Corinne and N evil employed two days in
wandering
over
the S even H ills.
the S even H ills.
Madame de Stael - Corinna, or Italy
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? 6 0CO R I N N E J O R I TA L Y .
lightened by Christianity, such was our mythologic bias.
O ssian called around the tomb funereal chants, such as
here you would fain forget. I k now not if I should wish
that your fair sk y may so far change my mood. "
" Y et think not," said Corinne, " that we are either
fick le or frivolous; we have too little vanity: indolence
may yield our lives some intervals of oblivion, but they
can neither sate nor wither up the heart: unfortunately
we are often scared from this repose by passions more
terrible than those of habitually active minds. " They
were now at the door. " O ne more glance! " said N
evil.
" S ee how insignificant is man in the presence of devotion,
while we shrink even before its material emblem: behold
what duration man can give to his achievements, while his
own date is so brief that he soon survives but in his fame.
This temple is an image of infinitude; there are no bounds
for the sentiments to which it gives birth; the hosts of
past and future years it suggests for speculation. O n leav-
ing it we seem q uitting a world of heavenly thought for
one of common interests; ex changing religion and eternity
for the trivial pursuits of time. "
Corinne pointed out the has reliefs, from O vid' s Meta-
morphoses, on the doors. " W e shame not," she said,
" in the Pagan trophies which art has hallowed. The
wonders of genius always awak en holy feelings in the
soul, and we pay homage to Christianity in tribute of all
the best work s that other faiths have inspired. " O swald
smiled at this ex planation. " B elieve me, my L ord," con-
tinued Corinne, " there is much sincerity among people of
lively fancy. To-morrow, if you lik e, I will tak e you to
the Capitol, and I trust I have many such days in store for
you; but -- when they are over-- must you depart? "
S he check ed herself, fearing that she had said too much.
" N o, Corinne," cried O swald, " I cannot renounce this
gleam of bliss, which my guardian angel seems to shower
on me from above. "
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? CO I I I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 6 l
CH A PTE R I V .
The nex t clay O swald and Corinne set forth with more
confidence and calmness. They were friends, and began
to aay we. A h, how affecting is that we, pronounced by
love!
" W
W hat a timid, yet ardent confession does it breathe.
e go to the Capitol, then? " said Corinne. -- " Y es, we
will! " replied O swald, and his voice told all in those
simple words; so full of gentle tenderness was his accent.
" F rom the top of the Capitol, such as it is now," said
Corinne, " we can clearly see the S even H ills; we will go
over them all in succession; there is not one but teems
with historical recollections. " They took
called the sacred or triumphant road. -- "
this way," said O swald. " I t did,"
what was formerly
Y our car passed
answered Corinne:
" such venerable dust might have wondered at my pre-
sumption; but since the R oman republic, so many a guilty
track hath been imprinted on this road, that the respect
it once demanded is decreased. " S he led him to the
stairs of the present Capitol;
one was by the F orum. " I
steps were the same which S
the entrance to the original
wish," she said, " that these
cipio ascended; when, re-
pulsing calumny by glorious deeds, he went to offer thank s
in the temple for the victories he had won; but the new
staircase and Capitol were built on the ruins of the old,
to receive the peaceful magistrate who now monopolises
the high sounding title of R oman senator, which once
ex torted reverence from the whole universe. W e have
but names here now. Y et their classic euphony always
creates a thrill of mingled pleasure and regret. I ask ed
a poor woman, whom I met the other day, where she lived.
' O n the Tarpeian R ock ,' she answered. These words,
stripped as they are of all that once attached to them, still
ex ert some power over the fancy. " They stopped to ob-
serve the two basaltic lions at the foot of the stairs. (9)
They came from E gypt, whose sculptors much more
faithfully transmitted the forms of animals than that of
man. The physiognomy of these lions has all the stern
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? 6 2CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
tranq uillity, the strength in repose, which we find described
by Dante. '
" A Guisa di leon -- q uando si posa. "
N ot far from thence is a mutilated R oman statue,
which the moderns have placed there, unconscious that
they thus display a strik ing symbol of R ome as it is.
This figure has neither head nor feet; but the trunk and
drapery that remain have still the beauty of antiq uity.
A t the top of the stairs are two colossal statues, thought to
represent Castor and Pollux ; then come the trophies of
Marius; then the two columns which served to measure
the R oman empire; lastly, the statue of Marcus A ure-
lius, calm and beautiful amid contending memories. Thus
the heroic age is personated by these colossal shapes, the
republic by the lions, the civil wars by Marius, and the
imperial day by A urelius.
To the right and left of the modern Capitol two
churches have been erected, on the ruins of temples to
J upiter F eretrius and Capitolinus. I n front of the vesti-
bule is a fountain, over which the geniuses of the Tiber and
the N ile are represented as presiding, as does the she-wolf
of R omulus. The name of the Tiber is never pronounced
lik e that of an inglorious stream; it is a proud pleasure
foraR omanbuttosay," CometotheTiber' sbank s! L et
us cross the Tiber! " I n breathing such words he seems
to invok e the spirit of history, and re-animate the dead.
Going to the Capitol by the way of the F orum, you
find, to your right, the Mamertine prisons, constructed by
A ncus Martius for ordinary criminals; but ex cavated by
S ervius Tullius into far more cruel dungeons for state
culprits; as if they merit not most mercy, who err from
a zealous fidelity to what they believe their duty. J ugur-
tha, and the friends of Catiline, perished in these cells;
it is even said that S t. Peter and S t. Paul were confined
there. O n the other side of the Capitol is the Tarpeian
R ock , at the foot of which now stands the H ospital of Con-
solation, as if the severe spirit of antiq uity, and the sweet
one of Christianity, defying time, here met, as visibly to
the eye as to the mind. W hen O swald and Corinne had
gained the top of the Capitol, she showed him the S even
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? corinne; or italy. 6 $
H ills, and the city, bounded first by Mount Pak tinus, then
by the walls of S ervius Tullius, which enclose the hills,
and by those of A urelian, which still surround the greatest
part of R ome. Corinne repeated verses of Tibullus and
Propertius, that glorify the weak commencement of what
became the mistress of the world. (10) Mount Palatinus
once contained all R ome; but soon did the imperial palace
fill the space that had sufficed for a nation. A poet of
N ero' s day made this epigram :--
" R oma domus fiet. V eios migrate, Q uirites;
S i non et V eios occupatista domus. "
' R ome will soon be but one house. Go to V eios, citizens!
if you can be sure that this house will not include even
V eios itself. ' The S even H ills are far less lofty now than
when they deserved the title of steep mountains; modern
R ome being forty feet higher than its predecessor, and
the valleys which separated them almost filled up by ruins;
but what is still more strange, two heaps of shattered
vases have formed new hills, Cestario and' Testacio. Thus,
in time, the very refuse of civilisation levels the rock
with the plain, effacing, in the moral as in the material
world, all the pleasing ineq ualities of nature.
Three other hills, J aniculum, V aticanus, and Mario,
not comprised in the famous S even, give so picturesq ue an
air to R ome, and afford such magnificent views from her
interior, as perhaps no other city can command. There
is so remark able a mix ture of ruins and new buildings, of
fair fields and desert wastes, that one may contemplate
R ome on all sides, and ever find fresh beauties.
