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A LV OR D
DI SC
W
O URSE
.
H EN
Peri cles was called upo n to deliver the fu n eral
oratio n of those who had falle n i n the first cam p ai gn o f th e
Pelopo nn esian war accordi n g to Thucyd ides he bega n by
extolli n g Athen s an d havi n g expatiated o n her glories her
i n stitutio n s her laws her scie n ces an d arts he co n cluded by
“
exclaimi n g : For such a republic fo r such a cou n try the
”
men whom we mourn fell an d died
In meeti n g to do
ho n or to the memory of Cavour the most illustrious states
man of o ur time if we were to follow the example of th e
Athe n ian orator we could pay him no higher tribute tha n
to dwell on the glories an d calamities of the cou n try which
he was desti n ed to resto re to its n ation ality
E n closed by the great bou n dary of th e Alps on on e side
an d e n circled o n the others by the sea
with an exte n sive
coast i n de n ted with i n n umerable gulfs and bays where the
n avies of the world migh t ride i n safety closely borderi n g on
Africa surrou n ded by a chai n of isla n ds the n atural highway
an d
e n trepot of commerce betwee n Eastern and Western
Europe Italy seems to have bee n design ated by the very
han d of n ature as the home of a great n atio n Her people
the growth of eth n ic varieties lo n g si n ce by the actio n of
ages moulded i n to o n e s tock speak substan tially the same
la nguage are n ursed by the same literature an d bou n d
together by the same civilizatio n an d historical assoc iatio n s
There is perhaps n o cou n try so stron gly marked with the char
acte ri s ti cs of a disti n ct i n di viduality
an d n o n e whose i n di
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I N T RO DU CT OR Y
4
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has bee n s o lo n g an d s o cr uelly violate d an d c rushed
First amon g the n atio n s of Europe to emerge from the bar
b ari s m which succeeded the fall of the Roma n empire she
sho n e forth through the dark n ess a lo n ely star i n the splen
d or o f her commerce literature an d arts but sh e early b e
came t he victim of domestic feud an d the coveted prey of
While other cou ntries which cen turies
foreign domi n atio n
later had come forth from the medi aeval chaos wer e tra n s
formi n g themselves i nto n ation al associatio n s their social
eleme n ts clusteri n g arou n d their risi n g mo n archies Italy alon e
although e n dowed with a more cohesive force remai n ed i n a
state of com plete disorganizatio n The weak n ess of her feudal
lords the number of her mu n icipalit ies their j ealousies their
wealth an d vitality and above all the i n flue n ce of the papacy
an d the empire combi n ed to resist the actio n of her a ffi n ities
For more tha n a thousan d years from the time whe n Charle
mag n e i n return for the imperial crow n gra n ted to the
Bishop of Rome immu nity from his authority Italy has bee n
distracted by those two powers whose lon g an d bloody con
tests made her fertile plai n s on e great battle fi el d an d her
beautiful cities the sce n e of co n spiracy tumult an d civil war
while their frie n dly allia n ces were n o less hostile to her n a
ti o n al existe n ce
As early as the 13 th ce n tury D a n te called upon h i s cou n
He seized
t rym en to u n ite i n the struggle for n atio n ality
the crude eleme n ts of the I talia n la n guage i n the grasp of
his mighty gen ius an d moulded it i n to a p o werful e n gi n e
He embodied the history an d the aspi
of n atio n al thought
ration s of Italy i n the greatest mon umen t of modern literatur e
made poetry the messe n ger of her sorrows an d her hopes to
comi n g ge n eration s an d the immortal v 0 1ce which through
the ce nturies called her forth to life Followi n g i n hi s foot
steps Petrarch whose fame as a scholar made him a power in
the age i n which he lived addressed himself to popes pri n ces
an d republics
e n treated them to come to the rescue of the
Italian people an d hailed the short lived triumph of Rie n zi
vi d uali ty
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I N T RO DU CT OR Y
5
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as the d aw n of that day whe n they were to be u n ited u n der
Boccaccio an d the other tale writers of
o n e gover n me n t
the 14th an d 15th ce n turies strove to u n dermi n e th e papal
authority as on e Of the great impedime nts to n atio n al con
solidatio n an d exposed to popular ridicule u n der the garb of
fict io n the vices agai n st which D a n te an d Petrarch h ad before
hurled their bitterest i n vectives
To this en d of political
u n ity Machiavelli particularly directed his labors as a writer
