Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/400

 370 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud.v.a. it was originally built : namely, a shelter for the rude image; so that, despite spacious courts, and dependencies of all kinds, it never grew into a real temple, but remained to the end a mere cella. In this part of our history we have been mainly concerned with a monument, the mere naming of which is apt to stir the heart and imagination of most people, whatever their individual creed. We propose later on to enlarge upon and explain the points of diver- gence which distinguish the Semitic temple, as against the Hellenic, and to note as we proceed the manner of their progress. Considering the state of the area upon which once stood the temple of Jerusalem, and the scantiness of documents relating thereto, we should, perhaps, have abstained attempting its restora- tion, had not Ezekiel seemed to beckon to us from the holy mount, holding out to our curiosity the type, in the abstract, of the Semitic sacred building. We now take leave of the Phoenicians, until we shall meet them again in their relations with the Greeks, whom they at first influenced, but who in time reacted back, returning with interest what they had received from their former masters. 1 1 The reason for having omitted to transcribe the texts, relative to the temple, to be found in Kings and Ezekiel, should have been given much earlier. It is briefly as follows : — A similar transliteration, obtained through a German and French version, could not be as satisfactory as a first-hand one, which every reader possesses in his own Bible, and with which he is thoroughly familiar. There is more : as the temple of Ezekiel has no foundation in fact, it was deemed expedient to eliminate from that part of the narrative such details as were not explanatory of the illustra- tions, the excellence of which is beyond praise. — Editor. end or vol. i. IN I Mi BY WILLIAM CLOWES A I > SONS, LIMITED. LON1WK AM) BECC1 ES. 1 7Q