when every other virtue had fled, and they sometimes graced its decline with a transient beam of magnanimity. Now, to apply these observations on the state of ancient to that of modern Italy, there is a period in the history of the latter, when again restored to her original state of division, she enjoyed the same liberty and displayed the same virtues. The period to which I allude comprises the space that elapsed from the tenth to the seventeenth century, when the great cities, shaking off the yoke of the German Cæsars, rose into independent and sometimes powerful republics, superior in fame and in greatness to their ancestors, the Ligurians, the Etrurians, the Samnites, &c. and equal to Thebes, to Athens, and to Lacedæmon. Like these states they were engaged in perpetual warfare, but their mutual hostilities in both cases seem to have contributed more to their advantage than to their prejudice, by exciting a spirit of emulation, enterprize, and patriotism, with all the military and manly virtues. I have elsewhere hinted at the flourishing state of these commonwealths, but were I to draw a comparison between them and the Greek states, it would not be difficult to prove, that in political institutions, wise councils, bold enterprize, riches and duration, the advantage is generally on their side: I may add, that their history is as eventful and as instructive, less sullied with crime, if not more abundant in virtue. The history of Thebes is short; its sun rose and set with its hero Epaminondas; and all the glories, all the achievements of Greece, are comprized in the records of Athens and of Lacedæmon. Yet, can the annals of these cities, can their petty wars in Greece and in Sicily, can even that splendid struggle with the Persian monarch be compared to the histories of Genoa and of Venice, to their bold contests with German, French, Spanish invaders at home, and abroad to their glorious feats of arms against the accumulated power of the mighty Sultan? The enterprizes of Lacedæmon and of Athens were confined to their own narrow seas and to the bordering coasts, and never extended beyond Sicily then a Grecian island. The fleets of Genoa and of Venice swept the whole Mediterranean, carried devastation and terror over all the shores of Africa and of Asia Minor, and more than once bore defiance and hostility into the port of Constantinople. If, therefore, we praise the ancient Greeks we cannot in justice refuse a tribute of applause to the modern Italians; the same virtues that plead in favour of the former, demand for the latter some share of our esteem and admiration. We We may carry the parallel still farther and observe, that in the Italian as in the Greek republics, the arts and sciences were cultivated with enthusiasm; and that poetry, history, and grammar, architecture, painting, and sculpture, kept pace with the glory and the resources of the state, and were employed at home to immortalize the achievements performed by its heroes abroad. Here indeed the first praise belongs to the Greeks as the inventors, but surely no small honour and acknowledgment are due to those who restored and perhaps improved these noble pursuits *. So VOL. II. Egregias artes ostenderit, esto, Græcia, tradiderit Latio præclara reperta; 4 C far, at least, we see no reason for reproaching the people of Italy with degeneracy. This state of polity, so much resembling ancient Greece, has undergone a great change, it is true, during the two or three last centuries. Several of the lesser republics have lost their independence and been annexed to the greater; Florence has been enslaved to its Dukes; Pisa and Sienna have shared the fate of Florence, and other revolutions have taken place equally inimical to the interests of liberty. Yet the two great republics still survived, and continued to display much of their ancient energy even so late as the middle of the last century. Besides, the various changes alluded to were internal, and while they transferred power, riches, and population from one city to another, in no wise affected the external lustre and independence of the country. On the contrary, if we may believe a judicious historian*, whom I have often had occasion to quote in these observations, Rome herself never beheld more splendid days since the extinction of her empire, than during the seventeenth century, nor had Italy, from the same era, been more free from barbarian influence, ever enjoyed more tranquillity at home, or been more respected abroad, than during the years that preceded the French Revolution. According to this representation, the accuracy of which it would be difficult to question, we discover nothing in the history of the modern Italians that must necessarily degrade their public character, or entirely efface the remembrance of the virtues which made the nation great and illustrious during so * Denina. many ages. The French Revolution, it must be owned, darkened the bright prospects of Italy, and indeed clouded the whole horizon of Europe; but whatever its local ravages may have been, I do not see that its general effects have produced a greater change in the character of the Italians than in that of the Spaniards, of the Dutch, of the Swiss, and of the Germans, all of whom lie equally within the range of its devastation. At all events, the full extent of its mischief, if Providence deigns to allow it a longer duration, will be known only to our posterity; till the present moment, horror and detestation are the only sentiments it has excited in the minds of its victims. So far I have endeavoured to shew, that there is nothing in the history of Italy which can justify the reproaches made to the character of its inhabitants by certain inconsiderate or prejudiced authors. I will now proceed to particulars, and take into consideration some of the many vices imputed to them. But first I must observe, that few travellers have had either the leisure or the inclination, and still fewer the information and the opportunities necessary to form a just estimate of the Italian character. Many drive through the country with the rapidity of couriers, content themselves with a hasty inspection of what they term its curiosities, confine their conversation to the innkeepers and the Ciceroni, visit the Opera-house, perhaps intrigue with an actress, then return home, and write a Tour through Italy. Others, with more information and better taste, find that the ancient monuments and classic scenery of the country, the perusal of the Roman authors on the spot where they were inspired, and the contemplation of the masterpieces of the great artists, furnish sufficient occupation for every hour; these cannot prevail upon themselves to sacrifice such refined enjoyments to the formality of visits and to the frivolity of general conversation. Such travellers, without doubt, derive much improvement and much rational entertainment from their tour; but yet they cannot be qualified to judge of the character of the Italians. For this purpose are requisite, in the first place, a tolerable knowledge of the language of the country, a qualification in which transalpines in general are very deficient; in the second place, a familiar and effectual introduction into the best houses in each city; and thirdly, time and resolution to cultivate the acquaintance to which such an introduction naturally leads. I might add, a fourth requisite, perhaps not less necessary than the former, I mean good nature, a virtue that does not permit us to condemn as absurd every practice and opinion contrary to the modes of thinking and of living established in our own country. Endowed with these qualities, a traveller will indeed be a competent judge of the subject, and enabled to form an opinion from his own experience; an opinion which he will find very different from that generally enforced by ignorant writers, and adopted by inconsiderate readers. He will experience, contrary probably to his expectations, much hospitality, as far as hospitality consists, in furnishing a guest with every accommodation. This is so true, that a good letter of recommendation may carry a traveller from house to house over all Italy; a circumstance that accounts for the indifference of the inns in the lesser towns, which are frequented solely by foreigners and by the middling classes, as Italians of rank almost always lodge, when travelling, in private houses. When once introduced into a house, he will find it always open to |