40 JEROME CARDAN. 



rnained always infirm ; it was best when he was troubled 

 with a cough 1 . 



Jerome Cardan, whose stature was completed at the 

 age of sixteen, was, at the age of nineteen, when he went 

 to Pavia, of the middle height and somewhat narrow- 

 chested. He had a fair complexion, with a slight tinge of 

 red on his white, small and oblong face, yellow hair, with a 

 strong growth of it in beard under the chin, small, intent 

 eyes, a projecting under lip, large upper front teeth, and a 

 harsh voice, which, although loud, was not distinct at any 

 distance. The hind part of his head was narrow 2 . Cardan 

 tells us that when he became famous, and painters came 

 from a distance to take his picture, his features proved to 

 be so commonplace, that it was impossible to express 

 them in a way that would enable any one to know him 

 by his portrait. That is a very modest method of putting 

 the incompetence of artists who omit the animating 

 spirit when they paint the form, but Jerome was only too 

 completely free from any pride either in his own form or 

 in its coverings. In his mind he had pride, which he 

 took no trouble to conceal. His character was fixed in a 

 contempt of money, a disregard not only of surrounding 

 trifles, but even of the more important furnishings of 



1 "Turn maxime sanum me existimera, cum tussi rauceclineque 

 laboro." De Vit. Propr. p. 26. 



2 Ibid. pp. 24, 25, for this and the next fact. 



