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.
only lux uries remaining, while of aught more useful we
have but a few tombs and brick temples.
Madame de Stael - Corinna, or Italy
A n obelisk , of eighty feet in height,
which look s scarce raised above the earth, in presence of
the cupola, stands in the centre. The mere form of an
obelisk is pleasing to the fancy: it loses itself in air, as if'
guiding the thoughts of man towards heaven. This was
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? C0R I N N E J O R I TA L Y . 57
brought from E gypt to adorn the baths of Caligula, and
afterwards removed by S ix tus V . to the foot of S t. Peter' s,
beside which this contemporary of many ages creates not
one sentiment of awe. Man feels himself so perishable
that he bows before the presence of immutability. A t
some distance, on each side of the obelisk , are two foun-
tains, whose waters, perpetually gushing upwards, fall
again in abundant cascades. Their murmurs, such as we
are wont to hear in wild and rural scenes, lend a strange
charm to this spot, yet one that harmonises with the still-
ing influence of that august cathedral. Painting and sculp-
ture, whether representing the human form, or other
natural obj ects, awak en clear and intelligible images; but
a perfect piece of architecture k indles that aimless reverie,
which bears the soul we k now not whither. The ripple of
water well accords with this vague deep sense: it is uni-
form, as the edifice is regular. ' E ternal motion and eternal
rest' seem here united, defying even time, who has no
more sullied the source of those pure springs than shak en
the base of that commanding temple. These sheaves of
liq uid silver dash themselves into spray so fine, that on
sunny days the light will form them into little rainbows,
tinted with all the iris hues of the prism. " S top here a
moment," said Corinne to N evil, who was already beneath
the portico: " pause, ere you unveil the sanctuary: does
not your heart throb as you approach it, as if anticipating
some solemn event? " S he raised the curtain, and held it
back for N evil to pass, with such a grace that his first look
was on her, and for some seconds he could observe nothing
else; yet he entered the interior, and soon beneath its im-
mense arches was filled by a piety so profound that love
alone no longer sufficed to occupy his breast. H e walk ed
slowly beside Corinne; both were mute: there every thing
commands silence ; for the least sound is re-echoed so far,
that no discourse seems worthy to be thus repeated, in such
an almost eternal abode. E ven prayer, the accent of dis-
tress, springing from whatever feeble voice, reverberates
deeply through its vastness; and when we hear, from far,
the trembling steps of age, on the fair marble, watered by
so many tears, man becomes imposing from the very in-
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? 58CO R I N N E ; O B I TA L Y .
firmities that subj ect his divine spirit to so much of woe;
and we feel that Christianity, the creed of suffering, con-
tains the true secret which should direct our pilgrimage on
earth. Corinne brok e on the meditations of O swald, say-
ing, " Y ou must have remark ed that the Gothic churches
of E ngland and Germany have a far more gloomy cha-
racter than this. N orthern Catholicism has in it some-
thing mystic; ours speak s to the imagination by ex ternal
obj ects. Michael A ngelo, on beholding this dome from
the Pantheon, ex claimed, ' I have built it in the air! ' --
indeed S t. Peter' s is as a temple based upon a church: its
interior weds the ancient and modern faiths in the mind:
I freq uently wander hither to regain the composure my
spirit sometimes loses. The sight of such a building is
lik e a ceaseless, changeless melody, here awaiting to con-
sole all who seek it; and, among our national claims to
glory, let me rank the courage, patience, and disinterested-
ness of the chiefs of our church, who have, for so many
years, devoted such treasures to the completion of an edi-
fice which its founders could not ex pect to enj oy. (8) I t is
rendering a service to the moral public, bestowflig on a
nation a monument emblematic of such noble and gener-
ous desires. " -- " Y es," replied O swald, " here art is grand,
and genius inventive; but how is the real dignity of man
sustained? H ow weak are the generality of I
vernments, yet how do they enslave ! " -- "
interrupted Corinne, " have borne the yok e, lik
talian go-
O ther nations,"
e our-
selves, and without lik e power to conceive a better fate,
? S ervi siam si, ma servi ognor frementi. '
' W e are slaves, indeed, but for ever chafing beneath our
bonds,' said A lfieri, the boldest of our modern writers.
