We moderns can only be grateful that Roman taste did _not_ prefer the productions of its own native sculptors. Had it done so, the history of Greek sculpture would have had to be reconstructed from stray works like the Elgin and the Æginetan marbles, the “Charioteer of Delphi” and the “Hermes” of Olympia. As matters stand, we have such books as those of Pausanias and Pliny. We are, moreover, furnished with numberless copies of the principal Hellenic masterpieces. True, these “copies” are not “the real thing.” In many cases they are marble translations from bronze originals, giving us, let us say, that intimacy with the earlier Greek works which the Arundel Society’s prints, or large-sized photo-gravures, afford about the Italian original paintings they reproduce. In addition, the Roman preference for Greek sculpture resulted in the production of many statues which, though they cannot be directly connected with any original Greek work, are clearly little more than variations upon popular Greek themes. THE GRÆCO-ROMAN SCULPTORS Generally speaking, throughout the first and second century B.C. none of the Greek sculptors working in Rome departed far from the accepted models. Some followed the general standards adopted by Praxiteles; some those of Lysippus; others again preferred the more romantic style of the school of sculpture at Rhodes. When new subjects presented themselves, however, Roman taste began to exercise a direct influence upon the work of the Hellenistic sculptors. We dwelt upon some of the effects of the Roman influence when considering the “Farnese Hercules”—the work of the Græco-Roman Glycon. It is equally well illustrated by two fine bronzes which have been recently discovered and placed in the Terme Museum at Rome. The first is the life-sized warrior or athlete leaning on his spear, usually called “The Prince.” It closely resembles such a work as the “Cerigotto Bronze” in general style. Nothing except the tendency towards an accentuation of muscular development and the fact that it apparently does not follow an earlier Greek design mark its Græco-Roman origin. [Illustration: THE SEATED BOXER Terme Museum, Rome] The second is the “Seated Boxer,” a magnificently powerful presentation of an utterly ignoble theme. The fighter is resting; he is waiting for his call to another bout. Each hand is still cased in the leather cæstus. The bruised and swollen features of the man are given with savage truth. By reason of its entirely un-Hellenic subject, the “Seated Boxer” affords as fine an illustration of the Græco-Roman style at its best as can be given. We see the grand technical skill which led the Roman connoisseur to give his commissions to Greek sculptors. In the insistence upon realistic detail and the absence of a high ideal guiding the choice of subject, we can trace the influence of a taste far removed from any that Greek sentiment could have fostered.