born. For since,
of the works that are the life and the glory of the craftsmen, the first
and step by step the second and the third were lost by reason of time,
that consumes all things, and since, for lack of writers at that time,
they could not, at least in that way, become known to posterity, their
craftsmen as well came to be forgotten. But when once the writers began
to make record of things that were before their day, they could not
speak of those whereof they had not been able to have information, in a
manner that there came to be first with them those of whom the memory
had been the last to be lost. Even as the first of the poets, by common
consent, is said to be Homer, not because there were none before him,
for there were, although not so excellent, which is seen clearly from
his own works, but because of these early poets, whatever manner of men
they were, all knowledge had been lost quite 2,000 years before.
However, leaving behind us this part, as too uncertain by reason of its
antiquity, let us come to the clearer matters of their perfection, ruin,
and restoration, or rather resurrection, whereof we will be able to
discourse on much better grounds.

I say, then, it being true indeed, that they began late in Rome, if the
first figure was, as is said, the image of Ceres made of metal from the
treasure of Spurius Cassius, who, for conspiring to make himself King,
was put to death by his own father without any scruple; and that
although the arts of sculpture and of painting continued up to the end
of the twelve Caesars, they did not, however, continue in that perfection
and excellence which they had enjoyed before, for it may be seen from
the edifices that the Emperors built in succession one after the other
that these arts, decaying from one day to another, were coming little by
little to lose their whole perfection of design. And to this clear
testimony is borne by the works of sculpture and of architecture that
were wrought in the time of Constantine in Rome, and in particular the
triumphal arch raised for him by the Roman people near the Colosseum,
wherein it is seen that in default of good masters they not only made
use of marble groups made at the time of Trajan, but also of the spoils
brought from various places to Rome. And whosoever knows that the votive
offerings in the medallions, that is, the sculptures in half-relief, and
likewise the prisoners, and the large groups, and the columns, and the
moul