the various branches of moral and political science, have had a classical education, but also that this education has exerted a most important influence on their minds. The beneficial effect of classical literature on the character of nations might also be easily shown. Undoubtedly a wrongly directed classical education has, in some instances, produced injurious consequences. So, too, has misdirected religious instruction; but the one is no more an argument against classical literature than the other is against religion.— We shall not, in this place, enter upon a statement of the characteristic differences of ancient and modern literature, as the subject has not been sufficiently discussed by English writers to give that precision to the requisite phraseology which would be necessary to make a condensed view of the subject intelligible. We will only remark, that the religion of the Greeksto use the words of the celebrated Augustus William Schlegel-was the apotheosis of the powers of nature and of terrestrial life. Every thing, therefore, was positive, clear and finished in their religion and religious views. Such is also the predominating character of their literature. Modern literature, on the other hand, is marked with the character of the Christian religion, which directs the mind to the mysterious and the infinite. The Greek philosophy, moreover, sought for happiness in mental tranquillity and the well-balanced and harmonious action of the different faculties. The Christian encourages a struggle between the higher and lower powers of our nature. The influence of the Christian principle on modern writers is not, indeed, universal. Some productions of modern times are characterized by the Grecian element rather than the romantic, or, as it might properly be called, the Teutonico-Christian, for instance, some of the poems of Göthe. This cannot be said of Byron, notwithstanding the anti-Christian character of much which he has written. We will conclude our remarks respecting the difference between ancient and modern writers by another remark of Schlegel. He says that the genius of the ancient poets was of a plastic character; that their creations resembled those of the sculptor. Sculpture directs our attention exclusively to a particular object: it detaches the statue from all surrounding objects, or indicates them, if at all, very slightly. This is the character of the ereations of the ancient dramatists, whilst the genius of the modern drama has much more resemblance to that which fills a picture with a and so valuable an attainment. The rapid growth of their power outstripped the developement of their literature, which attained its meridian soon after the overthrow of liberty and the establishment of despotism. Hence it speedily degenerated, and the time soon arrived when Roman literature consisted, in a great measure, of descriptions of the universal corruption and misery of the people, characterized either by a morose bitterness or by the complacency of deep-seated immorality. The style of the ancient writers is very characteristic, and forms a striking distinction between them and the moderns. Their language is generally simple, natural, pure, and therefore expressive; whilst the modern writers, by reason of their greater erudition, and the refinements of our social life, are constantly tempted to sacrifice energy and conciseness to brilliancy and richness of illustration; so much so, that Rousseau was led into the paradox of declaring himself an enemy to all wit. Besides the style of the ancient writers, so many circumstances contributed to the excellence of their productions; the union of knowledge and ignorance, of rudeness and refinement, was fitted to exercise so beneficial an influence upon them, that the best works of the Greeks and Romans have secured to themselves a permanent place among the means of intellectual cultivation, throughout Europe and the nations of European descent. It has often been said, that the knowledge of the languages and literature of Greece and Rome can be of little value to us, as their condition and character, their principles, political and religious, were so different from ours. But, without mentioning the advantages to be derived from a knowledge of these languages by men devoted to certain particular pursuits, we do not hesitate to affirm, that the highest degree of intellectual accomplishment is not possible without classical attainments. We ought to be thankful that we are permitted to avail ourselves of the literary treasures of these glorious nations, without being obliged to participate in the sufferings and struggles which contributed so essentially to their richness and beauty. The very study of their languages has a most salutary influence on the intellectual developement of, the students of modern times, whose native languages are of a much less philosophical construction. If it were necessary to bring forward examples, it