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[1]
On the right of it sits a man
with very large ears, almost like those of Midas, extending his hand to Slander
while she is still at some distance from him. Near him, on one side, stand two
women—Ignorance and Suspicion. On the other side, Slander is coming up, a woman
beautiful beyond measure, but full of malignant passion and excitement,
evincing as she does fury and wrath by carrying in her left hand a blazing
torch and with the other dragging by the hair a young man who stretches out his
hands to heaven and calls the gods to witness his innocence. She is conducted
by a pale ugly man who has piercing eye and looks as if he had wasted away in
long illness; he represents envy. There are two women in attendance to Slander,
one is Fraud and the other Conspiracy. They are followed by a woman dressed in
deep mourning, with black clothes all in tatters—she is Repentance. At all
events, she is turning back with tears in her eyes and casting a stealthy
glance, full of shame, at Truth, who is slowly approaching. [2]
[3]
[1] John Vanderlyn, The Calumny of Apelles, 1849,
Oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
[2] Lucian of Samosata,
“On Calumny,” quoted in Altrocchi, Rudolph (1921). "The Calumny of Appelles."
[3] Sandro
Botticelli, The Calumny of Apelles, 1494, Tempera on panel, Uffizi, Florence.
[4]
Pet Shop Boys: What Have I Done To Deserve
This? (Link).
Left alone with just a memory
Life seems dead and so unreal
All that's left is loneliness
There's nothing left to feel
You don't have to say you love me
Just be close at hand
You don't have to stay forever
I will understand
Believe me, Believe me
Dusty Springfield: You Don't Have To Say You
Love Me (Link)
