opportunity be offered of time, place, and those other beautiful
objects, or artificial enticements, as kissing, conference, discourse,
gestures concur, with such like lascivious provocations. Kornmannus, in
his book de linea amoris, makes five degrees of lust, out of
[4805]Lucian belike, which he handles in five chapters, Visus,
Colloquium, Convictus, Oscula, Tactus. [4806]Sight, of all other, is
the first step of this unruly love, though sometime it be prevented by
relation or hearing, or rather incensed. For there be those so apt,
credulous, and facile to love, that if they hear of a proper man, or
woman, they are in love before they see them, and that merely by
relation, as Achilles Tatius observes. [4807]Such is their intemperance
and lust, that they are as much maimed by report, as if they saw them.
Callisthenes a rich young gentleman of Byzance in Thrace, hearing of
[4808]Leucippe, Sostratus' fair daughter, was far in love with her,
and, out of fame and common rumour, so much incensed, that he would
needs have her to be his wife. And sometimes by reading they are so
affected, as he in [4809]Lucian confesseth of himself, I never read
that place of Panthea in Xenophon, but I am as much affected as if I
were present with her. Such persons commonly [4810]feign a kind of
beauty to themselves; and so did those three gentlewomen in
[4811]Balthazar Castilio fall in love with a young man whom they never
knew, but only heard him commended: or by reading of a letter; for
there is a grace cometh from hearing, [4812] as a moral philosopher
informeth us, as well from sight; and the species of love are received
into the fantasy by relation alone: [4813]ut cupere ab aspectu, sic
velle ab auditu, both senses affect. Interdum et absentes amamus,
sometimes we love those that are absent, saith Philostratus, and gives
instance in his friend Athenodorus, that loved a maid at Corinth whom
he never saw; non oculi sed mens videt, we see with the eyes of our
understanding.
But the most familiar and usual cause of love is that which comes by
sight, which conveys those admirable rays of beauty and pleasing graces
to the heart. Plotinus derives love from sight, ἔρος quasi ὅρασις.
[4814]Si nescis, oculi sunt in amore duces, the eyes are the harbingers
of love, and the first step of love is sight, as [4815]Lilius Giraldus
proves at large, hist. deor. syntag. 13. they as two sluices let in the
influences of that divine, powerful, soul-ravishing, and captivating
beauty, which, as [4816]one saith, is sharper than any dart or needle,
wounds deeper into the heart; and opens a gap through our eyes to that
lovely wound, which pierceth the soul itself (Ecclus. 18.) Through it
love is kindled like a fire. This amazing, confounding, admirable,
amiable beauty, [4817]than which in all nature's treasure (saith
Isocrates) there is nothing so majestical and sacred, nothing so
divine, lovely, precious, 'tis nature's crown, gold and glory; bonum si
non summum, de summis tamen non infrequenter triumphans, whose power
hence may be discerned; we contemn and abhor generally such things as
are foul and ugly to behold, account them filthy, but love and covet
that which is fair. 'Tis [4818] beauty in all things which pleaseth and
allureth us, a fair hawk, a fine garment, a goodly building, a fair
house, &c. That Persian Xerxes when he destroyed all those temples of
the gods in Greece, caused that of Diana, in integrum servari, to be
spared alone for that excellent beauty and magnificence of it.
