ST.-RÉMY.
The town of St.-Rémy is delightfully situated in a hollow that
resembles the crater of an extinct volcano, and is surrounded by
luxuriant groves of olive. The streets, though generally narrow, are
rendered picturesque by several old houses, the architecture of which
is striking; and the _place_--for even St.-Rémy has its Place Publique
and Hôtel-de-Ville--is not without pretensions to ornament. In the
centre of this _place_ is a pretty fountain, of a pyramidal form.
The antiquities which attracted us to St.-Rémy are at a short distance
from the town, on an eminence to the south of it, and are approached by
a road worthy the objects to which it conducts. They consist of a
triumphal arch, and a mausoleum, about forty-five feet asunder.
Of the triumphal arch, all above the archivault has disappeared,
leaving but the portico, the proportions of which are neither lofty nor
wide. On each side of it are two fluted columns, said to have been of
the Corinthian order, but without capitals, and the intercolumniations,
in each of which are figures of male and female captives.
A tree divides the male from the female; their hands are tied, and
chained to the tree; and a graceful drapery falls from above the heads
down to the consoles on which the figures stand.
On the eastern side of the arch are also figures, representing two
women, by the side of two men. One of the women has her hand on the arm
of a chained warrior, and the other has at her feet military trophies;
among which bucklers, arms, and trumpets, may be seen. The pilasters
that bound the intercolumniations are of the Doric order, and their
capitals support the arch.
The cornice and astragals form a frieze, in which military emblems and
symbols of sacrifice are intermingled. The archivault is ornamented on
each side with sculptured wreaths of ivy, pine cones, branches of
grapes and olives, interlaced with ribands. The ceiling of the portico
is divided into hexagons and squares, enriched by various designs in
the shape of eggs and roses, finely executed.
This interesting monument appears to have been ornamented with equal
care and richness on every side, but its decorations have not enabled
any of the numerous antiquaries who have hitherto examined it to throw
any light on its origin; and the destruction of its architecture must
have caused that of its inscription, if, indeed, it ever bore one.
The mausoleum is even more curious than the arch, as being the only
building of a similar character of architecture to be seen.
Placed on a large square pediment, approached by two steps, the edifice
rises with unequalled lightness and beauty against the blue sky,
forming two stages supported by columns and pilasters, united by a
finely sculptured frieze. The first stage retreats from the pediment;
and the second, which is of a round form, and terminated by a
conical-shaped top, is less in advance than the first, giving a
pyramidal effect.
The four fronts of the pediment are nearly covered by bassi-relievi,
representing battles of infantry; the figures of which are nearly as
large as life, and admirably designed.
On the north front is a combat of cavalry; on the west, an engagement,
in the midst of which the body of a man is lying on the ground, one
party of soldiers endeavouring to take possession of it, while another
band of soldiers are trying to prevent them.
The basso-relievo of the south front represents a field of battle,
strewed with the dead and wounded, and mingled with warriors on
horseback and on foot. On one side is seen a wild boar between the legs
of the soldiers; and on the other, a female figure, quite nude,
prostrate on the earth before a rearing horse, which some soldiers are
endeavouring to restrain.
In the centre of the basso-relievo is an old man expiring, surrounded
by several persons; and at one end a soldier, bearing arms on his
shoulder, has been left unfinished by the sculptor; there not being
sufficient space for the figure, which is partly designed on the
adjoining pilaster.
On the east front is a winged female bearing the attributes of Victory,
with several women and warriors, and an allegorical personage said to
represent a river, because it holds in one hand a symbol of water. This
last figure, also, is partly sculptured on the contiguous pilaster, as
is the one previously noted, which proves that these ornaments were not
executed at the time of the erection of the edifice.
The pediment has a simple cornice around it, and the angles are
finished by voluted pilasters without a base, but with Ionic capitals,
which have an extraordinary effect. Above the basso-relievo is a
massive garland, supported by three boys, at equal distances; and
between them are four heads of old men, as hideously grotesque as the
imaginations of the sculptors could render them.
The first stage of the mausoleum which rises from this pedestal is
pierced by an arch on each side, in the form of a portico, and their
archivaults are ornamented by foliage and scrolls.
The arches rest on plain pilasters, with capitals more resembling the
Doric than any other order of architecture. On the keystone of each
arch is the mark of a youthful male head, surmounted by two wings. The
four angles of the first stage are finished by a fluted column, with a
capital charmingly executed, like, but not quite, the Corinthian. These
columns sustain an entablature or two, which terminate this stage, and
its frieze is enriched with sculpture representing winged sea-monsters
and sirens with sacrificial instruments.
Above the first stage rises the second, which is of a round form, with
ten fluted columns, which support its circular entablature; the
capitals of these columns are similar to those of the first stage, and
the frieze is ornamented with foliage delicately sculptured.
A round cupola terminates this building, through which the light shines
in on every side, although two male statues in togas occupy the centre
of it.
To view the height at which these figures are placed, one would suppose
they were safe from the attacks of the mischievous or the curious;
nevertheless, they did not escape, for, many years ago, during the
night, their heads were taken off, and those that replaced them reflect
little credit on the taste or skill of the modern sculptor who executed
the task.
On the architrave of the entablature of the first stage, and on the
north front, is the following inscription:--
SEX. L. M. JVLIEI. C.F. PARENTIBUS. SVEIS.
Various are the opinions given by the writers who have noticed this
monument as to the cause for which, and person, or persons for whom, it
was erected. Some maintain that the triumphal arch from its vicinity
has a relation to the mausoleum, while others assert them to have been
built at different epochs.