W ith such soul for the fine arts, may not our character
one day eq ual our genius? B ut look at these statues on
the tombs, these mosaics,-- laborious and faithful copies
from the chefs-d' ceuvres of our great masters. I never ex -
amine S t. Peter' s in detail, because I am grieved to find
that its multiplied adornments somewhat impair- the beauty
of the whole. Y et well may the best work s of human
hands seem superfluous here. This is a world of itself;
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? corinne; or italy. 59
a refuge from both heat and cold: it hath a season of its
own, perennial spring, which the atmosphere without can
never affect. A subterranean church is built beneath:
tbe popes, and many foreign princes, are buried there --
Christine, who abdicated her realm; the S tuarts, whose
dynasty was overthrown. R ome, so long an asylum for
the ex ile, is she not herself dethroned? H er aspect con-
soles sovereigns despoiled lik e her. Y es, cities fall, whole
empires disappear, and man becomes unworthy of his
name. S tand here, N evil! near the altar, beneath the cen-
tre of the dome, you perceive, through these iron gratings,
the church of the dead, which lies beneath our feet, and,
on raising your eyes, they can scarcely pierce to the sum-
mit of this arch: do you not feel as if a huge abyss was
opening over your head? E very thing which ex tends be-
yond a certain proportion must cause that limited creature
man uncontrollable dismay. W hat we k now is as inex -
plicable as the unk nown: we have so reconciled ourselves
to habitual dark ness, that any new mystery alarms and
confounds us.
" The whole church is embellished by antiq ue marbles,
who k now more than we do of vanished centuries. There
is the statue of J upiter converted into S t. Peter, by the glory
which has been set upon its head. The general ex pres-
sion of the place perfectly characterises a mix
scure dogmas and sumptuous ceremonies;
ideas, but such as may be soothingly applied;
ture of ob-
a mine of sad
severe doc-
trines, capable of mild interpretation:-- Christian theology
and Pagan images; in fact, the most admirable union of all
the maj estic splendours which man can give to his worship
of the Divinity. Tombs deck ed by the arts can scarcely
represent death as a formidable enemy: we do not, indeed)
lik e the ancients, carve sports and dances on the sarco-
phagus; but thought is diverted from the bier by work s
that tell of immortality even from the altar of death.
Thus animated, we feel not that freezing silence which
constantly watches over a northern sepulchre. " -- " I
t is
doubtless, the purpose with us," said O swald, "
round death with appropriate gloom: ere we were en-
to sur-
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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.
which look s scarce raised above the earth, in presence of
the cupola, stands in the centre. The mere form of an
obelisk is pleasing to the fancy: it loses itself in air, as if'
guiding the thoughts of man towards heaven. This was
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? C0R I N N E J O R I TA L Y . 57
brought from E gypt to adorn the baths of Caligula, and
afterwards removed by S ix tus V . to the foot of S t. Peter' s,
beside which this contemporary of many ages creates not
one sentiment of awe. Man feels himself so perishable
that he bows before the presence of immutability. A t
some distance, on each side of the obelisk , are two foun-
tains, whose waters, perpetually gushing upwards, fall
again in abundant cascades. Their murmurs, such as we
are wont to hear in wild and rural scenes, lend a strange
charm to this spot, yet one that harmonises with the still-
ing influence of that august cathedral. Painting and sculp-
ture, whether representing the human form, or other
natural obj ects, awak en clear and intelligible images; but
a perfect piece of architecture k indles that aimless reverie,
which bears the soul we k now not whither. The ripple of
water well accords with this vague deep sense: it is uni-
form, as the edifice is regular. ' E ternal motion and eternal
rest' seem here united, defying even time, who has no
more sullied the source of those pure springs than shak en
the base of that commanding temple. These sheaves of
liq uid silver dash themselves into spray so fine, that on
sunny days the light will form them into little rainbows,
tinted with all the iris hues of the prism. " S top here a
moment," said Corinne to N evil, who was already beneath
the portico: " pause, ere you unveil the sanctuary: does
not your heart throb as you approach it, as if anticipating
some solemn event? " S he raised the curtain, and held it
back for N evil to pass, with such a grace that his first look
was on her, and for some seconds he could observe nothing
else; yet he entered the interior, and soon beneath its im-
mense arches was filled by a piety so profound that love
alone no longer sufficed to occupy his breast. H e walk ed
slowly beside Corinne; both were mute: there every thing
commands silence ; for the least sound is re-echoed so far,
that no discourse seems worthy to be thus repeated, in such
an almost eternal abode. E ven prayer, the accent of dis-
tress, springing from whatever feeble voice, reverberates
deeply through its vastness; and when we hear, from far,
the trembling steps of age, on the fair marble, watered by
so many tears, man becomes imposing from the very in-
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? 58CO R I N N E ; O B I TA L Y .
