and Ill-nature. Nero, of old, feems [p] to have had this unpleafing Sort of Handsomeness, and probably from much the fame Caufe; the Goodnefs of his Features being overlaid by the Ugliness of the Paffions that appeared on his Face. The finest Eyes in the World, with an Excess of Malice or Rage in them, will grow as shocking as they are in that fine Face of Medufa, on the famous Seal in the Strozzi Family at Rome. Thus you fee, that the Paffions can give Beauty, without the Affiftance of Color or Form; and take it away, where they have united the moft ftrongly to give it: And it was this that made me affert, at firft, that this Part of Beauty was fo extremely fuperior to the other Two. "This, by the way, may help us to account for the Juftnefs of what Pliny afferts in fpeaking of the famous Statue of Laocoon, and his Two Sons: He fays, It was the finest Piece of Art in Rome; and [4] to be preferred to all the other Statues and Pictures, of which they had fo noble a Collection in his time. It had no Beauties of Color, to vie with the Paintings; and other Statues there (as the Apollo Belvedere, and the Venus of Medici, in particular) were as finely proportioned as the Lascoon: But this had a much greater Variety of Expreffion, even than thofe fine ones; and it muft [p] Suetonius, in his Life of that Emperor, fays, "That he had a Look which might rather be called "handsome than pleasing :" Vultu, pulchre magis quàm venufto. Cap. li. [9] Sicut in Laocoonte, qui eft in Titi Imperatoris domo; opus, omnibus et picturæ et ftatuaria artis præferendum. Plin. Nat. Hift. lib. xxxvi. cap. 5. be on that Account alone, that it could have been preferable to them, and all the rest. Before I quit this Head, I would just remind you of Two Things that I have mentioned be fore: That the chief Rule of the Beauty of the Paffions, is Moderation; and that the Part in which they appear moft ftrongly, is the Eyes. It is there that Love holds all his tendereft Language: It is there that Virtue commands, Mo. defty charms, Joy enlivens, Sorrow engages, and Inclination fires the Hearts of the Beholders: It is there that even Fear, and Anger, and Confufion, can be charming. But all these, to be charming, must be kept within their due Bounds and Limits; for too fullen an Appearance of Virtue, a violent and proftitute Swell of Paffion, a ruftic and overwhelming Modefty, a deep Sadness, or too wild and impetuous a Joy, become all either oppreffive or difagreeable. The last finishing and nobleft Part of Beauty is Grace; which every body is accustomed to fpeak of as a Thing [r] inexplicable; and, in a great Measure, I believe, it is fo. We know that the Soul is, but we fcarce know what it is; every Judge of Beauty can point out Grace; but no one [r] Decorum quoddam arcanum, atque felicitas ; cujus effectum in multis videmus quotidie; caufam vero reddere nemo poteft. Erafmus in his Philodoxus. Horace thought it fo far from being explicable, that he does not even venture to give it any Name, in fome very pretty Lines of his on this Subject. Quò fugit Venus, heu! quòve Color? Decens Que fpirabat amores, Que me furpuerat mihi?--Lib. iv. Od. 13 20. that that I know of has ever yet fixt tion for it. upon a Defini Grace often depends on fome very little Inci dents in a fine Face; and in Actions, it confifts more in the Manner of doing Things, than in the things themselves. It is perpetually varying its Appearances, and is therefore much more difficult to be confidered, than any thing fixt and fleady. While you look upon one, it fteals from under the Eye of the Obferver; and is fucceeded perhaps by another, that flits away as foon, and as imperceptibly. It is on this Account that Grace is better to be ftudied in Corregio's, Guida's, and Raphael's Pictures, than in real Life. Thus, for Inftance, if I wanted to difcover what it is that makes Anger graceful, in a Set of Features full of the greatest Sweetness; I fhould rather endeavour to find it out in Guido's St. Michael, than in Mrs. P**t's Face, if that ever had any Anger in it; becaufe, in the pictured Angel, one has full Leifure to confider it; but, in the living one, it would be too tranfient and changeable to be the Subject of any fteady Obfervation. But though one cannot punctually fay what Grace is, we may point out the Parts and Things in which it is most apt to appear. The chief Dwelling-place of Grace is about the Mouth; though, at Times, it may vifit every Limb or Part of the Body. But the Mouth is the chief Seat of Grace [s]; as much as the chief Seat for the Beauty of the Paffions is in the Eyes. [] Thus when the French ufe the Expreffion of une bouche fort gracieufe, they mean it properly of Grace; but when they fay, des yeux tres gracieux, it then falls to the Share of the Paffions; and means kind or favourable. very graceful Face, by which I do not fo much mean a majestic, as a soft and pleasing one, there is now-and-then (for no Part of Beauty is either fo engaging, or fo uncommon) a certain Deliciousness that almost always lives about the Mouth, in fomething not quite enough to be called a Smile, but rather an Approach toward one; which varies gently about the different Lines there, like a little fluttering Cupid; and, perhaps, fometimes difcovers a little Dimple, that after just lightening upon you disappears, and pears again by Fits. This I take to be one of the moft pleafing Sorts of Grace of any; any; but you will understand what I mean by your own Memory, better than by any Expreffions I could poffibly ufe to defcribe it. ap. The Grace of Attitudes may belong to the Pofition of each Part, as well as to the Carriage or Difpofition of the whole Body; but how much more it belongs to the Head, than to any other Part, may be feen in the Pieces of the most celebrated Painters; and particularly, in those of Guido; who has been rather too lavish in beftowing. this Beatity on almoft all his fine Women, whereas Nature has given it in fo high a Degree but to very few. The Turns of the Neck are extremely capable of Grace; and are very eafy to be obferved, and very difficult to be accounted for. How much of this Grace may belong to the Arms and Feet, as well as to the Neck and Head, may be seen in dancing; but it is not only in genteel Motions, that a very pretty Woman will be graceful; and Ovid (who was fo great a Master in all all the Parts of Beauty) had very good Reason for faying [t], That when Venus, to please her Gallant, imitated the hobbling Gait of her Husband, her very Lamenefs had a great deal of Prettiness and Grace in it. "Every [u] Motion of a graceful Woman (fays another Writer of the fame Age) is full of Grace." She defigns nothing by it perhaps, and may even not be fenfible of it herfelf; and indeed fhe fhould not be fo too much; for the Moment that any Gesture or Action appears to be affected, it ceafes to be graceful. Horace [x] and Virgil feem to extend Grace fo [] NecVenus oranti (neque enim Dea mollior ulla eft) Ruftica Gradivo difficilifve fuit; Ah quoties lafciva pedes rififfe mariti Dicitur, & duras arte vel igne manus! Marte palam, fimulat Vulcanum: imitata decebat ; Ovid. de Arte Amandi, 2. 570. [u] Illam, quicquid agit, quoquò veftigia vertit, Componit furtim fubfequiturque decor. Tibullus, lib. iv. El. 2.8. [x] Crine decorum. - Horace, lib. i. Od. 32. 12, Intonfofque agitaret Apollinis aura capillos. Id. Epod. 15.9 Ipfe jugis Cynthi graditur; mollique fluentem And again of the fame : Os humerofque Deo fimilis namque ipfe decoram Cæfariem nato gentrix, lumenque juventæ · Purpureum, & lætos oculis afflârat honores En. i 59r. |