VIEW
0 F-
SOCIETY and MANNERS
1 N
I T A L Y:
WITH
ANECDOTES relatingtofome EMINENT CHARACTERS.
BY JOHN MOORE, M. D,
IN TWO VOLUMES,
V O L. I.
Strenua nos exercet inertia: navibus atque
Quadrigis pe^imus bene viyere. Quod petis, hic eft.
Hon,
THE SECOND EDITION.
LONDON:
Printed for W, Strahan ; and T. Cadei^l, in the 3t:and,
MDCCLXXXI.
• Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2014
https://archive.org/details/viewofsocietyman01moor_1
ADVERTISEMENT.
HE following obfervations on Italy,
A and on Italian manners, occurred in
the courfe of the fame Tour in which thofc
contained in a book lately published, en-
titled A View of Society and Manners in
F ranee > Switzerland, and Germany, were
made. All who have read that book will
perceive, at firft fight, that the prefent
work is a continuation of the former; but
to thofe who have not, it w T as thought
neceflary to account for the abrupt manner
in which the following Letters begin.
Clarges-ftreet,
December 14, 1780.
Juft Publi/hed,
A NEW EDITION OF
A VIEW of SOCIETY and MANNERS
in FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, and
GERMANY; with Anecdotes rela-
ting to fome Eminent Characters.
In Two Volumes. Price I os. in Boards,
CONTENTS
O F T H E
FIRST VOLUME;
LETTER I. p. i*
Journey from Vienna to Venice.
LETTER II. p. 20.
The arfenaL—Tbc Bucentaur. — Doge's mar*
riage.
LETTER III. p. 27.
The ijland of Murano.-~-Glafs manuf&fiory.
—Mr. Montague.
A3
vi CONTENTS.
LETTER IV. p. 39-
Situation of Venice. — Lagune. — Canals.— «
Bridges.
LETTER V. p. 46.
Piazza di St. Marco. — Patriarchal church.
—Ducal palace. — Broglio.
LETTER VI. p. 56.
Reflections excited by the various objecls
around St. Mark's fquare. — On painting.
—A connoijfeur.
LETTER VII. p. 69.
Origin of Venice.
LETTER VIII. p. 77.
Various changes in the form of government*
—tyrannical conduct of a Doge. — Savage
behaviour of the people. — Commerce of
Venice.
CONTENT S. vu
LETTER IX. p. 89.
Ne*w regulations. — Foundation of the
arijlocracy — Origin of the ceremony of
efpoufmg the Sea. — New forms of ma~
gijlracy*
LETTER X, p. 104.
Henry Dandolo.
LETTER XL p. 114.
New courts. — Neiv magiflr at es.-— Reforma-
tion of the Venetian code.- — The form of
dealing the Doge.
LETTER XII. p. 129.
Arijlocracy ejlablifhed. — Confpiracies. — In-
furreflions. — Eccleftajlical Inquifition* — •
The College^ or Seigniory.
A 4
*iii CONTENTS.
LETTER XIII. p. 144.
Con/piracy againfl the State, by a Doge.—*
Singular inftance of weaknefs and vanity
in a noble Venetian, — New magijlrates to
prevent luxury. — Courttfans.
LETTER XIV. p. 157.
Rigour of Venetian laws exemplified in the
cafes of Antonio Venter, Carlo Zeno, and
young Fofcari.
LETTER XV. p. 171.
*Ihe Council of Ten, and the State In-
quifitors.—Refefiions on thefe injlitu-
tions*
LETTER XVI. p. 187.
League of Cambray. — War with Turks. —
Antonio Bragadino* — Battle of Lapanto.
—Difputes with the Pope.
CONTENTS,
LETTER XVII. p. 201.
Marquis ofBedamars confpiracy, — Falfe ac-
cufations. — The ftege of Candia, — The im-
patience of a Turkijlo Emperor. — Conch-
Jton of the review of the Venetian Govern*
ment.
LETTER XVIII. p. 215.
Venetian manners. — Opera. — Affectation* —
A Duo. — Dancers.
LETTER XIX. p. 227.
No military eftablifmnent at Venice. — What
fupplies its place.
LETTER XX. p. 232.
RefeSiions on the nature of Venetian Govern*
ment. — Gondoleers. — Citizens. — The Ve-
netian fubjeffs on the Terra Firma.
CONTENTS.
LETTER XXL p. 240.
Gallantry. — CaJJinos.
LETTER XXII. p. 249.
Character of Venetians. — Cujloms and ufages.
— Influence of jajhion in matters of tafle.—*
Prejudice. — The excellence of Italian
comic aftors.
LETTER XXIIL p. 262.
Departure from Venice. — Padua.^St. An-
thony > his tomb and miracles.
LETTER XXIV. p. 270.
Church of St. Jujlina. — The bodies of St.
Matthew and St. Luke. — The univerfity.
—Beggars.
LETTER XXV. p. 27^
The antiquity of Padua.— The Brenta.—*
The Po.—The Thames.
CONTENTS.
LETTER XXVI. p. 285-.
Fcrrara. — The Family of Efe. — Ario/lo, the
Emperor-, and his brothers, lodge at an
inriy vohich overfets the underjlanding of
the landlord. An infeription.
LETTER XXVII. p. 292.
Bologna. Its government^ commerce ^ pa~
laces.
LETTER XXVIII. p. 301.
The academy of arts and fciences. — Church
of St. Petronius. — Dominican convent.—
Palaces. —Raphael.— Guido.
LETTER XXIX. p. 313.
Journey from Bologna to Ancona.-*
The Rubicon. — Julius Cafar Pefaro.—*
Fano. — Claudius Nero. — AfdrubaL — Se-
negalia. 7
CONTENTS.
LETTER XXX. p. 323.
Ancona.—The influence of commerce on the
characters of mankind. — The Mole. — The
triumphal arch of the Emperor Trajan.
LETTER XXXI. p. 333.
Lor et to. —Hi/lory of the Cafa Santa.
LETTER XXXII. p. 340.
Defcription of the f acred chapel. — The
treafury.
LETTER XXXIII. p. 35 1.
Pilgrimages to Loretto. — Manufactures.—- ■
Confeffionals. — BaJJb relievos. — Zeal of
pilgrims. — Iron grates before the chapels.
— RefeClions.
LETTER XXXIV. p. 362.
Tolentino, — The Apennines. — A hermit.—*
Umbria. — Bpoletto.
CONTENTS.
LETTER XXXV. p. 371.
T ?mi. — ■ Narni. — 0 tricolu — Civita CaJleU
lana. — Campania of Rome.
LETTER £XXVI. p. 380.
Jlome* — Converfazionis. — Cardinal Bemif.
— The dijirefs of an Italian lady.
LETTER XXXVII. p. 389..
Remarks on ancient and modern Rome—The
church of St. Peter's.
LETTER XXXVIII. p. 404,
The ceremony of the Pojfejfo.
LETTER XXXIX. p. 413.
Pantheon. — Colifeiim. — Gladiators.
L E T T E R XL. p. 432.
The CampidogUo. — Forum Roma num. — •
Jews.
CONTENTS-
LETTER XLI. p. 442.
Ruins. — Via Sacra. — Tarpeian Rock Cam-*
pus Martins.— Various Forums. — Trajan* s
Column.
LETTER XLII. p. 45s.
The beatification of a Saint.
LETTER XLIII. p. 459.
Char after of modern Italians.. — Obfervatiom
on human nature in general. — An Englife
Officer. — Caufie of the frequency of the
crime of murder.
LETTER XLI V., p. 474.
Different kinds of puniflment. — Account of
an execution* — Souls in purgatory .
LETTER XLV. p. 487.
The ufual courfe *with an antiquarian, — An
expeditious courfe, by a young Englifliman.
—The Villa Borghefe.
CONTENTS,
LETTER XLVI. p. 506.
The morning Jludy of an artijl. Converfa*
tion with him on that fubje5l.—An
Italian lady and her Confejfor. — The
Ladfs religious fcruples and precau-
tion*
A VIEW
VIEW
0 F
SOCIETY and MANNERS
1 N
ITALY.
LETTER I.
DEAR SIR, Venice.
A V I N G left Vienna, we proceed-
Pft ty ^
%H r§! ed through the Duchies of Stiria,
kKjfe' Carinth ; a? andCarniola, to Venice.
Notwithlianding the mountainous nature
of thofe countries, the roads are remarkably
good. They were formed originally at a
vaft expence of labour to the inhabitants,
but in fuch a durable manner, that it re-
Vol, I. B quires
2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
quires no great trouble to keep them in
repair, to which all neceffary attention
feems to be paid. Some of the mountains
are covered with wood, but more generally
they are quite bare. Among them are
many fields and vallies, fit for pafturage and
the cultivation of grain ; a few of thefe
vallies are remarkably fertile, particularly
In the Duchy of Carniola, The bowels of
the earth abound in lead, copper, and
iron. Stirian fteel is reckoned excellent ;
and the little town of Idra, in Carniola, is
famous for the quickfilver mines in its
neighbourhood.
It has been a matter of controverfy
among the learned (for the learned difpute
about many things which the ignorant
think of little importance), by what road
the original inhabitants came, who firft
peopled Italy ? And it has been decided by
fome, that they muft have entered by this
very country of Carniola, Thefe gentle-
men
MANNERS IN ITALY. 3
foen lay it down as an axiom, that the
firft inhabitants of every country in the
world, that is not an ifland, muft have
come by land, and not by fea, on account
of the ignorance of the early inhabitants
of the earth in the art of navigation ; but
Italy being a peninfula, the only way to
enter it by land* is at fonie part of the
ifthmus by which it is joined to the reft
of Europe. The Alps form great part of
that ifthmus, and, in the early ages, would
exclude ftrangers as effectually as the fea.
The eafieft, fhorteft, and only poflible way
of avoiding feas and mountains, in enter-
ing Italy, is by the Duchy of Carniola
and Friuli. Ergo y they came that way.
Q^E. D.
In contradi&ion to the preceding de-
monftratioa, others affert, that the firft in-
habitants came in (hips from Greece ; and
others have had the boldnefs to affirm, that
Italy had as good a right as any other
B 2 country
4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
country to have inhabitants of its own
original produclion, without being obliged
to any vagrants whatever.
I thought it right to give you the
opinion of the learned on this country,
becauie it is not in my power to defcribe it
from my own obfervation ; for we paffed
through thofe Duchies with a rapidity
which bailies all def crip t ion.
The inns are as bad as the roads are
good ; for which reafon we chofe to fleep
on the latter rather than in the former, and
actually travelled five days and nights,
without flopping any longer than w 7 as
neceffary to change horfes.
This method of travelling, however
agreeable and improving it may be in other
refpedis, is by no means calculated to give
one the moft perfedt and lading idea of
the face of a country, or of the manners
and
MANNERS IN ITALY. 5
acid characters of the inhabitants ; and
therefore I hope you will not in fife upon
an exad account of either.
Among other curiofities which our un-
interrupted and expeditious movement pre-
vented us from obferving with due atten-
tion, was the town of Gratz, the capital
of Stiria, through which we unfortunately
pafled in the middle of the night,
I did not regret this on account of the
regularity of the ftreets, the venerable
aipedt of the churches, the fublime fite of
the caftle, and other things which we had
heard extolled; but folely becaufe we had
not an opportunity of vifiting the fhrine
of St. Allan, a native of England, who
formerly wgs a Dominican Monk of a
convent in this town, and in high favour
with the Virgin Mary, of which fhe gave
him feme proofs as ftrong as they were
extraordinary. Amongfi other marks of
B 3 her
6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
her regard, fhe ufed to comfort him with
milk from her breads. This, to be fare, is
a mark of affe&ion feldom beftowed upon
favourites above a year old, and will, I
dare fay, furprife you a good deal. There
is no great danger, however, that an ex-
ample of this kind fhould fpread among
virgins. Of the fad: in the prefent inftance
there can be no doubt; for it is recorded in
an infcription underneath a portrait of the
Saint, which is carefully preferved in the
Dominican convent of this city. We
continued our journey, in the full refolution
of reaching Venice before we indulged in
any other bed than the paft-chaife ; but
were obliged to flop fhort on a fudden for
want of horfes, at a fmall town called
Wipach, bordering on the county of Go-
ritia, in Carniola.
Before fetting out from Vienna* we had
been informed, that the Archduke and his
Princefs were about to return to Milan j
for
MANNERS IN ITALY. 7
for winch reafon we thought it advifeable
to remain at Vienna eight days after their
departure, to avoid the inconveniencies
which might arife from a deficiency of
poft-horfes on fuch an unfrequented road.
Having taken our meafures with fo
much forelight, we little expedted, when
we actually did fet out, to meet with any
delay in our progrefs.
The Archduke and his Duche&, how-
ever, had thought proper to go out of the
dired road as far as Triefte, to view the
late improvements of that town, whofe
commerce is greatly encouraged and pro-
tected by the Emperor; and remaining
there a few days, all the poft-horfes which
had been aflembled to carry them to
Triefte, were kept in the poft-houfes for
their ufe; confequently we found none at
Wipach. It began to grow dark when we
arrived ; the Poft-mafter was fmoking his
B 4 P^e
8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
pipe at the door. As foon as the chaife
Hopped, we called to him to get ready the
horfes without lofs of time ; for, I added,
with a tone of importance, that we could
not poffibly flay a moment. To this he
replied coolly, that fince we were in fo
very great a hurry, he fhould not attempt
to detain us 3 but that he had no horfes to
carry us on. I afked,how foon they could
be got. He anfwered, when they returned
from attending the Archduke; but whether
that would be the next day, the following,
or a day or two after, he could not tell.
It appeared a great hardfhip to be flopped
ihort, fo unexpe&edly, at a little paultry
inn, and we agreed that nothing could
have happened more unfortunately. After
a few hafty ejaculations, which regarded the
pofting eftablifhment, and the Lords of
Police of this country, we refolved to make
a virtue of necefftty, and bear our misfor-
tunes with firmnefs and equanimity.
As
MANNERS IN ITALY. 9
As we flepped out of the chaife, I ordered
thePoft-mafter, therefore, to get ready beds,
a good fupper, and fonie of his beft wine.
Inftead of receiving thefe injunctions with
marks of fatisfadtion, as I expe&ed, he
anfwered without emotion, that he had no
wine but for his own drinking ; that he never
gave fuppers to any but his own family ;
and that he had no bed, except that which
he himfelf, his wife, and his child occu-
pied, which could not eafily hold anymore
than them three at a time.
I had not hitherto perceived that this
man's houfe w T as not an inn : as foon as I
was undeceived, I begged he would inform
us where the inn was. He pointed with
his pipe to afmall houfe on the oppofite fide
of the lireet.
There we were told, that all the viduals
in the houfe were already devoured — three
pr four guefts were ia every fpare room —
the
jo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the family going to bed — and they could
not poffibly receive any more company.
We had nearly the fame account at an-
other little inn, and an abfolute refufal at
every houfe where we fu.ed for admittance*
The town of Wipach is fo near Goritia,
that no travellers, except thofe of the
meaneft kind, ever think of flopping at
the former; and therefore the inhabitants
have no idea of making preparations for
other guefts.
In this dilemma I returned to our Fofe*
mafter, who was ftill fmoking his pipe
before the door. I informed him of our
bad fuccefs, and, in a more foothing tone of
voice than that in which I had formerly
addrefled him, begged to know how we
were to difpofe of ourfelves that night.
He replied, with admirable compofure, that
was more than he could tell ; but as the
horfes were expe&ed in a few days, if I
3 fhou!4
MANNERS IN ITALY. »,
ihould fend him word where we were to
be found, he would take care to let us
know the moment they fliould he ready :
in the mean time, as it began to rain, and
the evening was exceedingly cold, he
wifhed us a very good night. So faying,
he went into the houfe, fhutting and bolt-
ing the door very carefully after him.
No philofopher, ancient or modern, ever
fupported the diftreifes of others with more
equanimity than this man.
We were, now fully convinced, that to
be under the neceffity of remaining all
night at an inn, when they incline to
proceed on their journey, is not the moffc
unfortunate thing that can befal travellers,
and would have now been happy in that
fituation which we had confidered with
horror an hour or two before.
In this forlorn condition I turned to an
Italian feryant of the Duke of H m \
a ihrewd
12 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
a fhrewd fellow, who feldom wanted a re*
fource in times of difficulty. He feemed,
however, a little nonpluffed on the prefent
emergency; he flood fhrugging his fhoul-
ders, with his eyes fixed on the ground.
At length, ftarting as if he had that inflant
awaked, he muttered, u Cent ore di mani-
conia non pangano un quattrino di debito,"
and then walked away with an air not to-
tally devoid of hope,
f
I attended him, without knowing upon
what his expectations were founded. We
came to a convent of Monks, and got admit-
tance ; the Italian called for the Superior,
and told him, in a few words, our con-
dition. The venerable old man heard him
with an air of benevolence ; he expreffed
forrow*at the treatment we had received,
and, defiring me to accompany him, faid
he would endeavour to find us lodgings.
He condu&ed us to a poor looking houfe,
occupied by a widow and her children.
As focn as the good Monk had mentioned
our
MANNERS IN ITALY. 13
our cafe, flie faid we fhould be moll wel-
come to fuch entertainment as fhe could
afford. We had an excellent fupper of
four krout, and fallad. I fhall never forget
it. I found her wine excellent, and her
beds delightful ; the good Monk feemed to
enjoy the fatisfadtion we expreffed, and
positively refufed to accept of any other
xecompence for his trouble.
Had we found the moft elegant inn,
and the moil luxurious fupper at our arrival,
we might poffibly have fpent the evening
in repining at being difappointed in poft-
horfes; but the dread of fo fmall a mis-
fortune as paffing the night fupperlefs in
the ftreets, reconciled us at once to the
widow's hovel, and made us happy with
her homely fare ; fo neceffary is a certain
portion of hardihips or difficulties for
giving a zeft to enjoyment. Without them,
the comforts of life are apt to become iim
fipid; and we fee that the people who,
1 inde-
*4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
independent of any effort of their owri$
have every enjoyment at their command*
are, perhaps, of all mankind, thofe who have
the leaft enjoyment.
The widow* as we underftood in thd
morning, had fat up all night with her
family, that we might be accommodated
with beds. She had no reafon to repent
her hofpitality. The poor woman's grati-
tude made her talk loudly of the D — of
H J s generofity ; w T hich coming to
the- ears of the Poft-mafler, induced him to
make an effort to get the chaifes dragged
on to Goritia, without waiting the return
of the poft-horfes.
This w r as performed by three cart-horfes
and two oxen, which were relieved in the
mod mountainous part of the road by
buffalos. There is a breed of thefe animals
in this country; they are ftrong, hardy,
and docile, and found preferable to either
horfes
MANNERS IN ITALY. x$
horfes or oxen, for ploughing in a rough
and hilly country.
When we arrived at Goritia, we found
the inhabitants in their holiday drefles, at
the windows, and in the ftreets, waiting
with impatience for a fight of the Grand
Duke and Duchefs. Having applied at the
poft-houfe for horfes, we were informed
that none could be granted, all being re-
tained for the accommodation of his
Highnefs. I could not help remarking to
the D — of H — , that Dukes feemed
to be in a very different predicament from
prophets in their own countries.
Things turned out better than we had
reafon to exped. Their Highnefles arrived
in the evening ; and as they did not pro-
pofe to leave Goritia till next morning, the
Archduke had the politenefs to give orders
that the D— ■ of H — - fhould have
what
16 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
what horfes he wanted from the poft>
houfes.
We fet out immediately, and arrived at
the next ftage between one and two in the
morning. In that part of the world, raif-
ing the people at midnight, and hcirneffing
the horfes for two carriages, takes up, at
leaft, as much time as driving two ftages
in fome parts of England, juft as we were
going out of the poft-houfe court, the
Archduke's butler and cook arrived; they
were going forward, as tifual, to prepare
fupper,8cc. at the inn where their Highneffes
intended to lie. They knew that the
horfes were all retained for their m after,
but had not heard of the particular order in
favour of the D— of H~ — — — . Seeing
ten horfes going to fet out, they ex-
claimed againft the Poft-mafter, and
threatened him with the vengeance of the
whole houfe of Auftria through all its
branches.
MANNERS IN ITALY. 17
branches, if he fhould permit a fingle horfe
to leave the poft-houfe till the Archduke
and his fuite had pafled*
The man, terrified with thefe threats,
ordered the poftilions to difmount, and
put up the horles. This mandate was
by no means agreeable to the D— - of
H« — ; and the Pen- matter's fear of the
indignation of the Imperial family, was
that inftant loft in a danger which was
prefented to his face, and more immediately
threatened his perfon— — he ordered the
poftilions to drive on.
The next poft was at a fmall town m
the Venetian State, where we found that
orders had come from Venice to the fame
efPedt with thofe received at the different
ftages we had already paft. The D— of
H- ? s Italian fervant thought it would
lave time to make us pafs for part of the
company to which thefe orders related—
Vol. I. G lie
iS VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
he ordered horfes in the name of the Grand
Duke, and was inftantly obeyed — -but the
butler and cook arriving foon after, told
a different tale. Couriers were difpatched,
one of whom overtook us, and, in the
name of the magiftrates, ordered the pofti-
lions to drive back, for we were a gang
of impoftures, who had no connection
with the Grand Duke. The fame argu-
ments, however, which had fo good an
effedt on the German Poft-mafter, pre-
vailed alfo on the courier to be filent, and
the poftilions to proceed.
It was midnight before we arrived at
Meftre, a fmali town on the banks of the
Lagune, five miles from Venice, where
we remained all night. Next morning we
hired a boat, and in two hours were landed
in the middle of this city.
We have taken very delightful apart-
ments at an inn f on the fide of the great
canal.
MANNERS IN ITALY, ig
canal. They had been juft quitted by his
Royal Highnefs the Duke of Gloucefter,
who is at prefeut at Padua. Thus at length
we are arrived in Italy—
Per varios cafusj & tot di&rmiina rerum*
zo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER II.
Venice.
Few days after our arrival at Ve-
nice, we met the Archduke and
Duchefs, at the houfe of the Imperial Am-
bafiador. They were highly entertained
with the hiftory of their cook and butler*
which I gave them at full length.
The company confined entirely of fo-
reigners, the Venetian nobility never vifit-
ing in the houfes of foreign minifters.
Among other ftrangers was the fon of
the Duke of Berwick. This young gentle-
man has lately allied himfelf to the family
from which he is defcended, by marrying
the fifter of the Countefs of Albany. I
fuppofe
MANNERS IN ITALY. 21
fuppofe you have heard that the Pretender,
now at Florence, has affumed the title of
Count Albany,
Next day the D — of H — ac-
companied the Archduke and Duchefs to
the arfenal. Th-ry were attended by a de-
putation from the fenate.
Some Venetian ladies of the firft dis-
tinction, in compliment to the Archduchefs,
were of the party.
The arfenal at Venice is a fortification of
between two and three miles in compafs.
On the ramparts are many little watch-
towers, where centinels are Rationed. Like
the arfenal at Toulon, it is at once a dock-
yard, and repolitory for naval and military
ftores. Here the Venetians build their
Ihips, caft their cannon, make their cables,
fails, anchors, &c. The arms are arranged
here as in other places of the fame kind,
C 3 in
U VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
in large rooms divided into narrow walkg
by long walls of mufkets, pikes, and hal-<
berts. Every thing having been prepared
before the Archduke and Duchefs arrived*
a cannon was cad in their prefence. After
this the company were conducted on board
the Bucentaur, or veflel in which the
Doge is carried to efpoufe the Adriatic.
Here they were regaled with wine and
fweetmeats, the Venetian nobles doing the
honours of the entertainment.
The Bucentaur is kept under cover, and
never taken out but for the efpoufals. It
is formed for containing a very numerous
company, is finely gilt and ornamented
within, and loaded on the outfide with
emblematical figures in fculpture. This
veflel may poffibly be admired by landfmen,
but will not much charm a feaman's eye,
being a heavy broad-bottomed machine,
which draws little water, and consequently
IJiay be eafily overfet in a gale of wind.
Of
MANNERS IN ITALY. 23
Of this, however, there is no great danger,
as two precautions are taken to prevent
fuch an accident ; one of which feems cal-
culated to quiet the minds of believers, and
the other to give confidence to the mod
incredulous. The firft is ufed by the
Patriarch, who, as foon as the veflel is
afloat, takes care to pour into the fea fome
holy water, which is believed to have the
virtue of preventing or allaying ftorms.
The fecond is entrufted to the Admiral,
who has the difcretionary power of poft-
poning the marriage ceremony, when the
bride feems in the fmalleft degree boifter*
ous. One of the virtues of the holy water,
that of allaying ftorms, is by this means
rendered fuperfluous.
But when the weather is quite favour-
able, the ceremony is performed every
Afcenfion Day. The folemnity is announ-
ced in the morning by the ringing of bells
and firing of cannon. About mid- day the
G 4 Doge,
24 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Doge, attended by a numerous party of the
fenate and clergy, goes on board the Bucen-
taur ; the veffel is rowed a little way into
the lea, accompanied by the fplendid yachts
of the foreign AmbafTadors, the gondolas
of the Venetian nobility, and an incredible
number of barks and gallies of every kind.
Hymns are fung, and a band of mufic
performs, while the Bucentaur and her
attendants flowly move towards St. Lido, a
fmall illand, two miles from Venice. Pray-
ers are then faid ; after which the Doge
drops a ring, of no great value, into the
lea pronouncing thefe words — Defponfa-
mus te, Mare, in fignum veri perpetuique
dominii. The fea, like a modeft bride,
affents by her filence, and the marriage is
deemed valid and fecure to all intents and
purpofes.
Certain it is, the time has been, when
the Doge had entire poffeffion of, and
dominion over, his fpoufe j but, for a con-
iiderable
MANNERS IN ITALY. 25
fiderable time paft, her favours have been
fhared by feveral other lovers ; or, accord-
ing to that violent metaphor of Otway's,
now
TheirGreatDuke (brinks, trembling in hispalace*
And fees his wife, the Adriatic, ploughed,
Like a lewd whore, by bolder prows than his.
After viewing every thing in the arfenal,
the Archduke and Duchefs, with all the
company, were invited on board fome boats
which had been prepared for their recep-
tion. They were dire&ly rowed to that
part of the lake from whence there was the
mod advantageous view of Venice, a band
of mufic performing all the time; while the
failors, in two or three fmall boats, were
employed in fifhing oyfters, which they
opened and prefented to the company.
The arnufements of this day had all the
advantage of novelty to render them agree-
2 able
26 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
able to ftrangers, and every additional
pleafure which the attentive and polite be-
haviour of the Venetian nobility could
give.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
LETTER III.
Venice.
A S this is not the time of any of the
*> public folemnities which draw ftran^
gers to Venice, it Is fortunate that we
happen to be here with the Archduke and
Duchefs. The great refped which this
ftate is anxious of fhewing the Imperial
family, has brought many of the nobility
to Venice, who would otherwife have been
at their country feats on the continent,
and has alfo given us opportunities of feeing
fome things to more advantage than we
could otherwife have done,
I had the honour of attending their
Highneffes when they went to vifit the
iflaod of Murano* This is about a mile
from
28 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
from Venice, was formerly a very flourifh-
ing place, and ftill boafts fome palaces
which bear the marks of former magnifi-
es
cence, though now in a ftate of decay.
The iiland is faid to contain 20,000 in-
habitants. The great manufactories of
looking-glafles are the only inducements
which Grangers have to vifit this place. I
faw one very fine plate, for a mirror, made
in the prefence of the Archduke in a few
minutes : though not fo large as fome I
have feen of the Paris manufactory, yet it
was much larger than I could have thought
it in the power of human lungs to blow.
Inftead of being caft, as in France and
England, the Murano mirrors are all blown
in the manner of bottles. It is aftonifhing
to fee with what dexterity the workman
wields a long hollow cylinder of melted
glafs, at the end of an iron tube, which,
when he has extended as much as poffible,
by blowing, and every other means his art
fuggefts, he flits with a fharp inftrument,
removing
MANNERS IN ITALY. 29
removing the two extremities from each
other, and folding back the fides : the
cylinder now appears a large fheet of glafs,
which being once more introduced into the
furnace, is brought out a clear, finifhed
plate.
This manufa&ory formerly ferved all
Europe with looking-glaffes ; the quantity
made here is full confiderahle ; for although
France and England, and fome other coun-
tries, make their own mirrors, yet, by the
natural progrefs of luxury, thofe countries
which ftill get their mirrors and other
things from Murano, ufe a much greater
quantity now than formerly ; fo that on
the fuppofition that the Murano manu-
facturers have loft three-fourths of their
cuftomers, they may flill retain half as
much trade as they ever had. It is fur-
prifing that, inftead of blowing, they do
not adopt the method of calling, which I
fhoukl think a much eafier procefs, and by
which
3 o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
which larger plates may be made. Befides
mirrors, an infinite quantity of glafs trin-
kets (margaritini as they are called) of all
fhapes and colours are made here. Wo-
men of the inferior ranks wear them as
ornaments, and as rofaries 5 they alfo
mould this fubftance into many various
whimfieal forms, by way of ornamental
furniture to houfes and churches. In fhort,
there are glafs baubles enough made here
to bribe into flavery half the inhabitants of
the coaft of Guinea.
Since the departure of the Archduke
and Duchefs, the D — of H has
paffed his time moftly in the houfes of the
foreign Ambaffadors, the beft refource
here, next to the theatres, for ftrangers.
We were lately at a converfazione at the
Spanifh Ambaffadoris; it might have paffed
for a pantomime entertainment. The Am-
baffador, his lady, and daughters, fpeak no
language
MANNERS IN ITALY. 31
language but Spanifh ; and unfortunately
this was underftood by none of the com«
pany but the Duke of Berwick's fori.
Hearing that Mr. Montague refided at
Venice, the D — of H— has had
the curiofity to wait on that extraordinary
man. He met his Grace at the ftair-head,
and led us through lb me apartments, fur-
nifhed in the Venetian manner, into an
inner room in quite a different ftyle. There
were no chairs, but he defired us to feat
ourfelves on a fopha, whilft he placed him-
felf on a cufhion on the floor, withiiis legs
croffed in the Turkifh fafhion. A young
black flave fat by him, and a venerable old
man, with a long beard^ ferved us with,
coffee.
After this collation fome aromatic gums
were brought, and burnt in a little filvef
veffel. Mr. Montague held his nofe over
the fteam for fome minutes, and fnuffed up
the perfume with peculiar fatisfa&ion ; he
afterwards
1
32 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
afterwards endeavoured to colled the fmoke
with his hands, fpreading and rubbing it
carefully along his beard, which hung in
hoary ringlets to his girdle. This manner
of perfuming the beard feems more cleanly,
and rather an improvement upon that ufed
by the Jews in ancient times, as defcribed
in the pfalms tranflated by Sternhold and
Hopkins.
'Tis like the precious ointment, that
Was pour'd on Aaror^s head,
Which from the beard' down to the fkirts
Of his rich garments fpread.
Or, as the Scotch tranflation has it i
Like precious ointment on the head
That down the beard did flow,
Even Aaron's beard, and to the fkirts
Did of his garments go*
Which of thefe verhons is preferable, I
leave to the critics in Hebrew and Englifh.
poefy to determine. I hope, for the lake
of
Manners in italy. 33
t)f David's reputation as a poet> that
neither have retained all the fpirit of the
original. We had a great deal of con-
verfation with this venerable looking per-
fon, who is, to the laft degree, acute,
communicative, and entertaining, and in
whofe difcourfe and manners are blended
the vivacity of a Frenchman with the
gravity of a Turk, We found him, how-
ever, wonderfully prejudiced in favour of
the Turkifh characters and manners, which
he thinks infinitely preferable to the Euro-
pean> or thofe of any other nation*
He defcribes the Turks in general as a
people of great fenfe and integrity, the
moft hofpitable, generous, and the happieft
of mankind. He talks of returning, as foon
as poffible to Egypt, which he paints as a
perfect paradife; and thinks that, had it
not been otherwife ordered for wife pur-
pofes, of which it does not become us to
judge, the children of Ifrael would cer-
Vol. L D tainly
34 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
tairily have chofen to remain where they
were, and have endeavoured to drive the
Egyptians to the land of Canaan.
Though Mr, Montalgue hardly ever Air's
abroad, he returned the D — h vifit ; and
as we were not provided with cufhions, he
fat, while he flaid, upon a fopha, with his
legs under him, as he had done at his own
houfe. This pofture, by long habit, is
now become the mod agreeable to him>
and he infifts on its being by far the molt
natural and convenient ; but, indeed, he
feems to cheriih the fame opinion with re-
gard to all the cuPtoms which prevail
among the Turks. I could not help men-
. tioning one, which I fufpe&ed would be
thought both unnatural and inconvenient
.by at leaft one half of the human race;
that of the men being allowed to engrofs
as many women as they can maintain, and
confining them to the moft infipid of all
lives, within their haram§# " No doubt,'*
replied
MANNERS IN ITALY. 35
replied he, " the women are all enemies to
u polygamy and concubinage ; and there
*' is reafon to imagine, that this averfion
€i of theirs, joined to the great influence
" they have in all Chriftian countries, has
M prevented Mahometanifm from making
" any progrefs in Europe. The Turkifh
f men, on the other hand,' 5 continued he^
" have an averfion to Chriftianity, equal to
^ that which the Chriftian women have to
u the religion of Mahomet : auricular
u confeffion is perfectly horrible to their
ci imagination. No Turk, of any delicacy,
* c would ever allow his wife, particularly
€C if he had but one, to hold private coii-
u ference with a man, on any pretext
u whatever. 5 '
I took notice, that this averfion to auri-
cular confeffion, could not be a reafon for
the Turk's diflike to the Protejlant religion*
u That is true," faid he, u but you have
11 other tenets in common with the Catho-
D 2 « lies,
3<5 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
<c lies, which renders your religion as
" odious as their's. You forbid polygamy
u and concubinage, which, in the eyes of
4C the Turks, who obey the dictates of the
" religion they embrace, is confidered as
ic an intolerable hardfhip. Befides, the
" idea which your religion gives of heaven,
f< is by no means to their tafte. If they
* c believed your account, they would think
iC it the raoft tirefome and comfortlefs
* c place in the univerfe, and not one Turk
" among a thoufand would go to the
a Chriftian heaven if he had it in hi$
* c choice. Laftly, the Chriftian religion
" confiders women, as creatures upon a
rc level with men, and equally entitled to
11 every enjoyment, both here and here-
" after. When the Turks are told this,"
added he, " they are not furprifed at being
* c informed alfo, that women, in general,
<c are better Chriftians than men ; but they
" are perfe&ly aftonifhed that an opinion,
" which they think fo contrary to common
fenfe,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 3:
u fenfe, fhould fubfift among the rational,
* c that is to fay, the male part of Chriftians.
" It is impoffible," added Mr. Montague,
" to drive it out of the head of a Mufful-
u man, that women are creatures of a
11 fubordinate fpecies, created merely to
<c comfort and amufe men during their
** journey through this vain world, but by
<c no means worthy of accompanying be*
Si lievers to paradife, where females, of a
cc nature far fuperior to women, wait with
w impatience to receive all pious MulTul-
* c men into their arms/'
It is needlefs to relate to you any more
of our converfation. A lady, to whom I
was giving an account of it the day on
which it happened, could with difficulty
allow me to proceed thus far in my narra-
tive ; but, interrupting me with impatience,
fhe faid, fhe was furprifed I could repeat
all the nonfenfical, deteftable, impious
maxims of thofe odious Mahometans j and
P $ (he
38 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fhe thought Mr. Montague fhould be fent
back to Egypt, with his long beard, and
not be allowed to propagate opinions, the
bare mention of which, however reafbnable
they might appear to Turks, ought not to
be tolerated in any Chriftian land.
MANNERS IN ITALY."
39
LETTER IV.
Venice,
H £ view of Venice, at fome little
JL diftance from the town, is mention-r-
ed by many travellers in terms of the
higheft admiration. I had been fo often
forewarned of the amazement with which
I fhould be (truck at firft fight of this city,
that when I a&ually did fee it, I felt little
or no amazement at all. You will behold,
faid thofe anticipators, a magnificent town,
—or more frequently, to make the deeper
imprefiion, they gave it in detail — You
will behold, faid they, magnificent palaces,
churches, towers and fteeples, all ftanding
in the middle of the fea. Well ; this, un-
queftionably, is an uncommon fcene; and
(here is no manner of doubt that a town,
D 4
furrounded
4 o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
furronnded by water, is a very fine fight 3
but all the travellers that have exifted fince
the days of Cain, will not convince me,
that a town, furrounded by land, is not z
much finer. Can there be any comparifon*
in point of beauty, between the dull mo-
notony of a watery furface, and the delight-
ful variety of gardens, meadows, hills, and
woods ?
If the fituation of Venice renders it lefs
agreeable than another city, to behold at a.
diftance, it muft render it, in a much
ftronger degree, lefs agreeable to inhabit.
For you will pleafe to recoiled:, that,inftead
of walking or riding in the fields, and
enjoying the fragrance of herbs, and the
melody of birds ; when you wi£h to take
the air here, you muft fubmit to be paddled
about, from morning to night, in a narrow
boat, along dirty canals ; or, if you don't
like this, you have one refource more, whicfy
is, that of walking in Su Mark's jplace.
Thefe
MANNERS IN ITALY. 41
Thefe are the difadvantages which Ve-
nice labours under, with regard to fituation;
but it has other peculiarities, which, in the
opinion of many, overbalance them, and
render it, on the whole, an agreeable
town.
Venice is faid to be built in the fea;
that is, it is built in the midft of (hallows,
which (Iretch fome miles from the ihore, at
the bottom of the Adriatic Culph. Though
thofe fhallow r s, being now all covered with
water, have the appearance of one great
lake, yet they are called Lagune, or lakes,
becaufe formerly, as it is imagined, there
were feveral. On failing on the Laguna,
and looking to the bottom, many large
hollows are to be feen, which, at fome
former period, have, very poffibly, been
diftin£t lakes, though now, being all covered
with a common furface of water, they form
one large lake, of unequal depth* The
intervals between thofe hollows, it is fup-
pofed,
42 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
pofed, were little iflands, and are now
fhallows, which, at ebb, are all within
reach of a pole.
When you approach the city, you come
along a liquid road, marked by rows of
flakes on each fide, which dire£t veflels, of
a certain burthen, to avoid the fliallows,
and keep in deeper water. Thefe fhallows
are a better defence to the city than the
ftrongeft fortifications. On the approach of
an enemy's fleet, the Venetians have only
to pull up their flakes, and the enemy can
advance no farther. They are equally be-
yond the infult of a land army, even in the
midft of winter ; for the flux and reflux of
the fea, and the mildnefs of the climate,
prevent fuch a flrength of ice as could
admit the approach of an army tha$
way.
The lake in which Venice ftands, is a
kind of fmall inner gulph, feparated froni
the
MANNERS IN ITALY. 4$
the large one by fame iflands, at a few
miles diftance. Thefe iflands, in a great
meafure, break the force of the Adriatic
ftorms, before they reach the Laguna ; yet,
in very high winds, the navigation of the
lake is dangerous to gondolas, and fome-
times the gondoleers do not truft them-
felves, even on the canals within the city.
This is not fo great an inconveniency to
the inhabitants as you may imagine; be-
caufe molt of the houfes have one door
opening upon a canal, and another com-
municating with the ftreet ; by means of
which, and of the bridges, you can go to
almoft any part of the town by land, as
well as by water.
The number of inhabitants are computed
at about 150,000; the ftreets, in general,
are narrow ; fo are the canals, except the
grand canal ; which is very broad, and has
a ferpentine courfe through the rriiddle of
the city. They tell you, there are feveral
hundred
44 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
hundred bridges in Venice. What pa&
under this name, however, are (ingle arches
thrown over the canals; moft of them
paltry enough,
The Rialto confifts alfo of a fingle arch,
but a very noble one, and of marble. It is
built acrofs the grand canal, near the
middle, where it is narroweft. This cele-
brated arch is ninety feet wide on the level
of the canal, and tw r enty-four feet high.
Its beauty is impaired by two rows of
booths, or ftiops, which are ere&ed upon
it, and divide its upper furface into three
narrow ftreets. The view from the Rialto
is equally lively and magnificent; the
obje&s under your eye are the grand canal,
covered with boats and gondolas, and
flanked on each fide with magnificent
palaces, churches, and fpires ; but this fine
profped is almoft the only one in Venice ;
for, except the Grand Canal, and the Canal
Regio, ail the others are narrow and mean;
fome
MANNERS IN ITALY. 4$
fome of them have no keys; the water
literally wafhes the walls of the houfes.
When you fail along thofe wretched canals,
you have no one agreeable obje£t to cheer
the fight ; and the fmell is overwhelmed
with the ftench which, at certain feafons*
exhales from the water.
VIEW OF
SOCIETY
ANI3
L li i
T E R V.
Venice*
S the only agreeable view in Venice
is from the grand canal, fo the only
fafety, is in the piazza di Sr. Marco, This
is a kind of irregular quadrangle, formed
by a number of buildings, all fingular in
their kind, and very different from each
other.
The Ducal palace — the church of St;
Mark — that of St. Giminiano — a noble
range of buildings, called Procuratie, the
new and the old, in which are the Mufeum,
the public library, and nine large apart-
ments belonging to the Procurators of St.
Mark; all thefe buildings are of marble.
7 There
place where you can walk with eafe and
MANNERS IN ITALY. 47
There is an opening from St. Mark's
Place to the lea, on which ftand two lofty
pillars of granite. Criminals condemned
to fuffer death publicly, are executed be-
tween thefe pillars ; on the top of one of them
IB a lion, with wings; and on the other, a
faint — without wings ; — there is, however,
a large crocodile at his feet, which, I pre-
fume, belongs to him. At one corner of
St. Mark's church, contiguous to the
palace, are two ftatues of Adam and Eve;
they have neither wings nor crocodile, nor
any kind of attendant, not even their old
acquaintance, the ferpent.
At the corner of the new Frocuratie,
a little diftant from the church, ftands the
lieeple of St. Mark. This is a quadran-
gular tower, about three hundred feet in
height. I am told it is not uncommon in
Italy for the church and fleeple to be in
this ftate of difunion ; this fhocked a
clergyman, of my acquaintance, very much ;
he
48 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
he mentioned it to me, many years ago*
amongft the errors and abfurdities of the
church of Rome* The gentleman was
clearly of opinion, that church and fteeple
ought to be infeparable as man and wife,
and that every church ought to confider
its fteeple as mortar of its mortar, and
ftone of its ftone. An old captain of
a fhip, who was prefent, declared himfelf
of the fame way of thinking, and fwore
that a church, divorced from its fteeple,
appeared to him as ridiculous as a fhip
without a maft.
A few paces from the church are three
tall poles, on which enfigns and flags are
hung on days of public rejoicing; Thefe
ftandards are in memory of the three king-
doms, Cyprus, Candia, and Negropont,
which once belonged to this republic ;
the three crowns are ftill kept in the Ducal
palace. Since the kingdoms are gone, I
Ihould think the crowns and the poles
5 hardly
MANNERS IN ITALY. 4 £
hardly worth preferring; they arc, how-
fever, of the fame value to Venice, that the
title of King of France is to his Britannic
Majefty. At the bottom of the Tower of
St. Mark, is a fmall neat building of
marble, called the Loggietta, where fome
of the Procurators of St. Mark conflantly
attend to do bufinefs. Some people are of
opinion that, particularly when the grand
council, or the fenate, are afiembled, thefe
Procurators are placed there, as ftate cen-
tinels, to give warning in cafe of any
appearance of difcontent or commotion
among the populace, which mufl neceffarily
ihew itfelf at this place, as there is no
Other in Venice where a mob cduld
aflemble.
The patriarchal church of St. Mark,
though one of the richeft and moft ex-
pen five in the world, does not ftrike the
eye very much at firft ; the archite&ure is
of a mixed kind, moftly Gothic, yet many
Vol. I. E of
5 o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of the pillars are of the Grecian orders ;
the outfide is incrufted with marble ; the
infide, cieling, and floor, are all of the
fineft marble ; the numerous pillars which
fupport the roof are of the fame fubftance ;
the whole is crowned by five domes.; — but
all this labour and expence have been
dire&ed by a very moderate (hare of tafte.
The front, which looks to the palace,
has five brafs gates, with hiftorical bas-
relieyes ; over the principal gate are placed
the four famous bronze horfes, laid to be
the workman&ip of Lycippus ; they were
given to the emperor Nero, by Tiridates,
king of Armenia; the fiery fpirit of their
countenances, and their animated attitudes,
are perfe&ly agreeable to their original
destination, of being harnefled to the cha-
riot of the Sun.— Nero placed them on the
triumphal arch confecrated to him, and
they are to be feen on the reverfe of fome
of his medals ; they were removed from
Rome
MANNERS IN ITALY. S i
Rome to Conftantinople, placed in the
Hyppodrome by Conftantine, and remained
there till the taking of Conftantinople by
the French and Venetians in the beginning
of the 13th century, when they were car-
ried to Venice, and placed upon the gate
of St. Mark's church.
The treafury of St. Mark is very rich in
jewels and relics ; and it was neceflary to
apply to one of the Procurators of St.
Mark for leave to fee it. I (hall only men-
tion a few of the mod valuable eife&s
kept here. Eight pillars from Solomon's
temple at Jerufalem ; a piece of the Virgin
Mary's veil, fome of her hair, and a fmall
portion of her milk ; the knife ufed by
our Saviour, at his lafb fupper ; one of the
nails of the crofs, and a tew drops of his
blood. After thefe it would be impertinent
to enumerate the bones, and other relics,
of faints and martyrs, of which there is a
plentiful {how in this church, and ftill lefs
E 2 need
S 2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
need I take up your time with an inventor^
of the temporal jewels kept here j it would
be unpardonable, however, to omit men-
tioning the picture of the Virgin, by St.
Luke. From this, compared with his
other works, it is plain, that St. Luke was
a much better evangelift than painter : fome
profeffions feem to be almoft incompatible
with each other. I have known many
very good painters who would have made
bad faints, and here is an inftance of an
excellent faint who was but an indifferent
painter.
The old Procuratie is built of a kind of
black marble ; the new is of the pietra
dura of Iftria.
The church of St. Geminiano is an ele-
gant piece of archite&ure, by Sanfovino.
The Ducal palace is an immenfe build-*
ing, entirely of marble. Befides the apart-
ments
MANNERS IN ITALY. 35
meats of the Doge, there are alfo halls and
chambers for the fenate, and all the dif-
ferent councils and tribunals. The prin-
cipal entrance is by a fpacious ftair, called
the Giants ftair, on account of two Coloflal
ftatues of Mars and Neptune, placed at
the top ; they are of white marble, the
work of Sanfovino, and intended to repre-
fent the naval and military power of this
ftate. Their gigantic fize might be proper
enough formerly, but they would be jufter
emblems of the prefent force of this re-
public if their ftature were more moderate.
Under the porticoes, to which you afcend
by this flair, you may perceive the gaping
mouths of lions, to receive anonymous
letters, informations of treafonable prac-
tices, and accufations of magiftrates for
abufes in office. 1
From the palace there is a covered bridge
of communication to a ftate prifon, on the
E 3 other
54 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
other fide of the canal. Prifoners pafs to
and from the courts over this bridge, which
is named Ponte Dei Sofpiri.
The apartments and halls of the Ducal
palace are ornamented by the pencils of
Titian, Paul Veronefe, Tintoret, Palma,
the Baflans, and other painters. The rape
of Europa, and the ftorming of Zara, both
by Paul Veronefe are amongft the higheft
efteemed pieces of that mafter. The foot
of Europa is honoured with the particular
admiration of the connoiffeurs ; the bull
feems to be of their way of thinking, for
he licks it as he bears her along above the
waves. Some people admire even this
thought of the painter ; I cannot fay I am
of the number : I think it is the only thing
in the picture which is not admirable 3 it is
making Jupiter enter a little too much
into the character which he had affumed.
There are a few pi&ures in this palace by
Titian, but a great many by the other
matters.
MANNERS IN ITALY. £
matters. The fubje&s are moftly taken
from the hiftory of Venice.
Within the palace there is a little
arfenal, which communicates with the hall
of the great council. Here a great number
of mulkets are kept, ready charged, with
which the nobles may arm themfelves on any
fudden infurre&ion, or other emergency.
The lower gallery, or the piazza under
the palace, is called the Broglio. In this
the noble Venetians walk and converfe:
it is only here, and at council, where they
have opportunities of meeting together; for
they feldom vifit openly, or in a family way,
at each other's houfes, and fecret meetings
would give umbrage to the Rate inquifitors;
they chufe, therefore, to tranfadl their
bufinefs on this public walk. People of
inferior rank feldom remain on the Broglio
for any length of time when the nobility
are there.
E 4
5& VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER VI.
Venice.
T Was led, in my laft, Into a very par-
-It ticular (and I wifh you may not have,
alfp. found it a very tedious) defcription of
St, Mark's Place. There is no help for
v/hat is paft, but, for your comfort, you
have nothing of the fame kind to fear
while we remain here; for there is not
another fquare, ox place ^ as the French with
more propriety call them, in all Venice.
To compenfate, however, for their being
but one, there is a greater variety of objects
to be fcen at this one, than in any half
dozen of the fqiiares, or places, of Londou
oi Paris.
After our eyes had been dazzled with
looking at pictures, and our legs cramped
with
MANNERS IN ITALY. 57
y,'ith fitting in a gondola, it is no Tmall
relief, and amufement, to faunter in the
Place of St. Mark.
The number and diverfity of objects
which there prefent themfelves to the eye,
naturally create a very rapid fucceffion of
ideas. The fight of the churches awakens
religious fentiments, and, by an eafy tran-
sition, the mind is led to contemplate
the influence of fuperftition. In the in id ft
pf this reverie, Nero's four horfes appear,
and carry the fancy to Rome and Co n flan-
tinople. While you are forcing your way*
fvvord in hand, with the heroic Henry
Dandelo, into the capital of Afia, Adam
and Eve flop your progrefs, and lead you
to the garden of Eden. You have not
long enjoyed a Hate of innocence and hap-
pinefs in that delightful paradife, till Eve
« her rafh hand in evil hour
Forth reaching to the fruit, fhe plucks, fhe eats.
After
S S VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
After that unfortunate repaft, no more
comfort being to be found there, you are
glad to mount St. Mark's winged lion, and
fly back to the Ducal palace, where you will
naturally reflect on the rife and progrefs
of the Venetian ftate, and the various
fprings of their government. While you
admire the ftrength of a conftitution which
has flood firm for fo many ages, you are
appalled at the fight of the lion's mouth
gaping for accufations ; and turning with
horror from a place where innocence feems
expofed to the attacks of hidden malice,
you are regaled with a profpedt of the fea,
which opens your return to a country of
real freedom, where juftice rejects the libel
of the hidden accufer, and dares to try,
condemn, and execute openly, the higheft*
as well as the loweft, delinquent*
I a dure you I have, more than once,
made all this tour, ftanding in the
middle of St. Mark's fquare; whereas,
in
8
MANNERS IN ITALY. 59
in the French places, you have no-
thing before your eyes but monuments
of the monarch's vanity, and the people's
adulation ; and in the greater part of the
London fquares, and ftreets, what idea can
prefent itfclf to the imagination, beyond
that of the fnug neatnefs and conveniency
of fubftantial brick houfes ?
I have been fpeaking hitherto of a morn-
ing faunter ; for in the evening there ge-
nerally is, on St. Mark's Place, fuch a
mixed multitude of Jews, Turks, and
ChriRians ; lawyers, knaves, and pick-
pockets ; mountebanks, old women, and
phyficians ; women of quality, with rnafks;
ftrumpets barefaced ; and, in fhort, fuch a
jumble of fenators, citizens, gondoleers,
and people of every character and condition,
that your ideas are broken, bruifed, and
diflocated in the crowd, in fuch a manner,
that you can think, or refledt, 00 nothing;
yet
6o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
yet this being a ftate of mind which many
people are fond of, the place never fails to
be well attended, and, in fine weather,
numbers pafs a great part of the night
there. When the piazza is illuminated,
and the fiiops, in the adjacent ftreets,
lighted up 3 the whole has a brilliant effe£t ;
and as it is the cuftom for the ladies, as
well as the gentlemen, to frequent the
caffinos and coffee* houfes around, the
Place of St. Mark anfwers all the purpofes
of either Vauxhall or Ranelagh.
It is not in St. Mark's Place that you are
to look for the fined monuments of the
art of Titian, or the genius of Palladio ;
for thofe you muft viiit the churches and
palaces : but if you are inclined to make
that tour, you mull: find another Cicerone,
for I fhall certainly not undertake the office.
I do not pretend to be a competent judge of
painting or architecture; I have no new
remarks
MANNERS IN ITALY. 6r
remarks to make on thofe fubje&s, and I
wifh to avoid a hackneyed repetition of what
has been faid by others.
Some people feem affe&ed by paintings
to a degree which I never could feel, and
can fcarcely conceive. I admire the works
of Guido and Raphael, but there are
amateurs who fall downright in love with
every man, woman, or angel, produced by
thofe painters.
When the fubjed is pathetic, I am often
firuck with the genius and execution of the
artift, and touched with the fcene repre-
fented, but without feeling thofe violent
emotions of grief which fome others dif-
play. I have feen a man fo affe&ed with
the grief of Venus, for the death of
Adonis, that he has wiped his eyes as if
he had been fhedding tears; and have heard
another exprefs as much horror at the
martyrdom of a faint, as he could have
7 done
6z VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
done had he been prefent at the real exe-
cution. Horace's obfervation is perfe&ly
juft, as he applies it,
Segnius irritant animos demifla per aurem,
Quam quas funt oculis fubje&a fidelibus—
He is treating of dramatic pieces ;
Aut agitur res in fcenis, aut adta rcfertur,
is the preceding line. On the ftage, what
is actually reprefented, makes a ftronger
impreflion than what is only related ; and
in real life, no doubt, we fhould be more
fhocked by feeing a murder committed,
than by hearing an account of it. But
whether feeing a pathetic ftory exprefTed
in painting, or hearing it related, has the
moft powerful efFed, is a different queftion.
I only fay for myfelf, that, on contem-
plating a painted tragedy, I can never help
recolle&ing that it is a&ed upon canvas.
This never fails to dart fuch a ray of
comfort into my heart, as cheers it up,
in fpite of all the blood and carnage I fee
before
MANNERS IN ITALY- 63
before my eyes. With a mind fo vulgarly
fabricated, you will not be furprifed when
I acknowledge, that I have felt more com-
paffion at the fight of a fingle highway-
man going to Tyburn, than at the maflacrc
of two thoufand innocents, though exe-
cuted by Nicholas Pouflin himfelf. This
convinces me that I am not endued with
the organ s of a connoifleur.
