Excerpt from The Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon: Forming a Glossary of All the Words Representing Visible Objects Connected With the Arts, Manufactures, and Every-Day Life of the Greeks and Romans; With Representations of Nearly Two Thousand Objects From the Antique A very considerable portion of the materials comprised in the present volume, were collected, for my own instruction and amusement, during a protracted residence of seven years in the central and southern parts of Italy. To a person who arrives there fresh from the ordinary studies of a public school and college, with the advantage of possessing a competent skill in the practice of drawing, the collections of antiquities naturally become a paramount source of attraction, and suggest various matters for reflection, independent of the influence they possess as beautiful productions of art. He will perceive many particulars which escape the general observer, but tending to elucidate numerous subjects connected with his previous studies, and explaining to him what had hitherto been involved in complete mystery, or only seen at a distance through the dim, and often fallacious, haze of a fanciful imagination. Observing, for instance, the costume represented in painting and sculpture, and entering upon an examination of its details, he detects a great number of different articles, clearly distinct in form, character, and method of arrangement, some of which readily explain themselves, and suggest at once their classic names, previously, however, only known by rote. Others again present themselves which he feels a difficulty in accounting for, - how they were called, what was their special use, what constituted the precise points of difference between them and others of nearly similar appearance, and what were the distinctive classic terms by which each was discriminated. It must be apparent, as these differences exist in the objects themselves, that they would be distinguished in the language of the people who used them; or, if the verbal differences were already known, it would be natural to expect that an exemplification, in proof of the fact, would be found amongst the artistic representations of them. When these are discovered, a sudden light would flash upon the mind, dispelling doubts, creating conviction, and enabling the observer to say with self-satisfaction, - this was called by such a name, that was employed in such a manner, now I see the meaning of such a passage, allusion, or expression. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.