Part 2

When I got to this abode of misery and despair, a hell, such as Dante might have conceived, a crowd of wretches, some of whom were to be hanged in the course of the week, greeted me by deriding my elegant attire. I did not answer them, and they began to get angry and to abuse me. The gaoler quieted them by saying that I was a foreigner and did not understand English, and then took me to a cell, informing me how much it would cost me, and of the prison rules, as if he felt certain that I should make a long stay.

LONDON TO BERLIN [JC#24][jclbr10.xxx]2974

If you want to discover the character of a man, view him in health and freedom; a captive and in sickness he is no longer the same man.

She smiled and said that one trunk would be ample for all their possessions, as they had resolved to sell all superfluities. As I had seen some beautiful dresses, fine linen, and exquisite lace, I could not refrain from saying that it would be a great pity to sell cheaply what would have to be replaced dearly.

As old age steals on a man he is never tired of dwelling again and again on the incidents of his past life, in spite of his desire to arrest the sands which run out so quickly.

RUSSIA AND POLAND [JC#25][jcrpl10.xxx]2975

In those days all Russians with any pretensions to literature read nothing but Voltaire, and when they had read all his writings they thought themselves as wise as their master. To me they seemed pigmies mimicking a giant. I told them that they ought to read all the books from which Voltaire had drawn his immense learning, and then, perhaps, they might become as wise as he. I remember the saying of a wise man at Rome: "Beware of the man of one book."

Calumnies are easy to utter but hard to refute.

When the prince saw how happy I was with my Zaira, he could not help thinking how easily happiness may be won; but the fatal desire for luxury and empty show spoils all, and renders the very sweets of life as bitter as gall.

But my surprise may be imagined when I saw that the father and mother of the child were in an ecstasy of joy; they were certain that the babe had been carried straight to heaven. Happy ignorance!

Ever since I have known this home of frost and the cold north wind, I laugh when I hear travelling Russians talking of the fine climate of their native country. However, it is a pardonable weakness, most of us prefer "mine" to "thine."

SPAIN [JC#26][jcspn10.xxx]2976

I thought myself skilled in physiognomy, and concluded that she was not only perfectly happy, but also the cause of happiness. But here let me say how vain a thing it is for anyone to pronounce a man or woman to be happy or unhappy from a merely cursory inspection.

"Where ignorance is bliss!"

I delivered all my introductions, beginning with the letter from Princess Lubomirska to the Count of Aranda. The count had covered himself with glory by driving the Jesuits out of Spain. He was more powerful than the king himself, and never went out without a number of the royal guardsmen about him, whom he made to sit down at his table. Of course all the Spaniards hated him, but he did not seem to care much for that. A profound politician, and absolutely resolute and firm, he privately indulged in every luxury that he forbade to others, and did not care whether people talked of it or not.

Fair and beloved France, that went so well in those days, despite 'lettres de cachet', despite 'corvees', despite the people's misery and the king's "good pleasure," dear France, where art thou now? Thy sovereign is the people now, the most brutal and tyrannical sovereign in the world. You have no longer to bear the "good pleasure" of the sovereign, but you have to endure the whims of the mob and the fancies of the Republic--the ruin of all good Government. A republic presupposes self-denial and a virtuous people; it cannot endure long in our selfish and luxurious days.

EXPELLED FROM SPAIN [JC#27][jcexp10.xxx]2977

I was foolish enough to write the truth. Never give way to this temptation, if it assails you.

I was much pleased with the husband's mother, who was advanced in years but extremely intelligent. She had evidently made a point of forgetting everything unpleasant in the past history of her son's wife.

Nina was wonderfully beautiful; but as it has always been my opinion that mere beauty does not go for much, I could not understand how a viceroy could have fallen in love with her to such an extent.

If these Memoirs, only written to console me in the dreadful weariness which is slowly killing me in Bohemia--and which, perhaps, would kill me anywhere, since, though my body is old, my spirit and my desires are as young as ever--if these Memoirs are ever read, I repeat, they will only be read when I am gone, and all censure will be lost on me.

Is selfishness, then, the universal motor of our actions? I am afraid it is.

Time that destroys marble and brass destroys also the very memory of what has been.

