VIRGIL, MINUZZOLO, AND THE SIREN.

The idea that a soul or spirit, human or other, can enter into a dead body and revive it is to be found in the legends of all lands, from those of ancient Egypt, as appears in that of “Anpu and Bata,” which has been nine times translated into English, down to several of these Italian tales. It is a fancy which need not be traditional or borrowed; it would occur to man as soon as the Shaman pretended to go out of his body while in a trance.

After the foregoing was written out, including the allusion to seeds found in tombs a thousand years old which grew again, and which were, of course, Roman or Etruscan, as the only kind known in Italy—I never having read of any such thing save as regards corn found in Egypt—I met with the following passage in “The Sagacity and Morality of Plants,” by Dr. J. E. Taylor:

“Seeds have been found in Celtic tumuli . . . which, after an interval of perhaps two thousand years, have germinated into plants, and similar successful experiments have been made with seeds found in ancient Roman tombs.”

As regards the original of this story, it was so imperfect, brief, and trifling that I have, as it were, well-nigh reconstructed it, and might as well claim to be its author as not, as I should have done were I an earlier Italian novelist, who without scruple appropriated popular stories with as little conscience as Robert Burns did old ballads. Bishop Percy amended them, and owned it, and all that he got thereby was much abuse and ridicule. But it isof little consequence when the legend is not offered as a mere tradition, and this is only a scrap of traditionréchauffé.

The character of Balsàbo belongs closely to the class which includes Falstaff, Panurge, Punch, Belphegor, and many other types who are “without conscience or cognition” of right or wrong, neither adapted to be banned or blessed, genially selfish, extravagantly generous, good fellows and bad Christians, yet who have ever been pre-eminently popular. But I am not aware that it ever entered into a mortal head to dream of their being reformed, any more than their cousins Manfred and Don Giovanni, for which reason I consider this tale of Balsàbo as decidedly original. Sinners we have had repentant by thousands, but this is really the only history of the conversion of Nothingarian.

Paracelsus was the first writer, following the Neo-Platonists and popular traditions, to make a mythology of elementary spirits and define their nature.

“There dwell,” he says, “under the earth semi-homines, or half-human beings, who have all temporal things which can be enjoyed and desired. They are called ‘gnomes,’ though properly the name should be sylphs or pygmies. They are not spirits, yet may be compared to them . . . between them and the devil is a great difference, because he does not die and they do, albeit they are very long-lived. And they are notspirits, because a spirit is immortal.”

This gave birth in later days to the “Entertainments” of the Comte de Gabalis, and the exquisite “Undine” of La Motte Fouqué. Of late years exact science, by its investigations into zoology and botany,has approached Paracelsus by discovering incredible developments ininstinctiveintelligence, as distinguished from self-conscious reason, in all that exists.

Since the foregoing tale, with the comment on it, was written, even to the last word, I met with and read a novel entitled “Entombed in the Flesh,” by Michael Henry Dziewicki,[32]which, both as regards plot and many details, bears such an extraordinary, and yet absolutely accidental, resemblance to the story of “Balsàbo” that, unless I enter a protest to the contrary, I can hardly escape the accusation of having borrowed largely from it. In it a demon, neither angel nor devil, enters into the body of a man just dead, and has many marvellous and amusing adventures, being, of course, involved in the fate of a girl whom Lucifer wishes to destroy. The end is, however, very different, because in the novel Phantasto, the spirit, is set free, and the maiden rescued by the latter going into a Salvation Army meeting and being moved by hearing the name and teaching of Jesus. In “Balsàbo” the demon has immortality conferred on him by Bianca’s giving her ownlifeto effect it. This is, I think, more ingenious than any other sacrifice could be, because in the tale, though it be rudely expressed, there is the exquisite conception that an immortal existence can take in, include with it, and identify a minor intelligence or raise it to a higher sphere.

That I have somewhat enlarged the original tale or written it up will be evident to everyone, but I have omitted very little which is in the text, save an incantationat the end which Virgil addresses to the unborn souls who are to enter into the bodies of the children born of the rose-leaves. But I have inadvertently missed one point, to the effect that, after having been kicked out of hell, Balsàbo got down so low in morality as to be finally expelled from the Vatican. The literal translation of the passage is as follows:

“But poor Balsàbo, who had been kicked out of the kitchen of hell, . . . and even from the Vatican (felt honoured) . . . when Bianca scolded him like a child, and said: ‘Vergogna!’—‘For shame!’”

“Caperat hic cantusMinyasmulcere, nec ullusPræteriturus erat Sirenum tristia fataIam manibus remi exciderant stetit uncta carina.”Orpheus:Argonauticis.

“Caperat hic cantusMinyasmulcere, nec ullusPræteriturus erat Sirenum tristia fataIam manibus remi exciderant stetit uncta carina.”

Orpheus:Argonauticis.

[Virgil had a pupil named Minuzzolo, who was very small indeed, but a very beautiful youth, and the great master was very fond of his disciple.]

They undertook a long journey round the world, since Virgil wished that his little Minuzzolo should learn all the wonders which are hidden in the earth.

So he said to him one day:

“Know, Minuzzolo, that we are going on a long journey which may last for years, and thou must be right brave, my boy, for many are the perils through which we must pass, and dire are the monsters which we shall meet.”

So they went forth into the world, far and wide, and little Minuzzolo showed himself as brave as the biggest, and as eager to learn as a whole school with a holiday before it when it shall have got its lesson.

All things he learned: how to resist all sorceries and evil spells; he could call the eagle down from the sky, and the fish from the sea; but one thing he did not learn from his master.

