Travels Through France And Italy - Tobias Smollett (diy ebook reader .TXT) 📗

Nuisance In The

Reign Of Augustus; And The Xysta, Which Were Shady Walks Between

Two Porticos, Where The Men Exercised Themselves In The Winter. I

Am Disgusted By The Modern Taste Of Architecture, Though I Am No

Judge Of The Art. The Churches And Palaces Of These Days Are

Crowded With Pretty Ornaments, Which Distract The Eye, And By

Breaking The Design Into A Variety Of Little Parts, Destroy The

Effect Of The Whole. Every Door And Window Has Its Separate

Ornaments, Its Moulding, Frize, Cornice. And Tympanum; Then There

Is Such An Assemblage Of Useless Festoons, Pillars, Pilasters,

With Their Architraves, Entablatures, And I Know Not What, That

Nothing Great Or Uniform Remains To Fill The View; And We In Vain

Look For That Simplicity Of Grandeur, Those Large Masses Of Light

And Shadow, And The Inexpressible Eusuinopton, Which Characterise

The Edifices Of The Antients. A Great Edifice, To Have Its Full

Effect, Ought To Be Isole, Or Detached From All Others, With A

Large Space Around It: But The Palaces Of Rome, And Indeed Of All

The Other Cities Of Italy, Which I Have Seen, Are So Engaged

Among Other Mean Houses, That Their Beauty And Magnificence Are

In A Great Measure Concealed. Even Those Which Face Open Streets

And Piazzas Are Only Clear In Front. The Other Apartments Are

Darkened By The Vicinity Of Ordinary Houses; And Their Views Are

Confined By Dirty And Disagreeable Objects. Within The Court

There Is Generally A Noble Colonnade All Round, And An Open

Corridore Above, But The Stairs Are Usually Narrow, Steep, And

High, The Want Of Sash-Windows, The Dullness Of Their Small Glass

Lozenges, The Dusty Brick Floors, And The Crimson Hangings Laced

With Gold, Contribute To Give A Gloomy Air To Their Apartments; I

Might Add To These Causes, A Number Of Pictures Executed On

Melancholy Subjects, Antique Mutilated Statues, Busts, Basso

Relieves, Urns, And Sepulchral Stones, With Which Their Rooms Are

Adorned. It Must Be Owned, However, There Are Some Exceptions To

This General Rule. The Villa Of Cardinal Alexander Albani

Is Light, Gay, And Airy; Yet The Rooms Are Too Small, And

Too Much Decorated With Carving And Gilding, Which Is A Kind Of

Gingerbread Work. The Apartments Of One Of The Princes Borghese

Are Furnished In The English Taste; And In The Palazzo Di Colonna

Connestabile, There Is A Saloon, Or Gallery, Which, For The

Proportions, Lights, Furniture, And Ornaments, Is The Most Noble,

Elegant, And Agreeable Apartment I Ever Saw.

 

 

 