an d as a statesma n an d more tha n o n ce su ffered i mp riso n me n t
an d torture
SO with all the great represe n tatives of Italia n
literature from D a nte to A lfi eri to Foscolo Leopar d i an d
Ni ccol i n i The ge n ius Of Italy tak i n g i ts key n ote from the
bard Of the D ivi n e Comedy h as through more tha n five h u n
dred years poured forth i n lofty strai n s this perpetual aspira
tio n of the Italia n s echoi n g at the same time th e mour n ful
history Of their division s an d bon dage But the voice Of the
m us e had n o spell to exorcise the evil spirits which presided
over the desti n ies of the n ation an d equ ally powerle s s were
c o n spiracies revolutio n s an d wars
After the Co n gress Of Vie nn a with the restoratio n Of the vas
sals of Austria on the thro n es Of the pe n i n sula the re establish
me n t Of the Austria n predomi n a n ce an d the papal mo n archy for
a sh o rt period overthrow n by the first Napoleo n
the chai n s o f
Italy seemed more firmly riveted tha n ever But the master mi n d
was soo n to arise whic h was to mo u ld her scattered members
i n to o n e whole the grea t architect was soon to appear who
was to rear them i n to the sublime temple Of n atio n al u n ity
fou n ded on the corn er sto n e o f co n stitutio n al liberty It was
reserved for Cavour to achieve i n a great measure the work
which the vai n lo n gi n gs Of an e n slaved people an d the heroic
e fforts of ce n turies had bee n u n able to accomplish It was
reserved for him to i n augurate i n Italy the policy of self
govern m e n t ide ntical with that which has give n rise to the
great rep u blic Of these U n ited States to i n fuse n ew life i n to the
cou n try which was th e source o f m odern civilizatio n whose
spirit flows through all m oder n society as the blood Of the
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2
B I RT H AN D
6
L I NE A G E
.
mother flo ws through the vei n s of her O ffspri n g an d whose
n ame se n ds a thrill of love an d admiratio n through every
hear t which feels the power of what is beautiful an d sublime
It is to the life Of C avour as illustrated by his character an d
policy that we n ow propose to direct ou r atte n tio n a character
supported as he was by the e nlighte n ed
an d policy which
patriotism an d the heroic bravery of Victor Emma n uel the ge n er
n III
the almost fabulo u s achieve
o u s frie n dship Of N ap ol e O
me n ts o f Garibaldi t h e moderation an d e n ergy of the Italia n
people an d the symp athy Of civilized n atio n s led him to aC
complish o n e Of the greatest revolution s which history records
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C
B EN SO
D I C AVO U R was born i n Turi n on the
l 0th o f August 1810 five years before the Co n gress of
Vie nn a had co n cocted that co n spiracy agai n st the liberties
Of Italy whose deadly effebts withi n less tha n half a ce n tury
he was desti n ed to cou n teract by the bold n ess o f h i s ge n ius
He ope n ed his eyes to
an d the wisdom o f his patriotis m
t h e light therefore i n the very capital of the ki n gdom o f
Sardi n ia upo n which the great missio n of n atio n al rege n era
tio n was to devolve an d i n the meridia n of the power o f the
first Napoleo n i n that mem orable although brief period Of
prosperity which the cou n try had attai n ed u n der the i n flue n ce
e mpire
He was desce n ded from the n oble
o f the Fre n ch
family Of the Be n si whose origi n dates back to the 12th cen
tury an d w h o havi n g at a later period received the Marquisate
Of C avour were the n ceforth desig n ated by that n ame His fa
ther the Marquis Giuseppe Michele Be n so di Cavour was gran d
gov ern or of Piedmo n t
C ha m berlai n Of the Pri n ce Borghese
the n u n der the s way Of Fra n ce an d his mother held the O ffice
Of lady i n waiti n g to the pri n cess the beautiful Pauli n e sister
Camillo took his Christia n n am e from
o f the first Napoleo n
the pri n ce who with the pri n cess acted as spo n sor i n his
baptism an d thus ushered i n to the world u n der the auspices
Of the Bo n apartes we shall s ee h i m i n the cours e Of a few
years welcome as mi n ister of Victor Emma n uel the reapp e ar
A M ILL O
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E A RL Y
E DU C A TI ON
7
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a n ce of that dy n asty o n the thron e Of Fra n ce an d secure its
allia n ce to the ca u se of Italia n i n depe n de n ce
The early life Of Cavour like that Of most m en who leave
their impressio n on the history of man ki n d w as a lo n g an d
pai nful struggle n ot from the abse n ce of material prosperi ty
but from the a n tago n ism i n which he fou n d himself with the
prej udices o f his time an d the wretched co n ditio n Of his