One day Virgil gave him a book wherein was the charmagainst the Song of the Siren, the words which protect him who knows them against the music of the Voice. But two leaves stuck together like one, so that Minuzzolo skipped two pages, and never knew it.

Virgil had gone forth, and Minuzzolo, seated in a hut in the forest where they lived, began to sing. Then he heard in the wood a girl’s voice, which seemed to come from a torrent, singing in answer; and it was so sweet that all his soul and senses were captured, he forgot all duty and desire, his master and everything, all in a mad yearning to follow the sound. So he went on and on, led by the song; day and night were unnoticed by him. The Voice went with the torrent, he followed it to a river, and the river to the sea, where the waves rolled high in foam and fog; he followed the song, it went deep into the sea, but he gave no heed, but went ever on.

Then he found himself in a very beautiful but extremely strange old city—a city like a dream of an ancient age. And as eve came on, the youth asked of this and that person where he could pass the night, and all said that they knew of no place, for into that city no strangers ever came. However, at last one said to him: “I know where there dwells a witch, and she often hath strange guests; perhaps she will give thee shelter.”

“I will go to her,” replied Minuzzolo.

“Better not,” was the reply. “I did but jest, and I would be sorry if so fair a youth should be devoured by some monster.”[34]

“Little fear of that have I,” replied the young magician. “He who has harmed no one need fear none, and in the name of my Master I am safe.”

So he went to the house and knocked, and there came to his call an old woman of such unearthly ugliness, that Minuzzolo saw at once that she was a sorceress. So when she asked what he wanted, he replied:

“In the name of him whom allLike thee obey, and heed his call,And tremble at his lightest word,Virgil, my master and thy lord,I bid thee give me food and rest,Whate’er thou canst and of the best!”

And she answered:

“Whate’er is asked in that dread name,I’m sworn to answer to the same.”

So the youth stayed there and was well served. And in the morning he thanked the old woman, and asked her where he could find Virgil. She replied:

“Do not seek him in the forest where thou didst leave him. Since then thou hast passed over half the world, for she who called thee was a Siren, whom none can resist unless they learn the spell which thy master, foreseeing that thou wert in danger, gave thee, and which thou didst not learn. However, I will give thee a ring which will be of use, but do not seek its help until thou shalt be in dire need. And then thou shalt say to it:

“‘In nome del gran Mago,In nome di Virgilio,A chi sara buono!Questo anello sara mia sposa!’”“In the name of the great magician!In the name of Virgil!To whom be all good,This ring shall be my spouse!”

“‘In nome del gran Mago,In nome di Virgilio,A chi sara buono!Questo anello sara mia sposa!’”

“In the name of the great magician!In the name of Virgil!To whom be all good,This ring shall be my spouse!”

“Well shall I remember it,” replied Minuzzolo. So he went on to the land and by the strand ever on, till he came to a great and fine ship, and pausing as he looked at it, he thought he would like to be a sailor. Therefore he asked the captain if a boy was wanted. And the captain, being much pleased, took him and treated him very kindly, and for three years Minuzzolo was a mariner.

But one night there was a great storm, and there came in an instant such a tremendous wave and gale of wind that Minuzzolo was blown afar into the sea and wafted away a mile ere he was missed. However, he gained a beach and scrambled ashore, where he lay for a long time as if asleep. Yet it seemed to him, while thinking of the captain and his mates, that he were being borne away and ever on, as if in a dream, and indeed, when he awoke, he found himself in what he knew must be another country, in another clime.

And being very hungry, and seeing a fine garden wherein delicious fruit was growing, he approached a tree to pluck a pear; when all at once there sprang out a man of terribleform, with eyes like a dragon, who threatened him with death.

But Minuzzolo drew the ring from his pocket and repeated the charm, and as he did this the sorcerer fell dead. And then he heard the voice of the Siren singing afar, and it drew nearer and nearer, till a beautiful girl appeared. And when she saw the hideous sorcerer lying dead, she exclaimed with joy: “At last I am free! This the great Master Virgilio has done; over land and sea and afar off he has put forth his power. Blessed be his name!”

Then she explained to the youth that she and others had been enslaved and enchanted, and compelled to become a Siren and bewitch men. But Virgilio, knowing that she was lurking near to charm his pupil, had given him the book to read, but that her master by his power had closed the leaves, so that Minuzzolo had yielded to her song. But Virgilio had put forth a greater power, and brought it to pass that the Siren was herself enchanted with love, and in the end the sorcerer was defeated.

Then Virgilio appeared and blessed the young couple, who were wedded and lived ever after happily. Such things did Virgilio.

This strange story, in which classic traditions are blended with the common form of a fairy-tale, was sent to me from Siena, where it had been taken down from some authority to me unknown. It begins very abruptly, for which reason I have supplied the introductory passage in parenthesis.

Minuzzolo, led strangely afar over the sea, drawn by the voice of the Siren, suggests that the Argonauts were calledMinii, because they were descended, like Jason, from the daughters ofMinia. There may be here some confusion with Minos, of whom Virgil says that “he holds in his hand an urn and shakes the destiny of all human beings, citing them to appear before his tribunal,” “Quæsitor Minos urnam movet.” In the Italian legend Minuzzolo, or Minos, has a ring which compels all who hear his charm to obey.

Minuzzolo wins his Siren by means of a ring, and it is remarkable that Hesychius derives the nameSirenfromσεἰρη,seire, a small ring. Moreover, the sirens in the old Greek mythology did not of their own accord or will entice sailors to death. “The oracle,” says Pozzoli (Dizionario Mit.) “had predicted that they should perish whenever a single mortal who had heard their enchanting voices should escape them.” Therefore they were compelled by a superior power to act as they did.

