Web Penetration Testing with Kali Linux A

practical guide to implementing penetration

testing strategies on websites web application
and standard web protocols with Kali Linux 1st
Edition Joseph Muniz download
https://ebookultra.com/download/web-penetration-testing-with-
kali-linux-a-practical-guide-to-implementing-penetration-testing-
strategies-on-websites-web-application-and-standard-web-
protocols-with-kali-linux-1st-edition-joseph-muniz/

Explore and download more ebooks or textbooks

at ebookultra.com
Here are some recommended products for you. Click the link to
download, or explore more at ebookultra.com

Web Penetration Testing with Kali Linux Third Edition

Gilberto Najera-Gutierrez

https://ebookultra.com/download/web-penetration-testing-with-kali-
linux-third-edition-gilberto-najera-gutierrez/

Web Penetration Testing with Kali Linux 2nd Edition Build

your defense against web attacks with Kali Linux 2 0 Juned
Ahmed Ansari
https://ebookultra.com/download/web-penetration-testing-with-kali-
linux-2nd-edition-build-your-defense-against-web-attacks-with-kali-
linux-2-0-juned-ahmed-ansari/

Kali Linux 2 Assuring Security by Penetration Testing 3rd

Edition 2016 Gerard Johansen

https://ebookultra.com/download/kali-linux-2-assuring-security-by-
penetration-testing-3rd-edition-2016-gerard-johansen/

Penetration Testing with Perl 1st Edition Berdeaux

https://ebookultra.com/download/penetration-testing-with-perl-1st-
edition-berdeaux/
Penetration Testing with Raspberry Pi Second Edition
Michael Mcphee

https://ebookultra.com/download/penetration-testing-with-raspberry-pi-
second-edition-michael-mcphee/

Web Application Development with R Using Shiny Beeley

https://ebookultra.com/download/web-application-development-with-r-
using-shiny-beeley/

Testing Web Security Assessing the Security of Web Sites

and Applications 1st Edition Steven Splaine

https://ebookultra.com/download/testing-web-security-assessing-the-
security-of-web-sites-and-applications-1st-edition-steven-splaine/

Linux Apache Web Server Administration 2nd Edition Charles

Aulds

https://ebookultra.com/download/linux-apache-web-server-
administration-2nd-edition-charles-aulds/

Performance Testing Guidance for Web Applications 1st

Edition Microsoft Corporation

https://ebookultra.com/download/performance-testing-guidance-for-web-
applications-1st-edition-microsoft-corporation/
Web Penetration Testing with Kali Linux A practical
guide to implementing penetration testing strategies on
websites web application and standard web protocols
with Kali Linux 1st Edition Joseph Muniz Digital Instant
Download
Author(s): Joseph Muniz, Aamir Lakhani
ISBN(s): 9781782163169, 1782163166
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 20.21 MB
Year: 2013
Language: english
www.it-ebooks.info
Web Penetration Testing with
Kali Linux

A practical guide to implementing penetration testing

strategies on websites, web applications, and standard
web protocols with Kali Linux.

Joseph Muniz
Aamir Lakhani

BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI

www.it-ebooks.info
Web Penetration Testing with Kali Linux

Copyright © 2013 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written
permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in
critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy
of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is
sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the authors, nor Packt
Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages
caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the
companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals.
However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: September 2013

Production Reference: 1180913

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place
35 Livery Street
Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78216-316-9

www.packtpub.com

Cover Image by Karl Moore ([email protected])

[ FM-2 ]

www.it-ebooks.info
 Credits

Authors Project Coordinator

Joseph Muniz Anugya Khurana
Aamir Lakhani
Proofreaders
Reviewers Christopher Smith
Adrian Hayter Clyde Jenkins
Danang Heriyadi
Tajinder Singh Kalsi Indexer
Monica Ajmera Mehta
Brian Sak
Kunal Sehgal
Graphics
Nitin.K. Sookun (Ish)
Ronak Dhruv

Acquisition Editor
Production Coordinator
Vinay Argekar
Aditi Gajjar

Lead Technical Editor

Cover Work
Amey Varangaonkar
Aditi Gajjar

Technical Editors
Pooja Arondekar
Sampreshita Maheshwari
Menza Mathew

[ FM-3 ]

www.it-ebooks.info
 About the Authors

Joseph Muniz is a technical solutions architect and security researcher. He started

his career in software development and later managed networks as a contracted
technical resource. Joseph moved into consulting and found a passion for security
while meeting with a variety of customers. He has been involved with the design
and implementation of multiple projects ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to
large federal networks.

Joseph runs TheSecurityBlogger.com website, a popular resources regarding

security and product implementation. You can also find Joseph speaking at live events
as well as involved with other publications. Recent events include speaker for Social
Media Deception at the 2013 ASIS International conference, speaker for Eliminate
Network Blind Spots with Data Center Security webinar, speaker for Making Bring
Your Own Device (BYOD) Work at the Government Solutions Forum, Washington
DC, and an article on Compromising Passwords in PenTest Magazine - Backtrack
Compendium, July 2013.

Outside of work, he can be found behind turntables scratching classic vinyl or on

the soccer pitch hacking away at the local club teams.

This book could not have been done without the support of my
charming wife Ning and creative inspirations from my daughter
Raylin. I also must credit my passion for learning to my brother
Alex, who raised me along with my loving parents Irene and Ray.
And I would like to give a final thank you to all of my friends,
family, and colleagues who have supported me over the years.

[ FM-4 ]

www.it-ebooks.info
Aamir Lakhani is a leading Cyber Security and Cyber Counterintelligence
architect. He is responsible for providing IT security solutions to major commercial
and federal enterprise organizations.

Lakhani leads projects that implement security postures for Fortune 500 companies,
the US Department of Defense, major healthcare providers, educational institutions,
and financial and media organizations. Lakhani has designed offensive counter
defense measures for defense and intelligence agencies, and has assisted organizations
in defending themselves from active strike back attacks perpetrated by underground
cyber groups. Lakhani is considered an industry leader in support of detailed
architectural engagements and projects on topics related to cyber defense, mobile
application threats, malware, and Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) research, and
Dark Security. Lakhani is the author and contributor of several books, and has
appeared on National Public Radio as an expert on Cyber Security.

Writing under the pseudonym Dr. Chaos, Lakhani also operates the DrChaos.com
blog. In their recent list of 46 Federal Technology Experts to Follow on Twitter, Forbes
magazine described Aamir Lakhani as "a blogger, infosec specialist, superhero..., and
all around good guy."

I would like to dedicate this book to my parents, Mahmood and

Nasreen, and sisters, Noureen and Zahra. Thank you for always
encouraging the little hacker in me. I could not have done this without
your support. Thank you mom and dad for your sacrifices. I would
also additionally like to thank my friends and colleagues for your
countless encouragement and mentorship. I am truly blessed to be
working with the smartest and most dedicated people in the world.