But if you are violently bent upon being
thought a man of very refined talle, there
are books in abundance to be had, which
will put you in pofleffion of all the terms
of technical applaufe, or cenfure, and fur-
nifli you with fuitable expreffions for the
w 7 hole climax of fenfibility. As for myfelf,
I was long ago taught a leftbn, which made
a deep impreffion on my mind, and wjll
efFe&ually prevent me from every affecta-
tion of that kind. Very early in life, I
refided above a year at Paris, and happened
€ne day to accompany five or fix of our
countrymen,
64 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
countrymen, to view the piSures in th&
Palais'Royal. A gentleman who affected
an ehthufiaftic paffion for the fine arts*
particularly that of painting, and who had
the greateft defire to be thought a con-*
hoifleur, was of the party. He had read
the lives of the painters, and had the
Voyage Pittorefque de Paris by heart.
From the moment we entered the rooms he
began to difplay all the refinements of his
tafte; he inftru&ed us what to admire, and
drew us away with every figti of difguft
tvhen Wt Hopped a moment at an un-
celebrated picture. We w T ere afraid of
appearing pleafed with any thing we fawj
till he informed us whether or not it wad
worth looking at. He fhook his head at
fome, to fled up his nofe at others ; com-
mended a few, and pronounced fentence
on every piece, as he palled along, witH
the mod imponng tone of fagacity. — <c Bad,
" that Caravaggio is too bad indeed, devoid
" of all grace j — but here is a Caracci that
" makes
MANNERS IN ITALY. 65
iC makes amends ; how charming the grief
u of that Magdalen ! The Virgin, you'll
" obferve, gentlemen, is only fainting, but
* c the Chrift is quite dead. Look at the
<c arm, did you ever fee any thing fo dead ?
" - — Aye, here's a Madona, which they
" tell you is an original, by Guido; but
" any body may fee that it is only a tole-
" rable copy. — Pray, gentlemen, obferve
u this St. Sehaftian, how delightfully he
c< expires : Don't you all feel the arrow
cc in your hearts? Pm fure I feel it in
u mine. Do let us move on ; I fhould die
u with agony if I looked any longer."
We at length came to the St. John, by
Raphael, and here this man of tafte flop-
ped fhort in an extafy of admiration. — One
of the company had already pafTed it,
without minding it, and was looking at
another pidture ; on which the connoifTeur
bawled out — " Good God, Sir ! what are
?? you about?" Thehoneft gentleman ftarted,
Vol. I. F and
66 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and flared around to know what crime h£
had been guilty of.
<c Have you eyes in your head, Sir? 1 '
continued the connoifleur : u Don't you
" know St* John when you fee him V 9
<c St.- John!" replied the other, in amaze-
ment. " Aye, Sir, St. John the Baptift,
" in propria perf on a"
" I don't know what you mean, Sir,**
faid the gentleman, peevifhly.
<c Don't you? 5 * rejoined the connoifleur ;
€l then I'll endeavour to explain myfelf. I
" mean St. John in the wildernefs, by the
M divine Raffaelle Sanzio da Urbino, and
* c there he ftands by your fide. — Pray, my
4C dear Sir, will you be fo obliging as to
iC beftow a little of your attention on that
" foot ? Does it not ftart from the wall ?
" Is it not perfectly out of the frame ? Did
<c you
MANNERS IN ITALY. 67
u you ever fee fuch colouring ? They talk
" of Titian ; can Titian's colouring excel
" that? What truth, what nature in the
u head! To the eloquence of the antique,
ic here is joined the fimplicity of nature.'*
We flood lifcening in filent admiration*
and began to imagine we perceived all the
perfections he enumerated 5 when a perfon
in the Duke of Orleans' fervice came and
informed us, that the original, which he
prefumed was .the picture we wiihed to
fee, was in another room ; the Duke
having allowed a painter to copy it. That
which w T e had been looking at w r as a very
wretched daubing, done from the original
by fome obfcure painter, and had been
thrown, with other rubbiih, into a corner;
where the Swifs had accidentally difcovered
it, and had hung it up merely by w r ay of
covering the vacant fpace on the wall, till
the other fhould be replaced.
How
68 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
How the connoifleur looked on this try-
ing occafion, I cannot fay. It would have
been barbarous to have turned an eye upon
him. — I ftepped into the next room, fully
determined to be cautious in deciding on
the merit of painting ; perceiving that it
was not fafe, in this fcience, to fpeak even
from the book.
MANNERS IN ITALY. 69
LETTER VII.
Venice.
E acquire an early partiality for
W * Rome, by reading the daffies, and
the hiftory of the ancient republic. Other
parts of Italy alfo intereft us more on
account of their having been the refidence
of the old Romans, than from the regard
we pay to what has been tranfa&ed there
during the laft fourteen or fifteen cen-
turies.
Venice claims no importance from an T
cient hiftory, and boafts no connection
with the Roman republic ; it fprung from
the ruins of that empire; and whatever
its annals offer worthy of the attention of
mankind, is independent of the prejudice
we feel in favour of the Roman name,
The
7 o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The independence of Venice was not built
on ufurpation, nor cemented with blood ;
it was founded on the firft law of human
nature, and the undoubted rights of man.
About the middle of the fifth century,
when Europe formed one continued fcene
of violence and bloodfhed ; a hatred of
tyranny, a love of liberty, and a dread of
the cruelty of Barbarians, prompted the
Veneti, a people inhabiting a fmall diftridl
of Italy, a few of the inhabitants of Padua,
and fome peafants who lived on the fertile
banks of the Po, to feek an afylum from
the fury of Atilla, amongft the little iflands
and marflies at the bottom of the Adriatic
Gulph.
Before this time fome fifhermen had
built fmall houfes, or huts, on one of thefe
iflands, called Rialto. The city of Padua,
with a view to draw commercial advantages
from this eftablifiiment, encouraged fome
of
MANNERS IN ITALY. yt
of her inhabitants to fettle there, and fent
every year three or four citizens to aft as
magiftrates. When Attila had taken and
deftroyed Aquileia, great numbers from all
the neighbouring countries fled toRiaito;
whofe fize being augmented by new houfes,
took the name of Venice, from the diftri£t
from which the greater number of the
earlieft refugees had fled. On the death of
Attila, many returned to their former ha-
bitations ; but thofe who preferred freedom
and fecurity to all other advantages, re-
mained at Venice. Such was the beginning
of this celebrated republic. Some nice
diftinguiihers pretend, that this was the
beginning of their freedom, but not of their
independency ; for they aflert, that the
Venetians were dependent on Padua, as
their mother city. It is certain that the
Paduans claimed fuch a prerogative over
this infant ftate, and attempted to lubject
her to fome commercial reftridions j thefe
F 4 were
72 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
were rejected by the Venetians, as arbitrary
and vexatious. Difputes arofe very dan-
gerous to both ; but they ended in Venice
entirely throwing off the jurifdidion of
Padua. It is curious, and not unworthy
of ferious attention in the prefent age, to
fee the parent now totally fubje&ed to the
child, whom fhe wifhed to retain in too
rigorous a dependence.
The irruption of the Lombards into
Italy, while it fpread havoc and deftruclioa
over the adjacent country, was the caufe of
a great acceffion of firength to Venice, by
the numbers of new refugees who fled to i t
with all the wealth they could carry, and
became fubje£ts of this ftate.
The Lombards themfelves, while they
eftablifhed their kingdom in the northern
parts of Italy, and fubdued all the ancient
diftri£t of the Veneti, thought proper to
leave
MANNERS IN ITALY. 73
leave this little ftate unmolefted, imagining
that an attempt againft it would be attended
with more trouble than profit ; and while
they carried on more important conquefts,
they found it convenient to be on a good
footing with Venice, whofe numerous fqua-
drons of fmall veffels could render the moft
effential fervices to their armies. Accord-
ingly leagues and treaties were formed
occafionally between the two ftates; the
Lombards in all probability imagining, that
it would be in their power, at any time, to
make themfelves mafters of this inconfider-
able republic. But when that people had
fully eftablifhed their new kingdom, and
were free from the expence of other wars,
they then found Venice fo much increafed
in ftrength, that, however much they might
have wifhed to comprehend it within their
dominions, it appeared no longer confident
with found policy to make the attempt.
They therefore chofe rather to confirm
their ancient alliance by frefti treaties.
When
74 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
When Charlemagne overturned the
kingdom of the L ombards, and, after hav-
ing fent their king Didier prifoner to
France, was crowned emperor at Rome,
by Leo the Third, the Venetian ftate cul-
tivated the favour of that conqueror with
fo much addrefs, that, inftead of attempt-
ing any thing againft their independence,
he confirmed the treaty they had made
with the Lombards; by which, among
other things, the limits, or boundaries, be-
tween the two ftates, were afcertained.
In the wars with the eaftern empire, and
in thofe of later date between France and
the houfe of Auftria, Venice always endea-
voured to avoid the refentment of either of
the contending parties; fecretly,* however,
affifting that which was at the greateft
diftance from her own dominions, and, of
conf quence ; the leaft formidable to her.
Thofe great powers, on their parts, were fo
eager to humble, or deftroy, each other,
3 that
MANNERS IN ITALY. 75
that the riling vigour of Venice was per-
mitted to grow, for ages, almoil unobferv-
ed. Like the fame of Marcellus, it might
have been faid of that republic,
Crefcit occulto velut arbor asvo.
And when, at length, fhe began to excite
the jealoufy of the great ftates of Europe,
fhe had acquired ftrength and revenues
fufficient to refill: not only one, but great
combinations of thofe powers leagued for
her deftru&ion.
This republic, in its various periods of
increafe, of meridian fplendor, - and of de-
clenfion, has already exifted for a longer
time than any other of which hiflory
makes mention. The Venetians themfelves
affert, that this duration is owing to the
excellent materials of which their govern-
ment has been compofed, by which they
imagine it has long fince been brought to.
the higheft degree of perfe&ion.
As
76 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
As I have beftowed fome time fince we
came hither in confidering the Venetian
hiftory and government, I fliall, in my
next, take a general view of thofe boafted
materials, that we may be able to judge
whether or not this high eulogium is well
founded.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
77
LETTER VIII.
Venice.
HE firft form of government efta-
bliflied at Venice, was purely tie-
mocratical. Magiftrates were chofen by a
general aflembly of the people : they were
called tribunes ; and as this fmall com-
munity inhabited feveral little iflands, a
tribune was appointed to judge caufes, and.
diftribute juftice on each of thofe iflands.
His power was continued one year ; at the
expiration of which, he was accountable
for his conduct to the general aflembly of
the people, who annually ele&ed a new fet
of tribunes.
This fimple form of government, while
it marks a ftridt regard to that freedom fo
delightful
78 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
delightful to the mind of man, was found
fufficient, for the fpace of a hundred and
fifty years, to maintain order in a fmall
community, fituated as this was. At
length the bad adminiflration of fome of
the tribynes, difcOrd and animofity among
others, and fome fufpicions that the Lom-
bards promoted civil diflention, with a view
to bring the republic under their dominion,
awakened the fears of the people, and made
them liften to the opinions of thofe who
thought a change in the form of govern-
ment neceffary.
After various debates and propofals, it
was finally determined, that a chief ma-
giftrate fhould be ele&ed, as the centre of
public authority, whofe power might give
fuch vigour and efficacy to the laws, as was
abfolutely neceffary in times of danger,
and whofe duty fhould be, to dired the
force of the refources of the jftate with
promptitude; uncramped by that oppofi-
tion,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 79
fition, and confequent dilatorinefs, which
had been too apparent under the tribunes.
This magiftrate was not to be named King,
but Duke, which has fince been corrupted
to Doge ; the office was not to be here-
ditary, but ele&ive; and the Doge was to
enjoy it for life. It was agreed that he
fhould have the nomination of all the in-
ferior magiftrates, and the power of
making peace, and declaring war, without
confulting any but fuch of the citizens as
he fhould think proper.
When the ele&ion took place, all the
fufFrages fell upon Paul Luc Anafefte, who
entered into this new office in the year
697.
✓
The Venetians muft certainly have felt
great inconveniences from their former
government, or have been under great
dread from domeftic or foreign enemies,
before
So VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
before they could fubmit to fuch a funda-
mental change in the nature of their
confutation. It is evident, that, on
this occafion, they feem to have loft
that jealous attention to liberty which
they formerly poffefled ; for while they
withheld from their chief magiftrate the
name, they left him all the pow r er, of a
King. There is no period when real
and enlightened patriots ought to watch
with more vigilance over the rights of the
people, than in times of danger from
foreign enemies ; for the public in general
are then fo much engroffed by the dangers
from without, that they overlook the en-
croachments which are more apt, at thofe
times than any other, to be made on their
conftitution from within: and it is bf fmall
importance that men defend their country
from foreign foes, unlefs they retain fuch a
fhare of internal freedom, as renders a
country worth the defending,
6 It
MANNERS IN ITALY. 8i
It is highly probable, that the great
degree of popularity which their firft Doge
had acquired before he arrived at that
dignity, and the great confidence the people
had in his public and private virtues, ren-
dered them unwilling to limit the power
of a perfon who, they were convinced,
•would make a good ufe of it. If the man
had been immortal, and incorruptible, they
would have been in the right : however,
itmuft be confefled, that this Dogejuftified
their good opinion more than favourites of
the people generally do.
In the councils which he called on any
matter of importance, he fent meflages
to thofe citizens, for w r hofe judgment he
had the greateft efteem, prayings that they
w r ould come, and affift him with their
advice. This method was obferved after-
wards by fucceeding Doges, and the citi-
zens fo fent for were called Pregadi. The
poge's council are ftill called Pregadi,
Vol, I, G though
82 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
though they have long fat independent of
his invitation*
The firft, and fecond Doge, governed
with moderation and ability ; but the third
gave the Venetians reafon to repent that
they had not confined the powers of their
chief magiftrate within narrower limits.
After having ferved the ftate by his mili-
tary talents, he endeavoured to enflave it ;
his projects were difcovered; but as the
improvident people, in the laft arrangement
of their conftitution, had preferved no legal
remedy for fuch an evil, they were obliged
to ufe the only means now in their power.
They affaulted the Doge in his palace,
and put him to death without farther
ceremony.
The people had conceived fo much hatred
for him, that, after his death, they refolved
to abolifh the office. In the general affem-
bly it was agreed, that the chief magiftrate,
for
8
MANNERS IN ITALY. 83
for the future, fhould be elected every year;
that he fhould have the fame power as
formerly, while he remained in office; but,
as this was to be for a fhort time, they
imagined he would behave with equity and
moderation ; and as they had an equal dif-
like to Doge and Tribune, he was called
Mafter of the Militia.
The form of government, introduced by
this revolution, was but of fhort duration.
Fa&ions arofe, and became too violent for
the tranfient authority of the Matters of the
Militia to reftrain. The office expired fiv$
years after its inftitution ; and, by one of
thofe ftrange and unaccountable changes of
fentiment, to which the multitude are fo
fubjed, the authority of the Doge was
reftored in the perfon of the fon of their
laft Doge, whom, in a fit of furious dis-
content, they had aflaffinated. This re-
Iteration happened about the year 730.
For
84 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
For a long time after this, the Venetian
annals difplay many dreadful fcenes of
cruelty, revolt, and aflaffination ; Doges
abufing their power, endeavouring to efta-
blilh a permanent and hereditary defpotifm,
by having their eldeft fons aflbciated in the
office with themfelves, and then oppreffing
the people with double violence. The
people, on the other hand, after bearing,
with the moil abjed patience, the capri-
cious cruelty of their tyrants, rifing at
once, and murdering them, or driving
them, with ignominy, out of their do-
minions. Unable to bear either limited or
abfolute government, the impatient and
capricious multitude wifh for things which
have always been found incompatible ; the
fecrecy, promptitude, and efficacy, of a de-
fpotic government, with all the freedom and
mildnefs of a legal and limited conftitution*
It is remarkable, that when the Doge
was, even in a fmall degree, popular, he
feldoix*
MANNERS IN ITALY. 85
feldom found any difficulty in getting his
fon elected his aflbciate in the fovereJga
authority ; and when that was not the cafe,
there are many inftances of the fon being
chofen dire&ly on the death of his father.
Yet, about the middle of the tenth cen-
tury, the fon of the Doge, Peter Candiano,
took arms, and rebelled againil his father.
Being foon after defeated, and brought in
chains to Venice, he was condemned to
banifhment, and declared incapable of
being ever elected Doge. It appears, how-
ever, that this worthlefs perfon was a great
favourite of the people ; for no fooner was
his father dead, than he was chofen to
fucceed him, and condu&ed, in great pomp,
from Ravenna, the place of his exile, to
Venice.
The Venetians were feverely punifhed
for this inftance of levity. Their new Doge
G 3 fhewed
86 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fliewed himfelf as tyrannical in the cha-
racter of a fovereign, as he had been un-
dutiful in that of a fon. He became a
monfter of pride and cruelty. The people
began to murmur, and be became fufcep-
tible of that terror which ufually accom-
panies tyrants. He eftablifhed a body of
life-guards, to defend his perfon, and
lodged them within the palace. This in-
novation filled the people with indigna-
tion, and awakened all their fury. They
attack the palace, are repulfed by the
guards, and fet fire to the contiguous
houfes. The wretched Doge> in danger of
being confumed by the flames, appears at
the gate of the palace, with his infant fon
in his arms, imploring the compaffion of
the multitude : they, inexorable as demons,
tear in pieces both father and child. At
fuch an inflance of favage fury, the human
affe&ions revolt from the oppreffed people,
and take part with their oppreffor. We
almoft
MANNERS IN ITAL Y. 87
almoft wifh he had lived, that he might
have fwept from the earth a fet of wretches
more barbarous than himfelf.
Having fpent their fury in the de-
finition of the tyrant, they leave the
tyranny as before. No meafures are taken
to limit the power of the Doge.
For fome time after this, a fpirit of
fuperflition feemed to lay hold of thofe
who filled that office, as if they had
intended to expiate the pride of the late
tyrant by their own humility. His three
immediate fucceflbrs, after each of them
had reigned a few years with applaufe,
abandoned their dignity, Ihut themfelves
up in convents, and palfed the latter years
of their lives as Monks.
Whatever contempt thofe pious Doges
difplayed for worldly things, their example
made little impreffion on their fubjctts,
G 4 who.
88 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
who, about this time, began to monopolize
the trade and riches of Europe. And fome
years after, when all Chriftendom was
feized with the religious phrenzy of re-
covering the Holy Land, the Venetians kept
fo perfedly free from the general infedion,
that they did not fcruple to fupply the
Saracens with arms and ammunition, in
fpite of the edids of their Doges, and the
remonftrances of the Pope, and other pious
princes,
Thofe commercial cafuifts declared, that
religion is one thing, and trade another ;
that, as children of the church, they were
willing to believe all that their mother re-
quired ; but, as merchants, they muft carry
their goods to the beft market*
In my next, I fhall proceed with my
review of the Venetian government.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
89
LETTER IX.
Venice.
HE minds of the Venetians were not
JL fo totally engroffed by commercial
ideas, as to make them negledt other means
of aggrandizing their ftate. All Iftria fub-
mitted itfelf to their government : many of
the free towns of Dalmatia, haraffed by
the Narentines, a nation of robbers and
pirates on that coaft, did the fame. Thofe
towns which refufed, were reduced to
obedience, by Peter Urfeolo, the Doge of
Venice, who had been fent with a fleet
againft them, in the year 1000. He carried
his arms alfo into the country of the Naren-
tines, and deftroyed many of their towns.
On his return it was determined, in a
general aiTembly of the people, that the
conquered
VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
conquered towns and provinces fhould be
governed by magiftrates fent from Venice.
Thofe magiftrates called Podeftas, were
appointed by the Doge. The inhabitants
of thofe new-acquired towns were not
admitted to the privileges of citizens of
Venice, nor allow r ect to vote at the general
aflemblv : the fame rule was obferved with
regard to the inhabitants of all the do-
minions afterwards acquired by the re-
public. It will readily occur, that this
actelfion of dominions to the ftate greatly
augmented the influence and power of the
chief magiftrate : this, and the pradlice of
afTociating the fon of the Doge with his
lather, raifed jealoufies among the people,
and a law was made, abolifhing fuch aflb*
ciations for the future.
In the year 1173, after the afTafiination
of the Doge Michieli, a far more important
alteration took place in the government.
At this time there was no other tribunal at
Venice
MANNERS IN ITALY. 91
Venice than that of forty judges. This
court had been eftablifhed many years be-
fore: it took cognizance of all caufes, civil
as well as criminal, and was called the
council of forty. This body of men, in the
midft of the diforder and confufion which
followed the murder of the Doge, formed
apian of new-modelling the government.
Hitherto the people had retained great
privileges. They had votes in the affem-
blies ; and, although the defcendants of the
ancient tribunes, and of the Doges, formed
a kind of nobility, yet they had no legal
privileges, or exclufive jurifdidtion ; no-
thing to diftinguiih. them from their fellow-
citizens, but what their riches, or the fpon-
taneous refpe£t paid to the antiquity of
their families, gave them. Any citizen,
as well as them, might be elected to a
public office. To acquire the honours
of the ftate, it was abfolutely neceffary
for the greateft and proudeft Vene-
tian, to cultivate the good-will of the
multitude,
92 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
multitude, whofe voice alone could raife
him to the rank of Doge, and whofe rage
had thrown fo many from that envied
fituation. The inconveniences, the difcord,
and confufion, of fuch a mixed multitude,
had been long felt, but nobody had hitherto
had the boldnefs to ftrike at this eftablifhed
right of the people.
The city was divided into fix parts,
called Seftiers. The council of forty pro-
cured it to be eftablifhed, in the firft place,
that each of thofe feftiers fhould annually
name two electors ; that thofe twelve elec-
tors £hould have the right of choofing,
from the whole body of the people, four
hundred and feventy counfellors, who
Ihould be called the Grand Council, and
who fhould have the fame power, in all
refpeds, which the general aflembly of the
people formerly enjoyed.
It was pretended, that this regulation was
contrived merely to prevent confufion, and
4 to
MANNERS IN ITALY. 9i
to eftablifh regularity in the great national
affembly; that the people's right of ele&ioa
remained as before, and, by changing the
counfellors yearly, thofe who were not
fle&ed one year might retain hopes of
being chofen the next. The people did
not perceive that this law would be fatal to
their importance : it proved, however, the
foundation of the ariftocracy, which was
foon after eftablifhed, and ftill fubfifts.
The forty judges next propofed another
regulation, ftill more delicate and import-
ant. That, to prevent the tumults and dif-
orders which were expected at the impend-
ing ele&ion of a Doge, they fhould (for
that time only) name eleven commiffioners,
from thofe of the higheft reputation for
judgment and integrity in the ftate; that
the choice of a Doge fhould be left to thofe
commiffioners, nine fufFrages being indif-
penfably requifite to make the ele&ion
valid.
This
94 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
This evidently pointed at the exclufiori
of the people from any concern whatever
in the creation of the chief magiftrate, and
certainly was the obje£t in view ; yet, as it
was propofed only as a temporary expe-
dient, to prevent diforders, when men's
minds were irritated againft each other,
and fa&ions ran high, the regulation was
agreed to.
Having, with equal dexterity and fuccefs,
fixed thofe reftraints on the power of the
people, the council of forty turned their
attention, in the next place, towards limit-
ing the authority of the Doge. This was
confidered as too exorbitant, even for good
men ; and, in the hands of wicked men,
had always been perverted to the purpofes
of tyranny, and for which no remedy had
hitherto been founds but what was aimoffc
as bad as the evils themfelves ; revolt on
the part of the people, and all the horrors
and excelfes with which fuch an expedient
is
MANNERS IN ITALY. 95
is ufually accompanied. The tribunal of
forty therefore propofed, that the grand
council fhould annually appoint fix perfons,
one from each divifion of the city, who
fhould form the privy council of the Doge,
and, without their approbation, none of his
orders fhould be valid ; fo that, inftead of
appointing his own privy-council, which
had been the cuftom hitherto, the authority
of the chief magillrate would, for the fu-
ture, in a great meafure, depend on fix men,
who, themfelves, depended on the grand
council. To be conftantly furrounded by
fuch a fet of counfellors, inftead of creatures
of his own, however reafonable it may feem
in the eyes of the impartial, would have
been confidered by one in pofleffion of the
.dignity of Doge, as a moft intolerable in-
novation, and probably would have been
oppofed by all his influence ; but there was
no Doge exifting w T hen the propofal was
made, and confequently it paffed into a law
with univerfal approbation.
Laftly,
§6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Laftly, it was propofed to form a fenate*
confifting of fixty members, which were
to be eledted, annually, out of the grand
council. This aflcmbly was in the room
of that which the Doge formerly had the
power of convocating, on extraordinary
occafions, by fending merges, praying
certain citizens to come, and afTift him with
their advice. The members of the new
fenate, more fixed and more independent
than thofe of the old, are ftill called the
Pregadi. This alfo was agreed to without
opposition ; and immediately after the fu-
neral of the late Doge, all thofe regulations
took place.
They began by choofing the grand
council of four hundred and feventy, then
the fenate of fixty, then the fix counfellors,
and laftly, the eleven ele&ors. Thefe laft
were publicly fworn, that in the election
now entrufted to them, rejecting every
motive of private intereft, they fhould give
their
MANNERS IN ITALY. 97
their voices for that perfon, whofe elevation
to the dignity of Doge they believed, in
their confciences, would prove mod for the
advantage of the State.
After this, thev retired to a chamber of
the palace, an 1 Qrio Malipier, one of the
eleven, had the votes of his ten colleagues;
but he, with a modefty which feems to
have been unaffeded, declined the office,
and ufed all his influence with the electors
to make choice of Sebaftian Ziani, a man
diftinguifhed in the republic on account of
his talents, his wealth, and his virtues;
alluring them that, in the prefect emer-
gency, he was a more proper perfon than
himfelf for the office. Such was their
opinion of Malipier's judgment, that his
colleagues adopted his opinion, and Ziani
was unanimoufly elected.
As this mode of election was quite new,
and as there was reafon to imagine that
Vol. !• H the
98 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the bulk of the people, on reflection, would
not greatly approve of it, and that the new-
Doge would not be received with the ufual
acclamations, Ziani took care that creat
quantities of money fhould be thrown
among the multitude, when he was fir ft
prefented to them. No Doge was ever re-
ceived with louder acclamations.
During the reign of Ziani, the lingular
ceremony of efpoufing the fea was firft
inftituted.
Pope Alexander the Third, to avoid the
refentment of the emperor Frederic Bar-
baroffa, had taken refuge at Venice, and
was prote&ed by that State. The emperor
fent a powerful fleet againft it, under the
command of his fon Otho. Ziani met him
with the fleet of Venice. A very obftinate
engagement enfued, in which the Vene-
tians were vi&orious. The Doge returned
in triumph, with thirty of the enemy's
veflfels.
MANNERS IN ITALY. 99
veflels, in one of which was their com-
mander Otho. All the inhabitants of
Venice rufhed to the fea Chore, to meet
their victorious Doge : the Pope himfelf
came, attended by the fenate and clergy.
After embracing Ziani, his Holinefs pre-
fented him with a ring, faying, with a loud
voice, cc Take this ring ; iife it as a chaia
" to retain the fea, henceforth, in fub-
€i je£lion to the Venetian empire ; efpoufe
€i the fea with this ring, and let the mar-"
iS riage be folemnized annually, by you
c< and your fucceffors, to the end of time,
<c that the lateft pofterity may know that
u Venice has acquired the empire of the
" waves, and that the fea is fubje&ed to
" you, as a wife is to her hufband."
As this fpeech came from the head of
the church, people were not furprifed to
find it a little myfterious j and the multi-
tude, without confidering whether it con-
tained much reafon or common fenfe, re-
H 2 ceived
ioo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ceived It with the greateft applaufe. The
marriage has been regularly celebrated every
year fmce that time.
After the death of Ziani, if the terms
which had been agreed upon previous to
the election, had been literally adhered to,
the grand council of four hundred and
feventy would have proceeded to choofe a
Doge, fimply by the plurality of votes; but,
for fome reafon which is not now known,
that method was waved, and the following
adopted. Four perfons were chofen by the
grand council, each of whom had the
power of naming ten ; and the whole forty
had the appointing of the Doge.
Their choice fell upon the fame Orio
Malipier, who had declined the dignity in
favour of his friend Ziani.
Under the .adminiftration of Malipier,
two new forms of magistracy were created ;
the
MANNERS IN ITALY, 101
the fii ft was that of the Avogadors. Their
duty is to take care that the laws in being
fhall be pun&ually executed ; and while it
is the bufinefs of other magi fit rates to pro-
ceed againft the tranfgreffors of the laws, it
is theirs to bring a procels againft thcfe
magiftrates who negledfc to put them in
execution. They decide alfo on the nature
of accufations, and determine before which
of the courts every caufe fhall be brought,
not leaving it in the power of either of
the parties to carry a caufe to a high court,
which is competent to be tried by one lefs
expenfive ; and no refolution of the grand
council, or fenate, is valid, unlefs, at leaft,
one of the three Avogadors be prefent
during the deliberation. It is alfo the
duty of the Avogadors to keep the originals
of all the decifions and regulations of the
grand council and fenate^ and to order
them, and all other laws, to be read over,
whenever they think proper, by way of re-
frefhing the memories of the fenators. If
H 3 the
io% VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the fenators are obliged to attend during thofe
lectures, this is a very formidable power
indeed. I am acquainted with fenators in
another country, who would fooner give
their judges the power of putting them to
death at once, in a lefs lingering manner.
The fecond clafs of magifirates, created
at this time, was that called Judges al Fo-
refiieri ; there are alfo three of them. It
is their duty to decide, in all caufes be-
tween citizens and ftrangers, and in all dis-
putes which ftrangers have with each other.
This inftitution was peculiarly expedient,
at 9. time when the refort from all countries
to Venice was very great, both on account
of commerce, and of the CrufadeSo
In the year 1192, after a very able
adminiftration, Malipier, who w r as of a very
philofophical turn of mind, abdicated the
office of Doge, and Henry Dandolo was
idedted in his place.
I
MANNERS IN ITALY. 103
I am a great deal too much fatigued
with the preceding narrative, to accom-
pany one of his a£tive and enterprifmg
genius at prefent; and I have good reafon
to fufped, that you alfo have been ? for
fome time paft ? inclined to repofe.
H 4
VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER X.
Venice.
TJEnry Dandolo had, in his early
JL years, paffed, with general appro-
bation, through many of the fubordinate
offices of government ; and had, a few
years before he was elected to the dignity
of Doge, been Amhaffador at the court of
Manuel, the Greek emperor at Conftan-
tinople. There, on account of his inflexible
integrity, and his refufing to enter into
the views of Manuel, which he thought
contrary to the interefl of his country, his
eyes were aim oft entirely put out, by order
of that tyrant. Notwithftanding this im-
pediment, and his great age, being above
eighty, he was now eleded to the office of
Doge.
At
MANNERS IN ITALY. . 105
At this time, fome of the moft powerful
princes and nobles of France and Flanders,
mitigated by the zeal of Innocent the Third,
and ftill more by their own pious fervour,
refolved, in a fourth crufade, to attempt
the recovery of the Holy Land, and the
fepulchre of Chrift, from the hands of
Infidels ; and being, by the fate of others,
taught the difficulties and dangers of tranf-
porting armies by land, they reiolved to
take their pafiage from Europe to Afia by
fea. On this occafion they applied to the
Venetian State, who not only agreed to
furnifh (hips for the tranfportation of the
army, but alfo to join, with an armed fleet,
as principals in the expedition.
The French army arrived foon after in
the Venetian State ; but fo ill had they cal-
culated, that, when every thing was ready
for the embarkation, part of the fum which
they had agreed to pay for the tranfporting
their troops, was deficient This occafioned
difputes
/
£06 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
flifputes between the French leaders and
the State, which the Doge put an end to,
by propofing, that they fhould pay in mili-
tary fervices what they could not furniih in
money. This was accepted, and the firft
exploits of the Crufade army were, the re-
duction of the town of Zara, and other
places in Dalmatia, which had revolted
from the Venetians. It had been previoufiy
agreed, that, after this fervice, the army
fhould embark immediately for Egypt ; but
Dandolo, who had another project more at
heart, reprefented that the feafon was too
far advanced, and found means to perfuade
fhe French army to winter in Dalmatia.
During this interval, Dandolo, availing
himfelf of fome favourable circumftances,
had the dexterity to determine the French
Crufaders, in fjpite of the interdiction of
the Pope, to join wkh the Venetian forces,
and to carry their arms againfl: the em-
peror of Conftantinople ; an expedition
whicl^
MANNERS IN ITALY. 107
which, Dandolo aflerted, would facilitate
their original plan againft the Holy Land,
and which, he was convinced, would be
attended with far greater advantages to
both parties.
The crown of Conftantinople was never
furrounded with greater dangers, nor has it
ever known more fudden revolutions, than
at this period.
Manuel, who had treated Dandolo, while
ambaffador, with fo much barbarity, had
been precipitated from the throne. His im-
mediate fucceffor had, a fhort time after, ex-
perienced the fame fate. Betrayed by his own
brother, his eyes had been put out, and, in
that deplorable condition, he was kept clofe
prifoner by the ufurper. The fon' of this
unfortunate man had efcaped from Con-
flantinople, and had arrived at Venice, to
implore the protection of that State : the
companion which his misfortune naturally
excited,
Ml VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
excited, had confiderable effed in promo-
ting the Doge's favourite Icheme of leading
the French and Venetian forces againft
Conftantinople, The indefatigable Dan-
dolo went, in perfon, at the head of his
countrymen. The united army beat the
troops of the ufurper in repeated battles,,
obliged him to fly from Conftantinople*
placed his brother on the throne, and re-
Sored to him his fon Alexis, who had been
obliged to take refuge at Venice, from the
cruelty of his uncle, and had accompanied
Bandolo in this fuccefsful enterprife.
A rnifunderftanding foon after enfued
between the united armies and Alexis, now
afiociated with his father on the throne of
Confta'ntinople. The Greeks murmured at
the favour which their emperor fhewed to
tliofe foreigners, and thought his liberality
to thern inconfiftent with his duty to his
own lubjeQs. The Crufaders, on the
other hand, imagined, that all the wealth
of
MANNERS IN ITALY. **j
of his empire was hardly fufEcient to repay
the obligations he owed to them. The
young prince, defirous to be juft to the one,,
and grateful to the other, loft the confi-
dence of both ; and, while he ftrove to con-
ciliate the minds of two fets of men, whofc
views and interefts were oppofite, he was
betrayed by Murtfuphlo, a Greek, who had
gained his confidence, and whom he had
raifed to the higheft dignities of the empire.
This traitor infuiuated to the Greeks, tfeajt
Alexis had agreed to deliver up Conftanti-
nople to be pillaged, that he might fatisfy
the avarice and rapacity of thofe ftrangers
who had reftored his family to the throne*
The people fly to arms, the palace is in-
verted, Alexis and his father are put to
death, and Murtfuphlo is declared emperor.
Thefe tranfa&ions, though afcertauied-
by the authenticity of hiftory, feem as
rapid as the revolutions of a theatrical
reprefentation.
The
no VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The chiefs of the united army, flrucli
with horror and indignation, aflemble hi
council. Dandolo, always decifive in the
moment of danger, gives it as his opinion*
that they fhould immediately declare war
againft the ufurper, and make themfelves
mafters of the empire. This opinion pre-
vails, and the conqueft of the Greek em-
pire is refolved upon.
After feveral bloody battles, and various
affaults, the united armies of trance and
Venice enter victorious into Confbntinople 5
and divide the fpoils of that wealthy city.
The Doge, never fo much blinded with
fuccefs as to lofe fight of the true intereft of
his country, did not think of procuring for
the republic, large dominions on the con-
tinent. The Venetians had, for their
fiiare, the iflands of the Archipelago, fe-
veral ports on the coaft of the Hellefpont,
the Morea, and the entire ifland of Candia.
This
M A N N E K S IN' ITALY. ur
This was a judicious partition for Venice,
the augmentation of whofe ftrength de-
pended on commerce, navigation, and the
empire of the fea.
Though the flar of Dandolo rofe in ob-
fcurity, and fhone with no extraordinary
luftre at its meridian height, yet nothing
ever furpafled the brilliancy of its fetting
rays*
This extraordinary man died at Con-
flantinople, oppreffed with age, but while
the laurels, which adorned his hoary head,
were in youthful verdure.
The annals of mankind prefent nothing
more worthy of our admiration. A man,
above the age of eighty, and almoft entirely
deprived of his fight, defpifing the repofe
neceffary for age, and the fecurq honours
which attended him at home ; engaging in
a hazardous enterprife, againft a diftant
7 and
ii2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and powerful enemy ; fupporting the fa-
tigues of a military life with the fpirit of
youth, and the perfeverance of a veteran,
in afuperftitious age ; and, whilft he led an
army of religious enthufiafts, braving, at
once, the indignation of the Pope, the pre-
judices of bigots, and all the dangers of
war ; difplaying the ardour of a conqueror,
the judgment of a ftatefman, and the dif-
interefced fpirit of a patriot ; preparing
diftant events, improving accidental cir-
cumftances, managing the mod impetuous
chara&ers; and, with admirable addrefs,
making all fubfervient to the vaft plan he
had conceived, for the aggrandizing his na-
tive country. Yet this man pafTedhis youth,
manhood, and great part of his old age,
unknown. Mad he died at feventy, his
name w r ou!d have been fwept, with the
common rubbifh of courts and capitals, into
the gulph of oblivion. So neceffary are
occafions, and fituations, for bringing into
light the concealed vigour of the greatefl:
charters ;
8
MANNERS IN ITALY. 113
chara&ers; and fo true it is, that while we
fee, at the head of kingdoms, men of the
mod vulgar abilities, the periods of whofe
exiftence ferve only as dates to hiftory,
many whofe talents and virtues would have
fwelled her brighteft pages have died un-
noted, from the obfcurity of their fitua-
tions, or the languor and ftupidity of the
ages in which they lived.
But the romantic ftory of Henry Dan-
dolo has feduced me from my original
purpofe, which was, to give you an idea of
the rife and progrefs of the Venetian arifto-
cracy, and which I fhall refume in my
next.
Vol, L I
U4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XL
HE fenate of Venice, ever jealous
^ of their civil liberty, while they
rejoiced at the vaft acquifitions lately made
by their fleet and army, perceived that
thofe new conquefts might tend to the ruin
of the conftitution, by augmenting the
power and influence of the firfl: magiftrate.
In the year 1206, immediately after they
were informed of the death of Dandolo,
they created fix new magiftrates, called
Corredors ; and this inftitution has been
renewed at every interregnum which has
happened fince.
The duty of thofe Corre&ors is, to exa-
mine into all abufes which may have taken
place
Venice.
MANNERS IN ITALY. 115
place during the reign of the preceding
Doge, and report them to the fenate, that
they may be remedied, and prevented for
the future, by wholefome laws, before the
election of another Doge. At the fame
time it was ordained, that the State fhould
be indemnified out of the fortune of the
deceafed magiftrate, from any detriment it
had fuftained by his maladminiftration,
of which the fenate were to be the judges.
This law was certainly well calculated to
make the Doge very circumfpe£t in his
conduit, and has been the origin of all the
future reftraints which have been laid on
that very unenviable office.
Men accuflomed to the calm and fecure
enjoyments of private life, are apt to ima-
gine, that no mortal would be fond of any
office on fuch conditions ; but the fenate of
Venice, from more extenfiive views of human
nature, knew that there always was a fuf-
ficient number of men, eager to grafp the
I 2 fceptre
n6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fceptre of ambition, in defiance of all the*
thorns with which it could be furrounded.
It was not the intention of the Venetian
fenate to throw the fmalleft (lain on the
character of their late patriotic Doge ;
tieverthelefs they thought the interregnum
after his death, the mod favourable oppor-
tunity of paffing this law; becaufe, when
the Inquifition had taken place after his
glorious reign* no Doge could expect
that it would ever afterwards be difpenfed
with.
The Corre&ors having been chofen, and
the inquifition made, Peter Ziani was
elected Doge. In his reign a court for
civil caufes, denominated the Tribunal of
Forty, was created. Its name fufficiently
explains the intention of eftablifhing this
court, to which there is an appeal from
the decifions of ail inferior magiftrates in,
civil caufes tried within the city. It is to
be
MANNERS IN ITALY. n;
be diftinguiihed from the court of Forty,
formerly mentioned, whofe jurifdi&ion was
now confined to criminal caufes : it after-
wards got the name of old civil council of
Forty, to diftinguifh it from* a third court,
confiding alfo of forty members, which
was eftablifhed at a fubfequent period, to
decide, by appeal, in all civil caufes, from
the judgments of the inferior courts with-
out the city of Venice.
Towards the end of his life, about the
year 1228, Ziani abdicated his office.
At the ele&ion of his fucceflbr, the fuffrages
were equally divided, between Rainier
Dandolo, and James Theipolo. This pro-
longed the interregnum for two months ;
as often as they were balloted, during that
time, each of them had twenty balls. The
fenate> at laft, ordained them to draw lots,
which decided in favour of Theipolo.
During his adminiftration, the Venetian
code was, in fome degree, reformed and
I 3 abridged.
n8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
abridged. One of the greateft inconve-
niences of freedom, is the number of laws
neceffary to prote£l the life and property
of each citizen ; the natural confequences
of which are, a multitude of lawyers, with
all the fuits and vexations which they
create ; " les peines, les de'fpenfes, les
" longueurs, les dangers memes de la juf-
" tice, v fays Montefquieu, " font le prix
" que chaque citoyen donne pour fa liberte."
The more freedom remains in a State, of
the higher importance will the life and
property of each citizen be confidered. A
defpotic government counts the life of a
citizen as of no importance at all.
The Doge Theipolo, who had himfelf
been a lawyer, as many of the Venetian
nobles at that time were, beftowed infinite
labour in arranging and illuminating the
vaft chaos of laws and regulations in which
the jurifprudence of a republic, fo jealous
of her liberty, had been involved. After a
long reign, he abdicated the government ;
and*
r MANNERS IN ITALY. nq
and, to prevent the inconveniency which
had happened at his election, the number
of ele&ors, by a new decree of the fenate,
was augmented to forty-one.
In the reign of his fucceffor, Marino
Marfini, two judges, called Criminal Judges
of the Night, were appointed. Their
function is to judge of what are called noc-
turnal crimes, under which denomination
are reckoned robberies, wilful fire, rapes,
and bigamy. We find alfo, that Jews ly-
ing with Chriftian women, is enumerated
among* nocturnal crimes; though, by an
unjuftifiable partiality, a Chriftian man
lying with a Jewifh woman, whether by
night or day, is not mentioned as any
crime at all.
A few years after, in the reign of the
Doge Rainier Zeno, four more judges were
added to this tribunal ; and, during the
interregnum which took place at his death,
I 4 in
120 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
in the year 1268, a new form of electing
the Doge was fixed, which, though fome-
what complicated, has been obferved ever
fmce.
All the members of the grand council,
who are paft thirty years of age, being
affembled in the hall of the palace, as many
balls are put into an urn as there are mem-
bers prefent ; thirty of thefe balls are gilt,
and the reft white. Each counfellor draws
one; and thofe who get the gilt balls, go into
another room, where there is an urn, con-
taining thirty balls, nine of which are gilt.
The thirty members draw again ; and thofe
who, by a fecond piece of good fortune,
get the gilt balls, are the firji eleEiors^ and
have a right to choofe forty, among whom
they comprehend themfelves,
Thofe forty, by balloting in the fame
manner as in the former in fiances, are re-
duced to twelve fecond e.leftorS) who choofe
twenty-
MANNERS IN ITALY. m
twenty-five, the firft of the twelve naming
three, and the remaining eleven two,
a- piece. All thofe being afiembled in a
chamber apart, each of them draws a ball
from an urn, containing twenty-five balls,
among which are nine gilt. This reduces
them to nine third eleSiors^ each of whom
choofes five, making in all forty-five;
who, as in the preceding inftances, are re-
duced by ballot, to eleven fourth elect or s>
and they have the nomination of forty-
one, who are the dire 61 eledors of the Doge.
Being fhut up by themfelves, they begin
by choofing three chiefs/and two fecre-
taries ; each ele&or, being then called,
throws a little billet into an urn, which
ftands on a table before the chiefs. On this
billet is infcribed the perfon's name whonn
the ele&or wiihes to be Doge.
The fecretaries then, in the prefence of
the chiefs, and of the whole aflembly,
©pen the billets. Among all the forty-one
7 there
122 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
there are, generally, but a very few dif-
ferent names, as the eledion, for the moft
part, balances between two or three candi-
dates. Their names, whatever is the num-
ber, are put into another urn, and drawn
out one after another. As foon as a name
is extracted, the Secretary reads it, and,
if the perfon to whom it belongs is prefent,
he immediately retires. One of the chiefs
then demands, with a loud voice, whether
any crime can be laid to this perfon's
charge, or any objection made to his being
raifed to the fovereign dignity ? If any
objedion is made, the accufed is called in,
and heard in his own defence ; after
which the eledors proceed to give their
decifion, by throwing a ball into one of
two boxes, one of which is for the
Ayes, the other for the Noes. The Se-
cretaries then count the balls, and if
there are twenty-five in the firft, the
eledion is finifhed ; if not, another name
is read, and the fame inquifition made as
3 before,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 123
before, till there are twenty-five approv-
ing balls.
This form, wherein judgment and chance
are fo perfectly blended, precludes every
attempt to corrupt the electors, and all cabals
for the Ducal dignity ; for who could dream,
by any labour or contrivance, of gaining
an ele&ion, the mode of whofe procedure
equally baffles the addrefs of a politician
and a juggler ?
Lawrence Theipolo was the firft Doge
chofen according to this mode. In his
reign the office of Grand Chancellor w r as
created.
Hitherto the public ads were figned by
certain perfons chofen by the Doge himfelf,
and called Chancellors; but the Grand
Council, which we find always folicitous to
limit the power of the Doge, thought that
method improper; and now propofed, that a
Chancellor
124 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Chancellor fhould be appointed by them-
felves, with rights and privileges entirely
independent of the Doge, At the fame
time, as the people had fhewn fymptoms
of difcontent, on account of the great offices
being all in the difiinguifhed families, it
was thought expedient to ordain, that the
Chancellor fhould always be taken from
among the Secretaries of the fenate, whq
were citizens. Afterwards, when the coun-
cil of ten came to he eftabliflhed, it was
ordained, that the Chancellor might be
ehofen either from the Secretaries of that
court, or from thofe of the fenate.
The Grand Chancellor of Venice is aq.
officer of great dignity and importance ;
lie has the keeping of the great feal of the
Commonwealth, and is privy to all the
fecrets of the State ; he is confidered
as the head of the order of citizens,
and his office is the moft lucrative in the
republic ; yet, though he muft be prefent
at
MANNERS IN ITALY. 125
at all the councils, he 'has no deliberative
voice*
In perufing the annals of this republic,
we continually meet with proofs of the
reftlefs jealoufy of this government ; even
the private oeconomy of families fometimes
created fufpicion, however blamelefs the
public conduit of the mafter might be*
The prefent Doge had married a foreign
lady; his two fons followed his example;
one of their wives was a princefs. This
gave umbrage to the fenate; they thought
that, by fuch means, the nobles might ac-
quire an intereft, and connexions, in other
countries, inconfiftent with their duty as
citizens of Venice ; and therefore, in the
interregnum which followed the death of
Theipolo, a law was propofed by the Cor-
rectors, and immediately paffed, by which
all future Doges, and their fons, were
interdicted from marriage with foreigners,
under
126 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
under the pain of being excluded from the
office of Doge.
Though the people had been gradually,
as we have feen, deprived of their original
right of eleding the chief magiftrate ; yet,
on the elections which fucceeded the efta-
blifhment of the new mode, the Doge had
always been prefentcd to the multitude
aflembled in St. Mark's Place, as if re-
quefting their approbation ; and the people,
flattered with this fmall degree of attention,
had never failed to announce their fatis-
fadion by repeated fhouts : but the fenatc
feem to have been afraid of leaving them
even this empty fhadow of their ancient
power ; for they ordained, that, inftead of
prefenting the Doge to the multitude, to
receive their acclamations, as formerly, a
Syndic, for the future, fhould, in the name
of the people, congratulate the new Doge
on his eledion. On this occafion, the fenate
do
MANNERS IN ITALY. 127
do not feem to have a&ed with their ufual
difcernment. Show often affe&s the minds
of men more than fubftance, as appeared
in the prefent infiance ; for the Venetian
populace difplayed more refentment on
being deprived of this noify piece of form,
than when the fubftantial right had been
taken from them. After the death of the
Doge John Dandolo, before a new elec-
tion could take place in the ufual forms, %
prodigious multitude affembied in St.
Mark's Place, and, with loud acclamations,
proclaimed James Theipolo; declaring, that
this was more binding than any other mode
of ek&ion, and that he was Doge to all
intents and purpofes. While the fenate
remained in fearful fufpenfe for the con-
fequences of an event fo alarming and
unlooked-for, they were informed, that
Theipolo had withdrawn himfelf from
the city, with a determination to remain
concealed, till he heard how the fenate and
people would fettle the difpute.
The
128 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The people, having no perfon of weight
to conduct or head them, renounced, with
their ufual ficklenefs, a project which they
had begun with their ufual intrepidity.
The Grand Council, freed from alarm,
proceeded to a regular ele&ion, and chofe
Peter Gradonico, a man of enterprife, firm-
nefs, and addrefs, in whofe reign we fhall
fee the dying embers of democracy per-
fectly extinguished.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
1 2d
LETTER XII.
Venice.
'jf^ Radonico, from the moment he was
in poffeffion of the office of Doge,
formed a fcheme of depriving the people
of all their remaining power. An averfion
to popular government, and refentment of
fome figns of perfonal diflike, which the
populace had fhewn at his efe£fciofi, feem
to have been his only motives; for, while
he completely annihilated the ancient rights
of the people, he fliewed no inclination to
augment the power of his own office.
Although the people had experienced
many mortifying deviations from the old
confutation, yet, as the Grand Council
was chofen annually, by electors of their
Vol. I. K own
* 3 o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
own nomination, they flattered themfelves
that they ftill retained an important fhare
in the government. It was this Jaft hold
of their declining freedom which Gra-
donico meditated to remove, for ever,
from their hands. Such a projed was of a
nature to have intimidated a man of lefs
courage; but his natural intrepidity, ani-
mated by refentment, made him overlook
all dangers and difficulties.
He began (as if by way of experiment)
with fome alterations refpeding the man-
ner of choofing the Grand Council ; thefe,
however, occafioned murmurs ; and it was
feared, that dangerous tumults would arife
at the next eledion of that court.
But, fuperior to fear, Gradonico infpired
others with courage ; and, before the pe-
riod of the eledion arrived, he ftruck the
decifive blow.
A law
MANNERS IN ITALY. 131
A law was pubiifhed in the year 1297,
hy which it was ordained, that thofe who
actually belonged to the Grand Council,
fhould continue members of it for life ; and
that the fame right {hould defcend to their
pofterity, without any form of eledion
whatever. This was at once forming a
body of hereditary legiflative nobility, and
eftablifliing a complete ariftocracy, upon
the ruins of the ancient popular govern-
ment.
This meafure ftruck all the citizens, who
were not then of the Grand Council, with
concern and aftonifhment 3 but, in a par-
ticular manner, thofe of ancient and noble
families ; for although, as has been already
obferved, there was, firidly fpeaking, no
nobility with exclufive privileges before
this law, yet there were in Venice, as
there muft be in the mod democratical re-
publics, certain families confidered as more
honourable than others, many of whom
K 2 found
iyt VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
found themfelves, by this law, thrown into
a rank inferior to that of the leaft confider-
able perfon who happened, at this import-
ant period, to be a member of the Grand
Council. To conciliate the minds of fuch
dangerous malcontents, exceptions were
made in their favour, and fome of the molt
powerful were immediately received into
the Grand Council ; and to others it was
promifed that they fhould, at fome future
period, be admitted. By fuch hopes, art*
fully infinuated, and by the great influence
of the members who actually compofed the
Grand Council, all immediate infurre&ions
were prevented ; and foreign wars, and
objeds of commerce, foon turned the
people's attention from this mortifying
change in the nature of the government.
A ftrong refentment of thofe innova-
tions, however, feftered in the breads of
fome individuals, who, a few years after,
under the dire&ion of one Marino Bocconi,
formed
MANNERS IN ITALY. 135
farmed a defign to affaffinate Gradonico,
and maflacre all the Grand Council, without
diflin&ion. This plot was difcovered, and
the chiefs, after confeffing their crimes,
were executed between the pillars.
The confpiracy of Bocconi was confined
to malcontents of the rank of citizens ; but
one of a more dangerous nature, and which
originated among the nobles themfeives,
was formed in the year 1309.
This combination was made up of fome
of the moft diflinguiihed of thofe who were
not of the Grand Council when the reform
took place, and who had not been admit-
ted afterwards, according to their expecta-
tions ; and of fome others of very ancient
families, who could not bear to fee fo many
citizens raifed to a level with themfeives,
and who, befides, were piqued at what
they called the Pride of Gradonico. Thefe
men chofe for their leader^ the fon of Jamel
K 3 Theipolo,
i 3 4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Theipolo, who had been proclaimed Doge
by the populace. Their objedt was, to dif-
poffefs Gradonico, and reftore the ancient
conftitution ; they were foon joined by a
great many of inferior rank, within the
city, and they engaged confiderable num-
bers of their friends and dependents from
Padua, and the adjacent country, to come
to Venice, and a {Tift them, at the time ap-
pointed for the infurredion. Confidering
the numbers that were privy to this under-
taking it is aftonifhing that it was not
difcovered till the night preceding that on
which it was to have taken place. The
uncommon concourfe of flrangers created
the firft fufpicion, which was confirmed by
the confeffion of fome who were acquaint-
ed with the defign. The Doge immediately
fummoned the council, and fent expreffes
to the governors of the neighbouring towns
and forts, with orders for them to haften
with their forces to Venice. The confpi-
^rators were not difconcerted j they aflem-
MANNERS IN ITALY. 135
bled, and attacked the Doge and his
friends, who were colle&ed in a body
around the palace. The Place of St. Mark
was the fcene of this tumultuous battle,
which lafted many hours, but was attended
with more noife and terror among the in-
habitants, thanbloodfhed to the combatants.
