The hands
pressing opposite sides of the lower part of the body and one leg
drawn up and pressed against the other is the effort of expiring
humanity to relieve itself from pain. The sculptor's chisel and
the painter's brush have often been called upon to represent
scenes of death in all its various forms and manifestations. Yet
have they never attained the simplicity, the impressiveness, the
vivid naturalness of the story told by the figure which lies in
yonder clay.
Sixth, It should also be observed that a sculptor who had the
genius to form such a figure would naturally keep a proper and
harmonious proportion in the different parts of the body, but it
will be noticed in this subject that the feet are unusually broad,
projecting far beyond the natural lines of the leg, and giving
evidence of usage which has caused what is almost a deformity.
Seventh, If a statue, why should one of the eyes differ so much
from the other, one of them being open, and one nearly or quite
shut?
Eighth, If this figure is a statue, explain how it has been
transported and handled to place it in its present position. It
is estimated by the best judges that the figure weighs from a ton
and a half to two tons. This immense weight could not have been
transported by any known means of transportation in the neighborhood
of the figure, and it could not have been handled without the aid
of machinery.
Ninth, Perhaps the greatest objection to the statue theory is the
last on which I shall mention, and that is the majestic simplicity
and grandeur of the figure itself.
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