did before, which in some things, that is in the Airs of his heads (in the Gracious Kind) had a Delicacy in them peculiar to Himself, and almost more than Humane. But I muft not multiply Inftances. Parmeggiano is one that alone takes in all the feveral kinds of Variation, One fees (in his Drawings) all the feverai Manners of Handling, Pen, Red Chalk, Black Chalk, Washing, with, and without Heightening; on all Colour'd Papers, and in all the Degrees of Goodness, from the loweft of the Indifferent up to the Sublime; I can produce Evident Proofs of this in fo eafy a Gradation that one cannot deny but that he that did This, might do That, and very probably did so; And thus one T

may

may Afcend, and Defcend, like the Angels on Jacob's Ladder whofe Foot was upon the Earth, but its top reach'd to Heaven.

And this Great Man had his Unlucky Circumstance, he became Mad after the Philofopher's Stone, and did but very little in Painting, or Drawing afterwards; Judge what that was, and whether there was not an alteration of Style from what he had done before this Devil poffefs'd him. His Creditors endeavour'd to Exorcise him, and did him fome Good, for he fet himself to Work again in his Own Way; But if a Drawing I have of him of a Lucretia be That he made for his Laft Picture, as it probably is (Vafari fays That was the Subject of it,) 'tis an Evident proof

proof, his Decay, 'tis Good indeed, but it wants much of the Delicacy which is commonly feen in his Works, And fo I always thought before I knew, or Imagin'd it to be done in this his Ebb of Genius.

Thus it is evident that to be Good Connoiffeurs in Judging of Hands we must extend Our Thoughts to all the Parts of the Lives,and to all the Circumstances of the Masters; to the Various Kinds, and Degrees of Goodness of their Works, and not confine our felves to One Manner only, and a Certain Excellency found only in Some things they have done, upon which Some have form'd their Ideas of thofe Extraordinary Men, but very Narrow, and Imperfect Ones.

Great Care must be taken as to the Genuiness of the Works on which we form our Ideas of the Masters,for abundance of things are attributed to Them, chiefly to Those that are most Famous which They never faw.

If two, or more confiderable Mafters resemble each other, the moft Confiderable ufually Fathers the Works of them both: Thus Annibale has the Honour, or the Difgrace of much of what was done by Lodovico, or Agosti no Caracci; and many of our Carlo Maratti's are of Giusep pe Chiari, or fome Other of his Schollars; a Coppy, or an Imitation of a Great Man, or even the Work of an Obscure hand that has any Similitude to His, is prenfently of Him. Nay Pictures,

Pictures, or Drawings are frequently Chriftned (as they call it) Arbitrarily, or Ignorantly, as Avarice, Vanity, or Caprice has directed. I believe there are few Collections without Inftances of thefe Mif-named Works, Some that I have seen are Notorious for it. Nor do I pretend that my Own has not Some few on which I would not have the leaft dependance in forming an Idea of the Masters whose Names they bear. They are as I found them, and may be Rightly Chriftned for ought I know, I leave the Matter as Doubtfull, in Hopes of Future Discoveries; But a Name I Know, or Believe to be Wrong I never fuffer to remain, I either expunge it, and leave the Work without Any, Or give it fuch as

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