Some of the military governors arriving
with troops, the conteft ended in the rout
of the confpirators. A few nobles had
been killed in the engagement ; a greater
number were executed by order of the
fenate. Theipolo, who had fled, w r as de-
clared infamous, and an enemy to his coun-
try ; his goods and fortune were confis-
cated, and his houfe razed to the ground.
After thefe executions, it was thought ex-
pedient, to receive into the Grand Council*
feveral of the mo ft diftinguifhed families
of citizens.
Thofe two confpiracies having imme-
diately followed one another, fpread an
K 4 univerfal
136 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
univerfa: diffidence and dread over the city*
ana gave rile to the court called the Council
of Ten, which was erected about this
time, merely as a temporary Tribunal, to
examine into the caufes, punifh the accom-
plices, and deflroy the feeds of the late
confpiracyj but which, in the fequel, became
permanent. I fhall wave farther mention
of this court, till we come to the period when
the State Inquifitors were eftablifhed ; but
it is proper to mention, that the Ecclefiafti-
cal Court of Inquifition was alfo eredted at
Venice, in the reign of the Doge Gra-
donico.
The Popes had long endeavoured to in-
troduce this court into every country in
Europe ; they fucceeded too well in many ;
but though it was not entirely rejected by
the State of Venice, yet it was accepted
tinder fuch reftridions as have prevented
the difmal cruelties which accompany it in
pther countries*
This
MANNERS IN ITALY. t$f
This republic feems, at all times, to have
a ftrong impreffion of the ambitious and
encroaching fpirit of the court of Rome ;
and has, on all occafions, fhewn the
greatefl unwillingnefs to entruft power in
the hands of ecclefiaftics. Of this, the Ve-
netians gave an undoubted proof at pre-
fent ; for while they eftabliihed a new civil
Court of Inquifition, with the moft un-
limited powers, they would not receive the
ecclefiaftical inquifitions, except on con-
ditions to which it had not been fubje&ed
\n any other country.
The court of Rome never difplayed more
addrefs than in its attempts to elude thofe
limitations, and to prevail on the fenate to
admit the inquifition at Venice, on the fame
footing as it had been received eltewhere ;
but the fenate was as firm as the Pope was
artful, and the Court of Inquifition was at
laft eftahlifhed, under the following con-
ditions :
That
138 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
That three commiffioners from the Senate
ffiould attend the deliberations of that
court, none of whofe decrees could be exe-
cuted without the approbation of the com-
miffioners.
Thofe commiffioners were to take no
oath of fidelity, or engagement of any
kind, to the Inquifition; but were bound
by oath to conceal nothing from the fenate
which fhould pafs in the Holy Office.
That herefy fliould be the only crime
cognifable by the Inquifition ; and, in cafe
of the conviction and condemnation of any
criminal, his goods and money fhould not
belong to the court, but to his natural
heirs.
That Jews and Greeks fhould be in*
dulged in the exercife of their religion,
without being difturbed by this court.
The
MANNERS IN ITALY. 139
The ccmmiffioners were to prevent the
regiftration of any ftatute made at Rome ;
or any where out of the Venetian State.
The Inquifitors were not permitted to
condemn books as heretical, without the
concurrence of the Senate ; nor were they
allowed to judge any to be fo, but thofe
already condemned by the edict of Cle-
ment VIIL
Such were the reftri£tions under which
the Inquifition was eftablixhed at Venice;
and nothing can more clearly prove their
efficacy, than a comparifon of their num-
bers, who have fuffered for herefy here,
with thofe who have been condemned to
death by that court in every other place
where it was eftablifhed.
An inftance is recorded of a man, named
Narino, being condemned to a public
punifhment, for having compofed a book
3 io
140 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
in defence of the opinions of John Hufg,
For this (the greateft of all crimes in the
fight of Inquifitors) his fentence was, that
he fhould be expofed publicly on a fcaffold,
drefied in a gown, with flames and devils
painted on it. The moderation of the civil
magiflrate appears in this fentence. With-
out his interpofition, the flames which
furrounded the prifoner would, in all pro-
bability, not have been painted. This,
which is mentioned in the Hiftory of Ve-
nice as an inftance of feverity, happened at
a time, when, in Spain and Portugal, many
wretches were burnt, by order of the Ih*
quifition, for fmaller offences.
In 1354, during the interregnum after
the death of Andrew Dandolo, it was pro-
pofed, by the Correctors of Abufes, that,
for the future, the three chiefs of the Cri-
minal Council of Forty fhould be members
of the College; and this paffed into a
law.
2 It
MANNERS IN ITALY. 141
It may be necefiary to mention, that
the College, otherwife called the Seigniory,
is the fupreme cabinet council of the State.
This court was originally cor^ poled of the
Doge and fix counfellors only; but to
thefe, at different periods, were added j
firll, fix of the Grand Council, chofen by
the Senate ; they were called Savii, or
Sages, from their fuppofed wifdom ; and
afterwards, five Savii, of the Terra Firma,
whofe more immediate duty is to fuper-
intend the bufinefs of the towns and
provinces belonging to the republic, on
the continent of Europe, particularly what
regards the troops. At one time there
were alfo five Savii for maritime affairs,
but they had little bufinefs after the
Venetian navy became inconfiderable j and
now, in the room of them, five young
noblemen are chofen by the Senate every
fix months, who attend the meetings of
the Seigniory, without having a vote?
though
142 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
though they give their opinions when
afked. This is by way of inftru&ing, and
rendering them fit for the affairs of State.
They are called Sages of the Orders, and
are chofen every fix months.
To thofe were added, the three chiefs
of the Criminal Court of Forty ; the
court then confifting, in all, of twenty-fix
members.
The College is, at once, the cabinet
council, and the reprefentative of the re-
public. This court gives audience, and
delivers anfwers, in the name of the re-
public, to foreign Ambaffadors, to the
deputies of towns and provinces, and to
the generals of the army ; it alfo receives
all requefts and memorials on State affairs,
fummons the Senate at pleafure, and ar-
ranges the bufinefs to be difcuffed in that
aflembly.
In
MANNERS IN ITALY. 143
In the Venetian government, great care
is taken to balance the power of one court
by that of another, and to make them
reciprocal checks on each other. It was
probably from a jealoufy of the power of
the College, that three chiefs of the Cri-
minal Court of Forty were now added to it.
244 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XIII.
HE hiftory of no nation prefents a
than that of Venice. We have feen a con-
fpiracy againft this State, originating among
the citizens, and carried on by people of
that rank only. We faw another, foon
after, which took its origin among the
body of the nobles; but the year 135^
prefents us with one of a ftill more extra-
ordinary nature, begun, and carried on, by
the Doge himfelf. If ambition, or the aug-
mentation of his own power, had been
the object, it would not have been fo fur-
prifing ; but his motive to the con-
fpiracy was as fmall as the intention was
dreadful.
emce.
variety of fingular events
Marino
MANNERS IN ITALY. i 43
Marino Falliero, Doge of Venice, was,
at this time, eighty years of age; a time
of life when the violence of the paffions is
generally pretty much abated. He had,
even then, however, given a ftrong in-
ftance of the rafhnefs of his difpofition, by
marrying a very young woman. This
lady imagined fhe had been affronted by a
young Venetian nobleman at a public ball,
and (he complained bitterly of the infult
to her hufband. The old Doge, who had
all the defire imaginable to pleafe his wife,
determined, in this matter at leaft, to give
her ample fatisfa&ion.
The delinquent was brought before the
Judges, and the crime was exaggerated
with all the eloquence that money could
purchafe ; but they viewed the affair with
unprejudiced eyes, and pronounced a fea-
tence no more than adequate to the crime.
The Doge was filled with the moft extra-
vagant rage, and, finding that the body of
VoLo h L the
i 4 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the nobles took no fhare in his wrath, he
entered into a confpiracy with the Admiral
of the Arfenal, and fome others, who were
difcontented with the government on other
accounts, and projected a method of vin-
dicating his wife's honour, which feems
rather vi'olent for the occafion. It was
refolved by thofe defperadoes, to maiTacre
the whole Grand Council. Such a fcene of
bloodfhed, on account of one woman, has
not been imagined fmce the Trojan war.
This plot was conduced with more
fecrecy than could have been expe&ed,
from a man who feems to have been de-
prived of reafon, as well as humanity.
Every thing was prepared ; and the day,
previous to that which was fixed for the
execution, had arrived, without any perfon,
but thofe concerned in the confpiracy,
having the leaf!: knowledge of the horrid
defign.
is
MANNERS IN ITALY. 147
It was difcovered in the fame manner in
which that againft the King and Parlia-
ment of England, was brought to light in
the time of James the Firft.
Bertrand Bergamefe, one of the confpira-
tors, being defirous to fave Nicolas Lioni,
a noble Venetian, from the general maf-
facre, called on him, and earneflly admo-
nilhed him, on no account, to go out of
his houfe the following day; for, if he did,
he would certainly lofe his life. Lioni
prefTed him to give fome reafon for this ex-
traordinary advice ; which the other obfti-
nately refufing, Lioni ordered him to be
feized, and confined ; and, fending for fome
of his friends of the Senate, by means of
promifes and threats, they at length pre-
vailed on the prifoner to difcover the whole
of this horrid myftery.
They fend for the Avogadors, the Coun-
cil of Ten, and other high officers, by
L 2 whom
i 4 8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
whom the prifoner was examined ; after
which, orders were given for feizing the
principal confpirators in their houfes, and
for fummoning thofe of the nobility and
citizens, on whofe fidelity the Council could
rely. Thefe meafures could not be taken
fo fecretly as not to alarm many, who found
means to make their efcape. A confider-
able number were arrefied, among whom
were two chiefs of the confpiracy under
the Doge. They being put to the queftion,
confeffed the whole. It appeared, that
only a fele<ft body of the principal men had
been privy to the real defign ; great num-
bers had been defired to be prepared with
arms, at a particular hour, when they
would be employed in attacking certain
enemies of the State, which were not
named ; they were defired to keep thofe
orders a perfect fecret, and were told, that
upon their fidelity and fecrecy their future
fortunes depended. Thofe men did not
know of each other, and had no fufpicioa
that
MANNERS IN ITALY. 149
that it was not a lawful enterprife for
which they were thus engaged ; they were
therefore fet at liberty ; but all the chiefs
of the plot gave the fulleft evidence againil
the Doge* It was proved, that the whole
fcherne had been formed by his direction,
and fupported by his influence. After the
principal confpirators were tried, and exe-
cuted, the Council of Ten next proceeded
to the trial of the Doge himfelf. They
defired that twenty fenators, of the higheft
reputation, might affift upon this folemn
occafion ; and that two relations of the
FaHier family, one of whom was a member
of the Council of Ten, and the other
an Avogador, might withdraw from the
court.
The Doge, who hitherto had remained
under a guard in his own apartments in
the palace, was now brought before this
Tribunal of his own fubje&s. He was dreffed
in the robes of his office.
L 3 It
I5d VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
It is thought he intended to have denied
the charge, and attempted a defence ; but
when he perceived the number and nature
of the proofs againft him, overwhelmed by
their force, he acknowledged his guilt, with
many fruitlefs and abjed intreaties for
mercy.
That a man, of eighty years of age,
fhould lofe all firmnefs on fuch an occafion,
is not marvellous ; that he fhould have
been incited, by a trifling offence, to fuch
an inhuman, and fuch a deliberate plan of
wickednefs, is without example.
He was fentenced to lofe his head. The
fentence was executed in the place where
the Doges are ufually crowned.
In the Great Chamber of the palace,
where the portraits of the Doges are
placed, there is a vacant fpace between
the portraits of Fallier's immediate pre-
deceffor
MANNERS IN ITALY. 151
deceflbr and fucceffor, with this ia-
fcription l
Locus Marini Fallieri decapitati.
The only other inftance which hiflory
prefents to our contemplation, of a fove-
reign tried according to the forms of law,
and condemned to death by a Tribunal of
his own fubje&s, is that of Charles the
Fir ft 9 of Great Britain. But how differ-
ently are we affected by a review of the
two cafes !
In the one, the original errors of the
mifguided Prince are forgotten in the feve-
rity of his fate, and in the calm majeftic
firmnefs with which he bore it. Thofe
who, from public fpirit, had oppofed the
unconftitutional meafures of his govern-
ment, were no more ; and the men now
in power were actuated by far different
principles. All the paffions of humanity,
therefore, take part with the royal fuf*
L 4 feren
i$2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fercr ; nothing but the ungenerous fpirit
of party can feduce them to the fide of his
enemies. In his trial we behold, with a
mixture of pity and indignation, the un-
happy monarch delivered up to the malice
of hypocrites^ the rage of fanatics, and
the infolence of a low-bom law ruffian.
In the other, every fentiment of com*
paffion is effaced by horror, at the enor-
mity of the crime.
In the year 1361, after the death of the
Doge John Delfino, when the laft ele&ors
were confined in the Ducal Chamber to
choofe his fucceflbr, and while the ele&ion
vibrated between three candidates, a report
arrived at Venice, that Laurentius Celfus,
who commanded the fleet, had obtained a
complete vi&ory over the Genoefe, who
were at that time at war with the Vene-
tians. This intelligence was communicated
to the de&ojs, who immediately dropped
all
MANNERS IN ITALY* 153
all the three candidates, and unanimoufly
chofe this commander. Soon after, it was
found, that the rumour of the victory was
entirely groundkfs. This could not affe£t
the validity of the ele&ion ; but it produced
a decree to prevent, on future occafions of
the fame kind, all communication between
the people without, and the conclave of
ele&ors.
This Doge's father difplayed a fingular
inflance of weaknefs and vanity, which
fome of the hiftorians have thought worth
tranfmitting to us. I do not know for what
reafon, unlefs it be to comfort pofterity
with the reflection, that human folly is
much the fame in all ages, and that their
anceftors have not been a great deal wifer
than themfelves. This old gentleman
thought it beneath the dignity of a father
to pull off his cap to his own fori ; and
that he might not feem to condefcend fo
far, even when all the other nobles fhewed
this
154 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
this mark of refpedl to their fovereign, fie
went, from the moment of his fon's elec-
tion, upon all occafions, and in all wea-
thers, with his head uncovered. The Doge
being folicitous for his father's health, and
finding that no perfuafion, nor explanation
of the matter, that could be given, were
fufficient to overcome this obftinacy, re-
collected that he was as devout as he was
vain, which fuggefted an expedient that
had the defired effe£t. He placed a crofs
on the front of his ducal coronet. The old
man was as defirous to teftify his refped to
the crofs, as he was averfe to pay obeifance
to his fon ; and unable to devife any way
of pulling off a cap which he never wore*
his piety, at length, got the better of his
pride ; he refumed his cap, as formerly,
that, as often as his fon appeared, he might;
pull it off in honour of the crofs*
During the reign of Laurentius Celfus*
the celebrated poet Petrarch, whorefidedfor
Come
MANNERS IN ITALY. 155
feme time at Venice, and was pleafed with
the manners of the people, and the wifdom
of their government, made a prefent to the
republic, of his colle&ion of books ; which,
at that time, was reckoned very valuable.
This was the foundation of the great
library of St. Mark.
In perufing the annals of Venice, we
continually meet with new inftitutions. No
fooner is any inconveniency perceived,
than meafures are taken to remove it,
or guard againft its efFe&s. About this
time, three new magiflrates were appointed,
whofe duty is to prevent all oftentatious
luxuries in drefs, equipage, and other ex-
pensive Superfluities, and to profecute thofe
who tranfgrefs the Sumptuary laws, which
comprehend fuch objects. Thofe magiflrates
are called Sopra Proveditori alle Pompe;
they were allowed a difcretionary power of
levying fines, from people of certain pro-
feffions, who deal entirely in articles of
luxury.
i 5 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
luxury. Of this number, that of public
courtefans was reckoned. This profeflion,
according to all accounts, formerly flourifh-
ed at Venice, with a degree of fplendour
Unknown in any other capital of Europe ;
and very confiderable exactions were raifed
to the ufe of the State, at particular times,
from the wealthieft of thofe dealers. This
excife, it would appear, has been pufhed
beyond what the trade could bear ; for it is
at prefent in a ftate of wretchednefs and
decay ; the beft of the bufmefs, as is faid,
being now carried on, for mere pleafure,
by people who do not avow themfelves of
the profeflion.
MANNERS IN ITALY. i$f
LETTER XIV.
% TO government was ever more punc-
tual, and impartial, than that of
Venice, in the execution of the laws. This
was thought eflential to the well-being,
and very exiftence, of the State. For this,
all refped: for individuals, all private con-
fiderations whatever, and every compunc-
tious feeling of the heart, is facrificed.
To execute law with all the rigour of
juftice, is confidered as the chief virtue of
a judge ; and, as there are cafes in which
the fterneft may relent, the Venetian go-
vernment has taken care to appoint certain
magiftrates, whofe fole bufinefs is to fee
that others perform their duty upon all
occafionst
Venice.
All
* 5 8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
All this is very fine in the abftrad, but
we often find it deteftable in the appli-
cation.
In the yeaf 1400, while Antonio Ve-
nier was Doge, his fon having committed
an offence which evidently fprung from
mere youthful levity, and nothing worfe,
was condemned in a fine of one hundred
ducats, and to be imprifoned for a certain
time.
While the young man w as in prifon, he
fell fick, and petitioned to be removed to a
purer air. The Doge rejected the petition;
declaring, that the fentence mud be exe-
cuted literally ; and that his fon muft take
the fortune of others in the fame predica-
ment. The youth was much beloved, and
many applications were made, that the
fentence might be foftened, on account of
the danger which threatened him. The
father was inexorable, and the fon died in
prifon.
MANNERS IN ITALY. reg
prifon. Of whatever refined fubftance this
man's heart may have been compofed, I
am better pleafed that mine is made of the
common materials.
Carlo Zeno was accufed, by the Council
of Ten, of having received a fum of money
from Francis Carraro, fon of the Seignior
of Padua, contrary to an exprefs law, which
forbids all fubje&s of Venice, on any pre-
text whatever, accepting any falary, pen-
fion, or gratification, from a foreign Prince,
or State. This accufation was grounded
on a paper found among Carrara's ac-
counts, when Padua was taken by the
Venetians. In this paper was an article
of four hundred ducats paid to Carlo Zeno,
who declared, in his defence, that while
he was, by the Senate's permiffion, gover-
nor of the Milanefe, he had vifited Carraro,
then a prifoner in the caflle of Afti ; and
finding him in want of common neceffaries,
8 he
i6o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
he had advanced to him the fum in ques-
tion ; and that this Prince, having been
liberated fome fhort time after, had, on his
return to Padua, repaid the money*
Zeno was a man of acknowledged can-
dour* and of the higheft reputation ; he
had commanded the fleets and armies of
the State with the mod brilliant fuccefs j
yet neither this, nor any other considera-
tions, prevailed on the Court to depart
from their ufually feverity. They owned
that, from Zeno's ufual integrity, there
was no reafon to doubt the truth of his
declaration ; but the aflertions of an accufed
perfon were not Sufficient to efface the
force of the prefumptive circumftances
which appeared againft him* — His declara*
tion might be convincing to thofe who
knew him intimately, but was not legal
evidence of his innocence ; and they ad-
hered to a diftinguifhing maxim of this
Court, that it is of more importance to the
State$
MANNERS IN ITALY. i6t
State, to intimidate every one from even
the appearance of fuch a crime, than tt>
allow a perfon, againft whom a prefump-
tion of guilt remained, to efcape, however
innocent he might be. This man, who
had rendered the moft eflential fervices to
the republic, and had gained many vic-
tories, was condemned to be removed
from all his offices, and to be imprifoned
for two years.
But the moft affe&ing inftance of the
odious inflexibility of Venetian courts,
appears in the cafe of Fofcari, fon to the
Doge of that name.
This young man had, by fome impru-
dences, given offence to the Senate, and
was, by their orders, confined at Trevifo,
when Almor Donato, one of the Council
of Ten, was affaffinated, on the 5th of
November 1750, as he entered his own
houfe.
Vol. L M A reward,
i62* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
A reward, in ready money, with pardon
for this, or any other crime, and a pen-
fion of two hundred ducats, revertible to
children, was promifed to any perfon who
would difcover the planner, or perpetrator,
of this crime. No fuch difcovery was
made.
One of young Fofcari's footmen, named
Olivier, had been obferved loitering near
Donato's houfe on the evening of the
murder ; — he fled from Venice next morn-
ing- Thefe, with other circumftances of
lefs importance, created a ftrong fufpicion
that Fofcari had engaged this man to
commit the murder.
Olivier was taken, brought to Venice, put
to the torture, and confeffed nothing ; yet
the Council of Ten, being prepofTefTed with
an opinion of their guilt, and imagining
that the mailer would have lefs refolution,
ufed him in the fame cruel manner. — The
4 unhappy
MANNERS IN ITALY. 163
unhappy young man, in the midft of his
agony, continued to aflert, that he knew
nothing of the affaffination. This con-
vinced the Court of his firmnefs, but not
of his innocence ; yet as there was no legal
proof of his guilt, they could not fentence
him to death. He was condemned to pafs
the reft of his life in banifhment, at Canea,
in the ifland of Candia.
This unfortunate youth bore his exile
with more impatience than he had done
the rack ; he often wrote to his relations
and friends, praying them to intercede in
his behalf, that the term of his baniihment
might be abridged, and that he might be
permitted to return to his family before he
died. — All his applications were fruitlefs ;
thofe to whom he addrefTed himfelf had
never interfered in his favour, for fear of
giving offence to the obdurate Council, or
had interfered in vain*
M 2 i After
164 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
After languishing five years in exile,
having loft all hope of return, through the
interpofition of his own family, or country-
men, in a fit of defpair he addrefled the
Duke of Milan, putting him in mind of
fervices which the Doge, his father, had
rendered him, and begging that he would
ufe his powerful influence with the State
of Venice, that his fentence might be re-
called. He entrufted his letter to a mer-
chant, going from Canea to Venice, who
promifed to take the firft opportunity of
fending it from. thence to the Duke; inftead
of which, this wretch, as foon as he
arrived at Venice, delivered it to the chiefs
of the Council of Ten.
This conduct of young Fofcari appeared
criminal in the eyes of thofe judges ; for,
by the laws of the republic, all its fubjefts
are exprefsly forbid claiming the proteftion
of foreign Princes, in any thing which
relates to the government of Venice.
Fofcari
MANNERS IN ITALY, 165
Fofcari was therefore ordered to be
brought from Candia, and fhut up in the
State prifon. There the chiefs of the
Council of Ten ordered him once more to
be put to the torture, to draw from him
the motives which determined him to apply
to the Duke of Milan. Such an exertion
of law is, indeed;, the mofl: flagrant in-
juftice.
The miferable youth declared to the
Council, that he had wrote the Letter, in
the full perfuafion that the merchant, whofe
eharader he knew, w r ould betray him, and
deliver it to them ; the confequence of
which, he forefaw, would be, his being
ordered back a prifoner to Venice, the only
means he had in his power of feeing his
parents and friends ; a pleafure for which
he had languished, with unfurmountable
defire, for fome time, and which he was
willing to purchafe at the expence of any
danger or pain.
M 3 The
t66 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The Judges, little affected with this
generous inftanoe of filial piety, ordained,
that the unhappy young man fhould be car-
ried back to Candia, and there beimprifon-
ed for a year, and remain banifhed to that
ifland for life; with this condition, that if
he fhould make any more applications to
foreign Powers, his imprifonrnent fhould
be perpetual. At the fame time they gave
permiffion, that the Doge and his lady*
might vifit their unfortunate fon.
The Doge was, at this time, very old ;
he had been in poffeffion of the office
above thirty years. 7 hofe wretched parents
had an interview with their fon in one of
the apartments of the palace ; they em-
braced him with all the tendernefs which
his misfortunes, and his filial affection,
deferved. The father exhorted him to
bear his hard fate with firmnefs ; the fon
proiefted, in the moll moving terms, that
this was not in his power j that however
others
MANNERS IN ITALY. 167
others could fupport the difmal lonelinefs of
a prifon, he could not; that his heart was
formed for friend£hip, and the reciprocal
endearments of fecial life ; without which
his foul funk into dejedion worfe than
death, from which alone he fliould look
for relief, if he fhould again be confined to
the horrors of a prifon; and melting into
tears, he funk at his father's feet, imploring
him to take companion on a fon who had
ever loved him with the moft dutiful
afFedion, and who was perfedly innocent
of the crime of which he was accufed ; he
conjured him, by every bond of nature and
religion, by the bowels of a father, and
the mercy of a Redeemer, to ufe his in-
fluence with the Council to mirigate their
fentence, that he might be faved from the
moft cruel of all deaths, that of expiring
under the flow tortures of a broken heart,
in a horrible banifhment from every crea-
ture he loved. — " My fon," replied the
Doge, "fubmit to the laws of your country,
M 4 " and
s6§ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
" and do not afk of me what it is not in
H my power to obtain."
Having made this effort, he retired to
another apartment ; and, unable to fupport
any longer the acutenefs of his feelings,
he funk into a ftate of infenfibility, in
which condition he remained till fome time
after his fon had failed on his return to
Candia,
Nobody has prefumed to defcribe the
anguifli of the wretched mother ; thofe who
are endowed with the moll exquifite fenfi-
bility, and who have experienced diftreffes
in fome degree fimilar, will have the jufteft
idea of what it was.
The accumulated mifery of thofe un-
happy parents touched the hearts of fome
of the moft powerful fenators, who applied
with fo much energy for a complete pardon
for young Fofcari, that they were on the
2 point
MANNERS IN ITALY. 169
point of obtaining it; when a veffel arrived
from Candia, with tidings, that the mifer-
able youth had expired in prifon a fhort
time after his return.
Some years after this, Nicholas Erizzo, a
noble Venetian, being on his death-bed,
confeffed that, bearing a violent refentment
againft the Senator Donato, he had com-
mitted the affaffination for which the un-
happy family of Fofcari had fuffered fo
much.
At this time the forrows of the Doge
were at an end ; he had exifted only a few
months after the death of his fon. His life
had been prolonged, till he beheld his fon
perfecuted to death for an infamous crime ;
but not till he fhould fee this foul ftain
wafhed from his family, and the innocence
of his beloved fon made manifeft to the
world.
The
170 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The ways of heaven never appeared
more dark and intricate, than in the inci-
dents and cataftrophe of this mournful
ftory. To reconcile the permiflion of fuch
events, to our ideas of infinite power and
goodnefs, however difficult, is a natural
attempt in the human mind, and has exer-
cifed the ingenuity of philofophers in all
ages ; while, in the eyes of Chriftians, thofe
feeming perplexities afford an additional
proof, that there will be a future ftate, in
which the ways of God to man will be
fully juftified.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
171
LETTER XV.
Venice,
T Deferred giving you any account of the
A Council of Ten, till I came to mention
the State Inquifitors, as the laft was in-
grafted on the former, and was merely
intended to flrengthen the hands, and aug-
ment the power, of that court.
The Council of Ten confifts, in effect,
of feventeen members ; for, befides the ten
noblemen chcfen annually by the Grand
Council, from whofe number this court
receives its name, the Doge prefides, and
the fix Counfellors of the Seigniory affift,
when they think proper, at all deliberations.
This court was firft inflituted in the
year 1310, immediately after Theipolo's
confpiracy.
It
lyz VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
It is fupreme in all State crimes. It is
the duty of three chiefs, chofen every
month from this court, by lot, to open all
letters addrefled to it ; to report the con-
tents, and affemble the members, when
they think proper. They have the power
offeizing accufed perfons, examining them
in prifon, and taking their anfwers in
writing, w 7 ith the evidence againft them ;
which being laid before the court, thofe
chiefs appear as profecutors.
The prifoners, all this time, are kept in
clofe confinement, deprived of the company
of relations and friends, and not allowed
to receive any advice by letters. They
can have no counfel to affifr them, unlefs
one of the Judges choofes to a flu me that
office ; in which cafe he is permitted to
manage their defence, and plead their
caufe; after which the Court decide, by a
majority of votes, acquitting the prifoner,
or condemning him to private or public
execution*
Manners in Italy.
execution, as they think proper ; and if
any perfons murmur at the fate of their
relations or friends, and talk of their inno-
cence, and the injuftice they have met
with, thefe malcontents are in great danger
of meeting with the fame fate.
I am convinced you will think, that fuch
a court was fufficiently powerful to anfwer
every good purpofe of government. This,
it would appear, was not the opinion of
the Grand Council of Venice; who thought
proper, in the year 1501, to create the
Tribunal of State Inquifitors, which is ftill
more defpotic and brief in its manner qf
proceeding.
This court confifts of three members,
all taken from the Council of Ten ; two
literally from the Ten, and the third from
' the Counfellors of the Seigniory, who
alfo make a part of that Council.
Thefe
174 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Thefe three perfons have the power of
deciding, without appeal, on the lives of
every citizen belonging to the Venetian
State ; the higheft of the nobility, even the
Doge himfelf, not being excepted. They
keep the keys of the boxes into which
anonymous informations are thrown. The
informers who expert a recompence, cut
off a little piece of their letter, which they
afterwards fhew to the Inquifitor w r hen
they claim a reward. To thofe three In-
quifitors is given, the right of employing
fpies, confidering fecret intelligence, iffuing
orders to feize all perfons whofe words or
a&ions they think reprehenfible, and after-
wards trying them when they think proper.
If all the three are of one opinion, no
farther ceremony is neceffary ; they may
order the prifoner to be ftrangled in prifon,
drowned in the Canal Orfano, hanged
privately in the night-time, between the
pillars, or executed publicly, as they
pleafe j
MANNERS IN ITALY, 175
pleafe ; and whatever their decifion be, no
farther inquifition can be made on the
fubjed ; but if any one of the three differs
in opinion from his brethren, the caufe
muft be carried before the full affembly of
the Council of Ten. One would naturally
imagine, that by thofe the prifoner w r ould
have a good chance of being acquitted ;
becaufe the difference in opinion of the
three Inquifitors fhews, that the cafe is, at
leaft, dubious ; and in dubious cafes one
would expedl the leaning would be to the
favourable fide ; but this court is governed
by different maxims from thofe you are
acquainted with. It is a rule here to admit
of fmaller preemptions in all crimes which
affedt the Government, than in other cafes;
and the only difference they make be-
tween a crime fully proved, and one more
doubtful, is, that, in the firft cafe, the exe-
cution is in broad day light; whereas,
when there are doubts of the prifoner 's
guilt, he is only put to death privately.
The
i 7 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND*
The State Inquifitors have keys to every
apartment of the Ducal palace, and can,
when they think proper, penetrate into the
very bed-chamber of the Doge, open his
cabinet, and examine his papers. Of courfe
they may command accefs to the houfe of
every individual in the State, They con-
tinue in office only one year, but are not
refponfible afterwards for their conduct
while they were in authority.
Can you think you would be perfectly
compofed, and eafy in your mind, if you
lived in the fame city with three perfons,
who had the power of fhutting you up in
a dungeon, and putting you to death when
they pleafed, and without being account-
able for fo doing ?
If, from the chara&ers of the Inquifitors
of one year, a man had nothing to dread,
ftill he might fear that a fet, of a different
character, might be in authority the next ;
and
MANNERS IN ITALY, 177
and although he were perfuaded, that the
Inquifitors would always be chofen from
among men of the mod known integrity in
the State, he might tremble at the malice
of informers, and fecret enemies; a com-
bination of whom might impofe on the
underftandings of upright Judges, efpe-
cially where the accufed is excluded from
his friends, and denied counfel to affift hini
in his defence ; for, let him be never fo
confcious of innocence, he cannot be fure
of remaining unfufpe&ed, or unaccufed ;
nor can he be certain, that he fhall not be
put to the rack, to fupply a deficiency of
evidence: and finally, although a man
were naturally poffefled of fo much firm-
nefs of character as to feel no inquietude
from any of thofe confiderations on his
own account, he might ftill be under ap-
prehenfions for his children, and other
connexions, for whom fome men feel more
anxiety than for themfelves.
Vol. I.
N
JSueh
i?8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Such refle&ions naturally arife in thg
minds of thofe who have been born, and
accuftomed to live, in a free country, where
no fuch defpotic Tribunal is eftablifhed j
yet we find people apparently eafy in the
midft'of all thofe dangers; nay, we know-
that mankind {hew the fame indifference in
cities, where the Emperor, or the Bafhaw>
amufes himfelf, from time to time, in cut-
ting off the heads of thofe he happens to
meet with in his w 7 alks ; and I make no
doubt, that if it were ufual for the earth
to open, and fwallow a proportion of its
inhabitants every day, mankind would be-
hold this with as much coolnefs as at
prefent they read the bills of mortality.
Such is the efred of habit on the human
mind, and fo wonderfully does it accom-
modate itfelf to thofe evils for which there
is no remedy.
But thefe considerations do not account
for the Venetian nobles fuffering fuch
£ Tribunals
MANNERS IN ITALY. 179
Tribunals as thofe of the Council of Ten,
or the State Inquifitors, to exift, becaufe
thefe are evils which it unqueftionably is in
their power to remedy ; and attempts have
been made, at various times, by parties of
the nobility, to remove them entirely, but
without fuccefs; the majority of the Grand
Council having, upon trial, been found for
preferving thefe inftitutions.
It is believed to be owing to the attention
of thefe courts, that the Venetian republic
lias lafted longer than any other ; but, in my
opinion, the chief obje£t of a government
Ihould be, to render the people happy; and
if it fails in that, the longer it lails, fo much
the worfe. If they are rendered miferable
by that which is fuppofed to preferve the
State, they cannot be lofers by removing
it, be the confequence what it may ; and I
fancy moft people would rather live in a
convenient, comfortable houfe, which could
ftand only a few centuries, than in a gloomy
gothic fabric, which would laft to the day
N 2 of
180 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of judgment. Thefe defpotic courts, the
State Inquifitors, and Council of Ten, have
had their admirers, not only among the
Venetian nobility, but among foreigners ;
even among fuch as have, on other occa-
fions, profeffed principles very unfavourable
to arbitrary power.
I find the following paflage in a letter of
Biflhop Burnet, relating to Venice :
" But this leads me to fay a little to you
* of that part of the conftitution, which is
" fo cenfured by Grangers, but is really
" both the greateft glory, .and the chief
<c fecurity, of this republic ; which is, the
u unlimited power of the Inquifitors, that
u extends not only to the chief of the
' c nobility, but to the Duke himfelf ; who
4< is fo fubjed to them, that they may not
^ only give him fevere reprimands, but
u fearch his papers, make his procefs, and,
" in conclufion, put him to death, without
" being bound to give any account of their
" proceedings, except to the Council of
« Ten.
MANNERS IN ITALY. 181
c4 Ten. This is the dread, not only of all
« c the fubje&s, but of the whole nobility,
" and all that bear office in the republic*
" and makes the greateft amongft them
" tremble, and fo obliges them to an exa<ffc
u conduit."
Now, for my part, I cannot help think-
ing, that a Tribunal which keeps the Doge*
the nobility, and all the fubje&s, in dread,
and makes the greateft among them
tremble, can be no great bleffing in any
State. To be in continual fear, is certainly
a very unhappy fituation ; and if the Doge,
the nobility, and all the fubjedts, are ren-
dered unhappy, I fhould imagine, with all
fubmiffion, that the glory and fecurity of
the reft of the republic mi) ft be of very
fmall importance.
In the fame letter which I have quoted
above, his Lordfhip, fpeaking of the State
Inquifitors, has thefe word-s : a When
* c they find any fault, they are fo inexo-
rable, and fo quick as well as fevere in
N 3 €C their
181 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
J* their juftice, that the very fear of this is
ct fo eiTe&ual a reftraiat, that, perhaps, the
€i only prefcryation of Venice, and of its
" liberty, is owing to this fipgle piece of
<{ their conftitution."
How would you, my good friend, relifh
that kind of liberty in England, which
could not be preferved without the affiftance
of a defpotic court ? Such an idea of
liberty might have been announced from
the throne, as one of the myfteries of
Government, by James the Firft, or the
Second ; but we are amazed to find it pub-
liihed by a counfellor, and admirer of Wil-
liam the Third. It may, indeed, be faid,
that the fmallnefs of the Venetian State,
and its republican form of government,
render it liable to be overturned by fuddea
tumults, or popular infurre£tions : this ren-
ders it the more neceffary to keep a watch-
ful eye over the conduct of individuals,
and guard againft every thing that may be;
t r he fource of public commotion or diforder,
Thq
MANNERS IN ITALY. 183
The inftitution of State Inquifitors may be
thought to admit of lome apology in this
view, like the extraordinary and irregular
punifhment of the Oftracifm eftablifhed at
Athens, which had a fimilar foundation.
In a large State, or in a lefs popular form
of government, the fame dangers from
civil commotions cannot be apprehended ;
fimilar precautions for preventing them are
therefore fuperriuous; but, notwithflanding
every apology that can be made, I am at a
lpfs to account for the exiftence of this
terrible Tribunal for fo long a time in the
Venetian republic, becaufe all ranks feem
to have an interefl: in its deftru&ion ; and
I do not fee on what principle any one
man, or any let of men, ftiould wifh for
its prefervation. It cannot be the Doge, for
the State Inquifitors keep him in abfolute
bondage ; nor would one naturally imagine
that the nobles would reliflx this courts for
the nobles are more expofed to the jealoufy
of the State Inquifitors than the citizens^
or inferior people ; and lead of all ought
N 4 the
184 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the citizens to fupport a Tribunal, to which
none of them can ever be admitted. As*
however, the body of the nobility alone
can remove this Tribunal from being part
of the conftitution, and yet, we find, they
have always fupported it; we muft con-
clude, that a junto of that body which has
fufficient influence to command a majority
of their brethren, has always retained the
power in their own hands, and found
means of having the majority at leaft of
the Council of Ten, choien from their own
members ; fo that this arbitrary court is,
perhaps, always compofed, by a kind of
rotation, of the individuals of a junto. But
if the pofiibility of this is denied, becaufe
of the precaution ufed in the form of elect-
ing by ballot, the only other way I can
account for a Tribunal of fuch a nature
being permitted, to exift, is, by fuppofing
that a majority of the Venetian nobles have
fo great a relifh for unlimited power, thatj
to Jiave a chance of enjoying it for a fhort
| period.
MANNERS IN ITALY. 1S5
period, they are willing to bear all the
miferies of flavery for the reft of their lives.
The encouragement given by this Go-
vernment to anonymous accufers, and
fecret informations, is attended with confe-
quences which greatly outweigh any benefit
that can arife from them. They muft
deftroy mutual confidence, and promote
fufpicions and jealoufies among neigh-
bours ; and, while they render all ranks of
men fearful, they encourage them to be
malicious. The laws ought to be able to
protedt every man who openly and boldly
accufes another.
If any fet of men, in a State, are fo
powerful, that it is dangerous for an in-
dividual to charge them with their crimes
openly, there muft be a weaknefs in that
government which requires a fpeedy re-
medy ; but let not that be a remedy worfe
than the difeafe.
It is no proof of the boafted wifdom of
this Government, that, in the ufe of the
torture*
136 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
torture, it imitates many European States,
whofe judicial regulations it has avoided
where they feem far lefs cenfurable. The
pra&ice of forcing confeffion, and procuring
evidence by this means, always appeared
to me a complication of cruelty and abfur-
dity. To make a man fuffer more than
the pains of death, that you may difcover
whether he deferves death, or not, is a
manner of diflributing jufiice which I can-
Slot reconcile to my idea of equity.
If it is the intention of the Legislature,
that every crime fhall be expiated by the
fufferings of fomebody, and is regardlefs
whether this expiation is made by the ago-
nies of an innocent perfon, or a guilty*
then there is no more to be faid ; but, if
the intention be to difcover the truth, this
horrid device of the torture will very often
fail ; for nineteen people out of twenty
w 7 ill declare whatever they imagine will
fboneft put an end to their fufferings,,
whether it be truth or falfehood.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
187
LETTER XVL
Venice.
A Lthough many important events
JL 3l have happened fince the eftablhh-
meat of the State Inquifition, which have
greatly afFe&ed the power, riches, and ex-
tent of dominion of this republic, yet the
nature of the Government has remained
much the fame. In what I have to add,
therefore, I fhall be very fhort and general,
I have already obferved, that it was the
ufual policy of this republic to maintain a
neutrality, as long as poffible,in all the wars
which took place among her neighbours;
and when obliged, contrary to her inclina-
tions, to declare for either party, fhe gene-
rally joined with that State whofe diftant
fituation rendered its power and profperity
the leaft dangerous of the two to Vepice.
This
m VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
This republic feems, however, to have
too much negle&ed to form defenfive
alliances with other States, and by the con-
tinual jealoufy (he fhewed of them, joined
to her immenfe riches, at laft became the
objed of the hatred and envy of all the
Powers in Europe. This univerfal jealoufy
was roufed, and brought into a&ion, in
the year 1508, by the intriguing genius of
Pope Julius the Second. A confederacy
was fecretly entered into at Cambray, be-
tween Julius, the Emperor Maximilian,
Lewis the Twelfth, and Ferdinand of Arra-
gon, againft the republic of Venice. A
bare enumeration of the Powers which
compofed this league, gives a very high
idea of the importance of the State againft
which it was formed.
The Duke of Savoy, the Duke of Far-
rara, and the Duke of Mantua, acceded to
this confederacy, and gave in claims to
part of the dominions of Venice. It was
not difficult to form pretenfions to the beft
part
MANNERS IN ITALY. 189
part of the dominions of a State, which
originally poflefled nothing but a few
nradhy iflands at the bottom of the Adriatic
Gulph. It was the general opinion of
Europe, that the league of Cambray would
reduce Venice to her original poffeffions.
The Venetians, finding themfelves de-
prived of all hopes of foreign afTiftance*
fought fupport from their own courage,
and refolved to meet the danger which
threatened them, with the fpirit of a brave-
and independent people.
Their General, Count Alviano, led an
army againft Lewis, who, being prepared
before the other confederates, had already
entered Italy. However great the magna-
nimity of the Senate, and the fkill of their
General, the foldiery were by no means
equal to the difciplined troops of France,
led by a martial nobility, and headed by a
gallant monarch. The army of Alviano
was defeated ; new enemies poured on the
republic from all fides; and £he loft, in one
campaign ;
igo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
campaign, all the territories in Italy winch
£he had been ages in acquiring.
Venice now found that flie could no
longer depend on her own ftrength and
resources, and endeavoured to break, by
policy, a combination which fhe had not
force to refift. The Venetian Senate, know-
ing that Julius was the foul of the con-
federacy, offered to deliver up the towns
he claimed, and made every other fub-
miffion that could gratify the pride, and
avert the anger, of that ambitious Pontiff;
they alfo find means to feparate Ferdinand
from the alliance. Lewis and Maximilian
being now their only enemies, the Vene-
tians are able to fuftain the war, till Julius,
bearing no longer any refentment againft
the republic, and feized with remorfe at be-
holding his native country ravaged by French
and German armies, unites with Venice
to drive the invaders out of Italy ; and this
republic is faved, with the lofs of a fmall
part of her Italian dominions, from a ruin
which
MANNERS IN ITALY. 191
which all Europe had confidered as in-
evitable. The long and expenfive wars
between the different Powers of Europe, in
which this State was obliged to take part,
prove that her flrength and refources were
not exhaufted.
In the year 1570, the Venetians were
forced into a ruinous war with the Ottoman
Empire, at a time when the Senate, fenfible
of the great need they flood in of repofe*
had, with much addrefs and policy, kept
clear of the quarrels which agitated the
reft of Europe. But Solymon the Second,
upon the mod frivolous pretext, demanded
from them the ifland of Cyprus.
It was evident to all the world, that
he had no better foundation for this
claim, than a drong defire, fupported by a
fufficient power, of conquering the ifland.
This kind of right might not be thought
complete in a court of equity; but, in the
jurifprudence of monarchs, it has always
been found preferable to every other.
The
i 9 2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The Turks make a defcent, with a grest
army, on Cyprus ; they inveft Famagoufta,
the capital ; the garrifon defends it with the
moft obftinate bravery ; theTurks are repulf-
ed in repeated aftaults ; many thoufands of
them are flain ; but the ranks are conftantly
fupplied by reinforcements. Antonio Bra-
gadino, the commander, having difplayed
proofs of the higheft military fkill, and the
moft heroic courage, his garrifon being
quite exhaufted with fatigue, and greatly
reduced in point of numbers, is obliged to
capitulate.
The terms were, that the garrifon fhould
march out with their arms, baggage, and
three pieces of cannon, and fhould be
tranfported to Candia in Turkifh veffels }
that the citizens fhould not be pillaged, but
allowed to retire with their effeds.
Muftapha, the Turkifh Bafhaw, no
fooner had poffeffion of the place, than he
delivered it up to be pillaged by the Janif-
faries ; the garrifon were put in chains, and
made
MANNERS IN ITALY. 193
made flaves on board the Turkifh gallies.
The principal officers were beheaded, and
the gallant Bragadino was tied to a pillar,
and, in the Bafhaw's prefence, flayed
alive.
We meet with events in the annals of
mankind, that make us doubt the truth of
the moft authentic hiftory. We cannot be-
lieve that fuch a&ions have ever been
committed by the inhabitants of this globe,
and by creatures of the fame fpecies with
ourfelves. We are tempted to think we
are perufing the records of hell, whofe in-
habitants, according to the moft authentic
accounts, derive a conftant pleafure from
the tortures of each other, as well as of all
foreigners*
The conqueft of the ifland of Cyprus is
faid to have coft the Turks fifty thoufand
lives. At this time, not Venice only, but all
Chriftendom, had reafon to dread the pro-
grefs of the Turkifli arms. The State of
Venice folicited affiftance from all the Ca-
Vol. L O tholic
t 9 4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
tholic States ; but France was, at that time,
in alliance with the Turks ; Maximilian
dreaded their power ; the Crown of Portu-
gal was poffeffed by a child, and Poland
was exhaufted by her wars with Ruffia,
The Venetians, on this prefling occafion,
received affiftance from Rome, whofe power
they had fo often refilled, and from Spain,
their late enemy*
Pope Pius the Fifth, and Philip the
Second, joined their fleets with that of the
republic. The confederate fleet afiembled
at Meffina. The celebrated Don John of
Auftria, natural fon to Charles the Fifth,
was Generaliffimo ; Mark Antonio Co-
lonna commanded the Pope's divifion, and
Sebaftian Veniero the Venetian. The
Turkifli fleet was greatly fuperior in the
number of veflels.
The two fleets meet in the Gulph of
Lapanta: it is faid, that the Turkifli gallies
were entirely worked by Chriftian (laves,
and the gallies of the Chriftians by Turk-
ifli 5
MANNERS IN ITALY. 195
ifh ; a fhocking proof of the barbarous
manner in which prifoners of war were
treated in that age; and, in this inftance,
as abfurd as it was barbarous ; for a cartel
for an exchange of prifoners would have
given freedom to the greater number of
thofe unhappy men, without diminifhing
the ftrength of either navy. The fleets
engage, and the Turks are entirely de-
feated. Hiftorians afiert, that twenty thou-
fand Turks were killed in the engagement,
and one half of their fleet deftroyed. This
is a prodigious number to be killed on one
fide, and in a fea fight; it ought to be
remembered, that there is no Turkilli writer
on the fubjed.
Pius the Fifth died foon after the battle
of Lapanta. Upon his death the war
languifhed on the fide of the Allies ; Philip
became tired of the expence, and the Ve-
netians were obliged to purchafe a peace,
by yielding the ifiand of Cyprus to the
Turks, and agreeing to pay them, for three
O 2 years,
196 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
years, an annual tribute of one hundred
thoufand ducats. Thofe circumftances
have no tendency to confirm the accounts
which Chriftian writers have given, of the
immenfe lofs which the Turks met with at
the battle of Lapanta.
In the beginning of the feventeenth
century, the republic had a difpute with
the Pope, which, in that age, was thought
a matter of importance, and engaged the
attention of all Chriftendom.
Paul the Fifth fhewed as eager a dif-
pofition as any of his predeceffors, to extend
the Papal authority. He had an inveterate
prejudice againft the Venetian republic,
on account of her having, on every occa-
fion, refifled all ecclefiaftical encroach-
ments.
He fought, with impatience, an oppor-
tunity of manifefting his hatred, and ex-
pe&ed that he fliould be afiifted by the pious
Princes of Europe, in bringing this refrac-
tory
MANNERS IN ITALY. 197
tory child of the church to reafon. He
began by demanding a fum of money, for
the purpofe of carrying on the war againft
the Turks in Hungary ; he complained of
certain decrees of the Senate, relating to
the internal government of the republic,
particularly one which forbad the building
of any more new churches, without the
permiflion of that afTembiy, and which, he
faid, fmelt ftrongly of herefy ; and above
all, he exclaimed againft the Council of
Ten, for having imprifoned an Ecclefiaftic,
and prepared to bring him to a public
trial. This reverend perfon, for whom his
Holinefs interefted htmfelf fo warmly, was
accufed of having poifoned five people,
one of whom was his own father. He
was alfo accufed of having caufed another
to be affafiinated ; and, to prevent a dis-
covery, had afterwards poifoned th^
aflaflin.
The Senate refufed the money, con-
firmed their decree againft the building of
O 3 churches,
i 9 S VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
churches, and applauded the condud of
the Council of Ten, in profecuting the
Ecclefiaftic.
The authors of the age arranged them-
felves on the one fide, or the other, and
this became a war of controversy ; in which,
though there was no blood fhed, yet it
appeared, by the writings of the partifans,
that a confiderable number of underftand-
ings were greatly injured. Thofe who
Supported the Pope's caufe infilled, that
the temporal power of Princes is Subordinate
to his ; that he has a right to deprive
them of their dominions, and releafe their
fubjeds from their oaths of fidelity, as
often as this fhall be for the glory of God,
and for the good of the Church ; of which
nobody could be fo good a judge as the
Pope, fince all the world knew he was
infallible ; that ecclefiaftics were not fub-
jeded to the civil power ; that an eccle-
fiaftical court, or the Pope, only, had
authority over that body of men j and no-
thing
•MANNERS IN ITALY. 199
thing could be more abominable, than to
continue a profeeution againft a prifoner,
whatever his crimes might be, after the
Father of the church, who had the un-
doubted power of abfolving iinners, had
interfered in his favour.
The Senate, in their anfwers, acknow-
ledged, that the Pope was fupreme head of
the Church, and that, in all fubje&s of reli-
gious belief, his power was unbounded ;
for which reafon they remained implicit
and fubmiflive believers ; that they were
far from difputing the infallibility of his
Hoiinefs in eccleiiaftical matters, particu-
larly within his own dominions ; but,
with regard to the government of their
fubjedts, they would certainly take the
whole trouble of that on themfelves, and
would adminifter as impartial juilice to
EcclefiaRics, as to thole of other profeiKons.
They imagined alio, that they were com-
petent judges when, and for what purpofes,
they ought to levy money upon their own
O 4 fubjeds,
200 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fubjeds, and whether it would be neceflary
to build any new churches in Venice, or
not. Finally, they flattered themfelves,
that the profecuting a murderer was no
way inconfiflent with the glpry of God.
The greater number of the Princes of
Chriflendom. feemed to think the Senate
were in the right. The Pope was dis-
appointed in his expectations ; and finding
himfelf unfupported, was glad to fhelter
his pride under the mediation of Henry the
Fourth of France, who endeavoured to give
his Holinefs's defeat the appearance of
victory.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
2.0?
LETTER XVII.
Venice*
/"T^HEyear 1618 is diftinguifhed in the
annals of Venice, by a confpiracy
of a more formidable nature than any
hitherto mentioned. The defign of other
confpiracies was a change in the form of
government, or, at moft, the deftrudtion of
fome particular clafs of men in power ; but
the prefent plot had for its object the total
annihilation of the Venetian republic. I
fpeak of the confpiracy formed by the
Marquis of Bedmar, ambaflador from the
Court of Spain, in conjunction with the
Duke of Oflbno, and the Spanifh governor
of the Milanefe.
The interefting manner in which this
dark defign has been defcribed by the
Abbe St. Real, has made it more univer-
fally known than any other part of the
2 Venetian
p.o% VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Venetian ftory. This writer is accufed of
having ornamented his account with fome
fanciful circumftances, an objedion often
envioufiy urged againft fome of the moft:
agreeable writers, by authors whom nature
has guarded from the poffibility of com-
mitting fuch an error; men, whofe truths
are lefs interesting than fictions, and whofe
fidions are as dull as the moft infipid
truths. Does any reader believe that the
fpeeches of the Generals before a battle,
as recorded by Livy, were adually pro-
nounced in the terms of that author ? Or,
can any one wifh they were expunged
from his hiftory ? Abbe St. Real has alfo
put fpeeches into the mouths of the con-
fpirators, and has embellifhed, without
materially altering, the real circumftances
of the ftory. For my own part, I feel a
degree of gratitude to every perfon who
has entertained me ; and while my paffions
are agreeably agitated with St. Real's lively
hiftory, 1 cannot bear that a phlegmatic
fellow fhould interrupt my enjoyment j
3 an<^
MANNERS IN ITALY. 203
and, becaufe of a few embellifhments,
declare, with an affe&ed air of \vildom,
that the whole is an idle romance.
The difcovery of this plot, and the im-
preffions of jealoufy and terror which it
left on the minds of the inhabitants of
Venice, probably firfi fuggeiled a plan of
a more wicked nature than any of the
confpiracies we have hitherto mentioned,
and which was actually put in execution.
A fet of villains combined together to
accufe fame of the nobility of treafonable
pra&ices, merely for the fake of the rewards
beftowed upon informers. This horrid
crime may be expe&ed in all Governments
where fpies and informers are encouraged;
it certainly occurs frequently at Venice;
fometimes, no doubt, without being de-
tected, and fometimes it is dete&ed, without
being publicly punifhed, for fear of dis-
couraging the bufinefs of information : but
on the difcovery of the prefent combina-
tion^ all Venice was ftruck with fuch
horror,
2C4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
horror, that the Senate thought proper to
publifh every circumftance.
A certain number of thofe mifcreants
adted the part of accufers ; the others,
being feized by the information of their
accomplices, appeared as witnefles.
A noble Venetian, of a refpe£table cha-
racter, and advanced in years, of the name
of Fofcarini, fell a vi&im to this horrid
cabal ; and Venice beheld with aftonifh-
ment and forrow, one of her mod refpedt-
able citizens accufed, condemned, and exe-
cuted as a traitor.