Confused and garbled as it all is, it seems almost certain that in this tale there are relics of old Græco-Latin mythology.

The names of the three Sirens were Aglaope, Pisinoe, Thexiopia; according to Cherilus, Thelxiope, Molpe and Aglaophonos.Clearchus, however, gives one as Leucosia, another as Ligea, the third as Parthenope. “Aglaope was sweetest to behold, Aglaophone had the most enchanting voice.” Therefore we may infer that Aglaope, or Aglaophone, was the heroine of this tale. It is remarkable thatAglaia, a daughter of Jupiter, was the fairest and first of the three Muses, as Aglaope was of the Sirens.

It would seem evident that Edgar A. Poe had the Siren Ligea in mind when he wrote:

“Ligeia, Ligeia,My beautiful one,Whose harshest ideaWill to melody run . . .Ligeia! whereverThy image may be,No magic shall severThy music from thee;Thou hast bound many eyesIn a dreamy sleep,But the strains still ariseWhich thy vigilance keep.”

Most remarkable of all is the fact that the Sirens, who were regarded as evil witches or enchantresses of old, are in this story, which was written by a witch, indicated as women compelled by fate to delude mariners, which has escaped all commentators, and yet was plainly enough declared by the Oracle.

One day a fox entered a sculptor’s shop,And found a marble head, when thus he spoke:‘O Head! there is such feeling shown in theeBy art—and yet thou canst not feel at all!’Æsop’s Fables.

One day a fox entered a sculptor’s shop,And found a marble head, when thus he spoke:‘O Head! there is such feeling shown in theeBy art—and yet thou canst not feel at all!’

Æsop’s Fables.

It happened on a time that Virgil, who knew all things hidden or magical, he being a magician and poet, having heard an oration, was asked what he thought of it.

And he replied:

“It seems impossible for me to tell whether it is all introduction or conclusion. It is like certain fish, of whom one is in doubt whether they are all head or all tail, or the goddess Laverna, of whom no one ever knew whether she was all head or all body, or both.”

Then the Emperor asked him who this deity might be, for he had never heard of her.

And Virgil answered:

“Among the gods or spirits who were of the ancient times there was one female, who was the craftiest and most knavish of all. She was called Laverna; she was a thief, and very little known to the other deities, who were honest and dignified, while Laverna was rarely in heaven or in the country of the fairies. She was almost always on earth among thieves, pickpockets, and panders; (she lived) in darkness. Once it happened that she went to a great priest, in the form of a very beautiful, stately priestess, and said to him:

“‘Sell me your estate. I wish to raise on it a temple to(our) god. I swear to you on my body that I will pay thee within a year.’[39]

“Therefore the priest gave her the estate. And very soon Laverna had sold off all the crops, grain, cattle, and poultry. There was not left the value of four farthings. But on the day fixed for payment there was no Laverna to be seen. The fair goddess was far away, and had left her creditor in the lurch—in asso.

“At the same time Laverna went to a great lord, and bought of him a castle, well-furnished, with much land. But this time she sworeon her headto pay in full in six months. And she did as she had done by the priest; she stole and sold everything—furniture, cattle, crops; there was not left wherewith to feed a fly.

“Then the priest and the lord appealed to the gods, complaining that they had been robbed by a goddess. And it was soon found that the thief was Laverna. Therefore she was called to judgment before all the gods. And she was asked what she had done with the property of the priest, unto whom she had sworn by her body to make payment at the time appointed. And she replied by a strange deed, which amazed them all, for she made her body disappear, so that only her head remained, and it cried:

“‘Behold me! I swore by my body, but body have I none.’

“Then all the gods laughed.

“After the priest came the lord, who had also been tricked, and to whom she had sworn by her head. And in reply to him Laverna showed to all present her whole body, and it was one of the greatest beauty, but without a head, and from the neck there came a voice which said:

“‘Behold me, for I am Laverna, whoHave come to answer to that lord’s complaintWho swears that I contracted debt with him,And have not paid, although the time is o’er,And that I am a thief because I sworeUpon my head; but, as you all can see,I have no head at all, and therefore IAssuredly ne’er swore by such an oath!’

“Then there was indeed a storm of laughter among the gods, who made the matter right by ordering the head tojoin the body, and bidding Laverna pay up her dues, which she did.

“Then Jove spoke and said:

“‘Here is a roguish deity without a duty, while there are in Rome innumerable thieves, sharpers, cheats, and rascals—ladri,bindolini,truffatori e scrocconi—who live by deceit. These good folk have neither a church nor a god, and it is a great pity, for even the very devils have their master Satan. Therefore I command that in future Laverna shall be the goddess of all the knaves or dishonest tradesmen, and all the rubbish and refuse of the human race, who have been hitherto without a god or devil, inasmuch as they have been too despicable for the one or the other.’

“And so Laverna became the goddess of all dishonest people. Whenever anyone planned or intended any knavery or aught wicked, he entered her temple and invoked Laverna, who appeared to him as a woman’s head. But if he did his work badly and maladroitly, when he again invoked her he saw only the body. But if he was clever, then he beheld the whole goddess, head and body.

“Laverna was not more chaste than she was honest, and had many lovers and many children. It is said that, not being bad at heart, she often repented her life and sins; but do what she might she could not reform, because her passions were so inveterate. And if a man had got any woman with child, or any maid found herselfincinta, and would hide it from the world and escape scandal, they would go every day to invoke Laverna.[40]Then, when the time came for the suppliant to be delivered, Laverna would bear her in sleep during the night to her temple, and after the birth cast her into slumber again, and carry her back to her bed. And when she awoke in the morning she was ever in vigorous health and felt no weariness, and all seemed to her as a dream.