O swald could not weary of feasting his gaze from the
elevated point to which Corinne had led him. The study
of history can never act on us lik e the sight of that scene
itself. The eye reigns all powerfully over the soul. H e
now believed in the old R omans, as if he had lived amongst
them. Mental recollections are acq uired by reading; those N
of imagination are born of more immediate impressions,
such as give life to thought, and seem to render us the
witnesses of what we learn. Doubtless we are annoyed
by the modern dwellings which intrude on these wreck s,
yet a portico beside some humble roof, columns between
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? 6 4CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
which the little windows of a church peep out, or a tomb
that serves for the abode of a rustic family, so blends
the grand with the simple, and affords us so many agree-
able discoveries, as to k eep up continual interest. E very
thing is common-place and prosaic in the generality of
E uropean towns; and R ome, more freq uently than any
other, presents the sad aspect of misery and degradation;
but all at once some brok en column, or half-effaced bas-
relief, or a few stones bound together by indestructible
cement, will remind you that there is in man an eternal
power, a divine spark , which he ought never to weary of fan-
ning in his own breast, and reluming in those of others. The
forum, whose narrow enclosure has been the scene of so
many wondrous events, is a strik ing proof of man' s moral
greatness. W hen, in the latter days of R ome, the world
was subj ected to inglorious rulers, centuries passed from
which history could scarce ex tract a single feat. This
F orum, the heart of a circumscribed town, whose natives
fought around it against the invaders of its territories, --
this F orum, by the recollections it retraces, has been the
theme of genius in every age. E ternal honours to the
brave and free, who thus vanq uish even the hearts of
posterity!
Corinne observed to N evil that there were but few ves-
tiges left of the republic, or of the regal day which pre-
ceded it. The aq ueducts and subterranean canals are the
only lux uries remaining, while of aught more useful we
have but a few tombs and brick temples. N ot till after
the fall of S icily did the R omans adopt the use of marble;
but it is enough to survey the spots on which great actions
have been performed: we ex perience that indefinite emo-
tion to which we may attribute the pious zeal of pilgrims.
Celebrated countries of all k inds, even when despoiled of
their great men and great work s, ex ert a power over the
imagination. That which would once have attracted the
eye ex ists no more; but the charm of memory still
survives.
The F orum now retains no trace of that famed tribunal'
whence the people were ruled by the force of eloq uence.
There still ex ist three pillars of a temple to J upiter To-
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? C0R I N N E J O R I TA L Y . 6 5
nans, raised by A ugustus, because a thunderbolt had
fallen near him there, without inj ury. There is, too, the
triumphal arch erected by the senate to req uite the ex -
ploits of S eptimus S everus. The names of his two sons,
Caracalla and Geta, were inscribed on its front; but as
Caracalla assassinated his brother, his name was erased:
some mark s of the letters are yet visible. F urther off is a
temple to F austina, a monument of the weak ness of Mar-
cus A urelius. A temple to V enus, which, in the repub-
lican era, was consecrated to Pallas, and, at a little dis-
tance, the relics of another, dedicated to the sun and
moon, by the emperor A drian, who was so j ealous of the
Greek architect A pollodorus, that he put him to death for
censuring its proportion. O n the other side are seen the
remains of buildings devoted to higher and purer aims.
The columns of one believed to be that of J upiter S tator,
forbidding the R omans ever to fly before their enemies--
the last pillar of the temple to J upiter Gustos, placed, it
is said, near the gulf into which Curtius threw himself, --
and some belonging either to the Temple of Concord or
to that of V ictory. Perhaps this resistless people con-
founded the two ideas, believing that they could only
attain true peace by subduing the universe. A t the ex -
tremity of Mount Palatinus stands an arch celebrating
Titus' s conq uest of J
will ever pass beneath it;
to avoid it is pointed out. W
erusalem. I t is asserted that no J ews
and the little path they tak e
e will hope, for the credit of
the J ews, that this anecdote is true; such enduring recol-
lections well become the long suffering. N ot far from
hence is the arch of Constantine, embellished by some bas-
reliefs, tak en from the F orum, in the time of Traj an, by
the Christians, who resolved thus to deck the monument
of the F ounder of Peace. The arts, at this period, were
already on the wane, and thefts from the past deified new
achievements.
The triumphal gates still seen in R ome perpetuated, as
much as man could do, the respect paid to glory. There
were places for musicians at their summits; so that the
hero, as he passed, might be intox icated at once by me-
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? 6 6 CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
lody and praise, tasting, at the same moment, all that can
ex alt the spirit.
I n front of these arches are the ruins of the Temple to
Peace built by V espasian. I t was so adorned by bronze
and gold within, that when it was consumed by fire,
streams of fused metal ran even to the F orum. F inally,
the Coliseum, loveliest ruin of R ome! terminates the cir-
cle in which all the epochs of history seem collected for
comparison. Those stones, now bereft of marble and of
gilding, once formed the arena in which the gladiators
contended with ferocious beasts. Thus were the R omans
amused and duped, by strong ex citements, while their
natural feelings were denied due power. There were two
entrances to the Coliseum; the one devoted to the con-
q uerors, the other that through which they carried the
dead. ' ' S ana vivaria, sandapilaria. " S trange sccrn of
humanity! to decide beforehand the life or death of man,
for mere pastime. Titus, the best of emperors, dedicated
the Coliseum to the R oman people; and its very ruins
bear so admirable a stamp of genius, that one is tempted'
to deceive one' s self on the nature of true greatness, and
grant to the triumphs of art the praise which is due but to
spectacles that tell of generous institutions. O swald' s
enthusiasm eq ualled not that of Corinne, while beholding
these four galleries, rising one above the other, in proud
decay, inspiring at once respect and tenderness: he saw
but the lux ury of rulers, the blood of slaves, and was
almost prej udiced against the arts, for thus lavishing their
gifts, indifferent as to the purposes to which they were
applied. Corinne attempted to combat this mood. " Do
not," she said, " let your principles of j ustice interfere
with a contemplation lik e this. I have told you that these
obj ects would rather remind you of I talian taste and ele-
gance than of R oman virtue; but do you not trace some
moral grandeur in the gigantic splendour that succeeded
it? The very degradation of the R omans is imposing:
while mourning for liberty they strewed the earth with
wonders; and ideal beauty sought to solace man for the
real dignity he had lost. L ook on these immense baths,
open to all who wished to taste of oriental voluptuousness;
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? corinne; O R I TA L Y . 6 ' 7
these circles, wherein elephants once battled with tigers,
these aq ueducts, which could instantaneously convert the
areas into lak es, where galleys raced in their turn, or cro-
codiles filled the space j ust occupied by lions. S uch was
the lux ury of the R omans, when lux ury was their pride.
These obelisk s, brought from E gypt, torn from the
A frican' s shade to decorate the sepulchres of R omans!
Can all this be considered useless, as the pomp of A siatic
despots? N o, you behold the genius of R ome, the victor of \
the world, attired by the arts! There is something super-
human and poetical in this magnificence, which mak es one
forget both its origin and its aim. "
The eloq uence of Corinne ex cited without convincing s
O swald. H e sought a moral sentiment in all things, and
the magic of art could never satisfy him without it. Co-
rinne now recollected that, in this same arena, the perse-
cuted Christians had fallen victims to their constancy:
she pointed out the altars erected to their ashes, and the
path towards the cross which the penitents trod beneath
the ruins of mundane greatness: she ask ed him if the
dust of martyrs said nothing to his heart. " Y es," he
cried, " deeply do I revere the power of soul and will
over distress and death: a sacrifice, be it what it may, is
more arduous, more commendable than all the efforts of
genius. E x alted imagination may work miracles; but it
is only when we immolate self to principle that we are
truly virtuous. Then alone does a celestial power sub-
due the mortal in our breasts. " These pure and noble
words disturbed Corinne: she gazed on N evil, then cast
down her eyes; and though at the same moment he took
her hand, and pressed it to his heart, she trembled to think
that such a man might devote himself or others to despair,
in his adherence to the opinions or duties of which he
might mak e choice.