would be easy to show, not only that most of the men of modern times, distinguished in great variety of objects, operating, it is true, to produce a common effect, but haying also much individuality of char acter. The same difference which exists between ancient and modern or classical and romantic literature, prevails, to a great degree, between ancient and modern art. We may remark in general, respecting classical art, by which we mean especially Greek art (the Romans having always remained, in a great measure, imitators of the Greeks), that its productions are complete in themselves, expressing, in their beautiful forms, all which the artist intended to convey, while the genius of modern art is characterized by aiming at something infinite, beyond the power of precise conception and perfect representation. For this reason, the Greeks devoted themselves to sculpture more than to painting, and even gave to their productions in the latter branch of art something of a plastic character, whilst the moderns have directed their attention much more to painting, and have given to sculpture a character different from that which it had among the ancients. The same difference of feeling is apparent in the architecture of the two periods, and the music of modern times owes its excellence to causes similar to those which have carried painting to such perfection. As regards the classical writers of any country, meaning, by this term, the standard writers in the different departments of literature, it would be difficult to give a precise definition of what entitles an author to the epithet classical; yet we find the judgment of nations (allowance being made for the peculiar tastes of each) pretty uniform and pretty correct. Still, however, there are considerable diversities of opinion as to the writers who are to be ranked as classics, in nations among whom the overwhelming authority of some great learned body has not determined who are entitled to this designation. We might instance the Germans, and even the French, as far as respects the writers who have appeared since the publication of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie.-Much information is contained on the French classics in La Harpe's Cours de Littérature Française, and in that of Levizac (Paris, 1807, 4 vols.); also in Bouterwek's extensive Geschichte der Poesie und Beredtsamkeit. For the English classics, Johnson and Warton are to be consulted. Bouterwek's work, also, is full of valuable information on this subject. The Italian classics are to be learned from the works of Tiraboschi, Ginguené, Sismondi and Bouterwek. An account of the best authors of Spanish literature is to be found in Velasquez and Nicolas Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus et Nova, in Sismondi's Litérature du Midi de l'Europe, and in Bouterwek's work, of which the part relating to Spain has been lately translated into Spanish, under the following title: Historia de la Literatura Española, escrita en Aleman por F. Bouterwek, traducida al Castellano y adicionada por D. José Gomez de la Cortina y D. Nicolás Hugalde y Mollinedo (Madrid, 1829, 8vo. vol. i, pp. 276). Half of vol. i. consists of additions by the translators, which, however, do not add much to the value of the work. For Portuguese literature, Bouterwek, Sismondi, and, chiefly, don Barbosa Machado's Bibliotheca Lusitana (Lisbon, 1731, 4 vols. fol.), are to be recommended. The works of Ideler and Nolte, Handbücher, for French, Italian, Spanish and English literature, are highly valuable, containing judicious selections from the best prose writers and poets in these literatures, with short accounts of each author from whom extracts are made. These gentlemen are distinguished literati at Berlin, of whom the former is likewise known as one of the greatest chronologists of the age, and by his Arabian chrestomathy. For German literature, Ersch's Handbuch der Deutschen Literatur (new edition, 1822 et seq., 4 vols.) is to be consulted. For further information respecting the literature of different countries, see the articles on these countries respectively. Augustus William Schlegel's works must be considered as still unrivalled for profound and original criticism on the art and literature of the ancient and modern nations. CLAUDE LORRAINE, So called, was one of the most distinguished landscape painters. His real name was Claude Gellée: he was called Lorraine from the province of this name, where he was born in the castle of Champagne, of poor parents, whom he lost early. His education was much neglected. When 12 years old, he went to live with his brother, an engraver in wood at Friburg. Afterwards, a relation of his took him to Rome, where he was employed by the landscape painter Agostino Tassi, as a color-grinder and a kitchen-boy. Here he received a little instruction in painting, having previously acquired some skill in drawing from his brother. The sight