[ FM-5 ]

www.it-ebooks.info
 About the Reviewers

Adrian Hayter is a penetration tester with over 10 years of experience developing

and breaking into web applications. He holds an M.Sc. degree in Information Security
and a B.Sc. degree in Computer Science from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Danang Heriyadi is an Indonesian computer security researcher specialized

in reverse engineering and software exploitation with more than five years hands
on experience.

He is currently working at Hatsecure as an Instructor for "Advanced Exploit and

ShellCode Development". As a researcher, he loves to share IT Security knowledge
in his blog at FuzzerByte (http://www.fuzzerbyte.com).

I would like to thank my parents for giving me life, without them, I

wouldn't be here today, my girlfriend for supporting me every day
with smile and love, my friends, whom I can't describe one-by-one.

[ FM-6 ]

www.it-ebooks.info
Tajinder Singh Kalsi is the co-founder and Chief Technical Evangelist at Virscent
Technologies Pvt Ltd with more than six years of working experience in the field of
IT. He commenced his career with WIPRO as a Technical Associate, and later became
an IT Consultant cum Trainer. As of now, he conducts seminars in colleges all across
India, on topics, such as information security, Android application development,
website development, and cloud computing, and has covered more than 100 colleges
and nearly 8500 plus students till now. Apart from training, he also maintains a blog
(www.virscent.com/blog), which pounds into various hacking tricks. Catch him
on facebook at—www.facebook.com/tajinder.kalsi.tj or follow his
website—www.tajinderkalsi.com.

I would specially like to thank Krunal Rajawadha (Author

Relationship Executive at Packt Publishing) for coming across me
through my blog and offering me this opportunity. I would also like
to thank my family and close friends for supporting me while I was
working on this project.

Brian Sak, CCIE #14441, is currently a Technical Solutions Architect at Cisco

Systems, where he is engaged in solutions development and helps Cisco partners
build and improve their consulting services. Prior to Cisco, Brian performed security
consulting and assessment services for large financial institutions, US government
agencies, and enterprises in the Fortune 500. He has nearly 20 years of industry
experience with the majority of that spent in Information Security. In addition to
numerous technical security and industry certifications, Brian has a Master's degree
in Information Security and Assurance, and is a contributor to The Center for
Internet Security and other security-focused books and publications.

[ FM-7 ]

www.it-ebooks.info
Kunal Sehgal (KunSeh.com) got into the IT Security industry after completing
the Cyberspace Security course from Georgian College (Canada), and has been
associated with financial organizations since. This has not only given him
experience at a place where security is crucial, but has also provided him with
valuable expertise in the field.

Currently, he heads is heading IT Security operations, for the APAC Region of one
of the largest European banks. Overall, he has about 10 years of experience in diverse
functions ranging from vulnerability assessment, to security governance and from
risk assessment to security monitoring. He holds a number of certifications to his
name, including Backtrack's very own OSCP, and others, such as TCNA, CISM,
CCSK, Security+, Cisco Router Security, ISO 27001 LA, ITIL.

Nitin Sookun (MBCS) is a passionate computer geek residing in the heart of

Indian ocean on the beautiful island of Mauritius. He started his computing career
as an entrepreneur and founded Indra Co. Ltd. In the quest for more challenge, he
handed management of the business over to his family and joined Linkbynet Indian
Ocean Ltd as a Unix/Linux System Engineer. He is currently an engineer at Orange
Business Services.

Nitin has been an openSUSE Advocate since 2009 and spends his free time
evangelizing Linux and FOSS. He is an active member of various user groups
and open source projects, among them openSUSE Project, MATE Desktop Project,
Free Software Foundation, Linux User Group of Mauritius, and the Mauritius
Software Craftsmanship Community.

He enjoys scripting in Bash, Perl, and Python, and usually publishes his work on
his blog. His latest work "Project Evil Genius" is a script adapted to port/install
Penetration Testing tools on openSUSE. His tutorials are often translated to various
languages and shared within the open source community. Nitin is a free thinker
and believes in sharing knowledge. He enjoys socializing with professionals from
various fields.

[ FM-8 ]

www.it-ebooks.info
 www.PacktPub.com

Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more

You might want to visit www.PacktPub.com for support files and downloads related
to your book.

Did you know that Packt offers eBook versions of every book published, with PDF
and ePub files available? You can upgrade to the eBook version at www.PacktPub.
com and as a print book customer, you are entitled to a discount on the eBook copy.
Get in touch with us at [email protected] for more details.

At www.PacktPub.com, you can also read a collection of free technical articles, sign
up for a range of free newsletters and receive exclusive discounts and offers on Packt
books and eBooks.
TM

http://PacktLib.PacktPub.com

Do you need instant solutions to your IT questions? PacktLib is Packt's online

digital book library. Here, you can access, read and search across Packt's entire
library of books.

Why Subscribe?
• Fully searchable across every book published by Packt
• Copy and paste, print and bookmark content
• On demand and accessible via web browser

Free Access for Packt account holders

If you have an account with Packt at€www.PacktPub.com, you can use this to access
PacktLib today and view nine entirely free books. Simply use your login credentials
for immediate access.

[ FM-9 ]

www.it-ebooks.info
www.it-ebooks.info
 Table of Contents
Preface 1
Chapter 1: Penetration Testing and Setup 7
Web application Penetration Testing concepts 8
Penetration Testing methodology 9
Calculating risk 14
Kali Penetration Testing concepts 17
Step 1 – Reconnaissance 17
Step 2 – Target evaluation 18
Step 3 – Exploitation 19
Step 4 – Privilege Escalation 19
Step 5 – maintaining a foothold 20
Introducing Kali Linux 21
Kali system setup 21
Running Kali Linux from external media 21
Installing Kali Linux 22
Kali Linux and VM image first run 29
Kali toolset overview 29
Summary 31
Chapter 2: Reconnaissance 33
Reconnaissance objectives 34
Initial research 34
Company website 35
Web history sources 36
Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) 39
Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) 40
Social media resources 41
Trust 41

www.it-ebooks.info
Table of Contents

Job postings 41
Location 42
Shodan 42
Google hacking 44
Google Hacking Database 45
Researching networks 48
HTTrack – clone a website 49
ICMP Reconnaissance techniques 52
DNS Reconnaissance techniques 53
DNS target identification 55
Maltego – Information Gathering graphs 57
Nmap 59
FOCA – website metadata Reconnaissance 66
Summary 72
Chapter 3: Server-side Attacks 73
Vulnerability assessment 74
Webshag 74
Skipfish 78
ProxyStrike 81
Vega 85
Owasp-Zap 89
Websploit 95
Exploitation 96
Metasploit 96
w3af 102
Exploiting e-mail systems 105
Brute-force attacks 107
Hydra 107
DirBuster 110
WebSlayer 113
Cracking passwords 119
John the Ripper 119
Man-in-the-middle 121
SSL strip 122
Starting the attack – redirection 123
Setting up port redirection using Iptables 124
Summary 127
Chapter 4: Client-side Attacks 129
Social engineering 129
Social Engineering Toolkit (SET) 130
Using SET to clone and attack 132

