INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

THIS work deserves the attention of the scholar for the favorable view which it gives of the writer's habits of observation, and its beautiful illustrations of classic literature.

Johnson says "At his return he published his Travels, with a dedication to Lord Somers. As his stay in foreign countries was short," (what would the great lexicographer have said to our three months' views not of Italy only, but of England and the Continent, with Egypt and the Holy Land to boot?) "his observations are such as might be supplied by a hasty view, and consist chiefly in comparisons of the present face of the country with the descriptions left us by the Roman poets, from whom he made preparatory collections: though he might have spared the trouble, had he known that such collections had been made twice before by Italian authors," (An observation savoring more of Johnson's acknowledged indolence than of his unquestionable classic spirit.) "The most amusing passage of the book is his account of the minute republic of St. Marino; many parts it is not a very severe censure to say, that they might have been written at home. His elegance of language, and variegation of prose and verse, however, gains upon the reader; and the book, though awhile neglected, became in time so much the favorite of the public, that before it was reprinted, it rose to five times its price." If we consider the difference in Addison's position, we shall attribute this rise to the reputation of his other works rather than to this. Hume tells us that his second volume "helped to buoy up its unfortunate brother; Gibbon, in speaking of his "Essays on the Pursuits of Literature,” attributed the interest of the public, after an interval of fifteen years, to the success of his history. "The publication of my history fifteen years afterwards, revived the memory of my former performance, and the essay was eagerly sought in the shops."

of

"1 and

Ogle says "Of his travels, published after his return, and dedicated to Lord Somers, higher praise cannot be given than saying that they are elegant and interesting. The comparative descriptions between the

1 Hume's life by bimself.

2 Gibbon. Memoirs of My Life and Writings-p. 58.

appearances of ancient and modern Italy, in which he indulged, have no claims to originality, since two writers had treated the same subject, and Sandys had left scarce a nook unexamined or unnoticed. Yet, even in the present day, when "tours," "travels," and " reminiscences" abound, the classical and descriptive work of Addison would stand pre-eminent, and must ever be highly appreciated for purity of diction, precision of collocation, attractive variety of prose and poetry, and for tasteful remark and judicious reflection.

"The motto to this work is uncommon, because it seems to convey the feeling of the writer, and not, as is usual, an idea of the structure of the contents. It is taken from Cicero's celebrated treatise on friendship, and quoted by him, 'a Tarentino Archyta,' 'Verum ergo id est, si quis in cœlum ascendisset, naturamque mundi et pulchritudinem siderum perspexisset, insuavem illam admirationem ei fore, quæ jucundissima fuisset, si aliquem cui narret habuisset.'"—OGLE-Life of Addison, pp. 22, 23.

Addison presented a copy of his Travels to Swift with the following inscription:

"To Dr. Jonathan Swift, the most agreeable companion, the truest friend, and the greatest genius of his age, this book is presented by his humble servant the author."

G.

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

JOHN, LORD SOMERS,

BARON OF EVESHAM.

MY LORD,

THERE is a pleasure in owning obligations which it is an honour to have received, but should I publish any favours done me by your lordship, I am afraid it would look more like vanity than gratitude.

I had a very early ambition to recommend myself to your lordship's patronage, which yet increased in me as I travelled through the countries of which I here give your lordship some account: for whatever great impressions an Englishman must have of your lordship, they who have been conversant abroad will find them still improved. It cannot but be obvious to them, that though they see your lordship's admirers every where, they meet with very few of your well-wishers at Paris or at Rome. And I could not but observe, when I passed through most of the Protestant governments in Europe, that their hopes or fears for the common cause rose or fell with your lordship's interest and authority in England.

I here present your lordship with the remarks that I made in a part of these my travels; wherein, notwithstanding the variety of the subject, I am very sensible that I offer nothing new to your lordship, and can have no other design in this address than to declare that I am, My Lord,

Your Lordship's most obliged, and

Most obedient humble servant,

J. ADDISON.

PREFACE.

THERE is certainly no place in the world where a man may travel with greater pleasure and advantage than in Italy. One finds something more particular in the face of the country, and more astonishing in the works of nature, than can be met with in any other part of Europe. It is the great school of music and painting, and contains in it all the noblest productions of statuary and architecture, both ancient and modern. It abounds with cabinets of curiosities, and vast collections of all kinds of antiquities. No other country in the world has such a variety of governments, that are so different in their constitutions, and so refined in their politics. There is scarce any part of the nation that is not famous in history, nor so much as a mountain or a river that has not been the scene of some extraordinary action.

As there are few men that have talents or opportunities for examining so copious a subject, one may observe, among those who have written on Italy, that different authors have succeeded best on different sorts of curiosities. Some have been more particular in their accounts of pictures, statues, and buildings; some have searched into libraries, cabinets of rarities, and collections of medals, as others have been wholly taken up with inscriptions, ruins, and antiquities. Among the authors of our own country, we are obliged to the Bishop of Salisbury, for his masterly and uncommon observations on the religion and governments of Italy Lassels may be useful in giving us the names of such writers as