Inanimate beauty can so command. 'Tis that which painters, artificers,
orators, all aim at, as Eriximachus the physician, in Plato contends,
[4819]It was beauty first that ministered occasion to art, to find out
the knowledge of carving, painting, building, to find out models,
perspectives, rich furnitures, and so many rare inventions. Whiteness
in the lily, red in the rose, purple in the violet, a lustre in all
things without life, the clear light of the moon, the bright beams of
the sun, splendour of gold, purple, sparkling diamond, the excellent
feature of the horse, the majesty of the lion, the colour of birds,
peacock's tails, the silver scales of fish, we behold with singular
delight and admiration. [4820]And which is rich in plants, delightful
in flowers, wonderful in beasts, but most glorious in men, doth make us
affect and earnestly desire it, as when we hear any sweet harmony, an
eloquent tongue, see any excellent quality, curious work of man,
elaborate art, or aught that is exquisite, there ariseth instantly in
us a longing for the same. We love such men, but most part for
comeliness of person, we call them gods and goddesses, divine, serene,
happy, &c. And of all mortal men they alone ([4821]Calcagninus holds)
are free from calumny; qui divitiis, magistratu et gloria florent,
injuria lacessimus, we backbite, wrong, hate renowned, rich, and happy
men, we repine at their felicity, they are undeserving we think,
fortune is a stepmother to us, a parent to them. We envy (saith
[4822]Isocrates) wise, just, honest men, except with mutual offices and
kindnesses, some good turn or other, they extort this love from us;
only fair persons we love at first sight, desire their acquaintance,
and adore them as so many gods: we had rather serve them than command
others, and account ourselves the more beholding to them, the more
service they enjoin us: though they be otherwise vicious, dishonest, we
love them, favour them, and are ready to do them any good office for
their [4823]beauty's sake, though they have no other good quality
beside. Dic igitur o fomose, adolescens (as that eloquent Phavorinus
breaks out in [4824]Stobeus) dic Autiloque, suavius nectare loqueris;
dic o Telemache, vehementius Ulysse dicis; dic Alcibiades utcunque
ebrius, libentius tibi licet ebrio auscultabimus. Speak, fair youth,
speak Autiloquus, thy words are sweeter than nectar, speak O
Telemachus, thou art more powerful than Ulysses, speak Alcibiades
though drunk, we will willingly hear thee as thou art. Faults in such
are no faults: for when the said Alcibiades had stolen Anytus his gold
and silver plate, he was so far from prosecuting so foul a fact (though
every man else condemned his impudence and insolency) that he wished it
had been more, and much better (he loved him dearly) for his sweet
sake. No worth is eminent in such lovely persons, all imperfections
hid; non enim facile de his quos plurimum diligimus, turpitudinem
suspicamur, for hearing, sight, touch, &c., our mind and all our senses
are captivated, omnes sensus formosus delectat. Many men have been
preferred for their person alone, chosen kings, as amongst the Indians,
Persians, Ethiopians of old; the properest man of person the country
could afford, was elected their sovereign lord; Gratior est pulchro
veniens e corpore virtus, [4825]and so have many other nations thought
and done, as [4826]Curtius observes: Ingens enim in corporis majestate
veneratio est, for there is a majestical presence in such men; and so
far was beauty adored amongst them, that no man was thought fit to
reign, that was not in all parts complete and supereminent. Agis, king
of Lacedaemon, had like to have been deposed, because he married a
little wife, they would not have their royal issue degenerate. Who
would ever have thought that Adrian' the Fourth, an English monk's
bastard (as [4827]Papirius Massovius writes in his life), inops a suis
relectus, squalidus et miser, a poor forsaken child, should ever come
to be pope of Rome? But why was it? Erat acri ingenio, facundia
expedita eleganti corpore, facieque laeta ac hilari, (as he follows it
out of [4828]Nubrigensis, for he ploughs with his heifer,) he was wise,
learned, eloquent, of a pleasant, a promising countenance, a goodly,
proper man; he had, in a word, a winning look of his own, and that
carried it, for that he was especially advanced. So Saul was a goodly
person and a fair. Maximinus elected emperor, &c. Branchus the son of
Apollo, whom he begot of Jance, Succron's daughter (saith Lactantius),
when he kept King Admetus' herds in Thessaly, now grown a man, was an
earnest suitor to his mother to know his father; the nymph denied him,
because Apollo had conjured her to the contrary; yet overcome by his
importunity at last she sent him to his father; when he came into
Apollo's presence, malas Dei reverenter osculatus, he carried himself
so well, and was so fair a young man, that Apollo was infinitely taken
with the beauty of his person, he could scarce look off him, and said
he was worthy of such parents, gave him a crown of gold, the spirit of
divination, and in conclusion made him a demigod. O vis superba formae,
a goddess beauty is, whom the very gods adore, nam pulchros dii amant;
she is Amoris domina, love's harbinger, love's loadstone, a witch, a
charm, &c. Beauty is a dower of itself, a sufficient patrimony, an
ample commendation, an accurate epistle, as [4829]Lucian,
[4830]Apuleius, Tiraquellus, and some others conclude. Imperio digna
forma, beauty deserves a kingdom, saith Abulensis, paradox. 2. cap.
