Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 7.djvu/14

2 which are now beginning to be so well established that Archaeology may almost lay claim to the rank of a science, were then scarcely recognised even by the most earnest of its followers; and to others, therefore, a devotion to Archaeology seemed but a dreamy and idle speculation. Thus, till within a comparatively few years, the labours of the antiquary were regarded with a feeling of disrespect and disparagement; and were sneered at, if not entirely ignored. How truly this was the case is shown by one of our most distinguished scholars and critics who thus expressed himself, and endeavoured to vindicate the honour of his calling, in the year 1826:—"Antiquarian researches," he writes, "are a frequent subject of ridicule to pretended wits, ignorant of their nature and object. It is not here the place to show the utility of Archaeology; it is sufficiently known, and professors have been appointed to teach it in almost every University on the continent. As Addison, a great admirer of antiquity has justly observed, 'mankind is too apt to think that every thing which is laughed at with any mixture of wit, is ridiculous in itself': but ridicule is not the test of truth, and when directed against objects that are great and respectable, is ultimately injurious to those only, who, from a want of solid argument, have recourse to such means." (Millingen, Preface to ancient Inedited Monuments.)

Something of this general feeling may have arisen, among other causes, from the vagueness of speculation often indulged in by collectors of objects of antiquity: something also from the impression some virtuosi have caused to be felt that the sole interest of Archaeology consists in accumulating scraps of antiquity—without selection, order, or application. But he would take a very contracted view of the interests and purpose of antiquarian pursuits, who would confine, as many have done, the object of the antiquary to the mere possession of "curiosities": the accumulation of mere relics, however ancient, or however quaint. It is not out of place to allude to this, because it has often been made one of the grounds of reflection against the profession. The collector who is totally uninformed respecting the history of his possessions, or whose