VIII. THE DUCAL PALACE 365

Raphael, just touching the hem of his garment. We have next to examine the course of divinity and of natural history embodied by the old sculptor in the great series of capitals which support the lower arcade of the palace; and which, being at a height of little more than eight feet above the eye, might be read, like the pages of a book, by those (the noblest men in Venice) who habitually walked beneath the shadow of this great arcade at the time of their first meeting each other for morning converse.¹

§ 44. The principal sculptures of the capitals consist of personifications of the Virtues and Vices, the favourite subjects of decorative art, at this period, in all the cities of Italy; and there is so much that is significant in the various modes of their distinction and general representation, more especially with reference to their occurrence as expressions of praise to the dead in sepulchral architecture, hereafter to be examined, that I believe the reader may both happily and profitably rest for a little while beneath the first vault of the arcade, to review the manner in which these symbols of the virtues were first invented by the Christian imagination, and the evidence they generally furnish of the state of religious feeling in those by whom they were recognised.

§ 45. In the early ages of Christianity, there was little care taken to analyze character. One momentous question was heard over the whole world,-Dost thou believe in the Lord with all thine heart?² There was but one division among men,-the great unatoneable division between the disciple and adversary. The love of Christ was all, and in all;³ and in proportion to the nearness of their memory of His person and teaching, men understood the infinity of the requirements of the moral law, and the manner in which it alone could be fulfilled. The early Christians felt that virtue, like sin, was a subtle universal thing, entering into every act and thought, appearing outwardly in ten

¹ [The “Travellers’ Edition” omits §§ 44-64 inclusive.]

² [See Acts viii. 37.]

³ [Colossians iii. 11.]

[Version 0.04: March 2008]