MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 
25 
which the rank and connexion of his family might 
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- 