[ ii ]

www.it-ebooks.info
 Table of Contents

MitM Proxy 143

Host scanning 144
Host scanning with Nessus 145
Installing Nessus on Kali 145
Using Nessus 146
Obtaining and cracking user passwords 151
Windows passwords 153
Mounting Windows 154
Linux passwords 155
Kali password cracking tools 155
Johnny 156
hashcat and oclHashcat 159
samdump2 161
chntpw 161
Ophcrack 165
Crunch 168
Other tools available in Kali 170
Hash-identifier 170
dictstat 171
RainbowCrack (rcracki_mt) 172
findmyhash 173
phrasendrescher 173
CmosPwd 173
creddump 174
Summary 174
Chapter 5: Attacking Authentication 175
Attacking session management 177
Clickjacking 177
Hijacking web session cookies 178
Web session tools 179
Firefox plugins 180
Firesheep – Firefox plugin 180
Web Developer – Firefox plugin 180
Greasemonkey – Firefox plugin 181
Cookie Injector – Firefox plugin 182
Cookies Manager+ – Firefox plugin 183
Cookie Cadger 184
Wireshark 187
Hamster and Ferret 190
Man-in-the-middle attack 193
dsniff and arpspoof 193

[ iii ]

www.it-ebooks.info
Table of Contents

Ettercap 196
Driftnet 198
SQL Injection 200
sqlmap 203
Cross-site scripting (XSS) 204
Testing cross-site scripting 205
XSS cookie stealing / Authentication hijacking 206
Other tools 208
urlsnarf 208
acccheck 209
hexinject 209
Patator 210
DBPwAudit 210
Summary 210
Chapter 6: Web Attacks 211
Browser Exploitation Framework – BeEF 211
FoxyProxy – Firefox plugin 216
BURP Proxy 218
OWASP – ZAP 225
SET password harvesting 230
Fimap 234
Denial of Services (DoS) 235
THC-SSL-DOS 236
Scapy 238
Slowloris 240
Low Orbit Ion Cannon 242
Other tools 245
DNSCHEF 245
SniffJoke 246
Siege 247
Inundator 248
TCPReplay 248
Summary 249
Chapter 7: Defensive Countermeasures 251
Testing your defenses 252
Baseline security 253
STIG 254
Patch management 254
Password policies 256

[ iv ]

www.it-ebooks.info
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
feelings in the soul, and we pay homage to Christianity in tribute of
all the best works that other faiths have inspired." Oswald smiled at
this explanation. "Believe me, my Lord," continued Corinne, "there is
much sincerity among people of lively fancy. To-morrow, if you like, I
will take you to the Capitol, and I trust I have many such days in
store for you; but—when they are over—must you depart?" She
checked herself, fearing that she had said too much. "No, Corinne,"
cried Oswald, "I cannot renounce this gleam of bliss, which my
guardian angel seems to shower on me from above."

[1] A Frenchman commanded the castle of St. Angelo during the

last war; and when summoned by the Neapolitans to surrender,
replied, that he would do so when the bronze angel sheathed his
sword.
[2] These facts are found in "A history of the Italian Republics,
during the Middle Ages," by M. Simonde, of Geneva; an author of
profound sagacity, equally conscientious and energetic.
[3] "Eine Weitz zwar bist du, o Rom! doch ohne die Liebe Ware
die Welt nicht die Welt, ware denn Rom aucht nicht Rom," says
Goethe, the poet and Philosopher, of all our modern men of
letters the most remarkable for imagination.
[4] It is said that the building of St. Peter's was one of the
principal causes of the Reformation; as it cost the popes so much,
that they multiplied the sale of indulgences.

CHAPTER IV.

