Note 7 — Introductory material

I do not know what has become of the portrait here described. I saw one like it in the possession of the illustrious General Pepe. It is well known that there is a portrait by Raphael which is a masterpiece. In it Borgia is almost handsome; at all events there is so much distinction in his face and refinement in his person that one hesitates to detest him. But close scrutiny causes a sensation of genuine terror. The hand, straight, slender and white as a woman's, tranquilly grasps the hilt of a dagger hanging at his side. It holds it with remarkable grace; it is ready to strike. The impending movement is so admirably foreshadowed, that we can see in anticipation how the blow is to be dealt, downward, into his victim's heart. There is grandeur in that portrait, in the sense that the great artist has left his stamp upon it, but without attempting to disguise the moral wickedness of his model, which he makes to shine forth triumphantly through the appalling tranquillity of his features.