I suppose it is hardly necessary, "in this age of enlightenment" (as people used to say in the last century), to insist any longer upon the obvious fact that conquest and absorption do not in any way mean extermination9. Most people still vaguely10 fancy to themselves, to be sure, that, when Rome conquered and absorbed Etruria, the ancient Etruscan ceased at once to exist—was swallowed, as it were, and became forthwith, in some mysterious way, first a Roman, and then a modern Italian. And, in a certain sense, this is, no doubt, more or less true; but that sense is decidedly not the genealogical one. Manners change, but blood persists. The Tuscan people went on living and marrying under consul12 and emperor just as they had done under lar and lucumo; Latin and Gaul, Lombard and Goth, mingled13 with them in time, but did not efface14 them; and I do not doubt that the vast mass of the population of Tuscany at the present day is still of preponderatingly Etruscan blood, though qualified15, of course (and perhaps improved), by many Italic, Celtic, and Teutonic elements.
Again, when we remember that Florence, Pisa, Siena, Perugia are all practically in Tuscany, and that Florence alone has really given to the world Dante and Boccaccio, Galileo and Savonarola, Cimabue and Giotto, Botticelli and Fra Angelico, Donatello and Ghiberti, Michael Angelo and Raffael, Leonardo da Vinci and Macchiavelli and Alfieri, and a host of other almost equally great names, it will be obvious to every one that the problem of the origin of this Tuscan nationality must be one that profoundly interests the whole world. Nay16, more, we must remember, too, that Etruria had other and earlier claims than these; that it spread up to the very walls of Rome; that the Etruscan element in Rome itself was immensely strong; that the Roman religion owed, confessedly, much to Tuscan ideas; that Latin Christianity, the Christianity of all the Western world, took its shape in semi-Tuscan Rome; that the Roman Empire was largely modelled by the Etruscan M?cenas; that the Italian renaissance17 was largely influenced by the Florentine Medici; that Leo the Tenth was himself a member of that great house; and that the artists whom he summoned to the metropolis18 to erect19 St. Peter's and to beautify the Vatican were, almost all of them, Florentines by birth, training, or domicile. I think, when we have run over mentally these and ten thousand other like facts, we will readily admit to ourselves the magnitude of the world's debt to Tuscany—social, artistic20, intellectual, religious—both in ancient, medi?val, and modern times.
And what, now, was this strong Tuscan nationality, which persists so thoroughly21 through all external historical changes, and which has contributed so large and so marvellous a part to the world's thought and the world's culture? It is a curious consideration for those who talk so glibly22, about the enormous natural superiority of the Aryan race, that the ancient Etruscans were the one people of the antique European world, who, by common consent, did not belong to the Aryan family. They were strangers in the land, or, rather, perhaps they were its oldest possessors. Their language, their physique, their creed23, their art, all point to a wholly different origin from the Aryans. I am not going, in a brief essay like this, to settle dogmatically, off-hand, the vexed24 question of the origin and affinities25 of the Etruscan type; more nonsense, I suppose, has been talked and written upon that occult subject by learned men than even learned men have ever poured forth11 upon any other sublunary topic; but one thing at least, I take it, is absolutely certain amid the conflicting theories of ingenious theorists about the Etruscan race, and that one thing is that the Rasenn? stand in Europe absolutely alone, the sole representatives of some ancient and elsewhere exterminated26 stock, surviving only in Tuscany itself, and in the Rh?tian Alps of the Canton Grisons.
At the moment when the Etruscans first appear in history, however, they appear as a race capable of acquiring and assimilating culture with great ease, rapidity, and certainty. No sooner do they come into contact with the Greek world than they absorb and reproduce all that was best and truest in Greek civilization. 'Merely receptive—European Chinese,' says, in effect, Mommsen, the great Roman historian: to me, that judgment27, though true in some small degree, seems harsh indeed on a wider view, when applied28 to a people who begot29 at last the 'Divina Commedia,' the campanile of Florence, the dome30 of St. Peter's, and the glories of the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. It is quite true that the Etruscans themselves, like the Japanese in our own time, did at first accept most imitatively the Hellenic culture; but they gradually remoulded it by their own effort into something new, growing and changing from age to age, until at last, in the Italian renaissance, they burst out with a wonderful and novel message to all the rest of dormant31 Europe.
One of the most persistent32 key-notes of this underlying33 Etruscan character is the solemn, weird34, and gloomy nature of so much of the true Etruscan workmanship. From the very beginning they are strong, but sullen35. Solidity and power, rather than beauty and grace, are what they aim at; and in this, Michael Angelo was a true Tuscan. If we look at the massive old Etruscan buildings, the Cyclopean walls of F?sul? and Volterr?, with their gigantic unhewn blocks, or the gloomy tombs of Clusium, with their heavy portals, and then at the frowning fa?ade of the Strozzi or the Pitti Palace, we shall see in these, their earliest and latest terms, the special marks of Tuscan architecture. 'Piled by the hands of giants for mighty36 kings of old,' says Macaulay, well, of the Cyclopean walls. 'It somewhat resembles a prison or castle, and is remarkable37 for its bold simplicity38 of style, the unadorned huge blocks of stone being hewn smooth at the joints39 only,' says a modern writer, of Brunelleschi's palatial40 masterpiece. Every visitor to Florence must have noticed on every side the marks of this sullen and rugged41 Etruscan character. Compare for a moment the dark bosses of the Palazzo Strozzi, the 'apre énergie' of the Palazzo Vecchio, the 'beauté sombre et sévère' of the medi?val Bargello, with the open, airy brightness of the Doge's Palace, or the glorious Byzantine gold-and-blue of St. Mark's at Venice, and you get at once an admirable measure of this persistent trait in the Etruscan idiosyncrasy. Tuscan architecture is massive and morose42 where Venetian architecture is sunny and smiling.
