Siquidem non solum ex auro argentove, aut certe ex ære in bibliothecis dicantur illi, quorum immortales animæ in iisdem locis ibi loquuntur: quinimo etiam quæ non sunt, finguntur, pariuntque desideria non traditi vultus, sicut in Homero evenit. Quo majus (ut equidem arbitror) nullum est felicitatis specimen, quam semper omnes scire cupere, qualis fuerit aliquis. PLIN. Nat. Hist. Cicero speaks with pleasure of a little seat under Aristotle in the library of Atticus. “Literis sustentor et recreor; maloque in illa tua sedecula, quam habes sub imagine Aristotelis, sedere, quàm in istorum sella curuli!” Ep. ad Att. iv. 10. Nor should we forget that Dryden drew inspiration from the “majestic face” of Shakespeare; and that a portrait of Newton was the only ornament of the closet of Buffon. Ep. to Kneller. Voyage à Montbart. In the chamber of a man of genius we Write all down: Such and such pictures;—there the window; …..the arras, figures, Why, such and such. CYMBELINE. [i] _Which gathers round the Wise of every Tongue_, Quis tantis non gaudeat et glorietur hospitibus, exclaims Petrarch. —Spectare, etsi nihil aliud, certè juvat.—Homerus apud me mutus, imò verò ego apud illum surdus sum. Gaudeo tamen vel aspectû solo, et sæpe ilium amplexus ac suspirans dico: O magne vir, &c. Epist. Var. Lib. 20. [j] _Like those blest Youths_, See the Legend of the Seven Sleepers. GIBBON, c. 33. [k] _Catch the blest accents of the wise and great_. Mr. Pope delights in enumerating his illustrious guests. Nor is this an exclusive privilege of the poet. The Medici Palace at Florence exhibits a long and imposing catalogue. “Semper hi parietes columnæque eruditis vocibus resonuerunt.” Another is also preserved at Chanteloup, the seat of the Duke of Choiseul. [l] _Sheds, like an evening-star, its ray serene_, At a Roman supper statues were sometimes employed to hold the lamps. —Aurea sunt juvenum simulacra per ædeis, Lampadas igniferas manibus retinentia dextris. LUCR. ii. 24. A fashion as old as Homer! Odyss. vii. 100. On the proper degree and distribution of light we may consult a great master of effect. Il lume grande, ed alto, e non troppo potente, sarà quello, che renderà le particole de’ corpi molto grate. Tratt. della Pittura di LIONARDO DA VINCI, c. xli. Hence every artist requires a broad and high light. Hence also, in a banquet-scene, the most picturesque of all poets has thrown his light from the ceiling. Æn. i. 726. And hence the “starry lamps” of Milton, that ….from the arched roof Pendent by subtle magic,…. ……yielded light As from a sky. Paradise Lost, i. 726. [m] _Beyond the triumphs of a Loriot’s art_.