Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - The Roman Emperors in Marble - 1. Julius Caesar and Augustus
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
12 ROMAN DAYS.
under the standard of the cross. So, then, hail Constan
tine ! Shame on the memory of Maxentius ! The Deity
—’^
divinitas’" to speak the theologically guarded lan-
guage of the arch of Constantine—always gives virtue
the victory. Fortune is the measure of desert.
The grave of the Nasos, which recalls Ovid the
flatterer of Augustus, Nicolas Poussin’s valley, the field
where the three hundred and five Fabii fell, we pass, and
reach the country-house of Livia, wife of Augustus. In
the rubbish that hid the ruined walls of this magnificent
villa, was discovered, eleven years ago, the most beau-
tiful statue of Augustus that has come down to our time.
The statue lay in pieces ; but these were whole and
almost unimpaired, so that the work of art, under the
careful hands of Tenerani, without any restoration worthy
of mention, again grew into an entire figure. Augustus
here stands in the garb of emperor, in richly adorned
armor, tunic and purple, with the sceptre in his left
hand, and the right arm outstretched, as if, protecting
and blessing, he called down the peace of Olympus upon
the earth. According to Suetonius, Augustus had an
" uncommonly fine figure." This is to be found here.
The harmonious proportion of the limbs, recalls the even
balance of his mind. The attitude is pleasing, the face
and the action stamped with the gentlest majesty. The
mail-clad ruler of the world seems to repeat the verse of
Virgil which alludes to him :
Din of artns shall cease and days of hardsJiip he
softetied.
Upon this statue, the gaze of his wife has many a
time dwelt ; but with what feelings ? At the age of
twenty-four, Augustus was wedded to Livia ; after more
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
