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What I am now going to defcribe, was found in 
the fame clofet, upon the fame marble table, and is 
one of the moft beautiful ftatues, which I ever faw, 
and fo admirable, that I know not how to begin to 
defcribe it. I will firft tell you its hight, which is 
little more than three inches, that you may conceive 
what pains have been taken with it. It hands upon 
its feet and is quite naked, and reprefents a Priapus, 
which is not fatyrefque, with a moft perfedt con- 
trail of attitude, One obferves through the whole 
figure a moft perfedt Ikill in anatomy, where the 
fmalleft mufcle is not loft, and at the fame time it 
feems not dry or hard, but palpable flelh. It is of 
a noble and excellent ftyle. Its head is fomewhat 
ruftic, with a goafs beard and ears. It hath a laughing 
countenance, turning its head with much grace, and 
brings its firft finger of the left hand to its face. It 
extends and raiies its right-arm, which terminates 
in a manus impudica. Our Neapolitans and I have feen 
the fame in our peafants about Rome, who frequently 
wear in their hair a pin, the head of w'hicb conlifts 
of fuch a hand 5 and they fay, that they wear this 
againft an evil eye ; and in Naples I fee fome of thefe 
pins worn by children. We have found feveral of 
thefe fmall hands at Herculaneum. It is obfervable, 
that thefe Priapi frequently had this hand; for among 
the many, which remain under my care, there is 
one with human ears, and with this hand, which 
together with the whole arm forms a Priapus. But 
let us return to our figure. The head is covered 
with a cap, which is folded down behind ; and its 
bafe is low and round, and well fitted. In fine this 
may be called one of the moft excellent curiofities. 
