Laudator Temporis Acti

Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837), Zibaldone, tr. Kathleen Baldwin et al. (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013), p. 1773 (Z 4120-4121):

Not only, as I said elsewhere [→Z 646], did any barbarous century think themselves to be so, but every century thought and thinks it is the non plus ultra as far as the progress of the human mind is concerned, and that it is hard and nearly impossible for future centuries, certainly not past ones, to surpass it in knowledge of things, discoveries, etc., and especially in civilization....Likewise there is no nation or small community so barbarous or savage that [4121] it does not think it is first among nations, and its state, the most perfect, civilized, happy, and that that of all the other nations is worse the more it is different from its own. See Robertson, Storia d’America, Venice 1794, tome 2, pp. 126, 232-33. Likewise nations half or imperfectly civilized, even in Europe, etc. And it was ever thus.

Non solo, come ho detto altrove, nessun secolo barbaro si credette esser tale, ma ogni secolo si credette e si crede essere il non plus ultra dei progressi dello spirito umano, e che le sue cognizioni, scoperte ec. e massime la sua civilizzazione difficilmente o in niun modo possano essere superate dai posteri, certo non dai passati....Così non v’è nazione nè popoletto così barbaro e selvaggio che [4121] non si creda la prima delle nazioni, e il suo stato, il più perfetto, civile, felice, e quel delle altre tanto peggiore quanto più diverso dal proprio. V. Robertson Stor. d’America, Venez. 1794. t.2. p. 116. 232-33. Così le nazioni mezzo civili, o imperfette, anche in Europa ec. E così sempre fu.

From Eric Thomson:

‘Any’ in ‘any barbarous century’ belongs to the class of NPIs (negatively oriented polarity-senstive items) but is inappropriate in this context. The translators seem to have fallen into the trap of hypercorrect avoidance of what seems on the surface multiple negation but isn't. 'Not only' affects the proposition "No barbarous century thinks themselves (sic) to be so” only as far as subject-verb inversion is concerned. The absolute negator 'no' is required, just as in 'Not only is no man an island …’ (Not only is *any* man an island’). End of quibble. Zibaldone is full of quibbles.