The inscription has only served to base the different hypotheses of
antiquaries, among which that of the Abbé Barthélemy is considered the
most probable; namely, that in the three first words are found two
initials, which he considers may be rendered as follows:--
SEXTUS · LUCIVS · MARCVS;
and the two other initials, C.F., which follow the word JVLIEI, may be
explained in the same manner to signify Caii Filii, and, being joined
to Juliei, which precedes, may be received to mean Julii Caii Filii.
Mantour's reading of the inscription is, Caius Sextius Lucius, Maritus
JULIÆ Incomparabilis, Curavit Fieri PARENTIBUS SUIS; which he
translates into Caius Sextius Lucius, Husband of Julia, caused this
Monument to be erected to the Memory of his Ancestors, and the
victories achieved by them in Provence, which on different occasions
had been the theatre of war of the Romans.
Bouche's version of it is,--
{Lucius, }
Sextus {Lælius, } Maritus Juliæ.
{Liberius,}
Istud Cenotaphium,}
or, } Fecit Parentibus Suis;
Intra Circulum, }
which he asserts to mean,--Sextus, in honour of his Father and Mother,
buried in this place, and represented by the two statues surrounded by
columns in the upper part of the mausoleum.
Monsieur P. Malosse, to whose work on the antiquities of St.-Rémy I am
indebted for the superficial knowledge I have attained of these
interesting objects, explains the inscription to mean,--
SEXTVS · LVCIVS · MARCVS · JVLIEI · CVRAV ·
ERUNT · FIERE · SUEIS;
which he translates into Sextus, Lucius, Marcus (all three), of the
race of Julius, elevated this monument to the glory of their relations.
M. Malosse believes that the mausoleum was erected to Julius, and the
arch to Augustus Cæsar--the first being dead, and the second then
living; and that the statues in the former, in the Roman togas, were
intended to represent the two.
He imagines that the subjects of the bassi-relievi on the four fronts
of the mausoleum bear out this hypothesis. That of the east, he says,
represents the combat of the Romans with the Germans on the bank of the
Rhine (of which river the one on the basso-relievo is the emblem), and
the triumph of Cæsar over Ariovistus, whoso women were taken prisoners.
The basso-relievo on the south front represents Cæsar's conquest of the
Allobroges, and the capture of the daughter of Orgetorix, one of the
most powerful men of the country, and instigator of the war. The
basso-relievo on the north front, representing a combat of cavalry,
refers to the victory over the Britons; and that of the west front, to
the battle gained by the Romans over the Gauls, in which the general of
the latter was killed in the midst of his soldiers, who endeavoured to
prevent his being seized by the enemy.
Passages from the _Commentaries of Cæsar_, favour this ingenious
interpretation of M.P. Malosse; but the abbreviations adopted in the
inscription, while well calculated to give rise to innumerable
hypotheses, will for ever leave in doubt, by whom, and in honour of
whom, these edifices were erected, as well as the epoch at which they
were built.
Who could look on these monuments without reflecting on the vanity of
mortals in thus offering up testimonials of their respect for persons
of whose very names posterity is ignorant? For the identity of those in
whose honour the Arch of Triumph and Mausoleum of St.-Rémy were raised
puzzles antiquaries as much as does that of the individual for whom the
pyramid of Egypt was built. Vain effort, originating in the weakness of
our nature, to preserve the memory of that which was dear to us, and
which we would fain believe will insure the reverence of ages unborn
for that which we venerated!
ON THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH AND MAUSOLEUM AT ST.-RÉMY.
1.
Yon stately tomb that seeks the sky,
Erected to the glorious dead,
Through whose high arches sweeps, the sigh
The night winds heave when day has fled;
2.
How fair its pillared stories rise
'Gainst yon blue firmament so pure;
Fair as they met admiring eyes,
Long ages past, they still endure.
3.
Yes, many a race hath left the earth
Since first this Mausoleum rose;
So many, that the name, or birth,
Of dead, or founder, no one knows.
4.
The sculptured pictures, all may see,
Were by a skilful artist wrought;
But, Time! the secret rests with thee,
Which to unravel men have sought.
5.
Of whom were they, the honoured dead,
Whose mem'ry Love would here record?
Lift up the veil, so long o'erspread,
And tell whose dust yon fane doth guard.
6.
Name those whose love outlived the grave
And sought to give for aye to fame
Mementos of the good and brave,
Of whom thou hast effaced the name.
7.
We know but that they lived and died,--
No more this stately tomb can tell:
Here come and read a lesson, Pride,
This monument can give so well.
8.
They lived--they hoped--they suffered--loved--
As all of Earth have ever done;
Were oft by wild Ambition moved,
And basked, perchance, 'neath glory's Sun.
9.
They deemed that they should leave behind
Undying names. Yet, mark this fane,
For whom it rose, by whom designed,
Learned antiquaries search in vain.
10.
Still doth it wear the form it wore,
Through the dim lapse of by-gone age;
Triumph of Art in days of yore,
Whose Hist'ry fills the classic page.
11.
To honour Victors it is said
'Twas raised, though none their names can trace;
It stands as monument instead,
Unto each long-forgotten race,
12.
Who came, like me, to gaze and brood
Upon it in this lonely spot--
Their minds with pensive thoughts imbued,
That Heroes could be thus forgot.
13.
Yet still the wind a requiem sighs,
And the blue sky above it weeps;
Thu Sun pours down its radiant dyes,
Though none can tell who 'neath it sleeps.
14.
And seasons roll, and centuries pass,
And still unchanged thou keep'st thy place;
While we, like shadows in a glass,
Soon glide away, and leave no trace.
15.
And yon proud Arch, the Victor's meed,
Is nameless as the neighbouring Tomb:
Victor, and Dead, the Fates decreed
Your memory to oblivion's gloom.