The next day Oswald and Corinne set forth with more confidence
and calmness. They were friends, and began to say we. Ah, how
affecting is that we, pronounced by love! What a timid, yet ardent
confession does it breathe. "We go to the Capitol, then?" said
Corinne.—"Yes, we will!" replied Oswald, and his voice told all in
those simple words; so full of gentle tenderness was his accent.
"From the top of the Capitol, such as it is now," said Corinne, "we
can clearly see the Seven Hills; we will go over them all in
succession; there is not one but teems with historical recollections."
They took what was formerly called the sacred or triumphant road.
—"Your car passed this way," said Oswald. "It did," answered
Corinne: such venerable dust might have wondered at my
presumption; but since the Roman republic, so many a guilty track
hath been imprinted on this road, that the respect it once demanded
is decreased." She led him to the stairs of the present Capitol; the
entrance to the original one was by the Forum. "I wish," she said,
"that these steps were the same which Scipio ascended; when,
repulsing calumny by glorious deeds, he went to offer thanks in the
temple for the victories he had won; but the new staircase and
Capitol were built on the ruins of the old, to receive the peaceful
magistrate who now monopolizes the high sounding title of Roman
senator, which once extorted reverence from the whole universe. We
have but names here now. Yet their classic euphony always creates
a thrill of mingled pleasure and regret. I asked a poor woman, whom
I met the other day, where she lived. 'On the Tarpeian Rock,' she
answered. These words, stripped as they are of all that once
attached to them, still exert some power over the fancy." They
stopped to observe the two basaltic lions at the foot of the stairs.[1]
They came from Egypt, whose sculptors much more faithfully
transmitted the forms of animals than that of man. The
physiognomy of these lions has all the stern tranquillity, the strength
in repose, which we find described by Dante.
"A Guisa di leon—quando si posa."
Not far from thence is a mutilated Roman statue, which the moderns
have placed there, unconscious that they thus display a striking
symbol of Rome as it is. This figure has neither head nor feet; but
the trunk and drapery that remain have still the beauty of antiquity.
At the top of the stairs are two colossal statues, thought to
represent Castor and Pollux; then come the trophies of Marius; then
the two columns which served to measure the Roman empire; lastly
the statue of Marcus Aurelius, calm and beautiful amid contending
memories. Thus the heroic age is personated by these colossal
shapes, the republic by the lions, the civil wars by Marius, and the
imperial day by Aurelius.
To the right and left of the modern Capitol two churches have been
erected, on the ruins of temples to Jupiter Feretrius and Capitolinus.
In front of the vestibule is a fountain, over which the geniuses of the
Tiber and the Nile are represented as presiding, as does the she-wolf
of Romulus. The name of the Tiber is never pronounced like that of
an inglorious stream; it is a proud pleasure for a Roman but to say,
"Come to the Tiber's banks! Let us cross the Tiber!" In breathing
such words he seems to invoke the spirit of history, and reanimate
the dead.
Going to the Capitol by the way of the Forum, you find, to your
right, the Mamertine prisons, constructed by Ancus Martius for
ordinary criminals; but excavated by Servius Tullius into far more
cruel dungeons for state culprits; as if they merit not most mercy,
who err from a zealous fidelity to what they believe their duty.
Jugurtha, and the friends of Catiline, perished in these cells; it is
even said that St. Peter and St. Paul were confined there. On the
other side of the Capitol is the Tarpeian Rock, at the foot of which
now stands the Hospital of Consolation, as if the severe spirit of
antiquity, and the sweet one of Christianity, defying time, here met,
as visibly to the eye as to the mind. When Oswald and Corinne had
gained the top of the Capitol, she showed him the Seven Hills, and
the city, bounded first by Mount Palatinus, then by the walls of
Servius Tullius, which inclose the hills, and by those of Aurelian,
which still surround the greatest part of Rome. Corinne repeated
verses of Tibullus and Propertius, that glorify the weak
commencement of what became the mistress of the world.[2] Mount
Palatinus once contained all Rome; but soon did the imperial palace
fill the space that had sufficed for a nation. A poet of Nero's day
made this epigram:—
 "Roma domus fiet. Veios migrate, Quirites;
Si non et Veios occupat ista domus."
'Rome will soon be but one house. Go to Veios, citizens! if you can
be sure that this house will not include even Veios itself.' The Seven
Hills are far less lofty now than when they deserved the title of steep
mountains; modern Rome being forty feet higher than its
predecessor, and the valleys which separated them almost filled up
by ruins; but what is still more strange, two heaps of shattered
vases have formed new hills, Cestario and Testacio. Thus, in time,
the very refuse of civilization levels the rock with the plain, effacing,
in the moral as in the material world, all the pleasing inequalities of
nature.
Three other hills, Janiculum, Vaticanus, and Mario, not comprised in
the famous seven, give so picturesque an air to Rome; and afford
such magnificent views from her interior, as perhaps no other city
can command. There is so remarkable a mixture of ruins and new
buildings, of fair fields and desert wastes, that one may contemplate
Rome on all sides, and ever find fresh beauties.
Oswald could not weary of feasting his gaze from the elevated point
to which Corinne had led him. The study of history can never act on
us like the sight of that scene itself. The eye reigns all powerfully
over the soul. He now believed in the old Romans, as if he had lived
amongst them. Mental recollections are acquired by reading; those
of imagination are born of more immediate impressions, such as give
life to thought, and seem to render us the witnesses of what we
learn. Doubtless we are annoyed by the modern dwellings which
intrude on these wrecks, yet a portico beside some humble roof,
columns between which the little windows of a church peep out, or a
tomb that serves for the abode of a rustic family, so blends the
grand with the simple, and affords us so many agreeable
discoveries, as to keep up continual interest. Everything is common-
place and prosaic in the generality of European towns; and Rome,
more frequently than any other, presents the sad aspect of misery
and degradation; but all at once some broken column, or half-
effaced bas-relief, or a few stones, bound together by indestructible
cement, will remind you that there is in man an eternal power, a
divine spark, which he ought never to weary of fanning in his own
breast, and reluming in those of others. The Forum, whose narrow
inclosure has been the scene of so many wondrous events, is a
striking proof of man's moral greatness. When in the latter days of
Rome, the world was subjected to inglorious rulers, centuries passed
from which history could scarce extract a single feat. This Forum,
the heart of a circumscribed town, whose natives fought around it
against the invaders of its territories—this Forum, by the
recollections it retraces, has been the theme of genius in every age.
Eternal honors to the brave and free, who thus vanquish even the
hearts of posterity!
Corinne observed to Nevil that there were but few vestiges left of
the republic, or of the regal day which preceded it. The aqueducts
and subterranean canals are the only luxuries remaining, while of
aught more useful we have but a few tombs and brick temples. Not
till after the fall of Sicily did the Romans adopt the use of marble;
but it is enough to survey the spots on which great actions have
been performed; we experience that indefinite emotion to which we
may attribute the pious zeal of pilgrims. Celebrated countries of all
kinds, even when despoiled of their great men and great works,
exert a power over the imagination. That which would once have
attracted the eye exists no more; but the charm of memory still
survives.
The Forum now retains no trace of that famed tribunal whence the
people were ruled by the force of eloquence. There still exist three
pillars of a temple to Jupiter Tonans, raised by Augustus, because a
thunderbolt had fallen near him there, without injury. There is, too,
the triumphal arch erected by the Senate to requite the exploits of
Septimus Severus. The names of his two sons, Caracalla and Geta,
were inscribed on its front; but as Caracalla assassinated his brother,
his name was erased; some marks of the letters are yet visible.
Farther off is a temple to Faustina, a monument of the weakness of
Marcus Aurelius. A temple to Venus, which, in the republican era,
was consecrated to Pallas, and, at a little distance, the relics of
another, dedicated to the sun and moon, by the emperor Adrian,
who was so jealous of the Greek architect Apollodorus, that he put
him to death for censuring its proportion. On the other side are seen
the remains of buildings devoted to higher and purer aims. The
columns of one believed to be that of Jupiter Stator, forbidding the
Romans ever to fly before their enemies—the last pillar of the temple
to Jupiter Custos, placed, it is said, near the gulf into which Curtius
threw himself—and some belonging either to the Temple of Concord
or to that of Victory. Perhaps this resistless people confounded the
two ideas, believing that they could only attain true peace by
subduing the universe. At the extremity of Mount Palatinus stands an
arch celebrating Titus's conquest at Jerusalem. It is asserted that no
Jews will ever pass beneath it; and the little path they take to avoid
it is pointed out. We will hope, for the credit of the Jews, that this
anecdote is true; such enduring recollections well become the long-
suffering. Not far from hence is the arch of Constantine, embellished
by some bas-reliefs, taken from the Forum, in the time of Trajan, by
the Christians, who resolved thus to deck the monument of the
Founder of Peace. The arts, at this period, were already on the
wane, and thefts from the past deified new achievements.
The triumphal gates still seen in Rome perpetuated, as much as man
could do, the respect paid to glory. There were places for musicians
at their summits; so that the hero, as he passed, might be
intoxicated at once by melody and praise, tasting, at the same
moment, all that can exalt the spirit.
In front of these arches are the ruins of the Temple to Peace built by
Vespasian. It was so adorned by bronze and gold within, that when
it was consumed by fire, streams of fused metal ran even to the
Forum. Finally, the Coliseum, loveliest ruin of Rome! terminates the
circle in which all the epochs of history seem collected for
comparison. Those stones, now bereft, of marble and of gilding,
once formed the arena in which the gladiators contended with
ferocious beasts. Thus were the Romans amused and duped, by
strong excitements, while their natural feelings were denied due
power. There were two entrances to the Coliseum; the one devoted
to the conquerors, the other that through which they carried the
dead. "Sana vivaria, sandapilaria." Strange scorn of humanity! to
decide beforehand the life or death of man, for mere pastime. Titus,
the best of emperors, dedicated the Coliseum to the Roman people;
and its very ruins bear so admirable a stamp of genius, that one is
tempted to deceive one's self on the nature of true greatness, and
grant to the triumphs of art the praise which is due but to spectacles
that tell of generous institutions. Oswald's enthusiasm equalled not
that of Corinne, while beholding these four galleries, rising one
above the other, in proud decay, inspiring at once respect and
tenderness: he saw but the luxury of rulers, the blood of slaves, and
was almost prejudiced against the arts, for thus lavishing their gifts,
indifferent as to the purposes to which they were applied. Corinne
attempted to combat this mood. "Do not," she said, "let your
principles of justice interfere with a contemplation like this. I have
told you that these objects would rather remind you of Italian taste
and elegance than of Roman virtue; but do you not trace some
moral grandeur in the gigantic splendor that succeeded it? The very
degradation of the Roman is imposing; while mourning for liberty
they strewed the earth with wonders; and ideal beauty sought to
solace man for the real dignity he had lost. Look on these immense
baths, open to all who wished to taste of oriental voluptuousness;
these circles wherein elephants once battled with tigers; these
aqueducts, which could instantaneously convert the areas into lakes,
where galleys raced in their turn, or crocodiles filled the space just
occupied by lions. Such was the luxury of the Romans, when luxury
was their pride. These obelisks, brought from Egypt, torn from the
African's shade to decorate the sepulchres of Romans! Can all this
be considered useless, as the pomp of Asiatic despots? No, you
behold the genius of Rome, the victor of the world, attired by the
arts! There is something superhuman and poetical in this
magnificence, which makes one forget both its origin and its aim."
The eloquence of Corinne excited without convincing Oswald. He
sought a moral sentiment in all things, and the magic of art could
never satisfy him without it. Corinne now recollected that, in this
same arena, the persecuted Christians had fallen victims to their
constancy; she pointed out the altars erected to their ashes, and the
path towards the cross which the penitents trod beneath the ruins of
mundane greatness; she asked him if the dust of martyrs said
nothing to his heart. "Yes," he cried, "deeply do I revere the power
of soul and will over distress and death: a sacrifice, be it what it
may, is more arduous, more commendable than all the efforts of
genius. Exalted imagination may work miracles; but it is only when
we immolate self to principle that we are truly virtuous. Then alone
does a celestial power subdue the mortal in our breasts." These pure
and noble words disturbed Corinne: she gazed on Nevil, then cast
down her eyes; and though at the same time he took her hand, and
pressed it to his heart, she trembled to think that such a man might
devote himself or others to despair, in his adherence to the opinions
or duties of which he might make choice.