It Is Diverting To Hear All Italian Expatiate Upon The Greatness

Of Modern Rome. He Will Tell You There Are Above Three Hundred

Palaces In The City; That There Is Scarce A Roman Prince, Whose

Revenue Does Not Exceed Two Hundred Thousand Crowns; And That

Rome Produces Not Only The Most Learned Men, But Also The Most

Refined Politicians In The Universe. To One Of Them Talking In

This Strain, I Replied, That Instead Of Three Hundred Palaces, 

Part 7 Letter 30 ( Nice, February 28, 1765.) Pg 249

The Number Did Not Exceed Fourscore; That I Had Been Informed, On

Good Authority, There Were Not Six Individuals In Rome Who Had So

Much As Forty Thousand Crowns A Year, About Ten Thousand Pounds

Sterling; And That To Say Their Princes Were So Rich, And Their

Politicians So Refined, Was, In Effect, A Severe Satire Upon

Them, For Not Employing Their Wealth And Their Talents For The

Advantage Of Their Country. I Asked Why Their Cardinals And

Princes Did Not Invite And Encourage Industrious People To Settle

And Cultivate The Campania Of Rome, Which Is A Desert? Why They

Did Not Raise A Subscription To Drain The Marshes In The

Neighbourhood Of The City, And Thus Meliorate The Air, Which Is

Rendered Extremely Unwholsome In The Summer, By Putrid

Exhalations From Those Morasses? I Demanded Of Him, Why They Did

Not Contribute Their Wealth, And Exert Their Political

Refinements, In Augmenting Their Forces By Sea And Land, For The

Defence Of Their Country, Introducing Commerce And Manufactures,

And In Giving Some Consequence To Their State, Which Was No More

Than A Mite In The Political Scale Of Europe? I Expressed A

Desire To Know What Became Of All Those Sums Of Money, Inasmuch

As There Was Hardly Any Circulation Of Gold And Silver In Rome,

And The Very Bankers, On Whom Strangers Have Their Credit, Make

Interest To Pay Their Tradesmen's Bills With Paper Notes Of The

Bank Of Spirito Santo? And Now I Am Upon This Subject, It May Not

Be Amiss To Observe That I Was Strangely Misled By All The Books

Consulted About The Current Coin Of Italy. In Tuscany, And The

Ecclesiastical State, One Sees Nothing But Zequines In Gold, And

Pieces Of Two Paoli, One Paolo, And Half A Paolo, In Silver.

Besides These, There Is A Copper Coin At Rome, Called Bajocco And

Mezzo Bajocco. Ten Bajocchi Make A Paolo: Ten Paoli Make A Scudo,

Which Is An Imaginary Piece: Two Scudi Make A Zequine; And A

French Loui'dore Is Worth Two Zequines And Two Paoli.

 

 

 

Rome Has Nothing To Fear From The Catholic Powers, Who Respect It

With A Superstitious Veneration As The Metropolitan Seat Of Their

Religion: But The Popes Will Do Well To Avoid Misunderstandings

With The Maritime Protestant States, Especially The English, Who

Being Masters Of The Mediterranean, And In Possession Of Minorca,

Have It In Their Power At All Times, To Land A Body Of Troops

Within Four Leagues Of Rome, And To Take The City, Without

Opposition. Rome Is Surrounded With An Old Wall, But Altogether

Incapable Of Defence. Or If It Was, The Circuit Of The Walls Is

So Extensive, That It Would Require A Garrison Of Twenty Thousand

Men. The Only Appearance Of A Fortification In This City, Is The

Castle Of St. Angelo, Situated On The Further Bank Of The Tyber,

To Which There Is Access By A Handsome Bridge: But This Castle,

Which Was Formerly The Moles Adriani, Could Not Hold Out Half A

Day Against A Battery Of Ten Pieces Of Cannon Properly Directed.

It Was An Expedient Left To The Invention Of The Modern Romans,

To Convert An Ancient Tomb Into A Citadel. It Could Only Serve As

A Temporary Retreat For The Pope In Times Of Popular Commotion,

And On Other Sudden Emergencies; As It Happened In The Case Of

Pope Clement Vii. When The Troops Of The Emperor Took The City By 

Part 7 Letter 30 ( Nice, February 28, 1765.) Pg 250

Assault; And This Only, While He Resided At The Vatican, From

Whence There Is A Covered Gallery Continued To The Castle: It Can

Never Serve This Purpose Again, While The Pontiff Lives On Monte

Cavallo, Which Is At The Other End Of The City. The Castle Of St.

Angelo, Howsoever Ridiculous As A Fortress, Appears Respectable

As A Noble Monument Of Antiquity, And Though Standing In A Low

Situation, Is One Of The First Objects That Strike The Eye Of A

Stranger Approaching Rome. On The Opposite Side Of The River, Are

The Wretched Remains Of The Mausoleum Augusti, Which Was Still

More Magnificent. Part Of The Walls Is Standing, And The Terraces

Are Converted Into Garden-Ground. In Viewing These Ruins, I

Remembered Virgil's Pathetic Description Of Marcellus, Who Was

Here Intombed.

