Pasquinades

Pasquinades are anonymous publications, either printed or written, or sometimes only posted up, having for their object defamation of character or the turning of a person into ridicule. The statue of Pasquin in Rome is a famous place for placards of this description, the Pope and the cardinals being the favorite victims. The rival statue of Marforio in the Capitol, which formerly stood near the Arch of Septimius Severus in the Forum, was made the vehicle for replying to the attacks of Pasquin: for many years they kept up an incessant fire of wit and repartee.

The modern Romans seem to regard Pasquin as part of their social system: in the absence of a free press, he has become the organ of public opinion, and there is scarcely an event upon which he does not pronounce judgment. When Mezzofanti, the great linguist, was made a cardinal, Pasquin declared that it was a very proper appointment, because there could be no doubt that the "Tower of Babel" required an interpreter.