cou n try It was i n this crucible that his vigorous an d i n
flexible n ature was moulded the breadth an d the bold n ess
of his character developed an d his i n dividuality wro u ght out
i n to its striki n g relie f H i s ed u catio n bega n at that period
whe n the restoratio n had brought back to Italy the Old d y
n asties with the petty an d bigoted despotisms o f the precedi n g
age U n der the rule o f the first Napoleo n importa n t chan ges
had b e e n e ffected i n Italy ; feudal i n stitutio n s had bee n swept
a w ay civil an d religious liberty i ntroduced an d the late n t
power of the people roused to t ake part i n the race Of Euro
pea n progress The former divisio n s Of the terri torv too had
almost e n tirely dis appe ared or become merged i n to a sort Of
political i n dividuality based o n the u n ity Of legislatio n an d ad
But n ow
m i n istratio n an d o n a thorough military orga n izatio n
the cou n try agai n re n t asu n der an d forced back u n d er the
double yoke of ari s tocratic an d ecclesiastical authority was
agai n firm ly chai n ed to the thro n es of Vie nn a an d Rome
NO ave n ues to adva n ceme n t but those of the army an d
the church bei n g Ope n Camillo like most o f th e you ng
men of ra n k was early se n t to the Military Academy of
T u ri n for his ed u catio n He soo n gave evide n ce o f his pre
capacities and when o n ly ten years Old was ap
co ci ou s
poi n ted a page to Charles Albert the n presum p tive heir to
the crow n of Sardi n ia This pri n ce w as at that time looked
upo n as the chief o f the liberal party an d the appoi n tme n t
of the little Cavour was co n sidered an act of oppositio n to
the court which regarded his family with marked cold n ess
accou n t of their former co n n ectio n , with the Bo n apartes
on
The livery of the page however w as ill sui ted to the i n sti n o
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A
8
P RE SEN T I M EN T
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tive i n depe n de n ce which characterized him from his childhood
in
an d he was soo n discharged from his O ffi ce highly delighted
”
”
“
havi n g as he expressed it throw n Off his pack saddle
He
retur n ed therefore to his studies at the Acade my ; but o wm g
t o the prevaili n g methods o f teachi n g more calculated to dis
g ust than to attract he see m s to have paid little atte n tio n to
his lesso n s an d man ifest in g an equal dis taste f o r boyish amuse
me nts he spen t h i s time i n readi n g history an d politica l trea
tises But toward the close Of the term s he would put aside
his favorite books an d i n a few days prepare hi m self fo r the
exami n atio n s which he passed with suc h disti n ctio n that at the
age of sixtee n he received his commi s s mn an d e n tered the
army at eightee n with the ra n k of lieuten a n t i n the royal
e n gi n eers He was early employed in this capacity i n import
an t surveys an d fortificatio n s o n the Ape n n i n es an d the Alps
an d i n 1 83 1 we fi n d him e n gaged i n similar works at Ge n oa
While i n that city havi n g expressed himself with som e free d om
o n political a ffairs an d his words bei n g reported to the court
he was ordered for a year to the Fort of Bard i n the Vall e di
Aosta On his release he resign ed his commissio n H i s ch ar
acter was n o better fitted for the position of a military Offi cer
than for that of a page The submissio n sile n ce an d passive
Obedien ce required by military discipli n e were n ot a mo n g his
n
h
n
a
d
i
promi n e n t qu alities
uick
to
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r
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$
follies Of those about him u n spari n g i n his tre n chan t wit an d
iron y proud an d self relia n t he was n ot born to Obey but t o
comman d
Havi n g thus freed himself frOm the tra mmels Of his positio n
although with m uch Oppositio n o n the part o f his father C a
vour n ow t u rn ed his whole atte n tio n to the political an d social
q u estio n s of the day an d bega n to prepare himself for that
career of which with the prescien ce Of true ge n ius he had already
some prese n time n t In a letter writte n to a frie n d who had
co n doled with him on his disgrace at the court whe n o n ly
twe n ty two year s Old at the time when th e prospects of Italy
w e re little calcula ted to i n spire hope h e express e d himself i n
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E A RL Y
PAT R I O TI SM
9
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the followi n g remarkable words
I than k you for the i n terest
you take i n my misfo rt u n e but believe me I shall still aeco m
i
n despi e o f it
n or
my
career
I
e
am a very
an
li
sh
p
t
