque doctrinae et auctor 
 et admirator fuit, ut Polybium, Pansetiumque, praecellentes ingemo viros 
 domi militiaeque secum habuerit." ^ 
 
 The Romans themselves, too, must have returned to Rome, 
 after the defeat of Perseus, with a high admiration of Greece, 
 and greatly improved in their taste by a view of the elegant 
 pix>ductions of that country, ^milius, accompanied by his 
 son Scipio, then a youth in his seventeenth year, had found 
 leisure, after his victorious campaign, to make a tour through 
 Greece,* and to take a view of the beautiful monuments of 
 ancient art with which it abounded. In this tour, as Plutarch 
 informs us, " He eased the people's grievances, reformed then- 
 
 1 Liv. lib. 37. ' Liv. lib. 45, cap 31. « Veil. Paterc. lib. 1. 
 
 * Liv. lib. 45, cap. 37. 
 
lO Influence of Liberty on Tnste. 
 
 government, and bestowed gifts upon them " ;' which could not 
 fail to make him and his attendants as agreeable to t])c 
 Greeks, as a view of the exquisite beauties of their country- 
 seems to have been to him. Both Plutarch and Livy take 
 notice of the rapture with which ^milius himself beheld the 
 great works of the Grrecian artists. The former tells us, that 
 when in Olympia he viewed the statue of Jove, he uttered 
 these celebrated words: "This Jupiter of Phidias is the very 
 Jupiter of Homer," and Livy, in his manner, thus strongly 
 expresses it: " Jovem velut prsesentem intuens, motus animo 
 est " ; both which accounts may cgnvince us with what extreme 
 sensibility ^miiius perceived the beauties of the imitative art,s, 
 and with what an improved taste and relish for them he and 
 his attendants must have returned to Rome. For though the 
 behaviour of .iEmilius himself only is mentioned, we may 
 easily imagine that many of his train were impressed with 
 the same beauties; carrying with them to Rome, and propa- 
 gating among their fellow-citizens, a high opinion of the noble 
 and elegant pursuits of the Greeks, ^milius, indeed, as Livy 
 says, made his tour with no great number of attendants, — 
 " Profectus cum hand magno comitatu," ' — but we may natur- 
 ally suppose that they were the best trained and educated of 
 his army, and the most capable of making useful obser,vations 
 for the improvement of their own country. 
 
 About ten years after the triumph of JEmilius, the Athe- 
 nians sent Carneades and some other philosophers, ambas- 
 sadors to Rome. Upon their arrival, the most studious and 
 talented of the Roman youth waited upon them, heard them 
 with inexpressible pleasure, and were particularly charmed 
 with the eloquence of Carneades.^ We may from this infer, 
 that the Greek language was now generally understood among 
 the most cultured of the Romans, else how could they be 
 so delighted with the orations of Carneades, who spoke in 
 Greek? But from this period the disposition of the Romans 
 seemed to have been so much turned to the study of the 
 
 Liv. lib. 45. '^ Plut. in Cat. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. ii 
 
 Greek language, philosophy and eloquence, that they were 
 considered as essential parts of a liberal education; almost 
 every man of prominence at Rome could speak and write 
 Greek. This taste seems to have made such rapid progress, 
 that even the rigid Cato, who had alarmed the Roman senate 
 concerning the dangerous influence of Carneades, and the bad 
 effects which might arise from the study of the Greek language 
 and philosophy,' could not himself resist the charm, but, in 
 his old age, applied himself to the study of that tongue.^ From 
 this time it became extremely uncommon to meet with any 
 one in Rome, except of the lowest order, who was not tolerably 
 well acquainted with Greek. 
 
 During the Mithridatic war, a great number of the principal 
 and most distinguished of the Athenians came to Rome, driven 
 from home by the miseries of their own country. 
 
 " Eoclem tempore cum princeps academise Philo cum Athenieiisium 
 opitmatibus, MitUridatlco bello, dome profugisset Komamque venisset 
 totum nie ei tradidi." ^ 
 
 Conversation with such people must have afforded the 
 
 Romans the best opportunities of improvement. This we find 
 
 was actually the case. Tully wholly applied himself in cul- 
 tivating his taste and manner under such masters: 
 
 " Commentatiar declamitans (sic enim nunc loquuntur) saape cum M. 
 Pisone, et cum Q. Pompeio, aut cum aliquo quotidie idque faciebam 
 multum etiam Latlne sed Grsece ssepius: vel quod Grseca oratio plura 
 ornamenta suppeditans, consuetudinem similiter Latlne dicendi afferebat, 
 vel quod a Grsecis summis doctoribus, nisi Grsece dicerem, neque corrigi 
 possem neque doceri ;" * 
 
 and, as Cicero himself certainly owed a great deal to the 
 instructions he obtained from them, so we may reasonably 
 conclude, that the best writers of the Ciceronian age were 
 greatly improved by an intercourse with the Greeks, reading 
 Greek authors, and viewing the choicest productions of Gre- 
 cian art. 
 
 As, in the last century of their Republic, the Romans became 
 
 ; Plut. in Vit. Cat. « Cic. Acad. Qusest. lib. 3. 
 
 8 Cic. de Clar. Orat. * Cic. de Clar. Orat. 
 
12 - Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 acquainted with the learned men of Greece, so, at different 
 times of the same period, the workis of the accomplished writers 
 who had flourished in that country in its free and best days, 
 and the classic and inimitable productions of Grecian art, were 
 brought to Rome, and became models for the Romans to study 
 and improve by. 
 
 Before the famous siege of Syracuse, which happened during 
 the time of the second Punic war, " Rome had never seen or 
 known any superfluous curiosities, nor were any rarities or 
 exquisite pieces of art, that showed an elegant and polite 
 taste, to be found there " ; but, after this city was taken, Mar- 
 cellus, by carrying to Rome the fine statues and paintings 
 with which Syracuse abounded, " first taught the Romans to 
 admire and value the Grecian arts, an^ to dwell with pleasure 
 upon those exquisite performances which had previously never 
 been understood." ' 
 
 When Flaminius triumphed over Philip, he brought to Rome 
 several beautiful pieces of sculpture in marble and brass, and 
 a great many vases carved, with the greatest skill. Most of 
 these he had taken from the king, and some of them from the 
 states and cities through which he passed, but all of them, 
 it is probable, were the workmanship of Greek artists. 
 
 " Signa serea et marmorea transtulit, plura Philippo adempta, quam qusB 
 ex civitatibus ceperat. 
 
 " — Vasa multa omnis generis, cselata pleraque, qusedam eximise artis." '' 
 
 What an immense collection of pictures and statues adorned 
 the famous triumph of ^milius, is well known ; they were 
 drawn upon seven hundred and fifty cari-iages, and a whole 
 day was barely sufficient to give the Romans time to behold 
 this splendid show. At the same time, a vast number of vessels, 
 valued as much for their size as the beauty and strong relievo 
 of their engraved work, were brought to Rome.^ The first 
 library in that city consisted of books which JSmilius per- 
 mitted his son to take from Perseus.* Many of the inhabitants 
 
 1 Plut. in Vit. Marcel. « Liv. lib. 34. » -pXvA. in Vit. ^mil. « lUd. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 13 
 
 of Rome must have had an opportunity of improving them- 
 selves by reading these hooks. The first intimacy between 
 Scipio and Polybius, as the historian himself informs us, took 
 its rise from a mutual intercourse occasioned by the latter 
 borrowing some of them from Scipio, who politely lent them 
 to him, and who took great pleasure in conversing with so 
 intelligent a man, concerning the subjects of which they 
 treated. 
 
 About twenty years after this, when the Consul Mummius 
 took Corinth, with what an additional number of noble pieces 
 of Grecian art Rome was adorned from the spoils of that 
 elegant city, every one knows; and the notorious simplicity 
 and want of taste of Mummius, who, when he was about 
 to transport the pictures and statues of the greatest masters 
 to Italy, told those who were to carry them, that, if any of 
 them were lost, they should replace them with new ones, will 
 for ever be remembered, and perhaps afford a suspicion that, 
 at that time, there were still some remains of rusticity among 
 the Romans; otherwise how can we suppose that any man 
 of such high rank could be so extremely ignorant and un- 
 cultivated. 
 
 " Mummius tarn rudis fuit, ut, capta Corintlio, cum maximorum artifl- 
 cum perfectas manibus tabulag, ac statuas in Italiam portandas locaret, 
 .juberet prsedici condacentibus, si eas perdidissent, novas eos reddituros." * 
 
 What has hitherto been mentioned, occuiTed before the birth 
 of Cicero. It will only be necessary, then, to take notice of 
 one addition to the literary treasure of Italy, which was made 
 about twenty years after Tully was born — the Library of 
 Apellicon, that of Sylla, brought from Athens, and which 
 contained a fine collection of books, particularly the original 
 works of Aristotle and Theophrastus,'' authors who were the 
 most suitable of any to promote a genuine and perfect Taste, 
 the greatest and best critics, and among the best writers which. 
 Greece had produced. The works of Aristotle have ever been, 
 
 1 Veil. Paterc. 2 piut. in Vit. Syl. 
 
14 Injtuems of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 and will continue to be, the great standard of just criticism 
 in compositions of every kind. 
 
 " Peripatetici autem etiam haBC ipsa, quae propria oratorum putas 
 esse acljumenta, atque ornamenta dicendi ab se peti vincerent oportere : 
 ac non solum meliora, sed etiam multa plura Aristotelem Theophras- 
 tumque de Ms rebus, quam omnes dicendi magistros, scripsisse." ' 
 
 This short sketch of the growing intercourse which the 
 Romans had' with the inhabitants of Greece ; of the progress 
 of their language in Home, and of the importation of the 
 woj-ks of Greek writers and celebrated artists with which Italy 
 was enriched at different times, from the conclusion of the first 
 Macedonian war till some time after the birth of Cicero, shows 
 that these circumstances must have been favourable for prom.ot- 
 ing a correct Taste among the Romans. 
 
 Horace observes, with apparent regret, that it was late 
 before his countrymen applied the force of their abilities to 
 *the study of the best writings of Greece; but perhaps they 
 began to attend and to enjoy those noble models at a time 
 the most suitable to enable them to excel, or produce works 
 capable of rivalling their charming exemplars. Had they done 
 it sooner, their language, yet unformed, had been incapable 
 of producing what was excellent, and their manners and habits, 
 too rough and unpolished, had been, less happily prepared for 
 appreciating the beauties of the elegant compositions of Greece, 
 and for cultivating the Fine Arts. We know it is no favourable 
 circumstance to the improvement of an individual, that . he 
 begins too early the study of any art or science. Incapable of 
 making any progress at a premature period of life, the mind 
 retains a disgust and unwillingness to renew the attempt at 
 a more proper season. What happens among individuals may 
 also occur in a complex society or political body. 
 
