The Leopard

by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

And the Prince, who had found Donnafugata unchanged, was found very much changed himself; for never before would he have issued so cordial an invitation: and from that moment, invisibly, began the decline of his prestige.

The Prince was vexed; so touchy is the pride of class, even in a moment of decline, that these orgiastic praises of his future niece’s allurements offended him; how dared Don Ciccio express himself with such lascivious lyricism about a future Princess of Falconeri?

But there exists a deity who is protector of princes. He is called Courtesy. And he often intervenes to prevent Leopards from unfortunate slips.

Don Fabrizio was overcome with sincere emotion; the toad had been swallowed; the chewed head and gizzards were going down his throat; he still had to crunch up the claws, but that was nothing compared to the rest; the worst was over.

“In Sicily it doesn’t matter about doing things well or badly; the sin which we Sicilians never forgive is simply that of ‘doing’ at all.