Nash speaks of the
cosmetic
in _Pierce Pennilesse_, _Wks.
Ben Jonson - The Devil's Association
_ 8 64, etc.
In the present passage, however, the meaning evidently required
is 'perfect: 'spotless,' and no doubt refers to the comparative
perfection of a sexto decimo, or perhaps to the perfection naturally
to be expected of any work in miniature.
=4. 4. 52 Virgins milke for the face. = Cf. John French, _Art
Distill. _. Bk. 5. p. 135 (1651): 'This salt being set in a cold
cellar on a marble stone, and dissolved into an oil, is as good as
any _Lac virginis_ to clear, and smooth the face. ' _Lac Virginis_ is
spoken of twice in the _Alchemist_, Act 2, but probably in neither
case is the cosmetic referred to. See Hathaway's edition, p. 293.
Nash speaks of the cosmetic in _Pierce Pennilesse_, _Wks. _ 2. 44:
'She should haue noynted your face ouer night with _Lac virginis_. '
=4. 4. 55 Cataputia. = Catapuce is one of the laxatives that Dame
Pertelote recommended to Chauntecleer in Chaucer's _Nonne Preestes
Tale_, l. 145.
=4. 4. 63 Doe not you dwindle. = The use of _dwindle_ in this sense
is very rare. _NED. _ thinks it is 'probably a misuse owing to two
senses of _shrink_. ' It gives only a single example, _Alch. _, _Wks.
In the present passage, however, the meaning evidently required
is 'perfect: 'spotless,' and no doubt refers to the comparative
perfection of a sexto decimo, or perhaps to the perfection naturally
to be expected of any work in miniature.
=4. 4. 52 Virgins milke for the face. = Cf. John French, _Art
Distill. _. Bk. 5. p. 135 (1651): 'This salt being set in a cold
cellar on a marble stone, and dissolved into an oil, is as good as
any _Lac virginis_ to clear, and smooth the face. ' _Lac Virginis_ is
spoken of twice in the _Alchemist_, Act 2, but probably in neither
case is the cosmetic referred to. See Hathaway's edition, p. 293.
Nash speaks of the cosmetic in _Pierce Pennilesse_, _Wks. _ 2. 44:
'She should haue noynted your face ouer night with _Lac virginis_. '
=4. 4. 55 Cataputia. = Catapuce is one of the laxatives that Dame
Pertelote recommended to Chauntecleer in Chaucer's _Nonne Preestes
Tale_, l. 145.
=4. 4. 63 Doe not you dwindle. = The use of _dwindle_ in this sense
is very rare. _NED. _ thinks it is 'probably a misuse owing to two
senses of _shrink_. ' It gives only a single example, _Alch. _, _Wks.
