: ia 
1792. Italian literature.. aan 
was so lucky that for an emphatic sonnet of his, 
which begins, 
‘ Sudate o foclit a preparar metalli.” 
in praise of Louis x1u. of France, he. received, as a 
reward from this king, one thousand Roman crowns 
for each verse; that is fourteen thousand crowns for 
fourteen lines, full of extravagancies; so true it is that 
by a malignant influence on letters,. when they are in 
the highest stage of depravation and. corruption, 
they meet with universal applause and approbation, 
and the munificence of the great, whilst. people are 
sometimes lefs disposed to favour them,. when they 
are in their greatest perfection. 
The compositions in prose followed’ the destiny of 
those in verse ; and it is sufficient to cast one’s eyes Ons 
any of the historians, or orators of those days,.to ob- 
serve the deplorable state into which letters had sunk. 
Bold and preposterous metaphors, astrangely inverted 
syntax, a.style full.of frivolous concetti, are the only 
things they can boast of, and. which, towards the lat- 
ter part of the last century, made the wonder of the 
academies, and-obtained the fhouts of an auditory, 
which never imagined. they were giving only proofs 
of a depraved taste. 
From this general corruption, however, .in the belles 
lettres, are to be excepted several’ literati ia many 
parts of Italy. This may be attested by the works 
of Galileo Galilei; Vincenzxio Viviani, father Paolo 
Segneri, Francesco Redi, and the Academia del Cimen- 
to; all of which are written inavery pure stile, andac- 
cording to the rules of true composition. . There were,. 
lesides, others of conspicuous talents, who beiag, in- 