110. immortality; and [4831]more have got this honour and eternity for
their beauty, than for all other virtues besides: and such as are fair,
are worthy to be honoured of God and men. That Idalian Ganymede was
therefore fetched by Jupiter into heaven, Hephaestion dear to
Alexander, Antinous to Adrian. Plato calls beauty for that cause a
privilege of nature, Naturae gaudentis opus, nature's masterpiece, a
dumb comment; Theophrastus, a silent fraud; still rhetoric Carneades,
that persuades without speech, a kingdom without a guard, because
beautiful persons command as so many captains; Socrates, a tyranny,
which tyranniseth over tyrants themselves; which made Diogenes belike
call proper women queens, quod facerent homines quae praeciperent,
because men were so obedient to their commands. They will adore,
cringe, compliment, and bow to a common wench (if she be fair) as if
she were a noble woman, a countess, a queen, or a goddess. Those
intemperate young men of Greece erected at Delphos a golden image with
infinite cost, to the eternal memory of Phryne the courtesan, as Aelian
relates, for she was a most beautiful woman, insomuch, saith
[4832]Athenaeus, that Apelles and Praxiteles drew Venus's picture from
her. Thus young men will adore and honour beauty; nay kings themselves
I say will do it, and voluntarily submit their sovereignty to a lovely
woman. Wine is strong, kings are strong, but a woman strongest, 1 Esd.
iv. 10. as Zerobabel proved at large to King Darius, his princes and
noblemen. Kings sit still and command sea and land, &c., all pay
tribute to the king; but women make kings pay tribute, and have
dominion over them. When they have got gold and silver, they submit all
to a beautiful woman, give themselves wholly to her, gape and gaze on
her, and all men desire her more than gold or silver, or any precious
thing: they will leave father and mother, and venture their lives for
her, labour and travel to get, and bring all their gains to women,
steal, fight, and spoil for their mistress's sake. And no king so
strong, but a fair woman is stronger than he is. All things (as
[4833]he proceeds) fear to touch the king; yet I saw him and Apame his
concubine, the daughter of the famous Bartacus, sitting on the right
hand of the king, and she took the crown off his head, and put it on
her own, and stroke him with her left hand; yet the king gaped and
gazed on her, and when she laughed he laughed, and when she was angry
he flattered to be reconciled to her. So beauty commands even kings
themselves; nay whole armies and kingdoms are captivated together with
their kings: [4834]Forma vincit armatos, ferrum pulchritudo captivat;
vincentur specie, qui non vincentur proelio. And 'tis a great matter
saith [4835]Xenophon, and of which all fair persons may worthily brag,
that a strong man must labour for his living if he will have aught, a
valiant man must fight and endanger himself for it, a wise man speak,
show himself, and toil; but a fair and beautiful person doth all with
ease, he compasseth his desire without any pains-taking: God and men,
heaven and earth conspire to honour him; every one pities him above
other, if he be in need, [4836]and all the world is willing to do him
good. [4837]Chariclea fell into the hand of pirates, but when all the
rest were put to the edge of the sword, she alone was preserved for her
person. [4838]When Constantinople was sacked by the Turk, Irene
escaped, and was so far from being made a captive, that she even
captivated the Grand Signior himself. So did Rosamond insult over King
Henry the Second.
[4839]———I was so fair an object;
Whom fortune made my king, my love made subject;
He found by proof the privilege of beauty,
That it had power to countermand all duty.
It captivates the very gods themselves, Morosiora numina,
[4840]———Deus ipse deorum
Factus ob hanc formam bos, equus imber olor.
And those mali genii are taken with it, as [4841]I have already proved.
Formosam Barbari verentur, et ad spectum pulchrum immanis animus
mansuescit. (Heliodor. lib. 5.) The barbarians stand in awe of a fair
woman, and at a beautiful aspect a fierce spirit is pacified. For when
as Troy was taken, and the wars ended (as Clemens [4842]Alexandrinus
quotes out of Euripides) angry Menelaus with rage and fury armed, came
with his sword drawn, to have killed Helen, with his own hands, as
being the sole cause of all those wars and miseries: but when he saw
her fair face, as one amazed at her divine beauty, he let his weapon
fall, and embraced her besides, he had no power to strike so sweet a
creature. Ergo habetantur enses pulchritudine, the edge of a sharp
sword (as the saying is) is dulled with a beautiful aspect, and
severity itself is overcome. Hiperides the orator, when Phryne his
client was accused at Athens for her lewdness, used no other defence in
her cause, but tearing her upper garment, disclosed her naked breast to
the judges, with which comeliness of her body and amiable gesture they
were so moved and astonished, that they did acquit her forthwith, and
let her go. O noble piece of justice! mine author exclaims: and who is
he that would not rather lose his seat and robes, forfeit his office,
than give sentence against the majesty of beauty? Such prerogatives
have fair persons, and they alone are free from danger. Parthenopaeus
was so lovely and fair, that when he fought in the Theban wars, if his
face had been by chance bare, no enemy would offer to strike at or hurt
him, such immunities hath beauty. Beasts themselves are moved with it.
