every kind of foppery and debauchery was indulged in as a mask to deep schemes of ambition, of course shaved;[1] and having done so, shaving continued to be the imperial fashion down to the time of Hadrian, (whose bold Roman head I exhibited, as the first restorer of manly beauty.) From his tine most of the Emperors[2] wore it till Constantine, who shaved out of superstition. His father had a noble Beard.
Even after the custom of shaving was introduced, the first appearance of the Beard was hailed with joy, and usually about the time of assuming the toga; the "first fruits" of hair were solemnly consecrated-relict of previous respect-to some god, as in the case of Nero,[3] who
- ↑ Suetonius says. "he was excessively nice about his body, that he was not only sheered and shaved, but plucked."
- ↑ Pagenstecher says, "one of the Emperors of Rome refused to admit to an audience certain Ambassadors of the Veneti, because they had no Beards."
- ↑ The branch of the Roman family to which Nero belonged was called Enobarbus, copper-coloured or red Beard; and the legend of the family was, that the Dioscuri announced to one of their ancestors a victory, and to confirm the truth of what was said, stroked his black hair and Beard, and turned them red. Cn. Domitius, who was Censor with L. Crassus the orator, "took" says Pagenstecher, "too much pride in his," and Crassus fired away the following epigram upon it. "Quid mirum si barbam habet aeneam Domitius cum et os ferreum et cor habet plumbeum." (Where's the wonder Domitius has a brazen Beard, when he has bones of iron and a heart of lead.) Shakspeare (the unlearned!) who never loses a characteristic, makes his Enobarbus, (who was great grandfather of Nero, wore a Beard, as seen on his medals, and was a fine bold warrior,) speak thus of Antony, under the fascination of Cleopatra:—
Lep.Good Enobarbus, 'tis a worthy deed,
And shall become you well, to entreat your Captain
To soft and gentle speech."
Enob."I shall entreat him
To answer like himself: if Cæsar move him,
Let Antony look over Cæsar's head,
And speak as loud as Mars. By Jupiter,
Were I the wearer of Antonius' Beard,
I would not shave't to day."This passage evidently associates the Beard with manly determination, and shaving with the want of it, for subsequently Enobarbus speaks of Antony's effeminacy in these words:—
Our courteous Antony,
Whom ne'er the word of No woman heard speak,
Being barber'd ten times o'er, goes to the feast,
And for his ordinary pays his heart
For what his eyes eat only."
