CHAP. V.

NICETAS, THE CHONIATE his curious Narrative of the Mischiefs done by BALDWYN'S CRUSADE, when they fackt CONSTANTINOPLE in the Year 1205many of the Statues defcribed, which they then deftroyed-a fine Tafte for Arts among the GREEKS, even in thofe Days, proved from this Narrative not so, among the CRUSADERS-Authenticity of Nicetas's Narrative State of CONSTANTINOPLE at the laft Period of the Grecian Empire, as given by contemporary Writers, PHILELPHUS and ENEAS SYLVIUS-NATIONAL PRIDE among the Greeks not totally extinct even at this Day.

BES

ESIDES PLANUDES a large number Ch. V. of the fame nation might be mentioned, but I omit them all for the fake

of NICETAS, THE CHONIATE, in order

to

P. III. to prove thro' him, that the more refined part of that ingenious people had not even in the thirteenth Century loft their Tafte; a Taste not confined to Literary Works only, but extended to Works of other kinds and character.

THIS Hiftorian (I mean NICETAS *) was present at the sacking of Conftantinople by the Barbarians of Baldwyn's Crusade, in the year 1205. Take, by the way of Sample, a part only of his Enumeration of the noble Statues, which were probably brought thither by Conftantine, to decorate his new City, and which thefe Adventurers then destroyed †.

AMONG

* He was called the Choniate from Chona, a City of Phrygia, and poffeft, when in the Court of Conftan tinople, fome of the highest Dignities. Fabric. Biblioth. Grac. T. XI. p. 401, 402.

A large part of this Chapter is extracted from the Hiftory of Nicetas, as printed by Fabricius in the Tome

AMONG others he mentions the Coloffian Ch. V. Statue of JUNO, erected in the Forum of Conftantine; the Statue of PARIS standing by VENUS, and delivering to her the Golden Apple; a fquare and lofty OBELISK, with a FIGURE on it to indicate the Wind; the Figure of BELLEROPHON, riding upon PEGASUS; the PENSIVE HERGULES, made by no lefs an Artist than LYSIPPUS; the two celebrated Figures of THE MAN and THE Ass, erected by Auguftus after his Victory at Actium; the WOLF, fuckling ROMULUS and REMUS; an EAGLE deftroying a SERPENT, set up by Apollonius Tyaneus; and an exquifite

above quoted, beginning from p. 405, and proceeding to p. 418.

The Author has endeavoured to make his translated Extracts faithful, but he thought the whole Original Greek too much to be inferted, especially as it may be found in Fabricius's Bibliotheca, a Book by no means. rare. A few particular paffages he has given in the Original.

HELEN,

P. III. HELEN, in all the Charms of Beauty and of Elegance.

SPEAKING of the Wind-obelifk, he relates with the greatest feeling the curious work on its fides; the rural Scene; Birds finging; Ruftics labouring, or playing on their Pipes; Sheep bleating; Lambs skipping; the Sea, and a Scene of Fish and Fishing; little naked Cupids, laughing, playing, and pelting each other with Apples; a FIGURE on the fummit, turning with the -flighteft blaft, and thence denominated the Wind's Attendant.

Of the two Statues brought from Actium he relates, that they were fet up there by Auguftus on the following Incident. As he went out by night to reconnoitre the Camp of

Man, driving an Afs.

Antony, he met a

The Man was

afked, who he was, and whither he was going-my Name, replied he, is Nico,

my

my Afs's name NICANDER; and I am Ch. V. going to CESAR's Army. The Story. derives its force from the good Omen of lucky names, and may be found (tho' with fome variation) both in Suetonius and Plutarch. The real Curiofity was, that Statues fo celebrated should be then exifting.

B

IF the Figures of the Wolf and the Founders of Rome were of the fame age, they might probably have been the very Work, to which VIRGIL is fuppofed to have alluded, in describing the Shield of ENEAS:

--illam tereti cervice reflexam Mulcere alternos, et corpora fingere lingua. Æn. VIII. 633.

BUT no where does the Tafte of NICETAS appear so strongly, as when he speaks of the HERCULES, and the HELEN.