At length, accufations followed each
other fo clofe, that they created fufpicions
in the minds of the Judges. The in-
formers themfelves were feized, and exa-
mined feparately, and the whole dreadful
fcheme became manifeft. Thefe wretches
fuffered the punifhment due to fuch com-
plicated villany ; the honour of Fofcarini
was re-inftated, and every poffible compen-
fation
MANNERS IN ITALY. 205
fation made to his injured family. An
inftance like this, of the defpotic precipi-
tancy of the Inquifitors, more than counter-
balances all the benefit which the State
ever receives from them, or the odious
race of informers they encourage.
If the trial of the unfortunate Fofcarini
had been open, or public y and not in fecret,
according to the form of the Inquifitor's
Court ; and if he had been allowed to call
exculpatory evidence, and affifled by thofe
friends who knew all his adiions, the falfe-
hood and villany of thefe accufers would
probably have been difcovered, and his life
faved.
In the year 1645, the Turks made an
unexpected and fudden defcent on the
ifland of Candia. The Senate of Venice
did not difplay their ufual vigilance on
this occafion. They had feen the immenfe
warlike preparations going forward, and
yet allowed themfelves to be amufed by the
Grand Seignior's declaring w T ar again ft
Malta,
2 o6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Malta, and pretending that the armament
was intended againft that ifland. The
troops landed without oppofition, and the
town of Canea was taken after an obftinate
defence.
This news being brought to Venice,
excited an univerfal indignation againft the
Turks ; and the Senate refolved to defend,
to the utmoft, this valuable part of the
empire. Extraordinary ways and means
of raifing money were fallen upon: among
others, it was propofed to fell the rank of
nobility. Four citizens offered one hun-
dred thoufand ducats each for this honour ;
and, notwithftanding fome oppofition, this
meafure was at laft carried. Eighty families
were admitted into the Grand Council, and
to the honour and privileges of the no-
bility. What an idea does this give of
the wealth of the inhabitants of Venice ?
The fiege of Candia, the capital of the
ifland of that name, is, in fome refpeds,
more memorable than that of any town,
which
MANNERS IN ITALY. 207
which hiftory, or even which poetry, has
recorded. It lafied twenty-four years.
The amazing efforts made by the republic
of Venice aftonifhed all Europe ; their
courage interefted the gallant fpirits of
every nation : volunteers from every coun-
try came toCandia, to exercife their valour,
to acquire knowledge in the military art,
and aflift a brave people whom they ad-
mired. The Duke of Beaufort, fo much
the darling of the Parifian populace during
the war of the Fronde, was killed here,
with many more gallant French officers.
During this famous fiege> the Venetians
gained many important vi&ories over the
Turkifh fleets. Sometimes they were
driven from the walls of Candia, and
the Turkifh garrifon of Canca was
even befieged by the Venetian fleets. The
(laughter made of the Turkifh armies is
without example; but new armies were
foon found to fupply their place, by a
Government which boafts fuch populous
dominions.
208 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
dominions, and which has defpotic autho-
rity over its fubje&s.
Mahomet the Fourth, impatient at the
length of this fiege, came to Negropont,
that he might have more frequent oppor-
tunities of hearing from the Vizier, who
carried on the fiege. An officer fent with
difpatches, was dire&ed by the Vizier, to
explain to Mahomet the manner in which
he made his approaches, and to affure him
that he would take all poffible care to fave
the lives of the foldiers. The humane
Emperor anfwered, That he had fent the
Vizier to take the place, and not to fpare
the lives of foldiers ; and he was on the
point of ordering the head of the officer
who brought this mefTage, to be cut off,
merely to quicken the Vizier in his opera-
tions, and to fliew him how little he valued
the lives of men*
In fpite of the Vizier's boafted parfimony,
this war is faid to have cod the lives of
two hundred thoufand Turks. Candia
capitulated
MANNERS IN ITALY. 209
capitulated in the year 1668 : the con-
ditions on this occafion were honourably
fulfilled. Morfini, the Venetian General,
after difplaying prodigies of valour and
capacity, marched out of the rubbifh of
this well-difputed city, with the honours
of war.
The expence of fuch a tedious war
greatly exhaufled the refources of Venice,
which could not now repair them fo
quickly as formerly, when fhe enjoyed the
rich monopoly of the Afiatic trade ; the
difcovery of the Cape of Gpod Hope hav-
ing long fince opened that valuable com-
merce to the Portuguefe and other nations.
This republic remained in a ftate of
tranquillity, endeavouring, by the arts of
peace, and cultivation of that fhare of com-
merce which fhe fall retained, to fill her
empty exchequer, till fhe was drawn into a
new war, in the year 1683, by the info-
lence of the Ottoman Court. The Vene-
tians had for fome time endeavoured, by
Vol, L P negociation,
2io VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
negociation, and many conciliatory repre-
fentations, to accommodate matters with
the Turks ; and though the haughty con-
dud of her enemies afforded fmall hopes
of fuccefs, yet fuch was her averfron to
war on the prefent oeeafion, that £he
ftill balanced, whether to bear thofe infults,
or repel them by arms ; when Ihe was
brought to decifion by an event which
gave the greateft joy to Venice, and afto-
nifhed all Europe. This was the great
vi&ory gained over the Turkifh army be-
fore the walls of Vienna, .-by Sohiefki, King
of Poland.
In this new war, their late General Mor-
fmi again had the command of the fleets
and armies of the republic, and fuftained
the great reputation he had acquired in
Candia. He conquered the Morea, which
was ceded formally to Venice, with fome
other acquifition, at the peace of Carlowitzy*
in the laft year of the laft century.
During
MANNERS IN ITALY. ait
During the war of the fucceflion, the
State of Venice obferved a HxiCt neutrality.
They confidered that difpute as uncon-
nected with their interefts, taking care,
however, to keep on foot an army on their
frontiers in Italy, of fufficient force to
make them refpetted by the contending
Powers. But, foon after the peace of
Utrecht, the Venetians w 7 ere again attacked
by their old enemies the Turks ; who, be-
holding the great European Powers ex-
haufted by their late efforts, and unable to
afiift the republic, thought this the favour-
able moment for recovering the Morea,
which had been fo lately ravifhed from
them. The Turks obtained their objeft,
and at the peace of Paffarowitz, which
terminated this unfuccefsful. war, the Ve-
netian State yielded up the Morea ; the
Grand Seignior, on his part, reftoring to
them the fmall iflands of Cerigo and Ceri-
gotto, with fome places which his troops
had taken during the courfe of the w 7 ar in
Dalmatia. Thofe, with the iflands of
P 2 Corfou,
512 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Corfou, Santa Maura, Zante,* and Cepha-
Ionia, the remains of their dominions in
the Levant, they have fince fortified, at a
great expence, as their only barriers againft
the Turk.
Since this period no effential alteration
has taken place in the Venetian govern-
ment, nor has there been any efiential
increafe, or diminution, in the extent of
their dominions. They have little to fear
at prefent from the Turks, whofe attention
is fufficiently occupied by a more formi-
dable enemy than the republic and the
Houfe of Auftria united. Befides, if the
Turks were more difengaged, as they have
npw flripped the republic of Cyprus,
Candia, and their pofieflions in Greece,
what remains in the Levant is hardly w r orth
their attention.
The declenfion of Venice did not, like
that of Rome, proceed from the increafe
of luxurv, or the revolt of their own
armies in the diftant Colonies, or from
civil
MANNERS IN ITALY. 213
eivil wars of any kind. Venice has dwin-
dled in power and importance, from caufes
which could not be forefeen ; or guarded
againft by human prudence, although they
had been forefeen. How could this re^
public have prevented the difeovery of a
paffage to Afia by the Cape of Good Hope ?
or hinder other nations from being in-
fpired with a fpirit of enterprife, induftry,
and commerce ? In their prefent fituation
there is little probability of their attempting
new conquefts ; happy if they are allowed
to remain in the quiqt pofleflion of what
they have. Venice has a mod formidable
neighbour in the Emperor, w 7 hofe <do-
minions border on thofe of this republic
on all fides. The independency of the
republic entirely depends on his modera-
tion ; or, in cafe he fhould lofe that virtue*
on the protedion of fome of the great
Powers of Europe,
I have now finifhed the fketch I pro-
, of the Venetian government, with
P 3 which
214 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
which I could not help intermingling many
of the principal hiftorical events ; indeed
I enlarged on thefe, after you informed
me, that you intended to give your young
friend copies of my letters on this fubjedt,
before he begins his tour* I wifh they
were more perfed on his account ; they
will, at leaft, prevent his being in the
fituation of fome travellers I have met:
with, who, after remaining here for many
months, knew no more of the ancient or
modern ftate of Venice, than that the in-
habitants went about in boats inftead
of coaches, and, generally fpeaking, wors
mafks.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
215
LETTER XVIII.
Venice.
AVING travelled with you through
the fplendid seras of the Venetian
ilory, and presented their ftatefmen and
heroes to your view, let us now return to
the prefent race, in whofe life and con-
verfation, I forewarn you, there is nothing
heroic. The truth is, that in every
country, as well as Venice, we can only
read of heroes ; they are feldom to be feen:
for this plain reaion, that while they are
to be feen we do not think them heroes.
The hiftorian dwells upon what is vaft and
extraordinary; what is common and trivial
finds no place in his records. When we hear
the names of Epaminondas, Themiftocles,
Camillas, Scipio, and other great men of
Greece and Rome, we think of their great
a£lions,w T e know nothing elfe about them
P 4 but
2-i 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
but when we fee the worthies of our own
times, w r e unfortunately recollect their
whole hiftory. The citizens of Athens
and Rome, who lived in the days of the
heroes above mentioned, very probably had
not the fame admiration of them that we
have ; and our poderity, fome eight or
ten centuries hence, will, it is to be hoped,
have a higher veneration for the great
men of the prefent age, than their intimate
acquaintance are known to have, or than
thofe can be fuppofed to form, who daily
behold them lounging in garaing-houfes*
All this, you perceive, is little more than
a commentary on the old obfervation, That
no man Is a hero to his Valet de Chambre.
The number of playhoufes in Venice is
very extraordinary, coniidering the fize of
the town, which is not thought to contain
above one hundred and fifty thoufand in-
habitants, yet there are eight or nine
theatres here, including the opera-houfes.
You pay a trifle at the door for admit-
tance ; this entitles you to go into the pit,
where
MANNERS IN ITALY. 217
where you may look about, and determine
what part of the houfe you will fit in.
There are rows of chairs placed in the
front of the pit, next the orcheftra $ the
feats of thefe chairs are folded to their
backs, and fattened by a lock. Thofe who
choofe to take them, pay a little more
money to the door-keeper, who imme-
diately unlocks the feat. Very decent-
looking people occupy thefe chairs; but
the back part of the pit is filled with foot-
men and gondoleers, in their common
working clothes. The nobility, and better
fort of citizens, have boxes retained for
the year j but there are always a fufficient
number to be let to Grangers : the price
of thofe varies every night, according to
the feafon of the year, and the piece a£ted.
A Venetian playhoufe has a difmal
appearance in the eyes of people accuftom-
ed to the brilliancy of thofe of London.
Many of the boxes are fo dark, that the
faces of the company in them can hardly
be
2iS VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
be diftinguiflied at a little diflance, even
when they do not wear mafks. The ftage,
however, is well illuminated, fo that
the people in the boxes can fee, perfectly
well, every thing that is tranfa&ed there j
and when they choofe to be feen them-
felves, they order lights into their boxes.
Between the acts you fometimes fee ladies
walking about, with their Cavalieri Ser-
ventes, in the back part of the pit, when
it is not crowded. As they are mafked,
they do not fcruple to reconnoitre the com-
pany, with their fpying-glaffes, from this
place : when the play begins, they return
to their boxes. This continual moving
about from box to box, and between the
boxes and the pit, muft create fome oon-
fufion, and, no doubt, is difagreeable to
thofe who attend merely on account of
the piece. There muft, however, be found
fome douceur in the mid ft of all this ob-
fcurity and confufion, which, in the opinion
of the majority of the audience, overba-
lances thefe obvious inconveniences.
6 The
MANNERS IN ITALY. 219
The mufic of the opera here ia
reckoned as fine as in any town in Italy ;
and, at any rate, is far fuperior to the
praife of fo very poor a judge as I am. The
dramatic and poetical parts of thofe pieces
are little regarded : the poet is allowed to
indulge himfelf in as many anachronifms*
and other inconfiftencies, as he pleafes*
Provided the mufic receives the approba-
tion of the critic's ear, his judgment is not
offended with any abfurdities in the other
parts of the compofition. The celebrated
Metaftafio has difdained to avail himfelf of
this indulgence in his operas, which are
fine dramatic compofitions. He has pre-
ferved the alliance which ought always to
fubfift between fenfeand mufic.
But as for the mufic of the ferious
operas, it is, in general, infinitely too fine
for my ear to my fhame I muft confefs, that
it requires a confiderable effort for me to
fit till the end.
It
220 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
It is furely happy for a man to have a
real fenfibility for fine mufic ; becaufe he
has, by that means, one fource of enjoy-
ment more, than thofe whofe auditory
nerves are lefs delicately ftrung. It is,
however, equally abfurd and filly to afFe£t
an exceffive delight in things which nature
has not framed us to enjoy ; yet how
many of our acquaintance, accufed of this
folly, have we feen doing painful penance
at the Hay-market ; and, in the midft of
unfuppreffable yawnings, calling out,
Charming ! exquifite ! braviffimo, &c.
It is amazing what pains fome people
take to render themfelves ridiculous ; and
it is a matter of real curiofity to obferve, in
what various fhapes the little defpicable
fpirit of affectation (hews itfelf among
mankind.
I remember a very honeft gentleman,
who ■underftpod little or nothing of
French ; but having picked up a few
phrafeSj
MANNERS IN ITALY, 2' 2 r
phrafes, he brought them forward on every
occafion, and affe&ed, among his neigh-
bours in the country, the mod perfect
knowledge, and higheft admiration, of that
language. When any body, in compliance
with his tafle, uttered a fentence in that
tongue, though my good friend did not
underftand a fyllable of it, yet he never
failed to nod and fmiie to the fpeaker with
the moft knowing air imaginable. The
parfon of the par ill), at a country dinner,
once addrefled him in thefe emphatic
words : Monfieur^ je trouve ce plum-pud-
ding extrcmement ban! which happening not
to be in my friend's collection of phrafes,
he did not comprehend. He nodded and
fmiled to the clergyman, however, in his
ufual intelligent manner ; but a perfon
who fat near him, being ftruck with the
fagacious and important tone in which the
obfervation had been delivered, begged of
my friend to explain it in Englifh : — on
which, after fome hefitation, he declared,
that the turn of the exprefiion was fo gen-
8 ted,
<m VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
teel, and fo exquifitely adapted to the
French idiom, that it could not be rendered
into Englifh, without lofing a great deal
of the original beauty of the fentiment.
At the comic opera I have fometimea
feen adtion alone excite the higheft ap-
plaufe, independent of either the poetry or
the mufic. I faw a Duo performed by an
old man and a young woman, fuppofed to
be his daughter, in fuch humorous
manner, as drew an univerfal encora from
the fpedators. The merit of the muficai
part of the compofition, I was told, was
but very moderate, and as for the fentiment
you fhall judge.
The father informs his daughter, in a;
fong, that he has found an excellent match
for her 5 who, befides being rich, and very
prudent, and not too young, was over and
above a particular friend of his own, and
in perfon and difpofition, much fuch a
man as himfelf ; he concludes, by telling
her, that the ceremony will be performed
next
MANNERS IN ITALY. 223
next day. She thanks him, in the gayeft
air poffihle, for his obliging Intentions,
adding, that (lie fhould have been glad to
have (hewn her implicit obedience to his
commands, provided there had been any
chance of the man's being to her tafte ;
but as, from the account he had given,
there could be none, fne declares fhe
will not marry him next day, and adds,
with a very long quaver, that if fhe were
to live to eternity fhe fhould continue of
the fame opinion. The father, in a violent
rage, tells her, that inftead of to-morrow,
the marriage fhould take place that very
day; to which fhe replies, Non: he re-
joins Si; fhe, Non, non; he, Si, fi; the
daughter, Non, non, non ; the Father, Si,-
fi, fi ; and fo the tinging continues for five
or fix minutes. You perceive there is no-
thing marveltoufly witty in this ; and for
a daughter to be of a different opinion
from her father, in the choice of a huf-
band, is not a very new dramatic incident.
Well, I told you the Duo was encored—
they
»4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
they immediately performed it a fecomf
time, and with more humour than the firft.
The whole houfe vociferated for it again 5
and it was fung a third time in a manner
equally pleafant, and yet perfe&ly differ-
ent from any of the former two.
I thought the houfe would have been
brought down about our ears, fo extrava-
gant were the teftimonies of approbation.
The two a£tors were obliged to appear
again, and fing this Duo a fourth time ;
which they executed in a ftyle fo new, fo
natural, and fo exquifitely droll, that the
audience now thought there had been
fomething deficient in all their former per-
formances, and that they had hit on the .
true comic only this laft time.
Some people began to call for it again ;
but the old man, now quite exhaufted,
begged for mercy ; on which the point
was given up. I never before had any
idea that fuch ftrong comic powers could
have
MANNERS IN ITALY. 22$
have been difplayed in the finging of a
fong.
The dancing is an eftential p&rt of the
entertainment at the opera here, as well
as at London. There is certainly a much
greater proportion of mankind deaf to the
delights of mufic, than blind to the beau-
ties of fine dancing. During the finging,
and recitativo part of the performance, the
fingers are often allowed to warble for a
confiderable time, without any body's
minding them; but the moment the ballet
begins, private converfation, though pretty
univerfal before, is immediately at an end,
and the eyes of all the fpeftators are fixed
on the ftage. This, to be fure, has been
always the cafe in London, and, in fpite of
the pains fome people take to conceal it,
we all know the reafon ; but I own I did
not expert to find the fame preference q£
dancing to mufic in Italy,
After feeing the dancing at the French
opera, and coming fo lately from Vienna,
Vol, L where
226 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
where we had feen fome of Novere's
charming ballets very well executed, we
could have no high admiration of thofe
performed here, though there are at pre-
fent fome dancers highly efteemed, who
perform every night.
The Italians, I am informed, have a
greater relifh for agility and high jumping
in their dancers, than for graceful move-
ments.
It is extraordinary that they do not vary
the ballets oftener. They give the fame
every night during the run of the opera.
There is a propriety in continuing the fame
opera for a confiderable time ; becaufe
mufic is often better reliflied after it be-
comes a little familiar to the ear, than at
firft ; but a ballet might be changed, with-
out much difficulty, every night.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
227
LETTER XIX.
Venice,
Ik /f ANY people are furprifed, that, in
XV**. a Government fo very jealous of
its power as that of Venice, there is no
military eftablifhment within the city to
fupport the executive power, and reprefs
any popular commotion. For my own
part, I am ftrongly of opinion, that it pro-
ceeds from this very jealoufy in government,
that there is no military garrifon here.
An arbitrary Prince is fond of a (landing
army, and loves to be always furrounded
by guards ; becaufe he, being the perma-
nent fountain of honours and promotion,
the army will naturally be much attached
to him, and become, on all occafions, the
blind inftruments of his pleafure ; but at
Venice ; there is novifible permanent objed,
Q^3 to
22S VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
to which the army can attach itfelf. The
Doge would not be allowed the command
of the garrifon, if there was one. The
three State Inqulfitors are continually
changing ; and before one fet could gain
the affe&ions of the foldiers, another would
bechofen; fo that Government could not
be fupported, but much more probably
would be overturned, by a numerous gar-
rifon being eftablifhed in Venice ; for it
might perhaps not be difficult for a few of
the rich and powerful nobles to corrupt the
garrifon, and gain over the commander to
any ambitious plan of their own, for the
deftrudion of the conftitution.
But although there is no formal garrifon
in a military uniform, yet there is a real
effe&ive force fufficient to fupprefs any
popular commotion, at the command of
the Senate, and Council of Ten. This
force, befides the Sbirri, confifts of a great
number of flout fellows, who, without any
diftinguifhing drefs, are kept in the pay of
Government,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 229
Government, and are at the command of
that Council. There is alfo the whole
body of the gondoleers, the molt hardy
and daring of the commonVenetians. This
body of men are greatly attached to the
nobility, from whom they have moft of
their employment, and with whom they
acquire a certain degree of familiarity, by
paffing great part of their time, fhut up in
boats, in their company, and by being
privy to many of their love intrigues.
Great numbers of thefe gondoleers are in
the fervice of particular nobles ; and there
is no doubt, that, in cafe of any popular
infurre£tion, the whole would take the
fide of the nobility and Senate, againft the
people. In fhort, they may be confidered
as a kind of ftanding militia, ready to rife
as foon as the Government requires their
fervices.
Laftly, there is the Grand Council itfelf,
w r hich, in cafe of any violent commotion,
of the citizens and populace, could be
Q 7 armed
230 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
armed dire&ly, from the fmall arfenal
within the Ducal palace, and would prove
a very formidable force againft an unarmed
multitude; for the laws of Venice forbid,
under pain of death, any citizen to carry
fire-arms ; a law which is very exactly exe-
cuted by the State Inquifitors.
By thofe means the executive power of
Government is as irrefiftible at Venice, as
at Peterfburgh or Conftantinople, while
there is a far lefs chance of the Govern-
ment itfelf being overthrown here by the
inftruments of its own power ; for,
although a regular army, or garrifon, might
be corrupted by the addrefs of an am-
bitious Doge, or by a combination of a
few rich and popular nobles, in which
cafe a revolution would take place at once ;
it is almoft impoffible to conceive, that
all the different powers above mentioned
could be engaged to a£t in favour of one
man, or a fmall combination of men, with-
out being deteded by the vigilance of the
Inquifitors,
$1 ANNERS IN ITALY. 231
Inquifitors, or the jealoufy of thofe who
were not in the confpiracy. And if we
fuppofe a majority of the nobles inclinable
to any change in the form of the Govern*
ment, they have no occafion to carry on a
fecret plot ; they may come to the Council
Chamber, and didtate whatever alterations
they think proper.
232 VIEW OF SOCIETY A^ND
LETTER XX.
Venice.
HERE is unqueftionably much re-
difplayed in the formation of the political
conftitution of Venice ; but I fhould admire
it much more, if the Council of Ten, and
State Inquifitors, had never formed any
part of it. Their inftitution, in my opinion^
deflroys the eifed of all the reft. Like
thofe mifers who adually ftarve themfelves,
by endeavouring to avoid the inconvc-
niencies of poverty, the Venetians, ia
whatever manner it is brought about,
adually fupport a defpotic tribunal, under
the pretext of keeping out deipotifm. Ia
fome refpeds this fyftem is worfe than the
fixed and permanent tyranny of one
perfon; for that perfon's charader and
maxims would be known, and, by endea-
vouring to conform themfelves to his way
fledion, and great depth of thought,
of
MANNERS IN ITALY, 233
of thinking, people might have fome
chance of living unmolefled ; but accord-
ing to this plan, they have a free-thinker
for their tyrant to-day, and a bigot to-
morrow. One year a fet of Inquifitors,
who confider certain parts of conduit as
innocent, which, in the fight of their fuc-
ceffors, may appear State crimes ; men do
not know what they have to depend upon.
An univerfal jealoufy muft prevail, and
precautions will be ufed to avoid the fuf-
picions of Government, unknown in any
other country. Accordingly we find, that
the noble Venetians are afraid of having
any intercourfe with foreign ambafladors, or
with foreigners of any kind ; they are even
cautious of vifiting at each other's houfes,
and hardly ever have meetings together,
except at the courts, or on the Broglio.
The boafted fecrecy of their public councils
proceeds, in all probability, from the fame
principle of fear. If all converfation on pub-
lic affairs were forbid, under pain of death,
and if the members of the Britifli Parlia-
ment
234 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ment were liable to be feized in the night-
time by general warrants, and hanged at
Tyburn, or drowned in the Thames, at
the pleafure of the Secretaries of State, I
dare fwear the world would know as little
of what paffes in either Houfe of Parlia-
ment, as they do of what is tranfa&ed in
the Senate of Venice.
It is not fafe for a noble Venetian to
acquire, in a high degree, the love and
confidence of the common people. This ex-
cites the jealoufy of the Inquifitors, and
proves a pretty certain means of excluding
him from any of the high offices. A Go-
vernment which difplays fo much diftruft
and fufpicion where there is little or no
ground, will not fail to fhew marks of the
fame difpofition where, in the general
opinion, there is fome reafon to be circum-
fped. Ecclefiaftics, of every denomination,
are excluded, by the conftitution of Venice,
from a place in the Senate s or holding any
civil office whatever j nor is it permitted
them,
• MANNERS IN ITALY. 235
them, dire£tly or indire&ly, to intermeddle
in State affairs. In many inftances, they arc
deprived of that kind of influence which,
even in Proteflant countries, is allowed to
the clergy. The Patriarch of Venice has
not the difpofal of the offices belonging to
St. Mark's church : all the Deans are
named by the Doge and Senate.
Though it is forbid to the nobility, and
to the clergy, to hold any converfation with
firangers upon politics, or affairs of State;
yet it is remarked, the gondoleers are
exceeding ready to talk upon thefe, or any
other fubjefts, with all who give them
the fmalleft encouragement. Thofe who
are not in the immediate fervice of any
particular nobleman, are often retained by
Government, like the Valets de-place at
Paris, as fpies upon flrangers. It is faid,
that while thofe fellows row their gon-
dolas, in feeming inattention to the conver-
fation, they are taking notice of every
thing which is faid, that they may report
it
236 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
it to their employers, when they imagine
it any way concerns the Government. If
this is true, thofe are to be pitied who are
obliged to liflen to all the fluff that fuch
politicians may be fuppofed to relate. As
foon as a ftranger arrives, the gondoleers
who brought him to Venice immediately
repair to a certain office, and give infor-
mation where they took him up, to what
houfe they conduced him, and of any
other particulars they may have picked up.
All thofe precautions recalled to my me-
mory the garrifon of Darmftadt, of which
I gave you an account in a letter from
that place, where the ftri&eft duty is kept
up by day and night, in winter as well as
fummer, and every precaution ufed, as if
an enemy were at the gates; though no
mortal has the fmallefl defign againft the
place, and though it is perfectly under-
ftood by all the inhabitants, that if an
army was in reality to come with hoftile
intentions, the town could not hold out a
week. In the fame manner, I cannot help
thinking,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 137
thinking, that all this jealoufy and diftruft,
thofe numerous engines fet a going, and
all this complicated fyftem for the difcovery
of plots, and the defence of the conftitution
of this republic, ferves only to harafs
their own fubje&s. Their conftitution is
certainly in no fuch danger as to require
fuch an apparatus of machines to defend
it, unlefs, indeed, the Emperor were to
form a plot againft it ; and, in that cafe,
it is much to be feared, that the fpies, gon-
doleers, lions mouths, and State Inquifitors,
would hardly prevent its fuccefs.
Exclufive of this State Inquifition, my
abhorrence to which, I perceive, leads me
fometimes away from my purpofe, all
ranks of people here might be exceeding
happy. The bufinefs of the various
courts, and the great number of offices in
the State, form a conftant employment for
the nobles, and furnifh them with proper
obje&s to excite induftry and ambition. The
citizens form a refpedable body in the
State ;
238 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
State ; and, though theyare excluded from
the Senate, they may hold fome very
lucrative and important offices. By apply-
ing to the arts and fciences, which are
encouraged at Venice, they have a fair
chance of living agreeably, and laying up
a competency for their families. Private
property is no where better fecured than at
Venice; and notwithftanding fhe no longer
enjoys the trade of Afia without com-
petitors, yet her commerce is ftill confider-
able, and many individuals acquire great
wealth by trade. The manufactories efta-
blifhed here employ all the induflrious poor,
and prevent that fqualid beggary, that
pilfering and robbery, one or other, or all
of which, prevail in moft other countries
of Europe.
Their fubje&s on the Terra Firma, I am
informed, are not at all opprefled ; the
Senate has found that mild treatment, and
good ufage, are the beft policy, and more
effe&ual than armies, in preventing revolts.
I The
MANNERS IN ITALY. 239
The Podeftas, therefore, are not allowed
to abufe their power, by treating the
people with feverity or injuftice. Thofe
Governors know, that any complaints pro-
duced againft them, will be fcrutinized by
the Senate very carefully. This prevents
many abufes of power on their part, and
makes the neighbouring provinces which
formerly belonged to this State, regret the
chance of war which ravifhed them from
the equitable government of their ancient
matters*
240
VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXL
Venice,
/TpHOUGH the Venetian Government
is ftill under the influence of jea-
loufy, that gloomy Daemon is now entirely
banifhed from the bofoms of individuals.
Inflead of the confinement in which wo-
men vvere formerly kept at Venice, they
now enjoy a degree of freedom unknown
even at Paris. Of the two extremes, the
prefent, without doubt, is the preferable.
The hulbands feem at laft convinced*
that the chaftity of their wives is fafeft
under their own guardianfhip, and that
when a woman thinks her honour not
worth her own regard, it is ftill more
unworthy of his. This advantage, with
many others, muft arife from the prefent
fyftem ; that when a hulband behaves that
his wife has faithfully adhered to her con-
4 jugal
MANNERS IN ITALY. 241
jugal engagement, he has the additional
fatisfa&ion of knowing, that fhe a£ts from,
a love to him, or fome honourable motive ;
whereas, formerly, a Venetian hufband
could not be certain that he was not obli-
ged, for his wife's chaftity, to iron bars,
bolts, and padlocks.
Could any man imagine, that a woman,
whofe chaftity was preferved by fuch mfeans
only, was, in fad, more refpedable than
a common proftitute? The old plan of
diftruft and confinement, without even fe-
curing what was its obje£t, muft have had
a ftrong tendency to debafe the minds of
both the hufband and the wife ; for what
man, whofe mind was not perfectly abje£t,
could have pleafure in the fociety of a wife,
who, to his own convi£lion, languifhed to
be in the arms of another man? Of all
the humble employments that ever the
wretched fons of Adam fubgiitted to, furely
that of watching a wife from morning to
night, and all night too, is the moft per-
Vol. I. R fedly
24* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fc&ly humiliating. Such ungenerous dif-
truft muft alfo have had the worft efFed on
the minds of the women ; made them
view their gaolers with difguft and horror;
and we ought not to be much furprifed
if fome preferred the common gondoleers
of the lakes, and the vagrants of the
ftreets, to fuch hufbands. Along with
jealoufy, poifon and the Jliletto have been ba-
nifhed from Venetian gallantry, and the
innocent mafk is fubftituted in their places.
According to the beft information I have
received, this fame malk is a much more
innocent matter than is generally imagined.
In general it is not intended to conceal
the perfon who wears it f but only ufed as
an apology for his not being in full drefs.
With a mafk ftuck in the hat, and a kind
of black mantle, trimmed with lace of the
fame colour* over the fhoulders, a man is
fufficiently drefled for any aflembly at
Venice.
Thofe who walk the ftreets, or go to
the playhoufes with niafks aftually cover-
5 kg
MANNERS IN ITALY. 243
ing their faces, are either engaged in fome
love intrigue, or would have the fpe&ators
think fo; for this is a piece of affe&ation
which prevails here, as well as el fe where J
and I have been allured, by thofe who
have refided many years at Venice, that
refined gentlemen, who are fond of the
reputation, though they fhrink from the
cataftrophe, of an intrigue, are no un-
common characters here ; and I believe it
the more readily* becaufe I daily fee many
feeble gentlemen tottering about in malks*
for whom a bafon of warm reftorative
foup feems more expedient than the moft
beautiful woman in Venice.
One evening at St* Mark's Place, when
a gentleman of my acquaintance was
giving an account of this curious piece
of afFe&ation, he defired me to take notice
of a Venetian nobleman of his acquaint-
ance, who, with an air of myftery, was
conduding a female mafk into his Caffino,
My acquaintance knew him perfectly well,
R % and
244 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and a flu red me, he was the mofi innocent
creature with women he had ever been
acquainted with. When this gallant perfon
perceived that we were looking at him,
his malk fell to the ground, as if by acci-
dent ; and after we had got a complete
view of his countenance, he put it on with
much hurry, and immediately ruihed, with
his partner, into the Caffino,
Fugit ad falices, fed fe cupit antevideri.
You have heard, no doubt, of thofe little
apartments, near St. Mark's Place, called
Caffinos. They have the misfortune to
labour under a very bad reputation ; they
are accufed of being temples entirely con-
fecrated to lawlefs love, and a thoufand
fcandalous tales are told to ftrangers concern-
ing them. Thofe tales are certainly not be-
lieved by theVenetians themfelves, the proof
of which is, that the Caffinos are allowed
to exift; for I hold it perfe&ly abfurd to
imagine, that men would fuffer their wives
to enter fuch places, if they were not con-
6 vinceci
MANNERS IN ITALY. 245
Vinced that thofe ftories were ill-founded ;
-nor can I believe, after all we have heard
of the profligacy of Venetian manners,
that women, even of indifferent reputa-
tions, would attend Caflinos in the open
manner they do, if it were underftood that
jnore liberties were taken with them there
than elfewhere.
The opening before St. Mark's church
is the only place in Venice where a great
number of people cap a (Tenable. It is the
fafhion to walk here a gre,at part of the
evening, to enjoy the mufic, and other
amufements ; and although there are coffee-
houfes, and Venetian manners permit
ladies, as well as gentlemen, to frequent
them, yet it was natural for the noble and
molt wealthy to prefer little apartments
of their own, where, without being ex-
pofed to intrufion, they may entertain a
few friends in a more eafy and unceremo-
nious manner than they could do at their
palaces. Inftead of going home to a
R 3 formal
* 4 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
formal fupper, and returning afterwards t*
this place of amufement, they order coffee,
lemonade, fruit, and other refrefhments, to
the Caffino.
That thofe little apartments may be
occafionally ufed. for the purpofes of in-
trigue, is not improbable ; but that this
is the ordinary and avowed purpofe for
which they are frequented \s% of all things*
the leaft credible.
Some writers who have defcribed the
manners of the Venetians, as more pro-
fligate than thofe of other nations*
aflert at the fame time* that the Go-
vernment encourages this profligacy, to
rela* and diflipate the minds of the people,
and prevent their planning, or attempting!
any thing againft the conftitution. Were
this the cafe, it could not be deniedj that
the Venetian Jegiflators difplay their
patriotifm in a very extraordinary manner*
and have fallen upon as extraordinary
means of rendering their people good fub-
jedt§. They fijft ere£t a defpotig court to
guar4
MANNERS IN ITALY. a 47
guard the public liberty, and next they
corrupt the morals of the people, to keep
them from plotting againft the State. This
laft piece of refinement, however, is no
more than a conje&ure of fome theoretical
politicians, who are apt to take fads for
granted, without fufficient proof, and af-
terwards difplay their ingenuity in ac-
counting for them. That the Venetians
are more given to fenfual pleafures than
the inhabitants of London, Paris, or
Berlin, I imagine will be difficult to prove ;
but as the State Inquifitors do not think
proper, and the ecclefiaftical are not allow-
ed, to interfere in affairs of gallantry ; as
a great number of flrangers aflemble twice
or thrice a year at Venice, merely for the
fake of amufement ; and, above all, as it
is the cuftom to go about in mafks, an
idea prevails, that the manners are more
licentious here than elfewhere. I have
had occafion to obferve, that this cuftom of
wearing a mafk, by conveying the ideas of
concealment aad intrigue, has contributed
Jl 4 greatly
24 3 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
greatly to give fbme people an impreffion.
of Venetian profligacy. But, for my qwa
part, it is not a piece of white or black
paper, with diftorted features, that I fuf-
pe£t ; , having often found the mod complete
worthleffnefs concealed under a frnqotti
fmiling piece of human fkin.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
LETTER XXII.
Venice.
I AM very fenfible, that it requires a
longer refidence at Venice, and better
opportunities than I have had, to enable
me to give a character of the Venetians*
But were I to form an idea of them from
what I have feen, I fhould paint them as
a lively ingenious people, extravagantly
fond of public amufements, with an un-
common relifh for humour, and yet more
attached to the real enjoyments of life,
than to thofe which depend on oftentation,
and proceed from vanity.
The common people of Venice difplay
fome qualities very rarely to be found in
that fphere of life, being remarkably fober,
obliging to ftrangers, and gentle in their
intercourfe with each other. The Vene-
tians in general are tall and well made.
Though
2 5 & VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Though equally robuft, they are not fo
corpulent as the Germans. The latter
alfo are of fair complexions, with light-
grey or blue eyes } whereas the Venetians
are for the moft part of a ruddy brown
colour, with dark eyes. You meet in the
ftreets of Venice many fine manly coun-
tenances, refembling thofe tranfmitted to
us by the pencils of Paul Veronefe and
Titian. The women are of a fine ftile of
countenance, with expreffive features, and
a fkin of a rich carnation. They drefs
their hair in a fanciful manner, which be-
comes them very much. They are of an
eafy addrefs, and have no averfion to cul-
tivating an acquaintance with thofe ftran-
gers, who are prefented to them by their
relations, or have been properly recom-
mended.
Strangers are under lefs reftraint here,
in many particulars, than the native in-
habitants. I have known fome, who, a£-
ter having tried moft of the capitals of
Europe*
MANNERS IN ITALY. 251
Europe, have preferred to live at Venice,
on account of the variety of amufements,
the gentle manners of the inhabitants,
and the perfed freedom allowed in every-
thing, except in blaming the meafures of
Government. I have already mentioned
in what manner the Venetians are in dan-
ger of being treated who give themfelves
that liberty. When a ftranger is fo im-
prudent as to declaim againft the form or
the meafures of Government, he will
either receive a meflage to leave the ter-
ritories of the State, or one of the Sbirri
will be fent to accompany him to the
Pope's or the Emperor's dominions.
The houfes are thought inconvenient by
many of the Englifh ; they are better cal-
culated, however, for the climate of Italy,
than if they were built according to the
Londop model, which, I fuppofe, is the
plan thofe critics approve. The floors
fire of a kind of red plaifter, with a bril-
liant glofly furface, much more beautiful
that*
z S 2 VIEW OF SOCIETY A*ND
than wood, and far preferable in cafe of
fire, whofe progrefs they are calculated to
check.
The principal apartments are on the fe-
cond floor. The Venetians feldom inhabit
the firft, which is often intirely filled with
lumber : perhaps, they prefer the fecond,
becaufe it is fartheft removed from the
moifture of the lakes ; or perhaps thpy pre-
fer it, becaufe it is better lighted, and
more cheerful ; or they may have fome
better reafon for this preference than I am
acquainted with, or can imagine. Though
the inhabitants of Great Britain make ufe
of the firft floors for their chief apart-
ments, this does not form a complete de-
monftration that the Venetians are in the
wrong for preferring the fecond. When
an acute fenfible people univerfally follow
one cuftom, in a mere matter of conveni-
cncy, however abfurd that cuftom may
appear in the eyes of a ftranger at firft
fight, it will generally be found, that
there
MANNERS IN ITALY. 253
there is fome real advantage in it, which
compenfates all the apparent inconveni-
encies. Of this travellers, who do not
hurry with too much rapidity through the
countries they vifit, are very fenfible : for,
after having had time to weigh every cir-
cumftance, they often fee reafon to ap-
prove what they had formerly condemned*
I could illuftrate this by many examples ;
but your own recolle&ion muft furnifh you
with fo many, that any more would be
fuperfiuous. Cuftom and fafhion have the
greatefl influence on our tafte of beauty or
excellence of every kind. What, from a
variety of caufes, has become the ftandard
in one country, is feme times juft the
contrary in another. The fame thing that
makes a low-brimmed hat appear genteel
at one time, and ridiculous at another, has
made a different fpecies of verification be
accounted the model of perfection in old
Rome and modern Italy, at Paris, or at
London. In matters of tafte, particularly
in dramatic poetry, the prejudices which
each
254 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
each particular nation acquires in favotif
of its own is difficult to be removed. Peo-
ple feldom obtain fuch a perfeft know-
lege of a foreign language and foreign
manners, as to underftand all the niceties
of the one and the allufions to the other :
of confequence, many things are infipid
to them, for which a native may have a
high relilh.
The dialogues in rhime of the French
plays appear unnatural and abfurd to Eng-
lifhmen when they firft attend the French
theatre ; yet thofe who have remained
long in France, and acquired a more per-*
fed: knowledge of the language, affure us,
that without rhime the dignity of the
Tragic Mufe cannot be fupported ; and
that, even in Comedy, they produce an
additional elegance, which overbalances
every obje&ion. The French language
being more ftudied and better underftood
by the Englifli than our language is by
the French nation, we find many of our
country*
MANNERS IN ITALY. 25s
countrymen who relifh the beauties, and
pay the juft tribute of admiration to the
genius of Corneille, while there is fcarcely
a fingle Frenchman to be found who has
any idea of the merit of Shakefpeare.
Without being juftly accufed of par-
tiality, I may aflert that, in this inftance,
the Englifh difplay a fairnefs and liberality
of fentiment fuperior to the French. The
irregularities of Shakefpeare's drama are
obvious to every eye, and would, in the
prefent age, be avoided by a poet not
pofleffed of a hundredth part of his genius.
Hi's peculiar beauties, on the other hand,
are of an excellence which has not, per-
haps, been attained by any poet of any
age or country ; yet the French critics,
from Voltaire down to the pooreft fcribbler
in the literary journals, all flop at the
former, declaim on the barbarous tafte of
the Englifh nation, infift on the grotefque
abfurdity of the poet's imagination, and
illuftrate both by partial extra&s of the
25 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AKD
moft exceptionable fcenes of Shakefpeare's
plays.
When a whole people, with that degree
of judgment which even the enemies of
the Britifh nation allow them to have, unite
in the higheft admiration of one man, and
continue, for ages, to behold his pieces
with unfated delight, it might occur to
thofe Frenchmen, that there poflibly was
fome excellence in the works of this poet,
though they could not fee it ; and a very
moderate fhare of candour might have
taught them, that it would be more be-
coming to fpare their ridicule, till they
acquired a little more knowledge of the
author againft whom it is pointed.
An incident which occurred fince my
arrival at Venice, though founded on a
prejudice much more excufable than the
conduct of the critics above mentioned, has
brought home to my conviction the rafh-
nefs of thofe who form opinions, without
the
Manners in italy. 25?
the knowledge requifite to dlred their
judgment.
I had got, I don't know how, the mo ft
contemptuous opinion of the Italian drama*
I had been told, there was not a tolerable
a&or at prefent in Italy, and I had been
long taught to confider their comedy as
the moft dcTpicable fluff in the world,
which could not amufe, or even draw a
fmile from any perfon of tafle, being quite
deftitute of true humour, full of ribaldry,
and only proper for the meaneft of the
vulgar. Imprefled with thefe fentiments,
and eager to give his Grace a full demon-
fixation of their juftnefs, I accompanied the
D — of H to the ftage-box of one of
the playhoufes the very day of our arrival
at Venice.
The piece was a comedy, and the moft
entertaining chara&er in it was that of a
man who fluttered. In this defedt, and in
the Angular grimaces with which the ador
Vol. I. S accompanied
2 5 8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
accompanied it, confifted a great part of the
amufement.
Difgufted at fuch a pitiful fubftitutioa
for wit and humour, I expreffed a con-
tempt for an audience which could be
entertained by fuch buffoonery, and who
could take pleafure in the exhibition of a
natural infirmity.
While we inwardly indulged fentiments
of felf-approbation, on account of the re-
finement and fuperiority of our own tafte,
and fupported the dignity of thofe fenti-
ments by a difdainful gravity of counte-
nance, the Stutterer was giving a piece of
information to Harlequin which greatly
interefted him, and to which he liftened
with every mark of eagernefs. This
unfortunate fpeaker had juft arrived at
the mod important part of his narrative,
which was, to acquaint the impatient
liftener where his miftrefs was concealed,
when he unluckily ftumbled on a word of
MANNERS IN ITALY. 259
fix or feven fyllahles, which completely
obftruded the progrefs of his narration.
He attempted it again and again, but
always without fuccefs. You may have
obferved that, though many other words
Would explain his meaning equally well,
you may as foon make a Saint change his
religion,^ as prevail on a Stutterer to accept
of another word in place of that at which
he has (tumbled. He adheres to his firft
word to the lafl, and will fooner expire
with it in his throat, than give it up for
any other you may offer. Harlequin, on
the prefent occafion, prefented his friend
with a dozen j but he rejeded them all
with difdain, and perfifled in his unfuccefs-
ful attempts on that which had firft come
in his way. At length, making a def-
perate effort, when all the fpedators were
gaping in expedation of his fafe delivery,
the cruel word came up w r ith its broad
fide foremoft, and fluck diredly acrofs
the unhappy man's wind-pipe. He gaped,
and panted, and croaked j his face flufhed,
S 2 and
%t6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and his eyes feemed ready to ftart front
his head. Harlequin unbuttoned the Stut-
terer's waiftcoat, and the neck of his fhirt ;
he fanned his face with his cap, and held
a bottle of hartfhorn to his nofe. At
length, fearing his patient would expire*
before he could give the defired intelli-
gence, in a fit of defpair he pitched his
head full in the dying man's ftomach, and
the word bolted out of his mouth to the
mope diftant part of the houfe.
This was performed in a manner fo
perfectly droll, and the humorous abfur-
dity of the expedient came fo unexpe&ediy
upon me, that I immediately burft into a
moll exceffive fit of laughter, in which I
was accompanied by the D — , and by your
young friend Jack, who was along with
us; and our laughter continued in fuch
loud, violent, and repeated fits, that the
attention of the audience being turned from
the fiage to our box, occasioned a renewal
of the mirth all over the playhoufe with
greater vociferation than at fir ft.
When
MANNERS IN ITALY. 261
When we returned to the inn, the D —
of H a Iked me, If I were as much
convinced as ever, that a man muft be
perfectly devoid of taiie, who could con-
defcend to laugh at an Italian comedy ?
262
VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXIII.
Padua*
E were detained at Venice feveral
* ▼ days longer than we intended, by
exceffive falls of rain, which rendered
the road to Verona impaffabie. Relinquish-
ing, therefore, the thoughts of vifuing that
city for the prefent, the B- — determined
to go to Ferrara by water. For this purpofe
I engaged two barks ; in one of which the
chaifes, baggage, and fome of the fervants*
proceeded dire&ly to Ferrara, while we em-
barked in the other for Padua.
Having crofled the Lagune, we entered
the Brenta, but could continue our route
by that river no farther than the village of
Doglio, where there is a bridge j but the
waters were fo much fwelled by the late
rains, that there was not room for our
boat to pafs below the arch. Quitting
the
MANNERS IN ITALY. 263
the boat, therefore, till our return, we
hired two open chaifes, and continued our
journey along the banks of the Brenta to
Padua.
Both fides of this river difplay gay,
luxuriant fcenes of magnificence and fer-
tility, being ornamented by a great variety
of beautiful villas, the works of Palladio
and his difciples. The verdure of the
meadows and gardens here is not furpaffed
by that of England.
The Venetian nobility, I am told, live
with lefs reftraint, and entertain their
friends with greater freedom, at their villas,
than at their palaces in town. It is natural
to fuppofe, that a Venetian muft feel
peculiar fatisfa&ion when his affairs per-
mit him to enjoy the exhilarating view of
green fields, and to breathe the free air of
the country,
As one who long in populous city pent,
Where houfes thick, and lewers, annoy the air,
S 4 Forth
264 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Forth iffuing on a fqmmer's morn, to breathe
Among the pleafant villages and farms
Adjoin'd, from each thing met conceives delight.
The fmell of grain, or tedded grafs, or kine,
Or dairy ; each rural fight, each rural found.
I confefs, for my own part, I never felt
the beauty of thofe lines of Milton with
greater fenfibiiity, than when I paffed
through the charming country which is
watered by the Brenta, after having been
pent up in the terraqueous town of Venice.
As one reafon which induced his Grace to
vifit Padua at this time was, that he might;
pay his duty to his R — H— the D—
c f — , we waited on that prince
as foon as we had his permiffion. His
R — K - has been here for fome time
with his D~ fs. He was very ill at
Venice, and has been advifed to remove to
this place for the benefit of the aii\ It is
with much fatisfa&ion I add, that he is
now out of danger, a piece of intelligence
with which you will have it in your power
to
MANNERS IN ITALY. 265
to give pleafure to many people in
England.
No city in the world has lefs affinity
with the country than Venice, and few can
have more than Padua ; for great part of
the circuit within the walls is unbuilt,
and the town in general fo thinly in-
habited, that grafs is feen in many
places in the interfaces of the ftones with
which the ftreets are paved. The houfes
are built on porticoes, which, when the
town was well inhabited, and in a flourifh-
ing condition, may have had a magnifi-
cent appearance ; but, in its prefent ftate,
they rather give it a greater air of melan-
choly and of gloom.
The Francifcan church, dedicated to St.
Antonio, the great patron of this city,
was the place we were firft led to by the
Cicerone of our inn. The body of this
holy perfon is inclofed in a farcophagus,
under an altar in the middle of the chapel,
guid is faid to emit a very agreeable and
refreshing
266 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
refrefhing flavour. Pious Catholics believe
this to be the natural effluvia of the faint's
body; while Heretics affert, that the
perfume (for a perfume there certainly is)
proceeds from certain balfams rubbed on
the marble every morning, before the vo-
taries come to pay their devotions. I never
prefume to give an opinion on contefted
points of this kind ; but I may be allowed
to fay, that if this fweet odour really pro-
ceeds from the holy Francifcan, he emits a
very different fmell from any of the bre-
thren of that order whom I ever had an
opportunity of approaching*
The walls of this church are covered
with votive offerings of ears, eyes> arms,
legs, nofes, and every part almoft of the hu-
man body, in token of cures performed by
this faint ; for whatever part has been the
feat of the difeafe, a reprefentation of it is
hung up in filver or gold, according to the
gratitude and wealth of the patient.
At
MANNERS IN ITALY. 2167
At a fmall diftance from this church is
a place called the School of St. Antonio.
Here many of the actions of the Saint are
painted in frefco ; fome of them by
Titian. Many miracles of a very extra-
ordinary nature are here recorded* I ob-
ferved one in particular, which, if often
repeated, might endanger the peace of
families. The Saint thought proper to
loofen the tongue of a new-born child, and
endue it with the faculty of fpeech j on
which the infant, with an imprudence na-
tural to its age, declared, in an audible
voice, before a large company, who was its
real father. The miracles attributed to
this celebrated Saint greatly exceed in
number thofe recorded by the Evangelifts
of our Saviour ; and although it is not
afferted, that St. Antonio has as yet raifed
himfelf from the dead, yet his admirers
here record things of him which are almoft
equivalent. When an impious Turk had
fecretly placed fireworks under the chapel,
with
268 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
with an intention to blow it up, they
affirm, that St. Antonio hallooed three
times from his marble coffin, which terrified
the infidel, and difcovered the plot. This
miracle is the more miraculous, as the
Saint's tongue was cut out, and is a&ually
preferved in a chryftal vefifel, and fhewn as
a precious relic to all who have a curiofity
to fee it. I ftarted this as a difficulty
which feemed to bear a little againft the
authenticity of the miracle ; and the in-
genious perfon to whom the objection was
made, feemed at firft fomewhat nonplufled;
hut, after recollecting himfelf, he obferved,
that this, which at firft feemed an ob-
jection, was really a confirmation of the
fad ; for the Saint was not faid to have
fpoken, but only to have hallooed, which
a man can do without a tongue ; but if
his tongue had not been cut out, added he,
there is no reafon to doubt that the Saint
would have revealed the Turkifh plot in
plain articulate language*
From
MANNERS IN ITALY. 269
From the Tower of the Francifcan
church we had a very diftindfc view of the
beautiful country which furrounds Padua.
All the obje&s, at a little diftance, feemed
delightful and flourifhing; but every thing
under our eyes indicated wretchednefs and
decay.
2?o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXIV.
Padua.
THE next church, in point of rank,
but far fuperior in point of archi-
tecture, is that of St. Juftina, built from a
defign of Palladio, and reckoned, by fome
people, one of the moft elegant he ever
gave. St. Juftina is faid to have fuffered
martyrdom where the church is built,
which was the reafon of ere&ing it on
that particular fpot. It would have been
fortunate for the pictures in this church
if the Saint had fuffered on a piece of drier
ground, for they feem considerably injured
by the damps which furround the place
where it now ftands. There is a wide area
in front of the church, called the Prato
<klla Valle, where booths and fhops are
erected for all kinds of merchandife during
the fairs. Part of this, which is never
allowed to be profaned by the buyers and
fellersi
MANNERS IN ITALY. 271
fellers, is called Campo Santo, becaufe
there a great number of Chriftian martyrs
are faid to have been put to death.
St. Juftina's church is adorned with
many altars, embellifhed with fculpture.
The pavement is remarkably rich, being
a kind of Mofaic work, of marble of
various colours. Many other precious ma-
terials are wrought as ornaments to this
church, but there is one fpecies of jewels
in which it abounds, more than, perhaps,
any church in Chriftendom ; which is, the
bones of martirrs. They have here a
whole well full, belonging to thole who
were executed in the Prato della Valle; and
what is of ftill greater value, the Bene-
dictines, to whom this church belongs,
affert, that they are alfo in poiTcffion of the
bodies of the two evangelifts St, Matthew
and St* Luke. The Francifcans belonging
to a convent at Venice difpute the fecond
of thofe two great prizes, and declare, that
they are pofiefied of the true body of St.
J Luke,
2 7 2 VIEW Of SOCIETY AttD
Luke, this in St. Juftina's church being onty
an impofture. The matter was referred to
the Pope, who gave a decifion in favour
of one of the bodies; but this does not
prevent the proprietors of the other from
ftill perfifting in their original claim, fo
that there is no likelihood of the difpute
being finally determined till the day of
judgment.
The hall of the Town-houfe of Padua
is one of the largeft I ever faw. From the
befl: guefs I could make, after ftepping it,
I fhould think it about three hundred
Englifli feet long, by one hundred in
breadth ; the emblematic and aftrological
paintings, by Giotto, are much decayed.
This immenfe hall is on the fecond floor,
and is ornamented with the bulls andflatues
of Tome eminent perfons. The Cenotaph of
Livy, the hiftonan, who was a native of Pa-
dua, is ereded here. The Univerfity, for-
merly fo celebrated, is now, like every thing
elfe in this city, on the decline; the Theatre
7 for
Manners in Italy. 273
anatomy could contain five or fix Hundred
iludents, but the voice of the Profeffor is
like that of him who crieth in the wilder-
nefs. The licentious fpirit of the ftudents^
which formerly was carried fuch imwar*-
rantable lengths, and made it dangerous
to walk in the ftreets of this city at night,
is now entirely extinft : it has gradually
declined with the numbers of the ftudents.