[1] Mineralogists affirm that these lions are not basaltic, because
the volcanic stone now so called was never found in Egypt; but as
Pliny and Winckleman (the historian of the arts) both give them
that name, I avail myself of its primitive acceptation.
[2] Carpite nunc, tauri, de septem collibus herbas
Dum licet, hic magnæ jam locus urbis erit.
TIBULLUS.
Hoc quodcumque vides, hospes quàm maxima Roma est
Ante Phrygem Ænean collis et herba fuit, &c.
PROPERTIUS.

CHAPTER V.

Corinne and Nevil employed two days in wandering over the Seven
Hills. The Romans formerly held a fête in their honor: it is one of
Rome's original beauties to be thus embraced, and patriotism
naturally loved to celebrate such a peculiarity. Oswald and Corinne
having already viewed the Capitoline Hill recommenced their course
at Mount Palatinus. The palace of the Cæsars, called the Golden
Palace, once occupied it entirely. Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and
Nero, built its four sides: a heap of stones, overgrown with shrubs, is
all that now remains. Nature reclaimed her empire over the works of
man; and her fair flowers atone for the fall of a palace. In the regal
and republican eras, grandly as towered their public buildings,
private houses were extremely small and simple. Cicero, Hortensius,
and the Grachii, dwelt on this eminence, which hardly sufficed, in
the decline of Rome, for the abode of a single man. In the latter
ages the nation was but a nameless mass, designated solely by the
eras of its masters. The laurels of war and that of the arts cultivated
by peace, which were planted at the gate of Augustus, have both
disappeared. Some of Livia's baths are left. You are shown the
places wherein were set the precious stones, then lavished on walls
or ceilings, and paintings of which the colors are still fresh: their
delicacy rendering this yet more surprising. If it be true that Livia
caused the death of Augustus, it was in one of these chambers that
the outrage must have been conceived. How often may his gaze
have been arrested by these pictures, whose tasteful garlands still
survive? The master of the world betrayed in his nearest affections!
what thought his old age of life and its vain pomps? Did he reflect on
his glory, or its victims? Hoped he or feared a future world? Might
not the last thought, which reveals all to man, stray back to these
halls, the scenes of his past power?[1]
Mount Aventinus affords more traces of Rome's early day than any
of its sister hills. Exactly facing the palace constructed by Tiberius is
seen a wreck of the temple to Liberty, built by the father of the
Grachii; and at the foot of this ascent stood that dedicated to the
Fortune of Men, by Servius Tullius, to thank the gods that, though
born a slave, he had become a king. Without the walls of Rome
another edifice rose to the Fortune of woman, commemorating the
influence exerted by Venturia over Coriolanus.
Opposite to Mount Aventinus is Mount Janiculum, on which Porsenna
marshalled his army. It was in front of this hill that Horatius Cocles
cut away the bridge, which led to Rome: its foundations still exist.
On the banks of the stream was built a brick arch, simple as the
action it recalled was great. In the midst of the Tiber floated an
island formed of the wheat sheaves gathered from the fields of
Tarquin; the Romans forbearing to use them, in the belief that they
were charged with evil fate. It would be difficult, in our own day, to
call down on any treasure a curse of sufficient efficacy to scare men
from its participation.
On Mount Aventinus were temples both to patrician and plebeian
chastity: at the foot of the hill the Temple of Vesta still remains,
almost entire, though the inundations of the Tiber have often
threatened to destroy it. Not far thence are vestiges of a prison for
debt, where the well-known instance of filial piety is said to have
occurred; here, too, Clœlia and her companions were confined by
Porsenna, and swam across the river to rejoin the Romans. Mount
Aventinus indemnifies the mind for all the painful recollections the
other hills awake; and its aspect is as beauteous as its memories are
sweet. The banks at its foot were called the Lovely Strand (pulchrum
littus). Thither the orators of Rome walked from the Forum: there
Cæsar and Pompey met like simple citizens, and sought to conciliate
Cicero, whose independent eloquence was of more weight than even
the power of their armies. Poetry also has embellished this spot: it
was there that Virgil placed the cave of Cacus; and Rome, so great
in history, is still greater by the heroic fictions with which her
fabulous origin has been decked. In returning from Mount Aventinus,
you see the house of Nicolas Rienzi, who vainly strove to restore the
spirit of antiquity in modern days.
Mount Cœlius is remarkable for the remains of a pretorian
encampment, and that of the foreign troops: on the ruins of the
latter was found an inscription: "To the Holy Genius of the Foreign
Camp." Holy, indeed, to those whose power it sustained! What is left
of these barracks proves that they were built like cloisters; or, rather,
that cloisters were formed after their model.
Esquilinus was called the "Poet's Hill;" Mæcenas, Horace, Propertius,
and Tibullus having all houses there. Near this are the ruins of the
baths of Trajan and Titus. It is believed that Raphael copied his
arabesques from the frescoes of the latter: here, too, was the
Laöcoon discovered. The freshness of water is so acceptable in
fervid climes, that their natives love to collect all that can pamper
the senses in the chambers where they bathe. Thus, by the light of
lamps, did the Romans gaze on the chefs-d'œuvres of painting and
sculpture; for it appears from the construction of these buildings that
day never entered them: they were sheltered from the noontide
rays, so piercing here as fully to deserve the title of Apollo's darts.
Yet the extreme precautions taken by the ancients might induce a
supposition that the climate was more burning then than now. In the
baths of Caracalla were the Farnese Hercules, the Flora, and the
group of Circe. Near Ostia, in the baths of Nero, was found the
Apollo Belvidere. Can we look on that noble figure and conceive
Nero destitute of all generous sentiments?
The baths and circusses are the only places of public amusement
that have left their vestige. Though the ruins of Marcellus's theatre
still exist, Pliny relates that three hundred and sixty marble pillars,
and three thousand statues, were placed in a theatre incapable of
lasting many days. The Romans, however, soon built with a solidity
that defied the earthquake's shock: too soon they wasted like pains
on edifices which they destroyed themselves when the fêtes held in
them were concluded; thus, in every sense sported they with time.
They had not the Grecian's mania for dramatic representations: the
fine arts then flourished at Rome only in the works of Greece; and
Roman grandeur consisted rather in colossal architecture than in
efforts of imagination. The gigantic wonders thus produced bore a
very dignified stamp, no longer of liberty, but that of power still. The
districts devoted to the public baths were called provinces, and
united all the varied establishments to be found in a whole country.
The great circus so nearly touched the imperial palace, that Nero,
from his window, could give a signal for the commencement of the
games. This circus was large enough to contain three hundred
thousand people. Almost the whole nation might be amused at the
same moment; and these immense festivals might be considered as
popular institutions, which assembled for mere pleasure those who
formerly united for glory. Mounts Quirinalis and Viminalis are so near
each other that it is not easy to distinguish them apart. There stood
the houses of Sallust and of Pompey. There, too, in the present day,
does the pope reside. One cannot take a single step in Rome,
without contrasting its present and its past. But one learns to view
the events of one's own time the more calmly far noting the eternal
fluctuations that mark the history of man; and one feels ashamed to
repine, in the presence, as it were, of so many centuries, who have
all overthrown the achievements of their predecessors. Around, and
on the Seven Hills, are seen a multitude of spires and obelisks, the
columns of Trajan and of Antoninus, the tower of Conti, whence, it is
said, Nero overlooked the conflagration of Rome, and the dome of
St. Peter's lording it over the highest. The air seems peopled by
these heaven-aspiring fanes, as if an aerial city soared majestic
above that of the earth. In re-entering Rome, Corinne led Oswald
beneath the portico of the tender and suffering Octavia; they then
crossed the road along which the infamous Tullia drove over the
body of her father: they beheld, in the distance, the temple raised
by Agrippina in honor of Claudius, whom she had caused to be
poisoned; finally, they passed the tomb of Augustus, the inclosure
around which now serves as an arena for animal combats.
"I have led you rapidly," said Corinne, "over a few footprints of
ancient history; but you can appreciate the pleasure which may be
found in researches at once sage and poetic, addressing the fancy as
well as the reason. There are many distinguished men in Rome
whose sole occupation is that of discovering new links between our
ruins and our history." "I know no study which could interest me
more," replied Nevil, "if I felt my mind sufficiently composed for it.
Such erudition is far more animated than that we acquire from
books: we seem to revive what we unveil; and the past appears to
rise from the dust which concealed it." "Doubtless," said Corinne,
"this passion for antiquity is no idle prejudice. We live in an age
when self-interest seems the ruling principle of all men; what
sympathy, what enthusiasm, can ever be its result? Is it not sweeter
to dream over the days of self-devotion and heroic sacrifice, which
might once have existed, nay, of which the earth still bears such
honorable traces?"

