1into the Repreſentation of God, ought to be
the nobleſt Material that can be had. Next to
the nobleſt is the rareſt; and yet I would not be
for making them of Salt, as Solinus informs us
the Sicilians uſed to do; nor of Glaſs, like
ſome mentioned by Pliny; neither would I
have them of maſſy Gold or Silver, not that
I diſlike thoſe Materials for being produced of
a barren Soil, or for their ſickly Hue; but for
other Reaſons: Among which one is, that I
think it ſhould be a Point of Religion with us
that thoſe Repreſentations which we ſet up to
be adored as Gods, ſhould bear as much Re
ſemblance to the Divine Nature as poſſible.
For this Reaſon, I would have them made im
mortal in Duration, as far as it is in the Power
of mortal Men to effect it. And here I cannot
help enquiring, what ſhould be the Reaſon of
a very whimſical, though very old Perſuaſion,
which is firmly rooted in the Minds of the Vul
gar, that a Picture of God, or of ſome Saint in
one Place ſhall hear the Prayers of Votaries,
when in another Place the Statue of the very
ſame God or Saint ſhall be utterly deaf to them?
Nay, and what is ſtill more nonſenſical, if you
do but remove the very ſame Statue, for which
the People uſed to have the higheſt Venerati
on, to ſome other Station, they ſeem to look
upon it as a Bankrupt, and will neither truſt it
with their Prayers, nor take the leaſt Notice of
it. Such Statues ſhould therefore have Seats
that are fixed, eminent and peculiar to them
ſelves. It is ſaid, that there never was any
beautiful Piece of Workmanſhip known in the
Memory of Man to be made of Gold, as if that
Prince of Metals diſdained to owe any thing to
the Skill of an Artificer. If this be true, we
ſhould never uſe it in the Statues of our Gods,
which we ſhould deſire to make ſuitable to the
Subject. Beſides that, the Thirſt of the Gold
might tempt ſome not only to rob our Statue
of his Beard, but to melt him quite down. I
ſhould chuſe Braſs, if the lovely Purity of fine
white Marble did not oblige me to give that
the Preference. Yet there is one Conſiderati
on which weighs very much in Favour of Braſs,
and that is its Duration, provided we make our
Statue not ſo maſſy, but that the Odium and
Deteſtation of ſpoiling it may be much greater
than the Profit to be made by melting it down
for other Purpoſes: I would have it indeed no
more than if it were beat out with a Hammer,
or run into a thin Plate, ſo as to ſeem no more
than a Skin. We read of a Statue made of
Ivory, ſo large that it would hardly ſtand under
the Roof of the Temple. But that I diſlike,
for there ought to be a due Proportion obſerv
ed as well in Size, as in Form and Compoſiti
on: Upon which Accounts too the Figures of
the greater Deities, with their gruff Beards, and
ſtern Countenances, do not ſuit well in the
ſame Place with the ſoft Features of Virgins. I
am likewiſe of Opinion, that the having but
few Statues of Gods, may help to increaſe the
People's Veneration and Reverence to them.
Two, or at moſt three, may be placed proper
ly enough upon the Altar. All the reſt may be
diſpoſed in Niches in other convenient Places.
In all ſuch Repreſentations of Gods and Heroes,
the Sculptor ſhould endeavour as much as poſ
ſible, to expreſs both by the Habit and Action
of the Figure, the Character and Life of the
Perſon. Not that I approve of thoſe extrava
gant Attitudes which make a Statue look like
the Hero of a Droll, or a Prize-fighter; but I
would have ſomewhat of a Dignity and Maje
ſty both in the Countenance, and all the reſt
of the Body, that ſhould ſpeak the God, ſo that
he may ſeem both by his Look and Poſture to
be ready to hear and receive his Adorers. Such
ſhould be the Statues in Temples. Let others
be left to Theatres, and other profane Edifices.
59[Figure 59]
the nobleſt Material that can be had. Next to
the nobleſt is the rareſt; and yet I would not be
for making them of Salt, as Solinus informs us
the Sicilians uſed to do; nor of Glaſs, like
ſome mentioned by Pliny; neither would I
have them of maſſy Gold or Silver, not that
I diſlike thoſe Materials for being produced of
a barren Soil, or for their ſickly Hue; but for
other Reaſons: Among which one is, that I
think it ſhould be a Point of Religion with us
that thoſe Repreſentations which we ſet up to
be adored as Gods, ſhould bear as much Re
ſemblance to the Divine Nature as poſſible.
For this Reaſon, I would have them made im
mortal in Duration, as far as it is in the Power
of mortal Men to effect it. And here I cannot
help enquiring, what ſhould be the Reaſon of
a very whimſical, though very old Perſuaſion,
which is firmly rooted in the Minds of the Vul
gar, that a Picture of God, or of ſome Saint in
one Place ſhall hear the Prayers of Votaries,
when in another Place the Statue of the very
ſame God or Saint ſhall be utterly deaf to them?
Nay, and what is ſtill more nonſenſical, if you
do but remove the very ſame Statue, for which
the People uſed to have the higheſt Venerati
on, to ſome other Station, they ſeem to look
upon it as a Bankrupt, and will neither truſt it
with their Prayers, nor take the leaſt Notice of
it. Such Statues ſhould therefore have Seats
that are fixed, eminent and peculiar to them
ſelves. It is ſaid, that there never was any
beautiful Piece of Workmanſhip known in the
Memory of Man to be made of Gold, as if that
Prince of Metals diſdained to owe any thing to
the Skill of an Artificer. If this be true, we
ſhould never uſe it in the Statues of our Gods,
which we ſhould deſire to make ſuitable to the
Subject. Beſides that, the Thirſt of the Gold
might tempt ſome not only to rob our Statue
of his Beard, but to melt him quite down. I
ſhould chuſe Braſs, if the lovely Purity of fine
white Marble did not oblige me to give that
the Preference. Yet there is one Conſiderati
on which weighs very much in Favour of Braſs,
and that is its Duration, provided we make our
Statue not ſo maſſy, but that the Odium and
Deteſtation of ſpoiling it may be much greater
than the Profit to be made by melting it down
for other Purpoſes: I would have it indeed no
more than if it were beat out with a Hammer,
or run into a thin Plate, ſo as to ſeem no more
than a Skin. We read of a Statue made of
Ivory, ſo large that it would hardly ſtand under
the Roof of the Temple. But that I diſlike,
for there ought to be a due Proportion obſerv
ed as well in Size, as in Form and Compoſiti
on: Upon which Accounts too the Figures of
the greater Deities, with their gruff Beards, and
ſtern Countenances, do not ſuit well in the
ſame Place with the ſoft Features of Virgins. I
am likewiſe of Opinion, that the having but
few Statues of Gods, may help to increaſe the
People's Veneration and Reverence to them.
Two, or at moſt three, may be placed proper
ly enough upon the Altar. All the reſt may be
diſpoſed in Niches in other convenient Places.
In all ſuch Repreſentations of Gods and Heroes,
the Sculptor ſhould endeavour as much as poſ
ſible, to expreſs both by the Habit and Action
of the Figure, the Character and Life of the
Perſon. Not that I approve of thoſe extrava
gant Attitudes which make a Statue look like
the Hero of a Droll, or a Prize-fighter; but I
would have ſomewhat of a Dignity and Maje
ſty both in the Countenance, and all the reſt
of the Body, that ſhould ſpeak the God, ſo that
he may ſeem both by his Look and Poſture to
be ready to hear and receive his Adorers. Such
ſhould be the Statues in Temples. Let others
be left to Theatres, and other profane Edifices.
59[Figure 59]