“But to those who desired in time to reclaim their children Laverna was indulgent, if they led such lives as pleased her and faithfully worshipped her. And this is the manner of the ceremony and the incantation to be offered to Laverna every night:

“There must be a set place devoted to the goddess, be it a room, a cellar, or a grove, ever a solitary place. Thentake a small table of the size of forty playing-cards set close together, and this must be hid in the same place, and going there at night. . . .

“Take the forty cards and spread them on the table, making of them, as it were, a close carpet on it. Take of the herbspaura[41a]andconcordiaand boil the two together, repeating meanwhile:

“‘Fo bollire la mano della concordia,Per tenere a me concorde.La Laverna, che possa portare a meIl mio figlio e che possaGuardarmelo da qual un pericolo!“‘Bollo questa erba ma non bollo l’erba.Bollo lapaura[41b]che possa tenere lontanoQualunque persona, e se le viene,L’idea a qualchuno di avvicinarsi,Possa essere preso da paura,E fuggire lontano!’”“I boil the cluster ofconcordiaTo keep in concord and at peace with meLaverna, that she may restore to meMy child, and that she, by her favouring care,May guard me well from danger all my life!“I boil this herb, yet ’tis not it which boils;I boil thefearthat it may keep afarAny intruder, and if such should come[To spy upon my rite], may he be struckWith fear, and in his terror haste away!”

“‘Fo bollire la mano della concordia,Per tenere a me concorde.La Laverna, che possa portare a meIl mio figlio e che possaGuardarmelo da qual un pericolo!

“‘Bollo questa erba ma non bollo l’erba.Bollo lapaura[41b]che possa tenere lontanoQualunque persona, e se le viene,L’idea a qualchuno di avvicinarsi,Possa essere preso da paura,E fuggire lontano!’”

“I boil the cluster ofconcordiaTo keep in concord and at peace with meLaverna, that she may restore to meMy child, and that she, by her favouring care,May guard me well from danger all my life!

“I boil this herb, yet ’tis not it which boils;I boil thefearthat it may keep afarAny intruder, and if such should come[To spy upon my rite], may he be struckWith fear, and in his terror haste away!”

“Having said this, put the boiled herbs in a bottle, and spread the cards on the table, one by one, saying:

“‘Batezzo queste quarante carteMa non batezzo le quarante carte.Batezzo quaranta dei superioriAlla dea Laverna che le suePersone divengono un vulcanoFino che la Laverna non saraVenuta da me colla mia creatura.E questi dei dal naso dalla bocca,E dall’ orecchie possino buttareFiammi di fuoco e cenere,E lasciare pace e bene alia deaLaverna, che possa anche essaAbbracciare i suoi figli,A sua volunta!’”“I spread before me now the forty cards,Yet ’tis not forty cards which here I spread,But forty of the gods superiorTo the deity Laverna, that their formsMay each and all become volcanoes hot,Until Laverna comes and brings my child.And till ’tis done, may they all castHot flames of fire and coals from their lungs,And leave her in all peace and happiness,And still embrace her children at her will.”

“I spread before me now the forty cards,Yet ’tis not forty cards which here I spread,But forty of the gods superiorTo the deity Laverna, that their formsMay each and all become volcanoes hot,Until Laverna comes and brings my child.And till ’tis done, may they all castHot flames of fire and coals from their lungs,And leave her in all peace and happiness,And still embrace her children at her will.”

The character of Virgil is here clearly enough only an introduction by the narrator, in order to make a Virgilian tale or narrative. But the incantation, which I believe to bebonâ fideand ancient, is very curious and full of tradition. The daring to conjure the forty gods that they may suffer till they compel Laverna to yield is a very bold and original conception, but something like it is found very often in Italian witchcraft. It is of classic origin. In the witchcraft manufactured by the Church, which only dates from the last decade of the fifteenth century, it never occurs. The witches of Sprenger and Co. never lay any of the Trinity under a ban of torture till a desire is accomplished, nor are they ever even invoked.

La femme comme il faut, or “the only good woman,” is a very ungallant misogamic corner tavern sign once common in France. It represents a headless woman. Perhaps she was derived from some story like this of Laverna. It recalls the inhuman saying: “The only good (Red) Indian is a dead Indian.”

Laverna is in this tale another form of Diana. There are also traces of Lucina in the character.

“Though her ugliness may scare,Money maketh all things fair.”Proverb.“Gelt—wie lieb’ich Dich.”—How truly I love thee! or, “Money—how I love thee!”—German Jest.

“Though her ugliness may scare,Money maketh all things fair.”

Proverb.

“Gelt—wie lieb’ich Dich.”—How truly I love thee! or, “Money—how I love thee!”—German Jest.

There was once in Rome an ugly young lady; yes, the ugliest on earth! And, as if this were not enough, she was ill-tempered and spiteful, and in his whole course the sun did not shine on a more treacherous being. She was a true devilkin, being as small as a dwarf. However, devil or not, she was worth millions, and had the luck to be betrothed to the handsomest young man in Rome, who was, indeed, poor.

One day a certain Countess said to Virgil:

“I cannot understand how it comes to pass that such a splendid fellow is allied to such a horrid little fright—un tal spauracchio!”

Virgil said nothing, but he went home and took two scorpions, and by his magic art turned them into gold, and of these he made two ear-rings and sent them to the Countess, who was delighted with them, and when Virgil asked her if she liked them, answered: “Tanta,tanta,sono molto belli”—“Very much, they are so beautiful!”