mo us ly a mbitious m an an d whe n I am mi n ister I shall j u stify
my ambitio n ; for I tell yo u i n my dream s I already see my
”
self mi n ister Of the ki n gdom Of Italy
In this i n tuitive belief
that he was desti n ed to play an i m portan t part i n the future o f
his cou n try he n ow applied himself to the study of political
scie n ce an d particularly Of political eco n omy i n wh ich h e
took for his g u ide the writers Of the great school fou n ded by
Adam Smith He gathered fro m Fra n ce an d E n glan d books
reports an d other docume n ts relati n g to fi n a n ce com m erce an d
agric u lture an d by u n tiri n g i n d u stry put scie n tific theories to
the test Of practical results
Cavour watched with i n te n se feeli n g the eve n ts Of the Fre n ch
Revolutio n in 1830 the free tra d e an d the refo rm agitatio n i n
E n gla n d i n the hope that the progress which appeared to b e i n
store for other n atio n s would be an ome n Of good for his co un
His letters Of this ti m e express his deep a n xiety i n b e
trym en
half Of Italy an d prove that his love for his cou n try was Of n o
”
late growth
While all Europe writes he as early as D ecem
ber 1829 to an E n glish frie n d is wal ki n g with a firm step i n
the path Of progress u n happy Italy is always born e dow n u n der
the sam e system of civil an d religious tyra n n y Pity those who
with souls made to develop the ge n erous pri n ciples Of civiliza
tio n are compelled to s ee their cou n try brutalized by Austri an
bayo n ets Tell your coun tryme n that we are n ot u n deservi n g
Of liberty that if we have rotten members we have also m e n
who are wor thy to e nj oy the blessi n gs of light Forgive me if
I wa n der b u t my soul is weighed dow n u nder the burde n of
ind ign ation an d of sorrow an d I fe el a very sweet relief i n thus
Ope n i n g myself to o n e who k n ows the causes Of my grief an d
”
surely sympathizes with them
A n d i n a n other letter o f Ju ly
1882 he co n ti n ues to mourn the fate Of his cou n try as follows
Pressed on o n e side by Austria n bayo n ets o n the other by
the furious excomm un icatio n s of the pope our co n dition i s truly
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10
I N W AR D
T R U GGLE
S
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deplorable Every free exercise of thought every ge n erous s en
ti me n t is stifled as if it were a sacrilege o r a cri m e agai n st the
State We ca n n ot hope to Obtai n by ourselves any rel i ef from
such e n ormous misfort u n e s The desti ny Of my cou n tryme n
Of the Romag n a esp e cially is truly deplorable an d the steps
which have bee n take n by the mediati n g powers have o n ly
made it worse The i n ter v e n tio n of Fra n ce is n ot eve n s u f
fi cien t to exact the smallest reaso n able co n cessio n fro m the
pope The voice of E n gla n d alo n e if raised i n a firm an d
positive to n e can Obtai n for the people a supportable govern
me n t so mewhat i n harmo n y with the ideas an d ma n n ers Of ou r
”
age
On th e accessio n o f Charles Albert the father o f Cavo u r was
—
n
appoi ted Vicario Of Turi n a h i gh O ffice which i n volved the
charge Of the police an d the duty Of watchi n g the liberal
party an d reporti n g its moveme n ts directly to the ki n g The
marquis thus beco m i n g the i n s t ru m e n t of a p etty an d mistr u st
ful gover n me n t altho u gh an amiable man i n his private rela
tio n s brought upo n hi mself a vast amou n t Of popular Odi u m
which exten ded to his fa mily Cavour himself was regarded
with s uspicio n by the aristocratic class for h i s liberal views an d
by the popular party fo r his aristocratic co n n ection s
Tho s e
O n ly whose lot it has bee n to dri n k sile n tly dro p by drop the
bitter cup Of moral con strai n t whose hearts have bee n devoured
by the slo w fire Of i n ward str u ggle can measure the i n t e n sity
Of sufferi n g to which his extre m ely se n sitive n ature must have
bee n subj ected by his early associatio n s Eager for disti n ctio n
a n d po w er yet obliged to e n dure the suspicio n s of all parties
attached by filial affectio n to him who was the pri n cipal i n
strum e nt Of the bigotry an d the mea nn ess Of the gover nm e n t
he was forced to sacrifice o n the altar Of his pe n ates the n obles t
aspiratio n s Of his youth But let the Old Vicario hu nt dow n
the frie n ds of liberty an d slip his hordes to cr u s h o ut every hope
of freedom ; u n d er h i s o wn roof bor n Of his ow n flesh a you t h
is fast approachi n g ma n hood who shall soon scatter to the
wi n ds the e n gi n es Of despotism an d toweri n g i n moral
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EN G L I SH
TH E
C ON STIT U TI ON
11
.