CHAPTER V.
Corinne and N evil employed two days in wandering over
the S even H ills. The R omans formerly held a fete in
p 2'
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? 6 8 corinne; or I taly.
their honour: it is one of R ome' s original beauties to be
thus embraced, and patriotism naturally loved to celebrate
such a peculiarity. O swald and Corinne having already
viewed the Capitoline H ill, recommenced their course at
Mount Palatinus. The palace of the Cicsars, called the
Golden Palace, once occupied it entirely. A ugustus,
Tiberius, Caligula, and N ero, built its four sides: a heap
of stones, overgrown with shrubs, is all that now remains.
N ature reclaimed her empire over the work s of man; and
her fair flowers atone for the fall of a palace. I n the
regal and republican eras, grandly as towered their public
buildings, private houses were ex tremely small and simple.
Cicero, H ortensius. and the Gracchii, dwelt on this emi-
nence, which hardly sufficed, in the decline of R ome, for
the abode of a single man. I n the latter ages the nation
was but a nameless mass, designated solely by the eras of
its masters. The laurels of war and that of the arts culti-
vated by peace, which were planted at the gate of A ugustus,
have both disappeared. S ome of L ivia' s baths are left.
Y ou are shown the places wherein were set the precious
stones, then lavished on walls or ceilings, and paintings
of which the colours are still fresh: their delicacy ren.
dering this yet more surprising. I f it be true that L ivia
caused the death of A ugustus, it was in one of these
chambers that the outrage must have been conceived.
H ow often may his gaze have been arrested by these pic-
tures, whose tasteful garlands still survive? The master
of the world betrayed in his nearest affections! what
thought his old age of life and its vain pomps? Did he
reflect on his glory, or its victims? H oped he or feared' .
a future world? Might not the last thought, which re-
veals all to man, stray back to these halls, the scenes of his
past power? (11)
Mount A ventinus affords more traces of R ome' s early
day than any of its sister hills. E x actly facing the palace
constructed by Tiberius is seen a wreck of the Temple to
L iberty, built by the father of the Gracchii; and at the
foot of this ascent stood that dedicated to the F ortune of
Men, by S ervius Tullius, to thank the gods that, though
born a slave, he had become a k ing. W ithout the walls
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 6 9
of R ome another edifice rose to the F ortune of W omen,
commemorating the influence ex erted by V eturia over
Coriolanus.
O pposite to Mount A ventinus is Mount J aniculum, on
which Porsenna marshalled his army. I t was in front of
this hill that H oratius Codes cut away the bridge, which
led to R ome: its foundations still ex ist. O n the bank s of
the stream was built a brick arch, simple as the action it
recalled was great. I n the midst of the Tiber floated an
island formed of the wheat sheaves gathered from the
fields of Tarq uin; the R omans forbearing to use them, in
the belief that they were charged with evil fate. I t would
be difficult, in our own day, to call down on any treasure
a curse of sufficient efficacy to scare men from its partici-
pation.
O n Mount A ventinus were temples both to patrician
and plebeian chastity: at the foot of the hill the Temple of
V esta still remains, almost entire, though the inundations
of the Tiber have often threatened to destroy it. N ot far
thence are vestiges of a prison for debt, where the well
k nown instance of filial piety is said to have occurred; here,
too, Clcelia and her companions were confined by Porsenna,
and swam across the river to rej oin the R omans. Mount
A ventinus indemnifies the mind for all the painful recol-
lections the other hills awak e; and its aspect is as beauteous
as its memories are sweet. The bank s at its foot were
called the L ovely S trand (pulchrum littus). Thither the
orators of R ome walk ed from the F orum: there Caesar and
Pompey met lik e simple citizens, and sought to conciliate
Cicero, whose independent eloq uence was of more weightx
than even the power of their armies. Poetry also has em-
bellished this spot: it was there that V irgil placed the cave
of Cacus; and R ome, so great in history, is still greater
by the heroic fictions with which her fabulous origin has
been deck ed. I
see the house of N
the spirit of antiq
n returning from Mount A ventinus, you
icolas R ienzi, who vainly strove to restore
uity in modern days.
Mount Ccelius is remark able for the remains of a pre-
torian encampment, and that of the foreign troops: on the
ruins of the latter was found an inscription, -- " To the
f3
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? 70CO R I N N E ; 0>> I TA L Y 1.
H oly Genius of the F oreign Camp. " H oly, indeed, to those
whose power it sustained! W hat is left of these barrack s
proves that they were built lik e cloisters; or, rather, that
cloisters were formed after their model.
E sq uilinus was called the " Poet' s H ill; " Maecenas,
H orace, Propertius, and Tibullus, having all houses there.
N ear this are the ruins of the baths of Traj an and Titus.
I t is believed that R aphael copied his arabesq ues from the
frescoes of the latter: here, too, was the L aocoon discovered.
The freshness of water is so acceptable in fervid climes,
that their natives love to collect all that can pamper the
senses in the chambers where they bathe. Thus, by the
light of lamps, did the R omans gaze on the chefs-d' oeuvres
of painting and sculpture; for it appears from the con-
struction of these buildings that day never entered them:
they were sheltered from the noontide rays, so piercing
here as fully to deserve the title of A pollo' s darts. Y et
the ex treme precautions tak en by the ancients might in-
duce a supposition that the climate was more burning then
than now. I n the baths of Caracalla were the F
H ercules, the F lora, and the group of Circe. N
in the baths of N ero, was found the A pollo B
arnese
ear O stia,
elvidere. Can
we look on that noble figure and conceive N ero destitute
of all generous sentiments?
The baths and circuses are the only places of public
amusement that have left their vestige. Though the ruins
of Marcellus' theatre still ex ist, Pliny relates that 36
marble pillars, and 3000 statues, were placed in a theatre
incapable of lasting many days. The R omans, however,
soon built, with a solidity that defied the earthq uak e'
0
s
shock : too soon they wasted lik e pains on edifices which
they destroyed themselves when the fetes held in them were
concluded; thus, in every sense, sported they with time.
They had not the Grecian' s mania for dramatic represent-
ations: the fine arts then flourished at R ome only in the
work s of Greece; and R oman grandeur consisted rather in
colossal architecture than in efforts of imagination. The
gigantic wonders thus produced bore a very dignified stamp,
no longer of liberty, but that of power still. The districts
devoted to the public baths were called provinces, and united
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? CO R I N N E ; O B I TA L Y . 71
all the varied establishments to be found in a whole country.
The great circus so nearly touched the imperial palace, that
N ero, from his window, could give a signal for the com-
mencement of the games. This circus was large enough
to contain 300,000 people. A lmost the whole nation might
be amused at the same moment; and these immense fes-
tivals might be considered as popular institutions, which
assembled for mere pleasure those who formerly united
for glory. Mounts Q uirinalis and V iminalis are so near
each other that it is not easy to distinguish them apart.
