THE PROPORTIONS OF THE HORSE. 99 



must not only correspond in its dimensions Avith the adjoining parts, 

 but be likewise commensurate with the magnitude of the entire 

 structure, it must be evident that we shall not be able to determine 

 this just proportion with any thing approaching geometrical preci- 

 sion, unless we possess some definite measure or scale wherefrom to 

 proceed. The French school, we have seen, took the head of the 

 horse as a standard whereby all the other parts were to be mea- 

 sured, and whereto they were to bear certain proportions : others, 

 however, objected to this standard, and assumed the height of the 

 animal as the proper primitive measure. In either case a great 

 difficulty presents itself, and St. Bel experienced this. " Nature 

 has so diversified the forms of individuals," says the Professor, 

 " that no common measure can be made to apply equally to every 

 species." — "If each species has its own style of beauty; if even 

 each individual has its own peculiar beauty; if it is not pos- 

 sible to find two horses that perfectly resemble each other, we 

 cannot pretend to assign any one form preferably to another as 

 the rule of beauty for the horse. Were persons the best qualified 

 to endeavour to collect together the different beauties dispersed 

 among the different individuals, they might, indeed, compose a 

 model of each species sufficiently perfect to direct the painter or 

 the statuary, but which would deceive any one who would venture 

 to choose a horse by it for his own use." At length, however, 

 St. Bel met this difficulty by paying no attention to what in form 

 is called " handsome," but solely to " that mechanical construction 

 of the animal from which result the possibility and extent of those 

 motions by the means of which he is enabled to transport himself 

 from one place to another with greater or less speed." — " Eclipse 

 was never esteemed handsome ; yet he was swift, and the me- 

 chanism of his frame was perfect." St. Bel had a right to come 

 to these conclusions from the performances of Eclipse ; and yet the 

 proportions of this celebrated horse varied from those of the stand- 

 ard of the French school, setting up, as it were, another standard in 

 the English college. 



The French school, I repeat, regulated their scale of propor- 

 tions of the horse by the measure of the head ; this regulator, how- 

 ever, has by others been objected to ; they arguing that it was 

 more in accordance with nature to assume the height of the animal 



