There are certain Arguments, which a Connoiffeur is utterly to reject, as not being fuch by which he is to form his Judgment, of what Ufe foever they may be to those who are incapable of judging otherwife, or who will not take the Pains to know better. Some of these have really no Weight at all in them, the Best are very Precarious, and only serve to perfwade us the Thing is good in general, not in what Respect it is fo. That a Picture, or Drawing has been, or is much esteem'd by those who are believ'd to be good Judges; Or is, or was Part of a famous Collection, coft so much, has a rich Frame, or the like. Whoever makes Ufe of fuch Arguments as these, besides that they are very fallacious, takes the Thing upon Truft, which a good Connoiffeur fhould never conde

fcend

fcend to do. That 'tis Old, Italian, Rough, Smooth, c. These are Circumstances hardly worth mentioning, and which belongs to Good, and Bad. A Picture, or Drawing may be too old to be good; but in the Golden Age of Painting, which was that of Rafaelle, about Two Hundred Years ago, there were wretched Painters, as well as Before, and Since, and in Italy, as well as Elsewhere. Nor is a Picture the Better, or the Worse, for being Rough, or Smooth, fimply confider'd. One of the commoneft, and moft deluding Arguments, that is used on this Occafion is, that 'tis of the Hand of fuch a One. Tho' this has no great Weight in it, even admitting it to be Really of that Hand, which very often 'tis not: The best Masters have

had their Beginnings, and Decays,

and

and great Inequalities throughout their whole Lives, as fhall be môre fully noted hereafter. That 'tis done by one who has had great Helps, and Opportunities of improving himself; Or One that Says, he is great Master, is what People are very ready to be cheated by, and not one Jot the lefs, for having found that they have been fo cheated again, and again before, nay, tho' they justly laugh at, and despise the Man at the fame Time. To infer a Thing Is, because it Ought to be, is unreasonable, becaufe Experience fhou'd teach us better; but often we think there are Opportunities, and Advantages where there are none, or not in the Degree we imagine; and to take a Man's own Word, where his Intereft, or Vanity fhou'd make us fufpect him is fufficiently unaccountable. Whoever builds

upon

upon a Suppofition of the good Senfe, and Integrity of Mankind has a very Sandy Foundation, and yet 'tis what we find many a Popular Argument refts upon, in Other Cafes, as well as in This. But, (as I faid) whether Thefe kind of Arguments above-mention'd have any thing in them, or not, a Connoiffeur has nothing to do with them; his Bufinels is to judge from the Intrinsic Qualities of the thing itself; as when a Man receives a Propoftion in Divinity, (for Example) not because 'twas believ'd by his Ancestors, or establish'd a Thoufand Years ago, or for whatever other fuch like Reafons; but because he has examin'd, and confider'd the Thing itself, as if it were just now offer'd to the World, and abfolutely divefted of all thofe collateral Advantages.

In

In making our Remarks upon a Picture, or a Drawing, we are only to confider what we Find, without any Regard to what, perhaps, the Mafter Intended. 'Tis commonly said of Commentators, that they discover more Beauties than the Author ever thought of: Perhaps they do; and what then? Are they lefs Beauties for that, or lefs worthy our Notice? Or is there not Defects alfo that were never intended? If One may not be brought to Account, neither let the Other: This is the Advantage a Writer, or Painter, or any other Artift ought to have, his Lucky Inadvertencies fhould help to ballance against his Unlucky Ones.

But after all, perhaps these Beauties were thought of, and intended by the Master, or Author; and perhaps, a great many more

than