W hat, then,
do these, q ualities teach us to crave?
do these, q ualities teach us to crave?
Madame de Stael - Corinna, or Italy
Doubtless the want of
tr^ es is one cause; and therefore did the R omans dedicate
their woods to goddesses, that they might be respected by
the people: yet have numberless forests been felled in our
own times. W hat can now be so sanctified that avarice will
forbear its devastation? This malaria is the scourge of
R ome, and often threatens its whole population; yet, per-
o3
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? 86 CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
haps, it adds to the effect produced by the lovely gardens
to be found within the boundaries. I ts malignant power
is betrayed by no ex ternal sign: you respire an air that
seems pure' ; the earth is fertile;
in the evening for the heat of the day;
death!
" I love such invisible danger,"
a delicious freshness atones
and all this is:
said O swald, " veiled;
as it is in delight. I f death, as I believe, be but a call to
happier life, why should not the perfume of flowers, the
shade of fine trees, and the breath of eve be charged to re-
mind us of our fate? O f course, government ought, in
every way, to watch over human life; but nature has
secrets which imagination only can penetrate; and I easily
conceive that neither natives nor foreigners find any thing
to disgust them in the perils which belong to the sweetest
seasons of the year. "
BOOKVI.
O N I TA L I A N CH A R A CTE R A N DMA N N E R S .
CH A PTE R I .
O swald' s irresolution, augmented by misfortunes, taught
him to fear every irrevocable engagement. H e dared not
ask Corinne her name or story, though his love for her
grew each day more strong: he could not look on her
without emotion ; hardly, in the midst of society, q uit her
side for an instant; she said not a word he did not feel,
nor ex pressed a sentiment, sad or gay, that was not reflected
in his face. Y et, loving, admiring her as he did, he for-
got not how little such a wife would accord with E nglish
habits; how much she differed from the idea his father
formed of the woman it would become him to marry: all
he said to Corinne was restrained by the disq uiet these re-
flections caused him. S he perceived this but too plainly;
yet so much would it have cost her to break with him,
that she lent herself to whatever could prevent a decisive
ex planation; and, never possessing much forethought, re-
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? corinne; or italy. 87
veiled in the present, such as it was, not dreaming of the
inevitable future. S he entirely secluded herself from the
world in this devotion to him; but, at last, hurt by his
silence on their prospects, she resolved to accept a pressing
invitation to a ball. N othing is more common, in R ome,
than for persons to leave and return to society by fits:
there is so little gossip in I taly, that people do what they
lik e, without comment, at least without obstacle, in affairs
either of love or ambition. F oreigners are as safe as na-
tives in this rendezvous of E uropeans. W hen N evil learnt
that Corinne was going to a ball, he was out of humour;
for some time he had fancied that he detected in her a me-
lancholy sympathetic with his own; yet suddenly she
appeared to think
she so much ex
was not frivolous;
of nothing but dancing (in which
celled), and the eclat of a fete. Corinne
but, feeling every day more subdued by
love, she wished to combat its force. S he k new by ex -'
perience that reflection and forbearance have less power
over impassioned characters than dissipation; and she
thought that, if unable to triumph over herself as she ought,
thenex tbeststepweretodosoasshecould. W henN e-
vil censured her intentions, she replied, " I want to ascer-
tain whether what formerly pleased can still amuse me,
or whether my regard for you is to absorb every other in-
terest of my life. " -- " Y ou would fain cease to love me,"
he said. " N ot so," she replied; " but it is only in do-
mestic life that it can be agreeable to feel one' s self lorded
over by a single affection. To me, who need my wit and
genius to sustain the reputation of the life I have adopted,
it is a great misfortune to love as I love you. " -- " Y ou
will not sacrifice your glory to me, then ? " cried O swald. --
" O f what importance were it to you," she replied, " if I
did? S ince we are not destined' for each other, I must not
for ever destroy the k ind of happiness with which I ought
to content myself. " L ord N evil said nothing; conscious
that he could not now speak without ex plaining his de-
signs; and, in truth, he was ignorant of them himself.
H e sighed, and reluctantly followed Corinne to the ball.
I t was the first time, since his loss, that he had gone to
such an assembly. I ts tumult so oppressed him that he
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? 88CO B I N K E ; O B I TA L Y .
remained for some period in a hall beside the dancing-
room, with his head reclined upon his hand; not even
wishing to see Corinne dance. A ll music, even if its oc-
casion be a gay one, renders us pensive. The Count
d' E rfeuil arrived, enchanted with the crowd and amuse-
ments, which once more reminded him of F rance. " I ' ve
done my best," he said, " to interest myself in their
vaunted ruins, but I see nothing in them: ' tis a mere pre-
j udice, this fuss about rubbish covered with briars! I
shall speak my mind when I return to F rance; for it is
high time that the farce should be ended. There is not a
single building of to-day, in good repair, that is not worth
all these trunk s of pillars, and mouldy bas-reliefs, which
can only be admired through the spectacles of pedantry.
A rapture which one must purchase by study cannot be very
vivid in itself. O ne needs not spoil one' s complex ion
over musty book s, to appreciate the sights of Paris. " /
L ord N evil was silent, and d' E rfeuil q uestioned him on
his opinion of R ome. " A ball is not the best place for
serious conversation,"
can afford you no other. "
said O swald; " and you k now that I
-- " Mighty fine," replied the
Count. " I own I am gayer than you; but who can say
that I am not wiser too? Trust me, there is much phi-
losophy in tak ing the world as it goes. " -- " Perhaps you
are right," answered O swald; " but, as you are what you
are by nature, and not by reflection, your manner of living
can belong to no one but yourself. "
D' E rfeuil now heard the name of Corinne from the ball-
room, and went to learn what was doing there. N evil fol-
lowed him to the door, and saw the handsome N eapolitan
Prince A main soliciting her to dance the Tarantula with
him. A ll her friends j oined in this req uest. S he waited
for no importunity, but promised with a readiness which
astonished d' E rfeuil, accustomed as he was to the refusals
with which it is the fashion to precede consent. I n I taly
these airs are unk nown: there, every one is simple enough
to believe that he cannot better please society than by
promptly fulfilling whatever it req uires. Corinne would
have introduced this natural manner, if she had not found
it there. The dress she had assumed was light and elegant.
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . S < )
H er lock s were confined by a silk en fillet, and her eyes
ex pressed an animation which rendered her more attractive
than ever. O swald was uneasy; displeased with his own
subj ection to charms whose ex istence he was inclined to
deplore, as, far from wishing to gratify him, it was almost
in order to escape from his power that Corinne shone forth
thus enchantingly: yet, who could resist her seducing
grace? E ven in scorn she would have been still triumphant;
hut scorn was not in her disposition. S he perceived her
lover; and blushed, as she bestowed on him one of her
sweetest smiles. The Prince A malfi accompanied himself
with castanets. Corinne saluted the assembly with both
hands; then, turning, took the tambourine, which her part-
ner presented to her, and she beat time as she danced.
H er gestures displayed that easy union of modesty and vo-
luptuousness, such as must have so awed the I ndians when
the B ayarderes-- poets of the dance -- depicted the various
passions by characteristic attitudes. Corinne was so well
acq uainted with antiq ue painting and sculpture, that her
positions were so many studies for the votaries of art.
