When a man is known to have merit and intelligence, he is never ugly, however plain he may be; or even if he is ugly, it leaves no bad impression.
La Bruyere - 'Of Opinions,' Characters, 1688
Photos:
Winston Churchill
Abraham Lincoln
Johann Sebastian Bach
I like this quote. I think there's a great deal of truth in it. Do we agree or disagree?
Note: Painting of Lincoln by Norman Rockwell.
Agree!
ReplyDeleteCan the same be said for a woman?
I think society judges them much more harshly.
We agree! And it is a great painting of Lincoln with axe & book :)
ReplyDeletePat: Oh absolutely, I was going to add that it was too bad the same couldn't be said of a woman. When women are intelligent and plain, they are thought, at best, eccentric.
ReplyDeletedjskrimiblog: The painting is by Norman Rockwell. (Forgot to add the credit. Yikes!) I'll do so in a moment. :)
ReplyDeleteLes: HA! Perfect.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful posting, and your quotation is all too true!
ReplyDeleteAs a big reader of Lincoln material, I offer a perspective on Lincoln's appearance: many people saw Lincoln and said he was ugly, and many people saw him and said he was handsome. And the people who regarded him as handsome almost uniformly remarked that his face could light up and his expressions change quickly - he had a very animated face. And of course with photographic exposures that required absolute stillness, we will never know that expressive range.
Thanks, Mark, and thanks for dropping by. I have to say that I've seen photos of Lincoln that make him look so old and haggard, but I've also seen a couple of photos of him that make him look if not actually handsome, then craggily attractive.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad we'll never really know.
Speaking of Lincoln, I have the David Donald bio here moving up the TBR pile, patiently waiting for my attention. While at the same time my brother is reading my copy of MANHUNT The 12 Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson - a book I praised to the skies and finally convinced him to read.