Tour to the Sepulchres of Etruria, in 1839

Description

Literature Books

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1843. Excerpt: ... TOUR TO THE SEPULCHRES OF ETRURIA IN 1839. CHAPTER I, INTRODUCTION. It has been suggested to me, that if I wish to interest the reading public in the contents of this work, I ought first to write an introduction to the Sepulchres of Etruria before describing the sepulchres themselves, on account of the very little which is as yet known in England upon the subject, and the inducements that exist to visit Etruscan remains. 1 have been desired to state our reasons for making this tour, and why we thought or expected such and such things at such particular places; and what other people may look for and hope to find at the same; and I the more readily comply with this suggestion, because no one has felt more acutely than myself the pain of going through a museum, or visiting a ruin, wholly ignorant of its objects and history, with an uncommunicative and learned person, or with a party of the initiated w ho talk to one another in a sort of free masonry, and who, even when most willing to instruct, generally suppose a vast deal of previous knowledge in the person they address--hence they refer to manners and customs of which you have never heard, prove a variety of things of which you never even suspected the existence, and use terms that convey to your mind no idea. You are accordingly obliged to admire what appears extremely ugly, to ascribe all sorts of value and merit to half-broken, tarnished, hideous things, which in your secret soul you think would have been far better thrown away, and to pretend to instruction which you never had even the opportunity ot acquiring. In short, your anticipated great pleasure proves really a great bore, whilst you are ashamed to own almost to yourself that it is so, and would willingly store your mind with the information th...

Author: Gray, Elizabeth Caroline Johnstone
Binding: TP
Desirability: 1
Publisher: General Books
Subject: General