To Thomas Jefferson from Philip Mazzei, 19 November 1801
From Philip Mazzei
19 9bre, 1801.
a Jefferson
Il Rè d’Etruria giunse finalmente in Firenze, e le persone illuminate furono contente delle sue qualità dello spirito, come del cuore. Ma, per disgrazia di questo paese, egli è soggetto ad accidenti epilettici, che lo mettono per più giorni nell’incapacità di occuparsi agli affari; e l’occupazione di mente, e più encora qualche scontentezza causata dalle circostanze attuali, gli rendeno più frequenti.
Quando mancano i rimedi naturali, Ella sa bene quale straordinaria forza di carattere si richiede, oltre una chiara idea dei veri e dei falsi, per non cedere alla speranza d’aiuti invisibili a incomprensibili, che nella prima educazione ci sono stati fatti credere onnipotenti, e che nel cercare i mezzi d’ottenergli si cade facilmente in potere della Teocrazia.1
Raccomando nuovamente un meglior provvedimento nei porti d’Italia per gl’interessi dei naviganti e negozianti degli Stati Uniti, e ripeto, che volendo creare un Console Generale, coll’incarico di soprintendere a tutti gli altri Consoli e Viceconsoli, il mio voto sarebbe per Mr. Appleton, giovane attivo, e molto ansioso (per quanto mi pare) di farsi una buona reputazione in Patria.
Editors’ translation
19 Nov. 1801
To Jefferson
The King of Etruria finally arrived in Florence and enlightened people were pleased with the qualities of both his mind and heart. But unfortunately for our country, he is subject to epileptic fits that prevent his attending to state matters for days. These fits are rendered more frequent by mental strain and some occasional disappointment caused by the present circumstances.
In the absence of natural remedies, you know very well what extraordinary strength of character—besides a clear idea of what are true remedies and what are false—is required not to give in to the hope of those invisible and incomprehensible aids which early in our upbringing we have been made to believe omnipotent, and that, when we search for the means to obtain them, make one easily fall into the power of Theocracy.
Again I urge that better provisions be made in Italian ports for the benefit of U.S. seamen and merchants. I repeat that, if it should be decided to have a consul general to oversee all the other consuls and vice-consuls, my vote would be for Mr. Appleton, who seems superlatively eager to earn a good reputation back home.
FC (DLC: Mazzei Papers); in Mazzei’s hand; at foot of text, also in Mazzei’s hand, is a grocery list including expenses for beef and bread. Dft (Archivio Filippo Mazzei, Pisa, Italy); part of a conjoined series of Mazzei’s draft letters to TJ, where it is an extract of the letter dated 15 Nov. 1801, see note 2 at that date (Margherita Marchione and Barbara B. Oberg, eds., Philip Mazzei: The Comprehensive Microform Edition of his Papers, 9 reels [Millwood, N.Y., 1981], 6:906).
Il Rè D’etruria Giunse Finalmente In Firenze: the new kingdom of Etruria in Tuscany was the product of the treaties of San Ildefonso (1 Oct. 1800) and Aranjuez (21 Mch. 1801), and part of the agreement between France and Spain that included the retrocession of Louisiana. Bonaparte agreed to make a son-in-law of King Carlos IV of Spain, Louis of Parma, the first king of Etruria. Louis entered Florence to begin his rule on 12 Aug. 1801. TJ, Thomas Pinckney, and Charles Willson Peale corresponded with Louis about natural history topics beginning in 1795 (Howard R. Marraro, “Unpublished Mazzei Letters to Jefferson,” , 3d Ser., 1 [1944], 390; Vol. 28:517–18; Vol. 29:27, 29n, 121, 136, 286–7, 389–92, 404, 481; Vol. 30:232–4; Vol. 31:61–2; Vol. 33:406n).
1. In Dft, Mazzei added the following sentence to the end of this paragraph: “Per ora, s’io dicessi altro su questo Paese, agirei da indovino,” meaning “As of now, were I to say anything more about this country, it would be sheer guesswork.”