Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 5.djvu/228

216 than that of Aurora, but these shall be partly hidden by a large Woman, who shall appear before them: this woman is to signify Vigilance, and must be presented in such sort that she shall appear to be illumined from behind by the rising Sun; and as it is her purpose to anticipate him, she shall seem to be hurrying through,the window and into the chamber. Her form shall be that of a tall, active, and powerful woman; her eyes shall be well opened, and her brows arched; she shall be clothed to her feet in a transparent vest, bound round her at the waist; with one hand she is to rest on a spear, and with the other she may gather up the folds of her vest: let her stand firmly on the right foot, and holding the left suspended, let her thus appear to move with a prompt yet firm step. She shall raise her head as if to look at Aurora, and shall appear to be indignant that the latter has risen before her. On her head she shall bear a helmet surmounted by a Cock, which shall be crowing and clapping his wings. All this shall appear to be behind Aurora. But before her, in the sky of the concave oval that is to say, you shall make little figures of Maidens one behind another, and some of them being more in shadow, while others are less so, according as they shall be nearer to or farther from Aurora: these are to signify the Hours which precede her and the Sun. These Hours shall have the vestments and garlands of Virgins; they shall be winged, and have their hands filled with flowers, as if they were scattering the same.

“On the opposite side shall be Night, and as Aurora rises, so must Night descend; as the one shows her face must the other turn her back; let the first rise from a tranquil sea, while the other must sink into a cloudy and troubled deep. The horses of Aurora must advance; those of Night must be departing. At a word, the whole presentment of the latter must differ from that of Aurora. Her complexion dark, her mantle and horses black, as also shall her wings be, and these last must be open, as if she were flying. Her hands shall be borne aloft, and in the one she shall hold an infant sleeping, which shall be white to signify Sleep; while in the other she shall have a black child, also asleep, to signify Death, because Night is said to be the mother of both. She shall appear to be sinking with the head foremost into shadows that must be constantly deepening; and the heavens