Works, vol 3 | Page 9

Thracian Orpheus, what should Amphion, whose
days upon Cithaeron were divided betwixt his lyre and his herd,--what
should they know of true concord, of accurate rhythm, of accentuation
and time, of the harmonious adaptation of lyre and voice, of easy and
graceful execution? Yes; once hear her sing, Lycinus, and you will
know something of Sirens as well as of Gorgons: you have experienced
petrifaction; you will next learn what it is to stand entranced, forgetting
country and kindred. Wax will not avail you: her song will penetrate
through all; for therein is every grace that Terpsichore, Melpomene,
Calliope herself, could inspire. In a word, imagine that you hear such
notes as should issue from those lips, those teeth that you have seen.
Her perfect intonation, her pure Ionic accent, her ready Attic eloquence,
need not surprise you; these are her birthright; for is not Smyrna
Athens' daughter? And what more natural than that she should love
poetry, and make it her chief study? Homer is her fellow citizen.--There
you have my first portrait; the portrait of a sweet-voiced songstress,
though it fall far short of its original. And now for others. For I do not
propose to make one of many, as you did. I aim higher: the complex
picture of so many beauties wrought into one, however artful be the
composition, cannot escape inconsistency: with me, each separate
virtue of her soul shall sit for its own portrait.
Ly. What a banquet awaits me! Here, assuredly, is good measure. Mete
it out; I ask for nothing better.
Poly. I proceed then to the delineation of Culture, the confessed
mistress of all mental excellences, particularly of all acquired ones: I
must render her features in all their manifold variety; not even here
shall my portraiture be inferior to your own. I paint her, then, with
every grace that Helicon can give. Each of the Muses has but her single
accomplishment, be it tragedy or history or hymn: all these Culture
shall have, and with them the gifts of Hermes and of Apollo. The poet's
graceful numbers, the orator's persuasive power, the historian's learning,

the sage's counsel, all these shall be her adornments; the colours shall
be imperishable, and laid on with no niggardly brush. It is not my fault,
if I am unable to point to any classical model for the portrait: the
records of antiquity afford no precedent for a culture so highly
developed.--May I hang this beside the other? I think it is a passable
likeness.
Ly. Passable! My dear Polystratus, it is sublime; exquisitely finished in
every line.
Poly. Next I have to depict Wisdom; and here I shall have occasion for
many models, most of them ancient; one comes, like the lady herself,
from Ionia. The artists shall be Aeschines and Socrates his master, most
realistic of painters, for their heart was in their work. We could choose
no better model of wisdom than Milesian Aspasia, the admired of the
admirable 'Olympian' [Footnote: See Pericles in Notes.]; her political
knowledge and insight, her shrewdness and penetration, shall all be
transferred to our canvas in their perfect measure. Aspasia, however, is
only preserved to us in miniature: our proportions must be those of a
colossus.
Ly. Explain.
Poly. The portraits will be alike, but not on the same scale. There is a
difference between the little republic of ancient Athens, and the Roman
Empire of to-day; and there will be the same difference in scale
(however close the resemblance in other respects) between our huge
canvas and that miniature. A second and a third model may be found in
Theano, and in the poetess of Lesbos; nay, we may add Diotima too.
Theano shall give grandeur to the picture, Sappho elegance; and
Diotima shall be represented as well by her wisdom and sagacity, as by
the qualities for which Socrates commended her. The portrait is
complete. Let it be hung.
Ly. 'Tis a fine piece of work. Proceed.
Poly. Courtesy, benevolence: that is now my subject. I have to show
forth her gentle disposition, her graciousness to suppliants. She shall

appear in the likeness of Theano--Antenor's Theano this time--, of
Arete and her daughter Nausicaa, and of every other who in her high
station has borne herself with constancy. Next comes constancy of
another kind,--constancy in love; its original, the daughter of Icarius,
'constant' and 'wise,' as Homer draws her; am I doing more than justice
to his Penelope? And there is another: our lady's namesake, Abradatas's
wife; of her we have already spoken.
Ly. Once more, noble work, Polystratus. And now your task must be
drawing to a close: here is a whole soul depicted; its every virtue
praised.
Poly. Not yet: the highest praise remains. Born to magnificence, she
clothes not herself in the pride of