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The Path to Rome

by Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)

  • Free to read
  • 6 hours to read
  • 3 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"The Path to Rome" by Hilaire Belloc is a travel narrative written during the early 20th century. The book chronicles Belloc's pilgrimage on foot from Toul, France, to Rome, reflecting his thoughts on religion, history, and the landscapes he encounters along the way. It combines elements of memoir, philosophy, and commentary, emphasizing the significance of pilgrimage and the experience of journeying through Europe. At the start of the journey, Belloc describes his motivations and the vow he has taken to walk to Rome. He sets off from his hometown of Toul, nostalgic and deeply reflective, highlighting his desire to experience the Christian faith through pilgrimage. He elaborates on his preparations, what he carries with him, and the initial sights he encounters as he journeys along the valley of the Moselle. The opening portion establishes a sense of purpose and personal commitment, woven with philosophical musings about the nature of pilgrimage and the significance of his experiences. As he walks, he engages with the memories of his military service and the places he traverses, crafting a narrative that invites readers to ponder the spiritual and physical dimensions of travel.

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  • Italy · Description and travel
  • France · Description and travel
  • Switzerland · Description and travel

Read the opening

Praise of This Book

By Hilaire Belloc

'... AMORE ANTIQUI RITUS, ALTO SUB NUMINE ROMAE'

To every honest reader that may purchase, hire, or receive this book, and to the reviewers also (to whom it is of triple profit), greeting—and whatever else can be had for nothing.

If you should ask how this book came to be written, it was in this way. One day as I was wandering over the world I came upon the valley where I was born, and stopping there a moment to speak with them all—when I had argued politics with the grocer, and played the great lord with the notary-public, and had all but made the carpenter a Christian by force of rhetoric—what should I note (after so many years) but the old tumble-down and gaping church, that I love more than mother-church herself, all scraped, white, rebuilt, noble, and new, as though it had been finished yesterday. Knowing very well that such a change had not come from the skinflint populace, but was the work of some just artist who knew how grand an ornament was this shrine (built there before our people stormed Jerusalem), I entered, and there saw that all within was as new, accurate, and excellent as the outer part; and this pleased me as much as though a fortune had been left to us all; for one's native place is the shell of one's soul, and one's church is the kernel of that nut.

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Contents

  1. Praise of This Book
  2. Dithyrambic Epithalamium or Threnody
  3. The End Again

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About this edition

This free edition of The Path to Rome by Hilaire Belloc comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #7373, released 2005-01-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Travel Writing, Religion/Spirituality.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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