Raphael and the Villa Farnesina

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1884 edition. Excerpt: ... of beautiful Nereids. In the days of Homer, Galatea was as yet merely one of the numerous Nereids, daughters of Nereus and Doris, one of the most beautiful among the sisters, Galatea, white as milk as the name implies, the most illustrious, or, as we should say, in our modern language, the triumphant Galatea, ' Several centuries elapsed before the poets busied themselves once more with Galatea. The Sicilian poet Theocritus drew her from among the crowd of Nereids in his Idyls; she has left the Ionian sea for the Sicilian waters; she has her legend. She is loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus. Theocritus speaks twice of this legend, in the sixth and eleventh Idt/l. In the eleventh, the Cyclops loves but in vain; he carries in his heart, in his " liver "--so speaks the Sicilian poet--the deep wound inflicted by Venus. Seated on a rock by the sea he VII T de Mare sc sings his sorrowful love, accompanying his voice on the syrinx, trying to soften the heart of the haughty beauty, trying at least to console himself with sweet sounds. Galatea is whiter than curdled milk, more gentle than a lamb, more bitter to him than verjuice. She took from him his very soul that day when, in company with his mother, she wandered on the mountain-side picking hyacinths; he was their guide. Why does she disdain him? Because he has but one eye, because his eyebrow stretches across his forehead from temple to temple, because his skin is hairy! But he possesses numberless sheep, many cheeses on his shelves, a cavern warm in winter, cool in summer. To please Galatea he caught in the woods eleven milch-goats, and on the mountain-side four young bears. Will not these proofs of his love soften her heart? And by turn he pours forth his laments, he implores, he threatens too! He...