stature far above all factio n s Ope n the pathway to the ema n ei
patiou o f h is cou ntry Millio n s fro m Alps to xEtn a shall hail
hi m as their leader an d follow him o n ward to the co n quest Of
n atio n al liberty
In 1 83 3 Cavour travelled over various portio n s Of the pe n i n
sula an d by actual Observatio n m a d e hi m self acquai n ted w ith
its political an d social co n ditio n E ve n the n it w o u ld see m
that the Austrian authorities had a prese nti m e n t Of the part
which he was to play i n the future of Italy as an order w as
issued from the head q u arters of the police to subj e ct him to
the most rigorous i n vestigatio n s o n his e n tra n ce i n to Lo mbardy ;
“
”
as there is reaso n said the ord er to suspect that he may
be the bearer Of da n gero u s docume n ts for i n spite o f his youth
”
he is already deeply corr u pted i n h i s politi cal pri n ciples
In
1835 he visited S witz erla n d the bi r thplac e of his mother an d
the r e side n ce Of s e veral Of his r elatives ; an d the i n tercourse
which he ever after co n ti n ued to h old w ith that r epublic doubt
less co n tributed to n urt u re his i n sti n cti ve love Of free d om H e
left G en eva for Paris from the n ce he passed over to E n gla n d a
n atio n for which he expressed
that esteem an d i n terest d u e to
o n e Of the greatest people that has do n e ho n or to the hu ma n
race a n ation that has co n ti n ually promoted the m o ral an d
materi al progress of the w orld an d whose civilizi n g missio n is
”
yet far from havi n g reached its term
Cavour regarded the E n glish co n stitutio n with great admira
tio n He studied it thoroughly an d drew from it those broad
pri n ciples Of liberty which characterize the A n glo Saxo n system
Of gover n me n t
whether u
n der the republica n o r mo n archical
form ; pri nciples which make the defe n ce Of i ndividual rights th e
basis an d the O bj ect Of civil authority an d all i n terfere n ce Of the
State n o t deman ded by the exige n cies Of social co existe n ce an act
o f usurpatio n
; which limit the ac t io n Of t he law to the security
o f the citize n an d lesse n i n g the power Of th e govern m e n t e n
large the sphere of perso n al activity He admired the robust
i n dividuality the self gover nme n t the perso n al i n d ep e n de n ce
an d the self r elia n ce by which the A n gl o Saxo n race is so d i s
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ST UD I E S ABROA D
12
t i n g ui s h ed ,
.
