THE VITAL FORCE,
OR
THE RHODIAN GENIUS.
The Syracusans, like the Athenians, had their Pœcile, in
which representations of gods and heroes, the works of Grecian
and Italian art, adorned the halls, glowing with varied
colours. The people resorted thither continually; the young
warriors to contemplate the exploits of their ancestors, the
artists to study the works of the great masters. Among the
numerous paintings which the active zeal of the Syracusans
had collected from the mother country, there was one which,
for a century past, had particularly attracted the attention
of spectators. Sometimes the Olympian Jove, Cecrops the
founder of cities, and the heroic courage of Harmodius and
Aristogiton, would want admirers, while men pressed in
crowded ranks around the picture of which we speak.
Whence this preference? Was it a rescued work of
Apelles, or of the school of Callimachus? No; it possessed
indeed grace and beauty; but yet neither in the
blending of the colours, nor in the character and style of the
entire picture, could it be compared with many other paintings
in the Pœcile.
The multitude (comprehending therein many classes of