 The first application of the industry of men must be to 
 procure the necessaries of life ; by agriculture, to supply them- 
 selves with food; by simple manufactures, to furnish themselves 
 
 > Cic. de Orat. lib. 1. 
 
Influence of Liberty on taste. 15 
 
 ■with clothes; by surrounding themselves with fortifications, 
 to defend themselves from sudden attacks; and by establish- 
 ing laws to secure their property and the peaceable enjoyment 
 of the fruits of their labour. When some progress has been 
 made in these particulars, and when human ingenuity has 
 found methods of facilitating labour, by which one man can 
 accomplish a great deal more than is necessary to supply his 
 own wants, and thus some of the society become exempted 
 from corporeal toil, the human mind, stimulated by a love 
 of excelling and being distinguishe'd, begins to think of im- 
 provements, and to add what is convenient to that which is 
 necessary. At last, the views of men being extended, and their 
 habits and Taste refined, the elegancies and pleasures of life 
 come to be considered, the productions of men of superior 
 talents are sought after, poems are read with pleasure, and 
 pictures and statues are contemplated with delight. 
 
 "Navigia atque agriculturas, maania, leges, 
 . Arma, vias, vestes, et csetera de genere liorum, 
 Prsemia, delicias, quoque vitse funditus omnes,' 
 Carmina, picturas et dsedala signa polire, 
 Usus et impigrsB simul experientia mentis, 
 Paulatim docuit pedetentim progredientes ; 
 Sic unum quicquid' paulatim protraliit setas 
 In medium, ratioque in luminis ■ emit oras : 
 
 "Namque aliud ex alio clarescere cordo videmus 
 Artibus ad summum donee venere cacumen." ^ 
 
 These lines are from a poet of a most original and beautiful 
 mind, whose work, though the main principles of his favourite 
 system are the most absurd imaginable, will remain an immortal 
 proof to what perfection poetry was 'brought among the Romans, 
 by one who died before Octavius was born, or Julius Csesar 
 created perpetual dictator. 
 
 One must, indeed, be but little acquainted with the history 
 of the best Roman writers, who does not know that the noblest 
 compositions which Rome ever produced, were the works of 
 those who were born in the days of freedom. To name only a 
 few of the most eminent of them, writers, who, by the concurring 
 
 ' Lucret. lib. 5. 
 
1 6 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 testimony of all competent persons, have been allowed to be 
 the most perfect and finished in their different styles. 
 
 Notice has already been taken of Lucretius, the greatest 
 of all didactic poets. We ought to have mentioned before, 
 because he preceded him, Terence; the beautiful simplicity 
 and elegant correctness of whose compositions have always 
 been admired. The works of this writer, while those of 
 other comic wits fall into oblivion and disrepute with the 
 habits and fashionable follies of the times for which they 
 were written, will still be read and admired, while men are 
 men, or the great strokes of human character continue to be 
 the same. Terence died one hundred and ten years before 
 the battle of Pharsalia. 
 
 Sallust the historian, and Catullus the poet, whose great 
 merit, in their various writings, is so well known, and so little 
 disputed, that to do any more than name them would be 
 an unnecessary task, were born much about the same time, 
 thirty-eight years before the battle of Pharsalia. Both died 
 before the victory at Actium had established the empire of 
 Augustus. 
 
 Horace was eighteen years of age at the time of the battle 
 of Pharsalia ; he was sent to Rome by his father when he was 
 young, and enjoyed an education, equally liberal, with those 
 who were of a much higher rank. 
 
 " Puerum est ausus Romam portare docendum 
 Artes quas doceat quivis eques, atque senator 
 Semet prognatos." 
 
 From the careful manner m which he was educated, as appears 
 .from the lines that immediately follow those above transcribed, 
 we may naturally suppose he was upon a footing of equality 
 with the most liberal of the Roman youth, and in this society 
 had his heart warmed with a love of freedom, and with such 
 principles as afterwards caused him to appear, at the battle of 
 Philippi, among the friends of Brutus and of liberty. 
 
 Virgil was about five years older than Horace, and, in all 
 probability, trained in the same principles, was peaceful and 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 17 
 
 gentle in his disposition. There is no record of hia taking up 
 arras against Octavius. 
 
 Livy, it is universally alcnowledged, wrote his History dur- 
 ing the reign of Augustus, a:id even survived that Emperor 
 about four years; but as ho died at an advanced age, in his 
 seventy-sixth year, the Republic may claim the honour of 
 having educated and formed this masterly historian. He must 
 have been about twenty-eight years of ago when the victory 
 of Actium put an end to the resistance that was made to 
 Octavius, and fully established his supreme power. Unfor- 
 tunately, that part of his history which related the noble 
 struggles in defence of liberty during the last period of the 
 Republic, is lost. From the testimony, however, given of it, 
 in the works of another great historian, we may easily Conceive 
 the spirit it breathed. This elegant and candid writer, though 
 he enjoyed a share of the friendship which Augustus had the 
 prudence to show to all the great minds who flourished in 
 his time, yet was true to the cause of liberty. He was so 
 far from branding the names of Brutus and Cassius with the 
 odious appellations of robbers and parricides, names which , 
 wore afterwards given them out of flattery to the Emperors, 
 that he often mentioned them as illustrious men, and bestowed 
 such praises on Pompey, that Augustus used to call him a 
 Pompeian. 
 
 " Titus Livius eloquentiis et fldei prseclarus in primis, Cn. Pompeium 
 tantis laudibuB tulit, ut Pompeiamim eum Augustus appellaret : neque id 
 amicitisB eorum offecit. Scipionem, Afranium, liunc ipsum Cassium hunb 
 Brutum nusquam latrones et Parricidas, quae nunc vocabula imponuntur, 
 ssepe ut insignes viros nominat." ' 
 
 The births of Ovid and Tibullus are commonly supposed 
 to have taken place in that year when Hirtius and Pansa were 
 consuls; and Propertius is understood to have been born a 
 few^ years before. Some people, indeed, imagine they have 
 probable reasons for concluding that Tibullus was born twenty 
 years before that period. If so, more than half his life was 
 
 ' Tacit. Ann. lib. 4 
 
1 8 Influence of Liberty on Taste, 
 
 spent when Rome was yet free. Bnt even 'bringing his birth 
 down as low as that of his friend Ovid, this triumvirate of 
 poets and friends, whose wortg, written with true elegance, 
 will be admired in every enlightened age, were born while Julius 
 Csesar was still alive, and so far from having any reason to be 
 real and hearty friends of Augustus, they had much cause 
 of resentment against him. Tibullus and Propertius, born and 
 educated among those who strenuously opposed the lawless 
 attempts of Octavius, must have imbibed, in their most tender 
 years, a love of liberty, aiid hatred to Augustus. It is probable 
 that the father of Tibullus was killed fighting against Octavius, 
 and that his estate became a prey to the rapacious soldiers. 
 It is also the common opinion that the father of Propertius 
 was one of those three hundred Roman citizens whom Augustus, 
 after he had taken Perusia, and they had surrendered to his 
 mercy, inhumanly sacrificed at the altar of Julius, and to whose 
 petitions for pardon, and apologies for their conduct, he made 
 no other answer than this. They must die. 
 
 "Perusia capta,,in plurimos animadvertit, orare veniam vel excuSare 
 se conantibus una voce occurrens, TTKyi-iendum esse. Scribunt quidam trecen- 
 tos ex dedititiis electos utriusque ordinis ad aram divo Julio extructam 
 idibus' Martiis mactatos." ' 
 
 To this Propertius probably alludes in the last Elegy of 
 his first Book: 
 
 " Si Peruaina tibi patrise sunt nota sepulolira 
 ItalisB duris funera temporibus, 
 Cum Eomana sues egit discordia- cives ; 
 
 Sit milii prsecipue pulvis Etmsc^ dolor. 
 Tu projecta mei perpessa es membra propinqui 
 Tu nuUo miseri contegis ossa solo." 
 
 That Propertius lost his fortune, too, in the cause of Freedom, 
 is apparent from his works : 
 
 " Nam tua cum multa versarent rura juvenci, 
 Abstulit excultas pertica tristis opes." = 
 
 Though Ovid never bore arms against Augustus, and wished 
 him well, as he informs us. 
 
 ' Suet, in Aug. s i,;-,. 4^ j;igg_ j_ 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 19 
 
 • ■ • . " Kec contraria clicor 
 Arma, neo liostiles esse sccutus opes. 
 Optavi peteros coelestia sidera tardi, 
 Parsque fuit turbaj parva precantis idem," > 
 
 when few of his countrymen did so, yet he incurred the dis- 
 pleasure of the Emperor, and without being allowed to stand 
 a trial before the senate, 
 
 " Nee mea decreto damnasti facta senatus, 
 Nee mea, selecto judice, jussa fuga est," ^ 
 
 or any proper judge, was banished to a distant and disagreeable 
 country. His offence yet remains a secret, but that it was 
 rather a fault than a crime, is highly probable. The punish- 
 ment he suffered was therefore severe as Well as arbitrary; 
 and, notwithstanding Augustus' boasted lenity, Ovid had very 
 little reason to be thankful to him. 
 
 If to the illustrious names of Terence, Lucretius, Sallust, 
 Catullus, Virgil, Horace, Livy, Ovid, Propertius, and Tibullus, 
 we add those of TuUy and Julius Caesar himself, the admired 
 list of the geniuses of what is called the Augustan age will 
 be complete. For, though the names of many, and some small 
 fragments of the writings of several others, are handed dbwn 
 to us, yet those above-mentioned are the principal, and to their 
 lustre it is owing that the age in which they lived, shiries, and 
 will for ever shine forth with much distinguished brightness 
 in the annals of mankind. 
 
 It may appear strange that mention should be made of Julius 
 Csesar among those wrifers who were formed by freedom, and 
 who are quoted as examples of the beneficial effects of Liberty 
 upon elegance and taste, since he himself overthrew the free 
 Constitution of his country. But, though Csesar, actuated by 
 ambition and a too violent love of' power, by force of arms 
 became perpetual dictator, and trampled upon the Constitution 
 of his country, his taste was created and corrected by Freedom. 
 It was Liberty; it was the talents necessary to make one become 
 
 > Ovid. Trist. lib. 3. 2 Ibid. 
 