Whether the ardour for literature, for
which the ftudents of this univerfity were
diftinguifhed, has abated in the fame pro-
portion, I cannot determine ; but I am
informed, that by far the greater num-
ber of the young men who now attend
the univerfity, are defigned for the prieft-
hood, and apply to the ftudy of divinity as
a fcience, for comprehending and preach-
ing the myfterious parts of which, a very
fmall portion of learning has been ob-
ferved to fucceed better, than a great deal.
There is a cloth manufactory in this
city; and I was told, that the inhabitants
Vol. I. T of
274 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of Venice, not excepting the nobles, wear
no other cloth than what is made here.
This particular manufactory, it may
therefore be fuppofed, fueceeds very well ;
but the exceffive number of beggars with
which this place fwarms, is a ftrong proof
that trade and manufactures in general
are by no means in a flourifhing condition.
In the courfe of my life I never faw fuch a
number of beggars at one time, as attacked
us at the church of St* Antonio. The D< —
of H fell into a miftake, analogous to
that of Sable in the Funeral, who complains,
that the more money he gave his mourners
to look fad, the merrier they looked. His
G— • gave all he had in his pocket to the
clamorous multitude which furrounded
him, on condition that they would hold
their tongues, and leave us ; on which they
became more numerous, and more voci-
ferous than before. Strangers who vifit
Padua will do well, therefore, to obferve
the gofpel injunction, and perform their
charities in fecret*
MANNERS IN ITALY.
LETTER XXV.
The Pen
TN my letter from Padua I negle&ed to
4t mention her high pretentions to anti-
quity : lhe claims Anterior, the Trojan, as
her founder ; and this claim is fupported by
claffical authority. In the firft book of the
iEneid, Venus complains to Jupiter, that
her fon iEneas is' ftill a vagabond on the
feas, while Antenor has been permitted
to eftablifti himfelf, and build a city in
Italy.
Hie tamen ille urbem Patavi fedefque locavit*
Lucan alfo, in his Pharfalia, defcribing
the augur who read in the Ikies the events
of that decifive day, alludes to the fame
ftory of Antenor ;
Euganeo, fi vera fides memorantibus, augur
Colle fedens, Aponus terris ubi fumifer exit,
T 2 Atque
2?6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Atque Antenorei difpergitur unda Timavi
Venit futnma dies, geritur res maxima dixit \
Impia concurrunt Pompeii et Casfaris arma.
Some modern critics have afierted, that
the two poets have been guilty of a geo-
graphical miftake, as the river Timavus
empties itfelf into the Adriatic Gulph near
Triefte, about a hundred miles from Padua ;
and that the Aponus is near Padua, and
about the fame diftance from Timavus,
If, therefore, Antenor built a city where
the fiver Timavus rufhes into the fea, that
city muft have been fituated at a great
diftance from where Padua now ftands.
The Paduan antiquarians, therefore, accufe
Virgil, without fcruple, of this blunder,
that they may retain the Trojan Prince as
their anceftor. But thofe who have more
regard for the character of Virgil than the
antiquity of Padua, infift upon it, that the
poet was in the right, and that the city
which Antenor built, was upon the Banks
of Timavus, and exactly a hundred miles
from
MANNERS IN ITALY. 277
from modern Padua. As for Lucan, he is
left in the lurch by both fides, though, in
my poor opinion, we may naturally fup-
pofe, that one of the ftreams which run
into Timavus was, at the time he wrote,
called Aponus, which vindicates the poet,
without weakening the relation between the
Paduans and Antenor?
The inhabitants of Padua themfelves
feem to have been a little afraid of trufting
their claim entirely to claffical authority;
for an old farcophagus having been dug
up in the year 1283, with an unintelligible
infcription upon it, this w r as declared to
be the tomb of Antenor, and was placed in
one of the ftreets, and furrounded with a
balluftrade ; and, to put the matter out of
doubts 2l Latin infcription afTures the reader,
that it contains the body of the renowned
Antenor, who, having efcaped from Troy ?
had drove the Euganei out of the country,
and built this identical city of Padua.
Though
s 7 3 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Though the Paduans find that there
are people ill-natured enough to aflert,
that this farcophagus does not contain the
bones of the illuftrious Trojan, yet they
can defy the malice of thofe cavillers to
prove; that they belong to any other
perion ; upon which negative proof, joined
to what has been mentioned above, they
reft the merit of their pretenfions.
After remaining a few days at Padua,
we returned to the village of Doglio, where
we had left our veffel. We flopped, and
vifited fome of the villas on the banks of
the Brenta. The apartments are gay and
fpacious, and mud be delightful in fum-
mer ; but none of the Italian houfes feem
calculated for the winter, which, never-
thelefs, I am informed, is fometimes as
fevere in this country as in England.
Having embarked in our little vefTel,
we foon entered a canal, of about twenty-
two Italian miles in length, which com-
municates with the Po, and w T e were drawn
along,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 279
along, at a pretty good rate, by two
hoffes. We paffed laft night in the veflel,
as we fhall this ; for there is no probability
of our reaching Ferrara till to-morrow.
The banks of this famous river are beau-
tifully fertile. Finding that we could keep
up with the veflel 5 we amufed ourfelves
the greateft part of the day in walking.
The pleafure w 7 e feel on this claffical
ground, and the intereft we take in all the
obje&s around, is not altogether derived
from their own native beauties ; a great
part of it arifes from the magic colouring
of poetical defcription.
The accounts we have had lately of
the King of Pruffia's bad health, I fuppofe,
are not true ; or if they are, I have good
hopes he will recover : I found them on
the calm and ferene afpe£t which Eridanus
wears at prefent, which is not the cafe
when the fate of any very great perfon is
depending. You remember, what a rage
he was in, and what a tumult he raifed,
T 4 immediately
2 8o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
immediately before the death of Julius
Caeiar.
Proluit infano contorquens vortice fylvas
Fluviorum Rex Eridanus, campofque per omnes^
Cum ftabulis armenta tulit.
Dryden tranflates thefe lines,
Then rifmg in his might, the King of Floods
Rufh'd thro" the forefts, tore the lofty woods *
And, rolling onward, with a fweepy fway.
Bore houfes, herds, and labouring hinds away.
Rifing in his might is happy, but the
reft is not fo fimple as the original, and
much lefs expreffive ; there wants the infant
contorquens vortice fylvas.
It is not furprifing that the Po is fo
much celebrated by the Roman poets, fince
it is, unqueftionahly, the fineft river in
Italy.' — —
Where every dream in heavenly numbers flows.
It feems to have been the favourite rivey
of Virgil :
Gemina
MANNERS IN ITALY. 281
Gemina auratus taurino cornua vultu
Eridanus, quo non alius per pinguia culta
In marepurpureum violentior influitamnis.
And Mr. Addifon, at the fight of this
river, is infpired with a degree of enthu-
fiafm, which does not always animate his
poetry.
Fired with a thoufand raptures, I furvey,
Eridanus thro' flowery meadows ftray ;
The King of Floods ! that, rolling o'er their
plains,
The towering Alps of half their moifture drains,
And, proudly fwoln with a whole winter's fnows,
Diftributes wealth and plenty where he flows.
Notwithftanding all that the Latin poets,
and, in imitation of them, thofe of other
nations, have fung of the Po, I am con-
vinced that no river in the world has been
fo well fung as the Thames.
Thou too great father of the Britifh floods !
With joyful pride furvey'ft our lofty woods ;
Where tow'ring oaks their growing honours rear,
And future navies on thy fliores appear,
Not
£32 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Not Neptune's felf, from all her ftreams,
receives
A wealthier tribute, than to thine he gives.
No feas fo rich, fo gay no banks appear,
No lake fo gentle, and no fpring fo clear ;
Nor Po fo fvvells the fabling poets lays,
While led along the fkies his current ftrays,
As thine, which vifus Windfor's fam'd abodes.
If you are ftill refra&ory, and ftand up
for the panegyrifts of the Po, I muft call
Denham in aid of my argument, and I
hope you will have the tafte and candour
to acknowledge, that the following are,
beyond comparifon, the nobleft lines that
ever were written on a river.
My eye defcending from the hill, furveys
Where Thames among the wanton vallies ftrays,
Thames, the moft loved of all the Ocean's fons,
By his old fire, to his embraces runs
Halting to pay his tribute to the fea,
Like mortal Life to meet Eternity.
Though with thofe ftreams he no refemblance
hold,
Whofe foam is amber, and their gravel gold ;
His
MANNERS IN ITALY. 283
His genuine and lefs guilty wealth t'cxplore,
Search not his bottom, but furvey his fhore ;
O'er which he kindly fpreads his fy+aor.^ wing,
And hatches plenty for th' enfuing fpring;
Nor then deftroys it with too fond a flay,
Like mothers which their children over-ay.
Nor with a fudden and impetuous wave,
Like profufc kings, relumes the wealth he gav<
No unexpected inundations fpoil
The mower's hopes, nor mock the plowman's
toil :
But, godlike, his unweary'd bounty flows :
Firft loves to do, then loves the good he does.
Nor are his bleflings to his banks confined,
But free and common, as the fea or wind;
When he, to boaft, or to difperfe his ftores,
Full of the tribute of his grateful fhores,
Vifits the world, and in his flying towers,
Brings home to us, and makes both Indies ours ;
Finds wealth where 'tis, beftows it where it wants,
Cities in deierts, woods in cities plants.
So that, to us, no thing, no place is ftrange,
While his fair bofom is the world's exchange.
O could I flow like thee, and make thy ftream,
My great example, as it is my theme !
Though deep, yet clear ; though gentle, yet not
dull ;
Strong without rage, without o'erfiowing full.
% Heaven
284 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Heaven her Eridanus no more (hall boaft,
\Vhofe fame in thine, like leiTer current, 5 s loft.
You will fufped that I am hard pufhed
to make out a letter, when I fend
you fuch long quotations from the poets.
This, however, is not my only reafon.
While we remain on the Po, rivers na-
turally become the fubje& of my letter.
I afferted, that the Thames has been more
fublimely fung than the favourite river of
claffical authors, ^nd I wifhed to lay fome
of my ftrongeft proofs before you at once,
to fave you the trouble of turning to the
originals.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
285
LETTER XXVI.
Ferrara a
E arrived here early this morning*
w V The magnificent ftreets and num-
ber of fine buildings fhew that this has
formerly been a rich and flourifliing city.
The prefent inhabitants, however, who
are very few in proportion to the extent
of the town, bear every mark of poverty.
The happinefs of the fuhjeSs in a de-
spotic government depends much more on
the perfonal character of the fovereign,
than in a free flate ; and the fubjefcs of
little Princes, who have but a fmall ex-
tent of territory, are more affeded by the
good and bad qualities of thofe Princes,
than the inhabitants of great and exten-
five empires. I had frequent opportuni-
ties of making this remark in Germany,
where, without having feen the Prince,
6 . or
286 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
or heard his character, one may often dif-*
cover his difpofitions and turn of mind,
from examining into the circumftances and
general fituation of the people. When the
Prince is vain and luxurious, as he con-
fiders himfelf equal in rank, fo he en-
deavours to vie in magnificence with more
powerful fovereigns, and thofe attempts
always terminate in the oppreffion and po-
verty of his fubjeds ; but when the Prince*
on the other hand, is judicious, adive*
and benevolent, as the narrow limits of
his territories make it eafy for him to be
acquainted with the real fituation and true
intereft of his fubjeds, his good qualities
operate more diredly and effedually for
their benefit, than if his dominions were
more extenfive, and he himfelf obliged to
govern by the agency of minifters.
The Duchy of Ferrara was formerly go-*
verned by its own Dukes, many of whom
happened to be of the charader laft men-
tioned, and the Ferrarefe was, for feveral
gene-
MANNERS IN ITALY. *|f
generations, one of the 15 happiell and moft
flouiifhing fpots in Italy. In the year
1597 it was annexed to the Ecclefiaftical
State, and has ever fince been gradually
falling into poverty and decay. < It muft
be owing to fome effential error in the
Government, when a town like this, fitu-
ated in a fertile foil, upon a navigable ri-
ver near the Adriatic, remains in poverty.
Except the change of its Sovereign, all the
other caufes, which I have heard affigned
for the poverty of Ferrara, exifted in the
days of its profperity.
Though the citizens of Ferrara have not
been able to preferve their trade and in-
duftry, yet they flill retain an old privi-
lege of wearing fwords by their fides.
This privilege extends to the loweft me-
chanies, who ftrut about with great dig-
nity. Fencing is the only fcience in a
flourifhing condition in this town, which
furnifhes all the towns in Italy with Ikilful
fencing-mafters. Ferrara was famous for-
merly
2g8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
merly for a manufactory of fword-blades*
The Scotch Highlanders, who had a greater
demand for fwords, and were nicer in the
choice of their blades than any other peo-
ple, ufed to get them from a celebrated
maker in this town, of the name of An-
drea di Ferrara. The beft kind of broad-
fvvords are ftill called by the Highlanders
True Andrew Ferraras.
There are two brafs ftatues oppofite to
one of the principal churches. One is of
Nicholo Marquis of Efte, and the other of
Eorfo of Efte, the firft Duke of Ferrara,
whofe memory is ftill held in great venera-
tion in this city. I had the curiofity to go to
the Benedidine churchy merely to fee the
place where Ariofto lies buried. The de-
gree of importance in which men are held
by their cotemporaries and by pofterity,
is very different. This fine fanciful old
bard has done more honour to modern
Italy, than forty-nine in fifty of the Popes
and Princes to which fhe has given birth,
and,
Manners in italy. 28$
and while thofe, who were the gaze of the
multitude during their lives, are now en-
tirely forgotten, his fame iricreafes with
the progrels of time. In his lifetime,
perhaps, his importance, in the eyes of
his countrymen, arofe from the protection
of the family of Efte; now he gives im-
portance, in the eyes of all Europe, to the
illuftrious names of his patrons, and to
the country where he was born*
The Emperor, and two of his brothers,
lodged lately at the inn where we now are*
Our landlord is fo vain of this, that he
cannot be prevailed on to fpeak on any
other fubje£t ; he has ehtertained me with
a thoufand particulars about his illuftrious
guefts ; it is impoffible he fhould ever for*
get thofe anecdotes, for he has been con-
ftantly repeating them ever fince the Royal
Brothers left his houfe. I afked him what
we could have for fupper. He anfwered,
That we fhould fup in the very fame room
in which his Imperial Majefty had dined.
Vol. L U I re^
2 9 o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
I repeated my queftion ; and he replied, he
did not believe there were three more af-
fable Princes in the world. I faid, I hoped
fupper would be foon ready ; and he told
me, that the Archduke was fond of fri-
caffee, but the Emperor preferred a fowl
plain roafted. I faid, with an air of im-
patience, that I fhould be much obliged to
him if he would fend in fupper. He bow-
ed, and walked to the door ; but, before
he difappeared, he turned about and af-
fured me, that although his Majefty ate
no more than an ordinary man, yet he paid
like an Emperor.
To perpetuate the memory of this great
event, of the Emperor and his two bro-
thers having dined at this houfe, the land-
lord got an Ecclefiaftic of his acquaintance
to compofe the following pompous infcrip-
tion, which is now engraven upon a flone
at the door of his inn.
QUOD
MANNERS IN ITALY. 291
QUOD
TABERNA HyEC DIVERSORIA
HOSPITES HABUERIT TRES FRAl'RES
fcONSILHS, MORIBUS, ET IN DEUM PIETATE,
PRtECLAROS,
MARINE THERES. BOHEMIA ET HUNG.
REGIN.E, &c. &c.
ET TANT^E MATRIS vIrtuti SIMILLIMOS
MAXIMILIANUM AUSTRLE ARCHIDUCEM,
CENiE ET QUIET ATIS CAUSA,
TERTIO CALEND: JUNII M.DCC.LXXV.
DIE POSTERO PRANDIUM SUMPTUROS
PETRUM LEOP. MAGN, HETRUC. DUCEM,
ET JOSEPHUM SECOND. ROM. IMPERATOREM,
SECULI NOSTRI ORNAMENTUM ET DECUS,
NE TEMPORIS LONGITUDO
HUJUSCE LOCI FE LICIT ATEM OBLITERET
PERENNE HOC MONUMENTUM.
No three perfons ever acquired immor-
tality on eafier terms : it has only coft
them one night's lodging at an indifferent
inn, when better quarters could not be
had.
U 2
*9* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXVIL
Bologna*
J HEN we left Ferrara, our landlord
^ y infifted on our taking fix horfes to
each chaife, on account of the badnefs of the
roads, the foil about the town being moift
and heavy. I attempted to remonftrate
that four would be fufficient ; but he cut
me fhort, by protefting, that the roads were
fo very deep, that he would not allow the
beft friend he had in the world, not even
the Emperor himfelf, were he there in
perfon, to take fewer than fix. There was
no more to be faid after this ; the fame
argument would have been irrefiftible, had
he infifted on our taking twelve.
As you draw near to Bologna, the country
gradually improves in cultivation ; and, for
fome miles before you enter the town,
feems one continued garden. The vine-
yards are not divided by hedges, but by
rows
MANNERS IN ITALY, 293
rows of elms and mulberry trees ; the vines
hanging in a mofl beautiful pi&urefque
manner, in feftoons from one tree to
another. This country is not only fertile
in vines, but likewife in corn, olives, and
pafturage, and has, not without founda-
tion, acquired the name of Bologna la
Grafla.
This town is well built, and populous ;
the number of inhabitants amounting to
feventy, or perhaps eighty thoufand. The
houfes in general have lofty porticoes,
which would have a better effe£t if the
ftreets were not fo narrow ; but in this
particular, magnificence is facrificed to con-
veniency; for, in Italy, (hade is conlidered
as a luxury.
The Duchy of Bologna had conditions
granted to it, upon fubtnitting to the Papal
dominion. Thofe conditions have been
obferved with a degree of punctuality and
good faith, which many zealous Pro- eftants
would not exped in the Church of Rome.
U 3 Bologna
294 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Bologna retains the name of a republic*
fends an ambaflador to the Pope's court,
and the word Libertas is infcribed on the
arms and coin of the State, with the flat-
tering capitals S. P. B. The civil
government and police of the town is
allowed to remain in the hands of the ma-
giftrates, who are chofen by the Senate,
which formerly confided of forty mem-
bers ; but fince this republic came under
the protection, as it is called, of the Pope,
he thought proper to add ten more, but
the whole fifty ftill retain the name of the
Quaranta. Mankind, in general 5 are more
alarmed by a change of name, in things
which they have long regarded with ve-
neration, than by a real change in the
nature of the things themfelves. The Pope
may have had fome good political reafon
for augmenting the number of the council
to fifty ; but he could have none for calling
them the Council of Fifty, if the people
chofe rather to call fifty men aflembled
together the Council of Forty. One of
the
MANNERS IN ITALY. 295
the Senators prefides in the Senate, and is
called the Gonfalonier ; from his carrying
the ftandard (Gonfalone) of the republic.
He is chief magifixate, is attended by
guards, and is conftantly at the palace, or
near it, to be ready on any emergency ;
but he remains only two months in office,
and the Senators take it by turns.
In the inidft of all this appearance of
independency, a Cardinal Legate from
Rome governs this republic : he is appoint-
ed by the Pope, with a Vice Legate, and
other affiftants. The orders which the
Legate iffues, are fuppofed to be with the
approbation of the Senate ; at leaft, they
are never difputed by that prudent body
of men. The office, which is of higher
dignity than any other now in the gift of
the Court of Rome, continues for three
years: at the expiration of that time, his
Holinefs either appoints a new Legate, or
confirms the old one in the office for three
years longer.
U 4 This
296 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
This ecclefiaftical Viceroy lives in great
magnificence, and has a numerous fuite of
pages, equerries, and halberdiers, who at-
tend him in the city. When he goes into
the country, he is accompanied by guards
on horfeback.
The Gonfalonier and magiPa*ates regulate
all the uiual matters which regard the
police, and decide, in common caufes,
according to the laws and ancient forms of
the republic ; but there is no doubt that,
in affairs of great importance, and, indeed,
as often as he choofes to interfere, the
Cardinal Legate influences decifions. This
muftbe mortifying to the Senators and noble
families, but is lefs felt by the people in
general, who have every appearance of
living under a mild and beneficent Govern*
xneqt.
The inhabitants of Bologna carry on a
very confiderable trade in filks and velvets,
which are manufactured here in great per-
fection. The country produces immenfe
quantities
MANNERS IN ITALY. 297
quantities of oil, wine, flax, and hemp;
and furniflies all Europe with faufages,
Macaroni, liqueurs, and effences. The peo-
ple feem to be induftrioiio, and to be al-
lowed to enjoy the fruits of their labour;
the markets are moft plentifully fupplied
with provifions ; fruit is to be had in great
variety, and all excellent in its kind ; the
common wine of the country is a light
white wine of an agreeable tafte, which
Grangers prefer to any of the French or
German wings to be had here. Thofe
who are not pleafed with the entertainment
they meet with at the inns in this city, it
will be a difficult matter topleafe; they
muft be poffefled of a degree of fuch
nicety, both in their palates and tempers,
as will render them exceedingly troublefome
to themfelves and others, not only in their
travels through Italy, but in the whole
courfe of their journey through life.
There are a great number of palaces in
this city. What is called the Public Palace,
7 is,
29S VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
is, by far, the mod fpaclous, but not the
mo ft elegant. In this the Cardinal Legate
is lodged. There ar£ alfo apartments for
the Gonfalonier; and halls, or chambers,
for fome of the courts of juftice. This
building, though of a gloomy and irregu-
lar form without, contains fome very
magnificent apartments, and a few good
pi&ures : the mod efteemed are, a large
one, by Guido, of the Virgin, and the
infant Jefus, feated on the rainbow ; a
Sampfon, by Guido alfo, refrefhing him-
felf with the water which iffues from the
jaw-bone with which he has juft defeated
the Philiftines ; and a St. John the Baptift,
by Raphael, a duplicate of that in the
Palais Royal at Paris, but thought, by fome
connoiffeurs, greatly inferior. For my part,
I think it is to be regretted, that this great
painter did not employ the time he fpent
on one of them, at leaft, on fome fubjedt
more worthy of his talents. A fingle
figure, unemployed, can never pleafe fo
much as a groupe, occupied in fome in-
teresting
MANNERS IN ITALY.
ferefting a&ion. It is a pity that a painter,
capable, even in a moderate degree, of
exciting the paffions, fliould confine his ta-
lents to folitary figures. How much more
unworthy of him who poflefled all the
fublimity and pathos of the art !
On his arrival at this town, the firft
objed: which ftrikes the eye of a ftranger, is
a noble marble fountain, in the area before
the Palazzo Publico. The principal figure
is a ftatue of Neptune, eleven feet in
height ; one of his hands is flretched out
before him, in the other he holds the
Trident. The body and limbs are finely
proportioned, the anatomy perfedt, the
character of the countenance fevere and
xnajeftic. This figure of Neptune, as well
as all the others of boys, dolphins, and
fyrens, which furround it, are in bronze.
The whole is the workmanfhip of Giovan-
ni di Bologna, and is highly efteemed ; yet
there feems to be an impropriety in making
water
3 oo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
water flow in ftreams from the breafts of
the fea nymphs, or fyrens.
Over the entrance of the Legate's palace,
is a bronze ftatue of a Pope. The tiara,
and other parts of the Papal uniform, are
not fo favourable to the fculptor's genius*
as the naked fimplicity in which Neptune
appears. A female traveller, however,
not extravagantly fond of the fine arts,
would rather be obferved admiring the
fculptor's fkill in imitating the folds of
the Sacerdotal robes, than his anatomical
accuracy in forming the majeftic propox^
^ions of the Sea Divinity.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
LETTER XXVIIt.
Bologna;
^|^HE uiliverfity of Bologna is one of
the moft ancient and mod cele-*
brated feats of literature in Europe; and
the academy for the arts and fciences,
founded by the Count Marfigli at the be-
ginning of the prefent century, is fufficient,
of itfelf, to engage ftrangers to vifit this
city, if there was nothing elfe worthy of
their curiofity. Over the gate of this
magnificent edifice is the following liberal
infcription :
BONONIENSE SCIENTIARUM ATQUE ARTIUM
INSTITUTUM AD PUBLICUM TOTIUS
ORBIS USUM.
Here is a moft valuable library, in three
fpacious rooms, where any perfon may
ftudy, and have the ufe of the books, four
hours every day ; alfo apartments for the
ftudents of fculpture, painting, archite&ure*
chemiftry,
3 02 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
chemiftry, anatomy, aftronomy, and everf
branch of natural philofophy. They are
all ornamented with defigns, models, in-
ftruments, and every kind of apparatus
requifite for illuftrating thofe fciences.
There are alfo Profefibrs, who regularly
read le&ures, and inftrii£t the ftudents in
thofe various parts of knowledge. There is
a hall, full of models in architecture and
fortification, a valuable colle&ion of medals,
and another of natural curiofities, as
animals, earths, ores, minerals, and a com-
plete collection of fpecimens, to affift the
ftudy of the Materia Medica, and every
part of Natural Hiftory. A gallery of
flatues, confifting of a few originals, and
very fine cafts of the beft ftatues in Italy*
I went one evening to the academy of
painting and fculpture; two men flfood in
different attitudes on a table, in the middle
of the room ; about fifty fludents fat in
the amphitheatre around them, fome draw-
ing their figures in chalks, others model-
ling them in wax, or clay. As each
2 ftudent
MANNERS IN ITALY. 303
ftudent viewed the two men from different
points, the variety of manner in the differ-
ent ftudents, together with the alteration
in the Chiaro Seuro under each point of
view, gave every drawing the appearance
of being done from a different figure.
Nothing can be fo advantageous to the
young ftudent as this kind of exercife,
which is fometimes pra&ifed by day-light,
and fometimes by the light of lamps, and
muft give a fuller idea of the effed: of
light and fhade than any other method.
Honorary premiums are diftributed every
year among the artifts, for the beft defigns
in painting, fculpture, and archite&ure.
The Anatomical Theatre is adorned
with ftatues of celebrated phyficians ; and
in the Mufeum, which belongs to it, there
are abundance of anatomical preparations j
alfo a complete fuite of anatomical figures
in wax. A man and woman in the
natural ftate ; the fame with the {kin and
cellular membrane removed, the external
mufcles
3 o4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
mufcles of the whole body and limbs ap-
pearing. In the fubfequent figures the
more external mufcles are gradually re-*
moved, till nothing but the fimple fkeleton
remains. Thefe figures are very well
rendered, preferving the natural appear-
ance and fituation of the mufcles and blood-
veffels, with as much exa&nefs as could
be expe&ed in a work of this nature.
There are alfo models in wax, of particular
parts, and of feveral of the vifcera of the
human body feparately ; yet thofe waxen
models could not ftand in comparifcn with
the preparations of the real parts in Dr.
Hunter's mufeum. If brought to that
teft, the Bologna waxworks, though ad-
mirable in their kind, w r ould appear as
their beft cafts of the Vatican Apollo and
Laccoon would, if placed befide the origi-
nals. Indeed, the real preparations to be feen
here, are far inferior to thofe of that great
anatomift; who is now pofTefTed of the moft
complete, and moft accurate colledion of
anatomical preparations, that ever' was
made
MANNERS IN ITALY. 305
made by human (kill and induftry. We
have faithfully performed our duty in
vifiting all the churches and palaces of this
city, which contain feme of the higheft
fpecimens of art; yet, as the recital might
be lefs amufing than the tour itfelf, I fhall
exercife your patience with great modera-
tion on that fubjed.
The church of St. Petronius forms part
of that large, irregular fquare* in which
the fountain, formerly mentioned, fiands ;
it is the largeft in Bologna. In the pave-
ment of this church, Caffini drew his me-
ridian line ; and within the walls of this
fame edifice the Emperor Charles the Fifth
was crowned. Thofe circumilances may
intereft the aftronorner, and the hiftorian ;
but the ftatue of a foldier, which ftands in
one of the chapels, engages the attention
of the pious Catholic. This man, being
at play, and in danger of lofing all his
money, offered up a very fervent prayer
to the Virgin Mary, for a little better luck;
Vol. I. X to
3 o$ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
to which fhe, who never (hewed any
favour to gamefters, turned a deaf ear.
When he found that his bad fortune con-
tinued, this furious wretch drew his fword,
and wounded both the Virgin, and the
Infant in her arms. He inftantly, as you
may fuppofe, fell to the ground, deprived
of motion ; he was carried to prifon, and
condemned to an ignominious and painful
death. While he remained under confine-
ment, he came to a proper fenfe of his
wickednefs; and the bleffed Virgin was fo
much foftened by his repentance, that fhe
reftored him to the life of his limbs ; and
the Judges, taking the hint, gave him a
full pardon- As a faiisfattory proof of
this memorable event, they fliew the iden-
tical fword with which the afTault was
made.
A Dominican convent, fituated oa
the top of a hill, about three miles from
this city, is in poffeffion of a portrait
of the Virgin, by St. Luke. Jt is not
4 perfectly
MANNERS IN ITALY. 367
perfe&ly known how it came there ; any
enquiry of that nature favours of herefy*
and might give offence. The people in
general are perfuaded of its originality*
and happy in the honour of fuch a neigh-
bour. This portrait has wrought many
miracles in favour of the inhabitants of
Bologna. A curious gallery, open to the
fouth, and clofed by a wall to the north*
is built all the way from this city to the
convent. On the open fide it is fupported
by a long row of pillars, and was ere&ed
by voluntary contribution, in honour of
the Virgin, and for the conveniency of
pilgrims. This long colonade is about
twelve feet in breadth, from the pil-
lars to the wall, and of a convenient
height ; all the communities of the town
walk once a year, in folemn proceffion,
to the convent, and bring the holy
pi&ure to vifit the city. It is carried
through the principal ftreets, attended
by every inhabitant who can afford to
purchafe a wax taper. During this pro-
X s cefllon*
3 o8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ceflion, the bells continue ringing, the
cannon are fired ; and the troops under
arms obferve the fame ceremonies, when
the prdiire paffes, as if it were Commander
in Chief of the forces. The common
people imagine, the pidure is extremely
fond of 4 this annual vifit to the town of
Bologna ; they even are convinced, that*
if it were not carried, it would defcend
from the frame, and walk the whole way
on foot ; but they do not define to fee the
experiment made, both becaufe it might
difoblige the Virgin, and becaufe, if the
pidure were once fet a walking, there is
no knowing where it would flop.
Though the nobility of Bologna are
not now very rich, many of their palaces
are furniftied in a magnificent tafte, and
contain paintings of great value. The
palaces were built, and ornamented, when
the proprietors were richer, and when
the fined works of architedure and paint-
ing could be procured on eafier terms than
3 at
MANNERS IN ITALY. 309
at prefent. The galleries, and apartments,
are fpacious and magnificent; yet there
are circumftances in the mod fplendid, that
muft hurt the eye of thofe who are accuf-
tomed to that perfect exa&nefs in finifhing
which prevails in Englifli houfes. The
glafs of the windows of fome palaces is
divided into little fquare panes, which are
joined together by lead ; and the floors
of all are fo very indifferently laid, that
you often feel a loofe brick fhaking under
your feet as you walk through the finefl:
apartments.
The mo ft precious ornaments of the
palaces are the paintings, particularly thofe
of the celebrated matters which this city
had the honour of producing, Raphael is
generally allowed to have excelled all
painters in the fublimity of his ideas, the
grouping of his figures, the beauty of his
heads, the elegance of his forms, and the
corrednefs of his outlines; yet, in the
opinion of fome, he has oftener imitated
X 3 thofe
3 io VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
thofe noble ideas of beauty, tranfmitted to
us by the Greek fculptors, than what he
faw, or could obferve, in nature. Thofe
who hold this opinion aflert, that the beft
mafiers of the Lombard School ftudied,
with equal affiduity, the elegance of the
antique ftatues, and the fimplicity of na-
ture j and from this combined attention to
both, with geniufes lefs fublime, and not
fo univerfal, as that of the Roman painter,
they have produced w r orks equal, if not
fuperior in fome refpe&s, to his. In ail
this, I beg you may keep in your remenw
brance, that I am not afFe&ing to give any
opinion of my own, but merely repeating
the fentiments of others.
Next to Rome itfelf, there is, perhaps,
no town in the world fo rich in paintings
as Bologna. The churches and palaces,
befides many admired pieces by other
mafiers, are full of the works of the great
maflers who were natives of this city. I
xnijft not lead you among thofe mailer-
pieces ;
MANNERS IN ITALY. 311
pieces; it is not for fo poor a judge as I
am to point the peculiar excellencies of the
Caraccis, Dominichino, Albano, or com-
pare the energy of Guercino*s pencil with
the grace of Guido's. With regard to the
laft, I fhall venture to fay, that the grace-
ful air of his young men, the elegant
forms, and mild perfuaiive devotion, of his
Madonas ; the art with which, to all the
inviting lovelinefs of female features, he
joins all the gentlenefs and modefty which
belong to the female chara&er, are the pe-
culiar excellencies of this charming painter*
It requires no knowledge in the art of
painting, no connoiffeurfhip, to difcover
thofe beauties in the works of Guido ;
all who have eyes, and a heart, muft fee
and feel them. But the pidure more ad-
mired than all the reft, and confidered, by
the judges, as his mafter-piece, owes its
eminence to a different kind of merit ; it can,
claim none from any of the circumftances
above enumerated. The piece I mean is in
X 4 the
3 i2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the Sampieri palace, and diftinguifhed by a
filk curtain, which hangs before it. The
fubje£t is, the Repentance of St. Peter, and
confifts of two figures, that of the Saint
who weeps, and a young apoftle who en-
deavours to comfort him. The only pic-
ture at Bologna, which can difpute celebrity
with this, is that of St. Cecilia, in the
church of St. Georgio in Monte. This
pi&ure is greatly praifed by Mr. Addifon,
and is reckoned one of Raphael's capital
pieces. If I had nothing elfe to convince
me that I had no judgment in painting,
this would be fuffieient. I have examined
it over and over with great attention, and
a real defire of difcovering its fuperlative
merit ; and I have the mortification to find 2
that 1 cannot perceive it. — After this coa-
feflion, I prefume you will not defire to
hear any thing farther from me on the.
fubjedt of painting.
MANNERS IN ITALY. 3 i£
LETTER XXIX,
Ancona,,
IN our way from Bologna to this place,
we palled through Ravenna, a difa-
greeable town, though at one period the
feat of empire ; for, afcer Attila had left
Italy, Valentinian chofe Ravenna, in pre-
ference to Rome, for his refidence, that he
might always be ready to repel the Huns
and other Barbarians, who poured from,
the banks of the Danube, and prevent their
penetrating into Italy. The fame reafon
afterwards induced Theodoric, King of the
Oftrogoths, to keep his court at this city
of Ravenna, after he had defeated and
killed Odoacer, and aflumed the title of
King of Rome. The ruins of his palace
and his tomb now form part of the anti-
quities of Ravenna ; among which I Ihall
not detain you a moment, but proceed to
the river of Pifatello^ the famous Rubi-
con
3H VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
con, which lies between this town and
Rimini, and was the ancient boundary
between Italy and Cifalpine Gaul. No
Roman, returning to Rome, could pafs in
arms beyond this, without being deemed
an enemy to his country. The fmall town
of Cefenate is fituated near this brook, and
the inhabitants value themfelves not a lit-
tle upon their vicinity to fo celebrated q.
neighbour. But the people of Rimini have
had the malice to endeavour to deprive
them of this fatisfa&ion : they affirm, that
the rivulet Lufa, which is farther removed
from Cefenate, and nearer to themfelves,
is the true Rubicon. I have confidered
this controverfy with all the attention it
merits ; and I am of opinion, that the pre-
tenfions of Pifatello, which is alfo called
Rugone, are the beft founded. That you
may not fufpedt my being influenced in my
judgment by any motives but thofe of
juftice, I beg leave to inform you, that it
is a matter of no importance to me which
of the rivers is the real Rubicon, for we
had
MANNERS IN ITALY. 31s
had the honour of paffing both in our way
to Rimini.
What Suetonius mentions concerning
Csefar's hefitation when he arrived at the
banks of this river, does not agree with
what the hiftorian fays a little before. Qui-
dam putant captum Imperii confuetudine,
penfitatifque fuis & inimicorum viribus,
ufum occafione rapiendse dominationis,
quam setate prima concupiffet. And this,
he adds, was the opinion of Cicero, who
fays, that Caefar had often in his mouth
this verfe :
Nam fi violandum eft jus, regnandi gratia
Violandum eft, aliis rebus pietatem colas.
It is moft probable, that Caefar took his
refolution to crofs the Rubicon as foon as
Antony and Curio arrived in his camp,
and afforded him a plaufible pretext, by
informing him and the army of the vio-
lent manner in which they had been driven
from Rome by the Conful Lentulus and
the adherents of Pompey. As for the
phantom,
3 i6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
phantom, which Suetonius informs us de-
termined the Di&ator while he was yet iq,
hefitation, we may either confider it in-
tirely as a fiction, or as a fcene previoufly
arranged by himfelf to encourage his army,
who may be fuppofed to have had fcruples
in difobeying a decree of the Senate; which
declared thofe perfons facrilegious and par-
ricides, devoting them at the fame time to
the infernal gods, who fhould pafs over
this river in arms. Cqefar was not of a
character to be difturbed with religious
fcruples ; he never delayed an enterprife*
we are told, on account of unfavourable
omens. Ne religione quidem ulla a quo-
quam incepto abfterritus unquam vel re-
tardatus eft. Qaum immolanti aufugiffet
hoftia, profe&ionem adverfus Scipionem
& jubam non diftulit, &c. &c.
This hefitation, therefore, which is men-
tioned both by Suetonius and Plutarch,
has no refemblance with the ambitious
and decifive character of Julius Ctefar; the
picture
manners in italy. 31/
pi&ure which Lucan has drawn of him has
much more fpirit, and in all probability
more likenefs.
Cssfar ut adverfam fuperato gurgite ripatf^
Attigit, Hefperiae vends & conftitit arvis,
Hie, ait, hie pacem, temerataque jura relinquo*
Te, Fortuna, fequor ; procul hinc jam foeder^
funto.
Credidimus fatis, utendum eft judice bello.
Sicfatus, no£lis tenebris rapit agmina ducto$
Impiger, & torto Ballaris verbere fundse
Ocyor, & miflfa Parthi poll terga fagitta - 3
Vicinumque minax invadit Ariminum—
Though Rimini is in a ftate of greaS
decay, there are fome monuments of an-
tiquity worthy the attention of the curious
traveller. It is the ancient Ariminum, the
fir ft town of which Csefar took pofleffion
after paffing the Rubicon. In the market-
place there is a kind of ftone pedeftal, with
an infeription, declaring, that on it Caefar
had ftood and harangued his army ; but
the authenticity of this is not afcertained
to the fatisfa&ioa of antiquarians.
We
3 i8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
We next pafled through Pefaro, a very
agreeable town, better built and paved than
the other towns we have feen on the Adri-
atic fhore. In the market-place there is a
handfome fountain, and a ftatue of Pope
Urban the Eighth, in a fitting pofture.
In the churches of this town there are fome
pictures by Baroccio, a painter, whofe
works fome people efteem very highly*
and who is thought to have imitated the
manner of Raphael and the tints of Cor-
reggio, not without fuccefs. He lived
about the middle of the fixteenth century,
and his colours feem to have improved by
time. I fay, feem; for, in reality, all co-
lours iofe by time : but the operation of
fan and air on pictures bringing all the
colours to a kind of unifon, occafions what
is called Harmony, and is thought an im-
provement on fome pictures. This road,
along the Adriatic coaft, is extremely plea-
fant. From Pefaro we proceeded to Fano*
a little town, of nearly the fame fize, but
more populous. It derives its name from
a Temple
MANNERS IN ITALY. 319
a Temple of Fortune [Fanum Fortunse],
which flood here in the time of the Ro-
mans. All the towns of Italy, however
religious they may be, are proud of their
connections with thofe celebrated heathens.
An image of the Goddefs Fortune is
ere&ed on the fountain in the market-place,
and the inhabitants fhow fome ruins, which
they pretend belong to the ancient Temple
of Fortune ; but what cannot be difputed,
are the ruins of a triumphal arch in white
marble, ere&ed in honour of Auguftus,
and which was greatly damaged by the
artillery of Pope Paul the Second, when
he befieged this town in the year 1463.
The churches of this town are adorned
with fome excellent pidures ; there is one
particularly in the cathedral church, by
Guercino, which is much admired. The
fubjeft is the marriage of Jofeph: it con-
fifts of three principal figures j the High
Prieft, Jofeph, and the Virgin.
A few
po VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
A few miles beyond Fano, we croffed the
river Metro, where Claudius Nero, the
Roman Conful, defeated Afdrubal, the
brother of Hannibal. This was, perhaps,
the mod important victory that ever was
gained by a Roman General ; for, had
Afdrubal been victorious, or been able to
effect a jun&ion with his brother, the
troops he brought from Spain would have
become of triple value as foon as they were
under the direction of Hannibal ; and it is
not improbable that, with fuch a reinforce-*
ment, that mod conftimmate General
would have put an end to the Roman
State ; the glory of Carthage would have
begun where that of Rome ended ; and the
hiftory of the world would have beeri
quite different from what it is. Horace
feems fenfible of the infinite importance
of this vi&ory, and proclaims with a fine
poetic enthufiafm, the obligations which
Rome owed to the family of the hero who
obtained it, and the terror which, before
that
MANNERS iN ITALY. 321
that time, Hannibal had fpread over all
Italy.
Quid debeas, O Roma, Neronibus,
Teitis Metaurum flumen, et Afdrubal
Devious, et puicher fugatis
Ule dies Latio tenebris,
Qui primus alma rifit adorea ;
Dims per urbcs Afer ut Italas,
Ceu flamma per tedas, vel Eurus
Per Siculas equitavic undas.
We came next to Senegallia, another
fea-port town upon this coaft. There is
nothing remarkable in this town, except
during the time of the fair, which is held
there once a year, to which a great con-
courfe of merchants refort, from Venice,
and all the towns on both fides of the
Adriatic; alfo from Sicily, and the Archi-
pelago. England carries on a very profit-
able trade with all the towns in Romagnia,
from which our merchants purchafe great
quantities of raw filk, and afterwards fell
it, when manufactured, to the inhabitants.
Vol. t Y They
3 22 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
They provide them alfo in Englifh cottoxi
and linen cloths, of every kind.
The diftance between Senegallia and
Ancona, is about fifteen miles. We tra-
velled moft of this road after it was dark*
much againft the inclination of the Italian
fervants, who aflured us, that it is often
infefted with robbers. Thofe fellows, they
told us, come fometimes from the coaft of
Dalmatia, attack travellers on this road*
carry what booty can be got, on board their
boats, which are never at a great diftance,
and then fail to the oppofite fhore 5 or to
fome other part of the coaft. As we tra-
velled flowly over the fandy road, fome
jnen, in failors drefTes, overtook us. Our
Italians were convinced they belonged to
the gang of pirates, or robbers, they had
fpoken of. Our company was too nu-
merous to be attacked ; but they attempted,
fecretly, to cut off the trunks from the
chaifes, without fucceeding.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
323
LETTER XXX.
Ancona.
A NCONA is faid to have been founded
& by Syracufans who had fled from
the tyranny of Dionyfius. The town ori-
ginally was built upon a hill, but the houfes
have been gradually extended down the
face of the eminence, towards the fea* The
cathedral ftands on the highell part ; from
whence there is a moll advantageous view
of the town, the country, and the fea.
This church is fuppofed to be placed on the
fpot where a temple, dedicated to Venus,
formerly flood ; the fame mentioned by
Juvenal, when he fpeaks of a large turbot
caught on this coaft, and prefented to the
Emperor Domitian.
Incidit Adriaci fpatium admirabile rhombi,
Ante domum Veneris, quam Dorica fuftinet
Ancon.
Y 2 The
3?4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AN0
The afcents and defcents, and great in-
equality of the ground, will prevent this
from being a beautiful town, but it has
much the appearance of becoming a rich
one. Some of the nobility have the firm-
nefs and good fenfe to defpife an ancient
prejudice, and avowedly profecute com-
merce. New houles are daily building,
and the ftreets are animated with the buftle
of trade. I met with feveral Englifh tra-
ders on the Change, which feemed crowded
with fe a -faring men, and merchants, from
Dalmatia, Greece, and many parts of Eu-
rope. There are great numbers of Jews
eftablifhed in this city. I know not whe-
ther this race of men contribute greatly to
the prosperity of a country ; but it is gene-
rally remarked, that thofe places are in a
thriving condition to which they refort.
They have a fynagogue here, and although
all religions are tolerated, theirs is the
only foreign worfhip allowed to be publicly
extrcifcd. The commerce of Ancona has
increafed very rapidly of late years j and
7 it
MANNERS IN ITALY. 325
it is evident, that the Popes who firft
thought of making it a free port, of en-
couraging manufactures, and of building a
mole, to render the harbour more fafe,
have injured Venice in a more fenfible
manner, than thofe who thundered bulls
againft that republic ; but it is much to be
queftioned, whether the former, by their
encouragements to commerce, have aug-
mented their own fpirituai importance in
the fame proportion they have the tem-
poral riches of their fubje£ts.
Men who have received a liberal educa-
tion, and have adopted liberal fentiments
previous to their engaging in any particu-
lar profeffion, will carry thefe fentiments
along with them through life: and, per-
haps, there is no profeffion in which they
can be exercifed with more advantage and
utility, than in that of a merchant. In
this profeffion, a man of the chara&er
above defcribed, while he is augmenting
his own private fortune, will enjoy the
Y 3 agreeable
326 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
agreeable reflection, that he is likewife ln4
creafing the riches and power of his country,
and giving bread to thoufands of his induf-
trious countrymen. Of all profeflions, his is
in its nature the rnoft independent: the mer-
chant does not^like the foldier 3 receive wages
from his fovereign ; nor, like the lawyer
and phyfician, from his fellow-fubje&s.
His wealth often flows from foreign four-
ces, and he is under no obligation to thofe
from whom \t is derived. The habit which
he is in, Gf circulating millions, m^keshira
lay lefs ftrefs on a few guineas, than the
proprietors of the largeft eftates ; and we
daily fee, particularly in countries where
this profeflion is not confidered as de-
grading, the commercial part of the in-
habitants giving the mod exalted proofs of
generofity and public fpirit. But in coun-
tries w 7 here nobody, who has the fmalleft
claim to the title of a gentleman, can en-
gage in commerce without being thought
to have demeaned himfelf, fewer examples
of this nature will be found : and in every
country, it muft be acknowledged, that
thefe
MANNERS IN ITALY. 327
thofe who have not had the advantage of a
liberal education ; who have been bred
from their infancy to trade ; who have
been taught to confider money as the moft
valuable of all things, and to value them-
felves, and others, in proportion to the
quantity they poflefs ; who are continually
revolving in their minds, to the exclufion
of all other ideas, the various means of in-
crealing their flock ; to fuch people, money
becomes a more immediate and dire£t ob-
ject of attention, than to any other clafs of
men ; it fwells in their imagination, is
rated beyond its real worth, and, at lengthy
by an inverfion of the Chriftian precept,
it is confidered as the one thing needful,
to be fought with the moft unremitting
ardour, that all other things may be added
thereunto.
In commercial towns, where every body
finds employment, and is agitated by the
buftle of bufinefs, the minds of the inha-
bitants are apt to be fo much engrofTed
Y 4 with
328 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
with the affairs of this world, as almoft tq
forget that there is another; and neither
the true religion nor falfe ones, have fuch
hold of their minds, as in places where
there is more poverty, and lefs worldly
occupation. In the firft, they confider the*
remonflrances of priefts and confeffors as
interruptions to bufinefs ; and, without
daring todefpifethe ceremonies of religion,
like the fpeculative Sceptic or Infidel, the
hurried trader huddles them over as faft as
poffible, that he may return to occupations
more congenial with the habit of his mind.
The preachers may cry aloud, and fpare
not ; they may lift up their voices like
trumpets, proclaiming the nothingnefs of
this world, and all which it contains ; it i§
in vain. IVIen who have been trained to
the purfuit of money from their childhood,
who have beflowed infinite pains to acquire
it, and who derive all their importance
from it, muft naturally have a partiality
for this world, where riches procure fq
mapy flattering diftin&ions; and a prejudice
againft
MANNERS IN ITALY* 3^
againft that in which they procure none?
but in towns where there is little trade,
and great numbers of poor people, where
they have much fpare time, and fmall
comfort in this world, the clergy have an
eafier talk, if they are tolerably affiduous>
in turning the attention of the inhabitants
to the other. In Roman Catholic towns
of this defcription, we fee the people con-
tinually pacing up and down the ftreets*,
with wax tapers in their hands. They
liften, with fond attention, to all the prieft
relates concerning that invifible country,
that Land of Promife, where their hopes
are placed ; they ruminate, with compla-
cency, on the happy period when they alfo
fhall have their good things; they bear
their prefent rags with patience, in expec-
tation of the white raiment and crowns of
gold, which, they are told, await themj
they languifh for the happinefs of being
promoted to that lofty fituation, from
whence they may look down, with fcorn,
on thofe to whom they now look up with
envy,
j 3 o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
envy, and where they fliall retaliate on
their wealthy neighbours, whofe riches,
prefent, they imagine, infult their own
poverty.
This town being expofed, by the nature
of its commerce with Turkey, to the con-
tagious difeafes which prevail in that coun-
try, Clement XIL, as foon as he determined
to make it a free port, ere&ed a lazzaretto*
It advances a little way into the fea, is in
the form of a pentagon, and is a very noble,
as well as ufeful, edifice. He afterwards
began a work, as neceflary, and ftill more
fcxpenfive; I mean the Mole built in the
fea, to fkreen the veflels in the harbour
from the winds, which frequently blow
from the oppofite fhore of the Adriatic
with great violence. This was carried on
with redoubled fpirit by Benedid XIV.
after his quarrel with Venice, has been
continued by the fucceeding Popes, and is
now almoft finiihed. This building was
founded in the ruins of the ancient Mole,
raifed
MANNERS IN ITALY. 331
raifed by the Emperor Trajan. The flone
of Iftria was ufed at firft, till the exportation
of it was prohibited by the republic of
Venice, who had no reafon to wifh well
to this work. But a quarry of excellent
flone was afterwards found near Ancona,
as fit for the purpofe j and a kind of fand,
which, when mixed with lime, forms a
compofition as hard as any (lone, is brought
from the neighbourhood of Rome ; and no
other is ufed for this building, which is
above two thoufand feet in length, one
hundred in breadth, and about fixty in
depth, from the furface of the fea. A
ftupendous work, more analogous to the
power and revenues of ancient, than of
modern, Rome.
Near to this ftands the Triumphal Arch,
as it is called, of Trajan. This is an ho-
norary monument, ere&ed in gratitude to
that Emperor, for the improvements he
made in this harbour at his own expence.
Next to the Maifon Quarrec at Nimes, it is
$ the
332 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the moft beautiful and the moll entire
monument of Roman tafte and magnificence
I have yet feen. The fluted Corinthian
pillars on the two fides are of the fineft
proportions ; and the Parian marble of
which they are compofed, inftead of hav-
ing acquired a black colour, like the Du-
cal palace of Venice, and other buildings
of marble, is preferved, by the fea vapour,
as white and fhiningas if it were frefh po-
lished from the rock. I viewed this charm-
ing piece of antiquity with fentiments of
pleafure and admiration, which fprang
from a recolledion of the elegant tafte of
the artift who planned this work, the hu-
mane amiable virtues of the great man to,
whofe honour it was raifed, and the' gran-
deur and policy of the people who, by fuch
rewards, prompted their Princes to wife
and beneficent undertakings.
MANNERS IN ITALY. 333
LETTER XXXI.
Loretto*
t~~n ^ H E road from Ancona to this place
runs through a fine country, com-
pofed of a number of beautiful hills and
intervening vallies. Loretto itfelf is a fmall
town, fituated on an eminence, about three
miles from the fea. I expe&ed to have
found it a more magnificent, at leaft a
more commodious, town for the entertain-
ment of ftrangers. The inn-keepers do
not difturb the devotion of the pilgrims by
the luxuries of either bed or board. I have
not feeri worfe accommodations fince I en-
tered Italy, than at the inn here. This
feems furprifing, confidering the great re-
fort of ftrangers. If any town in England
were as much frequented, every third cr
fourth houfe would be a neat inn.