N ow she held her tambourine above her head; sometimes
advanced it with one hand, while the other ran over its
little bells with a dex terous rapidity that brought to mind
the girls of H erculaneum. (14) This was not F rench
dancing, remark able for the difficulty of its steps; it was a
movement more allied to fancy and to sentiment. The air
to which she danced, pleased alternately by its softness and
its precision. Corinne as thoroughly infected the spectators
with her own sensations as she did while ex temporising
poetry, playing on her lyre, or designing an ex pressive
group. E very thing was language for her. The musicians, \
in gazing on her, felt all the genius of their art; and every
witness of this magic was electrified by impassioned j oy,
transported into an ideal world, there to dream of bliss
unk nown below.
There is a part of the N eapolitan dance where the heroine
k neels, while the hero marches round her, lik e a conq ueror.
H ow dignified look ed Corinne at that moment! W hat a
sovereign she was on her k nees ! and when she rose, clashing
her airy tambourine, she appeared animated by such en-
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? 90CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
thusiasm of youthful beauty, that one might have thought
she needed no life but her own to mak e her happy. A las,
it was not thus! though O swald feared it, and sighed, as
if her every success separated her farther from him. W hen
the Prince, in his turn, k nelt to Corinne, she, if possible,
surpassed herself. Twice or thrice she fled round him,
her sandalled feet sk imming the floor with the speed of
lightning; and when, shak ing her tambourine above his
head with one hand, she signed with the other for him to
rise, every man present was tempted to prostrate himself
before her, ex cept L ord N evil, who drew back some paces,
and d' E rfeuil, who made a step or two forwards, in order
to compliment Corinne. The I talians gave way to what
they felt, without one fear of mak ing themselves remark -
able. They were not lik e men so accustomed to society,
and the self-love which it ex cites, as to think on the effect
they might produce: they are never to be turned from their
pleasures by vanity, nor from their purposes by applause.
Corinne, charmed with the result of her attempt, thank ed
her friends with amiable simplicity. S he was satisfied, and
permitted her content to be seen, with childlik e candour;
her greatest desire was to get through the crowd to the
door, against which O swald was leaning. S he reached it
at last, and paused for him to speak . -- " Corinne," he
said, endeavouring to conceal both his delight and his dis-
tress, " you have ex torted universal homage: but is there,
among all your adorers, one brave, one trusty friend; one
protector for life? or can the clamours of flattery suffice a
soul lik e yours? "
CH A PTE R I I .
The press of company prevented Corinne' s reply: they were
going to supper; and each cavaliere servente hastened to seat
himself beside his lady. A fair stranger arrived and found
no room; yet not a man, save O swald and d' E rfeuil, rose
to offer her his place. N ot that the R omans were either rude
or selfish; but they believed that their honour depended
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? comas k t; or italy. gi
on their never q uitting their post of duty. S ome, unable to
gain seats, leaned behind their mistresses' chairs, ready to
obey the slightest sign. The females spok e but to their
lovers: strangers wandered in vain around a circle where
no one had a word to spare them; for I talian women are
ignorant of that coq uetry which renders a love affair no-
thing more than the triumph of self-conceit: they wish to
please no eyes save those that are dear to them. The
mind is never misled before the heart. The most abrupt
commencements are often followed by sincere devotion, and
even by lasting constancy. I nfidelity is more censured in
man than in woman. Three or four men, beneath different
titles, may follow the same beauty, who tak es them with
her every where, sometimes without troubling herself to
name them to the master of the house which receives the
party. O ne is the favourite; another aspires to be so; a
third calls himself the sufferer (ilpatito): though disdained,
he is permitted to be of use; and all these rivals live peace-
ably together. I t is only among the common people that
you still hear of the stiletto; but the whole country pre-
sents a wild mix ture of simpleness and of vice, dissimulation
and truth, good-nature and revenge, strength and weak ness;
j ustifying the remark , that the best of these q ualities may
be found among those who will do nothing for vanity; the
worst among such as will do any thing for interest, whether
the interest of love, of avarice, or ambition. Distinctions
of rank are generally disregarded in I taly. I t is not from
stoicism, but from heedless familiarity, that men are here
insensible to aristocratic prej udices: constituting themselves
j udges of no one, they admit every body. A fter supper
they sat down to play; some of the women at hazard, others
chose silent whist; and not a word was now uttered in the
apartment, so noisy j ust before. The people of the S outh
often run thus q uick ly from the ex treme of agitation to that
of repose: it is one of the peculiarities of their character,
that indolence is succeeded by activity: indeed, in all re-
spects they are the last men on whose merits or defects we
ought to decide at first sight; so contrasted are the q uali-
ties they unite: the creature all prudence to-day may be
all audacity to-morrow. They are often apathetic, from
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? 92CO R I N N E J O R I TA L Y .
j ust having made, or preparing to mak e, some great ex e* -
tion. I n fact, they waste not one energy of their minds on
society, but hoard them till called forth by strong events.
A t this assembly many persons lost enormous sums, without
the slightest change of countenance; yet the same beings
could not have related a trivial anecdote without the most
lively and ex pressive gesticulation. B ut when the passions
have attained a certain degree of violence, they shrink from
sight, and veil themselves in silence.
N evil could not surmount the bitter feelings this ball
engendered: he believed that the I talians had weaned his
love from him, at least for a time. H e was very wretched;
yet his pride prevented his evincing aught beyond a con-
tempt for the tributes offered her. W hen ask ed to play
he refused, as did Corinne, who beck oned him to sit beside
her: he feared to compromise her name by passing a whole
evening alone with her before the eyes of the world. " B e
at ease on that head," she replied; " no one think
us. H ere no established etiq uette ex acts respect;
s about
a k indly
politeness is all that is req uired; no one wishes to annoy or
to be annoyed. " Tis true that we have not here what in
E ngland is called liberty;
perfect. " -- " That is,"
is paid to appearances. " --
but our social independence is
said O swald, " that no reverence
" A t least, here is no hypocrisy,"
she answered. -- " R ochefoucault says, ' The least among
the defects of a woman of gallantry is that of being one; '
but whatever be the faults of I talian women, deceit does
not conceal them; and if marriage vows are not held
sufficiently sacred, they are brok en by mutual consent. " --
" I t is not sincerity that causes this k ind of frank ness,"
replied O swald, " hut indifference to public opinion. I
brought hither an introduction to a princess, and gave it to
theservantI hadhiredhere,whosaidtome,' A h,S ir,j ust
now, this will do you no service, the princess sees no one;
she is innamorata. ' Thus was the fact of a lady' s being in
love prdclaimed lik e any other domestic affair. N or is this
publicity ex cused by fidelity to one passion: many attach-
ments succeed each other, all eq ually well k nown. W omen
have so little mystery in these ties, that they speak of them
with less embarrassment than our brides could talk of their
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 93
husbands. I t is not easy to believe that any deep or re-
fined affection can ex ist with this shameless fick leness.
Though nothing is thought of but love, here can be no ro-
mance: adventures are so rapid, and so open, that nothing
is left to be developed; and, j ustly to describe the general
method of arranging these things, one ought to begin and
end in the first chapter. Corinne, pardon me if I give you
pain. Y ou are an I talian; that should disarm me: but one
reason why you are thus incomparable is, that you unite the \
best characteristics of our different nations. I k now not
where you were educated, but you certainly cannot have
passed all your life here: perhaps it was in E ngland. A h,
if so, how could you leave that sanctuary of all that is\
modest, for a land where not only virtue, but love itself,
is so little understood. I t may be breathed in the air, but
does it reach the heart? The poetry, here, in which love
plays so great a part, is full of brilliant pictures, indeed;
but where will you find the melancholy tenderness of our
bards? W hat have you to compare with the parting of
J affier and B elvidera, with R omeo and J uliet, or with the
lines in Thomson' s S pring depicting the happiness of
wedded life? I s there any such life in I taly? and, without
homefelt felicity, how can love ex ist? I s not happiness
the aim of the heart, as pleasure is that of the senses ? \
W ould not all young and lovely women be alik e to us, did
not mental q ualities decide our preference?
