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.
14 ROMAN DAYS.
the wood where branches were cut for the laurel crowns
of the Caesars. Upon the brow of many a Roman em-
peror, have those wreaths cast the shadow of the
thoughts of Livia.
There are other good portraits of Augustus, besides
that of which we have just spoken. In the portico of
the Casino of the Villa Albani, two enthroned figures are
to be seen, of which one, in particular, gives the impres-
sion of majesty. The Vatican owns an Augustus as high
priest, with toga-veiled head, from the rich treasure-
ground of Otricoli. A bust in the Capitoline gallery
represents him in his advanced old age, but beaming
with dignity and personal charm.
In none of these portraits could the reader’s servant
perceive that which Ampere, the talented author of
Z’ Histoire roniaine a Rome, discovered in their features.
He says that Augustus looks false ; that his glance
reveals the hypocrite ; that the intrigues, fears and lies of
many years have stamped him with an ineffaceable print
of uneasiness and menace.
But Ampere does not appear as an impartial judge,
but a zealous advocate. It is a noble cause he has un-
dertaken to defend, the cause of the republic, and there
is certainly no wrong in his doing so, since among the
historians so many Lachauds stand ready to speak for
the other side. But he has not looked at Augustus in
the light from Palatium’s sun ; but rather, in the glare
from gas-jets at the Tuileries, some evening when a
newer Caesar had assembled around him the military
leaders of the coup d’etat, senators bought with a price,
ladies of doubtful fame, philosophers of fatalism, and
camellia-raisers in the world of letters. Under the im-
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
