[John] Evelyn was astonished at the immense number of pictures he saw in the Dutch fairs. He attributes the briskness of the trade in paintings to the necessary limitations of the country. The farmer or the citizen of sea-locked Holland, unable to lay out his gains on tracts of land, found a medium for speculation or investment in these works of art.

Nought feared they what he could do or say, / But th'onely feare that was before their vew, / From which like mazed deare dismayfully they flew.

a driverless vehicle

The drapery of the old Greek sculptors was founded on artistic principles and ideas—not on those of practical utility; while the every-day dress, beautiful and simple though it always remained, was “conformed to the protection and comfort of the body, and the convenience of the wearer.”