Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/36

46 I derived the following impression from the Galleria di Firenze. The ideal of beauty was high amongst the Greeks and Romans; but their actual humanity, at least what we see of it, as represented in their historical characters, is far below the ideal, and even far below the standard of beauty which is general amongst us at the present day. The heroes of antiquity, the wise men and emperors, are most frequently very ugly men, often extremely repulsive. The women, the Julias, Faustinas, &c., with few exceptions, in the highest degree of an ordinary character, from simple beauty to pure ugliness. Amongst the wise men of the Greeks, Plato is the only one who has a noble head, and a fine forehead; amongst the warriors, Alcibiades, but even this head is deficient in the higher, nobler character; amongst the rulers, Alexander the Great. Amongst the Roman emperors, the eye rests gladly on the handsome and mild countenance of Augustus, and that of Antoninus Pius might belong to a noble Christian ascetic; in the features of Marcus Aurelius we observe a calm beauty, but the forehead is broad, rather than lofty, and the expression lacks depth and elevation. These, and two other great men among the Romans, are exceptions in the multitude of heads of emperors and military commanders, many of which are actually caricatures of humanity, although evidently excellent portraits. Such are Marius, Sylla, Claudius, Caracalla, &c. From all this, it is clear to me, that the human race, at least the Christian portion of it, has not, since this time, deteriorated, but, on the contrary, considerably increased in the beauty of harmonious