W hat, then,
do these, q ualities teach us to crave? an intercourse of \
thought and feeling, permanent and undivided! This is
what we mean by marriage. I llegitimate love, when, un-
happily, it does occur among us, is still but the reflex of
marriage. The same comfort is sought abroad which
cannot be found at home; and even infidelity in E ngland .
is more moral than I talian matrimony. "
This severity so afflicted Corinne that she rose, her
eyes filled with tears, and hurried home. O swald was in
despair at having offended her; but the irritation this ball
had dealt him found a channel in the censure he had j ust
pronounced. H e followed her; but she would not see him.
N ex t morning he made another attempt; but her door was
still closed. This was out of character in Corinne; but
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? Q i corinne; or italy.
she was so dismayed by his opinion of her countrywomen,
that she resolved, if possible, to conceal her affection from
him for ever. O swald, on his part, was confirmed by this
unusual conduct in the discontent that unluck y fete had
engendered; he was ex cited to struggle against the senti-
ment whose empire he dreaded. H is principles were strict.
Corinne' s manners sometimes evinced a too universal
wish to please: her conduct and carriage were noble and
reserved; but her opinions were over-indulgent. I n fact,
though dazzled and enervated, something still combated
his weak ness. S uch a state often embitters our language;
we are displeased with ourselves and others; we suffer so
much, that we long to brave the worst at once, and, by open
war, ascertain which of our two formidable emotions is to
triumph. I t was in this mood that he wrote to Corinne.
H e k new his letter was angry and unbecoming; yet a
confusion of impulses urged him to send it. H e was so
miserable in his present situation, that he longed, at any
price, for some change; and was reck less how his doubts
were answered, so that they came to a termination. A
rumour brought him by Count d' E rfeuil, though he believed
it not, contributed, perhaps, to render his style still more
unk ind. I t was said that Corinne was about to marry
Prince A malfi. O swald well k new that she did not love this
man, and ought to have been sure that the report sprung
merely from her having danced with him; but he per-
suaded himself that she had received A malfi when denied
to him: therefore, though too proud to confess his personal
j ealousy, he vented it on the people in whose favour he k new
her to be so prepgssessed.
CH A PTE R I I I .
" To Corinne.
" J anuary 24. 1795.
" Y ou refuse to see me; you are offended by my last
conversation, and no doubt intend henceforth to admit none
but your countrymen, and thus ex piate your recent devi-
ation from that rule. Y et, far from repenting the sincerity
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? corinne; O R I TA L Y . 95
. with which I spok e to you, whom, perhaps chimerically, I
would fain consider an E nglishwoman, I will dare to say still
more plainly, that you can preserve neither your own dignity'
nor your own peace, by choosing a husband from your pre-
sent society. I k now not one I talian who deserves you;
not one who could honour you by his alliance, whatever
were the title he had to bestow. The men are far less
estimable here than the women, to whose errors they add
worse of their own. W ould you persuade me that these
sons of the S outh, who so carefully avoid all trouble, and
live but for enj oyment, can be capable of love? Did you
not, last month, see at the O pera a man who had not eight
days before lost a wife he was said to adore? The me-s
mory of the dead, the thought of death itself, is here, as
much as possible, thrown aside. F uneral ceremonies are
performed by the priests, as the duties of love are fulfilled
by cavalieres serventes. Custom has prescribed all rites \
beforehand: regret and enthusiasm are nothing. B ut
what, above all, must be destructive to love, is the fact, that
your men cannot be respected: women give them no credit
for submission, because they found them originally weak ,
and destitute of all serious employment. I t is req uisite,
for the perfection of natural and social order, that men -,
should protect, and women be protected; but by guardians *
adoring the weak ness they defend, and worshipping ths
gentle divinity which, lik e the Penates of the ancients, calls
down good fortune on the house. H ere one might almost
say that woman is the sultan, and men her seraglio: it is
they who have most pliancy and softness. A n I talian
proverb says, ' W ho k nows not how to feign, k nows not
how to live. ' I s not that a feminine max im? but where
you have neither military glory nor free institutions, how
should men acq uire strength or maj esty of mind? Their
wit degenerates into a k ind of cleverness, with which they
play the game of life lik e a match at chess, wherein suc-
cess is every thing. A ll that remains of their love for
antiq uity consists in ex aggerated ex pressions and ex ternal
grandeur; but. beside this baseless greatness, you often
find the most vulgar tastes, the most miserably neglected
homes. I s this, then, Corinne, the country you prefer?
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? 96 CO R I N N E J O R I TA L T.
''
I s its boisterous applause so essential to you, that every
other k ind of destiny would seem dull, compared with these
re-echoing bravos? W ho could hope to mak e you
happy, in tearing you from this tumult? Y ou are an in-
comprehensible person: deep in feeling, superficial in taste;
independent by pride of soul, enslaved by a desire for dis-
sipation; capable of loving but one, yet req uiring the
notice of all the world. Y ou are a sorceress, who alter-
nately disturb and reassure me; who, when most sublime,
can at once descend from the region where you reign alone,
to lose yourself among the herd. Corinne, Corinne! in
loving you, it is impossible to avoid fearing and doubting
too. " O swald. "
I ndignant as Corinne felt at N evil' s antipathy to her
country, she was relieved by guessing that the fete, and
her refusal to speak with him, had ruffled his temper. S he
hesitated, or believed herself hesitating, for some time,
as to the line of conduct she ought to pursue. L ove made
her sigh for his presence: yet she could not brook his sup-
posing that she wished to be his wife; though in fortune,
at least, his eq ual, and no way beneath him in name, if
she deigned to reveal it. The uncontrolled life she had
chosen might have given her some aversion to marriage;
and certainly, had not her attachment blinded her to all
the pangs she must endure in espousing an E nglishman,
and renouncing I taly, she would have repulsed such an
idea with disdain. A woman may forget her pride in
all that concerns the heart: but when worldly interest
appears the obstacle to inclination; when the person be-
loved can be accused of sacrificing himself in his union,
she can no longer abandon herself to her feelings before
him. Corinne, however, unable to break with her lover,
trusted that she still might meet him, yet conceal her
affection. I t was in this belief that she determined on
replying only to his accusations of the I talians, and rea-
soning on them as if interested by no other subj ect. Perhaps
the best way in which such a woman can regain her cold-:
ness and her dignity, is that of entrenching herself in the
fortress of her mental superiority.
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 97
' ' ToL ordN evil.
" J an. 25. 1795.
" I f your letter concerned no one but me, ray L ord, I
should not attempt to j ustify myself. My character is so
easily k nown, that he who cannot comprehend it intuitively,
would not be enlightened by any ex planation I could give.
The virtuous reserve of E nglishwomen, and the more art-
ful graces of the F rench, often conceal one half of what
passes in their bosoms; and what you are pleased to call
magic in me, is nothing but an unconstrained disposition,
which permits my varying, my inconsistent thoughts to be
heard, without my tak ing the pains of bringing them into
tune. S uch harmony is nearly always factitious; for
most genuine characters are heedlessly confiding. B ut it is
not of myself that I would speak to you; it is of the un-
fortunate nation whom you attack so cruelly. Can my
regard for my friends have instilled this bitter malignity?