[1] Augustus expired at Nola, on his way to the waters of

Brunduoium, which were prescribed him. He left Rome in a dying
state.

CHAPTER VI.

Corinne secretly flattered herself that she had captivated the heart
of Oswald; yet knowing his severe reserve, dared not fully betray the
interest he inspired, prompt as she was by nature to confess her
feelings. Perhaps she even thought that while speaking on subjects
foreign to their love, the very voice might disclose their mutual
affection; a silent avowal be expressed in their looks, or in that
veiled and melancholy language which so deeply penetrates the
soul.
One morning, while she was preparing to continue their researches,
she received from him an almost ceremonious note, saying that
indisposition would confine him to his house for some days. A sad
disquietude seized the heart of Corinne: at first, she feared that he
was dangerously ill; but Count d'Erfeuil, who called in the evening,
informed her that it was but one of those nervous attacks to which
Nevil was so subject, and during which he would converse with
nobody. "He won't even see me!" added the count. The words
displeased Corinne; but she took care to hide her anger from its
object, as he alone could bring her tidings of his friend. She
therefore continued to question him, trusting that a person so giddy,
at least in appearance, would tell her all he knew. But whether he
wished to hide, beneath an air of mystery, the fact that Nevil had
confided nothing, or whether he believed it more honourable to
thwart her wishes than to grant them, he met her ardent curiosity by
imperturbable silence. She, who had always gained such an
ascendency over those with whom she spoke, could not understand
why her persuasive powers should fail with him. She did not know
that self-love is the most inflexible quality in the world. Where was
then her resource for learning what passed in the heart of Oswald?
Should she write to him? A letter requires such caution; and the
loveliest attribute of her nature was its impulsive sincerity. Three
days passed, and still he came not. She suffered the most cruel
agitation. "What have I done," she thought, "to dissever him from
me? I have not committed the error so formidable in England, so
pardonable in Italy; I never told him that I loved. Even if he guesses
it, why should he esteem me the less?" Oswald avoided Corinne
merely because he but too strongly felt the power of her charms.
Although he had not given his word to marry Lucy Edgarmond, he
knew that such had been his father's wish, and desired to conform
with it. Corinne was not known by her real name: she had for many
years led a life far too independent for him to hope that a union with
her would have obtained the approbation of his parent, and he felt
that it was not by such a step he could expiate his early offences. He
purposed to leave Rome, and write Corinne an explanation of the
motives which enforced such resolution; but not feeling strength for
this, he limited his exertions to a forbearance from visiting her; and
this sacrifice soon appeared the most painful of the two.
Corinne was struck by the idea that she should see him no more;
that he would fly without bidding her adieu. She expected every
instant to hear of his departure; and terror so aggravated her
sensations, that the vulture talons of passion seized at once on her
heart; and its peace, its liberty, crouched beneath them. Unable to
rest in the house where Oswald came not, she wandered in the
gardens of Rome, hoping to meet him; she had at least some
chance of seeing him, and best supported the hours during which
she trusted to this expectation.
Her ardent fancy, the source of her talents, was unhappily blended
with such natural feeling, that it now constituted her wretchedness.
The evening of the fourth day's absence the moon shone clearly
over Rome, which, in the silence of night, looks lovely, as if it were
inhabited but by the spirits of the great. Corinne, on her way from
the house of a female friend, left her carriage, and, oppressed with
grief, seated herself beside the fount of Trevi, whose abundant
cascade falls in the centre of Rome, and seems the life of that
tranquil scene. Whenever its flow is suspended, all appears
stagnation. In other cities it is the roll of carriages that the ear
requires; in Rome it is the murmur of this immense fountain, which
seems the indispensable accompaniment of the dreamy life led
there. Its water is so pure, that it has for many ages been named
the Virgin Spring. The form of Corinne was now reflected on its
surface. Oswald, who had paused there at the same moment,
beheld the enchanting countenance of his love thus mirrored in the
wave: at first, it affected him so strangely that he believed himself
gazing on her phantom, as his imagination had often conjured up
that of his father: he leaned forward, in order to see it more plainly,
and his own features appeared beside those of Corinne. She
recognised them, shrieked, rushed towards him and seized his arm,
as if she feared he would again escape; but scarcely had she yielded
to this too impetuous impulse, ere, remembering the character of
Lord Nevil, she blushed, her hand dropped, and with the other she
covered her face to hide her tears.
"Corinne! dear Corinne!" he cried, "has then my absence pained
you?"—"Yes," she replied, "you must have known it would. Why then
inflict such pangs on me? Have I deserved to suffer thus for
you?"—"No, no," he answered; "but if I cannot deem myself free—if
my heart be filled by regret and fear, why should I involve you in its
tortures? Why?"—"It is too late to ask," interrupted Corinne; "grief is
already in my breast; bear with me!"—"Grief!" repeated Oswald; "in
the midst of so brilliant a career, with so lively a genius!"—"Hold,"
she said, "you know me not. Of all my faculties, the most powerful is
that of suffering. I was formed for happiness; my nature is confiding
and animated; but sorrow excites me to a degree that threatens my
reason, nay, my life. Be careful of me! My gay versatility serves me
but in appearance: within my soul is an abyss of despair, which I can
only avoid by preserving myself from love." Corinne spoke with an
expression which vividly affected Oswald. "I will come to you to-
morrow, rely on it, Corinne," he said. "Swear it!" she exclaimed, with
an eagerness which she strove in vain to disguise. "I do," he
answered, and departed.

