Hellenic than to any other ^di vision o | the same great family
of nations. Yet in the language of this Italian race words and
grammatical forms are preserved which are not extantin Greek,
and. 1 are discoverable in the idioms o f the more eastern as
well as in those of the northern and western nations ofHhis
stock. We may perhaps infer that.the old Italian language
as well as the people were derived not immediately fromGreeee,
but from the common source of. the wholeTndo-European race.
Wo might term the nations above mentioned priinitive inhabitants
of-Italy. Other nations may he considered as-colonists
» *or “ ad venae,” since we have distinct* notices of their
arrival from transalpine countries or from lands beyond, th§
seav The ftrsLare the Pëlasgi, who came into Umbria pn the
side of the Adriatic; the second are the Rasena or Tuscans,
whose origin is a problem yet unsolved -} the third sire. the
Gauls^^fo within: the historic age occupied 'thé f€öun'try, ;of
which they dispossessed the Tuscans, as_the Tuscans had,dispossessed
the Umbri, and from parts of which the Umbri are
said to have previously expelled the Siculi. As borderers on
Italy rather than its proper inhabitants we may reckon the
Libumians, as well as the Ligurians, who entered Italy with
the Gauls, and occnpfed the mountainous countries between
the sources of the Araus and the Po.*
All these races, however diverse in origin, have become one
nation, having a physical and moral character-of theij? own.
This is striking evén in the country which was formerl^Gisal-
pine Gaul. No European nations* are more unlike to each
other than are the Milanese and the people o f the Alpine border
of Italy. But for a long time after their conquest; by the
Romans the different Italian nations appear to have retained
their characteristic peculiarities.
Section ' the Physical Characters of the Italians
The geographical circumstances of Italy, as a part of the
European continent, seem to have prepared that qountry to
* I have not mentioned the Greeircolonies, as they appear to have contributed
but little jte the mass o f population.
be the abode* of peculiar people, destined'to partake at an
early period/<©fjwhatever* mental cu ltu re existed among the
natjorîs .the Mediterranean coasts,, and to advance in arts and
i sation f Ion gabbier,et th e trib.es who inhabited the less aeees-
# l e i parts of .Europe,imthe, s.oljd,,?mas$>Q.f the continent. The
chainspf. th^^pen.ij.inevhy which* Italy is supported* stretches
out like1.a;'.g5^ t JpromO'n,^yrfirQm,,,nofth‘to' south intoitlie basin
of jihe-Moditêrraneau. ^.Th'ey Alpme barrier which is spread
rpund the rçc>qh.,of ;thfe pfgunontory .in a - vast curve or sweep
froj»$4§jfc$&.west,ïlifcefttfeafc.formed on a -greater'scale by the
'mountain-chains which. $epàra#e' éW Indian'peninsula from
•pprsiq, an d Central <A;sia-,, cuts off in like manner Italy from
Fî/anee-andjGerm.ainy,'and the Slavonian provinces of Austria.
A traveller who^hould pass from Tibet over the Himalaya
into ’^hjevplainsj of. BinffuSitan, or one who ^should enter the
P a riah from Kah'uh after traversingihe mountains of Soliman
and thQ.riyer Indus, would find himself at suqcgpn a new world,
w,h.e|ej,alli the productions s.of animal -and avegafalile nature
display a^different. character, and even the* trihes^of men a
new A* corresponding .change^ thougfemot to so great
ani e'xtont, is, perceived by those who pass over the Alpine
barrier Into- Italy. Innthe stature,features and complexion,
in the dress, the gesture, manners,, and whole ;eixternal appear-'
anoê.Qf people,.Aheplains of Lombardy present a .Striking
contrast with the Valais and other .countries of thesamë Alpine
border. Instead, *of the uncouth features, round dr angular
countenances, sandy hair,-coarsefcomplexion, and ill-set but
often stout and muscular, bodies which are frequent in the
high .country,,we discover,: even among the northern Italians,
an elegant,; ligjit ,and graceful form, a taller and more slender
stature, features move elevatedcapd. finely shaped* With a moi©
intellectual and at the same, time more lively expression, and
the darker complexion with blacker eyes and hair which characterise,
all the natives of the south of Europe. The climate
and local conditions o|‘>.Sou them Italy differ much less from
those-of the North than do the physical circumstances of the
northern- parts of that peninsula from those of the nearest
ultra-montane countries, and most Italians have a general -resemblance
among themselves. We possess, indeed,/but very