Giacomo Casanova without a recall, however, he wrote a letter of appeal directly to the Inquisitors. At last, he received his long-sought permission and burst into tears upon reading "We, Inquisitors of State, for reasons known to us, give Giacomo Casanova a free safe-conduct ... empowering him to come, go, stop, and return, hold communication wheresoever he pleases without let or hindrance. So is our will." Casanova was permitted to return to Venice in September 1774 after 18 years of exile. At first, his return to Venice was a cordial one and he was a celebrity. Even the Inquisitors wanted to hear
Giacomo Casanova the money given to him in gratitude and by trickery. Prince Charles de Ligne, who understood Casanova well, and who knew most of the prominent individuals of the age, thought Casanova the most interesting man he had ever met: "there is nothing in the world of which he is not capable." Rounding out the portrait, the Prince also stated: "Casanova", like "Don Juan", is a long established term in the English language. According to "Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary", 11th ed., the noun "Casanova" means "Lover; "esp": a man who is a promiscuous and unscrupulous lover". The first usage of the