of some paintings of Godfrey Vals enchanted him so much, that, in spite of his poverty, he travelled to Naples to study with the artist. His genius now unfolded itself with such rapidity, that he was soon considered one of the first landscape-painters of his time; particularly after he had studied, in Lombardy, the paintings of Giorgione and Titian, whereby his coloring and chiaro scuro were greatly improved. After making a journey into his native country, he settled, in 1627, in Rome, where his works were greatly sought for, so that he was enabled to live much at his ease, until 1682, when he died of the gout. The principal galleries of Italy, France, England, Spain and Germany are adorned with his productions. His best work, and the one on which he himself set the greatest value, is the painting of a small wood belonging to the villa Madama (in Rome). Clement XI offered to purchase it for as many pieces of gold as would cover its surface; but the artist would not part with it, since he used it as a study. Claude possessed the greatest power of invention, by which he gave an inexhaustible variety to his paintings, united with an ardent and persevering study of nature. The truth with which he portrays the effect of the sun in every part of the day, soft breezes playing through the tops of the trees, and all the delicate beauties of nature, is surprising; and no artist but Caspar Dughet comes near him in this particular. But all his rivals fell far short of equalling the dewy humidity which he threw over dark, shadowy places. His figures are poor, and he used to say "I sell my landscapes, and give my figures into the bargain." In a great part of his paintings, the figures are the work of Lauri and Francesco Allegrini. Claude most frequently chooses agreeable views without fixed limits, in which the eye loses itself. He often introduces grand architectural structures, and makes his landscapes the scenes of mythological and historical events. As other artists frequently gave his name to their own productions, he made drawings of all his paintings, and called the books in which they were contained Libri di verità. Such a collection, containing 200 drawings, belongs to the duke of Devonshire; another, of 130 drawings, to lord Holland. CLAUDIANUS (Claudius), a Latin poet, a native of Alexandria, lived under the emperor Theodosius and his sons, and was an experienced warrior, as well as a writer of merit. His poems gained him such renown, that, at the desire of the senate, the emperors Arcadius and Honorius erected a statue to his honor in the forum of Trajan, with the inscription, that he combined the genius of Virgil and of Homer. Besides several panegyrical poems on Honorius, Stilicho, and others, we possess two of his epic poems, the Rape of Proserpine, and an unfinished Gigantomachia, eclogues, epigrams and occasional poems. He exhibits a brilliant fancy, rich coloring, great variety and precision in his descriptions, but he is often deficient in taste and gracefulness of thought. The best editions of his works are those of Gessner, Leipsic, 1759, and of Burmann, Amsterdam, 1760, 4to. CLAUDIUS (Tiberius) Drusus Cæsar, à Roman emperor, the youngest son of the elder Claudius Drusus Nero and Antonia the younger, the daughter of Augustus's sister, born at Lyons, grew up without any education, for the most part among slaves and women, and was an object of ridicule and scorn at court. He lived as an unimportant private man, and occupied himself with literature. Among other works, he wrote a Roman history, embracing the period from the death of Casar to his own time, in 43 volumes, and also his own life. After the murder of Caligula, the body-guard, who were ransacking the palace, discovered him secreted in a corner, dragged him out, and proclaimed him emperor (41 A. D.). The senate, who had determined on the restoration of the republic, were forced to confirm the appointment. Claudius, suddenly transferred from retirement and oppression to uncontrolled power, distinguished the beginning of his reign by some praiseworthy acts; he recalled the exiles, and restored their estates to them; embellished Rome, and erected several large buildings for the public good. He made Mauritania a Roman province; his armies fought successfully against the Germans, and kept possession of several strong places in Britain. But he soon sunk into debauchery and voluptuousness; and his wives, particularly the infamous Messalina (q. v.), together with his freedmen, administered the government, sold offices and places of honor, and committed the greatest atrocities unpunished. He died of poison administered by his second wife, Agrippina (mother of Nero), at the age of 63, A. D. 54. His deification was the cause of Seneca's pasquinade entitled Apokolokynthosis. CLAUDIUS, Matthias (called Asmus, or the Wandsbeck Messenger), a German poet, whose prose and poetry bear a peculiar stamp of humor, frankness