The metamorphosis, or golden ass, and philosophical works, of Apuleius [A. on the God of Socrates; A. on the habitude of the doctrines of Plato] / Translated from the original Latin, by Thomas Taylor.

  • Apuleius
Date:
1822
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The metamorphosis, or golden ass, and philosophical works, of Apuleius [A. on the God of Socrates; A. on the habitude of the doctrines of Plato] / Translated from the original Latin, by Thomas Taylor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    I did not, however, depart from her, till I had diligently explored the whole form of her body. But why do I speak of other things pertaining to her; since it has ever been my only care, sedulously to survey, in the first place, the head and the hair in public, and afterwards to enjoy them at home ? In this decision I am confirmed, by considering that this part of the body has a conspicuous position, and is the first thing that presents itself to our sight; and that the native splendour of the hair effects the same thing in the head, as the delightful colour of a beautiful garment in the other members of the body. Lastly, most women, in order to exhibit their native gracefulness and allurements, divest themselves of all their garments, and long to show their naked beauty ; being conscious that they shall please more by the rosy redness of their skin, than by the golden splendour of their robes. But (though it is a thing not lawful to speak of, and may there never be so dire an example of such a thing,) if you deprive a woman of the most surpassing beauty of her hair, and strip her face of its native elegance ; though she were sent from the heavens, produced from the sea, and nourished in the waves; though, I say, she were Venus herself, surrounded by all the Graces, and attended by the whole family of Loves, girded with her cestus, fragrant with cinnamon, and dropping balsam as she moves ; yet if she were bald, she would not be able to please her own Vulcan. How beautiful is the hair, when it is of a pleasing- colour, shines with a glittering light, is vividly refulgent when opposite to the rays of the sun, or is more mildly resplendent, and varies its appearance in a different grace- fulness ; at one time emitting a brightness like that of gold, it sinks into a slender shade of the colour of honey ; at another, with a blackness like that of a crow, it emulates the azure flowers of the neck of doves ; or now, anointed with Arabian drops, [«. e. the tears of myrrh] separated by the slender tooth of a sharp comb, and tied behind the head, it presents itself to the eyes of the lover, — it then,
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