an d
that li beral S pirit which has culmi n ated i n the
electoral reform the repeal of the corn laws an d th e Catholic
eman cipatio n That spirit which crossed the A tl an tic i n the
Mayflower expa n ded i n to higher perfe ctio n i n these Un ited
S t ates an d is at the prese n t m ome n t asserti ng itself more tri
u m h an tl
n ever agai n st the wa n to n attacks Of its an ta
tha
p
y
g
o n i s t which i n the light Of the 1 9 th ce n tury would perpetuate
the reign of an oligarchy fou n ded o n huma n slavery
B u t while the i n stitutio n s Of E n gla n d an d the Un i t ed States
are establis h ed o n the pri n ciple of self gover nm e nt the n atio n s
of the E u ropea n co n ti n en t are orga n ized o n qui t e the Opposite
idea the supremacy Of the State over the citize n There man
is n ot free by n ature b u t receives his rights from law ; th ere
whet h er i n the m o n archy of Louis XIV i n the sche mes Of
Louis B lan e or i n those of Cabet the State is the orga n izer Of
society an d the dispe n ser of liberty ; there ce ntral au thority as
sumes the respo n sibilities of the citize n re n ders him soul an d
body depe n de n t absorbs mu n icipal and provi n cial life an d b e
comes i ntolera nt mo n opolizi n g an d despotic Crushed by the
powerful machi n ery Of the admi n istratio n the i mm or tal se nti
me n t o f liberty must thus forever struggle revolutio n must be
a perman e n t co n ditio n an d the people co nti n ually vibrate b e
twee n d e spotism an d a n archy
These two syste m s i n their n ature an d beari n g Cavour well
u n derstood an d his cordial devotio n to the An glo Saxo n idea Of
liber ty i n augurated a n ew era i n the policy Of E u rop e He
probably the first statesman Of the co n ti n e n tal n atio n s
who fully an d practically appreciated the value of self govern
me n t ; an appreciatio n which was the result Of the co mp reh en
s i v en es s an d i n depe n de n ce Of his mi n d as well as of his exte n
sive Observati on D uri n g his reside n ce i n E n glan d amidst the
e nj oyme nts Of society for which his co n n ectio n s fortu n e an d
temperame n t afforded him every facility he devoted hi m self to
an ear n est st u dy Of the worki n g of the E n glish co n stit u tio n
He exa mi n e d its effects o n the social an d commercial co n dition
of the people its i n fl u e n ce o n the produ ctio n an d distrib utio n Of
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E ARL Y
W
R ITI NG S
13
.
wealth commerce private associatio n s mech an ical i n ve n tio n s
improveme n ts i n ma n ufactures an d husba n dry c h arity schools
At the same time he made
an d other be n evole n t i n stit utio n s
himself master Of the machi n ery Of co n stitutio n al govern me n t
acquai n ted wit h the rules Of parliame n tary proceedi n gs
an d
He was directed i n this work Of self trai n i n g by several promi
n e n t me n o f that cou n try an d particularly by Mr W Broker
do n with whom he had early co n tracted frie n dly relatio n s an d
whose varied ta le n ts as a mecha n ic as a scholar an d as an artist
pec u liarly fitted him to guide the Ital ian stude n t i n his re
searches
C av ou r s admiratio n fo r E n gla n d an d her i n stitutio n s however
was by n o mea n s bli n d an d u n discrimi n ati n g ; while he accepted
i n all its breadth the great pri n ciple Of co n stitutio n al liberty
an d properly estimated the practical te n de n cies of the E n glish
people he was u n reserved i n de n ou n ci n g the E n glish aristocracy
for their n eglect of the i n tellectual an d moral requireme n ts of
the labori n g classes an d he careful ly excluded from the legis
l atio n of his cou ntry those features of the E n glish law n o t
strictly i n accorda n ce with the Italian character an d the civili
z ati o n o f the prese n t age
In 1842 after an abse n ce Of several years Cavo u r retur n ed
to Italy He soo n published various essays both i n Italian
an d Fre n ch
remarkable for their comprehe n sive an d liberal
views
Amo n g them that on the State an d Prospects Of
Irela n d received u n qualified praise i n E n gla n d
He had
visite d that coun try whe n the repeal agitation was at i ts
height an d while he discouraged that moveme n t as utterly
impracticable he suggested ma ny measures Of redress for the
grievan ces of the people some Of which have S i n ce bee n
adopted In that paper he bestows a well deserved eulogy on
E nglan d an d i n a m asterly sketch of William Pitt he S hows
a remarkable appreciatio n Of the circumsta n ces which led that
states m a n to pursue a li n e o f policy which h as bee n u n iversally
co n dem n ed In his essay on Commu n ism Cavour reduces
its various question s to th e problem : What is the ratio n al
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E A RL Y
14
W
R ITI N G S
.