“You said to me a little while ago,” replied Virgil, “that you did not see what the handsomest man in Rome finds to admire in the ugliest girl. It is gold, Signora Contessa, which does it all—gold which makes scorpions so charming that you wear them in your ears, and call them beautiful!”

The Countess laughed, and said: “Thou speakest truth—

“‘Gold like the sun turns darkness to night,And fear or hatred to love and delight.Gold makes raptures out of alarms,Gold turns horror to beautiful charms,And gives the beauty of youth to the old.On earth there’s no magic like that of gold.’”

SHOWING HOW VIRGIL BY HIS ART DROVE ALL THE FLIES OUT OF ROME.

“Cil une mouche d’arain fist,Que toutes mouches qui estoient.Celle approchier ne povoient.”Renars Contrefais,A.D.1318.“Et fist une mousche d’arain,De quoi encor le pris et ain.A Naples cele mousche mistEt de tel maniere la fist,Que tant com la mousche fu laMousche dedenz Naples n’entra,Mais je ne sai que puis devint,La mousche, ne qu’il en avint.”Adenès li Rois:Roman de Cleomadès.XIIIth Century.“There were at that time near the city many swamps, in consequence of which were swarms offlies, which caused death. AndVirgil. . . made a fly of gold, as large as a frog, by virtue of which all the flies left the city.”—La Cronaca di Partenope, 1350.“Trovasi chi egli fece una moscha di rame, che dove la posa niuna moscha apariva mai presso a due saettate che incontanente non morissi.”Antonio Pucci,XIVth Century.

“Cil une mouche d’arain fist,Que toutes mouches qui estoient.Celle approchier ne povoient.”

Renars Contrefais,A.D.1318.

“Et fist une mousche d’arain,De quoi encor le pris et ain.A Naples cele mousche mistEt de tel maniere la fist,Que tant com la mousche fu laMousche dedenz Naples n’entra,Mais je ne sai que puis devint,La mousche, ne qu’il en avint.”

Adenès li Rois:Roman de Cleomadès.XIIIth Century.

“There were at that time near the city many swamps, in consequence of which were swarms offlies, which caused death. AndVirgil. . . made a fly of gold, as large as a frog, by virtue of which all the flies left the city.”—La Cronaca di Partenope, 1350.

“Trovasi chi egli fece una moscha di rame, che dove la posa niuna moscha apariva mai presso a due saettate che incontanente non morissi.”

Antonio Pucci,XIVth Century.

Once there came to the Emperor a merchant with many gems and jewels, and begged him to purchase some.

The Emperor asked of Virgil, who was present:

“Which is the very best of all these stones?”

Virgil replied:

“Let them all remain for a time in the light of the sun, and I will tell you which is the gem of them all.”

This was done, and after a time a fly alighted on one.

“This is the gem of greatest value,” said Virgil.

“But it is really hardly worth a crown,” replied the merchant.

“And yet it is worth all the rest put together,” answered Virgil; “for it increases marvellously the intellect or understanding, and thereby one can win with it the love of whom he will.”

“Very well,” said the Emperor, “I will buy it, and find by experience whether it can increase wit whereby we gain hearts.”

He did so, and finding that the stone had the virtue which Virgil ascribed to it, said to the sage one day:

“How was it that thou didst find out and understand the value of that gem?”

“I knew it, because I saw that there was in the stone a very small fly (moschettina—gnat), and I knew that flies are very quick and gay, and have great cleverness, as anyone can see if he tries to catch them, and they make love all the time.”

“Truly thou art a devil, oh Virgil,” replied the Emperor; “and for reward I hereby make thee Emperor or Pope over all the flies. There are, by the way, far too many of them, and a perfect plague—they spoil all the meat in the shops. I would that thou couldst banish all thy subjects from Rome.”

“I will do it,” answered Virgil.

Then, by his magic, he summoned the Great Fly—Il Moscone, the King of all the Flies—and said to him:

“Thy subjects are far too many, and a sore plague to all mankind. I desire that thou wilt drive them all out of Rome.”

“I will do it,” replied the Moscone, “if thou wilt make a fly of gold as large as a great frog, and put it in my honour in the Church of Saint Peter. After which, there will no more flies be seen in Rome.”

Then Virgil went to the Emperor and told him what Il Moscone had said, and the Emperor commanded that the fly should be made of many pounds of gold, and it was placed in the Church of Saint Peter, and so long as it remained there no fly was ever seen within the walls of Rome.

I have another version of what is partially the same story, but with a curious addition, which is of greater antiquity and most unconsciously really Virgilian, or the old tale of the bull’s hide.

It happened one summer in Rome that people were sadly afflicted with flies. Nothing like it had ever been seen; they swarmed by millions everywhere, they blackened the walls, the meat on the butchers’ stands was hidden under masses of them. And the poor suffered in theirchildren, many of whom died, while all kinds of food was poisoned and corrupted everywhere. Then the Emperor said to Virgil:

“Truly, if thou hast indeed the art of conjuring, now is the time to show it, by conjuring away this curse, for I verily believe that all the flies of Egypt are come here to Rome.”

Virgil replied:

“If thou wilt give me so much land as I can enclose in an ox’s hide, I will drive all the flies away from Rome.”

The Emperor was well pleased to get so much for so small a price, as it seemed to him, and promised that he should truly have as much land as could be enclosed or covered[46]in the skin of an ox.

Virgil summoned Il Moscone, the King of the Flies, and said to him:

“I wish that all flies in Rome leave the city this very day!”

Il Moscone, the King of the Flies, replied:

“Cause me to become by magic a great fly of gold, and then put me in the Church of Saint Peter, and after that there will be no more insects in the city.”

