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Oct. 10 1785. On board the Passage boat from Pisa to Leghorn
Count Verri, author of the Meditazioni sulla Economia
Politica, is retired from Milan to Rome. He had
begun a general history of Italy and even printed
15 or 16 sheets of it but partly through indolence partly
through timidity, alter'd his mind, called in the sheets
and burnt them. This I had from Tomaso Mari Bookseller
and Printer at Leghorn, by whom the sheets were
printed. I see an answer to Verri's book, petulantly
violent — it promises so ill I don't know whether I shall
encumber myself with it. I saw and bought a violent
sortie against the Roman Law against which I am still
more violent by an anonymous author so old as 1772.
Mari told me it was by a Count Castellaman of Turin,
who was obliged to fly his country for it: he retired to Venice
where he lives still.
Upon enquiry about the masked myrmidons I was informed
by a man too low and too ignorant to be partial,
who had travelled all over Italy that in Tuscany and the
Venetian the custom had existed time immemorial: he remembers
it in Tuscany long before the accession of the present G. Duke
I saw such a mask at the Comic Opera at Florence,
but none at the serious which is at a different house. At
a Public Concert in the Play-house at Leghorn, I saw nom.
In the gardens of the Palazzo Pitti it is true, I saw nobody:
I went there from 1/2 after 12 to 2: which certainly can
not be the general hour for walking. Near the gate sat
a Military Officer, stationed apparently as Centinal. The sight of
me though evidently a foreigner did not appear to excite
in him the smallest curiosity. However young Sir H.
told me that the G. Duke & his Ministers was infected to a great degree
with that sort of curiosity. One of them took notice to
him once of his being seen with an Spire-girl from Naples
whose name I have forgot: "true" says he "I keep
"her , and what is that to you? He speaks with great contempt
of the G.D. and says the people hate him & he them.
Upon enquiring for grounds, after as close an examination
as I could take with decency, I could not find any so much
as alleged, but the trifling one abovementioned. I have enquired
of high and low, malecontent and neuter, and can hear nothing
of any place to answer the purpose of a Bastille , nor any trace
of any coup d'autorité whatsoever, except that there are houses
of correction where des jeunes gens dereglés are shut up upon
application of their friends, but not so as to be inaccessible.
The Police is so well kept, with scarce any apparent means
that theft is scarce ever heard of, and robbery never. As for
murder it is entirely out of the question. Compare this with
the accounts given by your Cousin of the roads in a neighbouring
state.
Of my little abridgement neither of the Sir Horace's had ever so much as heard
They both treated it with the greatest contempt, especially the slo one
who is almost childish; who said he had never heard any thing of any monopolies.
suppressed by the G.D. nor any thing else done by him
that was worth notice, and seemed to labour without strictly saying
so to make me believe that not a syllable in it was
true. Afterwards after he had made some enquiries, he
said he found it was nothing but an index to the Laws of
that period ( as if H it pretended to be any thing more and
admitted that the facts mentioned in the notes were true
After that in Abbe Mori whom I met with twice at
Sr H's table (an intelligent young man he seemed to be)
told me the name of the Author which I enterd immediately
on the title- page but do not now recollect. He
was the G.D.'s agent at Paris, but is since dead.
His R.H. if he does not do well but must at least be
allowed to do much. Every year produces a Folio Volume of
edicts not much less voluminous than ours, I saw them
in the shop a goodly show: They are at any rate to
be had for money which is not the case in Genoa. Not so
much as a State Printer keeps a copy of his works
There is a 8vo edition of the G.D.'s laws (I suppose
the general & not- temporary ones) from I know not
what period to I know not what other. Will you believe
me when I tell you that I rummaged all the capital
bookseller's shops for it at Florence without success?
It is printed forsooth at Sienna; and might perhaps be
got from thence at some uncertain time; perhaps in
some weeks perhaps in some months: for as to any regular
communication between any town any other in this
small and well-roaded state, there is none. The same
I was told by a may be applied to
all Italy. No: not even by between Leghorn the port of Florence
the capital. Inglish and Italians join in assuring me
that there is not a chaste married woman in all Tuscany.
you may venture to extend the observation to all Italy.
those who disapprove of the suppression of prostitutes will
particularly be disposed to attribute the former facts to the
latter operation as its cause; but as far as I can understand
the supposed effect existed long before.
I fear I must conclude already. The bark is just
at Leghorn, and I expect to sail this evening for
If I get a reprieve I may possibly treat
you with a little more: for I will not give into the
and insincere supposition that my communications such as
they are, are in danger of being otherwise than
welcome. I wish I could have done more
to testify with what truth and affection I am
Ever yours J.B.
You will see a good deal of this is not for every eye
One of the causes I heard assigned for the unpopularity
of the G.D. indeed the only cause besides those above
is his disbanding a number of troops, suppressing a number
of offices, and as is supposed laying up money.
In short his greatest Vice is the Virtue we are aiming at
But the Abbe Fontana for works equally
useful, admirable wax imitations of
has cast blame with regard to expence:
hospitals
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Identifier: | JB/540/204/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 540.
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Correspondence |
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Jeremy Bentham |
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