and cordiality, was born, in 1741, at Reinfeld, in Holstein, near Lübeck. In 1775, he made a collection of his compositions which had appeared in the Wandsbeck Messenger, and other periodicals, with the addition of some which had not been printed, and gave the collection the title Asmus omnia sua secum portans, or Complete Works of the Wandsbeck Messenger (complete till 1812, in 8 vols.). He wrote on a great variety of subjects. All his works are of a popular character. They are written in a natural, intelligible, and often humorous style, and support the cause of good morals, benevolence, patriotism and piety, while they attack folly and vice with the weapons of ridicule and scorn. Many of his songs have been set to music by the first composers, and have become a part of the national melodies. In the latter part of his life, he became a convert to religious mysticism, and died at Hamburg, Jan. 21, 1815, after having filled several public offices. CLAUSENBURG, or COLOSVAR; a town in Transylvania, capital of the Land of the Hungarians and of a county of the same name, on the Samos; 145 miles N. N. E. Belgrade, 225 E. S. E. Vienna; lon. 23° 35 E.; lat. 46° 44' N.; population, 18,210; number of houses, 1200. It became the seat of government of Transylvania about 1790. It is situated in a romantic valley, surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, and has a handsome public square, several elegant streets, fine gardens, and public walks. It contains 5 Catholic churches, 2 Calvinist, 1 Lutheran, 1 Unitarian, 2 hospitals, a Catholic college containing, in 1814, 232 students; a Reformed college with 636 students; and a Unitarian college with 206 students. CLAUSEWITZ, Charles von, Prussian major-general, director of the general military school at Berlin, born, June 1, 1780, at Burg, entered the military service in 1792, and took part in the campaigns of 1793 and 1794. He was also active in the war against Napoleon, in the service of Russia and Prussia, and has distinguished himself by his Uebersicht des Feldzugs von 1813 (Survey of the Campaign of 1813). CLAVICHORD. (See Clarichord.) CLAVICIMBALUM; the name originally given to the harpsichord. CLAVI-CYLINDER. (See Chladni.) CLAVIGERO, Francesco Saverio; a Spanish historian, who was a native of Vera Cruz, in Mexico. He was educated as an ecclesiastic, and resided nearly 40 years in the provinces of New Spain, where he acquired the languages of the Mexicans, and other indigenous nations, collected many of their traditions, and studied their historical paintings, and other monuments of antiquity. The first of his researches was a History of Mexico, written in Italian, of which an English translation in 2 vols. 4to. was published in 1787. This is a most comprehensive work, affording a great deal of information relative to the natural and civil history, antiquities and religion of Mexico; but it displays more industry than judgment on the part of the author. CLAVIJO Y FLAXARDO, don Joseph; a Spaniard, who fell a sacrifice to a quarrel with Beaumarchais. He lived in Madrid, where he had the reputation of an intelligent scholar, and had published a journal, El Pensador, and other useful works, when his connexion with the sister of Beaumarchais, whom, he had loved, and then forsaken, gave rise to an affair of honor between him and the brother of the lady, who was formidable for talent rather than courage. This affair nearly occasioned Clavijo the loss of his life, and deprived him of his office and the good opinion of his fellow-citizens. He passed the remainder of his life under a kind of dishonor which the representations of his adversary had brought upon him. For more than 20 years, he superintended the publication of the Mercurio Historico y Politico de Madrid, with which he had been intrusted as early as 1773. He likewise translated Buffon's Natural History into Spanish (Madrid, 1785-90, 12 vols.). He was vice-director of the cabinet of natural history, and director of the Theatre de los Sitios, when he died in 1806. Far from resembling the detestable portrait which Beaumarchais draws of him, Clavijo was of a mild disposition, upright character, and a clear understanding. Göthe founded his tragedy Clavigo on Beaumarchais's story. CLAVIS (Latin for key) is often used for a drawing, an index, &c., which serves as a guide to the understanding of another work; for instance, clavis Ciceronia, clavis Homerica, &c. CLAY is a mixture of decomposed minerals, and hence it is by no means uniform in its composition. Several varieties soften in water, and allow themselves to be kneaded and formed into moulds-a property by which they are fitted for the use so commonly made of them. Some are easily fusible, others refractory; some acquire particular tints, others lose their color and become white when exposed to a strong heat; upon all of which properties their applicability depends. They occur in beds near the surface of the earth, or, covered by the soil, in the formations of brown and black coal. In the latter situation, they often contain remains of vegetables, and are called slate clay, which is intimately related to bituminous shale and alum-earth. Alumine is the basis of all clays, and imparts to them their predominating characters. It is mixed with very variable proportions of silex, magnesia, lime, and oxide of iron. The varieties of clay are of various important applications in pottery, in manufacturing stone-ware and porcelain, in constructing furnaces for metallurgic operations, &c.