Now, Tuscan religion has in all times been specially43 influenced by the peculiarly gloomy tinge44 of the Tuscan character. It has always been a religion of fear rather than of love; a religion that strove harder to terrorize than to attract; a religion full of devils, flames, tortures, and horrors; in short, a sort of horrible Chinese religion of dragons and monstrosities, and flames and goblins. In the painted tombs of ancient Etruria you may see the familiar devil with his three-pronged fork thrusting souls back into the seething45 flood of a heathen hell, as Orcagna's here thrust them back similarly into that of its more modern Christian7 successor. All Etruscan art is full throughout of such horrors. You find their traces abundantly in the antique Etruscan museum at Florence; you find them on the medi?val Campo Santo at Pisa; you find them with greater skill, but equal repulsiveness46, in the work of the great Renaissance artists. The 'ghastly glories of saints' the Tuscan revels47 in. The most famous portion of the most famous Tuscan poem is the 'Inferno'—the part that gloats with minute and truly Tuscan realism over the torments48 of the damned in every department of the medi?val hell. And, as if still further to mark the continuity of thought, here in Orcagna's frescoes49 at Santa Maria Novella you have every horror of the heathen religion incongruously mingled with every horror of the Christian—gorgons and harpies and chim?ras dire50 are tormenting51 the wicked under the eyes of the Madonna; centaurs52 are shooting and prodding53 them before the God of Love from the torrid banks of fiery54 lakes; furies with snaky heads are directing their punishments; Minos and ?acus are superintending their tasks; and, in the centre of all, a huge Moloch demon2 is devouring55 them bodily in his fiery jaws56, with hideous57 tusks58 as of a Japanese monster.
It would be a curious question to inquire how far these old and ingrained Etruscan ideas may have helped to modify and colour the gentler conceptions of primitive59 Christianity. Certainly, one must never for a moment forget that Rome was at bottom nearly one-half Etruscan in character; that during the imperial period it became, in fact, the capital of Etruria; that myriads60 of Etruscans flocked to Rome; and that many of them, like Sejanus, had much to do with moulding and building up the imperial system. I do not doubt, myself, that Etruscan notions large interwove themselves, from the very outset, with Roman Christianity; and whenever in the churches or galleries of Italy I see St. Lawrence frying on his gridiron, or St. Sebastian pierced through with many arrows, or the Innocents being massacred in unpleasant detail, or hell being represented with Dantesque minuteness and particularity of delineation61, I say to myself, with an internal smile, 'Etruscan influence.'
How interesting it is, too, to observe the constant outcrop, under all forms and faiths, of this strange, underlying, non-Aryan type! The Etruscans are and always were remarkable for their intellect, their ingenuity62, their artistic faculty63; and even to this day, after so many vicissitudes64, they stand out as a wholly superior people to the rough Genoese and the indolent Neapolitans. They have had many crosses of blood meanwhile, of course; and it seems probable that the crosses have done them good: for in ancient times it was Rome, the Etrurianised border city of the Latins, that rose to greatness, not Etruria itself; and at a later date, it was after the Germans had mingled their race with Italy that Florence almost took the place of Rome. Nay, it is known as a fact that under Otto the Great a large Teutonic colony settled in Florence, thus adding to the native Etrurian race (especially to the nobility) that other element which the Tuscan seems to need in order that he may be spurred to the realisation of his best characteristics. But allow as we may for foreign admixture, two points are abundantly clear to the impartial65 observer of Tuscan history: one, that this non-Aryan race has always been one of the finest and strongest in Italy; and the other, that from the very dawn of history its main characteristics, for good or for evil, have persisted most uninterruptedly till the present day.
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1
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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frescoed
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| 壁画( fresco的名词复数 )； 温壁画技法，湿壁画 | |
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5
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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6
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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7
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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8
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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extermination
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| n.消灭，根绝 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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consul
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| n.领事；执政官 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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14
efface
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| v.擦掉，抹去 | |
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qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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renaissance
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| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
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18
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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19
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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21
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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22
glibly
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| adv.流利地，流畅地；满口 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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24
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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25
affinities
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| n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 )；亲近；（生性）喜爱；类同 | |
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26
exterminated
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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28
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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begot
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| v.为…之生父( beget的过去式 )；产生，引起 | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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31
dormant
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| adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的 | |
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32
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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33
underlying
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| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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34
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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38
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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39
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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40
palatial
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| adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的 | |
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41
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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42
morose
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| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
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43
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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44
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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45
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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46
repulsiveness
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47
revels
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| n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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48
torments
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| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
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49
frescoes
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| n.壁画( fresco的名词复数 )；温壁画技法，湿壁画 | |
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50
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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51
tormenting
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| 使痛苦的，使苦恼的 | |
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52
centaurs
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| n.（希腊神话中）半人半马怪物( centaur的名词复数 ) | |
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53
prodding
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| v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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54
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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55
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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56
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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57
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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58
tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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59
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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60
myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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61
delineation
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| n.记述；描写 | |
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62
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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63
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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64
vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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65
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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