There stood the houses of S allust and of Pompey. There,
too, in the present day, does the pope reside. O ne cannot
tak e a single step in R ome without contrasting its present
and its past. B ut one learns to view the events of one' s,
own time the more calmly for noting the eternal fluctuations
that mark the history of man; and one feels ashamed to
repine, in the presence, as it were, of so many centuries,
who have all overthrown the achievements of their prede-
cessors. A round, and on the S even H ills, are seen a mul-
titude of spires and obelisk s, the columns of Traj an and
. of A ntoninus, the tower of Conti, whence, it is said, N ero
overlook ed the conflagration of R ome, and the dome of S t.
Peter' s lording it over the highest. The air seems peopled
by these heaven-aspiring fanes, as if an aerial city soared
maj estic above that of the earth. I n re-entering R ome,
Corinne led O swald beneath the portico of the tender and
suffering O ctavia; they then crossed the road along which
the infamous Tullia drove over the body of her father:
they beheld, in the distance, the temple raised by A grip-
pina in honour of Claudius, whom she had caused to be
poisoned; finally, they passed the tomb of A ugustus, the
enclosure around which now serves as an arena for animal
combats.
" I have led you rapidly," said Corinne, " over a few
foot-prints of ancient history; but you can appreciate the
pleasure which may be found in researches at once sage and
poetic, addressing the fancy as well as the reason. There
are many distinguished men in R ome whose sole occupation
is that of discovering new link s between our ruins and our
history. " -- " I k now no study which could interest me
f4
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? 72CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
more," replied N evil, " if I felt my mind sufficiently com-
posed for it. S uch erudition is far more animated than
that we acq uire from book s: we seem to revive what we
unveil; and the past appears to rise from the dust which
concealed it. " -- " Doubtless," said Corinne, " this passion
for antiq uity is no idle prej udice. W e live in an age when
self-interest seems the ruling principle of all men: what
sympathy, what enthusiasm, can ever be its result? I s it
not sweeter to dream over the days of self-devotion and
heroic sacrifice, which might once have ex isted, nay, of
which the earth still bears such honourable traces? "
CH A PTE R V I .
Corinne secretly flattered herself that she had captivated
the heart of O swald; yet, k nowing his severe reserve, dared
not fully betray the interest he inspired, prompt as she
was by nature to confess her feelings. Perhaps she even
thought that while speak ing on subj ects foreign to their
love, the very voice might disclose their mutual affection;
a silent avowal be ex pressed in their look s, or in that veiled
and melancholy language which so deeply penetrates the soul.
O ne morning, while she was preparing to continue
their researches, she received from him an almost cere-
monious note, saying that indisposition would confine
him to his house for some days. A sad disq uietude seized
the heart of Corinne: at first she feared that he was dan-
gerously ill; but Count d' E rfeuil, who called in the evening,
informed her that it was but one of those nervous attack s
to which N evil was so subj ect, and during which he
would converse with nobody. " H e won' t even see me t"
added the Count. The words displeased Corinne; but she
took care to hide her anger from its obj ect, as he alone
could bring her tidings of his friend. S he, therefore, con-
tinued to q uestion him, trusting that a person so giddy, at
least in appearance, would tell her all he k new. B ut
whether he wished to hide, beneath an air of mystery, the
fact that N evil had confided nothing, or whether he be-
lieved it more honourable to thwart her wishes than to
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 73
grant them, he met her ardent curiosity by imperturbable
silence. S he, who had always gained such an ascendency
over those with whom she spok e, could not understand why
her persuasive powers should fail with him. S he did not
k now that self-love is the most inflex ible q uality in the
world. W here was then her resource for learning what
passed in the heart of O swald? S hould she write to him?
A letter req uires such caution; and the loveliest attribute
of her nature was its impulsive sincerity. Three days
passed, and still he came not. S he suffered the most cruel
agitation. " W hat have I done," she thought, " to dis-
sever him from me? I have not committed the error so
formidable in E ngland, so pardonable in I taly; I never
told him that I loved. E ven if he guesses it, why should
he esteem me the less? " O swald avoided Corinne merely
because he but too strongly felt the power of her charms.
A lthough he had not given his word to marry L ucy E d-
garmond, he k new that such had been his father' s wish,
and desired to conform with it. Corinne was not k nown
by her real name: she had for many years led a life far
too independent for him to hope that an union with her
would have obtained the approbation of his parent, and he
felt that it was not by such a step he could ex piate his
early offences. H e purposed to leave R ome, and write
Corinne an ex planation of the motives which enforced such
resolution; but not feeling strength for this, he limited
his ex ertions to a forbearance from visiting her; and this
sacrifice soon appeared the most painful of the two.
Corinne was struck by the idea that she should see him
no more, that he would fly without bidding her adieu.
S he ex pected every instant to hear of his departure; and
terror so aggravated her sensations, that the vulture talons
of passion seized at once on her heart; and its peace, its
liberty, crouched beneath them. Unable to rest in the
house where O swald came not, she wandered in the gar-
dens of R ome, hoping to meet him; she had at least some
chance of seeing him, and best supported the hours during
which she trusted to this ex pectation.
H er ardent fancy, the source of her talents, was unhap-
pily blended with such natural feeling, that it now con-
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? 74CO R I N N B J O R H A L F .
stituted her wretchedness. The evening of the fourth
day' s absence the moon shone clearly over R ome, which,
in the silence of night, look s lovely, as if it were inhabited
but by the spirits of the great. Corinne, on her way from
the house of a female friend, left her carriage, and, op-
pressed with grief, seated herself beside the fount of Trevi,
whose abundant cascade falls in the centre of R ome, and
seems the life of that tranq uil scene. W henever its flow
is suspended all appears stagnation. I n other cities it is
the roll of carriages that the ear req uires, in R ome it is
the murmur of this immense fountain, which seems the in.
dispensable accompaniment of the dreamy life led there. '
I ts water is so pure, that it has for many ages been named
the V irgin S pring. The form of Corinne was now reflected
on its surface. O swald, who had paused there at the
same moment, beheld the enchanting countenance of his
love thus mirrored in the wave: at first it affected him so
strangely that he believed himself gazing on her phantom,
as his imagination had often conj ured up that of his father:
he leaned forward, in order to see it more plainly, and his
own features appeared beside those of Corinne. S he re-
cognised them, shriek ed, rushed towards him, and seized
his arm, as if she feared he would again escape; but
scarcely had she yielded to this too impetuous impulse,
ere, remembering the character of L ord N evil, she blushed,
her hand dropped, and with the other she covered her face
to hide her tears.
" Corinne! dear Corinne! " he cried, " has then my
absence pained you? " -- " Y es," she replied, " you must
have k nown it would. W hy then inflict such pangs on
me? H aveI deservedtosufferthusforyou? " -- " N o,
no," he answered; " but if I cannot deem myself free,--
if my heart be filled by regret and fear, why should I in-
volveyouinitstortures? W hy? " -- " I tistoolatetoask ,"
interrupted Corinne; " grief is already in my breast;
bear with me! " -- " Grief! " repeated O swald; "
midst of so brilliant a career, with so lively a genius! "
-- " H old," shesaid," youk nowmenot. O fallmy
faculties, the most powerful is that of suffering. I was
formed for happiness; my nature is confiding and ani-
in the
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 1$
mated; but sorrow ex cites me to a degree that threatens my
reason, nay, my life. B e careful of me! My gay versa-
tility serves me but in appearance: within my soul is an
abyss of despair, which I can only avoid by preserving
myself from love. " Corinne spok e with an ex pression
which vividly affected O swald. " I will come to you to-
morrow, rely on it, Corinne," he said.
