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POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE GBEEKS. 133The wants of states are partly established by their nature ;but still more by opinion. That is a real want, which isbelieved to be such. The explanation of the management3f the affairs of any nation would necessarily be very imperfect, if we should pay no regard to the ideas which itentertained respectingits necessities. On this point theGreeks had very different notions from ours.Many thingsseemed essential to them, which do not appear so to us ;many things are needed by us, of which they did not feelthe necessity.The first object with the Greek was the honour andsplendour of his city. In that world of small republics, eachwished to make itself remarkable ;each to be distinguishedfor something. Now there were two things which, in theeyes of the Greeks, rendered a cityillustrious ; its publicmonuments and its festivals. These objects were thereforepolitically necessary, in a different sense from that in whichthey can be called so in modern states. Among these thefirst place belongs to the temples.No Grecian city waswithout gods, of whom it honoured some as its guardian,deities. How could these gods be left without dwellingplaces? The art of sculpture was very naturally exerted in.connexion with that of architecture ;for the statues of thegods did not merely adorn the temples, but were indispensably necessary as objects of adoration. The same may besaid of the festivals. Life without holidays would haveceased to be life to a Greek. But these holidays were notpassed exclusively in prayers, or at banquets. Processions,music, and public shows, were an essential partof them.These were not merely the diversions of the people duringthe festival, they constituted the festival itself.All this was intimately connected with religion.TheGreeks had almost no public festivals except religious ones.They were celebrated in honour of some god, some hero ;above all, in honour of the patron deities of the place.1which we are accustomed toBy this means, many thingsregard as objects of amusement, received a much more elevated character. They became duties enjoined by religion ;which could not be neglected without injuryto the honour1Meursii Graecia Periata, in Gronov. Thes. Ant. Grsec. vol. vii. 5is one ofthe richest compilations on the subject of the Grecian festivals.