ment. Yet we would not be supposed to deny that vestiges of the ancient city of Edom may be found in these extensive ruins. It is precisely with this object that we wish them to undergo a more searching and accurate investigation by some person versed in the history of architecture. Some of the buildings, some of the rock-hewn tombs, even though fronted by a later style of building, may retain traces of earlier use or habitation. Dr. Robinson has not read the history of this remarkable region with the negligence or blind prepossession with which it has been clouded over by others. He is perfectly aware that, after their subjugation by the eastern conquerors-the date of the fulfilment of the prophecies-the Edomites either spread, or, as we think more probably, were pushed on, by the invasion of stronger and more prosperous tribes, upon the south of Judæa. Here we find them in possession of the country during all the later period of Jewish history. Petra, in the mean time, rose again to splendour and wealth under the Nabatean Arabs: for, notwithstanding the loose expression of Strabo, who asserts them to be Idumeans, perhaps as inhabiting the ancient Idumea, there can be no doubt that they are the Nebaioth of Scripture.

Now, according to the unerring authority of the sacred writings, the Nebaioth were of the race of Ishmael, and the whole of this is confirmed by a clear and distinct passage of Josephus, on a point of this kind, next to the sacred writings, unquestionably the safest guide. It was under this Arabian dynasty that this city became the capital of Arabia Petræa. It was flourishing at the time of our Saviour and his apostles: the kings of this race are several times mentioned in the New Testament; and, it is possible (we are pleased to indulge in such conjectures, giving them but as conjectures) that the three years passed by St. Paul, after his conversion in Arabia (Gal. i. 17) were spent in asserting the doctrines of Christ in the face of some of these splendid temples, as afterwards before the Parthenon at Athens, and the Fane of the Capitoline Jove in Rome. During all this period Petra was one of the great emporia of the eastern trade; a large portion of that wealthy traffic passed through its gates, and enriched its citizens. The caravans brought the merchandise of the East from Arabia, and from the ports of the Red Sea to Petra, and so to Rhinocolura, Joppa, or other harbours on the Mediterranean. This formed a line of commerce which rivalled that by Berenice and the Nile. Petra was not incorporated in the Roman empire till the reign of Trajan; and no doubt many of the buildings are of the later period, that age of lavish architectural expenditure, the reigns of Hadrian, the Antonines, and their immediate suc

cessors.

This point we conceive to be in many respects of great interestthe vast cost of public buildings, particularly of religious edifices, during this period of the Roman empire. In Egypt, not only in honour of the deified minion of Hadrian, but of the age of the Antonines, there are some temples, and still more additions to buildings of the older ages of the Ptolemies and the Pharaohs. In Asia Minor the sumptuous temples of Labranda, Mylassa, and a temple at Ephesus (see Choisseul Gouffier, Antiq. Ioniennes) are of this date. In Syria, we have, first, the vast and gorgeous structures of Baalbec, one of which we learn from Malala,* as well as from the building itself, was raised by Antoninus Pius: we have all Palmyra, where we can scarcely hope to find remains of Tadmor, or of the enchanted walls' of Solomon, but of which the stately ruins must be confined within the date of Hadrian, and their destroyer Aurelian: we have the cities of the Decapolis, Gerasa, Gadara, or Gamala (Om-keis), Philadelphia, all described by Burckhardt and others. We mention these as occurring to our immediate recollection. They all appear to have been built in one style-a very rich but not very pure Corinthian order-but with a size and massiveness which show a lavish profusion of wealth and that imposing magnificence which might become the homage of the mistress of the world to her deities. But some of these superb edifices were raised no doubt, as on old hallowed sites, so on ancient substructures Baalbec, for instance, or Heliopolis, was the seat of the old Syrian worship,† and unquestionably some of the enormous stones which form the base of the Temple there are of an earlier and ruder period. So no doubt in Petra; and the similitude of any of the forms, modes, or materials of the building, with any vestiges which have been or may be discovered of ancient Jewish edifices, distinguished by a man of intimate and scientific acquaintance with the history of architecture, might throw much light on the progress of the arts, and the growth of civilization.

This outburst of profuse expenditure on the temples, in the East especially, during the reigns of the Antonines and their successors, is itself an historical fact not unworthy of attention. It might seem to show that paganism, at this time of its approaching strife with Christianity, had by no means lost so much of its hold on the mind of man as has sometimes been supposed. It displays certainly more zeal than might be expected from decent reverence for the religion of the em

*P. 280, edit. Niebuhr.

Malala states that the Temple of Antoninus was raised to Jupiter: it may have been to Baal (the principal Syrian deity), properly the Sun, but who might be translated by an inaccurate writer into the supreme deity of the Olympian mythology.

