MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 



which the rank and connexion of his famil 

 have procured him in Macedon ; and indifferent To 

 the high distinction which his splendid abilities 

 might easily have attained, by establishing a sepa- 

 rate school, and founding a new sect in philosophy. 

 It has been alleged, indeed, that various circum- 

 stances occurred to interrupt the harmonious inti- 

 macy between him and his master. Some have af- 

 firmed that he offended the gravity of Plato by his 

 foppery in dress, and his excessive fondness for os- 

 tentatious ornament. His mantle was gaudy ; he 

 wore sandals of rich materials, and rings of great 

 value on his fingers ; his head and chin were closely 

 cropped, contrary to the rule or the fashion of the 

 Academy, which required the hair and beard of its 

 disciples to be worn of their natural length. 



These may appear trivial causes of virtuous indig* 

 nation ; but when we reflect, that, in ancient times, 

 the shagginess of the human countenance was not 

 only an indispensable requisite, but the legal standard 

 for ascertaining the depth of wisdom and learning, 

 such a contempt for scholastic usages must have 

 subjected the offender to the reproach and resent- 

 ment of his contemporaries. This imputed love of 

 finery, however, was only assumed, perhaps, to con- 

 ceal the defects of his figure, as his stature was short, 

 and his limbs disproportionably slender. Certain it 

 is, that his anxiety to adorn his person abated no- 

 thing of his assiduity in the embellishment of his 

 mind. His attention to dress (probably much exag- 