Y ouk nowmetoowelltobej ealousofthem; norhaveI
the vanity to suppose that any such sentiment has rendered
you thus unj ust. Y ou say but what all foreigners say of
the I talians, what must strik e every one at first; but you
should look deeper ere you thus sentence a people once so
great. W hence came it that in the R oman day they were
the most military in the world; during the republics of the
middle ages, the most tenacious of their freedom; and, in
the six teenth century, the most illustrious for literature,
science, and the arts? H as not I taly pursued fame in
every shape? I f it be lost to her now, blame her political
situation; since, in other circumstances, she showed herself
so unlik e all she is. 1 may be wrong, but the faults of
the I talians only enhance my pity for their fate. S trangers,
from time to time, have conq uered and distracted this fair
land, the obj ect of their perpetual ambition; yet strangers
for ever reproach her natives with the defects inevitable to
a vanq uished race.
E urope owes her learning, her accomplishments, to
the I talians; and, having turned their own gifts against
them, would gladly deny them the only glory left to a
people deprived of martial power and public liberty. I t
is true that governments form the chaiacL crs of nations;
H
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? 98CO R I N N E ; O B I TA L Y .
and, in I taly herself, you will find remark able distinctions
between the inhabitants of different states. The Piedmon.
tese, who once formed a small national corps, have a more
warlik e spirit than the rest. The F lorentines, who have
mostly possessed either freedom or liberal rulers, are well-
educated and well-mannered. The V enetians and the
Genoese evince a capacity for politics, because they have a
republican aristocracy. The Milanese are more sincere,
thank s to their long intercourse with northern nations.
The N eapolitans are prompt to rebel, having for ages lived
beneath an imperfect government, bui still one of their
own. The R oman nobles have nothing to do, either di-
plomatic or military, and may well remain idly ignorant;
bat the ecclesiastics, whose career is definite, have faculties
far more developed; and, as the papal law observes no
distinction of birth, but is purely elective in its ordinance
of the clergy, the result is, a species of liberality, not in
ideas, but in habits, which renders R ome the most agreeable
abode for those who have neither power nor emulation for
sustaining a part in the world. The people of the S outh
are more easily modified by ex isting institutions than those
of the N orth. This climate induces a languor favourable
to resignation, and nature offers enough to console man
for the advantages society denies. Undoubtedly there is
much corruption in I taly: its civilisation is far from refine-
ment. There is a savage wildness beneath I talian cunning;
it is that of a hunter lying in wait for his prey. I ndolent
people easily become sly and shifting; their natural gentle-
ness serves to hide even a fit of rage; for it is by our ha-
bitual manner that an accidental change of feeling may be
best concealed. Y et I talians have both truth and con-
stancy in their private connections. I nterest may sway
them, but not pride. H ere is no ceremony, no fashion ; k
none of the little everyday trick s for creating a sensation.
The usual sources of artifice and of envy ex ist not here.
F oes and rivals are deceived by those who consider them-
selves at war with them; but, while in peace, they act
with honesty and candour. This is the very cause of your
complaint. O ur women hear of nothing but love; they live
in an atmosphere of seduction and dangerous ex ample;
yet their frank ness lends an innocence to gallantry itself.
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? CO B I N N E ; O B I TA L Y . 99
They have no fear of ridicule: many are so ignorant that
they cannot even write, and confess it without scruple.
They engage a Paglietto to answer letters for them, which
he does on paper large enough for a petition; but among
the better classes you see professors from the academies in
their Mack scarfs, giving lessons publicly. I f you are in-
clined to laugh at them, they ask you, ' I s there any harm
in understanding Greek , or living by our own ex ertions?
H ow can you deride so matter-of-course a proceeding? '
Dare I , my L ord, touch on a more delicate subj ect?
reason why our men so seldom display a military spirit.
They readily ex pose their lives for love or hate: in such
causes, the wounds given and received neither astonish nor
alarm their witnesses. F earless of death, when natural
passions command them to defy it, they still, I must con-
fess, value life above the political interests which slightly
affect those who can scarcely be said to have a country.
Chivalrous honour has little influence over a people among
whom the opinions that nourish it are dead; naturally
enough, in such a disorganisation of public affairs, women
-- the
gain a great ascendency; perhaps too much so for them to
respect or admire their lovers, who, nevertheless, treat
them with the most delicate devotion. Domestic virtue
constitutes the welfare and the pride of E nglishwomen; but
in no land, where love dispenses with its sacred bonds is
the happiness of women watched over as in I taly. I f our
men cannot mak e a moral code for immorality, they are at
least j ust and generous in their participation of cares and
duties. They consider themselves more culpable than
their mistresses when they break their chains: they k now
that women mak e the heaviest sacrifice; and believe, that
before the tribunal of the heart the greatest criminals are
those who have done most wrong. Men err from selfish-
ness; women because they are weak . W here society is at
once vigorous and corrupt, that is, most merciless to the
faults that are followed by the worst misfortunes, women
of course are used with more severity; but where we have
no established etiq uettes, natural charity has a greater
power. S pite all that has been said of I talian perfidy, I
will assert, that there is as much real good-nature here at
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? 100 corinne; or italy.
in any other country of the world; and that, slandered as
it is by strangers, they will no where meet with a k inder
reception. I talians are reproached as flatterers; it is with
no premeditated plan, but in mere eagerness to please, that
they lavish ex pressions of affection, not often belied by
their conduct. W ould they be ever-faithful friends, if
called on to prove so in danger or adversity? -- A very
small number, I allow, might be capable of such friend-
ship; but it is not to I taly alone that this observation is
applicable. I have previously admitted their O riental in-
dolence. Y et the very women, who appear lik e so many
beauties of a harem, may surprise you by traits of gener-
osity or of revenge: as for the mc; n, give them but an ob-
j ect, and, in six months, you might find that they would
have learned and understood whatever was req uired of
them; but, while they are untaught, why should females
be instructed? A n I talian girl would soon become worthy
of an intelligent husband, provided that she loved him;
but in a country where all great interests are suppressed, a
careless repose is more noble than a vain agitation about
trifles. L iterature itself must languish, where thoughts
are not renewed by vigorous and varied action. Y et in
what land have arts and letters been more worshipped? *
H istory shows us, that the popes, princes, and people have
at all times done homage to distinguished painters, sculp-
tors, poets, and other writers. (15) This zeal was, I own,
my L ord, one of the first motives which attached me to this
country. I did not find here those seared imaginations,
that discouraging spirit, nor that despotic mediocrity,
which, elsewhere, can so soon stifle innate ability. H ere a
felicitous phrase tak es fire, as it were, among its auditors.