BOOK V.

THE TOMBS, CHURCHES, AND PALACES.

CHAPTER I.

The next day Oswald and Corinne met in great embarrassment. She
could no longer depend on the love she had inspired. He was
dissatisfied with himself, and felt his own weakness rebel against the
tyranny of his sentiments. Both sought to avoid the subject of their
mutual affection. "To-day," said Corinne, "I proposed a somewhat
solemn excursion, but one which will be sure to interest you; let us
visit the last asylums of those who lived among the edifices we have
seen in ruins."—"You have guessed what would most suit my
present disposition," said Oswald, in so sad a tone, that she dared
not speak again for some moments; then gaining courage from her
desire to soothe and entertain him, she added: "You know, my Lord,
that among the ancients, far from the sight of tombs discouraging
the living, they were placed in the high road, to kindle emulation;
the young were thus constantly reminded of the illustrious dead,
who seemed silently to bid them imitate their glories."—"Ah!" sighed
Oswald, "how I envy those whose regrets are unstained by
remorse."—"Talk you of remorse?" she cried; "then it is but one
virtue the more, the scruples of a heart whose exalted delicacy——"
He interrupted her. "Corinne! Corinne! do not approach that theme;
in your blest land gloomy thoughts are exhaled by the brightness of
heaven; but with us grief buries itself in the depths of the soul, and
shatters its strength forever."—"You do me injustice," she replied. "I
have told you that, capable as I am of enjoyment, I should suffer
more than you, if——" she paused, and changed the subject;
continuing, "My only wish, my Lord, is to divert your mind for awhile.
I ask no more." The meekness of this reply touched Oswald's heart;
and, as he marked the melancholy beauty of those eyes, usually so
full of fire, he reproached himself with having thus depressed a spirit
so framed for sweet and joyous impressions; he would fain have
restored them; but Corinne's uncertainty of his intentions, as to his
stay or departure, entirely disordered her accustomed serenity.
She led him through the gates to the old Appian Way, whose traces
are marked in the heart of the country by ruins on the right and left,
for many miles beyond the walls. The Romans did not permit the
dead to be buried within the city. None but the emperors were there
interred, except one citizen named Publius Biblius, who was thus
recompensed for his humble virtues; such as, indeed, his
contemporaries were most inclined to honor.
To reach the Appian Way you leave Rome by the gate of St.
Sebastian, formerly called the Capena Gate. The first tombs you
then find, Cicero assures us, are those of Metellus, of Scipio, and
Servilius. The tomb of the Scipio family was found here, and
afterwards removed to the Vatican. It is almost sacrilege to displace
such ashes. Imagination is more nearly allied to morality than is
believed, and ought not to be offended. Among so many tombs
names must be strewn at random; there is no way of deciding to
which such or such title belongs; but this very uncertainty prevents
our looking on any of them with indifference. It was in such that the
peasants made their homes; for the Romans consecrated quite
space enough to the urns of their illustrious fellow-citizens. They had
not that principle of utility which, for the sake of cultivating a few
feet of ground the more, lays waste the vast domain of feeling and
of thought. At some distance from the Appian Way is a temple raised
by the republic to Honor and to Virtue; another to the god who
caused the return of Hannibal. There, too, is the fountain of Egeria;
where in solitude Numa conversed with Conscience, the divinity of
the good. No monument of guilt invades the repose of these great
beings; the earth around is sacred to the memory of worth. The
noblest thoughts may reign there undisturbed. The aspect of the
country near Rome is remarkably peculiar; it is but a desert, as
boasting neither trees nor houses; but the ground is covered with
wild shrubs ceaselessly renewed by energetic vegetation. The
parasitic tribes creep round the tombs, and decorate the ruins, as if
in honor of their dead. Proud nature, conscious that no Cincinnatus
now guides the plough that furrows her breast, there repulses the
care of man, and produces plants which she permits not to serve the
living. These uncultivated plains may, indeed, displease those who
speculate on the earth's capacity for supplying human wants; but
the pensive mind, more occupied by thoughts of death than of life,
loves to contemplate the Campagna, on which present time has
imprinted no trace; it cherishes the dead, and fondly covers them
with useless flowers, that bask beneath the sun, but never aspire
above the ashes which they appear to caress. Oswald admitted that
in such a scene a calm might be regained that could be enjoyed
nowhere beside. The soul is there less wounded by images of
sorrow; it seems to partake, with those now no more, the charm of
that air, that sunlight, and that verdure. Corinne drew some hope
from observing the effect thus taken on him; she wished not to
efface the just regret owed to the loss of his father; but regret itself
is capable of sweets, with which we should try to familiarize those
who have tasted but its bitterness, for that is the only blessing we
can confer on them.
"Let us rest," said Corinne, "before this tomb, which remains almost
entire: it is not that of a celebrated man, but of a young girl, Cecilia
Metella, to whom her father raised it."—"Happy the children," sighed
Oswald, "who die on the bosom that gave them life: for them even
death must lose its sting."—"Ay," replied Corinne, with emotion,
"happy those who are not orphans. But look! arms are sculptured
here: the daughters of heroes had a right to bear the trophies of
their sires: fair union of innocence and valor! There is an elegy, by
Propertius, which, better than any other writing of antiquity,
describes the dignity of woman among the Romans; a dignity more
pure and more commanding than even that which she enjoyed
during the age of chivalry. Cornelia, dying in her youth, addresses to
her husband a consolatory farewell, whose every word breathes her
tender respect for all that is sacred in the ties of nature. The noble
pride of a blameless life is well depicted in the majestic Latin; in
poetry august and severe as the masters of the world. 'Yes,' says
Cornelia, 'no stain has sullied my career, from the hour when
Hymen's torch was kindled, even to that which lights my funeral
pyre. I have lived spotless between two flames.'[1] What an
admirable expression! what a sublime image! How enviable the
woman who preserves this perfect unity in her fate, and carries but
one remembrance to the grave! That were enough for one life." As
she ceased, her eyes filled with tears. A cruel suspicion seized the
heart of Oswald. "Corinne," he cried, "has your delicate mind aught
with which to reproach you? If I could offer you myself, should I not
have rivals in the past? Could I pride in my choice? Might not
jealousy disturb my delight?"—"I am free," replied Corinne, "and
love you as I never loved before. What would you have? Must I
confess, that, ere I knew you, I might have deceived myself as to
the interest with which others inspired me? Is there no divinity in
man's heart for the errors which, beneath such illusions, might have
been committed?" A modest glow overspread her face. Oswald
shuddered, but was silent. There was such timid penitence in the
looks of Corinne, that he could not rigorously judge one whom a ray
from heaven seemed descending to absolve. He pressed her hand to
his heart, and knelt before her, without uttering a promise, indeed,
but with a glance of love which left her all to hope. "Let us form no
plan for years to come," she said: "the happiest hours of life are
those benevolently granted us by chance: it is not here, in the midst
of tombs, that we should trust much to the future."—"No," cried
Nevil; "I believe in no future that can part us: four days of absence
have but too well convinced me that I now exist but for you."
Corinne made no reply, but religiously hoarded these precious words
in her heart: she always feared, in prolonging a conversation on the
only subject of her thoughts, lest Oswald should declare his
intentions before a longer habit of being with her rendered
separation impossible. She often designedly directed his attention to
exterior objects, like the sultana in the Arabian tales, who sought by
a thousand varied stories to captivate her beloved, and defer his
decision of her fate, till certain that her wit must prove victorious.