? 6 0CO R I N N E J O R I TA L Y .
lightened by Christianity, such was our mythologic bias.
O ssian called around the tomb funereal chants, such as
here you would fain forget. I k now not if I should wish
that your fair sk y may so far change my mood. "
" Y et think not," said Corinne, " that we are either
fick le or frivolous; we have too little vanity: indolence
may yield our lives some intervals of oblivion, but they
can neither sate nor wither up the heart: unfortunately
we are often scared from this repose by passions more
terrible than those of habitually active minds. " They
were now at the door. " O ne more glance! " said N
evil.
" S ee how insignificant is man in the presence of devotion,
while we shrink even before its material emblem: behold
what duration man can give to his achievements, while his
own date is so brief that he soon survives but in his fame.
This temple is an image of infinitude; there are no bounds
for the sentiments to which it gives birth; the hosts of
past and future years it suggests for speculation. O n leav-
ing it we seem q uitting a world of heavenly thought for
one of common interests; ex changing religion and eternity
for the trivial pursuits of time. "
Corinne pointed out the has reliefs, from O vid' s Meta-
morphoses, on the doors. " W e shame not," she said,
" in the Pagan trophies which art has hallowed. The
wonders of genius always awak en holy feelings in the
soul, and we pay homage to Christianity in tribute of all
the best work s that other faiths have inspired. " O swald
smiled at this ex planation. " B elieve me, my L ord," con-
tinued Corinne, " there is much sincerity among people of
lively fancy. To-morrow, if you lik e, I will tak e you to
the Capitol, and I trust I have many such days in store for
you; but -- when they are over-- must you depart? "
S he check ed herself, fearing that she had said too much.
" N o, Corinne," cried O swald, " I cannot renounce this
gleam of bliss, which my guardian angel seems to shower
on me from above. "
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? CO I I I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 6 l
CH A PTE R I V .
The nex t clay O swald and Corinne set forth with more
confidence and calmness. They were friends, and began
to aay we. A h, how affecting is that we, pronounced by
love!
" W
W hat a timid, yet ardent confession does it breathe.
e go to the Capitol, then? " said Corinne. -- " Y es, we
will! " replied O swald, and his voice told all in those
simple words; so full of gentle tenderness was his accent.
" F rom the top of the Capitol, such as it is now," said
Corinne, " we can clearly see the S even H ills; we will go
over them all in succession; there is not one but teems
with historical recollections. " They took
called the sacred or triumphant road. -- "
this way," said O swald. " I t did,"
what was formerly
Y our car passed
answered Corinne:
" such venerable dust might have wondered at my pre-
sumption; but since the R oman republic, so many a guilty
track hath been imprinted on this road, that the respect
it once demanded is decreased. " S he led him to the
stairs of the present Capitol;
one was by the F orum. " I
steps were the same which S
the entrance to the original
wish," she said, " that these
cipio ascended; when, re-
pulsing calumny by glorious deeds, he went to offer thank s
in the temple for the victories he had won; but the new
staircase and Capitol were built on the ruins of the old,
to receive the peaceful magistrate who now monopolises
the high sounding title of R oman senator, which once
ex torted reverence from the whole universe. W e have
but names here now. Y et their classic euphony always
creates a thrill of mingled pleasure and regret. I ask ed
a poor woman, whom I met the other day, where she lived.
' O n the Tarpeian R ock ,' she answered. These words,
stripped as they are of all that once attached to them, still
ex ert some power over the fancy. " They stopped to ob-
serve the two basaltic lions at the foot of the stairs. (9)
They came from E gypt, whose sculptors much more
faithfully transmitted the forms of animals than that of
man. The physiognomy of these lions has all the stern
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? 6 2CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
tranq uillity, the strength in repose, which we find described
by Dante. '
" A Guisa di leon -- q uando si posa. "
N ot far from thence is a mutilated R oman statue,
which the moderns have placed there, unconscious that
they thus display a strik ing symbol of R ome as it is.
This figure has neither head nor feet; but the trunk and
drapery that remain have still the beauty of antiq uity.
A t the top of the stairs are two colossal statues, thought to
represent Castor and Pollux ; then come the trophies of
Marius; then the two columns which served to measure
the R oman empire; lastly, the statue of Marcus A ure-
lius, calm and beautiful amid contending memories. Thus
the heroic age is personated by these colossal shapes, the
republic by the lions, the civil wars by Marius, and the
imperial day by A urelius.
To the right and left of the modern Capitol two
churches have been erected, on the ruins of temples to
J upiter F eretrius and Capitolinus. I n front of the vesti-
bule is a fountain, over which the geniuses of the Tiber and
the N ile are represented as presiding, as does the she-wolf
of R omulus. The name of the Tiber is never pronounced
lik e that of an inglorious stream; it is a proud pleasure
foraR omanbuttosay," CometotheTiber' sbank s! L et
us cross the Tiber! " I n breathing such words he seems
to invok e the spirit of history, and re-animate the dead.
Going to the Capitol by the way of the F orum, you
find, to your right, the Mamertine prisons, constructed by
A ncus Martius for ordinary criminals; but ex cavated by
S ervius Tullius into far more cruel dungeons for state
culprits; as if they merit not most mercy, who err from
a zealous fidelity to what they believe their duty. J ugur-
tha, and the friends of Catiline, perished in these cells;
it is even said that S t. Peter and S t. Paul were confined
there. O n the other side of the Capitol is the Tarpeian
R ock , at the foot of which now stands the H ospital of Con-
solation, as if the severe spirit of antiq uity, and the sweet
one of Christianity, defying time, here met, as visibly to
the eye as to the mind. W hen O swald and Corinne had
gained the top of the Capitol, she showed him the S even
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? corinne; or italy. 6 $
H ills, and the city, bounded first by Mount Pak tinus, then
by the walls of S ervius Tullius, which enclose the hills,
and by those of A urelian, which still surround the greatest
part of R ome. Corinne repeated verses of Tibullus and
Propertius, that glorify the weak commencement of what
became the mistress of the world. (10) Mount Palatinus
once contained all R ome; but soon did the imperial palace
fill the space that had sufficed for a nation. A poet of
N ero' s day made this epigram :--
" R oma domus fiet. V eios migrate, Q uirites;
S i non et V eios occupatista domus. "
' R ome will soon be but one house. Go to V eios, citizens!
if you can be sure that this house will not include even
V eios itself. ' The S even H ills are far less lofty now than
when they deserved the title of steep mountains; modern
R ome being forty feet higher than its predecessor, and
the valleys which separated them almost filled up by ruins;
but what is still more strange, two heaps of shattered
vases have formed new hills, Cestario and' Testacio. Thus,
in time, the very refuse of civilisation levels the rock
with the plain, effacing, in the moral as in the material
world, all the pleasing ineq ualities of nature.
Three other hills, J aniculum, V aticanus, and Mario,
not comprised in the famous S even, give so picturesq ue an
air to R ome, and afford such magnificent views from her
interior, as perhaps no other city can command. There
is so remark able a mix ture of ruins and new buildings, of
fair fields and desert wastes, that one may contemplate
R ome on all sides, and ever find fresh beauties.