The
334- VIEW OF SOCIETt AK T t>
The Holy Chapel of Loretto, all the
world knows, was originally a fmall houfe
in Nazareth, inhabited by the Virgin Ma-
ry, in which fhe was faluted by the Angel*
and where fhe bred our Saviour. After
their deaths, it was held in great venera-
tion by all believers in Jefus, and at length
confecrated into a chapel, and dedicated to
the Virgin j upon which occafion St. Luke
made that identical image, which is fiill
preferved here, and dignified with the
name of our Lady of Loretto. This fane-
tified edifice was allowed to fojourn in Ga-
lilee as long as that diftrid was inhabited
by Chriftians ; but when infidels got
pofTeffion of the country, a band of angels,
to fave it from pollution, took it in their
arms, and conveyed it from Nazareth to a
caftle in Dalmatia. This fad might have
been called in queftion by* incredulous peo-
ple, had it been performed in a fecret man-
ner ; but, that it might be manifeft to the
moft fliort-fighted fpe&ator, and evident to
s\H who were not perfectly deaf as well as
blind*
MANNERS IN ITALY. 333
blind, a blaze of celeftial light, and a con-
cert of divine mufic, accompanied it during
the whole journey ; befides, when the an-
gels, to reft themfelves, fet it down in a
little wood near the road, all the trees of
the foreft bowed their heads to tke ground,
and continued in that refpe&fu! pofture as
long as the Sacred Chapel remained among
them. But, not having been entertained
with fuitable refped at the caftle above
mentioned, the fame indefatigable angela
carried it over the fea> and placed it in a
field belonging to a noble lady, called Lau-
retta, from whom the Chapel takes its
name. This field happened unfortunately
to be frequented at that time by highway-
men and murderers : a circuniftance with
which the angels undoubtedly were not
acquainted when they placed it there. Af-
ter they were better informed, they re^
moved it to the top of a hill belonging to
two brothers, where they imagined it would
be perfedly fecure from the dangers of
robbery or affaljSnajioA; but the two bro<*
thers,
33^ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
thers, the proprietors of the ground, being
equally enamoured of their new vifitor*
became jealous of each other, quarrelled,
fought, and fell by mutual wounds. After
this fatal cataftrophe, the angels in wait-
ing finally moved the Holy Chapel to the
eminence where it now ftands, and has
flood thefe four hundred years, having loft
all relifh for travellingi
To filence the captious objections of ca-
villers, and give full fatisfadtion to the
candid inquirer, a deputation of refp en-
able perfons was fent from Loretto to the
city of Nazareth, who, previous to their
fetting out, took the dimenfions of the
Holy Houfe with the mod fcrupulous ex*
adnefs. On their arrival at Nazareth,
they found the citizens fcarcely recovered
from their aftonifhment j for it may be
eafily fuppofed, that the fudden difappear-
ance of a houfe from the middle of a town,
would naturally occafion a confiderable de-
gree of furprife, even in the moll philo-
fophic
MANNERS IN ITALY. 337
Fophic minds. The landlords had been
alarmed in a particular manner, and had
made enquiries, and offered rewards, all
over Galilee, without having been able to
get any fatisfa&ory account of the fugi-
tive. They felt their intereft much affect-
ed by this incident ; for, as houfes had
never before been confidered as moveables^
their value fell immediately. This in-
deed might be partly owing to certain evil-
minded perfons, who, taking advantage of
the public alarm, for felfiOi purpofes, cir-
culated a report, that feveral other houfes
were on the wing, and would moft pro-
bably difappear in a few days. This af-
fair being fo much the object of attention
at Nazareth, and the builders of that city
declaring, they would as foon build upon
ijuick-fand as on the vacant fpace which
the Chapel had left at its departure, the
deputies from Loretto had no difficulty in
difcovering the foundation of that edifice,
which they carefully compared with the
dimenfions they had brought from Loretto*
Vol. I. ' Z and
3 3§ VIEW OF SOCIETY AfW
and found that they tallied exadtly. 0£
this they made oath at their return ; and
in the mind of every rational perfon, it re-
mains no longer a queftion, whether this
is the real houfe which the Virgin Mary
Inhabited, or not. Many of thofe parti-
culars are narrated with other circumftance&
in books which are fold here j but I have
been informed of one circumftance, which
has not hitherto been publifhed in any
book, and which, I dare fwear, you will
think ought to be made known for the be-
fit of future travellers. This morning,
immediately before we left the inn, to
vifit the Holy Chapel, an Italian fervant,
whom the D — of H engaged at Ve-
nice, took me afide, and told me, in a very
ferious manner, that ftrangers were apt
fecretly to break off little pieces of the
ftone belonging to the Santa Cafa, in the
hopes that fuch precious relics might
bring them good fortune ; but he earneftly
entreated me not to do any fuch thing :
for he knew a man at Venice, who had
^ brokers
MANNERS IN ITALY. 539
broken off a fmall corner of one of the
ftones, and flipt it into his breeches pocket
unperceived ; but, fo far from bringing
him good fortune, it had burnt its way
out, like aqua fortis, before he left the
Chapel, and fcorched his thighs in fuch a
miferable manner, that he was not able to
fit on horfeback for a month. I thanked
Giovanni for his obliging hint, and affured
him I fliould not attempt any theft of that
nature.
340 VIEW OF SOCIETY ANB
HE Sacred Chapel ftands due eaft
and weft, at the farther end of a
large church of the moft durable ftone of
Iftria, which has been built around it«
This may be confidered as the external
covering, or as a kind of great coat to the
Cafa Santa, which has a fmaller coat of
more precious materials and workmanfhip
nearer its body. This internal covering,
or cafe, is of the choiceft marble, after a
plan of San Savino's, and ornamented with
baflb relievos, the workmanfhip of the beft
fculptors which Italy could furnifh in the
reign of Leo the Tenth. The fubjed of
thofe baflb relievos are, the hiftory of the
Blefled Virgin, and other parts of the Bible.
The whole cafe is about fifty feet long,
thirty in breadth, and the fame in height j
but the real houfe itfelf is no more than
LETTER XXXIL
Loretto*
thirty-
MANNERS IN ITALY. 341
thirty-two feet in length, fourteen in
breadth, and at the fides, about eighteen feet
in height ; the centre of the roof is four or
five feet higher. The walls of this little Holy-
Chapel are com po fed of pieces of a reddifh
fubftance, of an oblong fquare fhape, laid
one upon another, in the manner of brick.
At fir ft fight, on a fuperficial view, thefe
red-coloured oblong fubftances appear to
be nothing elfe than common Italian bricks;
and, which is ftill more extraordinary, on
a fecond and third view, with all poffible
attention, they ftill have the fame appear-
ance. There is not, however, as w r e were
a (Tared, a fingle particle of brick in their
whole composition, being entirely of a
ftone, which, though it cannot now be
found in Paleftine, was formerly very
common, particularly in the neighbour-
hood of Nazareth. There is a fmall in-
terval between the walls of the ancient
houfe, and the marble cafe. The
workmen, at firfr, intended them to be in
Z 3 conta£t ?
34* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
contact, from an opinion, founded either
upon grofs ignorance or infidelity, that
the former flood in need of fupport from
the latter ; but the marble either ftarted
back of itfelf, from fuch impious fami-
liarity, being confcious of its unworthi«
nefs ; or elfe was thruft back by the coy-
nefs of the Virgin brick, it is not faid
which. But it has certainly kept at a
proper diftance ever fince. While we
examined the baflb relievos of the marble
cafe, we were not a little incommoded by
the numbers of pilgrims who were con-*
fiantly crawling around it on their knees,
kifTing the ground, and faying their prayers
with great fervour. As they crept along,
they difcovered fome degree of eagernefs
to be neareft the wall ; not, I am perfuaded,
with a view of faving their own labour,
by contra&ing the circumference of their
circuit; but from an idea that the evolutions
they were performing, would be the more
beneficial to their fouls, the nearer they
were
MANNERS IN ITALY. 343
were to the Sacred Houfe. This exercife is
continued in proportion to the zeal and
ftrength of the patient.
Above the door there is an infcription ;
by which it appears, that any perfon who
enters with arms is, ipfo fa&o, excom-
municated.
JNGREDIENTES CUM ARMIS SUNT
EXCOMMUNICATO
There are alfo the fevereft denunciations
againft thofe who carry away the fmalleft
particle of the ftone and mortar belonging
to this Chapel. The adventure of the
burnt breeches, aud others of a fimilar
nature, which are induftrioufly circulated,
have contributed as much as any denun-
ciation, to prevent fuch attempts. Had it
not been for the impreffions they make, jfo
great was the eargernefs of the multitude
to be pofleffed of any portion of this little
edifice, that the whole was in danger of
being carried away; not by angels, but
piecemeal in the pockets of the pilgrims.
Z 4 The
344 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The Holy Houfe is divided, within, intq
two unequal portions, by a kind of grate-
work of filver. The divifion towards the
weft is about three-fourths of the whole ;
that to the eaft is called the Sandhiary. In
the larger divifion, which may be con-
fidered as the main body of the houfe, the
walls are left bare, to {hew the true origi-
nal fabric of Nazareth ftone. Thefe ftones,
which bear fuch a ftrong refemblance to
bricks, are loofe in many places, I took
notice of this to a pilgrim, who entered
with us: he fmiled, faying, "Chelanon
habbia paura, Padron mio, quefti muri
fono piu folidi degli Appenini." At the
lower, or weftern wall, there is a window,
the fame through which the angel Gabriel
entered at the Annunciation. The archie
traves of this window are covered with
filver. There are a great number of golden
and filver lamps in this Chapel; I did not
count them, but I was told there were above
fixty ; one of them is a prefent from the
republic of Venice : it is of gold, and
weighs
MANNERS IN ITALY. 34$
weighs thirty-feven pounds: fome of the
filver lamps weigh from one hundred and
twenty, to one hundred and thirty pounds.
At the upper end of the largeft room is
an altar, but fo low, that from it you
may fee the famous image which ftands
over the chimney, in the fmall room, or
Sanduary. Golden and filver angels,
of confiderable fize, kneel around her,
fome offering hearts of gold, enriched
with diamonds, and one an infant of pure
gold. The wall of the Sanduary is plated
with filver, and adorned with crucifixes,
precious ftones, and votive gifts of various
kinds. The figure of the Virgin herfelf
by no means correfponds with the fine
furniture of her houfe : fhe is a little wo-
man, about four feet in height, with the
features and complexion of a negro. Of
all the fculptors that ever exifted, afluredly
St. Luke, by whom this figure is faid to
have been made, is the leaft of a flatterer ;
and nothing can be a ftronger proof of the
blefled Virgin's contempt for external
beauty,
346 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
beauty, than her being fatisfied with this
reprefentation of her; efpecially if, as I am
inclined to believe, her face and perfon
really refembled thofe beautiful ideas of
her, conveyed by the pencils of Raphael,
Corregio, and Guido. The figure of the
infant Jefus, by St. Luke, is of a piece
with that of the Virgin : he holds a large
golden globe in one hand, and the other is
extended in the a£t of bleffing. Both figures
have crowns on their heads, enriched with
diamonds : thefe were prefents from Ann
of Auftria, Queen of France. Both arms
of the Virgin are inclofed within her robes,
and no part but her face is to be feen ;
her drefs is molt magnificent, but in a
wretched bad tafie : this is not furprifing,
for fhe has no female attendant. She has
particular clothes for the different feafts
held in honour of her, and, which is not
quite fo decent, is always drefTed and undrefT-
ed by the priefts belonging to the Chapel ;
her robes are ornamented with all kinds of
precious ftones, down to the hem of her
garment. There
MANNERS IN ITALY. 347
There is a (mall place behind the Sanc-
tuary, into which we were alfo admitted.
This is a favour feldom refufed to ftrangers
of a decent appearance. In this they fhew
the chimney, and fome other furniture,
which, they pretend, belonged to theVirgin
when fhe lived at Nazareth; particularly a
little earthen porringer, out of which the
infant ufed to eat. The pilgrims bring ro-
faries, little crucifixes, and Agnus Dei's,
which the obliging prieft fhakes for half a
minute in this difh j after which, it is be-
lieved, they acquire the virtue of curing
various difeafes, and prove an excellent pre-
ventative of all temptations of Satan. The
gown which the image had on when the
chapel arrived from Nazareth, is of red
camblet, and carefully kept in a glafs
fihrine.
Above a hundred mafles are daily faid
in this Chapel, and in the church in which
it ftands. The mufic we heard in the
Chapel
348 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Chapel was remarkably fine. A certain
number of the chaplains are eunuchs, who
perform the double duty of finging the
offices in the choir, and faying mafies at the
altar. The canonical law, which excludes
perfons in their fituation from the prieft-
hood, is eluded by a very extraordinary ex-
pedient, which I £hall leave you to guefs.
The jewels and riches to be feen at any
one time in the Holy Chapel, are of fmali
value in companion of thofe in the treafui y,
which is a large room adjoining to the
veftry of the great church. In the prefTes
of this room are kept thofe prefents which
royal, noble, and rich bigots of all ranks
have, by oppreffing their fubjeds, and in-
juring their families, fent to this place. To
enumerate every particular, would fill vo-
lumes. They confift of various utenfils,
and other things in filver and gold; as
lamps, candlefticks, goblets, crowns, and
crucifixes; lambs, eagles, faints, apoftles,
angels,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 34$
angels, virgins, and infants : then there are
cameos, pearls, gems, and precious (tones
of all kinds, and in great numbers. What
is valued above all the other jewels is, the '
miraculous pearl, wherein they affert, that
Nature has given a faithful delineation of
the Virgin, fitting on a cloud, with the
infant Jefus in her arms. I freely acknow-
ledge, that I did fee fomething like a wo-
man with a child in her arms ; but whether
Nature intended this as a portrait of the
Virgin Mary, or not, I will not take upon
me to fay ; yet I will candidly confefs
(though, perhaps, fome of my friends in
the north, may think it is faying too
much in fupport of the Popifh opinion)
that the figure in this pearl bore as great
a likenefs to fome pictures I have feen of
the Virgin, as to any female of my ac-
quaintance.
There was not room in the prefles of
the treafury, to hold all the filver pieces
which have been prefented to the Virgin.
2 Several
350 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Several other preffes in the veftry, they
told us, were completely full, and they
made offer to fhew them ; but our curiofity
was already fatiated.
It is faid, that thofe pieces are occafion-
ally melted down, by his Holinefs, for the
ufe of the State ; and alfo, that the moil:
precious of the jewels are picked out, and
fold for the fame purpofe, falfe Hones being
fubfiituted in their room. This is an affair
entirely between the Virgin and the Pope :
if (he does not, I know no other perfon who
has a right to complain.
MANNERS IN ITALY. 351
LETTER XXXIII.
LorettQr
TQILGRI MAGES to Loretto are not
JL fo frequent with foreigners, or with
Italians of fortune and diftindion, as for-
merly, nineteen out of twenty of thofe,
who make this journey now, are poor
people, who depend for their maintenance
on the charity they receive on the road.
To thofe who are of fuch a rank in life as
precludes them from availing themfelves
of the charitable inflitutions for the main-
tenance of pilgrims, fuch journies are at-
tended with expence and inconveniency j
and I am informed, that fathers and huf-
bands, in moderate or confined circum-
fiances, are frequently brought to dif-
agreeable dilemmas, by the rafh vows of
going to Loretto, which their wives or
daughters are apt to make on any fuppofed
deliverance from danger. To refufe, is
con-
352 VIEW OF SOCIETY AN$
considered, by the whole neighbourhoods;
as cruel, and even impious j and to grant,
is often highly diftreffing, particularly to
fuch hufbands as, from affedion, or any
other motive, do not choofe that their wives
fhould be long out of their fight. But the
poor, who are maintained during their
whole journey, and have nothing more
than a bare maintenance to expe£t from
their labour at home, to them a journey to
Loretto is a party of pleafure, as well as
devotion, and by much the mod agree-
able road they can take to heaven. This
being a year of jubilee, there is a far
greater concourfe of pilgrims of all ranks
here, at prefent, than is ufual. We have
feen a few in their carriages, a greater
number on horfeback, or on mules; or,
What is Hill more common, on affes. Great
numbers of females come in this manner,
with a male friend walking by them, as
their guide and protestor ; but the greateft
number, of both fexes, are on foot. When
we approached near Loretto, the road was
crowded
MANNERS IN ITALY.
crowded with them : they generally fet
out before fun- rife ; and, having repofed
themfelves during the heat of the day, con-
tinue their journey again in the evening*
They fing their matins, and their even-
ing hymns, aloud. As many have fine
voices and delicate ears, thofe vocal con-
certs have a charming efted at a little
diftance. During the ftillnefs of the morn-
ing and the evening, we were ferenaded
with this folemn religious mufic for a
confiderable part of the road. The pil-
grims on foot, as foon as they enter the
fuburbs, begin a hymn in honour of the
Virgin, which they continue till they reach
the church. The poorer fort are received
into an hofpital, where they have bed and
board for three days.
The only trade of Loretto confifts of
rofaries, crucifixes, little Madonnas, Agnus
Dei's, and medals, which are manufac-
tured here, and fold to pilgrims. There
are great numbers of fhops full of thefe
Vol. I. A a commodities,
354~ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
commodities, fome of them of a high
price; but infinitely the greater part are
adapted to the purfes of the buyers, and
fold for a mere trifle. The evident poverty
of thofe manufacturers and traders, and of
the inhabitants of this town in general,
is a fufficient proof that the reputation of
our Lady of Loretto is greatly on the
decline*
In the great church, which contains the
Holy Chapel, are confeflionals, where the
penitents from every country of Europe
may be confefled in their own language,
priefts being always in waiting for that
purpofe : each of them has a long white
red in his hand, with which he touches
the heads of thofe to whom he thinks
it proper to give abfolution. They place
themfelves on their knees, in groupes,
around the confeffional chair ; and when
the Holy Father has touched their heads
with the expiatory rod, they retire, freed
from the burden of their fins, and with
4 renewed
MANNERS IN ITALY. 355
renewed courage to begin a frefh ac-
count.
In the fpacious area before this church,
there is an elegant marble fountain, fup-
plied with water from an adjoining hill, by
an aquedudt. Few even of the moft in-
confiderable towns of Italy are without the
ufeful ornament of a public fountain.
The embellishments of fculpture and archi-
tecture are employed, with great propriety,
on fuch w r orks, which are continually
in the people's view ; the air is refrelhed,
and the eye delighted, by the ftreams of
water they pour forth ; a fight peculiarly
agreeable in a warm climate. In this area
there is alfo a ftatue of Sixtus V., in
bronze. Over the portal of the church
itfelf, is a ftatue of the Virgin j and above
the middle gate, is a Latin infcription, im-
porting, that within is the Houfe of the
Mother of God, in which the Word was
made flefh. The gates of the church are
like wife of bronze, embelliflied with baffb
A a 2 relievos,
356 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND '
relievos, of admirable workmanfhip ; the
fubjects taken partly from the Old, and
partly from the New, Teftament, and divi-
ded into different compartments. As the
gates of this church are fhut at noon, the
pilgrims who arrive after that time can
get no nearer the Santa Cafa than thefe
gates, which are, by this means, fometimes
expofed to the firft violence of that holy ar-
dour which was defigned for theChapel itfelf.
All the fculpture upon the gates, which is
within reach of the mouths of thofe zealots,
is, in fome degree, effaced by their kiffes.
The murder of Abel, by his brother, is
upon a level with the lips of a perfon of
an ordinary fize, when kneeling. Poor
Abel has been always unfortunate ; had he
been placed a foot higher, or lower, on the
gate, he might have remained there, in
fecurity, for ages ; but, in the unlucky
place that the fculptor has put him, his
whole body has been almoft entirely kifled
away by the pilgrims $ whilft Cain (lands,
untouched,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 35;
untouched, in his original altitude, frown-
ing and fierce as ever.
I have faid nothing of the paintings to
be feen here, though fome are highly
efteemed, particularly two in the Treafury.
The fubjedt of one of thefe is, the Virgin's
Nativity, by Annibale Carracci ; and of
the other, a Holy Family, by Raphael*
There are fome others of considerable
merit, which ornament the altars of the
great church. Thefe altars, or little cha-
pels, of which this fabric contains a great
number, are lined with marble., and em-
bellished by fculpture; but nothing within
this church interefted me fo much as the
iron grates before thofe chapels, after I was
informed that they were made of the fetters
and chains of the Chriftian flaves 3 who
were freed from bondage by the glorious
victory of Lepanto. From that moment
thefe iron grates commanded my attention
more than all the golden lamps and candle-
A a 3 flicks,
358. VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
flicks, and angels and jewels, of the Holy
Chapel.
The ideas that rufh into one's mind on
hearing a circumftance of this kind, are
affe&ing beyond expreffion. To think of
four thoufand of our fellow-creatures, torn
from the fervice of their country and the
arms of friendfhip, chained to oars, fub-
jeded continually to the revilings of ene-
mies, and every kind of ignominious
treatment, at once, when their fouls were
finking under the weight of fuch accumu-
lated calamity, and brought to the very
verge of defpair ; at once, in one bleffed
moment, freed from flavery, reitored to
the embraces of their friends, and enjoying,
with them, all the rapture of vidtory.
Good God, what a fcene ! what a number
of fcencs! for the imagination, after glanc-
ing at the whole, diftinguilhes and feparates
obje&s, and forms a thoufand groupes of
the raoft pathetic kind; the fond recog-
nition
MANNERS IN ITALY. 359
nition of old companions, brothers flying
into each other's arms, and the ecftacy of
fathers on the recovery of their loft fons.
Many fuch pi&ures did my fancy form,
while I flood contemplating thofe grates
fo truly ornamental of a Chriftian church,
and fo perfedly congenial with a religion
which requires men to relieve the opprejfed^
and Jet the captive free.
Happy if the followers of that religion
had always obferved this divine admoni-
tion. I fpeak not of thofe men who aflume
the name of Chriftians for the purpofes of
intereft or ambition, but of a more abfurd
clafs of mankind ; thofe who, believing in
Chriftianity, endeavour to reconcile it to
a conduct, and doctrines, entirely repugnant
to its nature. This abfurdity has appeared
in the human character from the earlieft
ages of Chriftianity. Men have difplayed
unaffected zeal, and endeavoured to fup-
port and propagate the moft benevolent
and rational of all religions, by a&ions
A a 4 worthy
360 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
worthy of demons, and arguments which
ihock common fenfe.
The fame perfons who praifed and ad-
mired the heavenly benevolence of this
fentiment, Blefled are the merciful, for
they fhall obtain mercy ; have thought it a
duty to condemn their fellow-creatures to
cruel deaths for fpeculative opinions. The
fame men who admired the founder of
Chriftianity for going about, continually,
doing good, have thought it a duty to
fpend their whole lives in cells, doing
nothing.
And can any thing be more oppofite to
thofe dark and inexplicable do&rines, on
the belief of which, according to the con-
viction of many, our falvation depends,
than this plain rule, Whatfoever ye would
that men fhould do to you, do ye even fo
to them ? a rule fo plain, as to be under-
stood by the moft fimple and ignorant ; and
fo juft, complete, and comprehenfive, as to
\>c admired by the wifeft and moil: learned.
9 If
MANNERS IN ITALY. 3 6 r
If this equitable maxim is the law and
the prophets, and we learn from the higheft
authority that it is, what becomes of all
thofe myfterious webs, of various texture,
which, fince the beginning of theChriftian
sera, Popes/Priefts, and many of the leaders
pf fe&aries, have wove around it ?
362 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXXIV.
Spoletto.
E left Loretto after dinner, and
* * proceeded through a beautiful
country to Macerata, a fmall town, fituated
on a hill, as the towns in Italy generally are.
We only flayed to change horfes, and con-
tinued our journey to Tolentino ; where,
not thinking it expedient to begin to afcend
the Apennines in the dark, we took up our
quarters at an inn, the beft in the
place, but, by many degrees, the pooreft
we had feen in Italy. However, as it was
not for good eating or convenient bed-
chambers we came to this country, that
circumftance affe&ed us very little. In-
deed, the quantity of vi&uals prefented us
at fupper, would have been as difpleafing
to a perfon of Sancho Pancho's way of
thinking, on the fubjed of eating, as the
manner they were dreiTed would have been
to
MANNERS IN ITALY. 363
to a nicer fenfualift in that refined fcienee.
The latter circumftance prevented our re-
gretting the former ; and although we had
felt fome uneafinefs when we were told
how little provifions there were in the houfe,
the moment they appeared on the table we
were all convinced there was more than
enough.
The poor people of this inn, however,
fhewed the utmoft defire to pleafe. They
muft have unfortunate tempers indeed,
who, obferving this, could have fhocked
them by fretfulnefs, or an air of diffatis-
fa&ion. Befides, if the entertainment had
been ftill more homely, even thofe travel-
lers who are accuftomed to the greateft
delicacies, might be induced to bear it
with patience for one night, from this
confideration, That the people of the
place, who have juft as good a natural
right to the luxuries of life as them-
felves, are obliged to bear it always. No-
thing is more apt to raife indignation,
than to behold men Repining and fretting,
on
364 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
on account of little inconveniencies, in the
hearing of thofe who are bearing much
greater every day with cheerfulnefs. There
is a want of fenfe, as well as a want of
temper, in fuch behaviour. The only ufe of
complaining of hardfhips to thofe who
cannot relieve them, muft be to obtain
fympathy ; but if thofe to whom they com-
plain, are fuffering the fame hardships in
a greater degree, what fympathy can thofe
repiners expe£t ? They certainly find none*
Next morning we encountered the Apen-
nines. The fatigue of this day's journey
was compenfated by the beauty and variety
of the views among thofe mountains. On
the face of one of the higheft, I remarked
a fmall hut, with a garden near it. I was
told this was inhabited by an old infirm
Hermit. I could not underftand how a
perfon in that condition could fcramble up
and down fuch a mountain to procure for
himfelf the neceflaries of life. I was in-
formed, he had not quitted his hermitage
for
MANNERS IN ITALY. 355
for feveral years, the neighbouring peafants
fupplying him plentifully with all he re-
quires. This man's reputation for fandity
is very great, and thofe who take the trou-
ble of carrying him provifions, think them-
felves well repaid by his prayers.
I imagine I am acquainted with a
country where provifions are in greater
plenty than in the Apeninnes ; and yet the
greateft faint in the nation, who fhould
take up his refidence on one of its moun-
tains, would be in great danger of ftarving,
if he depended for his fuftenance upon the
provifions that (hould be carried up to him
in exchange for his prayers.
There are mountains and precipices
among the Apennines, which do not ap-
pear contemptible in the eyes even of thofe
who have travelled among the Alps; while
on the other hand, thofe delightful plains,
contained within the bofom of the former,
are infinitely fuperior, in beauty and ferti-
lity, to the vallies among the latter. We
now
3 66 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
now entered the rich province of Umbria,
and foon after arrived at Foligno, a thriv-
ing town, in which there is more appear-
ance of induftry than in any of the towns
we have feen, fince we left Ancona ; there
are coniiderable manufactures of paper*
cloth, and filk. In a convent of Nuns,
is a famous pidure by Raphael, generally
vifited by travellers, and much admired by
connoiffeurs.
The fituation of this town is peculiarly
happy. It ftands in a charming valley, laid
out in corn-fields and vineyards, interfered
by mulberry and almond trees, and water-
ed by the river Clitumnus ; the view ter-
minating on one fide by hills crowned with
cities, and on the other by the loftieft
mountains of the Apennines. I never ex-
perienced fuch a fudden and agreeable
change of climate, as on defcending from
thofe mountains, in many places, at pre-
fent, covered with fnow a to this pleafant
valley of Umbria,
* Where
MANNERS IN ITALY. 367
Where weftern gales eternally refide,
And all the fealbns lavilh all their pride*
From Foligno to Vene, the road lies
through this fine plain. A little before you
come to the poft-houfe at Vene, on the
right hand, there is a little building; the
front which looks to the valley, is adorned
with fix Corinthian pillars ; the two in the
middle enriched by a laurel foliage : on
one fide, is a crucifix in bafib relievo, with
vine branches curling around it. On this
building, there are fome infcriptions which
mention the refurreciion. Some, who
think the architecture too fine for the firft
ages of Chriftianity, and the Temple too
old to have been built fince the revival of
that art, have conje&ured, that this little
edifice is antique, and originally ere&ed by
the ancient inhabitants of Umbria, as a
temple, in honour of the river God Cli-
tumnus ; but, at fome fubfequent period,
converted into a Chriftian chapel, and the
crucifix and infcriptions added after its
confecration. Other very refpe£table judges
think,
3 68 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
think, the ftyle of architecture is by no
means pure, but adulterated by meretrici-
ous ornament, and worthy enough of the
firft ages of Chriftianity.
Mr. Addifon has given many quotations
from the Latin poets, in honour of this
river, all of which countenance the po-
pular opinion with regard to the quality of
the water. The breed of white cattle,
which gave fuch a reputation to the river,
ftill remains in this country. We faw
many of them as we patted, fome milk
white, but the greateft numbers of a whitifh
grey. The common people ftill retain the
ancient opinion, with refpedt to the effect
of the water. Spoletto, the capital of
Umbria, is fituated on a high rock, the
afcent to which is very fteep on all fides.
This town retains little appearance of its
ancient importance. Keyfler fays, that,
like other paltry towns in Italy, it exhibits
bombaftic infcriptions concerning its an-
tiquity, and many trivial occurrences
which have happened there ; the only in-
fcription^
MANNERS IN ITALY. 369
fcription, however, which he quotes, and
the only one which I faw, is that over the
Porta di Fuga, from which the Cartha-
ginian army is fuppofed to have been re-
paired.
ANNIBAL
C^ESIS AD THRASYMENUM ROMANIS
URBEM ROMAM INFENSO AGMINE PETENS,
SPOLETO MAGNA SUORUM CLADE REPULSUS,
INSIGNI FUGA PORT^E NOMEN FECIT.
I cannot perceive any thing bombaftic in
this ; Livy mentions the fa£t in his twenty*
fecond book, in the following terms :
Annibal refto itinere per Umbriam ufque ad
Spoletum venit, inde quum perpopulato agro
urbem oppugnare adortus effet, cum magna
csde fuorum repulfus, conjedlans ex unius
colonise baud nimis profpere tentatse viribus
quanta moles Romans urbis effet.
If the inhabitants of the greateft capital
in the world had equal authority for their
anceftors having repulfed fuch a general as
Hannibal, would they not be inclined to
Vol, I. B b receive
37 o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
receive it as truth, and to tranfmit it to
the lateft pofterity ?
This town is ftill fupplied with water, by
means of an antique aquedudt, one of the
moft entire, and the higheft; in Europe.
In the centre, where the height is greateft,
there is a double arcade ; the other arches
diminifli in height, as they recede from it,
towards the Hoping fides of the two moun-
tains which this magnificent work unites.
In the cathedral, there is a pi&ure of the
Virgin by St- Luke s but we had already
feen fufficient fpecimens of this faint's abi-
lities, as a fculptor and a painter, and we
had not the leaftcuriofity to fee anymore.
MANNERS IN ITALY, 371
LETTER XXXV.
Psoitis*
"T EAVING Spoletto, we pafled over the
«*— ^ higheft of the Apennines, and then
defcended through a foreft of olive trees,
to the fruitful valley in which Terni is
fituated, on the river Nera. It was former-
ly called Interamna, on account of its
Handing between two branches of that river.
The valley which ftretches from, this town
to Terni, is exuberantly fertile, being fine-
ly expofed to the fouth fun, and watered
by the Nera, which, by its beauteous
windings, divides the plain into peninfulas
of various fhapes. The Emperor Tacitus,
and his brother Florianus, were natives of
Terni ; but the greateft pride of that city
is, its having given birth to Tacitus the
Hiftorian.
I am aim oft adiamed to tell you, that we
did not go to fee the famous cataract, near
B b 3 this
372 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
this town, which is ufually vifited by tra-
vellers, and which, by all accounts, is fa
worthy of their curiofity. Innumerable
flreams from the higheft Apennines* meet-
ing in one channel, form the river- Velino,
which flows placidly, for fome time,
through a plain almoft horizontal, and
afterwards, when the river becomes more
rapid by the contra&ing and floping of
the channel, the plain terminates of a fud-
den in a precipice three hundred feet high,
over which, the river rufhing, dafhes
with fuch violence againft the rocky bot-
tom, that a vaft cloud of w r atery fmoke is
raifed all around. The river Velino does
not long furvive the fall, but broken,
groaning, and foaming, foon finiflies his
courfe in the Nera. Mr. Addifon is of
opinion, that Virgil had this gulph in his
eye when he defcribed the place in the
middle of Italy, through which the Fury
Ale&o defcended into Tartarus.
A very heavy rain which fell while we
w r ere at Terni, the fatigue and difficulty of
4 climbing
MANNERS IN ITALY. 37;
climbing up the Monte di Marmore, from
whence this fall appears to the greateft ad-
vantage, and our impatience to be at Rome,
prevented us from feeing that celebrated
catara£t, which we regretted the lefs, as
we had frequently feen one of the fame
kind in Scotland, about twelve miles above
Hamilton, at a place called Corace, where
the river Clyde, falling perpendicular from
a vaft height, produces the fame efFecfls,
in every refped, unlefs, that he outlives
the accident, and continues his courfe for
near fifty miles before he joins the Atlantic
ocean*
The diftance from Terni to Narni is
about feven miles; the road is uncommon-
ly good, and the country on each fide
delightful. When we came near Narni,
while the chaifes proceeded to the town, I
walked to take a view of the bridge of
Auguftus. This (lately fabric is wholly of
marble, and without cement, as many other
antique buildings are* Only one of the
B b 3 arches
374 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
arches remains intire, which is the firft on
the fide of the river where I was; under it
there was no water; it is one hundred and
fifty feet wide. The next arch, below
which the river flows, is twenty feet wider,
and has a confiderable flope, being higher
on the fide next the firft arch, than on that
next the third. The remaining two arches
are, in every refpedt, fmaller than the two
firft. What could be the reafon of fuch
ungraceful irregularity in a work, in other
refpe&s fo magnificent, and upon which
fo much labour and expence mull have been
'beflowed, I cannot imagine. It is doubt-
ful, whether there were originally four
arches, or only three ; for that which is
fuppofed by fome to be the bafis from
which the two lefler arches fprung ; is
thought by others, to be the remains of a
fquare pillar, raifed fome time after the
bridge was built, to fupport the middle of
the third arch; which, on the fuppofition
that there were but three, muft have been
of a very extraordinary width.
0 This
MANNERS IN ITALY. 375
This fabric is ufually called Auguftus's
Bridge, and Mr. Addifon thinks that with-
out doubt Martial alludes to it, in the
ninety-fecond Epigram of the feventh
book; but fome oilier very judicious tra-
vellers imagine, it is the remains of an
aquedud, becaufe thofe arches joined two
mountains, and are infinitely higher than
was necefiary for a bridge over the ( little
river which flows under them. It has alfo
been fuppofed, not without great appear-
ance of probability, that this fabric was
originally intended to ferve the purpofes of
both.
As the rain ftill continued, my curiofity
to fee this fine ruin procured me a fevere
drenching : this I received with due refig-
nation, as a punifliment for having been
intimidated by rain, from vifiting the fine
cafcade at Terni. It was with great diffi-
culty I got up the hill, by a path which I
thought was fhorter and eafier than the
high road ; this unfortunately led to no
B b 4 gate.
376 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
gate* At laft, hqwever, I obferved a bro-
ken part of the wall, over which I imme-
diately clambered into the town* Martial
takes notice of the difficulty of accefs to
this town,
Narnia, fulphureo quam gurgite candidusamnis
Circuit, ancipiti vix adeunda Jugo.
The town itfelf is very poor 2 and thinly
inhabited. It boafts, however, of being
the native city of the Emperor Nerva, antf
fome other celebrated men.
The road from Narni to the poft-houfe
at Otricoli, is exceeding rough and moun-
tainous. This is a very poor village, but
advantageoufly fituated on a rifing ground.
Between this and the Tiber, at fome little
diftance from the road, there is a confider-
able traft of ground, covered with many
loofe antique fragments and vaults : thefe
are generally confidered as the ruins of the
ancient Ocriculum. We pafTed along this
road early in the morning, and were enter-
tained, great part of the way, with vocal
MANNERS IN ITALY. 377
mufic from the pilgrims, feveral hordes
of whom we met near this place, on their
return from Rome, where they had been
on account of the jubilee.
The only place of note between Otricoli
and Rome, is Civita Caftellana, Terni is
the laft town of the province of Umbria,
and Caftellana the firft of ancient Latium,
coming to Rome by the Flaminian way,
Caftellana is confidered, by many antiqua-
rians, as the Fefcennium of the ancients; a
fchoolmafter of which, as we are informed
by Livy, by an unexampled inftance of
wickednefs, betrayed a number of the fons
of the principal citizens into the power of
the Didator Camillas, at that time be-
fieging the place. The generous Roman,
equally abhorring the treachery and the
traitor, ordered this bafe man to be ftrip-
ped, to have his hands tied behind, and to
be delivered over to the boys, who, armed
with rods, beat him back to Fefcennium,
and delivered him up to their parents, to
be ufed as they fhould think he deferved.
Civita
373 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
CivitaCaftellana ftands upon a high lock?
and muft formerly have been a place of
great ftrength, but is now in no very flou-
rifhing condition. Many of the towns I
have mentioned, lying on the road to
Rome, by the Flaminian way, have fuf-
fered, at different periods, more than thofe
of any other part of Italy ; by the inroads
ef Vihgoths and Huns, as well as by fome
incurfions of a later date.
This, I am convinced, is the only coun-
try in the world, where the fields become
more defolate as you approach the capital.
After having traverfed the cultivated and
fertile vallies of Umbria, one is affe&ed
with double emotion at beholding the
deplorable flate of poor negle&ed Latium.
For feveral pofls -before you arrive at Rome,
few villages, little cultivation, and fcarcely
any inhabitants, are to be feen. In the
Campania of Rome, formerly the bed
cultivated and beft peopled fpot in the
world, no houfes, no trees, no inclolures ;
nothing
MANNERS IN ITALY. 375
nothing but the fcattered ruins of temples
and tombs, prefenting the idea of a country
depopulated by a peftilence. All is motion-
lefs, filent, and forlorn.
In the mid ft of thefe deferted fields the
ancient Miftrefs of the World rears her
head, in melancholy majefty.
380 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXXVI.
Rome.
" 1 C7 r OU will not be furprifed at my filence
for fome weeks paft. On arriving at
a place where there are fo many interefting
objects as at Rome, we are generally felfiih
enough to indulge our own curiofity very
amply, before we gratify that of our
friends in any degree. My firft care was
to wait on the Prince Guiftiniani, for
whom we had letters from Count Mahoni,
the Spanifh ambaflador at Vienna, to whofe
niece that Prince is married. Nothing
can exceed the politenefs and attention the
Prince and Princefs have fhewn. He
waited immediately on the D — of H ,
and infifted on taking us* in his own
carriage, to every houfe of diftindion.
Two or three hours a day were fpent in
this ceremony. After being once prefented,
no
MANNERS IN ITALY. 3 8t
no farther introdu&ion or invitation is
neceffary.
Our mornings are generally fpent in
vifiting the antiquities, and the paintings
in the palaces. On thofe occafions we are
accompanied by Mr. Byres, a gentleman of
probity, knowledge, and real tafte. We
generally pafs two or three hours every
evening at the converfazionis ; I fpeak in
the plural number, for we are fometimes
at feveral in the fame evening. It fre-
quently happens, that three or four, or
more, of the nobility, have thefe aflemblies
at the fame time ; and almoft all the com-
pany of a certain rank in Rome make it a
point, if they go to any, to go to all ; fo
that, although there is a great deal of
buftle, and a continual change of place,
there is fcarcely any change of company,
or any variation in the amufement, except
what the change of place occafions : but
this circumftance alone is often found an
ufeful accomplice in the murder of a tedious
evening ;
382 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
evening; for when the company find no
great amufement in one place, they fly to
another, in hopes they may be better en-
tertained. Thefe hopes are generally dis-
appointed > but that does not prevent them
from trying a third, and a fourth ; and
although to whatever length the experi-
ment is pufhed, it always terminates in
new difappointments* yet, at laft, the
evening is difpatched ; and, without this
locomotive refource, I have feen people in
danger of dispatching themfelves. This
buftle, and running about after objeds
which give no permanent Satisfaction, and
without fully knowing whence we came,
or whither we are going, you'll fay, is a
mighty filly bufinefs. It is fo ; — and, after
all the Swelling importance that fome people
affume, Pray what is human life ?
Having told you what five or fix con-
ver£azionis are, I fhall endeavour to give
you fome idea what one is. Thefe aflem-
blies are always in the principal apartment
of
MANNERS IN ITALY. 383
of the palace, which is generally on the
fecond, but Sometimes on the third floor*
It is not always perfedly eafy to find this
apartment, becaufe it fometimes happens
that the ftairc&fe is very ill lighted. On
entering the hall, where the footmen of
the company are aflembled, your name is
pronounced aloud, by fome fervants of the
family, and repeated by others, as you
walk through feveral rooms. Thofe whofe
names are not known, are announced by
the general denomination of i Cavalieri
Foreftieri, or Xnglefi, as you pafs through
the different rooms, till you come to that
in which the company are aflembled, where
you are received by the mafter or miftrefs
of the houfe, who fits exa&ly within the
door for that purpofe. Having made a
fhort compliment there, you mix with the
company, which is fometimes fo large, that
none but the ladies can have the conve-
niency of fitting. NotwithAanding the
great fize and number of the rooms in
the Italian palaces, it frequently happens
that
3 34 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
that the company are fo prefled together,
that you can with difficulty move from one
room to another. There always is a
greater number of men than women ; no
lady comes without a gentleman to hand
her. This gentleman, who ads the part
of Cavaliero Servente, may be her relation
in any degree, or her lover, or both. It is
allowed him to be conneded with her in
any way but one — he muft not be her
hufband. Familiarities between man and
wife are ftill connived at in this country
however, provided they are carried on in
private ; but for a man to be feen hand in
hand with his wife, in public, would not
be tolerated.
At Cardinal Berni's aflembly, which is
ufually more crowded than any in Rome, the
company are ferved with coffee, lemonade,
and iced confedions of various kinds ; but
this cuftom is not univerfal. In fhort, at a con-
verfatione, you have an opportunity of feeing
a number of well-dreffed people, you fpeak
a few
MANNERS IN ITALY. 385
* few words to thofe you are acquainted
with, you bow, to the reft, and enjoy the
happinefs of being fqueezed and prefled
among the beft company in Rome. I do
not know what more can be faid of thefe
aflemblies ; only it may be neceflary, to
prevent miftakes, to add, that a conver-
fazione is a place where there is no con-
verfation. They break up about nine
o'clock, all but a fmall fele£t company,
who are invited to fupper. But the prefent
race of Romans are by no means fo fond of
convivial entertainments, as their prede-
ceflbrs. The magnificence of the Roman
nobility difplays itfelf now in other articles
than the luxuries of the table : they gene-
rally dine at home, in a very private man-
ner. Strangers are feldom invited to
dinner, except by the foreign ambafladors.
The hofpitality of Cardinal Bernis alone
makes up for every deficiency of that
nature. There is no ambaffador from the
Court of Great Britain at Rome, but the
Englifli feel no want of one. If the
Vol. I. C c French
3$6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
French Cardinal had been inftru&ed by
his court to be peculiarly attentive to them,
he could not be more fo than he is. No-
thing can exceed the elegant magnificence
of his table, nor the fplendid hofpitality
in which he lives. Years have not impair-
ed the wit and vivacity for which he was
diftinguiihed in his youth $ and no man
could fupport the pretenfions of the French
nation to fuperior politenefs, better than
their ambaflador at Rome.
There are no lamps lighted in the ftreets
at night ; and all Rome would be in utter
darknefs, were it not for the candles, which
the devotion of individuals fometimes place
before certain flatues of the Virgin. Thofe
appear faintly glimmering at vaft intervals,
like ftars in a cloudy night. The lackeys
carry dark lanthorns behind the carriages
of people of the firft diftin&ion. The
Cardinals, and other Ecclefiaflics, do not
choofe to have their coaches feen before
the- 'door of every houfe they vifit. In the
midft
MANNERS IN ITALY. 387
midft of this darknefs, you will naturally
conclude, that amorous affignations in the
ftreets are not unfrequent among the in-
ferior people. When a carriage, with a
lanthorn behind it, accidentally comes near
a couple who do not wifli to be known,
one of them calls out, €i Volti la lanterna,"
and is obeyed ; the carriage pafling with-
out farther notice being taken. Venus, as
you know, has always been particularly
refpe&ed at Rome, on account of her amour
with Anchifes.
■ Genus unde Latinum
Albanique patres, atque alta mcenia Romas.
The Italians, in general, have a remark-
able air of gravity, which they preferve
even when the fubjedt of their converfation
is gay. I obferved fomething of this at
Venice, but I think it is much ftronger at
Rome. The Roman ladies have a languor
in their countenances, which promifes as
much fenfibility as the brilk look of the
French ; and, without the volubility of
C c 2 the
^88 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the latter, or the franknefs of the Venetian
women, they feem no way averfe to form
conne&ions with ftrangers. The D— of
H ' was prefented to a beautiful young
Lady at one of the aflemblies. In the
courfe of converfation he happened to fay,
That he had heard (he had been married
very lately. She anfwered, with precipi-
tation, u Signor fi — ma miomarito e uno
" Vecchio." She then added, fliaking her
head, and in a moft afFe&ing tone of voice,
" O fantiffima Virgine quanto e Vecchio!"
MANNERS IN ITALY.
389
LETTER XXXVII.
Rome.
AUTHORS differ very much in
opinion with refped to the number
of inhabitants which Rome contained at the
period when it was raoft populous. Some
accounts make them feven millions, and
others a ftill greater number. Thefe feem
all to be incredible exaggerations. It is
not probable, that what is properly called
the city of Rome, ever extended beyond
the wall built by Belifarius, after he had
defeated the Goths. This wall has been
frequently repaired fince, and is ftill (land-
ing ; it is about thirteen or fourteen miles
in circuit, which is nearly the fize that
Rome was of, according to Pliny, in the
days of Vefpafian. Thofe who affert, that
the number of inhabitants in ancient Rom£,
when it was moft populous, could not
exceed a million, exclufive of flaves, are
Cc 3 thought
VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
thought moderate in their calculation; but
when we confider that the circumference of
thirteen or fourteen miles is not equal to
that of either Paris or London ; that the
Campus Martius, which is the beft built
part of modern Rome, was a field, without
a houfe upon it, anciently ; and that the
rifing ground, where St. Peter's church and
theVatican (land, was no part of old Rome ;
it will be difficult to conceive that ever
Rome could boaft a million of inhabitants.
For my own part, if the wall of Belifarius
is admitted as the boundary of the ancient
city, I cannot imagine it to have, at any
time, contained above five or fix hundred
thoufand, without fuppofing the mafters
of the world to have been the word lodged
people in it.
But if, in the computations above men-
tioned, the fuburbs are included ; if thofe
who lived without the walls are confidered
as inhabitants; in that cafe there will be
room enough for any number, the limits
of the fuburbs not being afcertained.
The
MANNERS IN ITALY. 391
The buildings immediately without the
wajls of Rome, which were conne&edly
continued fo as to merit the name of
fuburbs, were certainly of vafl: extent ;
and with thofe of the town itfelf, moft
have contained a prodigious number of
people. By a calculation made by Mr. Byres,
the Circus Maximus was of fufficient fize to
accommodate three hundred and eighty
thoufand fpedtators; and we are told by
the Latin poets, that it was ufually full.
Now if allowance is made for the fuper-
annuated, the fick, and infirm ; alfo for
children, and thofe employed in their pri-
vate bufinefs, and for flaves, who were
not permitted to remain in the Circus
during the games; Mr. Byres imagines that
fuch a number as three hundred and eighty
thoufand fpe&ators could not be fupplied
by a city and fuburt s the number of
whofe inhabitants were much under three
millions.
C c 4 Whatever
392 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Whatever may have been the extent of
the fuburbs of Rome, it is probable they
were only formed of ordinary houfes, and
inhabited by people of inferior rank*
There are no remains of palaces, or mag-
nificent buildings of any kind, to be now
feen near the walls, or indeed over the
whole Campania ; yet it is afferted by fome
authors, that this wide furface was peo-
pled, at one period, like a continued vil-
lage ; and we are told of ftrangers, who,
viewing this immenfe plain covered with
houfes, imagined they had already entered
Rome, when they were thirty miles from
the walls of that city.
Some of the feven hills on which Rome
was built, appear now but gentle fwellings,
owing to the intervals between them being
greatly raifed by the rubbifh of ruined
houfes. Some have hardly houfes of any
kind upon them, being entirely laid out
in gardens and vineyards. It is generally
thought,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 393
thought, that two-thirds of the furface
within the walls are in this iituation, or
covered with ruins ; and, by the informa-
tion I have the greateft reliance on, the
number of the inhabitants at prefent is
about one hundred and feventy thoufand,
which, though greatly inferior to what
Rome contained in the days of its ancient
power, is more than it has been, for the
moll part, able to boaft fince the fall of
the Empire. There is good authority
for believing that this city, at particular
periods fince that time, fome of them not
very remote, has been reduced to between
thirty and forty thoufand inhabitants. The
numbers have gradually increafed during
the whole of this century. As it was
much lefs expenfive to purchafe new ground
for building upon, than to clear any ruins
which, by time, had acquired the confid-
ence of rock, great part of the modern
city is built on what was the ancient
Campus Martius.
Some
394 VIEW OF SOCIETY. AND
Some of the principal ftreets are of con-
liderable length, and perfectly ftraight.
That called the Corfo, is the molt fre-
quented. It runs from the Porto del Po-
polo, along the fide of the Campus Mar-
tius, next to the ancient city* Here the
nobility difplay their equipages during the
carnival, and take the air iq the evenings
in fine weather. It is indeed the great
fcene of Roman magnificence and amufe-
ment.
The fhops on each fide, are three or four
feet higher than the ftreet ; and there is a
path for the conveniency of foot pafTengers,
on a level with the fhops. The palaces,
of which there are feveral in this ftreet,
range in a line with the houfes, having no
court before them, as the hotels in Paris
have ; and not being fhut up from the
fight of the citizens by high gloomy walls,
as Devonshire and Burlington houfes in
London are. Such difmal barricade? are
mere fuitable to the unfoclal chara&er of a
proud
MANNERS IN ITALY. 39s
proud Baron, in the days of ariftocratic
tyranny, than to the hofpitable benevolent
difpofition of their prefent proprietor.
The Corfo, I have faid, commences at
the fine area immediately within the Porto
del Popolo. This is the gate by which we
entered Rome ; it is built in a noble flyle
of elegant fimplicity, from the defign of
Michael Angelo, executed by Bernini.
The Strada Felice, in the higher part of
the city, is about a mile and a half in.
length from the Trinita del Monte, to the
church of St. John Lateran, on the Pincean
hill. This ftreet runs in a flraight line,
but the view is interrupted by a fine church
called St. Maria Maggiore. The Strada
Felice is crofled by another ftraight ftreet,
called the Strada di Porta Pia, terminated
£t one end by that gate ; and at the other
by four coloflal ftatues in white marble, of
two horfes led by two men ; fuppokd by
feme, to be reprefentations of Alexander
taming Bucephalus; and according toothers,
of
396 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of Caftor and Pollux. They are placed
before the Pope's palace, on the Quirinal
Hill, and have a noble ^{Fe£t
It would be more difficult to convey an
idea of the fmaller and lefs regular ftreets.
I fhall therefore only obferve, in general,
that Rome at prefent exhibits a ftrange
mixture of magnificent aftd interefting,
common and beggarly obje&s j the former
eonfifts of palaces, churches, fountains,
and above all, the remains of antiquity.
The latter comprehend all the reft of the
city. The church of St. Peter's, in the
opinion of many, furpaJTes, in fize and
magnificence, the fineft monuments of an-
cient architecture. The Grecian and Ro-
man temples were more diftinguifhed for
the elegance of their form, than their
magnitude. The Pantheon, which was
ere&ed to all the Gods, is the moft entire
antique temple in Rome. It is faid, that
Michael Angelo, to confirm the triumph
of modern over ancient architecture, made
the
MANNERS IN ITALY. 397
the dome of St. Peter's of the fame diame-
ter with the Pantheon; railing the im^
menfe fabric upon four pilafters ; whereas
the whole circle of the rotunda refts upon
the ground. This great artift, perhaps^
was delighted with the idea of being
thought as fuperior to the ancient archi-
tedts, as he was confcious of being inferior
to fome of the fculptors of antiquity.
All who have feen St. Paul's in London
may, by an enlargement of its dimenfions,
form fome idea of the external appearance
of St. Peter's. But the reiemblance fails en-
tirely on comparing them within ; St. Peter's
being lined, in many parts, with the moft
precious and beautiful marble, adorned with
valuable pictures, and all the powers of
fculpture.
The approach to St. Peter's church ex-
cells that to St. Paul's in a ftill greater pro-
portion, than the former furpafTes the lat-
ter either in fize, or in the richnefs and
beauty of the internal ornaments, A mag-
9 nificent
398 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
nificent portico advances on each fide from
the front, by which means a fquare court is
formed immediately before the fteps which
lead into the church. The two porticoes
form two fides of the fquare, the third is
clofed by the front of the church, and the
fourth is open. A colonnade, four columns
deep, commences at the extremities of the
porticoes ; and embracing, in an oval di-
rection, a fpace far wider than the fquarq 3
forms the mod magnificent area that per-
haps ever was feen before any building.
This oval colonnade is crowned with a
baluftrade, ornamented by a great number
of flatues ; and confifts of above three
hundred large pillars, forming three fe-
parate walks, which lead to the advanced
portico, and from that into the church. In
the middle of the immenfe area, ftands an
Egyptian obelifk of granite ; and to the
right and left of this, two very beautiful
fountains refrcfh the atmofphere with
flreams of clear water. The delighted eye
glancing over thefe fplcndid objed/ts, would
reft
MANNERS IN ITALY. 399
reft with complete fatisfa&ion on the ftu-
pendous fabric to which they ferve as em-
bellilhments, if the facade of this celebrated
church had been equal in beauty and ele-
gance to the reft of the building. But this
is by no means the cafe, and every im-
partial judge muft acknowledge, that the
front of St. Peter's is, in thofe particulars,
inferior to that of our St. Paul's.
The length of St. Peter's, taken on the
outfide, is exa&ly feven hundred and thirty
feet ; the breadth five hundred and twenty ;
and the height, from the pavement to the
top of the crofs, which crowns the cupola,
four hundred and fifty. The grand portico
before the entrance, is two hundred and
fixteen feet in length, and forty in breadth.
It is ufual to defire ftrangers, on their
firft entering this church, to guefs at the
fize of the objedts, which, on account of
the diftance, always feem lefs than they are
in reality. The ftatues of the Angels, in
particular, which fupport the founts of holy
water,
4 oo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
water, when viewed from the door, feem
no bigger than children ; but when you
approach nearer, you perceive they are fix
feet high- We make no fuch miftake on
feeing a living man at the fame, or a greater
diftance ; becaufe the knowledge we have
of a man's real fize precludes the poffibili-
ty of our being miftaken, and we make al-
lowance for the diminution which diftance
occalions; but Angels, and other figures
in fculpture, having no determined ftandard,
but being under the arbitrary will of the
ftatuary, who gives them the bulk of giants
or dwarfs as beft fuits his purpofe, we
do not know what allowance to make; and
the eye, unufed to fuch large mafles, is con-
founded, and incapacitated from forming
a right judgment of an objedt fix feet high,
or of any other dimenfions, which it was
not previoufly acquainted with.
It is not my defign to attempt a defcription
of the ftatues, baflb relievos, columns, pic-
tures, and various ornaments of this church ;
fuch
MANNERS IN ITALY. 401
Such an account, faithfully executed, would
fill volumes. The fineft of all the orna-
ments have a probability of being longer
preferved than would once have been ima-
gined, by the aftonifhing improvements
which have of late been made in the art of
copying pictures in Mofaic. Some of the
artifts here, have already made copies
with a degree of accuracy, which nobody
could believe who had not feen the pe: >*
formances. By this means, the works oi
Raphael, and other great painters, will be
tranfmitted to a later pofterity than they
themfelves expe&ed ; and although all the
beauty of the originals cannot be retained
in the copy, it would be grofs affectation
to deny that a great part of it is. How
happy would it make the real lovers of the
art in this age, to have fuch fpecimens of
the genius of Zeuxis, Apelles, and other
ancient painters !