20 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 eminent and powerful in a free State ; it was the struggles which 
 Csesar had, in his youth, with a multitude of free and illustrious 
 antagonists, and the ambition he had to excel in everything 
 that formed his mind, his taste, and those Tarious abilities; 
 which, unfortunately for Freedom itself, enabled him to rise 
 above all opposition, and make himself master of the Republic. 
 "So sooner were the Romans subjected to the arbitrary 
 will of an Emperor, than Ihe learning and taste of Rome were 
 brought to a stand. The protection Augustus afforded the great 
 minds, who were formed in the time of Liberty, and who 
 flourished when fortune raised him to an imperial sway, pre- 
 vented, indeed, for some time, the bad effects that his power 
 naturally had upon Taste becoming apparent. From the 
 sketch here given, it may be seen that the Augustan age was 
 rendered immortal by those who were born before that period ; 
 that one-half of the great writers previously mentioned died 
 before the name of Augustus was heard of in the world. Among 
 them may be mentioned TuUy and Caesar, the last of whom only 
 saw him a mere boy, and the first was cruelly put to death, 
 when Octavius was yet no more than an ambitious youth, 
 associated with others for the destruction of Freedom. It was 
 not till sixteen years after the death of Cicero, that he assumed 
 the title of Augustus, and the supreme dominion of the Roman 
 Empire. However, persons sometimes include, though very 
 erroneously, in the catalogue of writers of the Augustan era, 
 all the remarkable men of the last age of the Republic. 
 
 If we reflect upon the shortness of that period which inter- 
 vened from the first dawnings of elegance and refinement among 
 the Romans, till the destruction of their liberty, and consider 
 that their genius and taste were at the greatest perfection 
 when they lost their, freedom, and could never aftei-wards be 
 equalled by any of those who were born in the times of slavery, 
 we must be convinced that the decay of learning was owing to 
 the loss of freedom, and compelled to acknowledge the intimate 
 connection between Liberty and true Taste. The power of 
 Augustus was so far from creating genius, or correcting taste. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 21 
 
 that it undoubtedly put a check to all improvement. Perhaps 
 
 the very authors -who w^'ote at that time, but were born in 
 
 the days of the Republic, would have been more perfect had 
 
 they not survived the ruins of Liberty. The lyre could not 
 
 have been touched with more exquisite art than it was by 
 
 Horace; but had Virgil written before Rome was subjected 
 
 to an imperial sway, his compositions would, perhaps, have been 
 
 animated with a nobler fire, and his own majesty might have 
 
 been united with all the' original spirit of Homer. 
 
 Horace observes, that the Roman mind, sublime and lovely, 
 
 was naturally calculated for tragedy ; but, from the account he 
 
 gives of their own tragedians, it appears they were far from 
 
 perfect ; that although they discovered some beauties, yet these 
 
 were tarnished by abundance of faults. Their translations from 
 
 the Greek, too, as he informs us in the same place, were not 
 
 suflSciently con-ect. 
 
 . . " Quserere ccepit 
 
 Quid Sopliocles, et Thespis, et Jiischylus utile ferrent. 
 Tentavit quoque rem, si digne vertere posset ; 
 Et placuit sibi, naturS sublimis ct acer; 
 Nam spirat tragicum satis, et felicitfer, audet; 
 Sed turpem putat in scriptis metuitque lituram." > 
 
 To what cause, then, shall we ascribe this fact, that among 
 the Roman Classics we meet with no tragedian that can be 
 compared with the Grecian ^schylus, Sophocles, or Euripides ? 
 Indeed, we meet with none at all of the classic age, for those 
 which they had have not been preserved from the ruins of 
 time ; but, from the character given of them by the best judges 
 among the Romans themselves, we may be certain that they 
 were infinitely inferior to the Greek tragedians. This remark- 
 able deficiency — the want of tragic writers among the Roman 
 Classics — can only be accounted for by ascribing it to the 
 alteration which was made in the Constitution of Rome. A 
 period was put to the liberty of the Romans at a time when, 
 by the natural progress of improvement, they would, if they 
 
 ' Epist. lib. 2. 
 
22 Influence of Liberty, on Taste. 
 
 had continued free, have excelled in tragedy. " A perfect 
 tragedy is the noblest production of human nature." ' What 
 is best and noblest cannot be first, but must come last, and be 
 produced among those who are already accomplished. Sophocles 
 and Euripides were preceded by Homer ; and, had the Romans 
 continued long free, Virgil would have been followed by trage- 
 dians worthy of the high Roman spirit ; and the Latin tongue 
 might have boasted of writers in that way, very difierent from 
 a Seneca,^ who wrote after Rome had been fully enslaved, her 
 genius decayed, and her taste corrupted. 
 
 In vain do we look among the Romans, after this, for writers 
 equal to those of the Ciceronian age. " Sint Msecenates, non 
 deerunt, Flacce, Marones," ^ may do very well in an epigram, but 
 it will not be found to answer the fact. The liberty, the spirit, 
 and knowledge of an age, must form the character and taste ■ 
 of the writers of that age. It was owing to the patronage of 
 Maecenas that Virgil was such an excellent poet, or to the want 
 of such patrons that none comparable to him appeared after- 
 wards. The noble spirits that dwelt among the free citizens of 
 Rome scorned to inhabit an enslaved country, or to attend 
 upon the subjects of a despotic Emperor. The protection that 
 Ma3cenas gave the best writers who flourished when he became 
 minister of the Roman Empire, has, indeed, rendered his name 
 immortal, and caused the generality of persons to believe that 
 he was a man of taste — the very reverse of which, however, 
 was the case: for, as he was the first minister of arbitrary 
 power, so he gave the first example among the Romans of the 
 fatal influence of despotism upon Taste, by his own vitiated 
 compositions. Had Rome remained free, he, perhaps, might 
 have been a great example of Roman eloquence, but too much 
 prosperity and luxury corrupted his taste, weakened his intel- 
 ect, and rendered his compositions quite unmanly. 
 
 "Ingeniosus vir ille fuit, magaum exemplum Romania eloquenti« 
 daturus, nisi ilium enervasset felicitas, iiao, castrasset," 
 
 ' Addison. « Not the Philosopher. s Martial. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 23 
 
 as Seneca says of him in his nineteenth epistle.' Thus the first 
 minister of Augustus, notwithstanding all the favour of the Em- 
 peror, notwithstanding all his ambition to be considered a man 
 of wit and learning, and notwithstanding nature had originally 
 endowed him with a considerable share of ability, became an 
 unchaste and puny writer ; affording a striking proof, how little 
 power the fkvour of Augustus, even when most lavishly be- 
 stowed, could have in promoting genius or correcting taste. 
 
 ' Besides wliat is quoted above, there are many passages in Seneca, 
 which exhibit the bad taste of MEecenas. 
 
 These lines of his which he cites (Epist. 101), 
 
 " Debilem facito manu ■ 
 Debilem pede, coxS.; 
 , Tuber adstrne gibberum, 
 Lubricos quate dentes; 
 Vita dum superest, bene est, 
 
 Hano mihi, vel acuta 
 Si sedeam cruce, sustine," 
 
 are puerile, and demonstrate his pretended admiration of Virgil to have 
 been but mere affectation. The author of these lines could never sin- 
 cerely admire the Usque adeone mori miserum eat, of that poet. Indeed, as 
 Seneca says, one would hardly think he had ever, heard Virgil recite this 
 line. Shakspere, who never makes one speak out of character, has put 
 similar sentiments in the mouth of a coward who was willing to purchase 
 life by a sacrifice of his sister's virtue: 
 
 " The weariest and most loathed worldly life, 
 Which age, ach, penury, imprisonment, 
 Can lay on Nature, is a paradise, 
 To what we fear of death." Measure for Measure. 
 
 Seneca, in his 114th Epistle, after having given a specimen of the 
 obscure, involved, licentious style of Maecenas, shows, at great length, liow 
 it arose from his character and circumstances. " Hoc istee ambages com- 
 positionis, hoc verba transversa, hoc sensus magni quidem ssepe, sed euer- 
 vati dum exeunt, cuivis manifestum facient, motum ilU felicitate nimia 
 caput; quod vitium hominis esse interdum, iuterdum temporis solet." 
 (See also Epist. 93, at the end). The calamistra (curlmg irons) of Maecenas 
 are noticed by the author of the " Dialogue on the Causes of the Decay 
 of Roman Eloquence." How vastly inferior are such meretricious orna- 
 ments to the simple dress of genuine eloquence! One would rather that 
 an orator should wear the roughest garb, than the gaudy and vicious dress 
 of luxury and effeminacy. " Malim herculfe C. Gracchi impetum" aut 
 L. Crassi maturitatem, quam calamis'tros Msecenatis aut tinnitus Gallionis, 
 adeo malim oratorem vel hirta toga induere, quam fucatis et mere triciis 
 vestibus insignire,'' 
 
24- I Influence of Liberty on Ta'sie. 
 
 Augustus, indeed, perceived, and used to ridicule, the effemi- 
 nate and affected style of his favourite, yet he himself fell into a 
 manner no less vitiated. 
 
 "Bxagitabat nonnunquam in primis Msecenatem suum, cujus myro- 
 brecheis (ut ait) coricinnos usquequaque persequltur, et imitando per Jocum 
 irridet." ' 
 
 Letters written with his own hands, as Suetonius informs us, 
 
 divulged what ridiculous phrases he made use of, and how 
 
 affectedly he attempted to alter some words To express the 
 
 velocity of anything done in a hurry, by saying it was done more 
 
 quickly than asparagus was boiled, was undoubtedly something 
 
 the very reverse of the sublime; to exhort one to bear present 
 
 calamities, by saying, let us hear this, Oato, was certainly a 
 
 wretched affectation, and yet these were the phrases of Augustus. 
 
 " Cum Lortatur ferenda esse praesentia qualiacuuque sint, contenti 
 simus hoc Catone, et' ad exprimendam festinatse ret velocitatem, velocius 
 quam asparagi coquantur; poait assidu6 pro stulto baceolum, et pro 
 puUo, puleiaceum, et pro cerrilo vacerrosum, et vapidS sese habere, pro 
 mal§, et betizare pro languere," etc' 
 
 There is something very remarkable in the last of them; the 
 awful name of Cicei'o must have been extremely odious to him, 
 and the remembrance of his virtues disagreeable. The glorious 
 struggles of this brave citizen, in defence of wisdom and virtue, 
 must have reminded him of his own baseness in betraying both. 
 Nothing can be more insupportable to such men as Augustus, 
 than characters like that of Cato ; hence, the origin of this 
 phrase, which, as phrases olten do, betrays the secret and heart- 
 felt sentiment of its author. Such a baneful influence had the 
 spirit of slavery upon its first patrons among the Romans. An 
 intimate familiarity with such men might have corrupted, but 
 could never improve, the taste of any one. Nothing can be 
 more absurd and .trifling than to ascribe the merit of the best 
 writers of those times to the patronage of the Emperor or his 
 minister. They knew well how to make a proper use of those 
 writers who then flourished, but who had been I'ormed in othe? 
 
