Tainting to the End of Henry VII. 8 1 



are a poor decompofition of human nature, 

 whence a fingle quality is feparated and 

 ere6led into a kind of half deity, and then 

 to be rendered intelligible, is forced to have 

 its name written by the accompanyment of 

 fymbols. You muft be a natural philofopher 

 before you can decypher the vocation of one 

 of thefe fimplified divinities. Their dog, 

 or their bird, or their goat, or their imple- 

 ment, or the colour of their cloaths, mufl; 

 all be expounded, before you know who the 

 perfon is to whom they belong, and for 

 what virtue the hero is to be celebrated, 

 who has all this hieroglyphic cattle around 

 him. How much more genius is there in 

 exprefTing the paffions of the foul in the 

 lineaments of the countenance ! Would 

 Meflalina's chara6ler be more ingenioufly 

 drawn in the warmth of her glances, or by 

 ranfacking a farm-yard for every animal of a 

 congenial conflitution ? 



A much admired work of Mabufe was 

 an altar-piece at Middleburgh, f a de- 

 fcent from the crofs : Albert Durer went 

 on purpofe to fee and praifed it. Indeed 



t Painted for the abbot Maximilian of Burgundy, 

 who died 1524. 



Vol. I. F their 



