the Virgin Mary. Antony no sooner saw Cleopatra, but, saith Appian lib. 1. he was enamored on her. Theseus at the first sight of Helen was so besotted, that he esteemed himself the happiest man in the world if he might enjoy her, and to that purpose kneeled down, and made his pathetical prayers unto the gods. * Charicles by chance espying that curious picture of smiling Venus naked in her temple, stood a great while gazing, as one amazed; at length he brake into that mad passionate speech, "O fortunate God Mars, that wast bound in chains, and made ridiculous for her sake!" He could not contain himself, but kissed her picture, I know not how oft, and heartily desired to be so disgraced as Mars was. what did he that his Betters had not done before him? "t atq; aliquis de diis non tristibus optat Sic fieri turpis" And When Venus came first to heaven, her comeliness was such, that (as mine author saith) "all the gods came flocking about, and saluted her, each of them went to Jupiter, and desired he might have her to be his wife." When fair Antilochus came in presence, as a candle in the dark his beauty shined, all men's eyes (as Xenophon describes the manner of it) "were instantly fixed on him, and moved at the sight, insomuch that they could not conceal themselves, but in gesture or looks it was discerned and expressed." Those other senses, hearing, touching, may much penetrate and affect, but none so much, none so forcible as sight. Forma Briseis mediis in armis movit Achillem, Achilles was moved in the midst of a battle by fair Briseis, Ajax by Tecmessa; Judith captivated that great Captain Holofernes, Dalilah, Sampson; Rosamund, "Henry the second; Roxolana, Solyman the Magnificent, &c. † Νι κα δε καὶ σίδηρον Και πῦρ καλὴ τὶς ἔσα, A fair woman overcomes fire and sword. • Naught under heaven so strongly doth allure Ov. Met. 1. 3. J Omnes Lucian Charidemon supra omnes mortales felicissimum si hac frui possit. * Lucian amor. Insanum quiddam ac furibundum exclamans. O fortunatissime deorum Mars qui propter hanc vinctus fuisti. di complexi sunt, & in uxorem sibi petierunt, Nat. Comes de Venere. cum lux noctis affulget, omnium oculos incurrit: sic Antiloquus, &c. levit omnes ex animo mulieres. Nam vincit & vel ignein, ferrumq; si qua pulchra est. Anacreon, 2. •Spencer in his Fairy Qu. in Ut n De And mighty hands forget their manliness, r Clitiphon ingenuously confesseth, that he no sooner came in Leucippe's presence, but that he did corde tremere, & oculis lasciviùs intueri; he was wounded at the first sight, his heart panted, and he could not possibly turn his eys from her. So doth Calysiris in Heliodorus lib. 2. Isis Priest, a reverend old man, complain, who by chance at Memphis seeing that Thracian Rodophe, might not hold his eyes off her: "I will not conceal it, she overcame me with her presence, and quite assaulted my continency which I had kept unto mine old age; I resisted a long time my bodily eyes with the eyes of my understanding; at last I was conquered, and as in a tempest carried headlong." *Xenophiles, a Philosopher, railed at women down right for many years together, scorned, hated, scoffed at them; coming at last into Daphnis a fair maid's company, (as he condoles his mishap to his friend Demaritis), though free before, Intactus nullis ante cupidinibus," was far in love, and quite overcome upon a sudden. "Victus sum fateor à Daphnide," &c. "Sola hæc inflexit sensus, animumq; labentem I could hold out no longer. Such another mishap, but worse, had Stratocles the Physitian, that blear-eyed old man, muco plenus (so Prodromus describes him); he was a severe woman's hater all his life, fæda & contumeliosa semper in fæminas profatus, a bitter persecutor of the whole sexe, humanas aspides & viperas appellabat, he forswore them all still, and mocked them wheresoever he came, in such vile terms, ut matrem & sorores odisses, that if thou hadst heard him, thou would'st have loathed thine own mother and sisters for his word's sake. Yet this old doting fool was taken at last with Achilles Tatius lib. 1. Statim ac cam contemplatus sum, occidi; oculos à virgine avertere conatus sum, scd illi repugnabant. Pudet dicere, non celabo tamen. Memphim veniens me vicit, & continentiam expugnavit, quam ad senectutem usq; servaram, oculis corporis, &c. * Nunc primum circa hanc anxius animi hærco. Aristænetus, cp. 17. ranto dial. +Virg. En. 4. + Ama that that celestial and divine look of Myrilla the daughter of Anticles the Gardner, that smirking wench, that he shaved off his bushie beard, painted his face, curl'd his hair, wore a lawrel crown to cover his bald pate, and for her love besides was ready to run mad. For the very day that he married, he was so furious, ut solis occasum minùs expectare posset, (a terrible, a monstrous long day) he could not stay till it was night, sed omnibus insalutatis in thalamum festinus irrupit, the meat scarce out of his mouth, without any leave taking, he would needs go presently to bed. What young man therefore, if old men be so intemperate, can secure himself? Who can say I will not be taken with a beautiful object? I can, I will contain: No, saith Lucian of his mistris, she is so fair, that if thou dost but see her, she will stupifie thee, kill thee straight, and, Medusa like, turn thee to a stone; thou canst not pull thine eyes from her, but, as an adamant doth iron, she will carry thee bound headlong whither she will her self, infect thee like a Basilisk. It holds both in men and women. Dido was amazed at Æneas' presence; Obstupuit primo aspectu Sidonia Dido;" and as he feelingly verified out of his experience; "Quam ego postquam vidi, non ita amavi ut sani solent I lov'd her not as others soberly, But as a mad man rageth, so did I. So Museus of Leander, nusquam lumen detorquet ab illa; and Chaucer of Palamon, He cast his ene upon Emilia, And therewith he blent and cried ha ha, As though he had been stroke unto the hearta. 