PREFACE. WE have so lately laid before the public a full exposition of the plan upon which our Magazine proceeds and the objects it has in view, accompanied with some particular details in the various divisions of its subjects, that it will not be necessary to repeat what must be fresh in the recollection of our readers. In our execution of this design we endeavour, while retaining the original character and purpose of the work, to admit all alterations that may be considered useful or convenient, and to adapt it, as far as possible, to the changes of public taste, and to the cultivation of different branches of knowledge. After a long period of comparative neglect, we may remark, the study of our National Antiquities has revived, within these few years, with a remarkable energy and zeal; investigation in every branch of it is proceeding, either by separate labour or social combination, in that vigour and well directed purpose which must command success. The scattered fragments of our ancient arts are now being collected, examined, and compared with such intelligence, that what was individually useless becomes collectively important. Criticism has been applied to the remains of antiquity in a more sound and judicious manner than it ever was before; much that was unintelligible has been made clear, and much that was defective has been supplied. Archæology has risen into the dignity of a science with a celerity of growth and vigour of frame new and unexpected. Light has been reflected from one portion of it to another. The mediæval manuscript, the Anglo-Saxon missal, the lapidary inscription, have been drawn from their recesses, and applied to the improvement of the kindred arts; the chronicle has been translated, the coin explained, the treasures of the sepulchral barrow classified, and even the ephemeral ballad revived; and they have been applied, with equal sagacity and learning, to the elucidation of truth. We cannot certainly renew what has perished of the nediæval arts, whether in the monastic cloister or the collegiate library; we cannot restore the manuscripts that have mouldered, or the buildings that have been destroyed: but it is in our power to exhibit a praiseworthy carefulness in preserving what remains from further injury; and in bringing an enlightened spirit of critical inquiry to the study of them, with liberal feelings and comprehensive views. We may therefore naturally expect that our advancement in all the separate branches of antiquarian science and art, as well as early literature, will proceed with a celerity and speed unknown before; that gradually error will be removed and improvement gained: so that at length, if we may be permitted to use an illustration, Archæology, which in the seventeenth century appeared, in its rude and shapeless outline, like some old Celtic or Druidical temple, may in the nineteenth, under the direction of more skilful hands, and with improved knowledge, assume the scientific regularity, the beautiful order, and the attractive grace of the finished and august cathedral. E PLURIBUS UNUM. S. URBAN. |