 ' Suet, in Vit. Aug. cap. 86. ' Suet, m Aug. cap. 87. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 25 
 
 times, and by association with different men. Taste was at its 
 greatest height in Rome when Augustus came to the helm of 
 affairs, and from that moment began to decline. It is true, it 
 was not all at once extinguished ; human society and the minds 
 of men must be rendered finished or degraded by degrees, But 
 as the Romans, from the period when they began to be civilized, 
 had made the most rapid progress in Taste, and, in all' proba- 
 bility, would have attained to a far greater degree of perfection, 
 at least in some branches, had not the absolute power of the 
 Emperors checked their genius ; so, from the time that an end 
 was put to their liberty, they as rapidly declined, and the fatal 
 effects of the change of their Constitution upon Taste became 
 visible. Some writers, we know, appeared, in the days of the 
 Emperors, of extraordinary merit. They were, however, few in 
 number, and lived at a period not very distant from the Cicero- 
 nian age. "We may, therefore, naturally suppose that the noble 
 spirit of that age might have been communicated to them, as 
 well as the animating genius of Liberty not yet altogether extin- 
 guished in Roman breasts. 
 
 In a dialogue supposed by some to have been written by 
 Tacitus, but as others believe by Quintilian, one of the speakers 
 observes, that he does not know why Csesar and Cicero should 
 rather be classed among the ancient orators than among those 
 of their times, since the same person might have heard Cicero 
 and been present also at some of their orations. In fact, he 
 brings the example of a man who lived to a great age; but, 
 certainly, the orations which the speakers in that dialogue made 
 in their youth might have been heard by one who had been 
 present when Tully spoke, and they may all have been formed 
 under those who lived sometime in the Ciceronian age. 
 
 " Sed Ciceronem et Csesarem, etc., . . cur antiquis temporibus potius 
 adscribatis quam nostris non video. Nam ut de Cicerone ipso loquar, Hirtio 
 nempe et Pansa consulibus, ut Tiro libertus ejus scribit, VII. Idus Decemb. 
 occisus est, quo anno Divus Augustus in. locum Pansae et Hirtii se et 
 Q. Pedium coss. suffecit. Statue VI. et L annos, quibus mox Divus Augustus 
 remp. rexit: adjice Tiberii XXIII. et prope quadriennium Caii, ac bis 
 quaternos denos Claudii et Neronis annos, atque ipsum Galbse et Otbonis. et 
 
26 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 Vitellii unnm annum, ac VI. jam felicis hujus principatfls stationem qua 
 Vespasianus remp. fovet, C et XX. anni, ab interitu Cieeronis in hunc diem 
 coUiguntur, unius hominis aetas. Nam , ipse ego in Britannia yidi senem, 
 qui se fateretur et pugnse tnterfuisse qua Caasarem inferentem arma Britan- 
 nisB, arcere littoribus et pellere aggressi sunt ; ita si eum, qui armatus C. 
 CseSari restitit, vel captivitaa, Tel voluntas, vel .fetum aliquod in urbem 
 pertraxlsset, idem Csesarem ipsum et Ciceronem audire pptuit et nostris 
 quoque actionibus interesse." ' 
 
 Thus the age of Tacitus, so far from being very distant from 
 that of Cicero, may in some measure be accounted the same. In 
 this age flourished the last of the great Roman authors; for 
 Quintilian, the Plinys, and Juvenal, were ■ contemporaiy with 
 him; After this, even all the favour of the Emperors, who were 
 both good men and great philosophers, could not preserve the 
 ancient spirit, or produce writers at all to be compared with 
 those of the days of freedom. 
 
 Despotism and false Taste seem to have gone hand in hand, 
 until both appeared in their genuine colours. Some appearances 
 were kept up in the days of Augustus ; even in the days of 
 Tiberius there were some remains of dying Liberty, " Manebant 
 ctiam tunc vestigia morientis libertatis," as Tacitus says, in the, 
 First Book of his Annals. The good Emperors who came after 
 those monsters that succeeded Tiberius, revived the drooping 
 spirits of the Romans, and in their time we meet with some 
 useful writers, but of a Taste much inferior to that of the age 
 of freedom. As despotism approached. Taste and learning dis- 
 appeared from among the Romans, till at last we do not even 
 meet with a faint resemblance of what they once were. Freedom 
 of spirit gave way to abject flattery, noble idpas to wretched 
 conceit, a simple and genuine style to a florid unmanly one, 
 and a severity of manner to a relish for whatever was vicious, 
 contracted and ostentatious. 
 
 By the foregoing short sketch, an attempt has been made to 
 show that the last age of the Republic created the great writers 
 of the Augustan age; that the Emperor's power put an end to 
 farther improvement; that, in all probability, had the Romans 
 
 ' Dialog, de Caus. Corrupt. Eloquent 
 
if:' 
 
 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 27 
 
 continued longer free, they would have arrived at a much higher 
 degree of perfection, at least in some branches, and that arbi- 
 trary power and bad Taste gained ground at the same time, till, 
 at last, despotism was fully established, and Taste thoroughly 
 depraved. 
 
THE 
 
 Influence of Liberi y on Taste. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ERA OF LOUIS XIV. 
 
 Every person should found, his opinions of nations, of men, 
 and of the different ages of the world upon rational principles. 
 He ought, however, to be especially careful to reason justly and 
 accurately with respect to those ages which have, unquestion- 
 ably, been the most accomplished, and from which maxims will 
 be frequently drawn, and examples brought of whatever is most 
 pernicious or beneficial to mankind. An endeavour has been 
 made, in the preceding chapter, to show how far the common 
 opinion with regard to the influence of Augustus' power upon 
 genius and Taste is unjust, and how much the generality of per- 
 sons — misled by the delicate flattery paid him and Maecenas by 
 writers formed in the days of Liberty, but who survived the 
 Republic, and were the greatest ornaments of the Court of Au- 
 gustus — have mistaken the real genius of this Emperor and his 
 minister, and the effects of their power upon true Taste. It is 
 now proposed to offer some observations concerning the age of 
 Louis XIV. They are such as have occurred to the mind in 
 reading the celebrated works and historians of that age. 
 
 Persuaded of the truth of this general proposition, that in 
 proportion as a country is free, true Taste will flourish, unless the 
 good results of freedom be counterbalanced by other unpropiti- 
 ous circumstances, and that the protection of no single man can 
 create genius or Taste, which must be regulated by the peculiar 
 condition of the nation and age in which men of Taste and 
 
', influence of Liberty on laste. 29 
 
 genius appear, are sufficient reasons why the French writers of 
 the age of Louis XIV. make, and will for ever make, a conspic- 
 uous figure in the annals of the world, without having recourse 
 to the action of his supreme power, or drawing a conclusion , 
 unfavourable to Liberty. The following remarks are intended 
 to point out those incidents which enabled the best French 
 writers in that age to adorn their works with so much elegance 
 and correctness, independent of the patronage which their mon- 
 arch gave to the sciences and arts. 
 
 It has often been observed that there was a great i-esemblance 
 between the courts of Augustus and Louis, and that many 
 similar circumstances contributed to immortalize the reigns of 
 both. A great deal of common-place flattery has been most 
 lavishly awarded, and virtues and talents ascribed to both, to 
 which, perhaps, neither of them had any title to lay claim. That 
 they were fortunate is undoubtedly true. The noblest fortune 
 to which an Emperor or King can attain is to become Sovereign 
 of a people at a time when they are eminent for their accom- 
 plishments, for the illustrious figure they make in the world, and 
 for the improvements they have made in whatever can tend to 
 embellish life, or render society more rational and polite. Such 
 were the Tiomans and French, when Augustus and Louis arrived 
 at supreme power. Rome had produced her Lucretius, Sallust 
 and Cicero. Paris had produced her Corneille, Molidre, Pascal. 
 These three are mentioned, because it is allowed by every one 
 that both the French poetry and prose were carried by them to 
 a degree of excellence and perfection perhaps unequalled, but 
 certainly not surpassed, by any who have appeared since their 
 time; and because the youngest of them — Pascal — was born 
 fifteen years before Louis, and published his famous Provincials 
 when that prince was only sixteen years of age, and cannot, 
 therefore, be supposed to have had any influence in creating or 
 promoting Taste in France. 
 
 It may, indeed, be said, and with much appearance of reason, 
 that- this is nothing to the purpose, and does not show that an 
 arbitrary government is unfriendly to Taste, since it is equally 
 
3© Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 the same -whether • these writers were born in the time of Louis 
 XIV., 01* that of the Kings his predecessors. But it will be 
 shown that the time when the Fi-enoh Taste was gradually 
 improving, and attained to such perfection, was a period when 
 real Libei-ty was gaining ground ; although the Kings of France 
 were becoming more pow;erfiil, the rights of the people were 
 enlarged, their spirits animated, and a desire of knowledge 
 and freedom of inquiry highly prevalent in France. 
 
 It does not follow that in proportion as the powers of the 
 Sovereign are increased, the people become less free. • That 
 nation is most free where most people are free. The Kings of 
 France had for a long period of years been endeavouring to 
 overthrow that system which put it in the power of a few great 
 men to despise their Sovereign, to throw their country into 
 confusion, whenever their pride prompted them to it, and to 
 trample upon the majority of the jpeople. The methods which 
 those monarchs found it necessary to take to establish their own 
 authority, happily for the mass of the people, were calculated, in 
 some measure, to promote their independence and Liberty. 
 
 The adminittr.ition of justice is of the highest importance in 
 every country. They who have it in their power to determine 
 concerning the lives and property of the people should have the 
 highest authority, and if they are not obliged to adjudicate 
 according to a certain system of law, but as their own wills dic- 
 tate, must become arbitrary and despotic. Such were the great 
 noblesse in France during the prevalence of the Feudal Govern- 
 ment. Leaders and captains in the "field, they were supreme 
 judges in time of peace ; and, by having every thing at their 
 disposal, were the absolute and uncontrolable masters of the 
 people, who could have had recourse to none but them for 
 the preservation or recovery of their property, and thus were, 
 indeed, their mere slaves. Henaut says, in his " Remarques sur 
 la Troisidme Race " : 
 
 " Ce n'etoit plus des sujets, que des peuples qui pouvoient gti-e armfe 
 contre le roi par leurs seigneurs, ot qui, pour conserver leur bien, ue con- 
 noissoient d'autre Tribunal que celui de ce m@me seigneur." 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. oi 
 
 a short, but an accurate and comprehensive description of the 
 feudal system. To appoint judges, who should take cognizance 
 of the determinations of those tribunals, redress the grievances 
 of the people, and judge according to law, was at once to free 
 the Commons from oppression, to extend the power of the Sove- 
 reign, and to establish a regular system of laws. In a word, it 
 was to diffuse Liberty among the bulk of the people; and, as 
 Voltaire in his pithy manner expresses it, to give five hun- 
 . dred thousand persons reason to rejoice at what, perhaps, fifty 
 murmured. 
 