A s genius is the gift which rank s highest amongst us, it
inevitably ex cites much envy. Peregolese was assassin-
ated: Giorgione wore a cuirass, when obliged to paint in
any public place; but the violent j ealousy to which talent
gives birth here, is such as in other realms is created by
power; it seek s not to depreciate the obj ect it can hate, or
even k ill, from the very fanaticism of admiration. F inally,
when we see so much life in a circle so contracted, in the
midst of so many obstacles and oppressions, we can hardly
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? corinne; or italy. 101
forbear from a vivid solicitude for those who respire with
such avidity the little air that F ancy breathes through the
boundaries which confine them.
tr^ es is one cause; and therefore did the R omans dedicate
their woods to goddesses, that they might be respected by
the people: yet have numberless forests been felled in our
own times. W hat can now be so sanctified that avarice will
forbear its devastation? This malaria is the scourge of
R ome, and often threatens its whole population; yet, per-
o3
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? 86 CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
haps, it adds to the effect produced by the lovely gardens
to be found within the boundaries. I ts malignant power
is betrayed by no ex ternal sign: you respire an air that
seems pure' ; the earth is fertile;
in the evening for the heat of the day;
death!
" I love such invisible danger,"
a delicious freshness atones
and all this is:
said O swald, " veiled;
as it is in delight. I f death, as I believe, be but a call to
happier life, why should not the perfume of flowers, the
shade of fine trees, and the breath of eve be charged to re-
mind us of our fate? O f course, government ought, in
every way, to watch over human life; but nature has
secrets which imagination only can penetrate; and I easily
conceive that neither natives nor foreigners find any thing
to disgust them in the perils which belong to the sweetest
seasons of the year. "
BOOKVI.
O N I TA L I A N CH A R A CTE R A N DMA N N E R S .
CH A PTE R I .
O swald' s irresolution, augmented by misfortunes, taught
him to fear every irrevocable engagement. H e dared not
ask Corinne her name or story, though his love for her
grew each day more strong: he could not look on her
without emotion ; hardly, in the midst of society, q uit her
side for an instant; she said not a word he did not feel,
nor ex pressed a sentiment, sad or gay, that was not reflected
in his face. Y et, loving, admiring her as he did, he for-
got not how little such a wife would accord with E nglish
habits; how much she differed from the idea his father
formed of the woman it would become him to marry: all
he said to Corinne was restrained by the disq uiet these re-
flections caused him. S he perceived this but too plainly;
yet so much would it have cost her to break with him,
that she lent herself to whatever could prevent a decisive
ex planation; and, never possessing much forethought, re-
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? corinne; or italy. 87
veiled in the present, such as it was, not dreaming of the
inevitable future. S he entirely secluded herself from the
world in this devotion to him; but, at last, hurt by his
silence on their prospects, she resolved to accept a pressing
invitation to a ball. N othing is more common, in R ome,
than for persons to leave and return to society by fits:
there is so little gossip in I taly, that people do what they
lik e, without comment, at least without obstacle, in affairs
either of love or ambition. F oreigners are as safe as na-
tives in this rendezvous of E uropeans. W hen N evil learnt
that Corinne was going to a ball, he was out of humour;
for some time he had fancied that he detected in her a me-
lancholy sympathetic with his own; yet suddenly she
appeared to think
she so much ex
was not frivolous;
of nothing but dancing (in which
celled), and the eclat of a fete. Corinne
but, feeling every day more subdued by
love, she wished to combat its force. S he k new by ex -'
perience that reflection and forbearance have less power
over impassioned characters than dissipation; and she
thought that, if unable to triumph over herself as she ought,
thenex tbeststepweretodosoasshecould. W henN e-
vil censured her intentions, she replied, " I want to ascer-
tain whether what formerly pleased can still amuse me,
or whether my regard for you is to absorb every other in-
terest of my life. " -- " Y ou would fain cease to love me,"
he said. " N ot so," she replied; " but it is only in do-
mestic life that it can be agreeable to feel one' s self lorded
over by a single affection. To me, who need my wit and
genius to sustain the reputation of the life I have adopted,
it is a great misfortune to love as I love you. " -- " Y ou
will not sacrifice your glory to me, then ? " cried O swald. --
" O f what importance were it to you," she replied, " if I
did? S ince we are not destined' for each other, I must not
for ever destroy the k ind of happiness with which I ought
to content myself. " L ord N evil said nothing; conscious
that he could not now speak without ex plaining his de-
signs; and, in truth, he was ignorant of them himself.
H e sighed, and reluctantly followed Corinne to the ball.
I t was the first time, since his loss, that he had gone to
such an assembly. I ts tumult so oppressed him that he
o4
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? 88CO B I N K E ; O B I TA L Y .
remained for some period in a hall beside the dancing-
room, with his head reclined upon his hand; not even
wishing to see Corinne dance. A ll music, even if its oc-
casion be a gay one, renders us pensive. The Count
d' E rfeuil arrived, enchanted with the crowd and amuse-
ments, which once more reminded him of F rance. " I ' ve
done my best," he said, " to interest myself in their
vaunted ruins, but I see nothing in them: ' tis a mere pre-
j udice, this fuss about rubbish covered with briars! I
shall speak my mind when I return to F rance; for it is
high time that the farce should be ended. There is not a
single building of to-day, in good repair, that is not worth
all these trunk s of pillars, and mouldy bas-reliefs, which
can only be admired through the spectacles of pedantry.
A rapture which one must purchase by study cannot be very
vivid in itself. O ne needs not spoil one' s complex ion
over musty book s, to appreciate the sights of Paris. " /
L ord N evil was silent, and d' E rfeuil q uestioned him on
his opinion of R ome. " A ball is not the best place for
serious conversation,"
can afford you no other. "
said O swald; " and you k now that I
-- " Mighty fine," replied the
Count. " I own I am gayer than you; but who can say
that I am not wiser too? Trust me, there is much phi-
losophy in tak ing the world as it goes. " -- " Perhaps you
are right," answered O swald; " but, as you are what you
are by nature, and not by reflection, your manner of living
can belong to no one but yourself. "
D' E rfeuil now heard the name of Corinne from the ball-
room, and went to learn what was doing there. N evil fol-
lowed him to the door, and saw the handsome N eapolitan
Prince A main soliciting her to dance the Tarantula with
him. A ll her friends j oined in this req uest. S he waited
for no importunity, but promised with a readiness which
astonished d' E rfeuil, accustomed as he was to the refusals
with which it is the fashion to precede consent. I n I taly
these airs are unk nown: there, every one is simple enough
to believe that he cannot better please society than by
promptly fulfilling whatever it req uires. Corinne would
have introduced this natural manner, if she had not found
it there. The dress she had assumed was light and elegant.
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . S < )
H er lock s were confined by a silk en fillet, and her eyes
ex pressed an animation which rendered her more attractive
than ever. O swald was uneasy; displeased with his own
subj ection to charms whose ex istence he was inclined to
deplore, as, far from wishing to gratify him, it was almost
in order to escape from his power that Corinne shone forth
thus enchantingly: yet, who could resist her seducing
grace? E ven in scorn she would have been still triumphant;
hut scorn was not in her disposition. S he perceived her
lover; and blushed, as she bestowed on him one of her
sweetest smiles. The Prince A malfi accompanied himself
with castanets. Corinne saluted the assembly with both
hands; then, turning, took the tambourine, which her part-
ner presented to her, and she beat time as she danced.
H er gestures displayed that easy union of modesty and vo-
luptuousness, such as must have so awed the I ndians when
the B ayarderes-- poets of the dance -- depicted the various
passions by characteristic attitudes. Corinne was so well
acq uainted with antiq ue painting and sculpture, that her
positions were so many studies for the votaries of art.