Then Virgil conjured him into the form of a fly of gold, and it was placed in the church, and at that instant all the flies left Rome. At which the Emperor was well pleased.

Then the Emperor asked Virgil where the land lay which was to be taken in the ox-hide.

“Come to-morrow and you shall see,” answered the sage.

So the Emperor came with all his Court, and found Virgil mounted on horseback, bearing a great bundle of leather cord, like shoe-strings, and this had been made from the skin of the ox. And beginning at one gate and letting fall the cord, he rode around the city until all Rome was surrounded.

“Your Highness will observe,” said Virgil, “that I have taken exactly as much land as could be enclosed in an ox’s hide, and as Rome stands on the ground, therefore all Rome is mine.”

“And what wilt thou take for this bit of earth—houses, people and all?” inquired the Emperor.

“I ask what to me is its full value, oh my Emperor, for I have long loved your beautiful niece! Give her to mewith one hundred thousand crowns in gold, and I will restore to you your city.”

The Emperor was well pleased to grant this, and so it came to pass that all Rome was bought and sold in one day for a purse and a princess, or for a woman and one hundred thousand crowns.

It will be observed by many readers that in the first tale here narrated there are combined two of the older Virgilian legends, one being that of the Gem which has within it a mysterious power, and which is thus told in “The Wonderful History of Virgil the Sorcerer.”[47]

“Soon after, the Emperor having his crown-jewels laid out before him, sent for Virgilius, and said: ‘Master, you know many things, and few are hid from your ken. Tell me now, if you be indeed a judge of gems, which think you is the best of these?’ The Emperor having pointed out one gem of peculiar brilliancy, Virgilius laid it, first in the palm of his hand, then to his ear, and said: ‘Sire, in this stone there is a worm.’ Forthwith the Emperor caused the stone to be sawn asunder, and lo, in the centre was found a worm concealed! Amazed at the sagacity of Virgilius, the Emperor, at the charge of the country, raised his allowance to a whole loaf per diem.”

The story of the fly is told in almost all the collections. The reader will bear in mind the following frank and full admission, of which all critics are invited to make the worst, that in many cases I had already narrated these Virgilian tales to my collector, as I did here—a course which it is simply impossible to avoid where one is collecting in a speciality. If you want fairy-tales, take whatever the gods may send, but if you require nothing but legends of Red Cap, you must specify, and show samples of the wares demanded. But it may here be observed, that after I had communicatedthese tales, they all returned to me with important changes. In the older legends the fly made by Virgil is manifestly—like the leech which he also fabricated—simply anamuletor talisman formed under the influence of the planets, or by astrology. In the version which I give there is an altogether different, far more ancient and mysterious motive power described. This is the direct aid ofMoscone, the King of the Flies, suggestive ofBaal tse Bul, or Beelzebub himself. The reader may find a chapter on this mystical being, who is also the god of news, in the “Legends of Florence,” Part II. According to my story, the Golden Fly is not atalismanmade by planetary influences, but a tribute of respect to a demon, which he demands shall be set up in Saint Peter’s. Here thewitch, ever inimical to orthodox faith, appears in black and white—so true is it, as I have before remarked, that even where my assistant has been asked to re-tell a tale, it always returned with darker and stranger colouring, which gave it an interest far greater than existed in the simple narrative. The tale of the fly, as a mere amulet, is of almost no importance whatever, beyond its being an insignificant variant; but as a legend of the chief of the flies, or Beelzebub, claiming honour and a place in the great Christian Church, it is of extraordinary novelty.

Amber, in which insects are often found, especially small flies or midges, was anciently regarded as a gem, and is classed as one in theTesoro delle Goie.Trattato curioso, Venice, 1676.

It may be observed that something like this story of the gem with an insect in it occurs not only in the early legends of Virgil, but also in the oldestnovelle, asmay be seen in Roscoe’s “Italian Novelists.” In fact, there is probably not one of the old Neapolitan Virgilian stories which is not, like this, of Oriental origin.

“En sic meum opus ago,Ut Romæ fecit imagoQuam sculpsit Virgilius,Quæ manifestare suevitFures, sed cæsa quievitEt os clausit digito.”De Corrupto Ecclesiæ Statu:XVIth Century.Virgilius the Sorcerer(1892).

“En sic meum opus ago,Ut Romæ fecit imagoQuam sculpsit Virgilius,Quæ manifestare suevitFures, sed cæsa quievitEt os clausit digito.”

De Corrupto Ecclesiæ Statu:XVIth Century.Virgilius the Sorcerer(1892).

The reader who is familiar with “The Legends of Florence” will remember that, in the second series of that work,[49]there are several tales referring to the Red Pillars of the Baptistery, of which, as Murray’s “Guide Book” states, “at each side of the eastern entrance of the Battisterio di San Giovanni there is a shaft of red porphyry, presented by the Pisans in 1117.” To which I added:

“Other accounts state that the Florentines attached immense value to these columns, and that once when there was to be a grand division of plunder between Florence and Pisa, the people of the former city preferred to take them, instead of a large sum of money, or something which was apparently far more valuable. And the Pisans parted from them most unwillingly, and to deprive them of value passed them through a fire. Which is all unintelligible nonsense, but which becomes clear when we read further.“I had spoken of this to Mr. W. de Morgan, the distinguished scholar, artist, and discoverer in ceramics, whenhe informed me that he had found, in the ‘Cronaca Pisana’ of Gardo, a passage which clearly explains the whole. It is as follows:“In the year 1016, the Pisans brought the gates of wood which are in the Duomo, and a small column, which is in the façade, or above the gate of the Duomo. There are also at the chief entrance two columns, about two fathoms each in length, of a reddish colour, and it is said that whoever sees them is sure in that day not to be betrayed. And these two columns which were so beautiful had been so enchanted by the Saracens,[50a]that when a theft had been committed the face of the thief could be seen reflected in them. And when they had scorched them they sent them to Florence, after which time the pillars lost their power; whence came the saying,Fiorentini ciechi, or ‘blind Florentines.’[50b]“Unto which was added,Pisani traditori, or ‘treacherous Pisans.’ Those pillars were, in fact, magic mirrors which had acquired their power by certain ceremonies performed when they were first polished, and which were lost.”

