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THE ABTS IN CONNEXION WITH THE STATE.and perfectedtill the Macedonian age, tlie subject does notfall within the sphere of our observations.With our notions we should think the connexion of thearts with politicsmuch less than of the theatre ;and yetitwas among the Greeks even closer and more various. Theencouragement of the arts is in our times left chiefly to private taste ;and is greater or smaller according to the number of amateurs. The state takes an interest in them onlyto prevent their totaldecay, or for the sake of some particular design.The case was entirely different in the period when theyflourished among the Greeks. The arts with them were exclusively public, and not at all an affair of individuals.Theyafterwards became so, yet never in the same degree as withus ;nor even as with the Romans. These positions requireto be further developed and more accurately proved.By the arts we mean the three great branches of them,architecture, sculpture, and painting. On each of these wehave some remarks to offer.Architecture is distinguished from the two others by thecircumstance, that its object is use no less than beauty. Notonly the moderns, but the Romans of the later ages, endeavoured to unite them both; and in this manner privatebuildings became objects of art.Among the Greeks, a tendency to this seems to have existed in the heroic age. In aformer chapter, we remarked that in the dwellings and hallsof the kings, there prevailed a certain grandeur and splendour, which, however, we shall hardly be willing tonate desigby the name of scientific architecture. When themonarchical forms disappeared, and living in cities, and withit republican equality, gained ground, those differences inthe dwellings disappeared of themselves ;and every thingwhich we read respecting private houses in every subsequentage, confirms us in the idea, that they could make no pretensions to elegance of construction. 1It would be difficult toproduce a single example of such a building. But we findexpress evidence to the contrary. Athens was by no meansa fine citylike some of our modern ones, in which there are1 It follows of course, that the testimony of writers of the Macedoiiia% orthe Roman age, are not here taken into consideration, since we are not treating of those times.Q2