Sinalda was a woman of such excellent feature, [4843]and a queen, that
when she was to be trodden on by wild horses for a punishment, the wild
beasts stood in admiration of her person, (Saxo Grammaticus lib. 8.
Dan. hist.) and would not hurt her. Wherefore did that royal virgin in
[4844]Apuleius, when she fled from the thieves' den, in a desert, make
such an apostrophe to her ass on whom she rode; (for what knew she to
the contrary, but that he was an ass?) Si me parentibus et proco
formoso reddideris, quas, tibi gratias, quos honores habebo, quos cibos
exhibebo? [4845]She would comb him, dress him, feed him, and trick him
every day herself, and he should work no more, toil no more, but rest
and play, &c. And besides she would have a dainty picture drawn, in
perpetual remembrance, a virgin riding upon an ass's back with this
motto, Asino vectore regia virgo fugiens captivitatem; why said she all
this? why did she make such promises to a dumb beast? but that she
perceived the poor ass to be taken with her beauty, for he did often
obliquo collo pedes puellae decoros basiare, kiss her feet as she rode,
et ad delicatulas voculas tentabat adhinnire, offer to give consent as
much as in him was to her delicate speeches, and besides he had some
feeling, as she conceived of her misery. And why did Theogine's horse
in Heliodorus [4846]curvet, prance, and go so proudly, exultans
alacriter et superbiens, &c., but that such as mine author supposeth,
he was in love with his master? dixisses ipsum equum pulchrum
intelligere pulchram domini fomam? A fly lighted on [4847] Malthius'
cheek as he lay asleep; but why? Not to hurt him, as a parasite of his,
standing by, well perceived, non ut pungeret, sed ut oscularetur, but
certainly to kiss him, as ravished with his divine looks. Inanimate
creatures, I suppose, have a touch of this. When a drop of
[4848]Psyche's candle fell on Cupid's shoulder, I think sure it was to
kiss it. When Venus ran to meet her rose-cheeked Adonis, as an elegant
[4849]poet of our's sets her out,
———the bushes in the way
Some catch her neck, some kiss her face,
Some twine about her legs to make her stay,
And all did covet her for to embrace.
Aer ipse amore inficitur, as Heliodorus holds, the air itself is in
love: for when Hero plaid upon her lute,
[4850]The wanton air in twenty sweet forms danc't
After her fingers———
and those lascivious winds stayed Daphne when she fled from Apollo;
[4851]———nudabant corpora venti,
Obviaque adversas vibrabant flamina vestes.
Boreas Ventus loved Hyacinthus, and Orithya Ericthons's daughter of
Athens: vi rapuit, &c. he took her away by force, as she was playing
with other wenches at Ilissus, and begat Zetes and Galias his two sons
of her. That seas and waters are enamoured with this our beauty, is all
out as likely as that of the air and winds; for when Leander swam in
the Hellespont, Neptune with his trident did beat down the waves, but
They still mounted up intending to have kiss'd him.
And fell in drops like tears because they missed him.
The [4852]river Alpheus was in love with Arethusa, as she tells the
tale herself,
[4853]———viridesque manu siccata capillos,
Fluminis Alphei veteres recitavit amores;
Pars ego Nympharum, &c.
When our Thame and Isis meet
[4854]Oscula mille sonant, connexu brachia pallent,
Mutuaque explicitis connectunt colla lacertis.
Inachus and Pineus, and how many loving rivers can I reckon up, whom
beauty hath enthralled! I say nothing all this while of idols
themselves that have committed idolatry in this kind, of
looking-glasses, that have been rapt in love (if you will believe
[4855]poets), when their ladies and mistresses looked on to dress them.
Et si non habeo sensum, tua gratia sensum
Exhibet, et calidi sentio amoris onus.
Dirigis huc quoties spectantia lumina, flamma
Succendunt inopi saucia membra mihi.
Though I no sense at all of feeling have.
Yet your sweet looks do animate and save;
And when your speaking eyes do this way turn,
Methinks my wounded members live and burn.
