“Love had made Catharine make each lover’s fortune.”[223]
Tomasso himself is described in language which might apply to Juan:
“Éra grande e bel giovine,—
Forte, complesso, capel biondo, e un paio
D’occhi di nobilita pieni e di fuoco;
Un carattere franco, un umor gaio,
E colle donne avea sempre un buon giucco.”[224]
The scene in which Tomasso has just been especially favored by the Empress and is receiving congratulations from courtiers is paralleled by that in which Juan is being flattered after a warm greeting by Catharine.[225] Another curious coincidence occurs in the efforts of the court physician to cure the apparent debility of Tomasso and Juan.[226] These similarities are striking enough to furnish some probability that Byron was familiar with the plot of Il Poema Tartaro, and, consciously or unconsciously, reproduced some of its features in Don Juan.
Casti’s satire in this poem, as in Gli Animali Parlanti, is comprehensive. Like Byron, he ridicules the Russian language,[227] attacks literary fads, criticises customs-duties,[228] and enters into a vigorous denunciation of war. In speaking of soldiers who clash in civil strife, he says, with bitter truth:
“Non è nobil coraggio e valor vero