N ow she held her tambourine above her head; sometimes
advanced it with one hand, while the other ran over its
little bells with a dex terous rapidity that brought to mind
the girls of H erculaneum. (14) This was not F rench
dancing, remark able for the difficulty of its steps; it was a
movement more allied to fancy and to sentiment. The air
to which she danced, pleased alternately by its softness and
its precision. Corinne as thoroughly infected the spectators
with her own sensations as she did while ex temporising
poetry, playing on her lyre, or designing an ex pressive
group. E very thing was language for her. The musicians, \
in gazing on her, felt all the genius of their art; and every
witness of this magic was electrified by impassioned j oy,
transported into an ideal world, there to dream of bliss
unk nown below.
There is a part of the N eapolitan dance where the heroine
k neels, while the hero marches round her, lik e a conq ueror.
H ow dignified look ed Corinne at that moment! W hat a
sovereign she was on her k nees ! and when she rose, clashing
her airy tambourine, she appeared animated by such en-
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? 90CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y .
thusiasm of youthful beauty, that one might have thought
she needed no life but her own to mak e her happy. A las,
it was not thus! though O swald feared it, and sighed, as
if her every success separated her farther from him. W hen
the Prince, in his turn, k nelt to Corinne, she, if possible,
surpassed herself. Twice or thrice she fled round him,
her sandalled feet sk imming the floor with the speed of
lightning; and when, shak ing her tambourine above his
head with one hand, she signed with the other for him to
rise, every man present was tempted to prostrate himself
before her, ex cept L ord N evil, who drew back some paces,
and d' E rfeuil, who made a step or two forwards, in order
to compliment Corinne. The I talians gave way to what
they felt, without one fear of mak ing themselves remark -
able. They were not lik e men so accustomed to society,
and the self-love which it ex cites, as to think on the effect
they might produce: they are never to be turned from their
pleasures by vanity, nor from their purposes by applause.
Corinne, charmed with the result of her attempt, thank ed
her friends with amiable simplicity. S he was satisfied, and
permitted her content to be seen, with childlik e candour;
her greatest desire was to get through the crowd to the
door, against which O swald was leaning. S he reached it
at last, and paused for him to speak . -- " Corinne," he
said, endeavouring to conceal both his delight and his dis-
tress, " you have ex torted universal homage: but is there,
among all your adorers, one brave, one trusty friend; one
protector for life? or can the clamours of flattery suffice a
soul lik e yours? "
CH A PTE R I I .
The press of company prevented Corinne' s reply: they were
going to supper; and each cavaliere servente hastened to seat
himself beside his lady. A fair stranger arrived and found
no room; yet not a man, save O swald and d' E rfeuil, rose
to offer her his place. N ot that the R omans were either rude
or selfish; but they believed that their honour depended
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? comas k t; or italy. gi
on their never q uitting their post of duty. S ome, unable to
gain seats, leaned behind their mistresses' chairs, ready to
obey the slightest sign. The females spok e but to their
lovers: strangers wandered in vain around a circle where
no one had a word to spare them; for I talian women are
ignorant of that coq uetry which renders a love affair no-
thing more than the triumph of self-conceit: they wish to
please no eyes save those that are dear to them. The
mind is never misled before the heart. The most abrupt
commencements are often followed by sincere devotion, and
even by lasting constancy. I nfidelity is more censured in
man than in woman. Three or four men, beneath different
titles, may follow the same beauty, who tak es them with
her every where, sometimes without troubling herself to
name them to the master of the house which receives the
party. O ne is the favourite; another aspires to be so; a
third calls himself the sufferer (ilpatito): though disdained,
he is permitted to be of use; and all these rivals live peace-
ably together. I t is only among the common people that
you still hear of the stiletto; but the whole country pre-
sents a wild mix ture of simpleness and of vice, dissimulation
and truth, good-nature and revenge, strength and weak ness;
j ustifying the remark , that the best of these q ualities may
be found among those who will do nothing for vanity; the
worst among such as will do any thing for interest, whether
the interest of love, of avarice, or ambition. Distinctions
of rank are generally disregarded in I taly. I t is not from
stoicism, but from heedless familiarity, that men are here
insensible to aristocratic prej udices: constituting themselves
j udges of no one, they admit every body. A fter supper
they sat down to play; some of the women at hazard, others
chose silent whist; and not a word was now uttered in the
apartment, so noisy j ust before. The people of the S outh
often run thus q uick ly from the ex treme of agitation to that
of repose: it is one of the peculiarities of their character,
that indolence is succeeded by activity: indeed, in all re-
spects they are the last men on whose merits or defects we
ought to decide at first sight; so contrasted are the q uali-
ties they unite: the creature all prudence to-day may be
all audacity to-morrow. They are often apathetic, from
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? 92CO R I N N E J O R I TA L Y .
j ust having made, or preparing to mak e, some great ex e* -
tion. I n fact, they waste not one energy of their minds on
society, but hoard them till called forth by strong events.
A t this assembly many persons lost enormous sums, without
the slightest change of countenance; yet the same beings
could not have related a trivial anecdote without the most
lively and ex pressive gesticulation. B ut when the passions
have attained a certain degree of violence, they shrink from
sight, and veil themselves in silence.
N evil could not surmount the bitter feelings this ball
engendered: he believed that the I talians had weaned his
love from him, at least for a time. H e was very wretched;
yet his pride prevented his evincing aught beyond a con-
tempt for the tributes offered her. W hen ask ed to play
he refused, as did Corinne, who beck oned him to sit beside
her: he feared to compromise her name by passing a whole
evening alone with her before the eyes of the world. " B e
at ease on that head," she replied; " no one think
us. H ere no established etiq uette ex acts respect;
s about
a k indly
politeness is all that is req uired; no one wishes to annoy or
to be annoyed. " Tis true that we have not here what in
E ngland is called liberty;
perfect. " -- " That is,"
is paid to appearances. " --
but our social independence is
said O swald, " that no reverence
" A t least, here is no hypocrisy,"
she answered. -- " R ochefoucault says, ' The least among
the defects of a woman of gallantry is that of being one; '
but whatever be the faults of I talian women, deceit does
not conceal them; and if marriage vows are not held
sufficiently sacred, they are brok en by mutual consent. " --
" I t is not sincerity that causes this k ind of frank ness,"
replied O swald, " hut indifference to public opinion. I
brought hither an introduction to a princess, and gave it to
theservantI hadhiredhere,whosaidtome,' A h,S ir,j ust
now, this will do you no service, the princess sees no one;
she is innamorata. ' Thus was the fact of a lady' s being in
love prdclaimed lik e any other domestic affair. N or is this
publicity ex cused by fidelity to one passion: many attach-
ments succeed each other, all eq ually well k nown. W omen
have so little mystery in these ties, that they speak of them
with less embarrassment than our brides could talk of their
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 93
husbands. I t is not easy to believe that any deep or re-
fined affection can ex ist with this shameless fick leness.
Though nothing is thought of but love, here can be no ro-
mance: adventures are so rapid, and so open, that nothing
is left to be developed; and, j ustly to describe the general
method of arranging these things, one ought to begin and
end in the first chapter. Corinne, pardon me if I give you
pain. Y ou are an I talian; that should disarm me: but one
reason why you are thus incomparable is, that you unite the \
best characteristics of our different nations. I k now not
where you were educated, but you certainly cannot have
passed all your life here: perhaps it was in E ngland. A h,
if so, how could you leave that sanctuary of all that is\
modest, for a land where not only virtue, but love itself,
is so little understood. I t may be breathed in the air, but
does it reach the heart? The poetry, here, in which love
plays so great a part, is full of brilliant pictures, indeed;
but where will you find the melancholy tenderness of our
bards? W hat have you to compare with the parting of
J affier and B elvidera, with R omeo and J uliet, or with the
lines in Thomson' s S pring depicting the happiness of
wedded life? I s there any such life in I taly? and, without
homefelt felicity, how can love ex ist? I s not happiness
the aim of the heart, as pleasure is that of the senses ? \
W ould not all young and lovely women be alik e to us, did
not mental q ualities decide our preference?
