“ Italy is not suffering from an orgy of individualism in her people but from an orgy of egotism—which is quite a different matter.It is a fact worth noting that every nation believes its own family life to be the purest and most solid. The truth is that family life plays a more important part in Italy than in England, and Latin parents everywhere sacrifice themselves more for their children than we do. So strong is the blood tie that it has been said that there is nothing at the back of the Italian character but the love of family. ”
Hope Malleson
Summary
Hope Malleson’s Rome is a literary exploration of the city’s historical, cultural, and social fabric, intertwining its ancient legacy with reflections on Italian identity. Focusing on themes such as the papacy, Roman architecture, and the enduring influence of family and tradition, the work delves into the contrasts between the spiritual rigor of the Church and the practical realities of Italian life.
Through analyses of figures like the cardinal and the priest, alongside reflections on the campagna and the Vatican, Malleson examines the interplay of faith, authority, and heritage. The text also touches on Italy’s unique societal dynamics, from the role of the agro to the resilience of its people, culminating in a nuanced portrait of Rome as both a historical crucible and a living testament to Latin endurance.
Quotes from Rome (Hope Malleson)
“ Signor Gabelli has described the burly Roman carter beating his horses or mules, the red cap which hangs over one ear matching his flaming face, afire with triumphant pride in this exercise of brute force and dominion. No one rebukes him. On the contrary the clergy delight to dwell on the distinction between the duties owed to men and the absence of all obligation towards the brutes. The distinction, of course, works no better in modern than in ancient times, and means nothing less than the systematic brutalisation of the Italian people. ”
“ There the faithful are a regiment—human automata—standing up and kneeling down with the uniformity of clockwork; every one who enters is suspected, every one who stands at the door creates scandal, the priests are quæstors and their vergers are lictors. Such things certainly have their compensations for the Teutonic and even the Anglo-Saxon mind—but how different they are from the tolerant liberty of the domus Dei in Italy which is, by the same title, the house of the people, with all that familiarity of spirit loved by S. Francis, that utter freedom from self-righteousness! ”
