Piozzi earned by her connexion with
literary men."
In 1784 they hanged for crimes which we should think adequately
punished by a short imprisonment; as they hooted and libelled for
transgressions or errors which, whatever their treatment by a portion
of our society, would certainly not provoke the thunders of our
press. I think (though I made no assertion of the kind) that the
world has grown wiser; and the reviewer admits as much when he says
that his supposititious widow "may escape the ungenerous public
attacks which poor Mrs. Piozzi earned by her connexion with literary
men." But where do I recommend unequal marriages, or dispute the
claims of birth and fashion, or maintain that a fiddler should be
rated higher than a duke without accomplishments, and a carpenter
_far_ higher than either? All this is utterly beside the purpose; and
surely there is nothing reprehensible in the suggestion that, before
harshly reproving another, we should do our best to test the justice
of the reproof by trying to make the case our own. Goethe proposed to
extend the self-same rule to criticism. One of his favourite canons
was that a critic should always endeavour to place himself
temporarily in the author's point of view. If the reviewer had done
so, he might have avoided several material misapprehensions and
misstatements, which it is difficult to reconcile with the friendly
tone of the article or the known ability of the writer.
Envy at Piozzi's good fortune sharpened the animosity of assailants
like Baretti, and the loss of a pleasant house may have had a good
deal to do with the sorrowing indignation of her set.
Pages:
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234