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Show ~- PORTLAND VASE. 55 fi:urc had reprc fe~1ted a real dying peri on would not the other f.gures, or one of them at leafl:, have ftretchcd out a hand_ to fupport her, to have eafed her fall among loofe fh"Jlles, or to have fmoothed her plllow? Thefc circumflances evince that the figure is an emblem, and therefore coulcl not be a reprefentation of the private hifl:ory of any particular family or event. TJ;,e man and woman on each fide of the dying figure mufl: be confide red as emblems both from their fi~ila.rity of fituatio~ and clrefs to the middle figure, and their bein~ grouped along w1th Jt, Thef~ I th1nk are hir::roglyp!lic or Elellfinian emblems of HU~ANKI.ND, with the ba~ks toward the dying figure of MORTAL LIFE, unwillingtoatfocJ: Ite w1th her, yet turnwg back their ferious and attentive countenances, curious indeed, to ~ehold, yet lorry to contemplate th('ir latter end. Thefe figmes bring fl:rongly to ones mmcl the Adam and Eve of facred writ, whom fome have fuppofed to ha1·e l;>een allegorical or hierogl yphic perfons of lEgyptian origin, but of more antient date, amGngfl: whom I think is Dr. \Varburton. According to this opinion Adam and Eve were the names of two,hieroglyphic figures reprefcnting the early flate of mankind; Abel was the name of an hieroglyphic figure reprcfenting the age of pafl:urage, and Cain the name of another hieroglyphic fymb ol Teprefcnting the age of agricultme, at which time the ufes of iron were di[covered. And as the people who cultivated the earth ancl built houfes would increafe in numbers milch fafl:er by their greater production offood, they would read1ly conquer or defl:roy the people who were fufl:aincd by pafl:urage,. which was typified by Cain fhrint, Abel. 21. On the o:her compartment of this cel ebrated vafe is exhibited an emblem of immortality, the reprefentation of which was \l'tll known to confl:itute a very principal part of the fhews at the Eleufini~w myflcrics, as Dr. Warburton has proved by variety of authority. The habitation of fpirits or ghol1s after death was fuppofed by the antients to be placed beneath the earth, where Pluto reigned, and clifpenf-:cl rew:mls or puni 01mcnts. Hence the firfl: figme in this group is of the M A 'I ES or c HosT, who having pafTed through an open port:Jl is defccnding into a dufky region, poin ting his toe with timid and unfl:eady fl:ep, feeling as it were his way in the gloom. This portal /Eneas enters, which is defcribed by Vi1gil,-patet atrijanua Ditis, lEn. VI. 1. 126; as v.ell as the eafy defccnt,-facilis defcenfus Avt:rni. Ib. The darknefs at the entrance to the fhades is humorouOy clefcribed by Lucian. Div. Legat. Vol. I. p. 'l4 L And the horror of the gates of hell was in the time of Homer become a proverb; Achilles fays to Ulyffes, " I hate a liar worfe than the gates of hell;" the fame expreffion is ufed in lfaiah, ch. xxxviii. v. xo. The MANES or GHOST appears lingering and fearful, ami wifhes to Jrag after him a part of his mortal garment, which howevtT aJberes to the fide of th~ portal through which he has pa!fed. The beauty of this allegory wonld hare been expreffed by Mr. Pope, by "We feel the ruling paffion fl:rong in deatl1." A little lower down in the group the manes or ghoH is received by a beautiful female> a fymbol of !Ml\!ORTA L LIFE. This is evinced by her fondling between her knees a large and playful ferpent, which from its annually renewing its external !kin has from great antiquity, even as early as the fable of Prometheus, been efl:eemed an emblem .of |