 " C'est a lui (Louis XI.) que le peuple doit le premier abaisement des 
 grands. Environs cinquante families en ont murmure, et plus de cinq 
 cens milles dii s'en felioiter." ' 
 
 That this was the method the Kings of France actually took, 
 we may be convinced by reading their histories, particularly 
 the concise and accurate one of Henaut, every page of which is 
 especially instructive on this subject. N'otice has been taken 
 only of this alteration of the French government in g neral, 
 because it is an illustrious proof that Liberty is friendly to 
 genius and Taste since that period in which the French were 
 making a gradual progress in learning, polish and refinement, 
 was also a point of time in which freedom was gaining ground, 
 and the mass of the people emerging from the most abject 
 servitude. Li this period, parliaments were established and 
 judges appointed, who, by degrees, became respectable, able 
 to defend the people from oppression, the awful dispensers of 
 justice, and the guardians of the law. The noble and generous 
 struggles which the parliaments of France, particularly that 
 of Paris, at that time, made in defence of the fundamental laws 
 of their country, merited and obtained the approbation of 
 all the world; and it is no rash assertion, to affirm, that their 
 institution a,nd growing power made a most favourable epoch 
 in the liberty of France. 
 
 " Le parlement de Paris, s'est conduit depuis pres de" deux ans avec 
 
 ' Hisl. Gener. Louis IX. 
 
32 ' Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 une fermitg et une prudence qui lui on valu des remercimens du prinee, 
 I'afFection de tous les bons Francois, et I'estime de touts I'Europe." ^ ; 
 
 But not only had the alteration which was made in the ad- 
 ministration of justice an influence in enlarging the freedom of 
 the people ; that which was made in military affairs had the same 
 effect, and equally tended to promote Taste. "While the feudal 
 system prevailed, the Nobles retired in sullen pride, and — shut up 
 in their gloomy castles, defended by their vassals and slaves, and 
 entertained by martial feats, by tournaments and savage combats 
 — ^were utterly ignorant of everything that was elegant and polite. 
 When they had taken the field against a neighbouring rival, or \ 
 appeared with their vassals in the general army of their country, 
 they returned, as soon as war was at an end, to their own domains, 
 accompanied by their followers, and never lived at Court, or 
 among their equals. Flattered by, and proudly dictating to, 
 their inferiors, it is easy to conceive what a means this must 
 have been in encouraging the Great in their follies, in debasing 
 the minds of the people, and in preventing both from making 
 any improvements in knowledge or Taste. 
 
 By destroying this system, a great paj-t of the people were 
 freed from a perpetual and servile attendance upon their superi- 
 ors ; the Nobles having less employment at home, were attracted 
 to Court,^ their Taste was changed, genteel amusements took the 
 place of rougher exercises, themselves and their country were 
 gradually improved, reading became fashionable, and society 
 grew more rational and polite. In vain wei-e those improvements 
 attempted, during the continuance of the feudal system — of all 
 others the least friendly to the Fine Arts, or to the liberties of 
 the majority of mankind, which are inseparable. Kings in vain 
 encouraged literature ; in vain did Charles V. of France collect 
 a library of nine hundred volumes — a great number before the 
 art of printing was invented ; the disposition of his country 
 was against him, and defeated the influence of that protection 
 and encouragement he gave to learning and arts. 
 
 ' Mes. Pens6e3. - Hen. Rem. snr la Troisieme race. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 33 
 
 " Le Roi de France Charles V. qui reassembla environ 900 volumes 
 cens ans avant que la Bibliotheque du Vatican fut fondge par Nicolas 
 V. enoouragea en vain les talents ; le terrain n' etoit pas prepar6 pour 
 porter de cos iruits Strangers." ' 
 
 The liberality of princes can have but small effect in pro- 
 moting genius and taste among a people whose minds are 
 debased by servitude. The kings of France, by destroying the 
 feudal system, and thus altering the habits of the people, and 
 giving animation to the minds of men, did more to promote 
 knovrledge and taste than all the rewards and protection that 
 could be given to the studious and learned, before that system 
 was over turned, could possibly do. 
 
 Francis I., whose reign is the great epoch of the revival of 
 letters in France, did not hold learning in higher esteem, or more 
 liberally encourage science and arts, than Charles V., whose 
 memorable answer to one that murmured at the honours which 
 he showed to men of learning, " Science and the learned cannot 
 be too much honoured; while learning is honoured in this 
 Kingdom, it will continue in prosperity, but when it shall be 
 despised, the Kingdom will decline and fall," ought for ever to 
 be remembered with satisfaction. 
 
 "Quelq' un murmuroit de I'honneur qu'il portoit aux gens de lettres, 
 appellSs dans ces tems clercsj 11 respondit; les clercs, ou la sapience, Ton ne 
 IJeut trop lionorer; et tant que sapience sera honoree en ce royaumc, 11 
 continuera en prosperite, mais quand deboutee y' sera, il decherra."^ 
 
 But the genius of their times was different: the one lived 
 before, and the other after, Louis XL, who, though a bad man 
 and cruel prince, laid a foundation for the improvement of arts 
 and sciences, by freeing the people from that dependence and 
 servitude in which they were kept, during the prevalence of 
 the feudal system. ^ 
 
 Another memorable event that happened about a century 
 before the birth of Louis XIV., must have been of the greatest 
 service in animating the minds of men, and in giving an im- 
 pulse to mental effort; we refer to the Reformation, an event 
 
 ' Voltaire, torn. 3. See also Henaut, Cliarles V. " Henaut. 
 
 5 
 
24 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 intimately connected witli a spirit of Liberty and a freedom of en- 
 quiry. It is almost unnecessary to remark that this had a most 
 , gratifying effect upon human affairs, and the liberties of Europe in 
 general. In no country, where the Reformation did not actually 
 take place, were the Reformers more numerous or important 
 than in France. Men of the most eminent abilities, who were 
 prominent in the Cabinet and in the field, several princes of the 
 blood and many of the noblesse, as well as a vast number of the 
 Commons, were of the Protestant party. The struggles they 
 made in their own defence were often successful ; their dis- 
 putes with the Roman Catholics, not only in the way of arms, 
 but of argument and debate, had considerable effect in enlarg- 
 ing the linderstanding of men, correcting their judgments, and 
 inspiring their imaginations and fancies with a vivacity acquired 
 only by practice and the necessity of defending favourite, or of 
 attacking odious, opinions. 
 
 Thus, being warmly interested, they embraced every occa- 
 sion of exercising the faculties and powers of the human mind 
 and body, in defence of themselves, their country and their 
 friends. 
 
 This leads us to take notice of a circumstance which certainly 
 had the greatest influence in forming the eras both of Augustus 
 and Louis ; we allude to the civil wars and contentions to which 
 they succeeded. What an exertion of great talents must there 
 have been in Rome, when the Catos, the Ciceros, the Pompeys, 
 the Csesars, and the Antonys, were at the head of different 
 parties, and, with all their abilities, endeavouring to support 
 their own cause, or to weaken that of their enemies ! What a 
 noble struggle must it have been in France, when the Henris, 
 the Sullys, the de Mornays, the Cond6s, the Turennes, the de 
 Retzs, the Rochefoucaults, the Richelieus, and the Mazarins, 
 drew their swords, and made use of the highest eloquence to 
 support the interests of contending parties, and to defend the 
 principles of opposite systems. 
 
 " Ces deux princes sortoient des guerres civiles, de ce terns oa les 
 penples, toujour armes, nourris sans cesse au milieu des perils, eiit6t6s des 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 35 
 
 plus nardies desseins, no Toycnt rien oil ils no puissent atteindre, de ce tems 
 oil les^ evenements lloureux ct mallieuroux, mille fois repetges, etendent 
 los idges, fortifient rSme a force d'epreuves, augmentent son ressort, et 
 lui donnent ce desir do gloire qui ne manque jamais de produire de grandes 
 choses." ' 
 
 Thus an endeavour has been-made to prove that in France, 
 during the reigns of several Kings preceding Louis XIV., the 
 rights of the bulk of the people were enlarged, their under- 
 standings improved by a freedom of enquiry, their spirits 
 animated, and their taste made forcible by perpetual struggles 
 about independence and freedom, both sacred and. civil: in a 
 word, that a spirit of liberty prevailed, and formed those geniuses 
 who flourished when he came to the throne, and during the last 
 years of his father's reign. In saying, during the last years of' 
 his father's reign, wo refer, particularly, to that important period 
 when, in Richelieu's administration, genius and taste had attained 
 to the highest perfection — an unanswerable proof that a spirit of 
 liberty, and the circumstances of the period, had more to do 
 in moulding the great writers and artists of those tinaes than 
 even the protection of a court and a minister, since some of 
 the most eminent of them met with no encouragement either 
 from the Court or Ministry, but rather the contrary. 
 
 The great Corneille received no favours from Richelieu; 
 nay, it is well known that he met with opposition from him, 
 and that too much complaisance to that minister caused the 
 academy to condemn his famous Cid. But other circumstances 
 tended to elevate his efforts more than this could depress them. 
 Bom in an active and illustrious age, himself endowed with 
 great talents, and admired by men to whom nature , had been 
 no less bountiful, need we marvel at the sublimity to which 
 he attained ? Can we wonder at the grandeur of his thought's, 
 when we reflect upon the sensibility of his appreciative audience ? 
 What an incitement it must have been to write well, to perceive 
 a bravo and generous tear drop from the great Cond6, when 
 pronouncing a noble and generous sentiment. 
 
 1 Henaut. 
 
36 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 " Le grand Corneille faisant pleurer le grand Conde, d'admiration, est 
 
 une fipocJi Men oelebre dans I'histoire de I'esprit humain."' 
 
