A beautiful thing in one place will be ugly in an incompatible place. William of Auvergne illustrated this with faces, but it is as true of patches of wilderness misplaced among freeways:
Redness is in itself pleasant-looking and is beauty; if, however, it were in that part of the eye which should be white, it would disfigure the eye. . . . The eye is in itself shapely and beautiful . . . but only when it is in its proper and rightful place. If, however, it were where the ear is, or in the middle of the face, that is, in an inappropriate place, then it would make the same face ugly.
(Quoted from page 17 of Plain Ugly: The unattractive body in early modern culture, by Naomi Baker. Manchester University Press, 2010.)
For a brief biography of William of Auvergne, click here. For some personal details of Naomi Baker, click here.
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