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The duty of periodical essayists to castigate the follies of the time is graphically represented in the frontispiece to the second volume, where Apollo, seated on some substantial clouds and holding in his hand "The Female Spectator," despatches a flying Mercury, who in spite of the efforts of two beaux with drawn swords and a belle in déshabillé, chastises a female figure of Luxuria lolling in a chariot pulled by one inadequate grasshopper.
That such items should figure in her domestic accounts, seemed to Miss Joliffe so great a violation of the rules which govern prudent housekeeping, that all the urgency of the situation was needed to free her conscience from the guilt of extravagance from that luxuria or wantonness, which leads the van among the seven deadly sins.
No traveller comes back from Germany without a tale of woe. Savior armis Luxuria incubuit, victamque ulciscitur Galliam.
Luxuria was the desire to augment personal conveniences, luxuries, pleasures the same passion that stirs Europe and America to-day from top to bottom, in city and country.
There is another neatly-built and pleasantly situated town, called Luxuria, about three miles from Guardiana. If we thought Cephalonia interesting, Zante, the next place at which we touched, was far more so. Its citadel occupies a lofty hill, situated at the head of a deep bay.
There is no doubt that the Latin writers, particularly Horace and Livy, were so severe in condemning this progressive movement of wants because of unconscious political solicitude, because intellectual men expressed the opinions, sentiments, and also the prejudices of historic aristocracy, and this detested the progress of ambitio, avaritia, luxuria, because they undermined the dominance of its class.
Such critics have not reflected that this conception is found, not only in the literature, but also in the politics and the legislation; that Roman history is full, not only of invectives in prose and verse, but of laws and administrative provisions against luxuria, ambitio, avaritia a sign that these laments were not merely a foolishness of writers, or, as we say to-day, stuff for newspaper articles.
The Romans by this means erected their colonies; for, perceiving their city to grow immeasurably populous, they eased it of the most unnecessary people, and sent them to inhabit and cultivate the lands conquered by them; sometimes also they purposely maintained wars with some of their enemies, not only to keep their own men in action, for fear lest idleness, the mother of corruption, should bring upon them some worse inconvenience: "Et patimur longae pacis mala; saevior armis Luxuria incumbit."
Suffice it to add here that Dafne's suggestion, that modesty is commonly but a veil for lust, is nothing more than the cynical expression of the attitude adopted throughout the play. Love is no ideal and idealizing emotion, but a mere gratification of the senses a luxuria scarcely distinguishable from gula. Ignorance can alone explain an attitude of indifference towards its pleasures.
The "Accidia" is noticeable as having the inscription complete, "ACCIDIA ME STRINGIT;" and the "Luxuria" for its utter want of expression, having a severe and calm face, a robe up to the neck, and her hand upon her breast. THIRTY-FIRST CAPITAL. Copied from the eighth.
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