Combe, Taylor [Hrsg.]: A description of the collection of ancient Marbles in the British Museum: with engravings (Band 7) (London, 1835)

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shapeless ruins." Under these circumstances, too much
praise can scarcely be bestowed upon the Earl of Elgin,
for the spirit of perseverance and liberality with which
he prosecuted his researches. It has been truly observed
that " As long as the arts are dear to the civilized
world, and as long as the splendid policy of Pericles
and the responsive excellence of Phidias shall continue
to be respected by statesmen and artists, his name will
be mingled with those noble recollections. "#

This nobleman was appointed ambassador to the
Ottoman Porte in 1799, and at the instigation of
Mr. Harrison, the architect, he resolved to make his
mission eminently beneficial to the arts, by procuring
accurate drawings and casts of the most remarkable
and beautiful specimens of architecture and sculpture
which still existed in Greece, and more especially in
Athens. Having in vain endeavoured to induce the
Government to undertake the project, or to encou-
rage it either by money or influence, he nobly
resolved to accomplish his purpose by such means as
were at his own disposal, and accordingly engaged the
services of Lusieri, a painter of considerable repu-
tation at Naples, together with two architects, two

* Quarterly Review, Vol. xiv. p. 514.