essays on de soldanis

ESSAYS ON DE SOLDANIS
had a good practice and was physician to St. Bartholomew’s
and to Christ’s Hospitals... He helped to develop the
taste for curious manuscripts, scarce editions, and fine
copies’. Before taking the degree of M.D. and establishing
himself in London he studied for one year in Leyden and
he then visited Hungary, Athens, Constantinople, Italy
and other countries. He is the author of a manuscript
volume of Greek inscriptions, now preserved in the
British Museum. 39
Askew’s name also figures in a letter to de Soldanis,
written in Italian by an Englishman, Thomas Blackburne,
in July 1749. He wrote from Messina to thank de Soldanis
for the hospitality extended to him during his stay in Gozo
and went on to say that at the beginning of June Mr Askew
was still in Holland and it was doubtful whether he had
returned home. As for him (Blackburne) he had enjoyed
his tour of Sicily where he had come across a history of the
antiquities of Rome which he had sent to him, knowing that
he was keen on antiquities. 40 I have not been able so far to
trace any information about Blackburne in the standard
reference works consulted.
Like other eighteenth century Maltese men of letters,
de Soldanis had a good knowledge of Italian. All along,
however, he was conscious that Italian was not his mother
tongue and he modestly showed his readiness to have his
Italian text improved when still in manuscript. As early as
1746 he stressed in his preface to Il Gozo antico-moderno that
after 12 years of literary isolation in Gozo he found that his
style needed polish and improvement. There is a genuine
note of modesty in his words:
39 Dictionary of National Biography ii (London, 1885), 192-93. See also E.
Benezit, Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs,
Dessinateurs & graveurs de tous le temps et de tous les pays... ii (Paris, 1924), 8.
40 NLM Libr. 146 ii, ff. 243r-244r.
18