6
Such then is the husband. The horse part of the female he made is most beautiful, with a strong resemblance to Thessalian fillies when they are still untamed and virgin. The top half is that of a very beautiful woman, apart from the ears, which alone of her features are those of a satyr. The union and junction of bodies whereby the horse part is fused with the woman part and joined to it is effected by a gradual change, with no abrupt transition; the eye, as it moves gradually from one to the other, is quite deceived by the subtle change. In the case of the young, their babyhood is wild and already fearsome in its gentleness—I thought this a wonderful touch. I admired too the very babylike way in which both young were looking up at the lion cub as they sucked at the nipple, holding close and nestling against their mother.
7
Zeuxis thought that this picture would send his viewers into raptures over his skill when they saw it. They certainly applauded it—what else could they do when they met a sight so lovely to gaze upon? But everyone’s warmest praise went to the points they praised in me too just recently; it was the strangeness of the idea, and the freshness of the sentiment of the work, quite unprecedented, that struck them. So when Zeuxis saw that the novelty of the subject was taking their attention and distracting them from the technique of the work, and that the accuracy of detail was taking second place, he said to his pupil: “Come on, Micio, cover up the picture and all of you pick it up and take it home. These spectators are praising only the mere clay of my work, but as to the effects of light, they do not worry much whether they are beautiful and skilfully executed, and the novelty of the subject goes for more than the accuracy of its parts.”
