He wishes to introduce to Venus and Adonis Mr Parish, an Englishman who is travelling to Paris in a few days and who is keen to meet his niece – Venus – and compare her with her aunt. He will have a harder time than his forefather when he sees the two Venuses arguing over an apple.
Monsieur Le Marquis,[a] Permettez-vous que je présente a Venus et a Adonis M[1] de Parish[b] un anglais qui dans peu de jours se rend a Paris,[c] et qui désire exremement de faire la connoissance de Vénus la niece, pour la comparer a sa tante. Il sera dans un bien plus grand embarras que son grand Pére,[d] voyant deux Venus[e] – qui disputent la pomme ect.[f]
[1] Monsieur
[a] Marquis Francesco Maria Berio di Salsa (1756–1820), Neapolitan art collector and one of the owners of Canova’s famous marble statue of Venus and Adonis Embracing. The other is kept in the Louvre in Paris. Of the two sculptures, the Parisian one is considered to be the earlier and is therefore the aunt.
[b] David Parish (1778–1826) was a German and American merchant, financier and entrepreneur who provided financial assistance to Austria during the Napoleonic Wars and the Italian conflict of 1819. He was on good terms with Metternich, under whose influence he settled permanently in Vienna. For his services during the Napoleonic Wars, he was made a baronet in Austria under the name of Senftenberg.
[c] I. e. Paris, the capital of France.
[d] He refers to the Trojan prince Paris, who, according to Homer, saw two Venuses, i.e. the goddess Venus and her earthly counterpart, Helen.
[e] The whole content of the letter is based on a play on words: the Trojan Prince Paris, the banker Parish and the combination of proper names of the city of Paris.
[f] The Marquis replied that Venus was impatient to see the gentlemen. SzIN 1. 67.
Recommended reference:
István Széchenyi to Marquis Francesco Maria Berio di Salsa, Naples, 17 February 1815. Edited and annotated by Szilvia Czinege. Published in Correspondence of István Széchenyi. Digital edition. Edited by Szilvia Czinege and Zoltán Fónagy. https://szechenyilevelezes.abtk.hu/ Abbreviation for further references: SzIL-Digit.