ROME [JC#28][jcrom10.xxx]2978

Emotion is infectious. Betty wept, Sir B---- M---- wept, and I wept to keep them company. At last nature called at truce, and by degrees our sobs and tears ceased and we became calmer.

I have travelled all over Europe, but France is the only country in which I saw a decent and respectable clergy.

FLORENCE TO TRIESTE [JC#29][jcflt10.xxx]2979

I cannot help laughing when people ask me for advice, as I feel so certain that my advice will not be taken. Man is an animal that has to learn his lesson by hard experience in battling with the storms of life. Thus the world is always in disorder and always ignorant, for those who know are always in an infinitesimal proportion to the whole.

He denied, for instance, that almsgiving could annul the penalty attached to sin, and according to him the only sort of almsgiving which had any merit was that prescribed in the Gospel: "Let not thy right hand know what thy left hand doeth." He even maintained that he who gave alms sinned unless it was done with the greatest secrecy, for alms given in public are sure to be accompanied by vanity.

She asked where he was, and I said at Venice; but of course she did not believe me. There are circumstances when a clever man deceives by telling the truth, and such a lie as this must be approved by the most rigorous moralists.

I also met at Gorice a Count Coronini, who was known in learned circles as the author of some Latin treatises on diplomacy. Nobody read his books, but everybody agreed that he was a very learned man.

Fifty years ago a wise man said to me: "Every family is troubled by some small tragedy, which should be kept private with the greatest care. In fine, people should learn to wash their dirty linen in private."

OLD AGE AND DEATH [JC#30][jcagdxxx.xxx]2980

Age, that cruel and unavoidable disease, compels me to be in good health, in spite of myself.

Now that I am getting into my dotage, I look on the dark side of everything. I am invited to a wedding and see naught but gloom.

When I recall these events, I grow young again and feel once more the delights of youth, despite the long years which separate me from that happy time.

I have loved women even to madness, but I have always loved liberty better; and whenever I have been in danger of losing it, fate has come to my rescue.

The longer I live, the more interest I take in my papers. They are the treasure which attaches me to life and makes death more hateful still.

THE COMPLETE MEMOIRES OF JACQUES CASANOVA [JC#31][csnva10.xxx]2981

"We have enjoyed ourselves," said Marcoline, "and time that is given to enjoyment is never lost."

Is selfishness, then, the universal motor of our actions? I am afraid it is.

Time that destroys marble and brass destroys also the very memory of what has been.

I was foolish enough to write the truth. Never give way to this temptation, if it assails you.