W hat, then,
do these, q ualities teach us to crave? an intercourse of \
thought and feeling, permanent and undivided! This is
what we mean by marriage. I llegitimate love, when, un-
happily, it does occur among us, is still but the reflex of
marriage. The same comfort is sought abroad which
cannot be found at home; and even infidelity in E ngland .
is more moral than I talian matrimony. "
This severity so afflicted Corinne that she rose, her
eyes filled with tears, and hurried home. O swald was in
despair at having offended her; but the irritation this ball
had dealt him found a channel in the censure he had j ust
pronounced. H e followed her; but she would not see him.
N ex t morning he made another attempt; but her door was
still closed. This was out of character in Corinne; but
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? Q i corinne; or italy.
she was so dismayed by his opinion of her countrywomen,
that she resolved, if possible, to conceal her affection from
him for ever. O swald, on his part, was confirmed by this
unusual conduct in the discontent that unluck y fete had
engendered; he was ex cited to struggle against the senti-
ment whose empire he dreaded. H is principles were strict.
Corinne' s manners sometimes evinced a too universal
wish to please: her conduct and carriage were noble and
reserved; but her opinions were over-indulgent. I n fact,
though dazzled and enervated, something still combated
his weak ness. S uch a state often embitters our language;
we are displeased with ourselves and others; we suffer so
much, that we long to brave the worst at once, and, by open
war, ascertain which of our two formidable emotions is to
triumph. I t was in this mood that he wrote to Corinne.
H e k new his letter was angry and unbecoming; yet a
confusion of impulses urged him to send it. H e was so
miserable in his present situation, that he longed, at any
price, for some change; and was reck less how his doubts
were answered, so that they came to a termination. A
rumour brought him by Count d' E rfeuil, though he believed
it not, contributed, perhaps, to render his style still more
unk ind. I t was said that Corinne was about to marry
Prince A malfi. O swald well k new that she did not love this
man, and ought to have been sure that the report sprung
merely from her having danced with him; but he per-
suaded himself that she had received A malfi when denied
to him: therefore, though too proud to confess his personal
j ealousy, he vented it on the people in whose favour he k new
her to be so prepgssessed.
CH A PTE R I I I .
" To Corinne.
" J anuary 24. 1795.
" Y ou refuse to see me; you are offended by my last
conversation, and no doubt intend henceforth to admit none
but your countrymen, and thus ex piate your recent devi-
ation from that rule. Y et, far from repenting the sincerity
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? corinne; O R I TA L Y . 95
. with which I spok e to you, whom, perhaps chimerically, I
would fain consider an E nglishwoman, I will dare to say still
more plainly, that you can preserve neither your own dignity'
nor your own peace, by choosing a husband from your pre-
sent society. I k now not one I talian who deserves you;
not one who could honour you by his alliance, whatever
were the title he had to bestow. The men are far less
estimable here than the women, to whose errors they add
worse of their own. W ould you persuade me that these
sons of the S outh, who so carefully avoid all trouble, and
live but for enj oyment, can be capable of love? Did you
not, last month, see at the O pera a man who had not eight
days before lost a wife he was said to adore? The me-s
mory of the dead, the thought of death itself, is here, as
much as possible, thrown aside. F uneral ceremonies are
performed by the priests, as the duties of love are fulfilled
by cavalieres serventes. Custom has prescribed all rites \
beforehand: regret and enthusiasm are nothing. B ut
what, above all, must be destructive to love, is the fact, that
your men cannot be respected: women give them no credit
for submission, because they found them originally weak ,
and destitute of all serious employment. I t is req uisite,
for the perfection of natural and social order, that men -,
should protect, and women be protected; but by guardians *
adoring the weak ness they defend, and worshipping ths
gentle divinity which, lik e the Penates of the ancients, calls
down good fortune on the house. H ere one might almost
say that woman is the sultan, and men her seraglio: it is
they who have most pliancy and softness. A n I talian
proverb says, ' W ho k nows not how to feign, k nows not
how to live. ' I s not that a feminine max im? but where
you have neither military glory nor free institutions, how
should men acq uire strength or maj esty of mind? Their
wit degenerates into a k ind of cleverness, with which they
play the game of life lik e a match at chess, wherein suc-
cess is every thing. A ll that remains of their love for
antiq uity consists in ex aggerated ex pressions and ex ternal
grandeur; but. beside this baseless greatness, you often
find the most vulgar tastes, the most miserably neglected
homes. I s this, then, Corinne, the country you prefer?
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? 96 CO R I N N E J O R I TA L T.
''
I s its boisterous applause so essential to you, that every
other k ind of destiny would seem dull, compared with these
re-echoing bravos? W ho could hope to mak e you
happy, in tearing you from this tumult? Y ou are an in-
comprehensible person: deep in feeling, superficial in taste;
independent by pride of soul, enslaved by a desire for dis-
sipation; capable of loving but one, yet req uiring the
notice of all the world. Y ou are a sorceress, who alter-
nately disturb and reassure me; who, when most sublime,
can at once descend from the region where you reign alone,
to lose yourself among the herd. Corinne, Corinne! in
loving you, it is impossible to avoid fearing and doubting
too. " O swald. "
I ndignant as Corinne felt at N evil' s antipathy to her
country, she was relieved by guessing that the fete, and
her refusal to speak with him, had ruffled his temper. S he
hesitated, or believed herself hesitating, for some time,
as to the line of conduct she ought to pursue. L ove made
her sigh for his presence: yet she could not brook his sup-
posing that she wished to be his wife; though in fortune,
at least, his eq ual, and no way beneath him in name, if
she deigned to reveal it. The uncontrolled life she had
chosen might have given her some aversion to marriage;
and certainly, had not her attachment blinded her to all
the pangs she must endure in espousing an E nglishman,
and renouncing I taly, she would have repulsed such an
idea with disdain. A woman may forget her pride in
all that concerns the heart: but when worldly interest
appears the obstacle to inclination; when the person be-
loved can be accused of sacrificing himself in his union,
she can no longer abandon herself to her feelings before
him. Corinne, however, unable to break with her lover,
trusted that she still might meet him, yet conceal her
affection. I t was in this belief that she determined on
replying only to his accusations of the I talians, and rea-
soning on them as if interested by no other subj ect. Perhaps
the best way in which such a woman can regain her cold-:
ness and her dignity, is that of entrenching herself in the
fortress of her mental superiority.
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? CO R I N N E ; O R I TA L Y . 97
' ' ToL ordN evil.
" J an. 25. 1795.
" I f your letter concerned no one but me, ray L ord, I
should not attempt to j ustify myself. My character is so
easily k nown, that he who cannot comprehend it intuitively,
would not be enlightened by any ex planation I could give.
The virtuous reserve of E nglishwomen, and the more art-
ful graces of the F rench, often conceal one half of what
passes in their bosoms; and what you are pleased to call
magic in me, is nothing but an unconstrained disposition,
which permits my varying, my inconsistent thoughts to be
heard, without my tak ing the pains of bringing them into
tune. S uch harmony is nearly always factitious; for
most genuine characters are heedlessly confiding. B ut it is
not of myself that I would speak to you; it is of the un-
fortunate nation whom you attack so cruelly. Can my
regard for my friends have instilled this bitter malignity?
