182 ON THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN MENTAL 



species of hyperbole, this investment of beauty, and even mediocrity, 

 with a galaxy of charms culled from the whole garden of nature, 

 has been used by poets of every age and nation, and the description 

 of imaginary excellence with which they clothed, as with a gar- 

 ment, their mistresses, constitutes some of their greatest beauties. 

 Thus, in the language of Miss Landon, 



** Love is like the glass, 

 That throws its own rich colour over all, 

 Making all beautiful." 



So Chaucer, in The Knight's Tale, in his description of Emilia, 



" Emilia that was fairer to be seen 

 Than the white lily on her stem of green ; 

 And fresher is than May with flowers new, 

 For with the rose's colour strove her hue. 

 I not which was the lovelier of the two.'* 



So Phaon to Sappho, who actually possessed the dark tinge of the 

 Egyptian countenance — so Abelard to Eloise — Polyphemus to Gfa- 

 latsea — Petrarch to Laura — Tasso to Leonora — and Spencer in his 

 beautiful picture of Una : — 



" Her angel's face, 

 As the great eye of heaven, shined bright. 

 And made a sunshine in the shady i)lace. 

 Did never mortal eye behold such heavenly grace." 



Such are the illustrations which I have chosen to elucidate 

 the definition of Imagination, which I gave at the commencement 

 of the lecture, viz., that it is a mental operation which takes the 

 elements or detached parts of real scenes or events, and combines 

 them, or concatenates them, in a manner, or series, which has no 

 existence in nature. 



The vividness of Imagination is extremely variable, from the in- 

 dividual who hardly understands the meaning of metaphor, to him 

 who lives in a world peopled by creatures of his own. Benvenuto 

 CeUini, a Florentine artist of great celebrity, the celebrated Mo- 



