5 ms·
The Grandest Art of the Ancients
- Jun8 11y agoBrings to mind the following Ode from Horace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace): Exegi monumentum aere perennnius regalique situ pyramidum altius, quod non imber edax, non Aquilo impotens possit diruere aut innumerabilis annorum series et fuga temporum. ... (I have finished a monument more lasting than bronze and higher than the royal structure of the pyramids, which neither the destructive rain, nor wild Aquilo is able to destroy, nor the countless series of years and flight of ages.) ... Full of himself, yes, but a good summary up the durability of a beautiful thing ("A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:/ Its loveliness increases;/ it will never Pass into nothingness;" from Keats' Endymion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endymion_(poem) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endymion_(poem)). Horace was talking about poetry, of course, but I think same applies to these statues.
- pazimzadeh 11y agoReminds me of the last lines of the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) from Ferdowsi: I've reached the end of this great history And all the land will talk of me: I shall not die, these seeds I've sown will save My name and reputation from the grave, And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim When I have gone, my praises and my fame http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9197000/9197062.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9197000/9197062....
- cafard 11y agoThank you for the heads-up. I will definitely aim to see this at the National Gallery.