... of them But I could not endure their taunts; I could not give in to them with the ignoble readiness with which they gave in to one another I hated them from the first, and shut myself away from ... against the obscurantists Then the band would play a march, an amnesty would be declared, the Pope would agree to retire from Rome to Brazil; then there would be a ball for the whole of Italy at the ... few years they became repulsive Even at sixteen I wondered at them morosely; even then I was struck by the pettiness of their thoughts, the stupidity of their pursuits, their games, their conversations...