It has been frequently remarked, that
the proportions of this church are fo fine,
Vol, I. D d and
4 02 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and the fymmetry of its different parts fa
exquifite, that the whole feems confider-
ably fmaller than it really is. It was, how-
ever, certainly intended to appear a great
and fublime objed, and to produce admira-
tion by the vaftnefs of its dimenfions. I
cannot, therefore, be of opinion* that any-
thing which has a tendency to defeat this
effed, can with propriety be called an excel-
lence. I fhould on the contrary imagine,
that if the archited could have made the
church appear larger than it is in reality*
this would have been a more deferable ef-
fed; provided it could have been pro-
duced without diminifhing our admiration
in fome more material point. If this could
not be accomplifhed ; if it is abfolutely cer-
tain, that thofe proportions in architedure,
which produce the mod beautiful effed on
the whole, always make a building feem
fmaller than it is ; this ought rather to
be mentioned as an unfortunate than as a
fortunate circumftance. The more I refled
on this, it appears to me the more certain,
that
MANNERS IN ITALY. 403
that no fyftem of proportions, which has
the effect of making a large building ap-
pear fmall, is therefore excellent. If the
property of reducing great things to little
ones is inherent in all harmonious propor-
tions ; it is, in my opinion, an imperfe&ion,
and much to be lamented. In fmall build-
ings, where we expert to derive our plea-
fur e from grace and elegance, the evil may
be borne; but in edifices of vaft dimen-
fions, capable of fublimity from their bulk,
the vice of diminifhing is not to be com-
penfated by harmony. The fublime has
no equivalent.
D d 2
404
VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXXVIII.
Rome.
f I ^ HE grand proceffion of the Poffeffo
A took place a few days ago. This
is a ceremony performed by every Pope,
as foon as conveniency will permit, after
the Conclave has declared in his favour. It
is equivalent to the coronation in England,
or the confecration at Rheims. On this
occafion, the Pope goes to the Bafilica of
St. John Lateran, and, as the phrafe is*
takes poffeffion of it. This church, they
tell you, is the moft ancient of all the
churches in Rome, and the mother of all
the churches in chriftendom. When he has
got poffeffion of this, therefore, he mufi be
the real head of the Chriftian church, and
Chrift's vicegerent upon earth. From St.
John Lateran's, he proceeds to the Capitol,
and receives the keys of that fortrefs ; after
which, it is equally clear, that as an earth-
6 ly
MANNERS IN ITALY. 403
Jy prince, he ought, like the ancient pof-
feflbrs of the Capitol, to have a fupremacy
over all kings.
The Prince Guiftiniani procured a place
for us, at the Senator's houfe in the Capi-
tol, from whence we might fee the procef-
iion to the greateft advantage. On arriv-
ing, we w r ere furprifed to find the main
body of the Palace, as well as the Palazzo
de Confervatori, and the Mufeum, which
form the two wings, all hung with crimfon
filk, laced with gold. The bafes and ca-
pitals of the pillars and pilafters, where the
filk could not be accurately applied, were
gilt. Only imagine, what a figure the
Farnefian Hercules would make, drefied in
a filk fuit, like a French petit-maitre. To co-
ver the noble fimplicity of Michael Angelo's
architedure with fuch frippery by way of
ornament, is, in my mind, a piece of refine-
ment equally laudable.
Throwing an eye on the Pantheon, and
comparing it w r ith the Campidoglio in its
D d 3 pre lent
4 o6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
prefent drefs, the beauty and juftnefs of the
following lines feemed more ftriking than
ever.
Mark, how the dread Pantheon Hands,
Amid the domes of modern hands,
Amid the toys of idle ftate,
How fimply, how feverely great !
We were led to a balcony, where a num-
ber of ladies of the firft diftin&ion in Rome
were aflembled. There were no men ex-
cepting a very few ftrangers ; moft part of
the Roman noblemen have fome fundion
in the proceffion. The inltant of his
Holinefs's departure from the Vatican,
was announced by a difcharge of cannon
from the caftle of St. Angelo ; on the
top of which, the ftandard of the church
had been flying ever fince morning. We
had a full view of the cavalcade, on its
return from the church, as it afcended
to the Capitol. The officers of the Pope a s
foorfe guards were drefled in a ftyle equally
rich and becoming. It was fomething
betw r eeu
MANNERS IN ITALY. 407
between the Hungarian and Spanifh drefs.
I do not know whether the King of
Pruffia would approve of the great pro-
fufion of plumage they wore in their hats ;
but it is pi&urefque, and fhowy qualities are
the moft eflfential to the guards of his Holi-
nefs. The Swifs guards were, on this oc-
cafion, dreffed with lefs propriety; their
uniforms were real coats of mail, with iron
helmets on their heads, as if they had been
to take the Capitol by ftorm, and expe&ed a
vigorous refiftance. Their appearance was
flrongly contrafted with that of the Roman
Barons, who were on horfeback, without
boots, and in full drefs; each of them
was preceded by four pages, their hair
hanging in regular ringlets to the middle
of their backs : they were followed by a
number of fervants in rich liveries. Bi-
Ihops and other ecclefiaftics fucceeded the
Barons ; and then came the Cardinals on
liorfeback, in their purple robes, which
covered every part of the holies, except
P d 4 the
4 o8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the head- You may be fure that the horfes
employed at fuch ceremonies are the
gentlelt that can be found ; for if they were
at all unruly, they might not only injure
the furrounding crowd, but throw their
Eminencies, who are not celebrated for
their {kill in horfemanfhip. Laft of all
comes the Pope himfelf, mounted on a
milk white mule, diftributing bleffings
with an unfparing hand among the mul-
titude, who follow him with acclamations
of Viva il Santo Padre, and, proftrating
themfelves on the ground before his mule,
Benedizione Santo Padre. The Holy
Father took particular care to wave his
hand in the form of the crofs, that the bleff-
ings he pronounced at the fame inftant
might have the greater efficacy. As his
Holinefs is employed in this manner during
the whole proceffion, he cannot be fup-
poled to give the leaft attention to his
mule, the bridle of which is held by two
perfons who walk by his fide, with fome
others,
MANNERS IN ITALY, 409
others, to catch the infallible Father of the
Church, and prevent his being thrown
to the ground, in cafe the mule fhould
(tumble.
At the entrance of the Capitol he was
met by the Senator of Rome, who, falling
on his knees, delivered the keys into the
hands of his Holinefs, who pronounced a
bleffing over him, and reftored him the
keys. Proceeding from the Capitol, the
Pope was met by a deputation of Jews,
foon after he had paffed through the Arch
of Titus. They were headed by the chief
Rabbi, who prefented him with a long
fcroll of parchment, on which is written
the whole law of Mofes in Hebrew, His
Holinefs received the parchment in a very
gracious manner, telling the Rabbi at the
fame time, that he accepted his prefent
out of refped to the law itfelf, but entirely
rejeded his interpretation ; for the ancient
law, having been fulfilled by the coming of
the
4 io VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the Meffiah, was no longer in force. As
this was not a convenient time or place
for the Rabbi to enter into a controverfy
upon the fubjed, he bowed his head in
filence, and retired with his countrymen,
in the full convidion*. that the falfehood of
the Pope's affertion would be made mani-
fell to the whole univerfe in due time*
His Holinefs, mean while, proceeded im
triumph, through the principal ftreets, to
the Vatican*
This proceffion, I am told, is one of the
mod fhowy and magnificent which takes
place, on any occafion, in this city ; where
there are certainly more folemn exhibitions
of the fame kind than in any other coun-
try; yet, on the whole, I own it did not
afford me much fatisfadion ; nor could all
their pomp and finery prevent an uneafy
recolledion, not unmixed with fentiments
of indignation, from obtruding on my
mind. To feel unmixed admiration in be-
holding
4
MANNERS IN ITALY. 411
holding the Pope and his Cardinals march-
ing in triumph to the Capitol, one muft
forget thofe who walked in triumph for-
merly to the fame place ; forget entirely
that fuch men as Camillus, Scipio, Paulus
iEmilius, and Pompey, ever exifted ; they
muft forget Cato, whofe campaign in
Africa was fo much admired by Lucan,
that he declares, he would rather have had
the glory of that fingle campaign than
Pompey's three triumphs, and all the honour
he obtained by finifhing the Jugurthan war.
Hunc ego per Syrtes, Libyaeque extrema
triumphum
Ducere maluerim, quam ter Capitolia curry
Scandere Pompeii, quam frangere colla Ju-
gurthse.
We muft forget Caius Caflius, Marcus
Brutus, and all the great and virtuous men
of ancient Rome, whom we have admired
from our childhood, and of whofe great
qualities our admiration increafes with our
experience and knowledge of the prefent
race
4 i2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
race of mankind. To be in the Capitol,
and not think and fpeak of the worthies
of the ancient Republic, is almoft im-
poffible.
Quis te magne Cato taciturn \ aut te Cofle
rclinquat ?
Quis Gracchi genus ? aut geminos, duofulmina
belli,
Scipiadas, &c. &c.
I
MANNERS
IN ITALY:
4 T 3
LETTER XXXIX.
Rome*
AVING faid fo much of St. Peters,
modern architecture in Rome, allow
me to mention fome of the heft fpeci-
mens of the ancient. I fhall begin with
the Pantheon, which, though not the
largeft of the Roman temples, is the
moft perfect ^ which now remains. The
Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and the
Temple of Peace, if we may truft to the
accounts we have of the firft, and to the
ruins of the fecond, in the Campo Vaccino,
were both much larger than the Pantheon.
In fpite of the depredations which this laft
has fuftained from Goths, Vandals, and
Popes, it ftill remains a beauteous monu-
ment of Roman tafte. The pavilion of
the great altar, which (lands under the
cupola in St. Peter's, and the four wreathed
unquefiionably the fineft piece of
pillars
4 J4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
pillars of Corinthian brafs which fupport it,
were formed out of the fpoils of the Pan-
theon, whichj after all, and with the
weight of eighteen hundred years upon its
head, has ftill a probability of outliving its
proud rapacious rival. From the round
form of this temple, it has obtained the
name of Rotunda. Its height is a hundred
and fifty feet, and its diameter nearly the
fame. Within, it is divided into eight
parts ; the gate at which you enter form-
ing one : the other feven compartments,
if they may be fo called, are each of them
diftinguiihed by two fluted Corinthian
pillars, and as many pilafters of Giallo
Antico. The capitals and bafes are of
white marble ; thefe fupport a circular
entablature. The wall is perpendicular for
half the height of the temple; it then
flopes forward as it afcends, the circum-
ference gradually diminifhing, till it termi-
nates in an opening of about twenty-five
feet diameter. There are no windows; the
central opening in the vault admitting a
fufficiency
MANNERS IN ITALY. 415
fufficiency of light, has a much finer effect
than windows could have had. No great
inconveniency can happen from this open-
ing. The conical form of the temple
prevents the rain from falling near the
walls where the altars now are, and where
the ftatues of the Gods were formerly
placed. The rain w r hich falls in the middle
immediately drills through holes which
perforate a large piece of porphyry that
forms the centre of the pavement, the
whole of which confifts of various pieces of
marble, agate, and other materials, which
have been picked up from the ruins, and
now compcfe a Angular kind of Mofaic
work.
The portico was added by Marcus
Agrippa, the fon-in-law of Auguftus. It
is fupported by fixteen pillars of granite,
five feet in diameter, and of a fingle piece
each. Upon the frieze, in the front,
is the following infcription in large
capitals :
M, AGRIPPA L, F* CONSUL TERTIUM FECIT.
Some
4 i6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Some are of opinion, that the Pantheon is
much more ancient than the Auguftan age,
and that the portico, which is the only part
thofe antiquarians admit to be the work
of Agrippa, though beautiful in itfelf,
does not correfpond w T ith the (implicity of
the temple.
As the Pantheon is the moft entire,
the Amphitheatre of Vefpafian is the
mod ftupendous, monument of antiquity
in Rome. It was finifhed by his fon
Titus, and obtained the name of Colof-
feum, afterwards corrupted into Colifeum,
from a coloffal ftatue of Apollo which
was placed before it. This vaft ftru&ure
was built of Tiburtine ftone, w r hich is
remarkably durable. If the public build-
ings of the ancient Romans had met with
no more inveterate enemy than Time, we
might, at this day, contemplate the greater
number in all their original perfedion ;
they were formed for the admiration of
much remoter ages than the prefent. This
Amphitheatre in particular might have
ftood
MANNERS IN ITALY. 417
flood entire for two thoufand years to come;
For what are the flow corrofions of time,
in companion of the rapid deftru&ion from
the fury of Barbarians, the zeal of Bigots,
and the avarice of Popes and Cardinals ?
The firft depredation made on this ftupen-
dous building, was by the inhabitants of
Rome themfelves, at that time greater
Goths than their conqueror. We are told,
they applied to Theodoric, whofe court
was then at Ravenna, for liberty to take
the Hones of this Amphitheatre for fome
public work they were carrying on. The
marble cornices, the friezes, and other or-
naments of this building, have been carried
away, at various times, to adorn palaces ;
and the Hones have been taken to build
churches, and foihetimes to repair the walls
of Rortte, trie mod ufelefs work of all. For
of what importance are walls to a city,
without a garrifon, and whofe mod power-
ful artillery affedts not the bodies, but only
ihe mincisj of men ? About one-half of the
external circuit ftill remains, from which,
Vol. I. E e and
418 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and the ruins of the other parts, a pretty
exa£t idea may be formed of the original
ftru&ure. By a computation made by Mr.
Byres, it could contain eighty-five thou-
fand fpe&ators, making a convenient allow-
ance for each. Fourteen chapels are now
ere&ed within fide, reprefenting the ftages
of our Saviour's paffion. This expedient
of confecrating them into Chriftian chapels
and churches, has faved fome of the finefi:
remains of Heathen magnificence from
utter deftru&ion.
Our admiration of the Romans is tem-
pered with horror, when we refledt on the
ufe formerly made of this immenfe build-
ing, and the dreadful fcenes which were
adled on the Arena ; where not only crimi-
nals condemned to death, but alfo pri-
foners taken in war, were obliged to butcher
each other, for the entertainment of an
inhuman populace. The combats of Gla-
diators were at firft ufed in Rome at
funerals only, where prifoners were obliged
to
MANNERS IN ITALY. 41^
to aflume that profeffion, and fight before
the tombs of deceafed Generals or Magis-
trates, in imitation of the barbarous cuftom
of the Greeks, of Sacrificing captives at the
tombs of their heroes.
This horrid piece of magnificence,
which, at firft, was exhibited only on the
death of Confuls, and men of the higheft
diftin&ion, came gradually to be claimed
by every citizen who was Sufficiently rich
to defray the expence ; and as the people's
fondnefs for thefe combats increaSed every
day, they were no longer confined to fu-
neral Solemnities, but became cuftomary on
days of public rejoicing, and were exhibit-
ed, at amazing expence, by Some Generals
after victories. In the progrefs of riches,
luxury, and vice, it became a profeffion in
Rome to deal in gladiators. Men called
Laniftse made it their bufinefs to purchaSe
priSoners and flaves, to have them inftrudt-
ed in the uSe of the various weapons ; and
wlien any Roman chofe to amufe the
E e 2 people
420 VIEW OF SOCIETY AtfD
people with their favourite fliow, or fa
entertain a feled: company of his own
friends upon any particular occafion, he ap-
plied to the Lanifias; who, for a fixed price,
furnifhed him with as many pairs of thofe
unhappy combatants as he required. They
had various names given to them, accord-
ing to the different manner in which they
were armed. Towards the end of the
repuhlic ; feme of the rich and powerful
citizens had great numbers of gladiators of
their own, who were daily exercifed by the
Lanifise, and always kept ready for fight-
ing when ordered by their proprietor.
Thofe who were often vi&orious, or had
the good fortune to pleafe their matters,
had their liberty granted them, on which
they generally quitted their profelfion ;
though it fometimes happened, that thofe
who were remarkably fkilful, continued it,
either from vanity or poverty, even after
they had obtained their freedom ; and the
applaufe beftowed on thofe gladiators, had
the effe£t of inducing men born free, to
i choofe
MANNERS IN ITALY. 421.
choofe this for a profeffion, which they
exercifed for money, till age impaired their
■ftrength and addrefs, They then hung up
their arms in the temple of Hercules, and
appeared no more on the Arena.
. Veiariius armis
Herculis ad poftem fixis beet abdkus agro,
Ne populum extrerna totics exoret Arena.
There were many Amphitheatres at
Rome, in other towns of Italy, and in
many provinces of the empire ; but this of
Vefpafian was the largeft that ever was
built. That at Verona is the next in fize
in Italy, and the remains of the Amphi-
theatre at Nimes, in the fouth of France,
prove, that it was the moft magnificent
jftru&ure of this kind in any of the Roman,
provinces. The Romans w T ere fo ex ce {lively
fond of thefe exhibitions, that wherever
colonies were eftabliilied, it was found re-
quisite to give public fl)ews of this kind,
to induce the emigrants to remain in their
pew country : and in the provinces where
E e 3 it
422 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
it was thought neceflary that a confiderable
body of troops fliould remain conftantly,
ftrudhires of this kind were ere&ed, at vaft
labour and expence, and were found the
beft means of inducing the young officers
to fubmit cheerfully to a long abfence from
the capital, and of preventing the common
foldiers from defertion. The profufion of
human blood, which was fhed in the
Arena, by the cruel prodigality of the Em-
perors, and the refinements which were
invented to augment the barbarous pleafure
of the fpe&ators, are proofs of the dreadful
degree of corruption and depravity to
which human nature is capable of attain-
ing, even among a learned and enlightened
people, when unreftrained by the mild
precepts of a benevolent religion. We are
told, that the gladiators bred for the ufe
of particular patricians, as well as thofe
kept for hire by the Lanifte, were, for
fome weeks before they appeared in the
Arena, fed upon fuch fucculent diet, as
would fooneft fill their veins, that they
might
MANNERS IN ITALY. 423
might bleed freely at every wound. They
were inftru&ed by the Lanifbe, not only in
the art of fighting, but alfo in the moft
graceful manner of dying ; and when thofe
wretched men felt themfelves mortally
wounded, they afTumed fuch attitudes as
they knew pleafed the beholders ; and they
feemed to receive pleafure themfelves from
the applaufe bellowed upon them in their
laft moments.
When a gladiator was thrown by his
antagonift to the ground, and diredly laid
down his arms, it was a fign that he could
refift no longer, and declared himfelf
vanquifhed ; but ftill his life depend-
ed on the fpe&ators. If they were
pleafed with his performance, or, in a
merciful difpofition, they held up their
hands, with the thumb folded down, and
the life of the man was fpared ; but if they
were in the humour to fee hirn die, they
held up the hand clenched, with the thumb
©nly ere&. As foon as the proftrate vi&itn
£ e 4 beheld
424 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
beheld that fatal fignal, he knew all hopes
of life were vain, and immediately pre-
fented his breaft to the fword of his adver-
faiy, who, whatever his own inclinations
might be, was obliged to put him to death
JrMantty.
As thefe combats formed the fupreme
pleafure of the inhabitants of Rome, the
mod cruel of their Emperors were fome?
times the rnoft popular; merely becaufe
they gratified the people, without reftraint,
in their favourite amufement. When Mar-
cus Aurelius thought it neceffary, for the
public fervice, to recruit his army from the
gladiators of Rome ; it raifed more difcon-
tent among the populace, than many of the
wildeft pranks of Caligula. In the times
of fome of the Emperors, the lower clafs of
Roman citizens were certainly as worthlefs a
fet of men as ever exifted ; ftained with all the
vices which arife from idlenefs and depend-
ence; living upon the largefles of the great;
pafilng their whole time in the Circus and
MANNERS IN ITALY. 425
Amphitheatres, where every fentiment of
humanity was annihilated within their
breads, and where the agonies and torment^
of their fellow-creatures were their chief
paftime. That no occafion might be loft
of indulging this favage tafte of the popu-
lace, criminals were condemned to light
with wild beads in the Arena, or were ex-
pofed, unarmed, to be torn in pieces by
them; at other times, they w r ere blind-
folded, and in that condition obliged to cut
and daughter each other. So that, initead
of victims folemnly facrificed to public
juftice, they feemed to be brought in as
buffoons to raife the mirth of the fpe&ators.
The pra&ice of domeftic flavery had alfo
a great influence in rendering the Romans
of a cruel and haughty character. Mailers
could punifh their flaves in what manner,
$nd to what degree, they thought proper.
It was as late as the Emperor Adrian's
time, before any law was made, ordaining
that a maft^r who fhould put his Have to
death
426 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
death without fufficient caufe, fhould be
tried for his life. The ufual porter at the
gate of a great man's houfe in ancient
Rome, was a chained flave. The noife of
whips and lafhes refounded from one
houfe to another, at the time when it
was cuftomary for the matters of families
to take an account of the conduit of their
fervants. This cruel difpofition, as is the
cafe wherever domeftic flavery prevails, ex-
tended to the gentle fex, and hardened the
mild tempers of the women. What a pic-
ture has Juvenal drawn of the toilet of a
Roman lady !
Nam fi conftituit, folitoque decentius optat
Ornari »
Componit crinem laceratis ipfa capillis,
Nuda humerosPfecas infelix, nudifqne mamillis,
Altior hie quare cincinnus? Taurea punit.
Continuo flexi crimen facinufque capilli.
It was cuftomary for avaricious matters*
to fend their infirm and fick flaves, to an
ifland in the Tiber, where there was a
Temple of iEftuIapius ; if the God pleafed
5 t0
MANNERS IN ITALY. 427
to recover them, the mafter took them back
to his family ; if they died, no farther in-
quiry was made about them. The Em-
peror Claudius put a check to this piece of
inhumanity, by ordaining, that every lick
fiave, thus abandoned by his mafter, fhould
be declared free when he recovered his
health.
From thefe obfervations, are we to in-
fer, that the ancient Romans were natural'
ly of a more cruel turn of mind, than the
prefent inhabitants of Europe ? Or is there
not reafon to believe that, in the fame cir-
cumftances, modern nations would a£t in
the fame manner ? Do we not perceive,
that the practice of domeftic flavery has, at
this day, a ftrong tendency to render men
haughty, capricious, and cruel. Such, X'
am afraid, is the nature of man, that if he
has power without controul, he will ufe it
without juftice ; abfolute power haa a
ftrong tendency to make good men bad,
and never fails to make bad men worfe.
It
4 23 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
It was an obfervation of the late Marefchal
Saxe, that in all the contefts between the
army waggoners and their horfes, the wag-
goners were in the wrong ; which he im-
puted to their having abfolute authority
over the horfes. In the qualities of the
head and heart, and in mo ft other refpedls*
he thought the men and horfes on an bqaai
lity. Caprke is a vice of the temper,
which increafes fafter than any other by in-
dulgence ; it often fpoils the beft qualities
of the heart, and, in particular fituations,
degenerates into the moft unfufferable
tyranny. The firft appearance of it in
young minds ought to be oppofed with
firmnefs, and prevented from farther pro-
grefs, otherwife our future attempts to arreft
it may be fruitlefs ; for
Mobilitate viget, virefque acquirit enndo;
The combats in the Amphitheatres were,
as I have already faid, introduced by de-
grees at Rome. The ctiftom of making
prifoners fight around the funeral piles of
deceafed
MANNERS IN ITALY. 429
dsceafed heroes, was a refinement on a more
barbarous pra&ice ; and the Romans, no
doubt, valued themfelves on their humani-
ty, in not butchering their prifoners in
cold blood, as was the cuftom in the earlieft
ages of Greece, The inftitution of oblig-
ing criminals to fight in the Arena, and
thus giving them a chance for their lives,
would alio appear to them a very merciful
improvement on the common manner of
execution. The groffeft fophiftry will
pafs on men's underftandings, when it is
ufed in fupport of meafures to which they
are already inclined. And when we con-
fider the eager nefs with which the popu-
lace of every country behold the acci-
dental combats which occur in the ftreets,
we need not be furprifed to find 5 that when
once the combats of .gladiators were per-
mitted among the Roman populace, on
whatever pretext, the tafte for them would
daily increafe, till it erafed every idea of
compunction from their breafts, and be-
came their ruling paffion. The Patricians,
enriched
430 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
enriched by the pillage of kingdoms, and
knowing that their power at Rome, and con-
fequently all over the world, depended on
the favour and fuffrages of the people,
naturally fought popularity by gratifying
their favourite tafte. Afterwards the Em-
perors might imagine, that fuch fhows
would keep the citizens from refleding on
their loft liberties, or the enormities of the
new form of government; and, exclufive
of every political reafon, many of them,
from the barbarous difpofition of their own
minds, would take as much pleafure in the
fcenes afted on the Arena, as the mod fa-
vage of the vulgar.
While we exprefs horror and indignation
at the fondnefs which the Romans difplay-
ed for the bloody combats of the Amphi-
theatre, let us reflect, whether this pro-
ceeded from any peculiar cruelty of difpofi-
tion inherent in that people, or belongs to
mankind in general ; let us refled, whether
it is probable, that the people of any other
nation
MANNERS IN ITALY. 4jt
nation would not be gradually led, by the
fame degrees, to an equal paffion for fuch
horrid entertainments. Let us confider,
whether there is reafon to fufpedt that thofe
who arm cocks with fteel, and take pleafure
in beholding the fpirited little animals cut
one another to death, would not take the
fame, or fuperior delight, in obliging men
to flaughter each other if they had the
power.— And what reftrains them ? Is there
no reafon to believe, that the influence of
a purer religion, and brighter example,
than were known to the Heathen world,
prevents mankind from thofe enormities
no'Wy which were permitted and counte-
nanced formerly ? As foon as the benevo-
lent precepts of Chriftianity were received
by the Romans as the laws of the Deity,
the prifoners and the flaves were treated
with humanity, and the bloody exhibitions
in the Amphitheatres were abolifhed.
432 VIEW OF SOCIETY A'ND"
LETTER XL.
Rome,
r \7 r OU are furprifed that I have hitherto
A faid nothing of the Capitol, and the
Forum Romanum, which is by far the
moft interefting fcene of antiquities iri
Rome. The objeds worthy of attention
are fo numerous, and appear fo confufed,
that it was a confiderable time before I
could form a tolerable diftind; idea of their
fituation with refpeft to each other, though
I have paid many more vifits to this than
any other fpot fmce I have been in this
city. Before we entered a church or pa-
lace, we ran thither with as much impa-
tience as if the Capitol had been in danger
of falling before our arrival. The ap-
proach to the modern Campidoglio is very
noble, and worthy of the genius of Michael
Angelo. The building itfelf is alfo the
work of that great artiftj it is raifed on
p&ff
MANNERS IN ITALY. 433
part of the ruins of the ancient Capitol,
and fronts St. Peter's church, with its back
to the Forum and old Rome. Afcending
this celebrated hill, the' heart beats quick,
and the mind warms with a thoufand in-
terefting ideas. You are carried back, at
once, to the famous robber who firft
founded it. Without thinking of the wafle
of time which mud have effaced what you
are looking for, you caft about your eyes
in fearch of the path by which the Gauls
climbed up, and where they were oppofed
and overthrown by Manlius. You with-
draw your eyes, with difdain, from every
modern objeft, and are even difpleafed
with the elegant ftrudhrre you fee before
you* and contemplate, with more refped,
the ruins on which it is founded; becaufe
they are more truly Roman.
The two Sphynxes of bafalte, at the
bottom of the afcent, though excellent
fpecimens of Egyptian fculpture, engage
little of your attention. Warm with the
Vol, I. F f glory
434 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
glory of Rome, you cannot beftow a
thought on the hieroglyphics of Egypt.
At fight of the trophies ere&ed in honour
of C. Marius, all thofe bloody fcenes a&ed
by the fury of party and demon of revenge,
during the mod calamitous period of the
republic, rufh upon the memory; and you
regret that Time, who has fpared the
monuments of this fierce foldier, has de-
ftroyed the numerous trophies raifed to the
Fabii, the Scipio's, and other heroes, dis-
tinguished for the virtues of humanity, as
well as the talents of Generals. You are
ftruck with the coloflal ftatues of Caftor
and Pollux, and, in the heat of enthufiafm,
confounding the fidions of poetry with
hiftorical truth, your heart applauds their
fraternal affe&ion, and thanks them for the
timely afTiftance they afforded the Romans
in a battle with the Volfci. You rejoice at
their good fortune, which, on earth, has
procured them a place in the Capitol, and,
m heaven, a feat by Hercules. Horace
informs us, that Auguftus drinks his
ne£tar 3
MANNERS IN ITALY. 435
nedfor, reclined between them and that
demigod—
Quos inter Auguftus recumbenS
Purpureo bibit ore ne&ar.
From them you move forward, and your
admiration is fixed by the animated equef-
trian ftatue of Marcus Aurelius, which
naturally brings to your memory that
happy period, when the Roman empire was
governed by a Prince who, during a long
reign, made the good of his fubje£ts the
chief objedt of his government. You pro-
ceed to the upper end of the area ; your
eye is caught by a majeftic female figure,
in a fitting attitude ; you are told it is a
Roma Triumphans ; you view her with all
the warmth of fond enthufiafm, but you
recoiled that fhe is no longer Triumphans;
you caft an indignant eye on St. Peter's
church, to which fhe alfo feems to look
with indignation. Is there fuch another
inftance of the vicifiitude of human things ;
the proud Miftrefs of the World under the
F f 2 dominion
43 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
dominion of a prieft ? Horace was pro-
bably accufed of vanity when he wrote
thefe lines :
~~ — Ufque ego poftera
Crefcam lauderecens, dum Capkolium
Scandet cum tacita virgine Pontifex.
Yet the poet's works have already out-
lived this period fourteen hundred years ;
and Virgil has tranfmitted the memory of
the friendfhip and fame of Nifus and
Euryalus, the fame fpaee of time beyond
the period which he himfelf, in the ardour
of poetic hope> had fixed for its limits.
Fortunati ambo (i quid mea carmina poffunt,
Nulla dies unquam memori vos eximet asvo :
Dum domus JEnezz Capitoli immobile faxum
Accolet, imperiumque Pater Romanus habebiu
In the two wings of the modern palace,
called the Campidoglio, the Confervators of
the city have apartments ; their office is
analogous to that of the ancient iEdiles.
In the main body an Italian nobleman,,
appointed by the Pope, has his refidence,
I with
MANNERS IN ITALY. 437
V?ith the title of Senator of Rome; the
miferable representation of that Senate
which gave laws to the world. The mod
defaced ruin, the moft fliapelefs heap of
antique rubbifh in all Rome, cannot convey
a feebler image of the building to which
they belonged, than this deputy of the
Pope does of that auguft aflembly. The
beautiful approach to this palace, and ail
the ornaments which decorate the area
before it, cannot detain you long from the
back view to which the ancient Capitol
fronted. Here you behold the Forum
Romanum, now exhibiting a melancholy
but interefting view of % the devaftation
wrought by the united force of time,
avarice, and bigotry* The firft objedts
which meet your eye, on looking from
this fide of the hill, are three fine pillars,
two-thirds of them buried in the ruins of
the old Capitol. They are faid to be the
remains of the temple of Jupiter Tonans,
built by Auguftus, in gratitude for having
narrowly efcaped death from a ftroke of
lightning. Near thefe are the remains
F f 3 of
438 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of Jupiter Stator, confifting of three very
elegant fmall Corinthian pillars, with their
entablature; the Temple of Concord,
where Cicero aflembled the Senate, on the
difcovery of Catiline's confpiracy ; the
Temple of Romulus and Remus, and that
of Antoninus and Fauftina, juft by it, both
converted into modern churches ; the ruins
of the magnificent Temple of Peace, built
immediately after the taking of Jerufalem,
the Roman empire being then in profound
peace. This is faid to have been the fineft
temple in old Rome; part of the materials
of Nero's Gclden Houfe, which Vefpafian
pulled down, were ufed in ereding this
grand edifice. The only entire pillar re-
maining of this temple, was placed by
Paul V. before the church of Santa Maria
Maggiore. It is a in oft beautiful fluted
Corinthian column, and gives a very high
idea of the temple to which it originally
belonged. His Kolinefs has crowned it
with an image of the Virgin Mary ; and,
la the infeription on the pedeftal, he gives
his
MANNERS IN ITALY. 439
his reafon for choofing a column belonging
to the Temple of Peace, as an ornament to
a church dedicated to the Virgin.
Ex cujus vifceribus Princeps verse Pacis geni-
tus eft.
Of many triumphal arches which ftood
formerly in Rome, there are only three now
remaining, all of them near the Capitol,
and forming entries to the Forum ; thofe
of Titus, Septimius Severus, and Conftan-
tine. Thelaft is by much the fined of the
three; but its chief beauties are not genuine,
nor, properly fpeaking, its own; they confift
pf fome admirable baffo relievos, ftolen from
the Forum of Trajan, and reprefenting
that Emperor's victories over the Dacians.
This theft might, perhaps, not have been
fo notorious to pofterity, if the artifls of
Conftantine's time had not added fome
figures, which make the fraud apparent,
and, by their great inferiority, evince the
degeneracy of the arts in the interval be-
tween the reigns of thefe two Emperors.
F f 4 The
44^ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The relievos of the arch of Titus repre-*
fent the table of fhew-bread, the trumpets,
the golden candlefticks with feven branches,
and other utenfils, brought from the
Temple of Jerufalem. The quarter which
is allotted for the Jews is not at a great
diftance from this arch. There are about
nine thoufand of that unfortunate nation
at prefent in Rome ; the lineal defendants
of thofe brought captive, by Titus, from
Jerufalem. I have been allured that they
always cautiouily avoid paffing through
this arch, though it lies diredtly in their
way to the Campo Vaccino, chooling rather
to make a circuit, and enter the Forum at
another place. 1 was affe&ed at hearing
this inftanceof fenfibility in a people who,
whatever other faults they may have, are
certainly not deficient in patriotifm, and
attachment to the religion and cufloms of
their forefathers. The fame delicacy of
fentiment is difplayed by a poet of their
own country, in the 137th pfalm, as it is
finely translated by Buchanan :
Dum
MANNERS IN ITALY. 441
Dum procul a Patria mcefti Babylonis in oris.
Fluminis ad liquidas forte fedemus aquas \
Ilia animum fubiit ipecies mifcranda Sionis,
Et numquam Fatrii te&a videnda foli.
*******
O Solynjse, O adyta, et facri penetralia templi
Ullane vos animo ddcat hora meo ? &c.
You may read the whole ; you wall per-
haps find fome poetical beauties which
efcaped your obfervation when you heard
it fung in churches ; but the poet's ardour
feems to glow too violently towards the end
pf the pfalm.
442 VIEW OF SOCIETY ANQ
LETTER XLI.
Rome,
HERE are many other interefting
* ruins in and about th$ Campo Vac-
cine, befides thofe I have mentioned ; but of
fome ftru&ures which we know formerly
flood here, no veftige is now to be feen«
This is the cafe with the ^rch which was
ere£ted in honour of the Fabian family.
There is the ftrongeft reafon to believe,
that the ancient Forum was entirely fur-
rounded with temples, bafilicse, and public
buildings of various kinds, and adorned
with porticoes and colonades. In the
lime of the Republic, affemblies of the
people were held there, laws were pro-
pofed, and juftice adminiftered. In it was
the Roftrum, from whence the orators ha-
rangued the people. All w r ho afpired at
dignities came hither to canvafs fufFrages*
The Bankers had their offices near the
Forum*
MANNERS IN ITALY. 443
Forum, as well as thofe who received the
revenues of the Commonwealth ; and all
kind of bufinefs was tranfa&ed in this place.
In my vifits to the Campo Vaccino, I ar-
range the ancient Forum in the beft man-
ner I can, and fix on the particular fpot
where each edifice Hood. In this I am
fometimes a little cramped in room; for the
fpace between the Palatine Hill and the
Capitol is fo fmall, and I am fo circum-
fcribed by arches and temples, whofe ruins
ftill remain, that I find it impoffible to
ipake the Forum Rpmanuiji larger than
Covent Garden. I looked about for the
Via Sacra, where Horace met with his
troublefome companion. Some people
imagine, this was no other than the Forum
itfelf ; but I am clearly of opinion, that
the Via Sacra was a ftreet leading to the
Forum, and loft in it, as a ftreet in London
terminates at a fquare. I have, at laft,
fixed on the exadt point where it joins the
]Forum, which is very near the Meta Su-
sans. If we ih'ould ever meet here, I fhall
convince
444 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
convince you by local arguments, that I am
ia the right ; but I fear it would be very
tedious, and not at all convincing, to tranf-
jnit them to you in writing*
As Rome increafed in fize and number
,of inhabitants, one Forum was found too
fhiall, and many others were ere&ed in
procefs of time ; but when we fpeak of the
Forum, without any diftinguifhing epithet,
the ancient one is underftood.
The Tarpeian Rock is a continuation of
that on which the Capitol was built ; I
went to that part from wh'ch criminals
condemned to death were thrown. Mr*
Byres has meafured the height; it is exact-
ly fifty-eight feet perpendicular; and he
thinks the ground at the bottom, from evi-
dent marks, is twenty feet higher than it
was originally ; fo that, before this accumu-
lation of rubbifh, the precipice muft have
been about eighty feet perpendicular. In
reading the hiftory of the Romans, the vaft
idea we form of thsjt people, naturally ex-
tends
MANNERS IN ITALY. 445
tends to the city of Rome, the hills on
which it was built, and every thing be-
longing to it. We image to ourfelves the
Tarpeian Rock as a tremendous preci-
pice ; and, if afterwards we ever have an
opportunity of actually feeing it, the height
falls fo fhort of our expe&ations, that we
are apt to think it a great deal lefs than It
is in reality. A miftake of this kind,
joined toacarelefs view of the place, which
is not in itfelf very interefting, has led
Bifhop Burnet into the ftrange affertion,
that the Tarpeian Rock is fo very low, that
a man would think it no great matter to
leap down it for his diverfion. Criminals
thrown from this precipice, were literally
thrown out of the city of old Rome into the
Campus Martius, which was a large plain,
of a triangular (hape ; two fides of the tri-
angle being formed by the Tiber, and the
bafe by the Capitol, and buildings extend-
ing three miles nearly in a parallel line with
it. The Campus Martius had its name
from a fmall temple built in it, at a very
early
446 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
early period, and dedicated to Mars ; or it
might have this name from the military
exercifes performed there. In this field*
the great aflemblies of the people, called
Cenfus or Luftrum, were held every fifth
year ; the Confuls, Cenfors, and Tribunes,
were elected; the levies of troops were
made; and there the Roman youth exercifed
themfelves in riding, driving the chariot,
fhooting with the bow, ufing the fling,
darting the javelin, throwing the difcus or
quoit, in wreftling, running ; and when
covered with fweat and duft, in confequence
of thefe exercifes, they wafhed their bodies
clean by fwimming in the Tiber. Horace
accufes Lydia of ruining a young man,
by keeping him from thofe manly exercifes
in which he formerly excelled.
Cur apricum
Oderit campum, patiens pulveris atquc folis :
Cur neque militaris
Inter equales equitet, Gallica nec lupatis
Tempcret ora fr^nis ?
Cur timet flavum Tiberim tangere ?
The
MANNERS IN ITALY. 447
The dead bodies of the moft illuftnous
citizens were alfo burnt in this field, which
was adorned gradually by ftatues and tro-
phies, erected to the memory of diftinguifti-
ed men. But every feature of its ancient
appearance, is now hid by the ftreets and
buildings of modern Rome.
The inhabitants of Rome may be excufed
for chufing this fituation for their houfes,
though by fo doing, they have deprived us of
a view of the Campus Martius. But furely
they, or their Governors, ought to fhow
more folicitude for preferring the antiqui-
ties than they do ; and they might, without
inconveniency, find fome place for a Cow
Market, of lefs importance than the ancient
Forum. It is not in their power to reftore it
to its former fplendor, but they might, at
leaft, have prevented its falling back to the
ftate in which iEneas found it, when he came
to vifit the poor Evander.
Talibus inter fe didtis ad tedla fubibant
Pauperis Evandri : paffimque armenta videbant
Romanoquc Foro et lautis mugire carinis.
2 I have
4 4 8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
I have already faid, that befides this,
there were feveral Forums in Rome, where
Bafilicse were built, juftice adminiftered,
and bufinefs tranfa&ed. The Emperors
were fond of having fuch public places
named after them. The accounts we have
of the Forums of Nerva, and that of Tra-
jan, give the higheft idea of their grandeur
and elegance} three Corinthian pillars, with
their entablature, are all that remain of
the former; of the latter, the noble
column placed in the middle, ftill preferves
all its original beauty. It confifts of twenty-
three circular pieces of white marble, hori-*
zontally placed one above the other; it is
about twelve feet diameter at the bottom,
and ten at the top. The plinth of the bafe
is a piece of marble twenty-one feet
fquare. A ftaircafe, confifting of one
hundred and eighty-three fteps, and fuffi-
ciently wide to admit a man to afcend, is
cut out of the folid marble, leaving a fmali
pillar in the middle, round which the flair
winds from the bottom to the top. I ob-
ferved
MANNERS IN ITALY. 449
ftTved a piece broken, as I went up, which
ihewed, that thofe large mafles of marble
have been exquifitely polifhed on the flat
fides, where they are in contad with each
other, that the adhefion and ftrength of the
pillar might be the greater. The ftairs are
lighted by forty-one windows, exceedingly
narrow on the outfide, that they might
not interrupt the conne&ion of the baflb
relievos* but which gradually widen with-
in, and by that means give fufficient light.
The bafe of the column is ornamented
with baffo relievos, reprefenting trophies
of Dacian armour. The moft memorable
events of Trajan's expedition againft the
Dacians, are admirably wrought in a con-
tinued fpiral line from the bottom of the
column to the top. The figures towards
the top, are too far removed from the eye
to befeen perfectly. To have rendered them
equally vifible with thofe below, it would
have been necefTary to have made them
larger proportionably as they afcended*
Vol. L G g Viewed,
4 $o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Viewed from any confiderable diftance, all
the fculpture is loft, and a plain fluted pil-
lar, of the fame proportions, would have
had as fine an efFe£t. But fuch a frugal
plan would not have been fo glorious to
the Prince, whofe victories are engraven, or
fo interefting to the legionary foldiers,
many of whom, no doubt, are here perfon-
ally reprefented. Befides, it would not now
be near fo valuable a monument, in the
eyes of antiquarians, or fo ufeful a ftudy
to fculptors and painters, who have occa-
fion to reprefent the military drefs of the
Romans, or the coftume of the Eafi in that
age. Exclufive of the ftatue, this beau-
tiful pillar is a hundred and twenty
feet high. The afhes of Trajan were de-
pofited in an urn at the bottom, and his
ftatue at the top. Pope Sixtus the Fifth,
in the room of the Emperor's, has placed
a ftatue of St. Peter upon this column. I
obferved to a gentleman, with whom I
vifited this pillar, that I thought there was
not
MANNERS IN ITALY. 451
not much propriety in placing the figure
of St. Peter upon a monument, reprefent-
ing the victories, and ere&ed in honour
of the Emperor Trajan. " There is
" fome propriety, however," replied he
coldly, <c in having made the ftatue of
" brafs."
G g 2
452 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XLIL
Rome.
If Have been witnefs to the beatification
A of a Saint ; he was of the order of St.
Francis, and a great many brethren of that
order were prefent, and in very high fpi-
rits on the occafion. There are a greater
number of ecclefiaftrcs beatified, and ca-
nonized, than any other order of men. In
the firft place, becaufe, no doubt, they de-
ferve it better ; and alfo, becaufe they are
more felicitous to have Saints taken from
among men of their own profeffion, and
particular order, than people in other fitua-
tions in life are. Every monk imagines,
it refle&s perfonal honour on himfelf y
when one of his order is canonifed. Soldiers,
lawyers, and phyficians, would probably
be happy to fee fome of their brethren
diftinguifhed in the fame manner; that
they have not had this gratification of late
years*
MANNERS IN ITALY. 453
years, may be imputed to the difficulty of
finding fuitable characters among them.
Ancient hiftory, indeed, makes mention of
fome commanders of armies who were
very great faints; but I have heard of no
phyfician who acquired that title fince the
days of St. Luke; or of a Angle lawyer*
of any age or country.
A picture of the prcfent Expectant, a
great deal larger than life, had been hung
up on the front of St. Peter's church,
feveral days before the beatification took
place. This ceremony was alfo announced
by printed papers, diftributed by the happy
brethren of St. Francis. On the day of
the folemnity, his Holinefs, a confiderable
number of Cardinals, many other ecclefi-
aflics, all the Capucin Friars in Rome, and
a great concourfe of fpe&ators attended.
The ceremony was performed in St. Peter's
church. An ecclefiaftic of my acquaintance
procured usa veryconvenientplacefor feeing
the whole. The ceremony of beatification
° g 3 is
454 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
is a previous ftep to that of canonization.
The Saint, after he is beatified, is entitled to
more diftin&ion in Heaven than before ;
but he has not the power of freeing fouls
from purgatory till he has been canonized ;
and therefore is not addrefled in prayer till
he has obtained the fecond honour. On the
prefent occafion, a long difcourfe was pro-
nounced by a Francifcan Friar, fetting forth
the holy life which this Expedant had led
upon earth, his devotions, his voluntary
penances, and his charitable a&ions j and
a particular enumeration was made, of cer-
tain miracles he had performed when alive,
and others which had been performed after
his death by his bones. ( The moft re-
markable miracle, by himfelf in perfon,was,
his replenifhing a lady's cupboard with
bread, after her houfekeeper, at the Saint's
inftigation, had given all the bread of the
family to the poor.
This bufinefs is carried on in the man-
ner of a law-fuit. The Devil is fuppofed
to
MANNERS IN ITALY. 455
to have an intereft in preventing men from
being made Saints. That all juftice may be
done, and that Satan may have his due, an
advocate is employed to plead againft the
pretenfions of the Saint Expe&ant, and the
perfon thus employed is denominated by the
people, the Devil's Advocate. He calls in
queftion the miracles faid to have been
wrought by the Saint and his bones, and
raifes as many obje&ions to the proofs
brought of the purity of his life and con-
verfation as he can. It is the bufinefs of
the Advocate on the other fide, to obviate
and refute thefe cavils. The controverfy
was carried on in Latin. It drew out to a
great length, and was by no means amu-
fing. Your friend Mr. R y, who fat
near me, lofing patience, from the length
of the ceremony, and fome twitches of
the gout, which he felt at that moment,
whifpered me, 44 I wifh, from my heart,
" the Devil's Advocate were with his
f< client, and this everlafting Saint fairly in
u Heaven, that we might get away." The
Q g 4 whole
45 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
whole party, of which I made one, were
feized with frequent and long continued
yawnings, which I imagine was obferved
by fome of the Cardinals, who fat oppofite
to us. They caught the infe&iop, and
although they endeavoured to conceal their
gaping under their purple robes, yet it
feemed to fpread and communicate itfelf
gradually oyer the whole affembly, the
Francifcan Friars excepted ; they were too
deeply interefted in the ifTue of the difpute,
to think it tedious. As often as the Devil's
Advocate ftated an objedion, evident figns
of impatience, contempt, furprife, indig-
nation, and refentment, appeared in the
countenances of the venerable brotherhood,
according to their different characters and
tempers. One (hook his head, and whifpered
his neighbour ; another raifed his chin,
and pufhed up his under-lip with a difdain-
ful fmile; a third ftarted, opened his eye-
lids as wide as he could, and held up both
fyis hands, with his fingers extended; a
fourth raifed his thumb to his mouth, bit
the
MANNERS IN ITALY. 457
the nail with a grin, and jerked the thumb
from his teeth towards the adverfary ; a
fifth flared, in a moft expreffive manner,
at the Pope, and then fixed his eyes,
frowning, on the Advocate. All were in
agitation, till the Saint's Counfel began to
fpeak, when a profound filence took place,
and the moment he had made his anfwer,
their countenances brightened; a fmile of
fatisfa&ion fpread around, and they nodded
and fhook their beards at each other with
mutual congratulations. In the mean
time, the Cardinals, and the other auditors,
who were not afleep, continued yawning ;
for my own part, I was kept awake only
by the interlude of grimaces, played off by
the Capucins between the arguments. Ex-
clusive of thefe, the making a Saint of a
Capucin, is the dulleft bufinefs I ever was
witnefs to. I hope the man himfelf enjoys
much felicity fince the ceremony, in which
cafe no good-natured perfon will grudge
the tedium and fatigue which he fuffered
on the occafion. I ought to have told you,
that
458 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
that the Advocate's reafoning was all in
vain ; the Devil loft his caufe, without the
poflibility of appeal. The Saint's claim
being confirmed, he was admitted into all
the privileges of beatification ; the Convent
defraying the expence of the procefs.
As we returned, Mr. R y alked, if
I recolle&ed the Saint's name. I faid, I
did not. u We muft inform ourfelves,"
faid he; " for when I meet him above, I
" fhall certainly claim fome merit with him,
* c from having done penance at his beatifi-
if cation *."
* I have been fince informed, this new Saint is called Su
Buonayantura; he was by birth a Neapolitan.
MANNERS IN ITALY.
459
LETTER XLIIL
Rome.
Ravellers are too apt to form hafty,
and, for the mod part, unfavourable
opinions of national chara&ers* Finding
the cuftoms and fentiments of the inhabi-
tants of the foreign countries through which
they pafs, very different from their own,
they are ready to confider them as erro-
neous, and conclude, that thofe w r ho ad
and think in a manner fo oppofite to them-
felves,muftbe either knaves, fools, or both.
In fuch hafty decifions they are often con-
firmed by the partial reprefentations of a
few of their own countrymen, or of other
foreigners who are eftablifhed in fome
profeflion in thofe countries, and who
have an intereft in giving bad impref-
fions of the people among whom they
refide.
That
4&) VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
That the Italians have an uncommon
{hare of natural fagacity and acutenefs, is
pretty generally allowed ; but they are
accufed of being deceitful, perfidious, and
revengeful ; and the frequent afiaffinations
and murders which happen in the ftreets
of the great towns ia Italy, are brought as
proofs of this charge. I have not remain-
ed a fufficient length of time in Italy,
fuppofing I were, in all other refpe&s,
qualified to decide on the chara&er of the
inhabitants ; but from the opportunities I
have had, my idea of the Italians is, that
they are an ingenious foberpeople,with quick
feelings, and therefore irritable ; but when
unprovoked, of a mild and obliging dif-
pofition, and lefs fubjeft to avarice, envy,
or repining at the narrownefs of their own
circumflances, and the comparative wealth
of others, than mod other nations. The
murders which cccafionally happen, pro-
ceed from a deplorable w r ant of police, and
fome very impolitic cuftoms, which have,
from various caufes, crept among them,
and
MANNERS IN ITALY. 46 j
and would produce more frequent examples
of the fame kind, if they prevailed to the
fame degree, in feme other countries. I
beg you will keep in your mind, that the
aflaffinations which difgrace Italy, whatever
may have been the cafe formerly, are now*
entirely confined to the accidental fquabbles
which occur among the rabble. No fuch
thing has been known for many years
paft among people of condition, or the
middle rank of citizens j and with regard
to the ftabbings which happen among the
vulgar, they almoft always proceed from
an immediate impulfe of wrath, and are
feldom the effect of previous malice, or a
premeditated plan of revenge. I do not
know whether the (lories we have of mer-
cenary bravos, men who formerly are fup-
pofed to have made it their profeflion to
affaffinate, and live by the murders they
committed* are founded in truth ; but I
am certain, that at prefent there is no fuch
trade in this country. That the horrid
pradice of drawing the knife and ftabbing
each
462 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
each other, ftill fubfifts among the Italian
vulgar, I am perfuaded, is owing to the
fcandalous impunity with which it is
treated. The afylum which churches and
convents offer to criminals, operates again ft
the peace of fociety, and tends to the en-
couragement of this fhocking cuftom in
two different manners: Firft, it increafes
the criminals hopes of efcaping ; fecondly,
it diminifhes, in vulgar minds, the idea of
the atrocity of the crime. When the popu-
lace fee a murderer lodged within the
facred walls of a church, protected and
fed by men who are revered on account
of their profeffion, and the fuppofed fanc-
tity of their lives ; muft not this weaken
the horror which mankind naturally have
for fuch a crime, and which it ought to
be the aim of every government to aug-
ment ?
Thofe who are willing to admit that
this laft confideration may have the effect I
have afcribed to it, on the minds of the
vulgar,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 463
vulgar, ftill contend, that the hopes of im-
punity can have little influence in keeping
up the pradice of dabbing ; becaufe, as has
been already obferved, thefe ftabbings are
always in confequence of accidental quar-
rels and fudden burfts of paflion, in which
men have no consideration about their
future fafety. All I have to fay in anfwer
is, that if the obfervations I have been able
to make on the human chara&er are well
founded, there are certain confutations
which never entirely lofe their influence on
the minds of men, even when they are in
the height of paflion. I do not mean that
there are not inftances of men being thrown
into fuch paroxyfms of fury, as totally
deprive them of refle&ion, and make
them adl like madmen, without any regard
to confequences ; but extraordinary in-
ftances, which depend on peculiarities of
conftitution, and very Angular circum-
ftances, cannot deftroy the force of an ob-
fervation which, generally fpeaking, is
found juft. We every day fee men, who
have
464 VIEW OF SOCIETY ANE*
have the chara&er of being of the raofif
ungovernable tempers, who are apt to fly
into violent fits of paffion upon the moft
trivial occafions, yet, in the midft of all
their rage, and when they feem to be en-
tirely blinded by fury, are ftill capable of
making diftin&ions ; which plainly evince,
that they are not fo very much blinded by
anger, as they would feeiri to be. When
people are fubjedt to violent fits of choler,
and to an unreftrained licence of words and
a&ions, only in the company of thofe who,
from their unfortunate fituation in life,
are obliged to bear fuch abufe, it is a plain
proof that confiderations which regard their
own perfonal fafety, have fome influence on
their minds in the midft of their fury, and
inftru£t them to be mad certo ratione mo-
deque. This is frequently unknown to thofe
choleric people themfelves, while it is fully
evident to every perfon of obfervation around
them. What violent fits of paflion do
fome men indulge themfelves in againft
their Haves and fervants, which they
2 always
MANNERS IN ITALY. 4&S
always impute to the ungovernable nature
of their own tempers, of which, however,
they difplay the moft perfect command
upon much greater provocations given by
their fuperiors, equals, or by any fet of
people who are not obliged to bear their
ill humour. How often do we fee men
who are agreeable, cheerful, polite, and
good-tempered to the world in general,
gloomy, peevifh, and paffionate, to their
wives and children ? When you happen to
be a witnefs to any inftance of unprovoked
domeftic rage, into which they have allow-
ed themfelves to be tranfported, they
will very probably lament their misfor-
tune, in having more ungovernable tem-
pers than the reft of mankind. But if a
man does not fpeak and adt with the fame
degree of violence on an equal provocation,
without confidering whether it comes from
fuperior> equal, or dependant, he plainly
fhews that he can govern his temper, and
that his not doing it on particular occafions,
Vol. I. H h proceeds
466 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
proceeds from the bafeft and moft defpi-
cable of all motives.