“I had spoken of this to Mr. W. de Morgan, the distinguished scholar, artist, and discoverer in ceramics, whenhe informed me that he had found, in the ‘Cronaca Pisana’ of Gardo, a passage which clearly explains the whole. It is as follows:

“In the year 1016, the Pisans brought the gates of wood which are in the Duomo, and a small column, which is in the façade, or above the gate of the Duomo. There are also at the chief entrance two columns, about two fathoms each in length, of a reddish colour, and it is said that whoever sees them is sure in that day not to be betrayed. And these two columns which were so beautiful had been so enchanted by the Saracens,[50a]that when a theft had been committed the face of the thief could be seen reflected in them. And when they had scorched them they sent them to Florence, after which time the pillars lost their power; whence came the saying,Fiorentini ciechi, or ‘blind Florentines.’[50b]

“Unto which was added,Pisani traditori, or ‘treacherous Pisans.’ Those pillars were, in fact, magic mirrors which had acquired their power by certain ceremonies performed when they were first polished, and which were lost.”

A German writer on witchcraft, Peter Goldschmidt, states that there was once in olden time in Constantinople a certain Peter Corsa, who, by looking in two polished stones or magic mirrors, beheld in them proof that his wife, then far away, was unfaithful to him. It is possible, or probable, that this refers to the same pillars, before they had been brought to Pisa, even as the column of the Medicis in the Piazza Annunciata was sent from the East to Florence.

What renders this the more probable is the followingpassage by Comparetti, given in his “Virgilio nel Medio Evo”:

“In a History of the Pisans, written in French in the fifteenth century and existing in manuscript in Berne, there is mention of two columns made by Virgil, and which were then in the cathedral of Pisa, on the tops of which one could see the likeness of anyone who had stolen or fornicated.” See De Sinner, “Catal. Codicum MSS. Bibl. Bernensis,” II., p. 129; Du Meril, “Mélanges,” p. 472.

It is most unlikely that the Pisans hadtwopairs of columns, in each of which appeared the forms or phantoms orsimulacra, of criminals, for which reason we may conclude that those in the Battisterio of Florence are quite the same as those which were said to have been made by Virgil. And it is also probable that the belief that they were made by Virgil went far to give them the great value which was attached to them. They should be called the columns of Virgil.

It may be observed that the Berne manuscript cited mentions that it was on thetopof the pillars that the visions were seen, and that the tops of the columns of the Battisterio have been knocked away, possibly by the Pisans, in order to deprive them of their peculiar value.

Virgil is also accredited with having made a statue which, like Mahomet’s coffin, hung free in mid-air, and was visible from every part of Rome, or in fact from every door and window. And it had the property that no woman who had once beheld it had, after that, any desire to behave improperly, which thing, according to the plainly-speaking author of “Les Faicts Merveilleux de Virgille,” was a sad affliction to the Roman dames,qui aymoyent par amour, since they couldnot put foot out of doors without seeing “that nasty-image” which prevented them from havingsoulas de leurs amours. So they all complained bitterly to Virgil’s wife, who promised to aid them. Therefore, one day when her husband was absent, she went up the bridge or ladder which led to the statue and threw down the latter. “So, from that time forth, thedames de Rome firent à leur volonté et a leur plaisance,et furent bien ayses de lymage qui fut abbatu.” Truly the Ibsenite and other novelists of the present day, but especially the lady realists of our time, have great cause to be thankful that no such statues are stuck up in the public places of our cities, for if such were the case their occupation would be gone for ever—or until they had overturned them.

Virgil would appear, however, to have been somewhat inconsistent in this matter of statues, or else desirous of demonstrating to the world that he could go to opposite extremes, since he made another, which is thus delicately hinted at in a footnote by Comparetti:[52]

“In contradizione con questo racconto in cui Virgilio apparisce come protettore del buon costume, trovasi un altro racconto, secondo il quale . . . egli avrebbe fatto una donna pubblica artificiale. Cosi Enenkel nel suo ‘Weltbuch’; vede V. J. Hagen, ‘Gesammtten Abenteuer,’ II., 515; Massmonn, ‘Kaiser Chronik,’ III., 451. Una leggenda rabbinica parla anch’ essa di una statua destinata a quell’ uso ed esistente in Romæ. Vede Praetorius, ‘Anthropodemus Plutonicus,’ I., 150, e Liebrecht nella ‘Germania di Pfeiffer,’ X., 414.”

The passage in Enenkel referred to is given with the rest of the “Weltbuch” by Comparetti, and is as follows:

“Virgilius der selbe man,Begunde nu ze Rôme gân,Und versuocht ’sain maisterschaft,Ob es wær’ wâr der teuvel kraft,Er macht’ ze Rôm’ ain stainein WeibVon Künste den het ainen LeibSwann’ ain Schalk, ain boeser ManWolte ze ainem Weibe gân,Daz er gie zu dem Staine,Der boese, der unraine,Das im was bei des Staines LeibRecht als ob er wær im Weib,Nicht vür baz ich en sagen solMain mainung ’witzt ihr alle wol.”

