Characteristic differences between Greeks and Romans--The triple theocracy of Rome--The mythical period of the seven kings of Rome--Rome as republic--Roman mythology--Rome under the emperors--Roman public games--Roman literature the outgrowth of Greek literature--Polylithic wall decorations--The arch, cross-vault, and cupola--Periods of Roman art and their subdivisions--Temples--Fora and theatres--The mausoleum of Augustus--Hadrian, the divine architect--Triumphal arches--The baths of Caracalla--The advent of Christianity 228 CHAPTER XI. EARLY CHRISTIAN ART. North and south of our globe--Buddhism and Christianity-- Christ’s divine teachings--Romanesque and Byzantine art-forms--Symbols, allegories, emblems, and myths-- Catacombs at Rome and Naples--The sacredness of the number seven--Christian art in its essence and different phases-- The spiritual element predominates--The first Christian churches--Constantine--Ravenna and its early churches-- St. Sophia in the Byzantine style--Migration of northern nations--Their religious notions--The Teutons turn Christians--Wood and ivory carvings--Art in its relation to the progressive development of mankind--Summary and conclusion 264 BIBLIOGRAPHY for the study of the historical development of Art 301 INDEX 305 MANUAL OF THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ART CHAPTER I. PROLEGOMENA. Gazing at the heavens on a starry night, we see, in addition to myriads of sparkling worlds floating in the air, a great quantity of nebulæ--either decayed systems of worlds, or worlds in formation. Worlds which have lost their centre of gravity and fallen to pieces; or worlds which are seeking, according to the general law of gravitation, to form a central body by the attraction of cosmical ether. The one phenomenon is that of destruction, the other that of new formation. This double process is continually repeating itself in the development of art. Consciously or unconsciously, the artists of the different nations, at different periods, devote themselves to the dissolution or reconstruction of artistic products. To become acquainted with this process, to trace the elements from which art is built up, or the influences which engender a dissolution of artistic forms, is of the greatest importance.