I could tell you such another story of a spindle that was fired by a
fair lady's [4856]looks, or fingers, some say, I know not well whether,
but fired it was by report, and of a cold bath that suddenly smoked,
and was very hot when naked Coelia came into it, Miramur quis sit
tantus et unde vapor, [4857]&c. But of all the tales in this kind, that
is the most memorable of [4858]Death himself, when he should have
strucken a sweet young virgin with his dart, he fell in love with the
object. Many more such could I relate which are to be believed with a
poetical faith. So dumb and dead creatures dote, but men are mad,
stupefied many times at the first sight of beauty, amazed, [4859]as
that fisherman in Aristaenetus that spied a maid bathing herself by the
seaside,
[4860]Soluta mihi sunt omnia membra—
A capite ad calcem. sensusque omnis periit
De pectore, tam immensus stupor animam invasit mihi.
And as [4861]Lucian, in his images, confesses of himself, that he was
at his mistress's presence void of all sense, immovable, as if he had
seen a Gorgon's head: which was no such cruel monster (as [4862]Coelius
interprets it, lib. 3. cap. 9.), but the very quintessence of beauty,
some fair creature, as without doubt the poet understood in the first
fiction of it, at which the spectators were amazed. [4863]Miseri quibus
intentata nites, poor wretches are compelled at the very sight of her
ravishing looks to run mad, or make away with themselves.
[4864]They wait the sentence of her scornful eyes;
And whom she favours lives, the other dies.
4865]Heliodorus, lib. 1. brings in Thyamis almost besides himself, when
he saw Chariclia first, and not daring to look upon her a second time,
for he thought it impossible for any man living to see her and contain
himself. The very fame of beauty will fetch them to it many miles off
(such an attractive power this loadstone hath), and they will seem but
short, they will undertake any toil or trouble, [4866]long journeys.
Penia or Atalanta shall not overgo them, through seas, deserts,
mountains, and dangerous places, as they did to gaze on Psyche: many
mortal men came far and near to see that glorious object of her age,
Paris for Helena, Corebus to Troja.
———Illis Trojam qui forte diebus
Venerat insano Cassandrae insensus amore.
who inflamed with a violent passion for Cassandra, happened then to be
in Troy. King John of France, once prisoner in England, came to visit
his old friends again, crossing the seas; but the truth is, his coming
was to see the Countess of Salisbury, the nonpareil of those times, and
his dear mistress. That infernal God Pluto came from hell itself, to
steal Proserpine; Achilles left all his friends for Polixena's sake,
his enemy's daughter; and all the [4867]Graecian gods forsook their
heavenly mansions for that fair lady, Philo Dioneus daughter's sake,
the paragon of Greece in those days; ea enim venustate fuit, ut eam
certatim omnes dii conjugem expeterent: for she was of such surpassing
beauty, that all the gods contended for her love. [4868]Formosa divis
imperat puella. The beautiful maid commands the gods. They will not
only come to see, but as a falcon makes a hungry hawk hover about,
follow, give attendance and service, spend goods, lives, and all their
fortunes to attain;
Were beauty under twenty locks kept fast,
Yet love breaks through, and picks them all at last.
When fair [4869]Hero came abroad, the eyes, hearts, and affections of
her spectators were still attendant on her.
[4870]Et medios inter vultus supereminet omnes,
Perque urbem aspiciunt venientem numinis instar.
[4871]So far above the rest fair Hero shined.
And stole away the enchanted gazer's mind.
[4872]When Peter Aretine's Lucretia came first to Rome, and that the
fame of her beauty, ad urbanarum deliciarum sectatores venerat, nemo
non ad videndam eam, &c. was spread abroad, they came in (as they say)
thick and threefold to see her, and hovered about her gates, as they
did of old to Lais of Corinth, and Phryne of Thebes, [4873]Ad cujus
jacuit Graecia tota fores, at whose gates lay all Greece. [4874]Every
man sought to get her love, some with gallant and costly apparel, some
with an affected pace, some with music, others with rich gifts,
pleasant discourse, multitude of followers; others with letters, vows,
and promises, to commend themselves, and to be gracious in her eyes.
Happy was he that could see her, thrice happy that enjoyed her company.
