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III. GROTESQUE RENAISSANCE. 163
of the day consisting in the decapitation of these representatives, and a distribution of their joints among the senators;
together with a symbolic record of the attack upon Aquileia,
by the erection of a wooden castle in the rooms of the Ducal
Palace, which the Doge and the Senate attacked and demolished with clubs. As long as the Doge and the Senate were
truly kingly and noblev they were content to let this ceremony
be continued; but when they became proud and selfish, and
were destroying both themselves and the state by their luxury,
they found it inconsistent with their dignity, and it was abolished, as far as the Senate was concerned, in 1549.*
§ lxxv. By these and other similar manifestations, the grotesque spirit is traceable through all the strength of the Yenetian people. But again: it is necessary that we should carefully
distinguish between it and the spirit of mere levity. I said,
in the fifth chapter, that the Yenetians were distinctively a
serious people, serious, that is to say, in the sense in which the
English are. a more serious people than the French; though
the habitual intercourse of our lower classes in London has a
tone of humor in it which I believe is untraceable in that of
the Parisian populace. It is one thing to indulge in .playful
rest, and another to be devoted *to the pursuit of pleasure: and
gaiety of heart during the reaction after hard labor, and quickened by satisfaction in the accomplished duty or perfected
result, is altogether compatible with, hay," even in some sort
arises naturally out of, a deep internal seriousness of disposition ; this latter being exactly the condition of mind which,
as we have seen, leads to the richest developements of the playful grotesque ; while, on the contrary, the continual pursuit of
pleasure deprives the soul of all alacrity and elasticity, and
leaves it incapable of happy jesting, capable only of that which
is bitter, base, and foolish. Thus, throughout the whole of the
early career of the Yenetians, though there is much jesting,
there is no levity; on the contrary there is an intense earnestness both in their pursuit of commercial and political successes,
* The decree is quoted by Mutinelli, lib. i. p. 46.
| Title | The stones of Venice - 3 |
| Creator | Ruskin, John |
| Publisher | J. Wiley |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1889 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000179 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | III. GROTESQUE RENAISSANCE. 163 of the day consisting in the decapitation of these representatives, and a distribution of their joints among the senators; together with a symbolic record of the attack upon Aquileia, by the erection of a wooden castle in the rooms of the Ducal Palace, which the Doge and the Senate attacked and demolished with clubs. As long as the Doge and the Senate were truly kingly and noblev they were content to let this ceremony be continued; but when they became proud and selfish, and were destroying both themselves and the state by their luxury, they found it inconsistent with their dignity, and it was abolished, as far as the Senate was concerned, in 1549.* § lxxv. By these and other similar manifestations, the grotesque spirit is traceable through all the strength of the Yenetian people. But again: it is necessary that we should carefully distinguish between it and the spirit of mere levity. I said, in the fifth chapter, that the Yenetians were distinctively a serious people, serious, that is to say, in the sense in which the English are. a more serious people than the French; though the habitual intercourse of our lower classes in London has a tone of humor in it which I believe is untraceable in that of the Parisian populace. It is one thing to indulge in .playful rest, and another to be devoted *to the pursuit of pleasure: and gaiety of heart during the reaction after hard labor, and quickened by satisfaction in the accomplished duty or perfected result, is altogether compatible with, hay," even in some sort arises naturally out of, a deep internal seriousness of disposition ; this latter being exactly the condition of mind which, as we have seen, leads to the richest developements of the playful grotesque ; while, on the contrary, the continual pursuit of pleasure deprives the soul of all alacrity and elasticity, and leaves it incapable of happy jesting, capable only of that which is bitter, base, and foolish. Thus, throughout the whole of the early career of the Yenetians, though there is much jesting, there is no levity; on the contrary there is an intense earnestness both in their pursuit of commercial and political successes, * The decree is quoted by Mutinelli, lib. i. p. 46. |
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