-Some of the principal varieties are indurated clay, or clay stone, which is clay in its highest state of induration. It is soft, but not easily diffused in water, and does not form with it a ductile paste.-Porcelain clay, so named from the use to which it is applied, is white, with occasional shades of yellow and gray. It is dull and opaque; feels soft; in water, it falls to powder, and, when kneaded, it forms a ductile paste. It is, in general, infusible by any heat that can be raised. It consists essentially of silex and alumine; that of Cornwall contains 60 parts of alumine with 20 of silex.-Potter's clay and pipe clay are similar, but less pure, generally of a yellowish or grayish color, from the presence of iron.-Loam is the same substance mixed with sand, oxide of iron, and various other foreign ingredients. The boles, which are of a red or yellow color, are of a similar composition, and appear to owe their colors to oxide of iron. They are distinguished by their conchoidal fracture.-The ochres are similar to the boles, containing only more oxide of iron.-Fuller's earth has an earthy fracture, sometimes slaty, is dull and opaque. In water, it falls to powder, without forming a ductile paste. It is used to remove grease from cloth.-Tripoli is found loose or indurated; its fracture is earthy; it feels harsh and dry; does not adhere to the tongue. It is used for polishing the metals and glass.The clays are too generally distributed to require the enumeration of their localities. CLEMENCE ISAURE, daughter of Ludovico Isaure, born in 1464, near Toulouse, lost her brave father when she was only five years old. She was educated in solitude, and grew up, endowed by nature with beauty and talents. Near to her garden dwelt a young troubadour, named Raoul, who became enamored of her, and communicated his passion in songs, in which her name and his were united. The maiden replied, not with words, but with flowers, agreeably to the petition of her lover Vous avez inspire mes vers, Qu'une fleur soit ma récompenseand Raoul could well interpret their meaning. He was the natural son of count Raymond of Toulouse, and followed his father to the war against the emperor Maximilian. In the battle of Guigenaste, both were slain, and Isaure resolved to take the veil. Before doing so, however, she renewed the poetic festival which had been established by the gay company of the seven troubadours, but had been, for a long time, forgotten, gave it the name of Jeux floraux (q. v.), and assigned, as prizes for the victors in the poetical contests, the five different flowers which had served her as means for replying to her lover's passion. These flowers were wrought in gold and silver. Clemence Isaure appropriated all her fortune to the support of this institution. She was versed herself in the gaye science, and, having fixed upon the 1st of May as the day for the distribution of the prizes, she composed an ode on spring, which acquired for her the surname of the Sappho of Toulouse. CLEMENT, Titus Flavius (probably a native of Athens, but, on account of the place of his residence, commonly called the Alexandrian), was one of the most famous teachers of the Christian church, in the 2d and at the beginning of the 3d century. He had been a heathen philosopher, was converted to Christianity, and, after travelling a long time, in Greece, Italy and the East, became presbyter of the church of Alexandria, and teacher (catechetes) of the school in that city, in which place he succeeded Pantænus, his teacher, and was succeeded by Origen, his pupil. These three instructers increased the fame of the Alexandrian school in the 2d and 3d century. Clement was a fertile writer. The most important among those of his productions which have been handed down to us, are inscribed Προτρεπτικός, Παιδαγωγός, and Στρωματ is, or Ero@para. The first is an exhortation to the heathens to embrace Christianity, the second an exposition of Christian morals, and the third, which exhibits the most varied erudition, has the title Carpets, on account of the variety of subjects, moral, metaphysical, theological, historical, which are here interwoven. It has been justly remarked that these works are an imitation of the degrees of the Greek mysteries. The first was the 'Amoxálαpois, the purification from the former life; the second, the Menois, the consecration; the |
