 | The Italian sketch book |  |
THE
ITALIAN SKETCH BOOK. INTRODUCTION.
There are countries of the globe which possess a
permanent and peculiar interest in human estimation;
an interest proportioned in each individual to
his intelligence, culture and philanthropy. They
are those where the most momentous historical events
occurred, and civilization first dawned; and of which
the past associations and present influences are, consequently,
in a high degree exciting. The history
of these lands affords one of our most attractive
sources of philosophical truth, as the reminiscences
they induce excite poetical sentiment; and, hence,
we very naturally regard a visit to them as an event
singularly interesting, not to say morally important.
And yet personal impressions, on such occasions,
are confessedly dependent upon circumstances which
however, certain positive methods, the adoption of
which will not, indeed, bring about a complete
agreement in the notions and sentiments of travellers,
but will tend to a much more useful purpose
—that of inducing a satisfactory result upon their
own minds. Among these is a sense of the true
nature of the comprehensive object they are about
to contemplate; a patient determination to bestow
a degree of time and study in a measure corresponding
with the subject; a preparedness for disappointment,
and an unyielding spirit of candour. Such a
state of mind will especially influence happily the
experience of the trans-atlantic sojourner in Italy,
since it may not be denied that many things exist
there, to qualify the enjoyment of the enthusiastic
expectant, who has turned the eye of his imagination
thither through the long and magnifying space
which divides our continent from the old world.
The invalid discovers that even these genial regions
are not exempt from wintry influences; the
ardent observer must grieve to find the most interesting
ruins contiguous to, and even invaded by, the
scenes of ordinary life, and the more conventional
characteristics of the country fast disappearing before
the ever increasing encroachments of the stranger
by the sight of distress which they cannot alleviate.
Yet, perhaps, these very drawbacks tend to direct
attention more completely to the many existing
sources of satisfaction, and they certainly are not
without a moral benefit. Never does the paramount
importance of the innate habit and the comparative
worthlessness of the outward scene become so self-evident,
as when we thus feel the superiority of anticipation
to enjoyment. And we know not, until
standing by the spots renowned as the scenes of
mighty exploits, denuded of the exhaustless drapery
of fancy, that it is the acts themselves, with all their
beautiful philosophy, which alone have hallowed
these portions of earth.
But frequent and favourable observation will develope
the legitimate influences of Italy, and render
us less and less sensible to untoward or disagreeable
circumstances. Antiquity will become, in our view,
more sacred; art will awaken a deeper interest; society
will discover new charms; and, when we start
upon our homeward pilgrimage, we shall perceive,
with a sensation of wonder, the strength of the
chain which binds us to the land, and realize the
subtle power of the agencies which have so silently
weaved it.
The impressions of an individual mind, noted
during a considerable interval of time, will therefore
possess more of this deliberate and eventual character.
In imparting them, it seems unwise, at least,
to run into the common error of portraying minutely
the details of statutes, paintings and edifices—descriptions,
which often have the effect of exciting
without satisfying curiosity; while graphic delineations
of manners and customs have been too frequently
and faithfully drawn to be attempted in the
present instance. The aim has rather been to lead
from particular descriptions, to the moral contemplation
of such general subjects, as are prominently
indicative of the scenes and intellectual influences
of Italy.
| The Italian sketch book | |