Herculaneum, past, present & future . the exceptionof small fragments of a poem about Augustuss Egyptian all the more promising rolls are said to have been attacked, but there is reason to hope that improved methodsmay make it possible to decipher many which now appearabsolutely hopeless; and in spite of the uninteresting character ofmost of the books so far identified, so long as one fragmentremains undeciphered there is an indefinite possibility ofexciting discoveries. Who can be certain, for example, that nocareless guest ever left her pocket Sappho in the library, for alazy slav
Herculaneum, past, present & future . the exceptionof small fragments of a poem about Augustuss Egyptian all the more promising rolls are said to have been attacked, but there is reason to hope that improved methodsmay make it possible to decipher many which now appearabsolutely hopeless; and in spite of the uninteresting character ofmost of the books so far identified, so long as one fragmentremains undeciphered there is an indefinite possibility ofexciting discoveries. Who can be certain, for example, that nocareless guest ever left her pocket Sappho in the library, for alazy slave to thrust out of sight between Philodemus andCarniscus ? And since the papyri were found in various partsof the house, and much remains unexplored, it is quite possiblethat a set of an entirely different character may still be dis-covered there. We have given a rapid and imperfect sketch of what is nowknown of the topography and structures of Herculaneum. Inour second chapter we shall discuss the probable character ofher a ^ z CHAPTER II THE INHAHITANTS OF THE DISTRICT AND OF HERCULANEUM In this chapter we shall have to weigh with critical sobrietysome of the arguments which have been adduced to prove thatHerculaneum differed from Pompeii in that it was moredistinctly and continuously Hellenic in its origin and traditions,and shall in some cases find that the arguments in favour ofsuch a distinctively Hellenic character for Herculaneum are notvalid. Still the important fact always remains that the tasteof the inhabitants of Herculaneum does show a pronouncedpreference for the types of Greek art. Whether this was dueto the continuous influence of the original Greek settlers or tothe taste of the dominant class of Romans who dwelt there inRoman times cannot be finally decided. The fact itself is ofhighest importance for the main question which this book ismeant to investigate. If the topography of Herculaneum cannot be discussedwithout reference to Campania in genera
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