O swald could not weary of feasting his gaze from the
elevated point to which Corinne had led him. The study
of history can never act on us lik e the sight of that scene
itself. The eye reigns all powerfully over the soul. H e
now believed in the old R omans, as if he had lived amongst
them. Mental recollections are acq uired by reading; those N
of imagination are born of more immediate impressions,
such as give life to thought, and seem to render us the
witnesses of what we learn. Doubtless we are annoyed
by the modern dwellings which intrude on these wreck s,
yet a portico beside some humble roof, columns between
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? 6 4CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
which the little windows of a church peep out, or a tomb
that serves for the abode of a rustic family, so blends
the grand with the simple, and affords us so many agree-
able discoveries, as to k eep up continual interest. E very
thing is common-place and prosaic in the generality of
E uropean towns; and R ome, more freq uently than any
other, presents the sad aspect of misery and degradation;
but all at once some brok en column, or half-effaced bas-
relief, or a few stones bound together by indestructible
cement, will remind you that there is in man an eternal
power, a divine spark , which he ought never to weary of fan-
ning in his own breast, and reluming in those of others. The
forum, whose narrow enclosure has been the scene of so
many wondrous events, is a strik ing proof of man' s moral
greatness. W hen, in the latter days of R ome, the world
was subj ected to inglorious rulers, centuries passed from
which history could scarce ex tract a single feat. This
F orum, the heart of a circumscribed town, whose natives
fought around it against the invaders of its territories, --
this F orum, by the recollections it retraces, has been the
theme of genius in every age. E ternal honours to the
brave and free, who thus vanq uish even the hearts of
posterity!
Corinne observed to N evil that there were but few ves-
tiges left of the republic, or of the regal day which pre-
ceded it. The aq ueducts and subterranean canals are the
only lux uries remaining, while of aught more useful we
have but a few tombs and brick temples. N ot till after
the fall of S icily did the R omans adopt the use of marble;
but it is enough to survey the spots on which great actions
have been performed: we ex perience that indefinite emo-
tion to which we may attribute the pious zeal of pilgrims.
Celebrated countries of all k inds, even when despoiled of
their great men and great work s, ex ert a power over the
imagination. That which would once have attracted the
eye ex ists no more; but the charm of memory still
survives.
The F orum now retains no trace of that famed tribunal'
whence the people were ruled by the force of eloq uence.
There still ex ist three pillars of a temple to J upiter To-
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? C0R I N N E J O R I TA L Y . 6 5
nans, raised by A ugustus, because a thunderbolt had
fallen near him there, without inj ury. There is, too, the
triumphal arch erected by the senate to req uite the ex -
ploits of S eptimus S everus. The names of his two sons,
Caracalla and Geta, were inscribed on its front; but as
Caracalla assassinated his brother, his name was erased:
some mark s of the letters are yet visible. F urther off is a
temple to F austina, a monument of the weak ness of Mar-
cus A urelius. A temple to V enus, which, in the repub-
lican era, was consecrated to Pallas, and, at a little dis-
tance, the relics of another, dedicated to the sun and
moon, by the emperor A drian, who was so j ealous of the
Greek architect A pollodorus, that he put him to death for
censuring its proportion. O n the other side are seen the
remains of buildings devoted to higher and purer aims.
The columns of one believed to be that of J upiter S tator,
forbidding the R omans ever to fly before their enemies--
the last pillar of the temple to J upiter Gustos, placed, it
is said, near the gulf into which Curtius threw himself, --
and some belonging either to the Temple of Concord or
to that of V ictory. Perhaps this resistless people con-
founded the two ideas, believing that they could only
attain true peace by subduing the universe. A t the ex -
tremity of Mount Palatinus stands an arch celebrating
Titus' s conq uest of J
will ever pass beneath it;
to avoid it is pointed out. W
erusalem. I t is asserted that no J ews
and the little path they tak e
e will hope, for the credit of
the J ews, that this anecdote is true; such enduring recol-
lections well become the long suffering. N ot far from
hence is the arch of Constantine, embellished by some bas-
reliefs, tak en from the F orum, in the time of Traj an, by
the Christians, who resolved thus to deck the monument
of the F ounder of Peace. The arts, at this period, were
already on the wane, and thefts from the past deified new
achievements.
The triumphal gates still seen in R ome perpetuated, as
much as man could do, the respect paid to glory. There
were places for musicians at their summits; so that the
hero, as he passed, might be intox icated at once by me-
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? 6 6 CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
lody and praise, tasting, at the same moment, all that can
ex alt the spirit.
I n front of these arches are the ruins of the Temple to
Peace built by V espasian. I t was so adorned by bronze
and gold within, that when it was consumed by fire,
streams of fused metal ran even to the F orum. F inally,
the Coliseum, loveliest ruin of R ome! terminates the cir-
cle in which all the epochs of history seem collected for
comparison. Those stones, now bereft of marble and of
gilding, once formed the arena in which the gladiators
contended with ferocious beasts. Thus were the R omans
amused and duped, by strong ex citements, while their
natural feelings were denied due power. There were two
entrances to the Coliseum; the one devoted to the con-
q uerors, the other that through which they carried the
dead. ' ' S ana vivaria, sandapilaria. " S trange sccrn of
humanity! to decide beforehand the life or death of man,
for mere pastime. Titus, the best of emperors, dedicated
the Coliseum to the R oman people; and its very ruins
bear so admirable a stamp of genius, that one is tempted'
to deceive one' s self on the nature of true greatness, and
grant to the triumphs of art the praise which is due but to
spectacles that tell of generous institutions. O swald' s
enthusiasm eq ualled not that of Corinne, while beholding
these four galleries, rising one above the other, in proud
decay, inspiring at once respect and tenderness: he saw
but the lux ury of rulers, the blood of slaves, and was
almost prej udiced against the arts, for thus lavishing their
gifts, indifferent as to the purposes to which they were
applied. Corinne attempted to combat this mood. " Do
not," she said, " let your principles of j ustice interfere
with a contemplation lik e this. I have told you that these
obj ects would rather remind you of I talian taste and ele-
gance than of R oman virtue; but do you not trace some
moral grandeur in the gigantic splendour that succeeded
it? The very degradation of the R omans is imposing:
while mourning for liberty they strewed the earth with
wonders; and ideal beauty sought to solace man for the
real dignity he had lost. L ook on these immense baths,
open to all who wished to taste of oriental voluptuousness;
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? corinne; O R I TA L Y . 6 ' 7
these circles, wherein elephants once battled with tigers,
these aq ueducts, which could instantaneously convert the
areas into lak es, where galleys raced in their turn, or cro-
codiles filled the space j ust occupied by lions. S uch was
the lux ury of the R omans, when lux ury was their pride.
These obelisk s, brought from E gypt, torn from the
A frican' s shade to decorate the sepulchres of R omans!
Can all this be considered useless, as the pomp of A siatic
despots? N o, you behold the genius of R ome, the victor of \
the world, attired by the arts! There is something super-
human and poetical in this magnificence, which mak es one
forget both its origin and its aim. "
The eloq uence of Corinne ex cited without convincing s
O swald. H e sought a moral sentiment in all things, and
the magic of art could never satisfy him without it. Co-
rinne now recollected that, in this same arena, the perse-
cuted Christians had fallen victims to their constancy:
she pointed out the altars erected to their ashes, and the
path towards the cross which the penitents trod beneath
the ruins of mundane greatness: she ask ed him if the
dust of martyrs said nothing to his heart. " Y es," he
cried, " deeply do I revere the power of soul and will
over distress and death: a sacrifice, be it what it may, is
more arduous, more commendable than all the efforts of
genius. E x alted imagination may work miracles; but it
is only when we immolate self to principle that we are
truly virtuous. Then alone does a celestial power sub-
due the mortal in our breasts. " These pure and noble
words disturbed Corinne: she gazed on N evil, then cast
down her eyes; and though at the same moment he took
her hand, and pressed it to his heart, she trembled to think
that such a man might devote himself or others to despair,
in his adherence to the opinions or duties of which he
might mak e choice.