Bonifacius, in his “Ludicra,” Ravisius Textor (“Officina”), and Kornmann (“Curiosa”) have brought together all the instances in special chapters of men who have fallen in love with statues. I observe that in a late popular novel this device of thedonna artificialeis described in a manner which leaves actually nothing to be desired to the lovers of indecency, vileness, blasphemy, or “realism”—c’est tout un.

It may be observed that in another tale collected by me, Virgil has for his Egeria a statue called Pæonia, which comes to life when he would confer with her, and which I regard, on what is at least startling coincidence if not full proof, a tradition of Minerva-Pæonia and Esculapius.

The tale in question declares that the magician Virgil, who had a marked fancy for making statues love, or turning women into stone—ever petting or petrifying among the petticoats—had a third favourite, a Pæonia, who was marble when not specially requiredfor other purposes than ornament. These three ladies suggest the Graces:

“Aglaia, Euphrosyne que Thaliaque splendidaClara letitiæ matres!”

It is probably by mere coincidence or chance that in Keats’ “Endymion” the habitual friend and comforter of the hero is:

“Peona, his sweet sister; of all thoseHis friends, the dearest, . . .Whose eloquence did breathe away the curse.She led him like some midnight spirit-nurse.”

But that Peona, through all the poem, plays the part which Pæonia has with Virgil is unquestionable. It would seem as if there is, if not a spiritual, at least an æsthetic influence in names.Nomen est omen. “All Bobs are bobbish,” said a farmer, “and all Dicks dickies.”

“Who would have ever said that amid the horrors of prison I would find a true friend to console me?”—BoethiustoPatricius.“All by prayer and penitenceMay be at length forgiven.”Ballad of Sir Tannhäuser.

“Who would have ever said that amid the horrors of prison I would find a true friend to console me?”—BoethiustoPatricius.

“All by prayer and penitenceMay be at length forgiven.”

Ballad of Sir Tannhäuser.

There once lived in Florence a young man who was not really bad at heart, but utterly selfish, especially to his relations, and was without heed or feeling as to the sufferings of others. And, it being in his power, he wasted all the income of the family on sport, letting his brothers and sisters endure great privations; nor would he have cared much had they starved. He was like all such people—frivolous and capricious. If he met a poor child in the street, he would give it a gold crown, and then let all at home hunger for days.

One day his suffering mother went to Virgilio, and, tellinghim all about her son, begged the master, if it were possible, to reform him.

Virgilio said to her: “I will indeed do something which will bring thy son to his senses.”

The young man was named Adelone, and Virgilio, meeting him the next day, said:

“If thou wouldst fain see a strange thing indeed—such as thou hast erewhile prayed me to show thee by my art—then be to-night at twelve in the cloister of Santa Maria Novella, where thou wilt see and learn that which it is most needful for thee to know. But to behold and bear the sight thou muse be bold, for a faint heart will fail before it.”

Then Adelone, who, to do him justice, was no coward, did not fail to be in the cloister of Santa Maria Novella at the appointed hour. And as the last stroke of twelve was heard, Adelone saw before him the spirit of a young man named Geronio, who had died one year before, and who had been, as one like him in all respects, his most intimate friend. They were always together, and what one did the other joined in; both were reckless wasters of money, and selfishly indifferent to their families. And as Adelone looked at Geronio he saw in the face of the latter such an expression of awful suffering, that it was a torture to behold him. And Geronio, seeing this, said:

“Depart now, for it is time; but this night I will come to thee and remain with thee till morning.”[55]

And Adelone was glad to have seen Geronio once more, but greatly grieved at finding him in such suffering.

That night he was in his room, which was on the ground, and at the appointed hour the spirit came. And, looking with awe at his friend, Adelone said:

“I see that thou art in pain beyond all belief.”

“Yes,” replied Geronio; “I suffer the greatest agony, such as no mortal could endure. But I pray you come with me.”

Then the two sunk softly down into the earth, ever deeper and deeper in silent darkness, until Adelone saw that they were in an immense cavern, all of gray ice, dimly lighted, with dripping icicles hanging from the roof, and all the floor was covered with dirty, half-freezing water, underwhich was a bed of stinking mud, and over all was an air of sadness and wretchedness beyond description.

“This is my home,” said Geronio; “but it is as nothing compared to what I suffer in my soul—which is a thousand times more terrible than anything which mortals can imagine, for they have no idea of what spiritual torture is like, because they always think of pain as bodily. But know that I had rather be beaten or burned in fire for a year than suffer for an instant the remorse which I endure.”

“Can anything be done to help you?” asked Adelone.

“Yes, all can be done; and you can save me and not only give me peace, but do as much for thyself, and thereby escape what I have suffered. If thou wilt lead a good and loving life—good and kind to all, especially to thy family and friends, no longer wasting money and life on selfish follies, no longer neglecting duty and acting as an egoist—thus thou canst give me peace, and rescue me from this inferno. But woe unto thee, shouldst thou promise this and fail to keep thy word. For when thy time cometh, as come it will, thou wilt suffer as I do—yea, with redoubled remorse.”

Then Adelone, looking about him, saw many sad shades of men and women wandering or wading through the icy water; all people who had lived for themselves alone, all waiting till someone as yet alive should, by good conduct, save them. And none spoke, for they were doomed to silence. So they looked at one another, and passed on, and such looks were the only thing like comfort allowed them.

Then Adelone fell, as it seemed to him, asleep, and when he awoke he was in his own room, but he well knew that it was no dream which he had beheld. And from that hour he was another man, becoming as good as he had been bad, living to make all others happy, and devoted in every way to his family. And thereby he became for the first time truly contented.

Back to Index Next