Memorials and Other Papers — Volume 1De Quincey, Thomas
General
Memorials and Other Papers — Volume 1
De Quincey, Thomas
English essays
Such is the most plausible account which can now be obtained of the
_incunabula_ of this most indomitable little community, and of the
circumstances under which it acquired its since illustrious name. It
was, perhaps, natural that a little town, in the centre of insolent and
bitter enemies, should assume a name which would long convey to their
whole neighborhood a stinging lesson of mortification, and of prudential
warning against similar molestations. As to the _chronology_ of this
little state, the Albanian author assures us, upon the testimony of the
same old Suliotes, that "seventy years before" there were barely one
hundred men fit for the active duties of war, which, in ordinary states
of society, would imply a total population of four hundred souls. That
may be taken, therefore, as the extreme limit of the Suliote
population at a period of seventy years antecedently to the date of
tke conversation on which he founds his information. But, as he has
unfortunately omitted to fix the exact era of these conversations, the
whole value of his accuracy is neutralized by his own carelessness.
However, it is probable, from the internal evidence of his book, which
brings down affairs below the year 1812, that his information was
collected somewhere about 1810. We must carry back the epoch, therefore,
at which Suli had risen to a population of four hundred, pretty nearly
to the year 1740; and since, by the same traditionary evidence, Suli
had then accomplished an independent existence through a space of eighty
years, we have reason to conclude that the very first gatherings of poor
Christian herdsmen to this sylvan sanctuary, when stung to madness by
Turkish insolence and persecution, would take place about the era of the
Restoration (of our Charles II.), that is, in 1660.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account