pire, or mere political respect for the established deities. It is singular that just as they were about to be dethroned, or compelled to abdicate their sovereignty, the gods of heathenism should be honoured with more costly and magnificent palaces than they were accustomed to inhabit. No doubt the general peace and wealth during the commencement of this period, the reigns of Hadrian and the Antonines, and the vast expenditure on public works of all kinds throughout the empire, with Hadrian's peculiar passion for building, must be taken into the account. The temples might be expected to receive their share of the public wealth, with the roads, bridges, aqueducts, forums, and basilicas,—and where the government and the people took pride in this kind of splendour, the temples, where necessary, might be rebuilt on a lofty and spacious scale. But in some of the cities, those for instance in the Decapolis, the temples appear out of proportion in magnitude and costliness to the importance of the towns; and religious zeal, for some motive or other, rather than the necessity of maintaining the public worship of the empire in its various local or national forms, must have demanded the devotion of so much public or provincial wealth to the erection and embellishment of the temples. Are we to attribute it in part to that dominant and almost exclusive worship of the Sun which prevailed in this part of the east, and which gave two emperors, the infamous Elagabalus and the virtuous Alexander Severus, to the throne of the world? Some of these buildings at least, and others of which we have records in history, were contemporaneous, and not improbably were connected with this new, and, to a certain extent, vigorous form of paganism. We content ourselves with thus directing attention to this curious subject. We should gladly hereafter be tempted to resume it by an architectural tour, which, on the concurrent testimony of the style and manner of building, and perhaps of inscriptions, may establish the dates or periods of the various noble remains of pagan temples throughout the east. In the mean time, (without, we may add, having noticed the third volume, which is full of valuable matter,) we conclude our observations on a work, which, considering the beaten ground which the travellers have trod, by the industry, good sense, and erudition displayed throughout its pages, does great credit, and, we trust, is of happy omen, to the rising literature of America.

ART.

ART. VI.-1. Traité des Droits d'Auteurs dans la Littérature, les Sciences, et les Beaux-Arts. Par Augustin-Charles Renouard, Conseiller à la Cour de Cassation. Paris. 2 tomes Svo. 1839.

2. Three Speeches delivered in the House of Commons in favour of a Measure for an Extension of Copyright. By T. N. Talfourd, Sergeant-at-Law. To which are added, the Petitions in favour of the Bill, and Remarks on the present State of the Copyright Question. London. 12mo. 1840.

3. An Historical Sketch of the Law of Copyright. By J. Lowndes, Esq. London. 8vo. 1840.

4. A Plea for Authors. By an American.

New York. 1838.

5. Brief Objections to Sergeant Talfourd's New Bill, &c. By W. and R. Chambers. Edinburgh.

6. Observations on the Law of Copyright, in reference to the Bill of Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, in which it is attempted to be proved that the Provisions of the Bill are opposed to the Principles of English Law; that Authors require no additional Protection; and that such a Bill would inflict a heavy blow on Literature, and prove a great Discouragement to its Diffusion in this Country. London. 1838.

7. Objections to and Remarks upon Mr. Sergeant Talfourd's

Scheme. Feb. 1841.

8. Speech of the Right Hon. T. B. Macaulay on Mr. Talfourd's Bill. Mirror of Parliament, Feb. 5, 1841.

E do not propose to argue over again the question, whether or not, on the broad principles of natural equity, an author ought to enjoy the same species and degree of interest in the fruit of his intellectual labour that attaches, by the consent of civilized nations, to almost every other distinguishable and divisible product of industry. After memorable arguments, in which some of the very highest of our legal authorities maintained opposite sides, the law of England was finally declared by the House of Lords, in 1774, to be against the claim of a perpetual right; and it is a grave fact, to be well weighed by every candid inquirer, that the ultimate legislation of Great Britain on this subject has had a decisive influence in every other country where science and literature are cherished, and great faculties are habitually engaged on the philosophy of jurisprudence. When the celebrated decision of 1774 was pronounced, the law of two considerable states in Europe acknowledged the principle of perpetuity in literary property. In both it has since been abandoned. Down to the same period, in every other country on the continent the protection of the author was directly or virtually in

sured

sured by specific grant, privilege, or patent. Now, with a few insignificant exceptions, this ancient system has been abolished. Hardly a trace of it can at this day be discovered in the practice of any country where any living literature exists. The English rule of legislative, not privilegial protection, and that for some limited term only, has been everywhere adopted. When all over the enlightened world a legal principle, first distinctly declared and enforced in England, has thus deliberately been substituted for whatever had previously obtained, it becomes us to be slow and cautious about re-agitating the foundations on which it rests. Little immediate good, at all events, can be expected from disturbing them. On the other hand, it seems to be a point of fact not less deserving consideration, that, though the principle has found acceptance everywhere, the various legislatures of civilized Christendom, successively undertaking the revision of their codes, have each and all rejected the English example as to its application in practice.

Our rules, indeed, have been considerably modified since the principle was first established. They are now more favourable to the author than they originally were. But still they are far less favourable to the author than those of any other great state in Europe, with one exception.

Under the statute of Queen Anne, as interpreted in 1774, the protection of the author's interest extended over fourteen years from the publication of his work; and in case he were alive at the end of that term, over fourteen years more, By the law as it stands since 1814, the protection is absolute for twenty-eight years; and if the author survives that period, the right revives in himself, and is secured to him during the rest of his natural life.

In the United States of America the regulation takes this form: the author is protected during twenty-eight years; and should either he or his widow or an heir of his body be then alive, the security is renewed in his or their favour for fourteen years more. Considering how rarely a man survives by more than twenty-eight years the appearance of any intellectual work of much consequence-and how very rarely, indeed, his life-interest in any such property after the expiring of such a period can be worth fourteen years' purchase-we think there can be little doubt that this American variation is in favour of the author's estate.

Holland, previously to the French Revolution, acknowledged the author's right as a perpetual one, capable of transmission to heirs or assignees for ever. By the existing law of Holland (and also of Belgium) the author is protected during his lifetime, and the security is extended to his heirs and representatives during twenty years after his death.

The