act (Hogarth), 253
Muscipula (Reynolds), 256
Portrait of Turner, 272
Nantes (Turner), 276
Illustration from Rogers's Poems, 285
The Slave Ship (Turner), 289
The Eagle and Dead Stag (Landseer), 297

PAINTING.

CHAPTER I.

ANCIENT PAINTING, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE CHRISTIAN ERA.

In speaking of art we often contrast the useful or mechanical arts with
the Fine Arts; by these terms we denote the difference between the arts
which are used in making such things as are necessary and useful in
civilized life, and the arts by which ornamental and beautiful things are
made.

The fine arts are Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Poetry, and Music,
and though we could live if none of these existed, yet life would be far
from the pleasant experience that it is often made to be through the
enjoyment of these arts.

In speaking of Painting, just here I wish to include the more general idea
of pictures of various sorts, and it seems to me that while picture-making
belongs to the fine or beautiful arts, it is now made a very useful art in
many ways. For example, when a school-book is illustrated, how much more
easily we understand the subject we are studying through the help we get
from pictures of objects or places that we have not seen, and yet wish to
know about. Pictures of natural scenery bring all countries before our
eyes in such a way that by looking at them, while reading books of travel,
we may know a great deal more about lands we have never seen, and may
never be able to visit.

Who does not love pictures? and what a pleasure it is to open a magazine
or book filled with fine illustrations. St. Augustine, who wrote in the
fourth century after Christ, said that "pictures are the books of the
simple or unlearned;" this is just as true now as then, and we should
regard pictures as one of the most agreeable means of education. Thus one
of the uses of pictures is that they give us a clear idea of what we have
not seen; a second use is that they excite our imaginations, and often
help us to forget disagreeable circumstances and unpleasant surroundings.
The cultivation of the imagination is very important, because in this way
we can add much to our individual happiness. Through this power, if we are
in a dark, narrow street, in a house which is not to our liking, or in the
midst of