DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3483#0031
26 INTRODUCTION.
The gems of several eminent characters have been recorded,
Mr. Hayley has on this subject observed, that" the seal rings
of antiquity form an extensive subject for curious and amusing
research," and he has described, in harmonious verse, the subject
which Ulysses chose for his seal; an affectionate memorial of the
paternal passion.
" The heroes of old time were proud to wear
The seal engraven with ingenious care ;
And wise ulysses, if tradition's true,
No trifling pleasure from his signet drew.
A dolphin's form the sculptured stone exprest,
Of gracious Providence a graceful test;
Sav'd from the deep, these wat'ry guardians bore
His filial pride, telemachus, ashore;
And the fond sire display'd, with grateful joy,
The just memorial of his rescued boy."
Julius Caesar had for his seal, a Venus armed with a dart, of which
we have numerous copies; this was to flatter his pride of ancestry,
pretending that he descended from Venus and iEneas. Augustus,
when he assumed the empire, had a sphynx, which, at length, he
abandoned to elude the pleasantries of the wits; this sphynx (they
said) portends riddles. Afterwards he adopted the head of Alex-
ander, and at length his own portrait, engraved by Dioscorides.
Pompey's seal was a lion holding a sword: when, after his assas-
sination, it was presented to Caesar, the feeling or the crafty rival
burst into tears. The seal of Mecaenas was a frog; an animal
which he made highly dreadful to the people; for as it was usu-
ally annexed to his tax bills, the hoarse voice of the frog they de-
clared truly to be very unmusical. It was said that this amphi-
bious animal was symbolical of the power Mecaenas was invested
The gems of several eminent characters have been recorded,
Mr. Hayley has on this subject observed, that" the seal rings
of antiquity form an extensive subject for curious and amusing
research," and he has described, in harmonious verse, the subject
which Ulysses chose for his seal; an affectionate memorial of the
paternal passion.
" The heroes of old time were proud to wear
The seal engraven with ingenious care ;
And wise ulysses, if tradition's true,
No trifling pleasure from his signet drew.
A dolphin's form the sculptured stone exprest,
Of gracious Providence a graceful test;
Sav'd from the deep, these wat'ry guardians bore
His filial pride, telemachus, ashore;
And the fond sire display'd, with grateful joy,
The just memorial of his rescued boy."
Julius Caesar had for his seal, a Venus armed with a dart, of which
we have numerous copies; this was to flatter his pride of ancestry,
pretending that he descended from Venus and iEneas. Augustus,
when he assumed the empire, had a sphynx, which, at length, he
abandoned to elude the pleasantries of the wits; this sphynx (they
said) portends riddles. Afterwards he adopted the head of Alex-
ander, and at length his own portrait, engraved by Dioscorides.
Pompey's seal was a lion holding a sword: when, after his assas-
sination, it was presented to Caesar, the feeling or the crafty rival
burst into tears. The seal of Mecaenas was a frog; an animal
which he made highly dreadful to the people; for as it was usu-
ally annexed to his tax bills, the hoarse voice of the frog they de-
clared truly to be very unmusical. It was said that this amphi-
bious animal was symbolical of the power Mecaenas was invested