The Romans were not originally an art-loving people, and never did any thing valuable of that kind for themselves. From the time of their foundation down to B.C. 167, they were entirely dependent upon the inhabitants of Etruria, and upon the Greeks from that time till their dominion was past. They began by conquest, and employed such talents as they could best subdue. The architecture which the Etruscans are supposed to have brought with them from Asia Minor, derived thither from Assyria, was employed as the most powerful principle of support, and the most facile means of extension. By means of this, the whole city was undermined by drains, inclosed with cuneiform stones, and immense fabrics rose on the seven hills. Vastness of size, and the absence of elegance, characterized their monuments from the first. A debased type of Doric was their favorite style in the early period, as in the great temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which was adorned with figures prepared by the Tuscans in baked clay, or terra-cotta, and, when finished, sent to Rome. The use of the arch no doubt introduced a new and valuable principle of construction, and of great utility when consistently employed. But, unfortunately, the Greek outlines were still adhered to mainly, and imposture from the very outset ever characterized monumental art in the hands of the Roman race. False entablatures were fabricated; the arch, as a constructive element, was concealed; and as the real formation of the building could not be shown, sham features and fanciful ornaments were multiplied for the vile ends of disguise. During the great age of Grecian art, not a single specimen of concave roofing, scarcely a sloping jamb, was produced; if any approach to either was found, it was never in the pure Doric, but only in the semi-Pelasgic Ionic order. It shows how much more Rome was Etruscan than Greece Pelasgic, that it was left to that inartistic people to create domical buildings, and to carry them to the degree of perfection they did in their circular peristylar temples, and more especially in the Pantheon. That edifice, the great masterpiece and symbol of its age, and which has never been excelled, is at the same time the most striking exemplification of the vicious innovation made by combining rectilinear and circular forms. The Greeks never built round temples. The choragic monument of Lysicrates, and tower of the Winds, were mere playthings, produced at the latest period of architectural excellence; but even these were fine specimens of original invention and truthful execution. It was not at Athens, but at Rome, that architects endeavored to enhance their reputation, by secreting the real features of their work.