A man never argues well except when his purse is well filled Accepted the compliment for what it was worth Accomplice of the slanderer Advantages of a great sorrow is that nothing else seems painful Age, that cruel and unavoidable disease All women, dear Leah are for sale All-powerful lever, gold Alms given in public are sure to be accompanied by vanity Anger and reason do not belong to the same family Angry man always thinks himself right At my age I could not be allowed to have any opinions Augurs could never look at each other without laughing Awkward or miserly, and therefore unworthy of love Axiom that "neglected right is lost right" Beauty is the only unpardonable offence in your eyes Beauty without wit offers love nothing Bed is a capital place to get an appetite Best plan in this world is to be astonished at nothing Beware of the man of one book Calumnies are easy to utter but hard to refute Cherishing my grief Clever man deceives by telling the truth Commissaries of Chastity Confession Contempt of life Could tell a good story without laughing Criticism only grazed the skin and never wounded deeply Delights are in proportion to the privations we have suffered Desire is only kept alive by being denied Desire to make a great fuss like a great man Despair which is not without some sweetness Despised ignoramus becomes an enemy Diminish the tale of your years instead of increasing it Distance is relative Divinities--novelty and singularity Do not mind people believing anything, provided it is not true Do their duty, and to live in peace and sweet ignorance Economy in pleasure is not to my taste Emotion is infectious Essence of freedom consists in thinking you have it Everything hung from an if Exercise their reason to avoid the misfortunes which they fear Fanaticism, no matter of what nature, is only the plague Fatal desire for luxury and empty show spoils all Favourite passion has always been vengeance First motive is always self-interest Foolish enough to write the truth For in the night, you know, all cats are grey For is love anything else than a kind of curiosity? Fortune flouts old age Found him greater at a distance than close at hand Gave the Cardinal de Rohan the famous necklace Girl who gave nothing must take nothing Give yourself up to whatever fate offers to you, Government ought never to destroy ancient customs abruptly Groans, and prayers, and blasphemies Happiness is purely a creature of the imagination Happiness is not lasting--nor is man Happy or unhappy from a merely cursory inspection Happy ignorance! Happy age when one's inexperience is one's sole misfortune Hasty verses are apt to sacrifice wit to rhyme He won't be uneasy--he is a philosopher Hobbes: of two evils choose the least Honest old man will not believe in the existence of rascals Idle questions which are commonly addressed to a traveller If this and if that, and every other if If I could live my life over again If history did not lie Ignorance is bliss Ignorant, who talk about everything right or wrong Imagine that what they feel themselves others must feel It is only fools who complain It's too much for honour and too little for love Jealousy leads to anger, and anger goes a long way Knowing that he would not be regretted after his death Last thing which we learn in all languages is wit Laugh out of season Let not thy right hand know what thy left hand doeth Lie a sufficient number of times, one ends by believing it Light come, light go Love always makes men selfish Look on everything we don't possess as a superfluity Love fills our minds with idle visions Love makes no conditions Made a point of forgetting everything unpleasant Made a parade of his Atheism Man needs so little to console him or to soothe his grief Marriage without enjoyment is a thorn without roses Marriage state, for which I felt I had no vocation Married a rich wife, he repented of having married at all Mere beauty does not go for much Most trifling services are assessed at the highest rates My spirit and my desires are as young as ever My time was too short to write so little Mystical insinuations Negligent attire Never to pass an opinion on any subject Never wearied himself with too much thinking Nobody read his books, but everybody agreed he was learned 'Non' is equal to giving the lie Now I am too old to begin curing myself Obscenity disgusts, and never gives pleasure Oh! wonderful power of self-delusion One never knows enough Owed all its merits to antithesis and paradox Pardonable weakness, most of us prefer "mine" to "thine" Passing infidelity, but not inconstancy Passion and prejudice cannot reason People did not want to know things as they truly were People want to know everything, and they invent Pigmies mimicking a giant Pity to sell cheaply what would have to be replaced dearly Pleasures are realities, though all too fleeting Pope, whom no Roman can believe to be infallible Post-masters Prejudices which had the sanction of the law Pride is the daughter of folly Privately indulged in every luxury that he forbade to others Privilege of a nursing mother Promising everlasting constancy Proud nation, at once so great and so little Quacks Rather be your debtor than for you to be mine Read when I am gone Reading innumerable follies one finds written in such places Repentance for a good deed Reproached by his wife for the money he had expended Rid of our vices more easily than of our follies Rome the holy, which thus strives to make all men pederasts Rumour is only good to amuse fools Sad symptom of misery which is called a yawn Sadness is a disease which gives the death-blow to affection Scold and then forgive Scrupulously careful not to cheat you in small things Seldom praised and never blamed Selfishness, then, the universal motor of our actions? Shewed his contempt by saying nothing Sin concealed is half pardoned Sleep--the very likeness of non-existence Snatching from poor mortal man the delusions Soften the hardships of the slow but certain passage to the grave Stupid servant is more dangerous than a bad one 'Sublata lucerna nullum discrimen inter feminas' Submissive gaze of a captive who glories in his chain Surface is always the first to interest Talent of never appearing to be a learned man Taste and feeling Tell me whether that contempt of life renders you worthy of it There is no cure for death There's time enough for that Time that is given to enjoyment is never lost Time that destroys marble and brass destroys also the very memory Time is a great teacher Timidity is often another word for stupidity To know ill is worse than not to know at all Vengeance is a divine pleasure Verses which, like parasites, steal into a funeral oration Victims of their good faith Wash their dirty linen in private What is love? When we can feel pity, we love no longer When one is in an ill humour, everything is fuel for the fire Whims of the mob and the fancies of the Republic Wife worthy of being a mistress Wiser if they were less witty Wish is father to the thought Wit cannot stand before stupidity Woman has in her tears a weapon Women are always as old as they look Women would be either tyrants or slaves Women often do the most idiotic things out of sheer obstinacy World of memories, without a present and without a future Would like to shape the laws according to their needs Wretch treats me so kindly that I love him more and more