.376 



ITALY. 



"*&** ciently numerous) have continued to write in one t\m- 



' t -* f orm dialect. Sweetness is the characteristic feature 



of the language; and it appears as if purposely formed 



for the service of musical genius ; but it is only the 



dour of research, and regularity of publications, than in 

 any other equal portion of. territory in Europe; and 

 the Italian philosophers discover no "ignorance of the 

 most recent inventions and improvements of their trans- 



Roman pronunciation that displays all the graces of alpine fellow-labourers. They possess all the most va 



.ii_ Iii'lil*iniiilitifi3rrorivinii i rov -i4V*i l^iinmrlnrl im , -,,! J 



which it is susceptible. 

 J.Ueritui*. The first efforts of the Italian, as of most other lan- 

 guages, were poetical ; and, in this department, its li- 

 terature drew more directly from the Provensal, than 

 the Roman sources. In the fourteenth century, both 

 the poetry and the prose of Italian composition were 

 carried to a height of excellence which they never have 

 passed ; the former by Dante and Petrarch, the latter 

 by Boccace. During the fifteenth century the national 

 literature of Italy remained stationary, and its lan- 

 guage even retrograded, while the study of ancient 

 learning made great progress in that country. Under 

 the patronage of Lorenzo de Medici, a new impulse 

 was given to the Italian muse, which produced the he- 

 roic romances of Ariosto and Francesco Berni, and the 

 more serious epic of Tasso ; and from that period, its 

 poets have not been inferior in number and celebrity 

 to those of any other country in Europe. Its dramatic 

 writers have not been numerous, but sufficient to prove 

 the power of the language in that department of litera- 

 ture : its dignity and vigour in the tragedies of Al- 

 fieri ; its graces and ease in the comedies of Gherardo 

 di Rossi; its tenderness, delicacy, and simplicity in 

 the pastorals of Metastasio. 



Italy is peculiarly rich in history. Every republic and 

 almost every town has its historian, most of whom 

 display information and talent sufficient to render their 

 limited subjects both instructive and amusing. Among 

 the most eminent in this department may be ranked 

 Paolo Sarpi, whose history of the Council of Trent is 

 distinguished for its depth and energy ; Cardinal Palla- 

 vicini who writes on the .same subject with great ease 

 and dignity ; Guicciardini, who unites in his history of 

 Florence the penetration of Tacitus with the fullness of 

 Livy ; Giannone, esteemed for the partiality of his 

 statements, and the elegance of his style ; Machiavelli, 

 an imitator of Tacitus, in the conciseness of his narra- 

 tive, and strength of his expression. To-these may be 

 added Angelo de Costanzo, the historian of Naples : 

 Bembo, Morosini and Paruta of Venice ; Adfiani and 

 Ammirato of Florence ; Bernardino Corio of Milan. In 

 general history, Tarcagnota, Campiigna, Davila, and 

 Bentivoglio ; and especially, in the 18th century, may 

 be specified the judicious Muratori, whose work;; are dis- 

 tinguished for erudition, selection, and sound criticism, 

 comprising all the documents of Italian history and anti- 

 quity, with the best reflections which they are capable 

 of suggesting. Italy has produced more antiquarians 

 than all Europe together, of whom may be chiefly men- 

 tioned Muratori, Maffei, Mazzochi, Carli and Pacaudi. 

 It has many excellent writers in political economy, ex- 

 tracts of whose productions have been published in 50 

 volumes 8vo ; and in essays, journals, reviews, as it 

 led the way, so it is still not far behind any other coun- 

 try in the world. It has been considered as deficient 

 in science ; but those who are well versed in its litera- 

 ture, enumerate a multitude of astronomers, mathema- 

 ticians, geographers, and natural philosophers, from 

 Galileo to the present day. " Les sciences," says Bar- 

 theletny, in his travels, " sont plus cultivees a Rome 

 qu'on le croit en France. Je vous dirai sur cela, quel- 

 que jour, des details que vous etonneront." There are 

 in fact, in the different states in Italy, a greater num- 

 ber of scientific institutions, distinguished by their ar- 



luable qualities of an inquirer after knowledge ; and, if 

 not renowned for original discoveries, are found to dis- 

 play an uncommon degree of elegance, acuteness, and 

 ingenuity in their physical disquisitions. The Me- 

 moirs of the Academies of Mantua, Milan, Padua, Tu- 

 rin, and especially of Verona, are all eminent produc- 

 tions. Those of Bologna and Florence are particularly 

 distinguished for scientific researches ; and the Royal 

 Institute at Naples is noted for its productions on ma- 

 thematics. The Italians are doubtless deficient in theo- 

 logical learning, a circumstance for which some would 

 account by the absence of all occasion for controversy. 

 The following native writers may be mentioned in ad- 

 dition to those already named, both as examples of in- 

 dividual excellence, and as sources of the best informa- 

 tion in regard to Italian literature in general ; namely, 

 Tiraboschi's Sloria delta litcratura Itatiana, which com- 

 prises the whole history of the ancient and modern 

 learning of the country, and is considered as one of the 

 most interesting works of modern times; Abate D. Gi 

 Andres dell Origine, di Progressi, el delln stato di ogni 

 Li/fra/iira, a masterly and comprehensive production ; 

 Denina Revo/uzioni d' Italia, characterized by those best 

 acquainted with the subject, for its manly perspicuity 

 and political sagacity ; and the work of the same author, 

 Sopralcmcende delict Literntura, which is at once a com- 

 pendious history and masterly review of general litera- 

 ture. In Great Britain, Italian literature has been much 

 and most unjustly depreciated, partly from its not be- 

 ing known, and probably, in no small degree, also from 

 the authority of the French critics, who have generally 

 contrived to make it be considered as undeserving of 

 attention ; but by the publications of Mr. Roscoe, and 

 the author of the Pursuits of Literature, its attractions 

 have been better known and understood. 



Population Manners and Customs National Cha- 

 racter. 



The population of Italy, which, in the time of Pliny, 

 was estimated at fourteen millions, is equally great, or 

 rather is considerably augmented, even in its present 

 state of depression. All the cities, and almost all the 

 great towns, with most places of any celebrity, still 

 exist nearly under the same names as in ancient times. 

 Many of them have regained, and several exceeded, 

 their former prosperity and population ; arid if a few 

 have entirely perished, others have risen in their stead. 

 In the year I78<t, Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia, were sup- 

 posed to contain from sixteen to eighteen millions of 

 inhabitants; and in 1793, the amount was calculated 

 to be no less than twenty millions. 



The manners and customs of the Italians are very dif- Dress, 

 ferent and discordant in the several provinces; and not 

 easily brought under any general description. Their 

 dress, though not very dissimilar to that of the adjoin- 

 ing nations, is extremely diversified ; and, in the south 

 particularly, all kinds of costumes are observable. The 

 attire of the females is generally very unbecoming; 

 and, in Naples, is composed principally of black silk, 

 with enormous black-hoods. In point of food, the peo- Food, 

 pie are more uniform. The lower classes live com- 

 monly on soups, garden stuffs, milk, and cheese. 

 Turkish corn, different sorts of pulse, and great quan- 