Y ouk nowmetoowelltobej ealousofthem; norhaveI
the vanity to suppose that any such sentiment has rendered
you thus unj ust. Y ou say but what all foreigners say of
the I talians, what must strik e every one at first; but you
should look deeper ere you thus sentence a people once so
great. W hence came it that in the R oman day they were
the most military in the world; during the republics of the
middle ages, the most tenacious of their freedom; and, in
the six teenth century, the most illustrious for literature,
science, and the arts? H as not I taly pursued fame in
every shape? I f it be lost to her now, blame her political
situation; since, in other circumstances, she showed herself
so unlik e all she is. 1 may be wrong, but the faults of
the I talians only enhance my pity for their fate. S trangers,
from time to time, have conq uered and distracted this fair
land, the obj ect of their perpetual ambition; yet strangers
for ever reproach her natives with the defects inevitable to
a vanq uished race.
E urope owes her learning, her accomplishments, to
the I talians; and, having turned their own gifts against
them, would gladly deny them the only glory left to a
people deprived of martial power and public liberty. I t
is true that governments form the chaiacL crs of nations;
H
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? 98CO R I N N E ; O B I TA L Y .
and, in I taly herself, you will find remark able distinctions
between the inhabitants of different states. The Piedmon.
tese, who once formed a small national corps, have a more
warlik e spirit than the rest. The F lorentines, who have
mostly possessed either freedom or liberal rulers, are well-
educated and well-mannered. The V enetians and the
Genoese evince a capacity for politics, because they have a
republican aristocracy. The Milanese are more sincere,
thank s to their long intercourse with northern nations.
The N eapolitans are prompt to rebel, having for ages lived
beneath an imperfect government, bui still one of their
own. The R oman nobles have nothing to do, either di-
plomatic or military, and may well remain idly ignorant;
bat the ecclesiastics, whose career is definite, have faculties
far more developed; and, as the papal law observes no
distinction of birth, but is purely elective in its ordinance
of the clergy, the result is, a species of liberality, not in
ideas, but in habits, which renders R ome the most agreeable
abode for those who have neither power nor emulation for
sustaining a part in the world. The people of the S outh
are more easily modified by ex isting institutions than those
of the N orth. This climate induces a languor favourable
to resignation, and nature offers enough to console man
for the advantages society denies. Undoubtedly there is
much corruption in I taly: its civilisation is far from refine-
ment. There is a savage wildness beneath I talian cunning;
it is that of a hunter lying in wait for his prey. I ndolent
people easily become sly and shifting; their natural gentle-
ness serves to hide even a fit of rage; for it is by our ha-
bitual manner that an accidental change of feeling may be
best concealed. Y et I talians have both truth and con-
stancy in their private connections. I nterest may sway
them, but not pride. H ere is no ceremony, no fashion ; k
none of the little everyday trick s for creating a sensation.
The usual sources of artifice and of envy ex ist not here.
F oes and rivals are deceived by those who consider them-
selves at war with them; but, while in peace, they act
with honesty and candour. This is the very cause of your
complaint. O ur women hear of nothing but love; they live
in an atmosphere of seduction and dangerous ex ample;
yet their frank ness lends an innocence to gallantry itself.
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? CO B I N N E ; O B I TA L Y . 99
They have no fear of ridicule: many are so ignorant that
they cannot even write, and confess it without scruple.
They engage a Paglietto to answer letters for them, which
he does on paper large enough for a petition; but among
the better classes you see professors from the academies in
their Mack scarfs, giving lessons publicly. I f you are in-
clined to laugh at them, they ask you, ' I s there any harm
in understanding Greek , or living by our own ex ertions?
H ow can you deride so matter-of-course a proceeding? '
Dare I , my L ord, touch on a more delicate subj ect?
reason why our men so seldom display a military spirit.
They readily ex pose their lives for love or hate: in such
causes, the wounds given and received neither astonish nor
alarm their witnesses. F earless of death, when natural
passions command them to defy it, they still, I must con-
fess, value life above the political interests which slightly
affect those who can scarcely be said to have a country.
Chivalrous honour has little influence over a people among
whom the opinions that nourish it are dead; naturally
enough, in such a disorganisation of public affairs, women
-- the
gain a great ascendency; perhaps too much so for them to
respect or admire their lovers, who, nevertheless, treat
them with the most delicate devotion. Domestic virtue
constitutes the welfare and the pride of E nglishwomen; but
in no land, where love dispenses with its sacred bonds is
the happiness of women watched over as in I taly. I f our
men cannot mak e a moral code for immorality, they are at
least j ust and generous in their participation of cares and
duties. They consider themselves more culpable than
their mistresses when they break their chains: they k now
that women mak e the heaviest sacrifice; and believe, that
before the tribunal of the heart the greatest criminals are
those who have done most wrong. Men err from selfish-
ness; women because they are weak . W here society is at
once vigorous and corrupt, that is, most merciless to the
faults that are followed by the worst misfortunes, women
of course are used with more severity; but where we have
no established etiq uettes, natural charity has a greater
power. S pite all that has been said of I talian perfidy, I
will assert, that there is as much real good-nature here at
h2
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? 100 corinne; or italy.
in any other country of the world; and that, slandered as
it is by strangers, they will no where meet with a k inder
reception. I talians are reproached as flatterers; it is with
no premeditated plan, but in mere eagerness to please, that
they lavish ex pressions of affection, not often belied by
their conduct. W ould they be ever-faithful friends, if
called on to prove so in danger or adversity? -- A very
small number, I allow, might be capable of such friend-
ship; but it is not to I taly alone that this observation is
applicable. I have previously admitted their O riental in-
dolence. Y et the very women, who appear lik e so many
beauties of a harem, may surprise you by traits of gener-
osity or of revenge: as for the mc; n, give them but an ob-
j ect, and, in six months, you might find that they would
have learned and understood whatever was req uired of
them; but, while they are untaught, why should females
be instructed? A n I talian girl would soon become worthy
of an intelligent husband, provided that she loved him;
but in a country where all great interests are suppressed, a
careless repose is more noble than a vain agitation about
trifles. L iterature itself must languish, where thoughts
are not renewed by vigorous and varied action. Y et in
what land have arts and letters been more worshipped? *
H istory shows us, that the popes, princes, and people have
at all times done homage to distinguished painters, sculp-
tors, poets, and other writers. (15) This zeal was, I own,
my L ord, one of the first motives which attached me to this
country. I did not find here those seared imaginations,
that discouraging spirit, nor that despotic mediocrity,
which, elsewhere, can so soon stifle innate ability. H ere a
felicitous phrase tak es fire, as it were, among its auditors.
A s genius is the gift which rank s highest amongst us, it
inevitably ex cites much envy. Peregolese was assassin-
ated: Giorgione wore a cuirass, when obliged to paint in
any public place; but the violent j ealousy to which talent
gives birth here, is such as in other realms is created by
power; it seek s not to depreciate the obj ect it can hate, or
even k ill, from the very fanaticism of admiration. F inally,
when we see so much life in a circle so contracted, in the
midst of so many obstacles and oppressions, we can hardly
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? corinne; or italy. 101
forbear from a vivid solicitude for those who respire with
such avidity the little air that F ancy breathes through the
boundaries which confine them.