66x If you desive to know more particularly what this Beauty is, how it doth Influere, how it doth fascinate (for, as all hold, love is a fascination), thus in brief. This comeliness or Beauty ariseth from the due proportion of the whole, or from each several part." For an exact delineation of which, I refer you to Poets, Historiographers, and those amorous writers, to Lucian's Images, and Charidemus, Xenophon's description of *Comasq; ad speculum disposuit. Imag. Polistrato, Si illam saltem intucaris, statuis immobiliorem te faciet: si conspexeris eam, non relinquetur facultas oculos ab ea amovendi; abducet te alligatum quocunq; voluerit, ut ferrum ad se trahere ferunt adamantem. In the Knight's Ex debita totius proportione aptaq; partium compositione. Piccolo tale. mineus. 'Plaut. Merc. Panthea, Petronius Catalectes, Heliodorus Chariclia, Tacius Leucippe, Longus Sophista's Daphnis and Cloe, Theodorus Prodromus his Rhodanthes, Aristanetus and Philostratus Epistles, Balthasar Castilio lib. 4. de aulico. Laurentius cap. 10, de melan. Æneas Sylvius his Lucretia, and every Poet almost, which have most accurately described a perfect beauty, an absolute feature, and that through every member, both in men and women. Each part must concur to the perfection of it; for as Seneca saith, Ep. 33. lib. 4. Non est formosa mulier cujus crus laudatur & brachium, sed illa cujus simul universa facies admirationem singulis partibus dedit; she is no fair woman, whose arm, thigh, &c. are commended, except the face and all the other parts be correspondent. And the face especially gives a lustre to the rest: the face is it that commonly denominates fair or foul: arx formæ facies, the Face is Beautie's Towre; and though the other parts be deformed, yet a good face carries it (facies non uxor amatur) that alone is most part respected, principally valued, delitiis suis ferox, and of it self able to captivate. "y Urit te Glyceræ nitor, Urit grata protervitas, Et vultus nimiùm lubricus aspici ;" Glycera's too fair a face was it that set him on fire, too fine to be beheld. When +Chærea saw the singing wenches sweet looks, he was so taken, that he cried out, O faciem pulchram, deleo omnes de hinc ex animo mulieres, tædet quotidianarum harum formarum! O fair face, Ile never love any but her, look on any other hereafter but her, I am weary of these ordinary beauties, away with them. The more he sees her, the worse he is,uritq; videndo, as in a burning-glass, the Sun beames are recollected to a center, the rayes of love are projected from her eyes. It was Æneas' countenance ravished Queen Dido, Os humerosq; Deo similis, he had an angelical face. "O sacros vultus Baccho vel Apolline dignos, -O sacred looks befitting Majesty, Although for the greater part this beauty be most eminent in y Hor. Od. 19. lib. 1. Catell. +Ter. Eunuch. Act. 2. scen. 3. * Petronius brow brow like unto the bright heavens, cali pulcherrima plaga, Frons ubi vivit honor, frons ubi ludit amor, white and smooth like the polished alabaster, a pair of cheeks of Vermilian colour, in which love lodgeth;* Amor qui mollibus genis puellæ pernoctas: A corall lip, suaviorum delubrum, in which "Basia mille patent, basia mille latent," gratiarum sedes gratissima; a sweet smelling flowre, from which Bees may gather hony, † Mellilegæ volucres quid adhuc cava thyma rosasq; &c. "Omnes ad dominæ labra venite meæ, A white and round neck, that via lactea, dimple in the chin, black eye-brows, Cupidinis arcus, sweet breath, white and even teeth, which some call the sale-piece, a fine soft round pap, gives an excellent grace, • Quale decus tumidis Pario de marmore mammis !" § and make a pleasant valley lacteum sinum, between two chaulkie hills, Sororiantes papillulas, & ad pruritum frigidos amatores solo aspectu excitantes. Unde is, Again "Forma papillarum quam fuit apta premi!" "Urebant oculos duræ stantesq; mamillæ." A flaxen hair; golden hair was even in great account, for which Virgil commends Dido, Nondum sustulerat flavum Proserpinina crinem, Et crines nodantur in aurum. Apollonius (Argonaut. lib. 4. Jasonis flava coma incendit cor Medea) will have Jason's golden haire to be the main cause of Medea's dotage on him. Castor and Pollux were both yellow hair'd. Paris, Menelaus, and most amorous_young men, have been such in all ages, molles ac suaves, as Baptista Porta infers Physiog. lib. 2. lovely to behold. Homer so commends Helena, makes Patroclus and Achilles both yellow hair'd: Pulchricoma Venus, and Cupid himself was yellow hair'd, in aurum coruscante & crispante capillo, like that neat picture of Narcissus in Callistratus; for so Pysche spied him asleep, b "Bryseis, Polixena, &c. flavicomæ omnes," Sophocles. Antigone. + Jo. Secundus bas. 19. Læchæus. § AranFol. dus, vallis amœnissima è duobus montibus composita niveis. a Ovid. 77. Dapsiles hilares amatores, &c. When Cupid slept. Cæsariem auream habentem, ubi Psyche vidit, mollemq; ex ambrosia cervicem inspexit, crines crispos, purpureas genas candidasq; &c. Apuleius. -and |