To err is human; but contrition felt for the crime distinguishes the virtuous from the wicked.

The affair became a widely publicised scandal and ended in a divorce that ruined Lady Ligonier and forced Alfieri to leave the country.  . In this degradation of tragic taste the appearance of the tragedies of Alfieri was perhaps the most important literary event that had occurred in Italy during the 18th century.

Count Vittorio Alfieri (Italian pronunciation: [vitˈtɔrjo alˈfjɛri]; 16 January 1749 – 8 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet considered the "founder of Italian tragedy.