Theophrastus confined himself to more certain grounds of observation, taken from facts which came within his own experience; and it is curious to remark, how little the twenty-one centuries, which have elapsed since he wrote, have added to our knowledge of mankind. Allowing only for certain differences of national manners, his descriptions of the avaricious or garrulous being of his day, contain almost every thing that can be said of similar characters in our own time. His sketch of a fop for instance, which by the way the translator has strangely incorporated with a chapter devoted to ‘The Plausible,’ is an exact full-length likeness of a modern dandy.

‘He is distinguished by his trimly-dressed hair, , his white teeth, , the frequent change of his dress, and his excessive use of perfumes. He saunters about the stalls in the Exchange; lounges in the Gymnasium while the youth are engaged in their exercises; and at the Theatre he pushes up as near as he can to the seat of the Praetors. It is his affectation to appear to be making purchases , not for himself, but for his friends at Byzantium, or elsewhere: , he is sending a present of Spartan dogs to Cyzicus; or the honey of Hymettus to Rhodes: nor does he suffer his neighbours to be ignorant of all this munificence. His house abounds with rarities: , he is skilful in training apes and monkeys; , he keeps Sicilian doves;, he cannot play at dice unless they are carved from the finest buck’s-horn; , he displays curiously-turned crewets; , his walking stick is a twisted Spartan staff: his rooms are hung with the figured tapestry of Persia; , he has a court always prepared for wrestling; and adjoining to it a billiard room: hither he is wont to invite those whom he may meet in his rambles, , philosophers, sophists, prize-fighters, or musicians; and here they find accommodations for exercising their various arts. All this he does, that when he enters the hall one of the spectators may say to another, ‘That is the master of the Paleestria.’ , pp. 20, 21.

We have only to substitute our Bond-street bazaars, horse-races, pugilistic schools, and theatres, for the lounging places of antiquity mentioned in this sketch, and it might be taken for the composition of yesterday.

Quoted from: The Monthly Review. Vol. III. London: Charles Knight, October 1826: 210f.