CHAPTER V.
Corinne and N evil employed two days in wandering over
the S even H ills. The R omans formerly held a fete in
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? 6 8 corinne; or I taly.
their honour: it is one of R ome' s original beauties to be
thus embraced, and patriotism naturally loved to celebrate
such a peculiarity. O swald and Corinne having already
viewed the Capitoline H ill, recommenced their course at
Mount Palatinus. The palace of the Cicsars, called the
Golden Palace, once occupied it entirely. A ugustus,
Tiberius, Caligula, and N ero, built its four sides: a heap
of stones, overgrown with shrubs, is all that now remains.
N ature reclaimed her empire over the work s of man; and
her fair flowers atone for the fall of a palace. I n the
regal and republican eras, grandly as towered their public
buildings, private houses were ex tremely small and simple.
Cicero, H ortensius. and the Gracchii, dwelt on this emi-
nence, which hardly sufficed, in the decline of R ome, for
the abode of a single man. I n the latter ages the nation
was but a nameless mass, designated solely by the eras of
its masters. The laurels of war and that of the arts culti-
vated by peace, which were planted at the gate of A ugustus,
have both disappeared. S ome of L ivia' s baths are left.
Y ou are shown the places wherein were set the precious
stones, then lavished on walls or ceilings, and paintings
of which the colours are still fresh: their delicacy ren.
dering this yet more surprising. I f it be true that L ivia
caused the death of A ugustus, it was in one of these
chambers that the outrage must have been conceived.
H ow often may his gaze have been arrested by these pic-
tures, whose tasteful garlands still survive? The master
of the world betrayed in his nearest affections! what
thought his old age of life and its vain pomps? Did he
reflect on his glory, or its victims? H oped he or feared' .
a future world? Might not the last thought, which re-
veals all to man, stray back to these halls, the scenes of his
past power? (11)
Mount A ventinus affords more traces of R ome' s early
day than any of its sister hills. E x actly facing the palace
constructed by Tiberius is seen a wreck of the Temple to
L iberty, built by the father of the Gracchii; and at the
foot of this ascent stood that dedicated to the F ortune of
Men, by S ervius Tullius, to thank the gods that, though
born a slave, he had become a k ing. W ithout the walls
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 6 9
of R ome another edifice rose to the F ortune of W omen,
commemorating the influence ex erted by V eturia over
Coriolanus.
O pposite to Mount A ventinus is Mount J aniculum, on
which Porsenna marshalled his army. I t was in front of
this hill that H oratius Codes cut away the bridge, which
led to R ome: its foundations still ex ist. O n the bank s of
the stream was built a brick arch, simple as the action it
recalled was great. I n the midst of the Tiber floated an
island formed of the wheat sheaves gathered from the
fields of Tarq uin; the R omans forbearing to use them, in
the belief that they were charged with evil fate. I t would
be difficult, in our own day, to call down on any treasure
a curse of sufficient efficacy to scare men from its partici-
pation.
O n Mount A ventinus were temples both to patrician
and plebeian chastity: at the foot of the hill the Temple of
V esta still remains, almost entire, though the inundations
of the Tiber have often threatened to destroy it. N ot far
thence are vestiges of a prison for debt, where the well
k nown instance of filial piety is said to have occurred; here,
too, Clcelia and her companions were confined by Porsenna,
and swam across the river to rej oin the R omans. Mount
A ventinus indemnifies the mind for all the painful recol-
lections the other hills awak e; and its aspect is as beauteous
as its memories are sweet. The bank s at its foot were
called the L ovely S trand (pulchrum littus). Thither the
orators of R ome walk ed from the F orum: there Caesar and
Pompey met lik e simple citizens, and sought to conciliate
Cicero, whose independent eloq uence was of more weightx
than even the power of their armies. Poetry also has em-
bellished this spot: it was there that V irgil placed the cave
of Cacus; and R ome, so great in history, is still greater
by the heroic fictions with which her fabulous origin has
been deck ed. I
see the house of N
the spirit of antiq
n returning from Mount A ventinus, you
icolas R ienzi, who vainly strove to restore
uity in modern days.
Mount Ccelius is remark able for the remains of a pre-
torian encampment, and that of the foreign troops: on the
ruins of the latter was found an inscription, -- " To the
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? 70CO R I N N E ; 0>> I TA L Y 1.
H oly Genius of the F oreign Camp. " H oly, indeed, to those
whose power it sustained! W hat is left of these barrack s
proves that they were built lik e cloisters; or, rather, that
cloisters were formed after their model.
E sq uilinus was called the " Poet' s H ill; " Maecenas,
H orace, Propertius, and Tibullus, having all houses there.
N ear this are the ruins of the baths of Traj an and Titus.
I t is believed that R aphael copied his arabesq ues from the
frescoes of the latter: here, too, was the L aocoon discovered.
The freshness of water is so acceptable in fervid climes,
that their natives love to collect all that can pamper the
senses in the chambers where they bathe. Thus, by the
light of lamps, did the R omans gaze on the chefs-d' oeuvres
of painting and sculpture; for it appears from the con-
struction of these buildings that day never entered them:
they were sheltered from the noontide rays, so piercing
here as fully to deserve the title of A pollo' s darts. Y et
the ex treme precautions tak en by the ancients might in-
duce a supposition that the climate was more burning then
than now. I n the baths of Caracalla were the F
H ercules, the F lora, and the group of Circe. N
in the baths of N ero, was found the A pollo B
arnese
ear O stia,
elvidere. Can
we look on that noble figure and conceive N ero destitute
of all generous sentiments?
The baths and circuses are the only places of public
amusement that have left their vestige. Though the ruins
of Marcellus' theatre still ex ist, Pliny relates that 36
marble pillars, and 3000 statues, were placed in a theatre
incapable of lasting many days. The R omans, however,
soon built, with a solidity that defied the earthq uak e'
0
s
shock : too soon they wasted lik e pains on edifices which
they destroyed themselves when the fetes held in them were
concluded; thus, in every sense, sported they with time.
They had not the Grecian' s mania for dramatic represent-
ations: the fine arts then flourished at R ome only in the
work s of Greece; and R oman grandeur consisted rather in
colossal architecture than in efforts of imagination. The
gigantic wonders thus produced bore a very dignified stamp,
no longer of liberty, but that of power still. The districts
devoted to the public baths were called provinces, and united
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? CO R I N N E ; O B I TA L Y . 71
all the varied establishments to be found in a whole country.
The great circus so nearly touched the imperial palace, that
N ero, from his window, could give a signal for the com-
mencement of the games. This circus was large enough
to contain 300,000 people. A lmost the whole nation might
be amused at the same moment; and these immense fes-
tivals might be considered as popular institutions, which
assembled for mere pleasure those who formerly united
for glory. Mounts Q uirinalis and V iminalis are so near
each other that it is not easy to distinguish them apart.