 A little anecdote concerning the manner in whicli the son 
 of this Cond6 entertained Marshal Turenne during a visit of 
 two days, which he made to Chantilli, will give a very different 
 idea of the way in which the illustrious men of France were 
 then regaled, from what is to be seen in more modem times, 
 showing how great the taste ioy learning and finished com- 
 position must have been in France at that time, and how- 
 natural it is to expect to meet with good writers in an age 
 and among a people whose manners were so polite and 
 their entertainments 'so rational and instructive. The Duke, 
 son of the great Cond4, wishing to give an entertainment 
 to M. de Turenne, in which nothing should be omitted that 
 could be agreeable, consulted M. Despreaux about what was 
 most proper to read to him. The satirist was himself engaged 
 to read three Cantos of his Lutrin; but there were other vacant 
 hours to occupy during those two days, when they hoped to 
 have the pleasure of entertaining M. de Turenne. Despreaux 
 proposed to read the "■ provincial letters," which the Duke had 
 not seen. They read one of them for a trial, with which his 
 Highness was so charmed, that he took the book, and could 
 not leave it till he had read them all. M. de Turenne was no less 
 delighted with those letters, and he desired to hear them read 
 ' again and again.'' Does not this remind us of the symposiums of 
 Greece, or of the Taste of Societies at Rome, to whicli old 
 Cato often resorted, and -vyhich he valued, not on account of 
 exquisite dishes and rich wines, but of good company and 
 instructive conversation. 
 
 " Neque enim ipsoriim conviviorum delectationem voluptatibus corporis, 
 magis quam csetu amicorum et sermonibus metiebar." ^ 
 
 When such a taste prevailed at Athens, Rome, and Paris 
 can we be astonished that works were produced, which will render 
 
 ' Yoltaire. ^ See a discourse prefixed to the Provincial Letters, Paris, 1753. 
 » TuU. Cat Maj. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 37 
 
 the ages in which they were written immortal? Need we 
 wonder that among the great number of learned, high-spirited, 
 and illustrious men in every way, with which France then 
 abounded, there arose some with powers capable of reform- 
 ing Taste, and of fixing its standard, by presenting the public 
 with elegant and noble models ? Certainly we need not ; 
 nor should we be surprised that the sublimity and genuine beauty 
 of those writers have not been excelled by any who have 
 appeared since the administrations of Richelieu and Mazarin. 
 By reflecting upon the state of France immediately before these 
 Ministers came to the helm of aifairs, by considering their 
 conduct and the alteration they made in the Constitution of their 
 country, the principle we have been endeavouring to establish 
 will be illustrated and confirmed. 
 
 Henry IV., the best and most amiable of princes, who enjoyed 
 the greatest happiness that can fall to the share of a mortal, 
 and wbich most resembles that of the Divinity — the heartfelt 
 pleasure of making millions happy, of diffusing plenty and joy, 
 and of using power to execute the dictates of goodness — ^was, at 
 one and the same time, the sovereign and friend of his people. 
 Intimately connected, when a prince of the blood, with the sup- 
 porters of liberty, on the throne he was the protector of freedom. 
 Educated a Protestant, he continued, after he became a Roman 
 Catholic, to be the patron of the Reformed, and his principal 
 Ministers were of that profession. Generous and free in his own 
 principles, he endeavoured to promote a spirit of love and 
 charity among his subjects, to allay bitterness and animosity, 
 and to put an end to all persecution. He called together ■'. 
 the estates of his kingdom, not to force them to a compliance 
 with his own will, nor to despise their counsels, but with a 
 sincere intention to follow them. All his actions displayed 
 a greatness of mind, all his words were the unfeigned pictures 
 of a generous heart; posterity will for ever remember them 
 with lively satisfaction. With what emotions of gratitude 
 must they have inspired the breasts of his subjects ; with what 
 admiration must they have beheld his actions, and with what 
 
38 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 rapture must they have heard the benevolent expressions of his 
 affectionate regard to the interests of his country, and of man- 
 kind in general ! Such qualities would have appeared amiable 
 at all times, but if we reflect upon the state of France for some 
 years before Henry came to the throne, we shall .be convinced 
 that he must have appeared like an angel sent from Heaven to 
 bless mankind : or, as the ancients related of their Apollo, to 
 inspire men with great and beautiful ideas, to cause the voice 
 of the Muses to be heard, by putting an end to the horrid 
 noise of inhuman war, and to rescue the people from cruel 
 famine. 
 
 " Hie bellum lacrymosum, hie miseram famem 
 Pestemque a populo aget." ' 
 
 That Henry came to the throne at a time when the French 
 had been exposed to the most dreadful effects of these severest 
 scourges of human kind, is well known. Not inspired by a 
 generous principle of supporting their liberties and laws, or of 
 defending their country against a foreign enemy, but instigated 
 by human superstition, the Catholics of France had taken up 
 arms to imbue their hands in the blobd of their fellow-citizens. 
 The massacre of Paris, and the famous siege of that city, which 
 happened some years after, will be remembered as eternal proofs 
 what superstition can prompt its bigoted votaries to do and 
 suffer. Neither age, sex, beauty, nor merit, could induce the 
 barbarous assassin to relinquish the dagger ; nor could a famine, 
 so dreadful as even to instigate a wretched mother to devour 
 her own child, compel the Parisians to surrender their City to 
 one whom they were taught to look upon as accursed. 
 
 Heiiry, however, overcame every obstacle. It was impos- 
 sible for the most bigoted to keep up a league against him 
 that could any longer prevent his ascending the throne. Happy 
 was it for France that he became king. To the most cruel 
 and tumultuous, succeeded times the most peaceful and gener- 
 ous. Secured in the possession of their rights and privileges, 
 
 ' Horace. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 39 
 
 and of everything they held most dear, no one was longer 
 afraid of falling a victim to the cruelty of a base assassin, or to 
 the insolence of a haughty minion of power. 
 
 The minds of men, which had been agitated during the pre- 
 ceding reigns, and obliged to resort to every effort of self- 
 preservation and defence, being now no longer kept in perpetual 
 alarm, had leisure to apply that vigour and activity which they 
 had acquired, to the embellishment of life, and to the improve- 
 ment of whatever was refined and polite. The great things 
 Henry did for the repose, the plenty, and security of his people, 
 are well known ; what more he might have done, had not an in- 
 famous wretch put an untimely period to his glorious career, 
 may be conjectured from what he did. But that, during his 
 reign of freedom and joy, a foundation was laid for that high 
 reputation the French afterwards acquired for genius and taste, 
 which, as was observed before, appeared in their utmost lustre 
 during the administrations of Richelieu and Mazarin, cannot be 
 doubted. Nor is it unreasonable to suppose that, as the spirit of 
 liberty and freedom which prevailed in France, before these 
 ministers came to the helm of affairs, contributed greatly to form 
 the sublime taste of the illustrious writers of their times, so a 
 check was given to further improvement by the large strides 
 which were made towards arbitrary power. 
 
 Every person knows with what intrepid boldness the first, 
 and with what consummate art the last, of these men ag- 
 grandized the power of their masters, and paved the way to 
 
 despotism. 
 
 " Richelieu, Mazarin, ministres immortels ; 
 Jusqu' au Trone 616v6s cle 1' ombre des autels; 
 Enfans de la fortune et de la politique, 
 Marcheront 3, grands pas au pouvoir despotique." ' 
 
 To enter minutely into the alterations which they made in the 
 Constitution of France, would require more time than we can 
 at- present bestow upon it. Besides, the fact is allowed on all 
 sides, and there are not safer or better means for acquiring a 
 
 ' Voltaire. Henaut. 
 
40 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 thorough knowledge of the transactions of any country in any 
 period, than those of France at that time. The principal actors 
 were men of great abilities in every way, and being capable of 
 writing, as well as of acting, with spirit, the world is furnished 
 with ample materials by which to judge of the conduct of all 
 parties, and to form their opinions from the accounts of those 
 who were best acquainted with the transactions of the times. 
 The original memoirs of that period are highly instructive and 
 amusing. In them will be seen how far the Constitution of 
 France was then altered, and its liberty abridged. The fol- 
 lowing few sentences, transcribed from eminent French writers 
 of that time, will show what these alterations were, and also 
 prove the truth of what has been affirmed— that the French 
 government at that period became more absolute than it had 
 formerly been. 
 
 " Ce ministre (Richelieu) dont la politique absolue avoit viole les an- 
 ciennes lolx du royaume pour gtablir Tauthorite vmmod£re6 de son maitre, 
 dont il §toit dispensateur ; avoit considere tous les reglemons de cet ettt, 
 comme des concessions forceSs et des bornes impose6s t la puissance des 
 roys, plut6t que de fondemens soMes pour bien regner; et comme son 
 administration tr6s longue avoit 6te authorisge, par de grands succez 
 pendant la vie du feu roy, il renversa toutes les formes de la justice et 
 des finances, et avoit introduit pour le souverain tribunal de la vie et les 
 biens des hommes, la wlonte royale." ' 
 
 "Le Cardinal de Richelieu fit pour ainsi dire, un fond de toutes les 
 mauvaises intentions et de toutes les ignorances des deux demiers siecles, 
 pour s'en servir selon ses interSts. II les deguisa en maximes utiles et neces- 
 sairos pour etablir I'autorite royale, et la fortune secondant scs dcsseins, par 
 le dgsarmement du parti protestant en Prance, par les victoires des Suedois, 
 par la foiblesse de I'empire, par rincapacit§ d'Espagne, il forma dans la plus 
 ■legitime des monarchies la plus scaudaleuse et la plus dangereuse tyrannie, 
 qui ait peut-Stre jamais asservi un etSt." ' 
 
 ," II (Richelieu) fit un coup d'etat, en abaissant les grands seignieurs, 
 de maniSre qu'il n'y on a plus aujourd-hui. II fit un coup d'gtfit, en 6tant 
 aux religionaires, leurs places de suret§. II fit im coup d'etfit en eloignant 
 des affaires les princes du sang, et en les reduisant a la condition de simples 
 sujets." 
 
 " Mais n'6tondoit-il pas, n'aflermissoit-il assez par ces dispositions I'autor- 
 ite royale? etoit-il necessaire de larendre absolue? ne precipita-t-il pas les 
 choses d'un exc6s dans uu autre? n'altera-t-il pas la constitution fondamen- 
 tale du royaume ? " * 
 
 I Mem. de M. de la Rochefoucault. '' Mem. de Retz, s Mes. Pensees. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 41 
 
 Many more authoi-ities might be produced to prove what has 
 been asserted, but these are sufficient, and perhaps, indeed, more 
 than enough. From tliese arguments we may possibly be ac- 
 cused of inconsistency in denying that the French, since the 
 times of Richelieu and Mazarin, have been eminent for genius 
 and Taste, and of contradicting the principle we have taken so 
 much pains to establish — that these cannot subsist in a despotic 
 government. But we are neither so partial, nor so void of, dis- 
 cernment, as to deny the French, in subsequent times, the pos- 
 session of culture and refinement, and we shall be able to account 
 for it. consistently, with the already advanced opinion about the 
 influence of Liberty. 
 
