| "Ogni trista memoria ormai si taccia |
| E pognansi in oblio le andate cose," |
which may be freely rendered as "Let bygones be bygones." Diderot, who understood Italian well, accepted the suggestion, and the two parted friends. It is an anecdote creditable to all parties, and not least to the two Italians.
It is a pity that Goldoni's Memoirs, from which the above sketch of his life is derived, were written in French instead of Italian, and with regard to a French rather than an Italian public. Had he written in his own language and for his own people, he might have produced a work worthy to rank beside the wondrous tale of Cellini, though of course of a very opposite character. As it is, the narrative is little known, though it has been translated into Italian and issued in cheap form.
Such, briefly, the Italian dramatist, whose best works in substance are the continuation of the ancient plays of Menander and Terence, imitated by the Italians in the sixteenth century, but allowed to degenerate, and then again renovated and carried to perfection by Molière in France and by himself in Italy.
[1]: Jacks; Zanni being a nickname for Giovanni, John.
A CURIOUS MISHAP
(UN CURIOSO ACCIDENTE)
A COMEDY IN THREE ACTS
| DRAMATIS PERSONÆ | |
|---|---|
| Philibert, | a rich Dutch merchant. |
| Giannina, | his daughter. |
| Riccardo, | a broker. |
| Costanza, | his daughter. |
| De la Cotterie, | a French lieutenant. |
| Marianna, | Mademoiselle Giannina's servant. |
| Gascoigne, | De la Cotterie's servant. |
| The Scene is at the Hague, in the house of Philibert. | |