There stood the houses of S allust and of Pompey. There,
too, in the present day, does the pope reside. O ne cannot
tak e a single step in R ome without contrasting its present
and its past. B ut one learns to view the events of one' s,
own time the more calmly for noting the eternal fluctuations
that mark the history of man; and one feels ashamed to
repine, in the presence, as it were, of so many centuries,
who have all overthrown the achievements of their prede-
cessors. A round, and on the S even H ills, are seen a mul-
titude of spires and obelisk s, the columns of Traj an and
. of A ntoninus, the tower of Conti, whence, it is said, N ero
overlook ed the conflagration of R ome, and the dome of S t.
Peter' s lording it over the highest. The air seems peopled
by these heaven-aspiring fanes, as if an aerial city soared
maj estic above that of the earth. I n re-entering R ome,
Corinne led O swald beneath the portico of the tender and
suffering O ctavia; they then crossed the road along which
the infamous Tullia drove over the body of her father:
they beheld, in the distance, the temple raised by A grip-
pina in honour of Claudius, whom she had caused to be
poisoned; finally, they passed the tomb of A ugustus, the
enclosure around which now serves as an arena for animal
combats.
" I have led you rapidly," said Corinne, " over a few
foot-prints of ancient history; but you can appreciate the
pleasure which may be found in researches at once sage and
poetic, addressing the fancy as well as the reason. There
are many distinguished men in R ome whose sole occupation
is that of discovering new link s between our ruins and our
history. " -- " I k now no study which could interest me
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? 72CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
more," replied N evil, " if I felt my mind sufficiently com-
posed for it. S uch erudition is far more animated than
that we acq uire from book s: we seem to revive what we
unveil; and the past appears to rise from the dust which
concealed it. " -- " Doubtless," said Corinne, " this passion
for antiq uity is no idle prej udice. W e live in an age when
self-interest seems the ruling principle of all men: what
sympathy, what enthusiasm, can ever be its result? I s it
not sweeter to dream over the days of self-devotion and
heroic sacrifice, which might once have ex isted, nay, of
which the earth still bears such honourable traces? "
CH A PTE R V I .
Corinne secretly flattered herself that she had captivated
the heart of O swald; yet, k nowing his severe reserve, dared
not fully betray the interest he inspired, prompt as she
was by nature to confess her feelings. Perhaps she even
thought that while speak ing on subj ects foreign to their
love, the very voice might disclose their mutual affection;
a silent avowal be ex pressed in their look s, or in that veiled
and melancholy language which so deeply penetrates the soul.
O ne morning, while she was preparing to continue
their researches, she received from him an almost cere-
monious note, saying that indisposition would confine
him to his house for some days. A sad disq uietude seized
the heart of Corinne: at first she feared that he was dan-
gerously ill; but Count d' E rfeuil, who called in the evening,
informed her that it was but one of those nervous attack s
to which N evil was so subj ect, and during which he
would converse with nobody. " H e won' t even see me t"
added the Count. The words displeased Corinne; but she
took care to hide her anger from its obj ect, as he alone
could bring her tidings of his friend. S he, therefore, con-
tinued to q uestion him, trusting that a person so giddy, at
least in appearance, would tell her all he k new. B ut
whether he wished to hide, beneath an air of mystery, the
fact that N evil had confided nothing, or whether he be-
lieved it more honourable to thwart her wishes than to
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 73
grant them, he met her ardent curiosity by imperturbable
silence. S he, who had always gained such an ascendency
over those with whom she spok e, could not understand why
her persuasive powers should fail with him. S he did not
k now that self-love is the most inflex ible q uality in the
world. W here was then her resource for learning what
passed in the heart of O swald? S hould she write to him?
A letter req uires such caution; and the loveliest attribute
of her nature was its impulsive sincerity. Three days
passed, and still he came not. S he suffered the most cruel
agitation. " W hat have I done," she thought, " to dis-
sever him from me? I have not committed the error so
formidable in E ngland, so pardonable in I taly; I never
told him that I loved. E ven if he guesses it, why should
he esteem me the less? " O swald avoided Corinne merely
because he but too strongly felt the power of her charms.
A lthough he had not given his word to marry L ucy E d-
garmond, he k new that such had been his father' s wish,
and desired to conform with it. Corinne was not k nown
by her real name: she had for many years led a life far
too independent for him to hope that an union with her
would have obtained the approbation of his parent, and he
felt that it was not by such a step he could ex piate his
early offences. H e purposed to leave R ome, and write
Corinne an ex planation of the motives which enforced such
resolution; but not feeling strength for this, he limited
his ex ertions to a forbearance from visiting her; and this
sacrifice soon appeared the most painful of the two.
Corinne was struck by the idea that she should see him
no more, that he would fly without bidding her adieu.
S he ex pected every instant to hear of his departure; and
terror so aggravated her sensations, that the vulture talons
of passion seized at once on her heart; and its peace, its
liberty, crouched beneath them. Unable to rest in the
house where O swald came not, she wandered in the gar-
dens of R ome, hoping to meet him; she had at least some
chance of seeing him, and best supported the hours during
which she trusted to this ex pectation.
H er ardent fancy, the source of her talents, was unhap-
pily blended with such natural feeling, that it now con-
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? 74CO R I N N B J O R H A L F .
stituted her wretchedness. The evening of the fourth
day' s absence the moon shone clearly over R ome, which,
in the silence of night, look s lovely, as if it were inhabited
but by the spirits of the great. Corinne, on her way from
the house of a female friend, left her carriage, and, op-
pressed with grief, seated herself beside the fount of Trevi,
whose abundant cascade falls in the centre of R ome, and
seems the life of that tranq uil scene. W henever its flow
is suspended all appears stagnation. I n other cities it is
the roll of carriages that the ear req uires, in R ome it is
the murmur of this immense fountain, which seems the in.
dispensable accompaniment of the dreamy life led there. '
I ts water is so pure, that it has for many ages been named
the V irgin S pring. The form of Corinne was now reflected
on its surface. O swald, who had paused there at the
same moment, beheld the enchanting countenance of his
love thus mirrored in the wave: at first it affected him so
strangely that he believed himself gazing on her phantom,
as his imagination had often conj ured up that of his father:
he leaned forward, in order to see it more plainly, and his
own features appeared beside those of Corinne. S he re-
cognised them, shriek ed, rushed towards him, and seized
his arm, as if she feared he would again escape; but
scarcely had she yielded to this too impetuous impulse,
ere, remembering the character of L ord N evil, she blushed,
her hand dropped, and with the other she covered her face
to hide her tears.
" Corinne! dear Corinne! " he cried, " has then my
absence pained you? " -- " Y es," she replied, " you must
have k nown it would. W hy then inflict such pangs on
me? H aveI deservedtosufferthusforyou? " -- " N o,
no," he answered; " but if I cannot deem myself free,--
if my heart be filled by regret and fear, why should I in-
volveyouinitstortures? W hy? " -- " I tistoolatetoask ,"
interrupted Corinne; " grief is already in my breast;
bear with me! " -- " Grief! " repeated O swald; "
midst of so brilliant a career, with so lively a genius! "
-- " H old," shesaid," youk nowmenot. O fallmy
faculties, the most powerful is that of suffering. I was
formed for happiness; my nature is confiding and ani-
in the
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 1$
mated; but sorrow ex cites me to a degree that threatens my
reason, nay, my life. B e careful of me! My gay versa-
tility serves me but in appearance: within my soul is an
abyss of despair, which I can only avoid by preserving
myself from love. " Corinne spok e with an ex pression
which vividly affected O swald. " I will come to you to-
morrow, rely on it, Corinne," he said.
