t a concern
on the part of the dead for the well-being of the living made known by
exhortation and admonition, and let this commiseration and concern
pervade and brood over the whole, so that what was peculiar to the
individual shall still be subordinate to a sense of what he had in
common with the species, our notion of a perfect epitaph would then be
realized; and it pleases me to say that this is the very model upon
which those of Chiabrera are for the most part framed. Observe how
exquisitely this is exemplified in the one beginning 'Pause, courteous
stranger! Balbi supplicates,' given in the _Friend_ some weeks ago. The
subject of the epitaph is introduced intreating, not directly in his own
person but through the mouth of the author, that according to the
religious belief of his country a prayer for his soul might be preferred
to the Redeemer of the world: placed in counterpoize with this right
which he has in common with all the dead, his individual earthly
accomplishments appear light to his funeral Biographer as they did to
the person of whom he speaks when alive, nor could Chiabrera have
ventured to touch upon them but under the sanction of this person's
acknowledgment. He then goes on to say how various and profound was his
learning, and how deep a hold it took upon his affections, but that he
weaned himself from these things as vanities, and was devoted in later
life exclusively to the divine truths of the Gospel as the only
knowledge in which he could find perfect rest. Here we are thrown back
upon the introductory supplication and made to feel its especial
propriety in this case; his life was long, and every part of it bore
appropriate fruits. Urbina his birth-place might be proud of him, and
the passenger who was entreated to pray for his soul has a wish breathed
for his welfare. This composition is a perfect whole, there is nothing
arbitrary or mechanical, but it is an organized body, of which the
members are bound together by a common life and are all justly
proportioned. If I had not gone so much into detail I should have given
further instances of Chiabrera's Epitaphs, but I must content myself
with saying that if he had abstained from the introduction of heathen
mythology, of which he is lavish--an inexcusable fault for an inhabitant
of a Christian country, yet admitting of some palliation in an Italian
who treads classic soil and has before his eyes the ruins of the temples
which were dedicated to th