Ariosto, in "Orlando Furioso," remarks it thus:
"Many sepulchres are in this land."
St. Rémy, a few leagues to the northeast of Arles, is described by all writers as wonderfully impressive and appealing to all who come within its spell;—though the guide-books all say that it is a place without importance.
René Bazin has this to say: "St. Rémy, ce n'est pas beau, ce St. Rémy." Madame Duclaux apostrophizes thus: "We fall at once in love with St. Rémy." With this preponderance of modern opinion we throw in our lot as to the charms of St. Rémy; and so it will be with most, whether with regard to its charming environment or its historical monuments, its arch, or its funeral memorials. One will only come away from this charming petite ville with the idea that, in spite of its five thousand present-day inhabitants, it is something more than a modern shrine which has been erected over a collection of ancient relics. The little city breathes the very atmosphere of mediævalism.
XIV
ST. CASTOR DE NÎMES
Like its neighbouring Roman cities, Nîmes lives mostly in the glorious past.
In attempting to realize—if only in imagination—the civilization of a past age, one is bound to bear always in mind the motif which caused any great art expression to take place.
Here at Nîmes the church builder had much that was magnificent to emulate, leaving style apart from the question.