Charmides [4875]in Plato was a proper young man in comeliness of
person, and all good qualities, far exceeding others; whensoever fair
Charmides came abroad, they seemed all to be in love with him (as
Critias describes their carriage), and were troubled at the very sight
of him; many came near him, many followed him wheresoever he went, as
those [4876]formarum spectatores did Acontius, if at any time he walked
abroad: the Athenian lasses stared on Alcibiades; Sappho and the
Mitilenean women on Phaon the fair. Such lovely sights do not only
please, entice, but ravish and amaze. Cleonimus, a delicate and tender
youth, present at a feast which Androcles his uncle made in Piraeo at
Athens, when he sacrificed to Mercury, so stupefied the guests, Dineas,
Aristippus, Agasthenes, and the rest (as Charidemus in [4877]Lucian
relates it), that they could not eat their meat, they sat all supper
time gazing, glancing at him, stealing looks, and admiring of his
beauty. Many will condemn these men that are so enamoured, for fools;
but some again commend them for it; many reject Paris's judgment, and
yet Lucian approves of it, admiring Paris for his choice; he would have
done as much himself, and by good desert in his mind: beauty is to be
preferred [4878]before wealth or wisdom. [4879]Athenaeus Deipnosophist,
lib. 13. cap. 7, holds it not such indignity for the Trojans and Greeks
to contend ten years, to spend so much labour, lose so many men's lives
for Helen's sake, [4880]for so fair a lady's sake,
Ob talem uxorem cui praestantissima forma,
Nil mortale refert.
That one woman was worth a kingdom, a hundred thousand other women, a
world itself. Well might [4881]Sterpsichores be blind for carping at so
fair a creature, and a just punishment it was. The same testimony gives
Homer of the old men of Troy, that were spectators of that single
combat between Paris and Menelaus at the Seian gate, when Helen stood
in presence; they said all, the war was worthily prolonged and
undertaken [4882]for her sake. The very gods themselves (as Homer and
[4883]Isocrates record) fought more for Helen, than they did against
the giants. When [4884]Venus lost her son Cupid, she made proclamation
by Mercury, that he that could bring tidings of him should have seven
kisses; a noble reward some say, and much better than so many golden
talents; seven such kisses to many men were more precious than seven
cities, or so many provinces. One such a kiss alone would recover a man
if he were a dying, [4885]Suaviolum Stygia sic te de valle reducet, &c.
Great Alexander married Roxanne, a poor man's child, only for her
person. [4886]'Twas well done of Alexander, and heroically done; I
admire him for it. Orlando was mad for Angelica, and who doth not
condole his mishap? Thisbe died for Pyramus, Dido for Aeneas; who doth
not weep, as (before his conversion) [4887]Austin did in commiseration
of her estate! she died for him; methinks (as he said) I could die for
her.
But this is not the matter in hand; what prerogative this beauty hath,
of what power and sovereignty it is, and how far such persons that so
much admire, and dote upon it, are to be justified; no man doubts of
these matters; the question is, how and by what means beauty produceth
this effect? By sight: the eye betrays the soul, and is both active and
passive in this business; it wounds and is wounded, is an especial
cause and instrument, both in the subject and in the object. [4888]As
tears, it begins in the eyes, descends to the breast; it conveys these
beauteous rays, as I have said, unto the heart. Ut vidi ut perii.
[4889]Mars videt hanc, visamque cupit. Schechem saw Dinah the daughter
of Leah, and defiled her, Gen. xxxiv. 3. Jacob, Rachel, xxix. 17, for
she was beautiful and fair. David spied Bathsheba afar off, 2 Sam. xi.
2. The Elders, Susanna, [4890]as that Orthomenian Strato saw fair
Aristoclea daughter of Theophanes, bathing herself at that Hercyne well
in Lebadea, and were captivated in an instant. Viderunt oculi,
rapuerunt pectora flammae; Ammon fell sick for Thamar's sake, 2 Sam.
xiii. 2. The beauty of Esther was such, that she found favour not only
in the sight of Ahasuerus, but of all those that looked upon her.
Gerson, Origen, and some others, contended that Christ himself was the
fairest of the sons of men, and Joseph next unto him, speciosus prae
filiis hominum, and they will have it literally taken; his very person
was such, that he found grace and favour of all those that looked upon
him. Joseph was so fair, that, as the ordinary gloss hath it, filiae
decurrerent per murum, et ad fenestras, they ran to the top of the
walls and to the windows to gaze on him, as we do commonly to see some
great personage go by: and so Matthew Paris describes Matilda the
Empress going through Cullen. [4891]P. Morales the Jesuit saith as much
of the Virgin Mary. Antony no sooner saw Cleopatra, but, saith Appian,
lib. 1, he was enamoured of her. [4892]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. [4893]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. And what did he that his betters had not done
before him?
[4894]———atque aliquis de diis non tristibus optat
Sic fieri turpis———