n his own
way, while he does not annoy others. I would not deprive you of your
enjoyment of a brilliant symphony, and I hope you would not deprive me
of my enjoyment of a glass of old wine.

_The Rev. Dr. Opimian_:

'Tres mihi convivae prope dissentire videntur,
Poscentes vario multum diversa palate'{1}

1 Three guests dissent most widely in their wishes:
With different taste they call for different dishes.

_Mr. Falconer._ Nor our reverend friend of the pleasure of a classical
quotation.

_The Rev. Dr. Opimian._ And the utility, too, sir: for I think I am
indebted to one for the pleasure of your acquaintance.

_Mr. Falconer._ When you did me the honour to compare my house to the
Palace of Circe. The gain was mine.

_Mr. Pallet._ You admit, sir, that the Greeks had no knowledge of
perspective.

_The Rev. Dr. Opimian._ Observing that they had no need of it. Their
subject was a foreground like a relievo. Their background was a symbol,
not a representation. 'No knowledge* is perhaps too strong. They had
it where it was essential. They drew a peristyle, as it appeared to the
eye, as accurately as we can do. In short, they gave to each distinct
object its own proper perspective, but to separate objects they did not
give their relative perspective, for the reason I have given, that they
did not need it.

_Mr. Falconer._ There is to me one great charm in their painting, as
we may judge from the specimens in Pompeii, which, though not their
greatest works, indicate their school. They never crowded their canvas
with figures. They presented one, two, three, four, or at most five
persons, preferring one and rarely exceeding three. These persons were
never lost in the profusion of scenery, dress, and decoration. They had
clearly-defined outlines, and were agreeable objects from any part of
the room in which they were placed.

_Mr. Pallet._ They must have lost much in beauty of detail.

_The Rev. Dr. Opimian._ Therein is the essential difference of ancient
and modern taste. Simple beauty--of idea in poetry, of sound in music,
of figure in painting--was their great characteristic. Ours is detail in
all these matters, overwhelming detail. We have not grand outlines for
the imagination of the spectator or hearer to fill up: his imagination
has no play of its own: it is overloaded with _minutio_ and
kaleidoscopical colours.

_Lord Curryfin_. Detail has its own beauty. I have admire