356 



sinking into each other — his being all over 

 lubricus aspici, with reflections of light 

 continually shifting upon him, and playing 

 into each other," make an animal pictu- 

 resque, what then will make him beautiful? 

 The interruption of his smoothness, by a va- 

 riety of shades and colours, not sudden and 

 strong, but " playing into eacli other, so 

 that the eye glides up and down among 

 their endless transitions," certainly will not 

 supply the room of roughness in such a de- 

 gree as to over-balance the qualities of 

 beauty, and abolish, as in the present in- 

 stance, the very name. 



It is true, that according to Mr. Gilpin's 

 two definitions*, both the lake and the 

 horse in their smoothest possible state, are 

 picturesque ; but they are no less opposite 

 to that character, according to his more 

 strict and pointed method of defining it, by 

 making roughness the most essential point 

 of difference between it and the beautiful. 

 After so plain and natural a distinction be- 

 tween the two characters, it surely would 



* Vide pages. 33 and 39- 



