The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa

Author:Giuseppe Di Lampedusa
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-05-03T17:10:04.833811+00:00

The Piedmontese, representative of the only liberal State in Italy, rose to the bait. "But, Prince, the Senate is the High Chamber of the Kingdom! In it the flower of Italy's politicians, chosen by the wisdom of the Sovereign, will examine, discuss, approve, or disapprove the laws proposed by the Government for the progress of the country; it functions at the same time as spur and as brake: it incites good actions and prevents bad ones. When you have accepted a seat in it, you will represent Sicily on an equality with the other elected Deputies, you will make us hear the voice of this lovely country which is only now coming into sight of the modern world, with so many wounds to heal, so many just desires to be granted." Chevalley would perhaps have continued for some time in this vein if Bendico, from behind the door, had not asked "the wisdom of his Sovereign" to admit him. Don Fabrizio made as if to get to his feet and open the door, but slowly enough to allow the Piedmontese time to open it himself; Bendic6 meticulously sniffed around Chevalley's trousers, after which, having decided this was a good man, the dog lay down under the window and slept.

"Just listen to me, Chevalley, will you? If it were merely a question of some honor, a simple title to put on a visiting card, no more, I should be pleased to accept; I feel that at this decisive moment for the future of the Italian State it is the duty of us all to support it, and to avoid any impression of disunity in the eyes of those foreign States which are watching us with alarm or with hope, both of which will be shown unjustified but which do at the moment exist."

"Well, then, Prince, why not accept?"

"Be patient now, Chevalley, I'll explain in a moment; we Sicilians have become accustomed, by a long, a very long hegemony of rulers who were not of our religion and who did not speak our language, to split hairs. If we had not done so we'd never have coped with Byzantine tax gatherers, with Berber Emirs, with Spanish Viceroys. Now the bent is endemic, we're made like that. I said 'support,' I did not say 'participate.' In these last six months, since your Garibaldi set foot at Marsala, too many things have been done without our being consulted for you to be able now to ask a member of the old governing class to help develop things and carry them through. I do not wish to discuss now whether what was done was done well or badly; for my part I believe it to have been done very badly i but I'd like to tell you at once what you'll understand only after spending a year among us.

"In Sicily it doesn't matter whether things are done well or done badly; the sin which we Sicilians never forgive is simply that of

'doing' at all. We are old, Chevalley, very old.

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