BB's advice on reading

 

Transcription

Luisa: At the beginning, the very beginning, when I was still sleeping on the first floor, in the corridor, and in that room, that sitting room, there were a lot of French Novels, which then were transferred on the ground floor in the small new dining room , and so I said, being always very timorosa (frightened) you know:

"Could I take one, and read it in the evening?” And Berenson said: “NO, what you should read is the Bible! Italians never read the Bible.” And he obliged me to read the Bible, in Latin, in the translation of Saint Jerome. And so I did that

(Mary: to yourself or out aloud?)

In the evening before going to bed.

This is going to help you go to sleep … (laughter)

And so I did all of Genesis and then I stopped …(laughter)… Well my Latin was very good at that time. Latin and Greek. But then I decided, well what shall I do? So I decided if I have the choice between retiring with Saint Jerome, or staying downstairs listening to Nicky reading aloud to BB, or when there was a houseguest listening to the conversation, I thought on the whole …(laughter)…. it was better to stay downstairs.