The living librarie, or meditations and observations historical, natural, moral, political, and poetical / Written in Latin by P. Camerarius. And done into English by John Molle.
- Philipp Camerarius
- Date:
- 1621
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The living librarie, or meditations and observations historical, natural, moral, political, and poetical / Written in Latin by P. Camerarius. And done into English by John Molle. Source: Wellcome Collection.
50/432 page 30
![—————————————— “7 am not where I am s my mind ws there (God wot) Still préfent, where 1 find my body ( ^fure) 1s not. albeit fomeattribute this faying to Cato, becaufe hee had itoften in his mouth. But that which I moft wonder at is; That many Ladies of Italie (I {peake not here of the Curtezans) to feeme fairer than the reft, take a pride to paint them- felues,and of fet purpofe befmeare,and plainely marre all the beautie that they haue of nature. Saint Jerome faid chriftianly ; The women that paint their faces with | vermilion and other painting, offend the eyes of Chriftians. Such faces ( foule with making faire ) are like the Idols of Egypt, which being old, appeare new. Thefe women weare fal[e | perewigs,and in their old wrinkles vepolifh their pa[ed youth. Let the Chriftian woman that forceth nature to appeare linely, dy hath care of ber fle{b to pleafe her defires,blufh for fhame. And inanother Epiftle ; What good (faith he) doth Vermilion avd Cerufe to a Chriftian face? And in the Epiftle to Leta; Take heed, faith he,of making holes in thy danghters cares and daube not her face that is confecrate to Chrift , with vermilion, and painting; | fermons of the! ‘change the naturall heautie,and to feeke after painting ? tbe crimes of adulterie are in a man- | Lord. ner more tollerable : for there cha[fitie is corrupted, and heere nature is forced. Saint Am- | Inhisworkeof] Lya/ealfo faith ; Woman theu defacelt the features of God, if thou couer thy face with pain- oe ting, The ancient Pagans vfed to mocke women that were painted, as one may | fee in Plautus , who in a certaine place faith ; » That woman [melleth [weet that fenels of nought. But thefe old Hagges that greafe them/elues with oyles, Old Carkaffespew Trimmers of old things, Tooth-leffe,that hide the bodies faults with painting, | Jf once their fiveat meet with their new complexion, | They [mell like fundrie forts of greafie pottage | Made in a Hotch-potch mingled all together. : | Hereby it is plaine, that although in times paft paynting was vied among women, yet fome there were that would euer cenfureand reprooue {uch foo- lifh dotage. To this purpofe an ancient writer taxed the curiofitic of painted | women,with this Dilemma following : Ifwomenbe naturally faire, nature fuf- ficeth them ; and there is no reafon that Art fhould plead againft Nature, nor painting againft the truth. Ifthey be foule by nature,the painting which they lay vpon them, bewrayeth their fouleneffe the more. For this caufe, Pythago- ras forbad women to paint themfelues, ordayning, thatthey fhould becontent with their natural! beautie, fhould wath themfelues with pure water, and be adorned with modeft fhamefaftneffe. Plautus hauing regard hereunto, faith in the Commedie we now alleaged : | | Hide not thy Age with faire vermilion. She that isWife is fairer manifold Than fhe that daubes ber felfe with painting fine : The woman that wants Vertue,though fhe glitter In gold and iewels,yet 1s all that while But little better than a dung-bill vile. The Philofopher Nicoffratus propounded this precept ; Let a wife woman not paint ber felfe, let her not fe cerufe, nor anie other paynting to colour and fhadow her eyes with. Tt were to be wifhed,, that thefe women fo painted, or rather masked, | might be often at Phrynees feaft. This Phryze vasa very faire woman, or (as Zz —— — —= -](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30334913_0050.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
