The antiquities of Herculaneum . er, that fometimes masks were made ufe ofin funeral procefiions. But that the Praejicae (hould be masked, feems inconfiftentwith their character (which fuppofes them to imitate according to nature a lively andfincere grief, and, as Horace exprefles it, dicere, ac facere prope plura dolentibus& ex animo); becaufe the mask inftantly difcovered the cheat, and prevented theappearance of forrow and defpair in their countenances. But if, notwithstandingthis, it could be proved, that the mask was fometimes worn by the Praejicae, itwould Mill be inefficient to explain
The antiquities of Herculaneum . er, that fometimes masks were made ufe ofin funeral procefiions. But that the Praejicae (hould be masked, feems inconfiftentwith their character (which fuppofes them to imitate according to nature a lively andfincere grief, and, as Horace exprefles it, dicere, ac facere prope plura dolentibus& ex animo); becaufe the mask inftantly difcovered the cheat, and prevented theappearance of forrow and defpair in their countenances. But if, notwithstandingthis, it could be proved, that the mask was fometimes worn by the Praejicae, itwould Mill be inefficient to explain our picture, in which we fee no dead body orfuneral pomp. By way of obviating all thefe difficulties, it might be alledged thatfometimes the Praejicae appeared upon the ftage, and that here it might bedefignedto reprefent them not about the dead body, but perhaps before the door of thedeceafed. But he that {hould maintain this opinion would injure the Painter, to have expreffed his meaning in a different manner. as. P L A T E IV. i5 as in other pieces the reprefentation of fome comic [5] fcenesis plainly diitinguifhable ; fo in this the Painter meant to giveus fome tragic a&ions [6] : efpecially if we obferve the ex-preffion of deep grief and lamentation [7], together with thelong [8] laced [9] veitments, which defcending to the feet ofthe figures almoft cover their buskins [10}. [5] Catalogue n. 584 and 585* [6] Some think they trace in this picture a fcene of fome tragic Poet: Butothers are cautious of fixing to one particular fubjecl:, a piece which with as muchprobability might be ftrained to many others. [7] The middle figure is drawn in the fame action as Telemachus in Homer 114, 116. 11 Atzxpv y ouro (3Xs(pa^ocv yoquxbiq fSaKs 7&ciTp/&> otx%<rctg., ,v rsro^(pv^;vjv ocvj o<p9ocX^oicr/. In Euripides and other Greek tragedians we meet with fcenes in which heroesand heroines are introduced weeping. This is obferved, in o
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Keywords: ., bookauthorgri, bookcentury1700, booksubjectartroman, bookyear1773