 

 

 

Quantos Ille Virum, Magnum Mavortis Ad Urbem.

Campus Aget Gemitus, Vel Que Tyberine, Videbis

Funera, Cum Tumulum, Preter Labere Recentem.

 

 

 

Along His Banks What Groans Shall Tyber Hear,

When The Fresh Tomb And Funeral Pomp Appear!

 

 

 

The Beautiful Poem Of Ovid De Consolatione Ad Liviam, Written

After The Ashes Of Augustus And His Nephew Marcellus, Of

Germanicus, Agrippa, And Drusus, Were Deposited In This

Mausoleum, Concludes With These Lines, Which Are Extremely

Tender:

 

 

 

Claudite Jam Parcae Nimium Reserata Sepulchra;

Claudite, Plus Justo, Jam Domus Ista Patet!

 

 

 

Ah! Shut These Yawning Tombs, Ye Sister Fates!

Too Long Unclos'd Have Stood Those Dreary Gates!

 

 

 

What The Author Said Of The Monument, You Will Be Tempted To Say

Of This Letter, Which I Shall Therefore Close In The Old Stile,

Assuring You That I Ever Am,--Yours Most Affectionately

Part 7 Letter 31 ( Nice, March 5, 1765) Pg 251

 

Dear Sir,--In My Last I Gave You My Opinion Freely Of The Modern

Palaces Of Italy. I Shall Now Hazard My Thoughts Upon The Gardens

Of This Country, Which The Inhabitants Extol With All The

Hyperboles Of Admiration And Applause. I Must Acknowledge

However, I Have Not Seen The Famous Villas At Frascati And

Tivoli, Which Are Celebrated For Their Gardens And Waterworks. I

Intended To Visit These Places; But Was Prevented By An

Unexpected Change Of Weather, Which Deterred Me From Going To The

Country. On The Last Day Of September The Mountains Of Palestrina

Were Covered With Snow; And The Air Became So Cold At Rome, That

I Was Forced To Put On My Winter Cloaths. This Objection

Continued, Till I Found It Necessary To Set Out On My Return To

Florence. But I Have Seen The Gardens Of The Poggio Imperiale,

And The Palazzo De Pitti At Florence, And Those Of The Vatican,

Of The Pope's Palace On Monte Cavallo, Of The Villa Ludovisia,

Medicea, And Pinciana, At Rome; So That I Think I Have Some Right

To Judge Of The Italian Taste In Gardening. Among Those I Have

Mentioned, That Of The Villa Pinciana, Is The Most Remarkable,

And The Most Extensive, Including A Space Of Three Miles In

Circuit, Hard By The Walls Of Rome, Containing A Variety Of

Situations High And Low, Which Favour All The Natural

Embellishments One Would Expect To Meet With In A Garden, And

Exhibit A Diversity Of Noble Views Of The City And Adjacent

Country.

 

 

 

In A Fine Extensive Garden Or Park, An Englishman Expects To See

A Number Of Groves And Glades, Intermixed With An Agreeable

Negligence, Which Seems To Be The Effect Of Nature And Accident.

He Looks For Shady Walks Encrusted With Gravel; For Open Lawns

Covered With Verdure As Smooth As Velvet, But Much More Lively

And Agreeable; For Ponds, Canals, Basins, Cascades, And Running

Streams Of Water; For Clumps Of Trees, Woods, And Wildernesses,

Cut Into Delightful Alleys, Perfumed With Honeysuckle And Sweet-

Briar, And Resounding With The Mingled Melody Of All The Singing

Birds Of Heaven: He Looks For Plats Of Flowers In Different Parts

To Refresh The Sense, And Please The Fancy; For Arbours, Grottos,

Hermitages, Temples, And Alcoves, To Shelter Him From The Sun,

And Afford Him Means Of Contemplation And Repose; And He Expects

To Find The Hedges, Groves, And Walks, And Lawns Kept With The

Utmost Order And Propriety. He Who Loves The Beauties Of Simple

Nature, And The Charms Of Neatness Will Seek