Page:Blackwood's Magazine volume 025.djvu/725

 1829.3

Sketches of Italy and the Italians.

ciated with the ancient history of the smaller cities throughout Italy, some of which are orally current amongst the inhabitants ; for instance, the ring of ^Eneas at Civita la Vigna : while others exist in old chronicles, as at Orvietro (Urbs veterum) and Fiesole.

In Cori, I heard the following tra- dition of a contiguous place, called Ci- vita la Penna : " A beautiful nymph was pursued by a heathen Moorish king, who once reigned over themoun-

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tains of Cora and Norma. She ran from Cora to the steep precipice ot Civita la Penna ; and when she heard the heathen calling after her, she sprang from the cliff into the valley, where she was changed into a lake, which still bears the name of La Nymfa."

From this lake issues a river which threads its devious course through the Pontine marshes, and was called by the ancients Nymphams,

XU. THE SEASON OF CRIME IN ROME.

It is a fact, confirmed by long ob- servation, that in Rome the period of penance and fasting is the period of crime. Almost every deliberate mur- der, or other crime of sufficient mag- nitude to involve capital punishment, is committed at this season. On the other hand, crimes of such enormity rarely occur during the period of games and festivals. The Joyous

spirit which then prevails moderates the bad passions of the Romans, and appears even to elevate and purify their character. These results afford important materials for reflection ; and I suspect that a fair comparison, in this respect, of the Roman people with the saturnine inhabitants of northern Europe, would be somewhat unfavourable to the latter.

XUI. ROMAN PROVERBS.

The Italian proverb of " Aspettare e non venire," &c. has long been fa- miliar to every nation in Europe ; but the " Trinity of Wisdom," from which it is borrowed, is comparative- ly unknown. It consists of a number of verses, of which I have selected the best. In some of them, fine morali- ties are conveyed; others are humo- rous only ; but most of them are founded in a practical knowledge of human nature :

La Trinita della sapienza. Tre sorte di persone sono odiose : II povero superbo, II ricco avaro, II vecchio pazzo.

Tre sorte d'uomini da fuggire : Can tori, Vecchi, Innamorati.

Tre cose imbrattono la casa : Galline, Cani, Donne.

Tre cose conservano 1'amico : Onorarlo in presenza, Lodarlo in assenza, Ajutarlo ne' bisogni.

Tre cose sono desiderabili : Sanita, Buona fama, Ricchezze.

Tre cose da morire : Aspettar e non venire, Star a letto e non dormire, Servire e non gradire.