[1] Viximus insignes inter utramque facem. PROPERTIUS.

CHAPTER II.

Not far from the Appian Way is seen the Columbarium, where slaves
are buried with their lords; where the same tomb contains all who
dwelt beneath the protection of one master or mistress. The women
devoted to the care of Livia's beauty, who contended with time for
the preservation of her charms, are placed in small urns beside her.
The noble and ignoble there repose in equal silence. At a little
distance is the field wherein vestals, unfaithful to their vows were
interred alive; a singular example of fanaticism in a religion naturally
so tolerant.
"I shall not take you to the catacombs," said Corinne, "though, by a
strange chance, they lie beneath the Appian Way, tombs upon
tombs! But that asylum of persecuted Christians is so gloomy and
terrible, that I cannot resolve to revisit it. It has not the touching
melancholy which one breathes in open wilds; it is a dungeon near a
sepulchre—the tortures of existence beside the horrors of death.
Doubtless one must admire men who, by the mere force of
enthusiasm, could support that subterranean life—forever banished
from the sun; but the soul is too ill at ease in such a scene to be
benefited by it. Man is a part of creation, and finds his own moral
harmony in that of the universe; in the habitual order of fate, violent
exceptions may astonish, but they create too much terror to be of
service. Let us rather seek the pyramid of Cestius, around which all
Protestants who die here find charitable graves."—"Yes," returned
Oswald, "many a countryman of mine is amongst them. Let us go
there; in one sense at least, perhaps, I shall never leave you."
Corinne's hand trembled on his arm. He continued, "Yet I am much
better since I have known you." Her countenance resumed its
wonted air of tender joy.
Cestius presided over the Roman sports. His name is not found in
history, but rendered famous by his tomb. The massive pyramid that
inclosed him defends his death from the oblivion which has utterly
effaced his life. Aurelian, fearing that this pyramid would be used but
as a fortress from whence to attack the city, had it surrounded by
walls which still exist, not as useless ruins, but as the actual
boundaries of modern Rome. It is said that pyramids were formed in
imitation of the flames that rose from funeral pyres. Certainly their
mysterious shape attracts the eye, and gives a picturesque character
to all the views of which they constitute a part.
In front of this pyramid is Mount Testacio, beneath which are several
cool grottoes, where fêtes are held in the summer. If, at a distance,
the revellers see pines and cypresses shading their smiling land and
recalling a solemn consciousness of death, this contrast produces
the same effect with the lines which Horace has written in the midst
of verses teeming with earthly enjoyment:—
------"Moriture Delli,
* * * *
Linquenda tellus, et domus, et placens
Uxor."
'Dellius, remember thou must die—leaving the world, thy home, and
gentle wife,' The ancients acknowledged this in their very
voluptuousness; even love and festivity reminded them of it, and joy
seemed heightened by a sense of its brevity.
Oswald and Corinne returned by the side of the Tiber; formerly
covered with vessels, and banked by palaces. Of yore, even its
inundations were regarded as omens. It was then the prophetic, the
tutelar divinity of Rome.[1] It may now be said to flow among
phantoms, so livid is its hue—so deep its loneliness. The finest
statues and other works of art were thrown into the Tiber, and are
hidden beneath its tides. Who knows but that, in search of them, the
river may at last be driven from its bed? But, while we muse on
efforts of human genius that lie, perhaps, beneath us, and that some
eye, more piercing than our own, may yet see through these waves,
we feel that awe which, in Rome, is constantly reviving in various
forms, and giving the mind companions in those physical objects
which are elsewhere dumb.

[1] Plin. Hist. Nat., 1, 3. Tiberis, quam libet magnorum navium ex

Italo mari capax, rerum in toto orbe nascentium mercator
placidissimus, pluribus probè solus quam cæteri in omnibus terris
amnes, accolitur, aspiciturque villis. Nullique fluviorum minus licet,
inclusis utrinque lateribus: nec tamen ipse pugnat, quanquam
creber ac subitis incrementis, et nusquam magis aquis quam in
ipsa urbe stagnantibus. Quin imo vates intelligitur potius ac
monitur, auctu semper religiosus verius quam sævus.

CHAPTER III.

Raphael said that modern Rome was almost entirely built from the
ruins of the ancient city; Pliny had talked of the "eternal walls,"
which are still seen amid the works of latter times. Nearly all the
buildings bear the stamp of history, teaching you to compare the
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

ebookultra.com