Batik (1857); See Naples and Die

[Mark Odegard]

Pg. 295:  This is the place of which the Neapolitans say, with
some justice, "Hither should men come, and gaze, and die!"

I think (but may think wrongly) it's "see Venice and die". Venice and
Jerusalem are the two most special cities in the whole world, and this is a
sentiment I would reserve from them alone.

Naples is said to be beautiful, but you also read that the city is usually
accounted the filthy-dirtiest in all of Europe (they had a cholera outbreak
a decade or so back). Their politics are also said to be the most corrupt of
any city in Italy (even more so than Sicilian cities). The city is said to
smell.

"See/do/imperative-of-some-sort ... and die" is an idiom. It would be
interesting to document the earliest form of it.


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