This head, which was copied from a marble statue in the collection of my
uncle Adrian Spatafore, represents Vitellius, one of the Cæsars, whose
enormous head can be compared to that of the owl.
Polemon and Adamantius say, that those whose heads are large, beyond
proportion, are stupid, and naturally stubborn. Albert says, that the
head which is so large as to lean on the shoulder for support, is
destitute of sense and wit; and it was Aristotle’s opinion, that when a
man’s head is unreasonably large, and out of proportion with the rest
of his body, he is of a dull and sluggish disposition. For my part, I
compare them to the ass, as being lazy, timid, and impertinent. They may
also be compared to owls, whose heads are very large, and who come from
their holes or resting-places feet foremost; on which account Ovid thus
describes the transformation of Ascalaphus, who was changed into that
stupid bird by Proserpine.
“In Phlegeton’s black stream her hand she dips,
Sprinkles his head, and wets his babbling lips;
Soon on his face, bedropt with magic dew,
A change appear’d, and gaudy feathers grew;
A crooked beak the place of nose supplies,
Rounder his head, and larger are his eyes;
His arm and body waste, but are supplied
With yellow pinions, flagging on each side;
His nails grow crooked, and are turned to claws,
And lazily along his heavy wings he draws;
Ill-omened in his form, the unlucky fowl
Abhorred by men, and called a screeching owl.”
No bird has a larger head than the owl, which is a bird of night. If he
shows himself in the day, all other birds attack him without mercy.
Falcons that have large heads are not esteemed. Aristotle mentions a
fish which has a very large head, and is for that reason called
_cephale_ in greek, and _capito_ in Latin, which signify big-headed. He
has a very ridiculous custom of hiding his head when frightened, and
then he thinks himself in safety. He is considered as the most silly and
cowardly of all the finny race. From this we may infer, that those whose
heads are uncommonly large, are cowardly, rude, and ungovernable;
defective in imagination, and capable of understanding little or
nothing. We often hear the old proverb repeated--“Great head and little
wit.” The emperor Vitellius had an uncommon large head, as can be seen
from the pictures which have been made of him, and the deformity no
doubt proceeded from his rude and clownish disposition.
[Illustration: _Fig. 3._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 4._]