Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-04-02

would become happy if we were able to carry
out our love perfectly, and each one were to
obtain his own special beloved, thus return
Ing to his original nature. And if this is
best, the best In present circumstances Is to
come as near as possible to this, and this
occurs when we obtain the beloved that
Is by nature meet for u.s. There Is no
reason to suppose that Aspasia had any
romantic notions in regard to love or the des-
tiny of woman. She was, on the whole, prac-
tical, and thought that woman should find
her satisfaction IN work, not In dreams. She
did not imagine that one could have only one
love, and II she could not get that, or lost 1t,
she should repine or turnfrom life. She was
In the world to be an active being, and ac-
cordingly when Pericles died she formed
connection with Lysicles, sheep.seller. be-
lieving him to be the best subject she could
obtain, ard made him, though not bright
man, the foremost politician In Athens for a
time. The entire activity of Aspasia, her
speculation, her intercourse with men whose
opinions were novel and daring, and who
were believed, like Anaxagoras and Socrates,
to be unsp 4ring innovators, her own hold
over the MODEST married women of Athens,
and her introduction of greater social liberty
among them, were all calculated to outrage
the conventional spirit. Almost all the prom
inent members OF her coterie were assalled.
The greatest sculptor of all ages was meanly
and falsely accused of theft, and died In a
prison. The outspoken AnaxagOras was
charged with impiety, and had to fee. And
at length Aspasia was brought to trial on the
same accusation. Ii was easy
to get up such an accusation
against her. She might have visited
some temple and taken part in some reli-
gious ceremony, impelled by truly pious mo-
tives; but such an act on the part of stran-
ger, whatever her m olives might be, would
have been deemed great impiety by ortho
DIV AfhnnIaOc. Or In H., I'D
some Athenlan citizen ladies to go with her
and engage In some foreign worship. The
Athenlans permitted foreigners to observe
their own religious rites In their city, without
let or h-ndrance, but they had strong objec-
tons to genuine Atbenian women becoming
convert to any foreign worship. Or, finally,
and most probably, Aspasia NAV have been
supposed to share the opinions of the phIlo-
sophers with whom she was on such intimate
terms, and to have aided and abetted their
opposition to the national creed. What were
the grounds of the charge we do not know
All We know Is that she was acquitted, but
she owned her acquittal to the earnest plead
ing OF Pericles, who ON this one occasion ac-
compan1ed his entreatles with tears. What
ever were the.aims of her politics, it may be
safely asserted that no woman ever exercised
influence by more Legitimate means. It was
her goodness, her noble aims, her clear IN
sight, that gave her the power. There was,
prOOaUlys no auFehllJlouS circumstance 10
aid her. 1t is not likely that she was beau
tiful. The comic poets said that she was
little and had dark complexion. Little
ness was incompatible with beauty in the
eye of Greek, and dark complexion would
also be against her. No ancient writer
speaks of ASpasia as beautiful. She Is called
the good, the wise, the eloquent, but never
the beautiful. We have one bust bearing
her name certainly not beautiful. 1t repre-
sents comfortable, meditative woman, but
| doubt very much whether it is genuine.
And l am far more inclined ID believe that
we have true portrait OF Aspasia IN a mar
bic bust of which there are two copies, one in
the Louvre and one in Berlin. The bust evil
IDENTIFY belongs to the best times of Greek
sculpture, and, as recent winter in the
Arch@O!Ogische ZeitMng argues. can well be
that of no other than Aspasia. The face Is
not altogether beautiful according to Greek
ideas. 1t has an expression of earnest and
deep thought; hut what strikes one most of
all Is the perplexed and bsffied look which
the whole face presents-as OF some lifelong
anguish, resulting from some contest which
no mortal could wage successfully-not with
out a touch OF exquisite sweetness, tender
ness and charitvh