"It is all very well to talk about the facilis descensus Averni; but in all kinds of climbing, as Catalani said of singing, it is far more easy to get up than to come down...."See in text(The Purloined Letter)
An allusion to Virgil’s Aeneid, the Latin quotation can translate to “the road to evil is easy.” “Catalani” alludes to Angelica Catalani (1780–1849), a famous Italian singer. Dupin’s many literary, historical, scientific, philosophical, and cultural allusions throughout the story are significant in his characterization; the breadth of his knowledge contributes to the depth of his insight—the very qualities he previously pointed out as lacking in Rochefoucauld, Machiavelli, Campanella, and Bruyère, who is misidentified as “La Bougive.”
"This response of the schoolboy lies at the bottom of all the spurious profundity which has been attributed to Rochefoucauld, to La Bougive, to Machiavelli, and to Campanella...."See in text(The Purloined Letter)
Regarding a line of reasoning, “spurious” means that something is seemingly sound but not actually valid, and “profundity” refers to deep insight or a great depth of knowledge or thought. Dupin believes his reasoning and insight are superior to those of several celebrated European writers and thinkers of the 16th and 17th centuries: François de La Rochefoucauld, Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, and Tommaso Campanella. “La Bougive” is a printing error; Poe wrote “La Bruyère,” referring to Jean de la Bruyère, but the printer misread his handwriting.