 It must be carefully remembered that the greatest writers of 
 which the French can boast at that period, the Comeilles and Mo- 
 li(5res, the Bossuets and Rochefoucaults ; the painters, Poussin 
 and Le Brun, and a great many more of their illustrious contem- 
 poraries lived before the efforts of Richelieu had fully established 
 the power of the French monarehs, and were formed in times when 
 that minister had not as yet given what Cardinal de Retz, in his 
 animated style, calls a movement of rapidity to the royal authority. 
 
 "Le mouvement de rapiditg que'M. le Cardinal Kichelieu avoit donnS 
 a I'autoritS royale." ' 
 
 Had Richelieu been followed by a succession of ministers, 
 who, bold and successful as himself, had bpen able to make the 
 torrent of royal power flow with increasing velocity, and sweep 
 away every inferior obstacle with its impetuous stream, the 
 French would, indeed have become mere slaves, and genius and 
 true Taste would quickly have disappeared. But after his death, 
 the nation, partially freed from turmoil, curbed the power of his 
 successor, and, during the weakness of a minority, invested the 
 magistrates and laws with somewhat of their former dignity; 
 showing a spirit that caused Mazarin to quit the kingdom for a 
 time, and obliged him, after his return, to be cautious in interfering 
 with the rights of a people which he found had still some power 
 
 ' Mem. De Retz. 
 
42 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 and much inclination to oppose him. It required a.l his art to 
 prevent the Crown losing that power which Richelieu had ac- 
 quired : to increase or carry it further was an attempt beyond 
 his courage or ability. 
 
 That Louis XIV. was absolute, cannot be denied: but he 
 was so, more by his great personal character, and by the volun- 
 tary obedience that his admiring subjects paid him, than by 
 any alteration he made in the Constitution beyond what Riche- 
 lieu had effected. 
 
 What the situation of France became under his successor is 
 well known. The firmness and integrity of the magistrates gave 
 force and dignity to the laws; the prudent and seasonable 
 remonstrances of the parliaments supported the credit of their 
 body, and prevented great encroachments from being made 
 upon the fundamentals of the Constitution by a feeble adminis- 
 tration, and a prince whom even his friends did not pretend was 
 of an elevating or enterprising character. At that time, when 
 the members of the parliament of Paris were banished on ac- 
 count of the religious disputes which so long prevailed in 
 Prance, it was found impracticable to carry on the business of 
 the nation by an arbitrary council suhstitntcd in their place. 
 Without making concessions, however, or giving up the point in 
 dispute, they were recalled, and, to their immortal honor, con- 
 tinued to defend the liberties of France, and to ])unish those 
 priests who refused the sacraments to such as would not declare 
 their full assent to the Constitution Unigenitus, by which these 
 worthy magistrates had demonstrated that I'.berty was not 
 entirely abolished in France. 
 
 In this country we are blessed with a freedom not excelled, 
 perhaps, by that of any other nation in the world. Of this happy 
 Treedom we have reason to be proud ; but we should not rashly 
 pronouaoe that other nations are little better than mere slaves. 
 They, indeed, must be utterly unacquainted with the history of 
 France who do not know that the French, at that time, had 
 justice regularly administered and private property secured by 
 the guardians of the law, who were a great and respectable body. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 43 
 
 which is rarely the case under a despotic form of government ; 
 and that though the inhabitants of France did not enjoy a 
 complete freedom, yet they were certainly more free than many 
 other European nations. 
 
 Our argument may he summed up in a few words. The 
 period in which French taste was gradually improving, was one 
 when the rights of the mass of the people were gaining ground ; 
 mental activity and taste were carried to their greatest height 
 and perfection by those who were born at the very time when 
 France was most free. After the administration of Richelieu, 
 the Government was more arbitrary, and Taste did not make 
 much progress, nor was it sustained with an equal degree of 
 elegance and spirit. And allowing that it was, even this cannot 
 greatly invalidate the argument in favour of the beneficial in- 
 fluence of liberty, since the French were certainly not so utterly 
 deprived of freedom, or so much oppressed by the iron rod of 
 slavery, as to be rendered incapable, like the subjects of despotic 
 Emperors, of being animated and improved by other favourable 
 circumstances. 
 
 Tt'Would, however, be strangely unreasonable to pretend that 
 liberty alone is sufficient to improve the taste of a nation, or 
 that better opportunities or more care may not enable a people 
 who enjoy a smaller share of freedom, to excel one which posses- 
 ses a greater, but is not blessed with the same advantages in 
 other respects, or has not had its attention so long turned to 
 objects of taste. There are, undoubtedly, degrees of freedom 
 as of other things. Every person is not endowed with equal 
 powers ; but study and perseverance often enable the man 
 of ordinary talent to distinguish himself more than one of far 
 superior natural ability, without these attributes, or who had 
 made an indifferent use of such as he had. There has been, 
 and will always be, a certain dullness in some individuals, while 
 in some countries despotism has prevailed to such an extent as 
 to baffle all attempts to improve, and every effort to excel. 
 
 There are many eminent circumstances favourable to the 
 taste of France, arising from the peouhar nature and situation of 
 
44 Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 its metropolis; but there are, alfso, other advantages that the 
 French enjoy, which, it can hardly be denied, must assist in 
 producing a propitious result. 
 
 Their language has become almost the universal language of 
 Europe, and a great part of the world. Their literary produc- 
 tions are read, translated, approved of, or criticized, everywhere. 
 The best books of other nations, too, are translated into French. 
 The most eminent of all countries visit theirs, are desirous of 
 becoming acquainted with their celebrated men^ and of communi- 
 cating their own sentiments to them. Though there have been, 
 and still are, restraints upon the Press in Paris, yet various means 
 have been adopted of eluding them. If, in some cases, they 
 have been attended with failure, the surrounding countries have 
 supplied them with whatever they wanted. Books of all kinds 
 have always been procured in France. At present, no country 
 is better stored with them, and in no country does reading 
 more generally prevail. 
 
 It is universally allowed that the invention of priutmg has 
 made known the noble productions of Greece and Rome to vast 
 numbers, and contributed greatly to difiuse that genuine taste 
 and freedom of spirit which began to prevail in the Sixteenth 
 century. It must also be admitted that the French, by having 
 an opportunity of reading, in their own language, the best works 
 of every country, have possessed great opportunities of improve- 
 ment, by which their minds have become enlarged, and their 
 prejudices corrected. Many Frenchmen have been the pupils of 
 Bacon, of Locke, and of other great philosophers and illustrious 
 writers. The universality of the French language has made the 
 French, citizens of the world, and placed it within their power 
 to imbibe the spirit and sentiments, and to acquire the ideas, 
 which prevail among the learned men of every country. 
 
 It has also had another favourable effect. It has afforded an 
 easy access, to Frenchmen, into every country of the world, giving 
 the skilful of that nation a good reception everywhere. All 
 persons are happy in becoming acquainted with the eminent men 
 of a country which has so long acquired the lead in polite accom- 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 45 
 
 plishments, and of whose language every court in Europe makes 
 use when transacting business with foreign States. Conscious of 
 this advantage, the free-thinkers of France are more independent 
 at home than they would otherwise be, as they are sure of a 
 retreat in foreign countries, if their freedom should happen to 
 disoblige the authorities of their own, or make it inconvenient for 
 them to remain in France. 
 
 Many of us are aware that when bigotry and envy had raised 
 a party to deprive Montesquieu of those honours to which his 
 merit gave him a title to lay claim, he told the ministry, that 
 if such an injury were done him, he would leave his native 
 country and accept the security and honours which foreigners so 
 liberally offered him. This prevented his being excluded from 
 the French Academ,y, and encouraged him to write with still 
 more freeedom in his Spirit of Laws, than he had done in the 
 Persian Letters, which, at that time, gave great offence. 
 
 Indeed, we know that some of the greatest men, to whom 
 France has given birth, have lived in other countries, honoured 
 and caressed. Amongst many illustrious names, 'it is only neces- 
 sary for our purpose to mention two, Maupertius and Voltaire, 
 the first of whom was placed at the head of the King of Prussia's. 
 Academy, and the second at last fixed his abode in the territories 
 of a free state, where, independent, he lived beyond the reach of 
 arbitrary power, inspired by that goddess, eternally adored by' 
 mankind — ^Liberty — the animating soul of every grand attempt, 
 the object of noble vows, which, when present, every mortal 
 embraces, or, if absent, longs for and anxiously recalls ; which 
 lives in every heart, and whose sacred name is silently wor- 
 shipped, even in the courts of tyrants. By Liberty— to borrow 
 
 his own sentiments, — 
 
 . . . "O'est sur ces bords lieureux 
 Qu' habite des humains la dgesse 6temelle, 
 L' Sme des grands travaux, I'objet des nobles voeux, 
 Que tout mortel embrasse, ou desire, ou rapello, 
 Qui vit dans tons les cosurs, et dont le nom sacro 
 Dans les cours des tyrans est tout bas adore, 
 La libcrte." ' . . . 
 
 1 Lines from an admirable epistle, written by Voltaire when be arrived 
 at Ms villa, near the Lake of Geneva. , 
 
46 Influence of Libtrty on Taste, 
 
 There is a mighty difference between the state of the 'world 
 at present, and what it was when the Roman Emperors became 
 masters of it. Their sway was universal, their subjects coul(J 
 cast their eyes upon no neighbouring free country, ■vsrhere they 
 might be sheltered from oppression, and a view of whose liberty 
 might give them the animating hopes of recovering their own — 
 all bending beneath the yoke of Rome and her tyrants. It is 
 otherwise in our times. Every country, where arbitrary power 
 prevails, is surrounded , by such as are free, which, with the 
 massive growth of a vast American Continent, produces these 
 different effects — it keeps ambitious men within bounds, and 
 makes them cautious iu proceeding to extremities. It exhilarates 
 the rninds of a people, and makes them liope to be what other 
 nations are. It spreads the principles of liberty over all the 
 world, and prevents the vital spark from being utterly extin- 
 guished in any country. 
 
