ent of any that has been advanced, and certainly, when we consider
the three statues in this connection, there is nothing inharmonious in
the supposition that they made the important parts of a whole which may
have had many other figures of lesser importance in it.

There are many other statues of the Roman period in various museums, but
I shall leave this part of our subject here, and speak briefly of the
historical sculpture in the reliefs upon the triumphal arches of the
Eternal City. In an age when martial glory was the chief desire of man,
and among a people who accorded to successful generals the highest
honors, it was most natural that the conquerors should desire to place
some monument of their exploits where it would be constantly before the
eyes of the people, and thus keep in perpetual remembrance their valiant
deeds and their great successes.

[Illustration: FIG. 66.--TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION FROM ARCH OF TITUS.]

We read that pictures of the foreign scenes of sieges and battles were
displayed in public places in Rome at a very early date. We cannot find
records of plastic works of this sort before the time of the emperors,
but after such sculptures came into favor they were multiplied rapidly.
The principal historical reliefs in Rome were upon the arches of
Claudius, Titus, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, and Septimius Severus, and on
the architrave of the temple of Minerva in the Forum.

Of the arch of Claudius there are some remaining fragments of sculpture,
now in the Villa Borghese. The arch of Titus was erected to celebrate
the taking of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. It was restored in 1822. The frieze
represents both a triumphal procession and one of sacrifice. The picture
we give here shows a company of warriors in the dress of peace, who bear
articles of booty taken from the conquered city. They have the
candelabra with seven branches, the table of the shew-bread, the silver
trumpets, etc. This will give you a good idea of these reliefs. (Fig.
66.)

The arch of Trajan no longer stands, and its reliefs are now on the arch
of Constantine; but Trajan's Pillar is one of the best preserved of all
the antique monuments of Rome, and with some account of this column and
a picture from it we will leave the historical sculptures of Rome. The
Senate and people of Rome decreed that this column should be erected to
the memory of Trajan, and it was in the centre of the Forum which bore
the same name--the Forum Trajani. The colu