He attached no value to these trifles.
"From my little place on the hills," he would say. "Pray take it as a
memento of the pleasure which your visit has given me! Oh, it is quite
a small property, you know; just a few acres, with a meager soil; in
good years it produces a little oil and a barrel or two of wine. And
that is all. I only kept back this morsel from the general ruin of my
property--well, for sentimental reasons. One likes to feel that one is
still tied--by a slender thread, it is true--to the land of one's
ancestors. There is certainly no wealth to be obtained above ground.
But it is quite possible that something might emerge from below, given
the energy and the means to make systematic excavations. The whole
country is so rich in remains of Hellenic life! The countrymen,
ploughing my few fields, often stumble upon some odd trifle of this
kind. There was that Demeter you may have heard about; sadly mutilated,
alas!"
Before the discovery of the Locri Faun on this site the only find of
any value had been a battered head--a Demeter, presumably.
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