firmities that subj ect his divine spirit to so much of woe;
and we feel that Christianity, the creed of suffering, con-
tains the true secret which should direct our pilgrimage on
earth. Corinne brok e on the meditations of O swald, say-
ing, " Y ou must have remark ed that the Gothic churches
of E ngland and Germany have a far more gloomy cha-
racter than this. N orthern Catholicism has in it some-
thing mystic; ours speak s to the imagination by ex ternal
obj ects. Michael A ngelo, on beholding this dome from
the Pantheon, ex claimed, ' I have built it in the air! ' --
indeed S t. Peter' s is as a temple based upon a church: its
interior weds the ancient and modern faiths in the mind:
I freq uently wander hither to regain the composure my
spirit sometimes loses. The sight of such a building is
lik e a ceaseless, changeless melody, here awaiting to con-
sole all who seek it; and, among our national claims to
glory, let me rank the courage, patience, and disinterested-
ness of the chiefs of our church, who have, for so many
years, devoted such treasures to the completion of an edi-
fice which its founders could not ex pect to enj oy. (8) I t is
rendering a service to the moral public, bestowflig on a
nation a monument emblematic of such noble and gener-
ous desires. " -- " Y es," replied O swald, " here art is grand,
and genius inventive; but how is the real dignity of man
sustained? H ow weak are the generality of I
vernments, yet how do they enslave ! " -- "
interrupted Corinne, " have borne the yok e, lik
talian go-
O ther nations,"
e our-
selves, and without lik e power to conceive a better fate,
? S ervi siam si, ma servi ognor frementi. '
' W e are slaves, indeed, but for ever chafing beneath our
bonds,' said A lfieri, the boldest of our modern writers.
W ith such soul for the fine arts, may not our character
one day eq ual our genius? B ut look at these statues on
the tombs, these mosaics,-- laborious and faithful copies
from the chefs-d' ceuvres of our great masters. I never ex -
amine S t. Peter' s in detail, because I am grieved to find
that its multiplied adornments somewhat impair- the beauty
of the whole. Y et well may the best work s of human
hands seem superfluous here. This is a world of itself;
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? corinne; or italy. 59
a refuge from both heat and cold: it hath a season of its
own, perennial spring, which the atmosphere without can
never affect. A subterranean church is built beneath:
tbe popes, and many foreign princes, are buried there --
Christine, who abdicated her realm; the S tuarts, whose
dynasty was overthrown. R ome, so long an asylum for
the ex ile, is she not herself dethroned? H er aspect con-
soles sovereigns despoiled lik e her. Y es, cities fall, whole
empires disappear, and man becomes unworthy of his
name. S tand here, N evil! near the altar, beneath the cen-
tre of the dome, you perceive, through these iron gratings,
the church of the dead, which lies beneath our feet, and,
on raising your eyes, they can scarcely pierce to the sum-
mit of this arch: do you not feel as if a huge abyss was
opening over your head? E very thing which ex tends be-
yond a certain proportion must cause that limited creature
man uncontrollable dismay. W hat we k now is as inex -
plicable as the unk nown: we have so reconciled ourselves
to habitual dark ness, that any new mystery alarms and
confounds us.
" The whole church is embellished by antiq ue marbles,
who k now more than we do of vanished centuries. There
is the statue of J upiter converted into S t. Peter, by the glory
which has been set upon its head. The general ex pres-
sion of the place perfectly characterises a mix
scure dogmas and sumptuous ceremonies;
ideas, but such as may be soothingly applied;
ture of ob-
a mine of sad
severe doc-
trines, capable of mild interpretation:-- Christian theology
and Pagan images; in fact, the most admirable union of all
the maj estic splendours which man can give to his worship
of the Divinity. Tombs deck ed by the arts can scarcely
represent death as a formidable enemy: we do not, indeed)
lik e the ancients, carve sports and dances on the sarco-
phagus; but thought is diverted from the bier by work s
that tell of immortality even from the altar of death.
Thus animated, we feel not that freezing silence which
constantly watches over a northern sepulchre. " -- " I
t is
doubtless, the purpose with us," said O swald, "
round death with appropriate gloom: ere we were en-
to sur-
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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
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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.
