Note 141 — ESSAYS. (continued 2)
Reading edition
In Lucian’s Dialogue of the Encomium of a House, there is a description of this picture, in which he says, “the little ones, unconscious of their fate, sit with smiling countenances, and whilst they see her holding the sword over them, seem pleased and happy.”
Franklin’s Lucian.
But surely if they saw their mother brandishing a sword or dagger over them, her aspect must have frightened them.