I remember, when I was on the conti-
nent with the Englilh army, having feen
an officer beat a foldier very unmercifully
with his cane : I was then ftanding with
fome officers, all of whom feemed to be
filled with indignation at this mean exercife
of power. When the perfon who had
performed the intrepid exploit came to join
the circle, he plainly perceived marks of
difapprobation in every countenance; for
which reafon he thought it neceffary to
apologize for what he had done. " No-
* 4 thing, 55 fays he, " provokes me fo much
" as a fellow's looking faucily when I
** fpeak to him. I have told that man fo
<<r fifty times ; and yet, on my reprimand-
" ing him juft now, for having one of the
" buttons of his waiftcoat broken, he
4< looked faucily full in my face ; which
" threw me into fuch a paffion, that I
" could not help threfhing him. — How-
8 " ever 5
MANNERS IN ITALY. 467
u ever, 1 am forry for it, becaufe he has
u the character of being an honeft man,
*? and has always done his duty, as a fol-
u dier, very well. How much," con-
tinued he, " are thofe people to be envied,
" who have a full command of their
u tempers !"
" No man can command it more per-
ft feQly than yourfelf," faid a gentlemaa
who was then in the foot* guards, and has
fince been a general officer.
" I often endeavour to do it." replied
the choleric man, <4 but always find it out
" of my power. I have not philofophy
" enough to check the violence of my
€i temper when once I am provoked."
" You certainly do yourfelf injuftice,
<c Sir,'' faid the officer; " no perfon feems
" to have their paffions under better difci-
u pline. With your brother officers, I
** never faw you, in a fingle inflance,
" break through the rules of decorum, or
H h 2 " allow
468 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
" allow your anger to overcome your po-
" litenefs to them."
c< They never provoked me," faid the
pafiionate man.
" Provoked you !" rejoined the other;
46 yes, Sir, often, and in a much greater
Ci degree than the poor foldier. Do not I,
" at this moment, give you ten thoufand
<c times more provocation than he, or any
4C of the unfortunate men under your
<c command, whom you are fo apt to beat
4t and abufe, ever did ? — and yet you feem
ft perfectly mafter of your temper."
There was no way left by whieh the
choleric man could prove the contrary, ex-
cept by knocking the other down ; but that
was a method of convincing his antagonift
which he did not think proper to ufe. A
more intrepid man, in the fame predica-
ment, would very probably have had re-
courfe to that expedient ; but in general
mankind are able, even in the violence of
paffion,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 469
paffion, to eftimate, in fome meafure, the
rifk they run ; and the populace of every
country are more readily kindled to that
inferior degree of rage, which makes them
lofe their horror for the crime of murder,
and difregard the life of a fellow-creature,
than to that higher pitch, which deprives
them of all confideration for their own
perfoajtl fafety.
In England, Germany, or France, a maa
knows, that if he commits a murder, every
perfon around him will, from that inftant,
become his enemy, and ufe every means to
feize him, and bring him to juftice. He
knows that he will be immediately carried
to prifon, and put to an ignominious death,
amidft the execrations of his countrymen.
Imprefled with thefe fentiments, and with
the natural horror for murder which fuch
fentiments augment, the populace of thofe
countries hardly ever have recourfe to dab-
bing in their accidental quarrels, however
they may be inflamed with anger and rage.
H h 3 The
4 ;o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The loweft blackguard in the ftreets of
London will not draw a knife againft an
amagonift far fuperior to himfelf in
ftrength. He will fight him fairly with
his fifts as long as he can, and bear the
fevered drubbing, rather than ufe a means
of defence which is held in deteftatrion by
his countrymen, and which would bring
himfelf to the gallows.
The murders committed in Germany,
France, or England, are therefore com-
paratively few in number, and happen
generally in confequence of a pre-concerted
plan, in which the murderers have taken
meafures for their efcape or concealment,
without which they know that inevitable
death awaits them. In Italy the cafe is
different ; an Italian is not under the influ-
ence of fo ftrong an impreffion, that certain
execution muft be the confequence of his
committing a murder ; he is at lefs pains
to reftrain the wrath which he feels kin-
dling within his bread ; he allows his rage
full
MANNERS IN ITALY. 471
full fcopej and, if hard prefled by the fupe-
rior ftrength of an enemy, he does not
fcruple to extricate himfelf by a thruft of his
knife ; he knows, that if fome of the Sbirri
are not prefent, no other perfoa will feize
him ; for that office is held in fuch deteft-*
ation by the Italian populace, that none of
them will perform any part of its functions.
The murderer is therefore pretty certain
of gaining ipme church or convent, where
he will be pr >teded, till he can compound
the matter with the relations of the de-
ceafed, or efcape to fome of the other
Italian States; which is no very difficult
matter, as the dominions of none are very
extenfive.
Befides, when any of thefe affiiffins has
not had the good fortune to get within the
portico of a church before he is feized by
the Sbirri, and when he is adlually carried
to prifon, it is not a very difficult matter
for his friends or relations to prevail, by
their entreaties and tears, on fome of the
Hh 4 Cardinal?
47 2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Cardinals or Princes;, to interfere in hi9
favour, and endeavour to obtain his pardon.
If this is the cafe, and I am affured from
authority which fully con vinces me, that it is,
we need be no longer furprifed that murder
is more common among the Italian popu-
lace than among the common people of
any other country. As foon as afylums
for fuch criminals are abolifhed, and juftice
is allowed to take its natural courfe, that foui
ftain will be entirely effaced from the
national character of the modern Italians.
This is already verified in the Grand Duke
of Tufcany's dominions. The fame edi£fc
which declared that churches and convents
fhould no longer be places of refuge for
murderers, has totally put a flop to the \ife
of the ftiletto ; and the Florentine populace
now fight with the fame blunt weapons
that are ufed by the common people of
other nations.
I am afraid you will think I have been a
little prolix on this occafion ; but I had
two
MANNERS IN ITALY. 47^
two objects in view, and was folicitous
about both. The firfl; was to fhew, that the
treacherous and perfidious difpofition im-
puted to the Italians, is, like mod other
national refledions, ill founded ; and that
the fads brought in proof of the accufation,
proceed from other caufes : the fecond was*
to demonftrate to certain choleric gentle-
men, who pretend to have ungovernable
tempers, as an excufe for rendering every
creature d^peqdent on them miferable, that
in their furious fits they not only behave
ridiculoufly, but bafely. In civil fife, la
England, they have the power of only
making themfelves contemptible ; but in
the army or navy, or in our iflands, they
often render themfelves tii^ objeds ©f
fiorror.
474 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XLtV.
Rome,
^l"" 5 HEFTS and crimes which are not
A capital are puniflied at Rome, and
fome other towns of Italy, by imprifon-
ment, or by what is called the Cord. This
lafl is performed in the ftreet. The euW
prit's hands are bound behind by a cord,
which runs on a pully ; he is then drawn,
up tw r enty or thirty feet from the ground,
and, if lenity is intended, he is let down
fmoothly in the fame manner he was drawn
up. In this operation the w 7 hole weight
of the criminal's body is fuftained by his
liands, and a ftrong man can bear the
punifhment infli&ed in this manner with-
out future inconveniency; for the ftrength
cf the mufcles of his arms enables him to
keep his hands preffed on the middle of
his back, and his body hangs in a kind of
horizontal pofition. But when they intend
to
MANNERS IN ITALY. 475
to be fevere, the criminal is allowed to fall
from the greateft height to which he had
been raifed, and the fall is abruptly checked
in the middle ; by which means the hands
and arms are immediately pulled above the
head, both fhoulders are diflocated, and the
body fwings, powerlefs, in a perpendicular
line. It is a cruel and injudicious punifh-
ment, and left too much in the power of
thofe who fuperintend the execution, to
make it fevere or not, as they are inclined.
Breaking on the wheel is never ufed ii>
Rome for any crime ; but they fometimes
put in practice another mode of execution,
which is much more fhocking in appear-
ance than cruel in reality. The criminal
being feated on a fcafFold, the executioner,
who ftands behind, ftrikeshim on the head
with a hammer of a particular conftruftion,
which deprives him, at once, of all fen-
fation. When it is certain that he is com-
pletely dead, the executioner, with a large
Jfnife, cuts his throat from ear to ear. This
laft
1
47 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
laft part of the ceremony is thought to
make a ftronger impreffion on the minds of
the fpe&ators, than the bloodlefs blow
•which deprives the criminal of life. Whe-
ther the advantages refulting from this are
fufficient to compenfate for fhocking the
public eye with fuch abominable fights* I
very much queftion.
Executions are not frequent at Rome, for
the reafons already given : there has been
only one fince our arrival ; and thofe who
are of the moft forgiving difpofition will
acknowledge, that this criminal was not
put to death till the meafure of his iniquity
was fufficiently full; he was condemned to
be hanged for his fifth murder. I fhall
give you fome account of his execution,
and the ceremonies which accompanied it,
becaufe they throw fome light on the fenti-
meats and charader of the people.
Firft of all, there was a proceffion of
priefts, one of whom carried a crucifix pa
a pote hung with black; they were follow-
ed
MANNERS IN ITALY. 477
ed by a number of people in long gowns
which covered them from head to foot,
with holes immediately before the face,
through which thofe in this difguife could
fee every thing perfe&ly, while they could
not be recognized by the fpe&ators. They
are of the Company della Mifericordia,
which is a fociety of perfons who, from
motives of piety, think it a duty to vifit
criminals under fentence of death, endea-
vour to bring them to a proper fenfe of
their guilt, affift them in making the beft
life of the fhort time they have to live, and
who never fprfake them till the moment
of their execution. People of the firft rank
are of this fociety, and devoutly perform
the moft laborious fundions of it. All of
them carried lighted torches, and a few
{hook tin boxes, into which the multitude
put money to defray the expence of mafles
for the foul of the criminal. This is con-
fidered by many as the moft meritorious
kind of charity ; and fome, whofe circum-
fiances do not permit them to beftow much,
r confine
478 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
confine all the expence they can afford in
charity, to the. fingle article of purchafing
maffes to be faid in behalf of thofe who
have died without leaving a farthing to
five their fouls. The rich, fay they, who
have much fuperfiuous wealth, may throw
away part of it in ads of temporal charity ;
but it is, in a more particular manner, the
duty of thofe who have little to give, to
take care that this little {hall be applied to
the mod beneficial purpofes. What is the re-
lieving a few poor families from the frivo-
lous diflreffes of cold and hunger, in com-
parifon of freeing them from many years
burning in fire and brimftone ? People are
reminded of this effential kind of charity,
not only by the preachers, but alfo by in-
fcriptions upon the walls of particular
churches and convents ; and fometimes the
aid of the pencil is called in to awaken the
compundion of the unfeeling and hard-
hearted. On the external walls of fome
convents, immediately above the box into
which you are direded to put your money,
views
MANNERS IN ITALY. 479
views of purgatory are painted in the moft
flaming colours, where people are feen in
all the agonies of burning, raifing their in-
dignant eyes to thofe unmindful relations
and acquaintances, who, rather than part
with a little money, allow them to remain
in thofe abodes of torment. One can
hardly conceive how any mortal can pafs
fuch a picture without emptying his purfe
into the box, if, by fo doing, he believed
he could redeem, I will not fay a human
creature, but even a poor incorrigible dog,
or vicious horfe, from fuch a dreadful
fituation. As the Italians in general feem
to have more fenfibility than any people I
am acquainted with, and as I fee fome, who
cannot be fuppofed totally in want of
money, pafs by thofe pictures every day
without putting a farthing into the box, I
muft impute this ftinginefs to a lack of
faith rather than off fenfibility. Such un-
mindful paflengers are probably of the
number of thofe who begin* to fufped that
the money of the living can be of little ufe
to
4$o VIEW C)£ SOCIETY AND
to the dead. Being abfolutely certain that
it gives themfelves much pain to part with
it in this world, and doubtful whether it
will have any efficacy in abridging the
pains of their friends in the other, they
hefitate for fome time between the two
rifks, that of lofing their own money, and
that of allowing their neighbour's foul to
continue in torture ; and it would appear
that thofe fceptics generally decide the dis-
pute in favour of the money.
But in fuch a cafe as that which I have
been defcribing, where a poor wretch is juft
going to be thruft by violence out of one
world, and folicits a little money to fecure
him a tolerable reception in another, the paf-
fions of the fpedators are too much agitated
for cold reafoning, and the molt niggardly
fceptic throws his mite into the boxes of
the Compagnia della Mifericordia. Imme-
diately after them came the malefa&or
himfelf, feated in a cart, with a Capucin
Friar on each fide of him, The hangman,
with
MANNERS IN ITALY. 481
with two afliftants, dreffed in fcarlet jackets,
walked by the cart. This proceffion hav-
ing moved flowly round the gallows, which
was ereded in the Piazza del Populo, the
culprit defcended from the cart, and was
led to a houfe in the neighbourhood, attend-
ed by the two Capucins« He remained there
about half an hour, was confefled, and re-
ceived absolution ; after which he came
out, exclaiming to the populace -to join in
prayers for his foul, and walked with a
hurried pace to the gallows; the hangman
and his afMants having hold of his arms*
they fupported him up the ladder, the
unhappy man repeating prayers as fad as
he could utter till he was turned off. He
was not left a moment to himfelf. The
executioner Hepped from the ladder, and
Hood with afoot oh each of his £houlders>
fupporting himielf in that fituation with
his hands on the top of the gallows, the
afMants at the fame time pulling down the
malefactor's legs, fo that he muft have
died in an inftant. The executioner, in a
Vol, L 1 i Ihort
482 VIEW OF SOCIETY A&D
fiiort time, Aid to the ground alohg the
dead body, as a failor Aides on a rope.
They then removed the cloth which cover-
ed his face, and twirled the body round
with great rapidity, as if their intention
had been to divert the mob ; who, however*
did not fhew any difpolition to be amufed
in that manner. The multitude beheld
the fcene with filent awe and compaffion.
During the time appointed by law for the
body to hang, all the members of the pro-
ceffion, with the whole apparatus of torches,
crucifixes, and Capucins, w r ent into a
neighbouring church, at the corner of the
Strada del Babbuino, and remained there
till a mafs was faid for the foul of the de-
ceafed : and when that was concluded, they
returned in proceffion to the gallows, with
a coffin covered with black cloth. On
their approach, the executioner, with his
affiftants, haftily retired among the crowd,
and were no more allowed to come near
the body. The condemned perfon having
now paid the forfeit due to his crimes, was
no
MANNERS IN ITALY. 483
no longer confidered as an obje£t of hatred ;
his dead body was therefore refcued from
the contaminating touch of thofe who
are held by the populace in the greateft
abhorrence. Two perfons in mafks, and
with black gowns, mounted the ladder and
cut the rope, while others below, of the
fame fociety, received the body, and put it
carefully into the coffin. An old woman
then faid, with an exalted voice, <c Adeffo
" fpero che Panima fua fia in paradifo;"
ic Now I hope his foul is in heaven and
the multitude around feemed all inclined to
hope the fame.
The ferious and companionate manner
in which the Roman populace beheld this
execution, forms a preemption of the
gentlenefs of their difpofitions. The crimes
of which this man had been guilty mufl
naturally have raifed their indignation, and
Jbis profeffion had a tendency to increafe
and keep it up ; for he was one of the
Sbirri, all of whom are held in the moft
I i 2 perfect;
4 S4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
perfed deteftation by the common people J
yet the moment they faw this object of
their hatred in the character of a poor con-
demned man, about to fuffer for his crimes*
all their animofity ceafed ; no rancour was
difplayed, nor theleaft infult offered, which
could diflurb him in his laft moments*
They viewed him with the eyes of pity
and forgivenefs, and joined, with earneft-
&efs, in prayers for his future welfare.
The manner in which this man was put
fo death was, no doubt, uncommonly mild,
when compared with the atrocity of his
guilt ; yet I am convinced, that the folemn
circumftancea which accompanied his exe-
cution, made a greater impreifion on the
minds of the populace, and would as effec-
tually deter them from the crimes for
which he was condemned, as if he had been
broken alive on the wheel, and the execu-
tion performed in a lefs folemn manner*
Convinced as I am that all horrid and
refined cruelty in the execution of crimi-
nals
MANNERS IN ITALY. 485
nals is, at beft, unneceflary, I never heard
of anything of that nature without horror
and indignation. Other methods, no way
conneded with the fufferings of the
prifoner, equally deter from the crime, and$
in all other refpeds, have a better influ-
ence on the minds of the multitude. The
proceffion defcribed above, I plainly per-
ceived, made a very deep impreffion. I
thought I faw more people affeded by
it than I have formerly obferved' among
a much greater crowd, who were gathered
to fee a dozen or fourteen of their fellow-
creatures dragged to the fame death for
houfe breaking and highway robbery, mere
venial offences, in companion of what this
Italian had perpetrated. The attendance
of the Capucins, the crucifixes, the So-
ciety of Mifericordia, the ceremony of con^
feffion, all have a tendency to flrike the
mind with awe, and keep up the belief of a
future ftate ; and when the multitude
behold fo many people employed, and fo
much pains taken, to fave the foul of one
n $ of
486 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of the moft worthlefs of mankind, they
muft think, that the faving of a foul is a
matter of great importance, and therefore
naturally infer, that thefooner they begin to
take care of their own, the better. But when
criminals are carried to execution with
little or no folemnity, amidft the fhouts
of an unconcerned rabble, who applaud
them in proportion to the degree of in-
difference and impenitence they difplay,
and confider the whole fcene as a fource
of amufement ; how can fuch exhibi-
tions make any ufeful impreffion, or ter-
rify the thoughtlefs and defperate from
any wicked propenfity ? If there is a
country in which great numbers of young
inconfiderate creatures are, fix or eight
times every year, carried to execution in this
tumultuous, unaffe&ing manner, might
not a ftranger conclude, that the view
of the legiflature was to cut off guilty in-
dividuals in the leaft alarming way poffible,
that others might not be deterred from
following their example?
MANNERS IN ITALY.
487
LETTER XLV.
Rome*
THOSE who have a real pleafure in,
contemplating the remains of an*
tique, and the nobleft fpecimens of modern
architecture, who are ftruck with the ini-
mitable delicacy and expreffiori of Greek
fculpture, and wifh to compare it with the
moll fuccefsful efforts of the moderns, and
who have an unwearied admiration of the
charms of painting, may, provided they
have not more important avocations elfe-
where, employ a full year with fatisfadtion
in this city.
What is called a regular courfe with an
Antiquarian, generally takes up about fix
weeks ; employing three hours a-day, you
may, in that time, vifit all the churches,
palaces, villas, and ruins, worth feeing, is
or near Rome. But after having made this
I i 4 courf?
488 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
courfe, however diftindtly every thing may
have been explained by the Antiquarian,
if you do not vilit the mod interefting again,
and again, and refledt on them at more
jeifure, your labour will be of little ufe;
for the obje&s are fo various, and thofe
you fee on one day, fo apt to be effaced
by, or confounded with, thofe you behold
on another, that you muft carry away a
very faint and indiftindl recollection of any.
Many travellers have experienced the truth
of this obfervation.
One young Englifh gentleman, who
happens not to be violently fmitten with
the charms of yirtu, and fcorns to affedt
what he does not feel, thought that two or
three hours a-day, for a month or fix weeks
together, was rather too much time to be-
flow on a purfuit in which he felt no plea-
fure, and faw very little utility. The only
advantage which, in his opinion, the
greater part of us reaped from our fix
weeks tour, was, that we 'could fay^ we had
% feea
MANNERS IN ITALY. 489
feen a great many fine things which he had
not feen. This was a fuperiority which
he could not brook, and which he refolved
we fhould not long enjoy. Being fully
convinced, that the bufinefs might be,
with a little exertion, difpatched in a very
fhort fpace of time, he prevailed on a
proper perfon to attend him ; ordered a
poft-chaife and four horfes to be ready
early in the morning, and driving through
churches, palaces, villas, and ruins, %vith
all poffible expedition, he fairly faw, in
two days, all that we had beheld during
our crawling courfe of fix weeks. I found
afterwards, by the lift he kept of what he
had feen, that we had not the advantage
of him in a fingle picture, or the mod
mutilated remnant of a ftatue.
I do not propofe this young gentleman's
plan, as the very beft poffible ; but of thi$
I am certain, that he can give as fatisfac-
tory an account of the curiofities of Rome,
as fome people of my acquaintance who
viewed
490 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
viewed them with equal ienfibility, and at
a great deal more leifure.
Thofe travellers who cannot remain 3.
confiderable time at Rome, would do well
to get a judicious lift of the moft intereft-
ing objects in archite&ure, feulpture, and
painting, that are to be feen here; they
ought to vifit theie frequently, and thefe
only, by which means they will acquire a
ftrong and diftind impreffion of what they
fee 3 inftead of that traniient and confufed
idea which a vaft number of things, viewed
fuperficially, and in a hurry, leave in the
mind. After they have examined, with
due attention, the moft magnificent and
beft preferved remains of ancient architec-
ture, very few have fatisfa£tion in view-
ing a parcel of old bricks, which, they are
told, formed the foundation of the baths of
fome of the Emperors. And there are no?
many who would regret their not having
feen great numbers of ftatues and pi&ures
pf inferior merit, when they had beheld all
tha|
MANNERS IN ITALY. 491
that are univerfally efteemed the beft.
Would it not be highly judicious, there-
fore, in the greateft number of travellers,
without abridging the ufual time of the
courfe,to make it much lefs ccmprehenfive?
Befides churches, there are about thirty
palaces in Rome, as full of pictures as the
walls can bear. The Borghefe Palace
alone is faid to contain above fixteen
hundred, all original. There are alfo ten
or twelve villas in the neighbourhood of
this city, which are ufually vifited by
ftrangers. You may judge from this, what
a tafk they undertake, who refplve to go
through the whole; and what kind of an
idea they are likely to carry away, who
perform this tafk during a ftay of a few
jnonths. Of the villas, the Pineiana, which
belongs to the Borghefe family, is the moft
remarkable. I fhall confine myfelf tp 4
few curfory remarks oa fome of the moft
efteemed cur iofi ties it contains. The Her-
maphrodite
4Q2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
maphrodlte, of which you have feen fo
many prints and models, is accounted by
many, one of the fineft pieces of fculpture
in the world. The mattrefs, upon which
this fine figure reclines, is the work of
the Cavalier Bernini, and nothing can
be more admirably executed. Some critics
fay, he has performed his tafk too -well, be-
caufe the admiration of the fpe&ator is
divided between the ftatue and the mattrefs.
This, however, ought not to be imputed as
a fault to that great artift ; fmce he con-
defcended to make it all, it was his bufi-
nefs to make it as perfed as poffible. I have
heard of an artift at Verfailles, in a dif-
ferent line, who attempted fomething of
the fame nature; he had exerted all his
abilities in making a periwig for a cele-
brated preacher, who was to preach on a
particular occafion bercre the court ; and
he imagined he had fucceeded to a miracle.
« c Til be hanged," faid he to one of his
companions, " if his Majefty, or any man
»« of
MANNERS IN ITALY. 493
% * of tafte, will pay much attention to the
u J erm on to-day."
Among the antiques, there is a Centaur
in marble, with a Cupid mounted on his
back. The latter has the ceftus of Venus,
and the ivy crown of Bachus, in allufion
to beauty and wine ; he beats the Centaur
with hisfift, and feems to kick with violence
to drive him along. The Centaur throws
back his head and eyes w r ith a look of re-
morfe, as if he were unwilling, though
forced, to proceed. The execution of this
group, is admired by thofe who look upon
it merely as a jeu d'efprit ; but it acquires
additional merit, when confidered as alle-
gorical of men who are hurried on by the
violence of their paffions, and lament their
own weaknefs, while they find themfeives
unable to refift.
There is another figure which claims at-
tention, more on account of the allegory
than thefculpture. This is a fmall ftatue of
Venus Cloacina, trampling on an impreg-
nated
49* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
nated Uterus, and tearing the wings of
Cupid. The allegory indicates, that profti-
tution is equally deftrudtive of generation
and love. Keyfler mentioning this, calls
it a ftatue of Venus, lamenting her rafhnefs
in clipping Cupid's wings.
The ftatue called Zingara, or the For-*
tune- teller, is antique, all but the head,
which is Bernini's ; the face has a ftrong
expreffion of that fly ; flirewdnefs, which
belongs to thofe whofe trade it is to impofe
on the credulity of the vulgar ; with a
great look of fome modern gy piles I have
feen, who have impofed moft egregioufly
on the felf-love and credulity of the great*
Seneca dying in the Bath, in touchflone ;
round his middle is a girdle of yellow
marble; he ftands in a bafon of blueifh
marble lined with porphyry; his knees
feem to bend under him, from weaknefs ;
his features denote faintnefs, languor, and
the approach of death; the eyes are en-
amelled, which gives the countenance a
fierce
MANNERS IN ITALY. 495
fierce and difagreeable look. Colouring
the eyes always has a bad effedl in fculp-
ture ; they form too violent a contraR with
the other features, which remain of the
natural colour of the marble* When the
eyes are enamelled, it is requifite that all
the face fhould be painted, to produce the
agreeable harmony of life.
The Faun dandling an infant Bacchus,
is one of the gayeft figures that can be
imagined.
In this Villa, there are alfo fome highly
e (teemed pieces by Bernini. ./Eneas carry-
ing his father; David flinging the ftone at
Goliah ; and Apollo purfuing Daphne : the
laft is generally reckoned Bernini's mafter-
piece ; for my part, I have fo bad a tafte
as to prefer the fecond. The figure of
David is nervous, with great anatomical
juftnefs, and a ftrong expreflion of keennefs
and exertion to hit his mark, and kill his
enemy ; but the countenance of David
wants dignity. An antique artift, perhaps,
could
40 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
could not have given more ardour, but he
would have given more noblenefs to the
features of David. Some may fay, that as
he was but a fhepherd, it was proper
he fhould have the look of a clown ; but it
ought to be remembered, that David was a
very extraordinary man ; and if the artift
who formed the Belvedere Apollo, or if
Agafias the Ephefian, had treated the fame
fubjeft, I imagine they would have render-
ed their work more interefting, by blend-
ing the noble air of an hero with the fimple
appearance of a fhepherd. The figures of
Apollo and Daphne err in a different man-
ner* The face and figure of Apollo are
deficient in fimplicity ; the noble fimplicity
of the beft antique ftatues : he runs with
affe&ed graces, and his aftonifhment at the
beginning transformation of his miftrefs
is not, in my opinion, naturally expreffed,
but feems rather the exaggerated aftonifh-
ment of an actor. The form and fhape of
Daphne are delicately executed ; but in her
face* beauty is, in fome degree, facrificed
to
MANNERS IN ITALY. 497
to the expreffion of terror ; her features
are too much diftorted by fear. An an-
tique artift would have made her lefs afraid,
that fhe might have been more beautiful.
In expreffing terror, pain, and other im-
preffions, there is a point where the beauty
of the finefl: countenance ends, and deformi-
ty begins. I am indebted to Mr. Lock for
this obfervation. In fome converfations I
had with him at Cologny, on the fubjedfc
of Sculpture, that gentleman remarked,
that it was in the fkilful and temperate
exertion of her powers, in this nobleft pro-
vince of the art, expreffion^ that ancient
fculpture fo much excelled the modern.
She knew its limits, and had afcertained
them with precifion. As far as expreffion
would go hand in hand with grace and
beauty, in fubje&s intended to excite fym-
pathy, fhe indulged her chifel but where
agony threatened to induce diftortion, and
obliterate beauty, (he wifely fet bounds to
imitation, remembering, that though it
may be moral to pity uglinefs in diftrefs,
Vql, L K k it
49* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
it is more natural to pity beauty in the fame
fituation j and that her bufinefs was not io
give the ftrongeft reprefentation of nature*
but the reprefentation which would intereft
us moft. That ingenious gentleman, I re-*
member, obferved at the fame time, that
the Greek artifts have been accufed of
having facrificed chara&er too much to tech-
nical proportion. He continued to obferve,
that what is ufually called character in a
face, is probably excefs in fome of its parts,
and particularly of thofe which are under
the influence of the mind, the leading
paflion of which marks fome feature for its
own. A perfectly fymmetrical face bears
no mark of the influence of either the paf-
fions or the underftanding, and reminds
you of Prometheus's clay without his fire.
On the other hand, the moderns, by facri-
ficing too liberally thofe technical propor-
tions, which, when religioufly obferved,
produce beauty, to expreffion, have gene-
rally loft the very point which they con-
tended for. They feemed to think, that
when
MANNERS IN ITALY. 49 g
when a paflion was to be exprefled, it could
not be exprefled too ftrongly ; and that
fympathy always followed in an exa£t pro-
portion with the ftrength of the paflion,
and the force of its expreffion. But paf-
fions, in their extreme, inftead of produ-
cing fympathy, generally excite feelings
diametrically oppofite. A vehement and
clamorous demand of pity is received with
hegled, and fometimes with difguft ; whilfl
a patient and filent acquiefcence under the
preflure of mental affliction, or fevere bodily
pain, finds every heart upon an unifoa
with its fufferings. The ancients knew to
what extent expreffion may be carried, with
good effedl. The author of the famous
Laocoon, in the Vatican, knew where to
flop, arid if the figure had been alone, it
would have been perfed; there is exquifite
anguifli in the countenance, but it is borne
in filence, and without diftortion of fea-
tures. Puget thought he could go beyond
the author of Laocoon ; he gave voice to
his Milo; he made him roaring with pain,
Kk 2 and
5 oo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND"
and loft the fympathy of the fpe£bttor. la
confirmation of this doftrine, Mr. Lock
defired, that when I fhould arrive at Rome,
I would examine, with attention, the cele-
brated ftatue of Niobe, in the Villa de
Medici. I have done fo again and again,
and find his remarks moft ftrikingly juft.
The author of the Niobe has had the judg-
ment not to exhibit all the diftrefs which
he might have placed in her countenance.
This confummate artift was afraid of
difturbing her features too much, knowing
full well, that the point where he was to
expert the moft fympathy was there, where
diftrefs co-operated with beauty, and where
our pity met our love. Had he fought it
one ftep farther, in exprejfton, he had loft
it. It is unjuft, you will fay, that men
fhould not fympathife with homely women
in diftrefs, in the fame degree as they do
with the beautiful. That is very true ; but
it is the bufinefs of the fculptor to apply
his art to men as he finds them, not as
they ought to be. Befide, this principle
has
MANNERS IN ITALY. 501
has full force, and is ftri&ly true, only in
fculpture and painting. For, in real life,
a woman may engage a man's efteem and
affections by a thoufand fine qualities, and
a thoufand endearing ties, though fhe is
entirely deficient in beauty.
This Villa is alfo enriched by one of the
moft animated ftatues in the world, and
which, in the opinion of many men of
tafte ? comes neareft, and in the judgment
of fome, equals the Apollo of the Vatican.
I mean the ftatue of the fighting Gladia-
tor. It is difficult, however, to compare
two pieces v/hofe merits are fo different.
The Apollo is full of grace, majefty, and
confcious fuperiority ; he has fhot his ar-
row, and knows its fuccefs. There is, in-
deed, a flrong expreffion of indignation,
which opens his lips, diftends his noftrils,
and contra&s his brows ; but it is the in-
dignation of a fuperior being, who punifhes
while he fcorns the efforts of his enemy.
The Gladiator, on the contrary, full of fire
K k 3 and
5 02 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and youthful courage, oppofes an enemy
that he does not fear ; but whom, it is
evident, he thinks worthy of his utmoft
exertion ; every limb, nerve, and finew,
is in adion ; his ardent features indicate
the ftrongeft defire, the highefl expec-
tation, but not a perfed fecurity of
vidory. His fhape is elegant as well
as nervous, exprefiive of agility as well
as lirength, and equally diftant from the
brawny ftrength of the Farnefian Her-
cules, and the effeminate foftnefs of the
Belvedere Antinou?, The adion is tranfi-*
tive (if the term may be fo ufed), and pre-*
paratory only to another difpofition of body
and limbs, which are to enable him to
ilrike, and which he cannot do in his pre-
fent pofition ; for the moment his right
arm croffed the perpendicular line of his
right leg, the whole figure would be out
of its centre. His action feems a combi-
nation of the defenfive and offenfive ; de-
fenfive in meprefent moment, the left arm
being advanced to fecure the adverfary's
7 blow ;
MANNERS IN ITALY; 503
blow ; and preparing for offence in the
next, the left leg already taking its fpring
to advance in order to give the figure a
centre, which may enable it to ftrike, with-
out rifk of falling, if the blow fhould not
take place. The action of the right arm,
however, will always remain in fome de-
gree problematical, the ancient being loft ;
by whom the modern arm is reftored, I
never heard.
Though this fine figure generally goes
by the name of the fighting Gladiator,
fome antiquarians cannot allow, that ever
it was intended to reprefent a perfon of
that profelfion, but a Victor at the Olympic
games ; and allege, that Agafias of Ephe-
fus, the fculptor's name, being infcribed
upon the pedeftal, fupports their opinion,
becaufe the Greeks never ufed gladiators.
But I fear this argument has little weight ;
for the Greek flaves at Rome put their
name to their work ; and the free Greek
irtifts, working in Greece, in public works,
K k 4 found
5 04 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
found difficulty in obtaining the fame in-
dulgence. Thofe who wifh to refcue this
ftatue from the ignoble condition of a com-
mon Gladiator, fay further, that he looks
up as if his adverfary were on horfeback,
adding, that gladiators never fought on
foot again!! horfemen on the Arena. Here
again, I am afraid, they are miftaken. He
looks no higher than the eye of an enemy
on foot ; the head muft have a much
greater degree of elevation to look up to
the eye of an horfeman, which is the part
of your adverfary which you always fix.
Some learned gentlemen, not fatisfied
that this ftatue fhould be thrown indifcri-
minately among Gladiators and Vigors of
the Olympic games, have given it a parti-
cular and lading character ; they roundly
affert, that it is the identical ftatue, made
by order of the Athenian State, in honour
of their countryman Chabrias ; and that it
is precifely in the attitude which, accord-
ing to Cornelius Nepos, that hero aflumed,
when
MANNERS IN ITALY. 5 © s
when he repulfed the army of Agefilaus.
This idea is in the true fpirit of an anti-
quary.
If, upon turning to that author, you
remain unconvinced, and are interefted
in the honour of the ftatue, I can furnifh
you with no prefumptive proof of its ori-
ginal dignity, except, that the chara&er of
the face is noble and haughty, unlike that
of a flave and mercenary Gladiator. And
there is no rope around the neck, as the
Gladiator Moriens has, whom that circum-
fiance fufficiently indicates to have been in
iihat unfortunate fituation.
50 6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND*
LETTER XLVI.
Rome<,
Few days fince I went to call on aa
£ artift of my acquaintance* I met,
coming out of his door, an old woman, and a
very handfome girl, remarkably well fhaped*
I rallied him a little on the fubject of his
vifitors, and his good fortune in being
attended in a morning by the prettieft girl
I had feen fmce I came to Rome. H I think
*' myfelf fortunate, 5 ' faid he, 0 in having
* 4 found a girl fo perfe&ly well made, who
ct allows me to ftudy her charms without
<c reftraint, and at a reafonable price j but
" I affure you, I can boaft of no other kind;
" of good fortune with her/' u I am con-
cc vinced," rejoined I, " that you take great
cc pleafure in your ftudies, and there can be
<; no doubt that you have made a very de-
" firable progrefs.' 5 u Of that you fhall be
€i the judge, 5 * replied he, leading me into
another
MANNERS IN ITALY, 507
another room, where I faw a full length
painting of the girl, in the charader of
Venus, and in the ufual drefs of that god-«
defs. " There, 5 ' &id he, " is the only
" effed my ftudies have had hitherto, and
" I begin to fufped that they will never
" produce any thing more nearly conned-
" ed with the original." He then informed
me, that the old woman I had feen was
the girl's mother, who never failed to
accompany her daughter, when (he came as
a model to him ; that the father was a
tradefman, with a numerous family, who
thought this the moft innocent ufe that his
daughter's beauty could be put to> till fhe
fhould get a hufband ; and to prevent its
being put to any other, his wife always ac-
companied her. " I have drawn her as
" Venus, 5 ' added he ; " but, for any thing
I know to the contrary, 1 fhould have ap-
proached nearer to her real charader if I
ct bad painted her as Diana. Sbe comes
c< here merely in obedience to her parents,
u and gains her bread as innocently as if
u fhe
5 o8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
€Q ihe were knitting purfes in a convent
<c from morning to night, without feeing
" the face of a man."
" However innocent all this may be,"
faid I, " there is fomething at which the
u mind revolts, in a mother's being prefent
€t when her daughter ads a part which, if
" not criminal, is, at leaft, highly in-
** delicate."
" To be fure," replied the painter, cc the
cC woman has not quite fo much delicacy as
«' to ftarve, rather than let her daughter
" (land as a model ; yet fhe feems to have
c< attention to the girl's chaftity, too."
" Chaftity !'* anfwered I, u why this
" would fhock an Englijh woman more
c * than any thing which could be propofed
* fi to her. Every other kind of liberty muft
€( have been previoufly taken with her. She
" muft be a complete proftitute in every
" fenfe of the word, before fhe could be
<s brought to fubmit to appear in this
* 6 manner. 55
" Your
MANNERS IN ITALY. 509
H Your obfervation is true," replied he ;
Cl but it does not prove that thofe who fub-
cc mit to this, to prevent their becoming
*' proftitutes, do not judge better than thofe
" who become proftitutes, and then fubmit
u to this. In different countries," conti-
nued he, a people think very differently on
" fubjedts of this kind. The parents of
" this girl, to my knowledge, have refufed
" confiderable offers from men of fortune,
" to be allowed the privilege of vifiting her.
u They are fo very careful of preventing
H every thing of that nature, that fhe a&u-
" ally lies in the fame bed with them
<c both, which is another piece of indelicacy
iC not uncommon among the lower people
" in Italy. Thefe parents have the more
c< merit in refufing fuch offers, as their ad-
11 ing otherwife would by no means be
Cl thought extraordinary; nor would it raife
" the fame degree of indignation here as in
<c fome other countries of Europe. Breach
u of chaftity, in females of low rank, is not
f f confidered here in the fame heinous light
6 , " that
5 io VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
* c that it is in fome parts of Germany and
« c Great Britain; where it is deemed a crime
u of fuch magnitude, as to require expia-
c< tion, by a public rebuke from the parfori
" in the middle of the church. I have
" heard of a clergyman in the North, who
€C had occafion to rebuke a young woman
<c for having borne a child before marriage.
" The accomplice in her guilt had married
u her immediately after her recovery ; but
u this did not abate the parfon's indigna-
16 tion againft the wickednefs they had pre-
<c vioufly committed. Magdalen,'* faid
he, with an aweful tone of voice, to the wo-
man, " you ftand before this congregation
<c to be rebuked for the barbarous and un-
H natural crime of fornication, ,f
<fi The reverend clergyman, faid I, in all
<c probability intended to terrify his pa-
u riftiioners from fuch irregularities ; and
11 for this purpofe imagined there would be
" no harm in putting them in the mod
11 odious point of view." " This is attend-
«' ed,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 5 it
u ed, however, by one dreadful confe-
l% quence," replied the artift, a that thefe
** unhappy creatures, to conceal a fault of
u which fuch a horrible idea is given, and
<c to prevent the fhame of a public expo*
€i fition in the church, are fometimes tempt-
" ed to commit a crime which is in reality
u barbarous, and unnatural in the higheft
u degree."
" There is nothing," continued he,
€c which has a greater tendency to ren«*
" der any fet of people worthlefs, than the
€s idea that they are already confidered as
" fuch. The women all over Great Bri-
" tain, who live in an open and avowed
" breach of chaftity, are generally more
" daringly wicked, and devoid of principle,
<c than the Italian women who take the
" fame liberties/'
" Would you then/' faid I 5 " have wo-
*• men of that kind more refpedted in
" Great Britain, in hopes that it might,
" in time, make them more refpeSable ?"
*' I exprefs
5 i2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AMJ3
< c I exprefs no defire on the fubjed^
replied he. " I was only going to remark,
il that, in avoiding one inconveniency,
mankind often fall into another ; and that
" we are too apt to cenfure and ridicule cuf-
u toms and opinions different from thofe
ce which prevail in our own country, with-
" out having fufficiently confidered all their
" immediate and remote effe&s. I did not
cc intend to decide, whether the indulgence
" with which women of a certain clafs are
** viewed in Italy, or the ignominy with
" which they are treated in Great Britain,
" has, upon the whole, the beft effe£l in
11 fociety. But I have obferved, that the
<c public courtezans in England often be-
u come quite abandoned, and forget all fenfe
" of gratitude or afFe&ion, even to their pa-
11 rents. But in Italy, women who never
<c put any value on the virtue of chaftity,
" thofe who fell their favours for money,
* c difplay a goodnefs of character in other
" refpe&s, and continue their duty and at-
€i tachment to their parents as long as they
«' live,
MANNERS IN ITALY. 513
€C Jive. Foreigners who form a conne&ion
tft with a girl in this country, find them-
<c felves very often obliged to maintain the
" father, mother, and whole family to
" which fhe belongs. The lover generally
" confiders this as a very troublefome cir-
* c cumftance, and endeavours to infpire his
€i Italian -miftrefs with that total negle£t of
<c her family which prevails among women
" of her ftamp in other countries ; but he
" very feldom fucceeds. An Italian woman
" is unwilling to quit her native city and
" her family, even for a man fhe loves ;
" and feldom does, till he makes fome pro-
" vifion for her neareft relations."
<c You feem to have a very great affec-
" tion for the Italian ladies ; and, as far as
" I can perceive, 55 faid I, " your paffion is
u univerfal to the whole qlafs in queftion;
" but you have faid nothing to the effential
<c article of religion. It is to be hoped,
" they do not allow the duties of their pro-
< c fefhon to make them negleft their fouls."
Vol, i hi ** I fee/*
5i4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
" I fee," replied the painter, " you are
C£ difpofed to laugh at all I have faid in
" their favour ; but in aniwer to your
" queftion, I will fairly own, that their re-
u ligious, or, if you pleafe, we {hall rather
€t call them their fuperflitious, fentiments,
€( feem to be no way influenced by their
44 profeffion ; nor are the duties of their
Cl profeffion in any degree affe&ed by thefe
44 fentiments. They attend mafs, and the
<c ceremonies of devotion, with as much
<c pun&uality as if their lives were regular
" in all other refpe£ts ; and they pafs their
cc lives, in other refpe&s, as if they had
" never heard of any religious fyftem but
" that of Epicurus. In fome countries of
f 4 Europe, women of their ftamp often de«?
< c fpife every appearance of decency, aflume
c< the difgufting depravity of male debau-
44 chees, with all the airs of afFe&ed in-
44 fidelity, and real profligacy ; but here
44 they always remember they are women;
" and, after they have loft the mod valued
« and brighteft ornament of their fex,
o « mil
MANNERS IN ITALY.
11 ftill endeavour to retain fome
<c others."
f< After all you have faid in their fa-
<c vour, 3 ' faid I, u their condition is cer-
f< tainly not to be envied- If, therefore,
" you have any regard for your young
" Venus, you will do well to leave her under
" the care of her mother, and never en-
" deavour to introduce heir into the com-
€i munity whofe eulogium you have been
11 making*"
When I returned from the houfe of this
artift, I found Mr. waiting for me at
our lodgings. He has of late paid his court
very alTiduoufly to a lady of high rank in
this place : fhe is diftinguifhed, even here,
for a pun&ilious cbfervance of all the cere-
monies appointed by the church, and could
not eat meat on a meagre-day, or deviate
from the canonical regulations in any point
of equal importance, without remorfe ; but
in matters of gallantry, fhe has the repu-
tation of being infinitely more liberal, both
L 1 z i in
515
of the
5*6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
in her fentiments and practice. She has
been for fome time provided with a very
able and refpe&able lover, of her own
country. This did not make her blind to
the good qualities of Mr. <— ,with whom
fhe formed a very intimate connection,
loon after his arrival here ; not that fhe
prefers him to her other lover, but merely
from a ftrong fenfe of the truth and beauty
of his arithmetical axiom — one and one
make two. The new arrangement with our
countryman, however pleafing,,^ the lady,
gave offence to her Father ConfefTor. The
fcrupulous ecclefiaftic was of opinion, that
a connexion of this nature with a heretic
was more criminal than with a man of her
own communion. Mr. was juft come
from the lady to our lodgings ; he had
found her in worfe humour than he had
ever obferved before, though her temper is
not the mildeft in the world. Mr. ■
entered as the Confeffor went out ; {he £hut
the door after him with a violence which
{hook the whole houfe, muttering, as fhe
returned
MANNERS IN ITALY. 517
returned to her feat, Che ti pqffino Cafcar le
braccia Vecchio Dondolone. Mr. ■ ex-
prefled his concern on feeing her fo much
agitated. Ct No wonder,*' faid (he, <c that
tc ftubborn Animalaccio who is juft gone
M out, has had the infolence to refufe
f " me abfolution. As I expe&ed you this
" morning, I fent for him betimes, that
" the matter might have been expedited
" before you fhould come ; but here I have
" been above an hour endeavouring to per-
" fuade him, but all to no purpofe ; nothing
" I could fay was able to mollify the ob-
u ftinate old greafy rafcal." Mr.
joined in abufing the ConfefTor's perverfe-
nefs, hinting, at the fame time, that fhe
ought to defpife it as a matter of little im-
portance; that fhe was fure of receiving
abfolution fooner or later; and, whenever
it happened, all the tranfa&ions of the in-
terval would be comprehended within that
a£t of grace. Upon the flrength of this
reafoning, Mr. — — was proceeding to
fulfil the purpofe of his vifit with as much
4 alacrity
5 i9- VIEW OF SOCIETY, &c,
alacrity as if the moft complete difcharge
had been granted for all proceedings—
cc Pian Piano Idol mio" cried the lady,
u bifogna rimetterji alia volunta di Dio"
She then told her lover, that although fhe
defpifed the Confeflbr as much as he could
do, yet fhe muft take care of her own foul j
that not having fettled her accounts with
heaven for a confiderable time, fhe was de-
termined not to begin a new fcore till the
old fhould be cleared ; adding, for her prin-
cipal reafon, Pat to chiaro^ amico caro.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME,
TRANSLATIONS
OF THE
LATIN AND ITALIAN QUOTATIONS
I N T H E
FIRST VOLUME.
Page
Hundred hours of vexation will not
pay one farthing of debt.
19. Thro' various hazards, and many crofs
events,
62, What we hear.
With flower paffion to the heart proceeds^
Than when an audience views the very
deeds. Francis.
Ibid. The bufinefs of the drama mult appear
in adtion or defcription. Francis.
75. Like a youthful tree, of growth
Infenfible 3 high (hoots his fpreading fame.
Francis,
151. The place intended for the portrait of
Marinus Fallierus, who was beheaded.
Vet, I. Mm
TRANSLATIONS OF THE
Page
244. to the woods the wanton hies,
And wilhes to be feen before (he flies.
Dryden»
2,75. At length he founded Padua's happy feat,
Dryden.
Ibid. Where Aponus firft fprings in fmoky
ft earn,
And full Timavus rolls his nobler
ftream ;
Upon a hill that day, if fame be true,
A learned Augur fat the fkies to view :
'Tis come, the great event is come (he
cry'd) !
Our impious chiefs their wicked war
decide. Rowe.
281, Whence bull-faced Po adorned with gilded
horns,
Than whom no river, thro 3 fuch level
meads,
Down to the fea with fwifter torrents
fpeeds. Wartont.
291. Three brothers, the fons of Maria Therei'a,
Queen of Bohemia and Hungary, all
of them diftinguifhed by their vimies*
and worthy of fo illuftrious a mother,
were
LATIN AND ITALIAN QUOTATIONS.
Page
were entertained at this inn, viz. Maxi-
milian Arch Duke of Auftria, who
actually fupped and palled the night
here, on the 30th of May, 1775.
Peter Leopold Grand Duke of Tufcany,
and the Emperor Jofeph the Second, the
ornament and glory of the age, who
dined here the following day.
Thatfuch important events may not be loft
in the flight of time, let this durable
monument inform the lateft pofterity
of the happinefs which this inn en-
joyed.
301. The Bononian Academy of arts and fci-
ences, for the general ufe of the whole
world.
315. Some are of opinion^ that* captivated by
the love of power, and having carefully
weighed his own ftrength and that of
his enemies, he had availed himfelf
of this opportunity of feizing the fu-
preme authority, which had been his
paffion from his early youth.
Hid. For if a violation of equity is ever excuf-
abtej it is when a crown is our objecl—
M m 2 Om
TRANSLATIONS OF THE
Page
On all other occafions we ought to cul-
tivate juftice,
316. He never was deterred from any undertak-
ing by religious fcruples. — When the
animal, deftined for facrifice, fled from
the altar, this bad omen did not pre-
vent Csefar from marching againft
Scipio and Juba.
317. The leader now had paffed the torrent
o'er,
And reached fair Italy's forbidden fliore :
Then rearing on the hoftile bank his
head,
Here, farewell peace and injured laws (he
faid) !
Since faith is broke, and leagues are fet
afide,
Henceforth thou, goddefs Fortune, art
my guide.
Let fate and war the great event decide.
He fpoke; and, on the dreadful talk
intent,
Speedy to near Ariminum he bent;
To him the Balearic fling is flow,
And the fhaft loiters from the Parthian
bow. Rowe.
LATIN AND ITALIAN QUOTATIONS.
Page
321. How much the grandeur of thy rifing
ftate
Owes to the Neros, Rome imperial ! fay,
Witnefs Metaurus, and the difmal fate
Of vanquiihed Afdrubal, and that glad
day
Which firft, aufpicious, as the darknefs fled,
O'er Latium's face a tide of glory fhed.
Through wide Hefperia's tow'ring cities,
crufh'd
With hideous fall and defolation dire,
Impetuous, wild the Carthaginian rufh'd ;
As through the pitchy pines deftru&ive
fire
Devours its courfe, or howling Eurus raves,
And porting fweeps the mad Sicilian waves.
Francis.
323, An Adriatic turbot, of a wonderful
fize, was caught before the temple of
Venus, at Ancona, a city built by the
Greeks.
344. Be not afraid, my good Sir, thefe walls
are more firm than the Apennines.
369. Hannibal, having defeated the Romans
at Thrafymene, and marching his army
3 tQ
TRANSLATIONS OF THE
Page
to Rome, was repulfed from Spoletto
with great (laughter. The memorable
flight of the Carthaginians gave name
to this gate.
369. Hannibal marched ftraight through Uith
bria to Spoletto, and after having laid
the country wade, when he began to
attack the town, he was beat off, with
great (laughter of his foldiers. Such
a check from an inconfiderable
colony, would naturally lead him to
refleft on the difficulties he muft
encounter in fubduing the Roman re*
public.
376. Narnia, furrounded by a fulphureous
ftream and dangerous cliffs, which
render it almoft inacceffible.
387. Hence the fam'd Latian line, and fenates
come,
And the proud triumphs, and the tow'rs
of Rome. Pitt*
388. Yes, my Lord — but my hulband is an
old man.
LATIN AND ITALIAN QUOTATIONS,
Page
388. O holy Virgin, how exceeding old he is!
408. Long live the Holy Father!
Hid. Your blefiing, Holy Father.
411. This triumph, this, on Libya's utmoft
bound,
With death and defolation compafled
round,
To all thy glories, Pompey, I prefer,
Thy trophies,and thy third triumphal car
To Marius' mighty name, and great Ju-
gurthine war. Rowe.
412. What tongue, juft Cato, can thy praife*
forbear !
Or each brave Scipio's noble deeds de-
clare ?
Afric's dread foes \ two thunderbolts of
war ! Pitt.
415. Founded by Marcus Agrippa, the fon
of Lucius, during his third Conful-
{hip.
421. Secure in his retreat Vejanius lies ;
Hangs up his arms, nor courts the doubt-
ful prize-,
Wifely
TRANSLATIONS OF THE
Page
Wifely refolved to tempt his fate no
more,
Or the light croud for his difcharge implore.
Francis.
426. But if fhe has made an affignation, and
wifhes to be dreft with more nicety
than ufual — Poor Pfecus (her female
Have), with her hair torn about her
ears, and ftripped to the waift, ad-
jufts the locks of her miftrefs. Why is
this curl fo high ? Preiently the whip
punilhes the diforder of ■ the leaft
hair,
428. — — -every moment grows.
And gains new ftrength and vigour as it
goes. Pitt,
435. Between whom Auguftus reclining,
quaffs nedlar with purple lips.
436. My fame — (hall bloom,
And with unfading youth improve,
While to th* immortal fane of Jove
The veftal maids, in filent flate
Afcending, on the Pontiff wait.
Francis,
LATIN AND ITALIAN QUOTATIONS,
Page
436. Hail, happy pair! if fame our verfe can
give,
From age to age your memory fliall
live ;
Long as th' imperial Capitol {hall (land,
Or Rome's majeftic Lord the conquer'd
world command ! Pitt,
439, From whofe bowels the Prince of Peace
fprung.
446, Why Sees he hate the funny plain,
While he can fun or duft fuftain ?
Or why no more, with martial pride,
Amidft the youthful battle ride,
And the fierce Gallic fixed command,
With bitted curb, and forming hand?
Why does he fear the yellow flood ?
Francis,
447. Thus they conversed on works of ancient:
fame,
Till to the monarch's humble courts they
came ;
There oxen ftaik'd, where palaces are
rais'd,
And bellowing herds in the proud Forum
graz'd, Pitt*
Vol. h N n
TRANSLATION OF THE LATIN, See.
Page
517. The Devil go along with you for an old
goofe.
518. Softly, foftly, my love. We muft fub-
rnit to the will of Heaven.
JUL Short accounts make long friends.
ERRATA.
Page 67. line 4. for eloquence read elegance.
91. — • ig.fo'r as well as them read as well as they>
464. 18. for certo read certa.
492. — — 13. for make it all read make it at all.
49$. ]ali,fcr an antique artifl an ancient artift.
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516, jo. for his arithmetical read this arithmetical.
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