 "II est utill, qu' il-y alt un peuple libre, quand ce ne seroit que 
 pour apprendre aux autres qu' ils jseuvent I'gtre." ' 
 
 This might almost alone account for the unequal iniiuence of 
 the absolute power of the kings of France and the Roman Em- 
 perors in depressing genius and vitiating Taste, even allowing 
 them to have been equally despotic, which 13 far from being the 
 case. All the states of the world are now so nicely balanced, 
 have such mutual interests, and so much necessary communica- 
 tion with each other, that there is a sort of interchange of the 
 opinions, principles and moral sentiments, as well as of the 
 natural productions and various m.anufactures, ol the different 
 countries. In computing the freedom, the liberal spirit and 
 Ta«te, which may be supposed to prevail in any nation, we 
 ought not only to take into account the advantages they 
 derive from their own Constitution, but likewise those which 
 arise from their communication with other countries, and that 
 protection which they may hope to find abroad, if they are 
 oppressed at home. 
 
 We have now but a few further remarks to offer in answer 
 
 ' Mes. Pcnsfies. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 47 
 
 to the objections, that may be brought against the favourable 
 effect of liberty upon Taste as well as Genius. The natural 
 influence of freedom in improving every faculty of the human 
 mind might indeed be proved by^abstract principles, but argu- 
 ments of that kind are always less entertaining than those which 
 are deduced from historical facts. Similar reasonings and obser- 
 vations, arising from the circumstances and situation of other 
 nations, may be successfully employed to refute all the, objec- 
 tions that can be brought against the principle here attempted 
 to be established from the state of Taste in any other country. 
 Other better informed minds will be able to accomplish this 
 with much more advantage and pleasure to the public than we 
 can. The active exertions of one's own talent may be very 
 agreeable and improving, but it is tedious to follow, for any 
 great length of time, the reasonings of another. 
 
 In conclusion, however, we would add a few lines on the study 
 of History in general, as intimately connected with the topic in 
 question. The motives which have induced the foregoing 
 remarks are the result of a life, devoted not only to professional 
 pursuits or satisfied with the trifling incidents of our own little 
 sphere of action but, impelled by a curiosity, prompted to 
 enquire what has transpired in other ages and countries in con- 
 nexion with the liberal Arts and Sciences, and to review those 
 great events which have taken place during various periods of 
 the Earth's existence. The life of Man, at the utmost, is but of 
 short duration ; so much passes away in the unconscious play- 
 time of infancy, is swallowed up by the wayward passions of 
 youth, and entirely lost in sleep and necessary rest, that the 
 remaining portion, even though every moment were employed 
 in reflection and observation, is reduced to a minimum. That 
 knowledge, therefore, which is simply derived from persona,l 
 experience, must be confined within narrow limits. The utility of 
 History is obvious, especially so when referring to the Influence 
 of Liberty on Taste and Progress. It carries us back, through 
 a chain of events, to that era when truth is lost in fable, and 
 lengthens out, as it were, the period of human life, placing us 
 
48 Influence of Liberty on Taste^ 
 
 in possession of observations drawn from the experience < 
 saccessive ages. We would not, however, infer that the true 
 wisdom is hot the fruit of experience, but we assert that tl 
 best method of enabling us to reflect and draw suitable concl 
 sions from our own observation, is to become acquainted wil 
 the course of conduct of others under experience similar 1 
 our own. 
 
 " Nee enim suam tantum setatem bene tuentur ; onme aevura si 
 adjiciunt. Quicquid annorum ante illos actum est, illis acquisitum est 
 nuUo nobis sseculo interdictum est: in ommia admittimur; et si magi 
 tndine animi egredi bumanse imbecillitatis augustias libet, multum p 
 quod spatiemur temporis est."' 
 
 In early life we ftequently find ourselves in situations new 1 
 us. The uninstructed, or those uninformed of the events pr 
 ceding them, must be gifted with uncommon judgment ar 
 quickness of perception to avoid errors having a fatal influeni 
 upon their future conduct. To pass through life without enqui 
 ing how others have trodden the stage before us, is as senselei 
 as travelling in a country without a knowledge of the langua| 
 or manners of the people whom we visit. Opinions about an 
 country can only be advanced, with certainty and facility, I 
 those who are personally acquainted with its customs and histor; 
 He who ventures to take a prominent position in the worL 
 ignorant of everything that has happened before him, will loi 
 many favourable oppoi-tunities, leading to advancement. But 1 
 one who has united a knowledge of the liberal Arts and Scienc( 
 to that of History, of the most remarkable characters and actioi 
 of eminent men, of motives which gave rise to those actions, an 
 of the consequences accruing either to the actors, their countr 
 or the world, will find their improvement and interests alike co) 
 suited. 
 
 Everywhere mankind must labour to acquire knowledge ar 
 skill in those professions by which to gain a livelihood. O1 
 thoughts must be principally employed about particular detaili 
 only a small portion of time c an be spared to improve by Btu<^ 
 
 ' Seneca. 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 49 
 
 a general knowledge of men and manners, and the grace and ease 
 of a cultured life. But to be an accomplished Divine, Lawyer, 
 Physician or Musician, the works of those immortal authors who 
 have expressed the noblest sentiments in the finest language, must 
 be read; the history of mankind studied; an acquaintance 
 gained with what has occurred in the different countries and 
 ages of the world ; and observations made of the gradual rise 
 and decline of the Arts and Sciences. We must reflect upon 
 their causes, study the Constitution of our country, and con- 
 sider what alterations have taken place, and how these have been 
 brought about, if we would prove a positive ornament to our 
 country. 
 
 It is, also, from the study of History we acquire such a fund 
 of knowledge as will enable us to become instructive and persua- 
 sive speakers. Although it has been said that we must be 
 born poets in order that we may become orators: "nascimur 
 jjoetsB simus oratores." Undoubtedly, to be a perfect orator, one 
 must be endowed by nature with a genius superior to that of the 
 ordinary class of men. Application and industry, however^ itiay 
 make one — possessed of a clear judgment and ordm9,ry imagina- 
 tion — a tolerable speaker. But to accomplish this, we must be 
 masters of the principal incidents and characters handed down to 
 us in History. It is highly important, in becoming an orator, to 
 acquire such a store of knowledge as will be seviceable on all 
 occasions. " Condo et compono quse mox depromere possim," 
 may be applied by every person to himself' when studying 
 history. Horace, whom we beg leave to quote again, saysT— 
 " Verba prsevisam rem baud invita sequentur" — whicli is as 
 equally true of a public speaker as of a poet. 
 
 History not only furnishes us with the best materials for public 
 speaking, it presents us with the noblest models. Not even the 
 rapid oratory of Demosthenes, nor the flowing eloquence which 
 charms us in TuUy's orations, excel some of the speeches found 
 in Livy, Sallust and other historians. In reading history, we 
 frequently meet with elaborate speeches, interesting us in those 
 events which gave rise to them, and which excite our imaginations 
 
JO Influence of Liberty on Taste. 
 
 and leave a strong impress upon the mind. While the historical 
 narrative makes us acquainted with the events of the times, the 
 oration forms a sort of commentary upon the facts and circum^ 
 stances of the history ; they mutually throw light upon each 
 other, and enable us to form a more correct opinion of the 
 subject under consideration. 
 
 Tlie chief subjects of History, are events peculiarly interesting 
 to all mankind. The rise and fall of Kingdoms, Republics and 
 States ; the establishment of Liberty and Laws ; the encroach- 
 ments of Slavery and Despotism ; the advancement of Letters, 
 Arts and Sciences ; the prevalence of Ignorance and Degrada- 
 tion; the enervating effects of Luxury and Vice, or the benefi- 
 cent results of Temperance and Virtue — these are the contents 
 pf the historic page, and in these, men of enquiring minds are 
 deeply interested, as their conduct must necessarily have great 
 weight in promoting the grandeur and happiness, or preventing 
 the fall and misery, of their country. We cannot be idle spec- 
 tators of human affairs ; and, either for good or evil, can never 
 be so obscure as not to have some influence. He who wholly 
 abstracts himself, and becomes entirely regardless of transpiring 
 events, not only acts a contemptible but, in some measure, a crimi- 
 nal part. Every one must share in governing the world. To be 
 indifferent to its concerns is, as it were, to forsake and neglect 
 the d.uty which the Almighty assigned to each individual. 
 Historic reading ; tracing back the great events and revolutions 
 of human affairs to their primary causes ; comparing the charac- 
 ters of legislation and heroes throughout the whole complex 
 political body of mankind is, in some degree, the duty, and ought 
 to be the study, of every citizen of a free country. By these 
 means, alone, can we learn how tyrants have endeavoured to sap 
 the foundation of Liberty, by what methods attempts have been 
 made to enslave the people, and in what manner resistance has 
 been offered to those lawless efforts by which freedom hai been 
 secured, and rights established upon surer and more lasting foun- 
 dations. 
 
 It is not only in Classic histories, however, we meet with 
 
Influence of Liberty on Taste. 51 
 
 ^oratorical excellence. Modern history presents much to delight 
 and instruct. Great Britain and Prance, in their remote and 
 later periods, and the American Continent in recent years, have 
 afforded oratorical displays, of which neither Greece nor Rome 
 would have had any reason to be ashamed. 
 
 The discussion, in the previous pages, of the Influence of 
 Liberty on Taste, or indeed, the influence of Liberty on any 
 branch of human progress, is a subject of such an interesting 
 character that, in advocating freedom, of thought and action, 
 a patriotic flame has been inspired in behalf of the honour and 
 welfare of this Country. In a few years it will be as famous 
 for excellence in Literature, Music, Painting, Poetry and 
 Sculpture, as it is, at present, _ for its opulence and commerce. 
 Already successful in the mechanical and useful Arts, Poetry, 
 Philosophy, and the Fine Arts — with their attendants, Culture 
 and Refinement — will, eventually, receive a higher recognition 
 and appreciation. The encouragement thus far accorded, has 
 had a visible effect upon the world, and many propitious circum- 
 stances afford the best grounds for hoping that the Influence 
 of Liberty will prove, in the future, still more favourable, not 
 only to Learning and Taste, but to the cause of Religion and 
 
 Virtue. , 
 
 . " Sapientum templa serena, 
 Despicere unde queas alios, passimque videre 
 Errare." > 
 
 Lucretius. 
 
 AuBBicAii Churoh Pbbbs Compaut, Pkintebs, 111 East Ninth Stbbet, N. Y. 
 
I" 
 By the Same Author, , . 
 
 The Tenth Satire of yuvenal : 
 
 And other Poetical Translations from the Ancients. 
 
 A Child of Sorrow ; 
 
 A Romance, in two volumes. 
 
 Lays of Love and Friendship ; 
 
 A Book of Poems, in one volume^ 
 
 Tales for the Lnstruction and Amusement 
 of the Young, 
 
 On Oriental and other Subjects. 
 
 . Six Festival Services & Anthems^ ^ 
 
 With Orchestral Accompaniments, and Organ Obbligato, 
 

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