Being sent by Rome to Sicily to exercise my duties as quaestor has
parted me from you my dear friend and this is a very cruel separation for
me. I want to try to forget that for a moment by giving you an account of
what has been happening to me these days in my new residence at Syracuse;
I think the account will be of interest to you and might inspire in you
some salutary reflections.
You know of my admiration for genius and that upon my arrival in a
country I like to see the places there that were frequented by some great
man. It will not surprise you then when I tell you that on my installation
in this beautiful province of Sicily, I conceived a passionate desire to
go and visit the tomb of Archimedes. It would be a great joy to find
myself in the presence of that illustrious scholar who held in check the
forces of the republic for three years, having no other resources than
those of his remarkable genius. You know moreover my line of conduct as
regards the subjects or the provincials that I am charged with
administrating. I consider it as a duty, so far as I can, to make them
love Rome and its government. That, in my opinion, is the best means of
rendering this almost universal domination more pleasant for the
vanquished and consequently more lasting for the victors. My scheme would
reconcile these politics with my personal aspirations and I considered it
would provide no small pleasure to the Sicilians by honouring their
greatest countryman, who was also their best citizen and their greatest
defender. Imagine my surprise when after asking the way to the tomb from
several Syracusians, that they were completely ignorant of it. But I did
not let myself be discouraged; excited by the very difficulty of the
quest, I resolved that I would rediscover this forgotten monument. I took
with me the principal inhabitants of the country and we set off to a part
of the town where it was their custom to bury their dead; it was a
difficult journey. The tombstones were overgrown with brambles and almost
all of them overturned; the obliterated inscriptions were no help in our
quest. Just as I was examining these ruins closely I noticed a small
pillar on which were carved a sphere and a cylinder. Delighted at this
discovery and quite certain that it was the monument to Archimedes I
approached it with emotion and managed to decipher the two verses that I
knew had been set on it. You can well imagine that I did not leave the
tomb in that sorry state. But while having it repaired with the greatest
care, I was very mindful not to change any of its simplicity. I added
nothing to the modest yet eloquent symbol that I had uncovered.
However despite the satisfaction of having fulfilled this pious duty on
behalf of such a great man's mortal remains, I was left with some very sad
thoughts on this adventure and I felt painfully moved when I thought of
the profound oblivion in which Archimedes had been left by these citizens:
"Is this then", I said to myself, "one of the consequences of servitude.
And is it not the subjection to which these people have been reduced that
makes them lose all memory of their glories and abandon the cult of their
geniuses; when men have no care over their interests, when they no longer
know liberty, does not the nobility of their name change to the point of
making them forget what is most dear to them and what makes them great."
And making an involuntary return to Rome, and not without sadness, I told
myself that every fresh conquest that serves to increase our dominion is
at a cost to humanity of several thousand members that make it up. In any
case there are those men, degraded beings who no longer care about the
religion that is the most sacred of all, the religion of patriotism.
Behold, my dear Atticus, such were my thoughts, I would be very interested
to hear yours on the subject, they must be the same; but what matter! It
is by examining more deeply the laws that govern human nature that we find
our consolation for life, its bitterness and its failings.
Adieu.
School composition c. 1884. BNF NAF 16611.
Updated 02.03.19