pri n ciple to adopt i n cases of co n flict be twee n the right Of
property on which all social order depe n ds an d the right o f
self preservatio n an d labor which ca n n ot be refused to an y
livi n g m an ? Showi n g that these two rights have n o absol u te
but o n ly a relative worth on on e S ide he de n ou n ces comm u
n i s ti c doctri n es
as destr u ctive Of all i n divid u al liberty as
well as Of all social organ izatio n o n the other h e u rges the
wealthy classes to co Operate by an e n ligh te n ed be n evole n ce
with the eco n o mists an d philosophers i n lesse n i n g the evils
arisi n g from the u n eq u al distribution o f wealth A high p h i
l os op h i cal to n e a n ice discrimi n atio n logical deductio n an d
an ear n est desire for the improveme n t Of the people are the
pri n cipal characteristics Of this treatise
His essay on Italia n Railroads is remarkable for its tech n ical
merits an d the n atio n al poi n t Of view from which the s u bj ect is
treated Havi n g i n dicated the most i m porta n t li n es for u n iti n g
the pe ni n s u la as on e con diti o n Of its i n depe n d e n ce he co n cludes
as follows :
The n railroads will stretch without i n terruptio n
from the Alps to Sicily an d will cause all the Obstacles an d
distan ces to disappear which separate the Italia n people an d
prev e n t the m from formi n g a great an d S i n gle n atio n
A few
years later whe n Italy e n tered upo n the str u ggle for n atio n
ality Cavour had the Opportu n ity of carryi n g out h i s desig n s
i n this bra n ch Of the admi n istratio n an d before his death the
co n tracts were sig n ed for the con structio n of n um e ro u s li n es
which will soo n embrace the whole cou n try i n their iron arms
In a n other essay o n the I n fl u e n ce Of Co mm ercial Reform i n
E n gla n d on the Eco n om ical Co n ditio n of Italy ” he Shows the
co n n ectio n betwee n political an d eco n o mical adva n ceme n t
urges the i n troductio n o f free i n stitutio n s as a n ecessary con
ditio n for the com m ercial an d i n dustrial progress Of the co u n
try an d expresses his u n shaken faith i n th e tale n t activity
“
which re n dered their an cestors illus
an d en ergy o f the Italia n s
tri o u s an d powerful i n the m iddle ages whe n the Flore nti n e an d
Lo mbard ma n u fact u res an d the Ge n oese an d Ve n etia n fleets
had n o rivals i n E urope an d which if freed from the tram
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O CC U PA TI ON S
15
.
“
mels Of protection ism would agai n raise Italy to the first ra n k
am o n g the com merc i al n atio n s Of the world
He recom
me n ds at the same time th e establish m en t of i n stitutio n s of
credit scie n tific schools an d i n d u strial associatio n s as the
mea n s of a rapid develop m e n t for the various bra n ches of
i n dustry s o wo n derfully s u ited to the peculiarities Of the soil
m aterial
an d i n sists o n the d u ty of society to promote the
w h o co n tribute
an d moral welfare Of the worki n g classes
most directly to the prod u ctio n of p u blic wealth which he
declares ceases to be a real be n efi t to the cou n try u n less
”
the laborer derives an advan tage from that i n crease
Let u s
he co n cludes develop those be n evol e n t i n stituti on s which
are the hon or Of our past an d prese n t histo ry subj ecti n g them
to those scie n tific laws the observa n ce Of which i s esse n tial i n
order to re n der i n stitutio n s desig n ed for the relief of hu m a n
misery of real use an d e fficacy Let us labor to e n able o ur
fellow citize n s rich an d poor an d the poor eve n more tha n
the rich to participate i n the be n efits Of civil progress an d th e
i n crease Of wealth By S O doi n g we shall solve peacefully
an d like Christia n m e n the great social problem which others
”
seek to solve by tre m e n dous co n v ulsio n s an d awful disasters
The years which i n terve n ed betwee n his return home an d
the n ation al revival Of 184 7 Cavour devoted to political re
searches the improveme n t Of h i s estates an d to all public
an d p ri vate e n terprises calculated to promote the m oral an d
material progress Of the cou n try The establish me nt Of i n
fa n t asylums i n Turi n particularly e n gaged his atte n tion an d
he was early elected a member Of the board of directors
But his i n terest i n these i n stitutio n s w as regarded with S O
much j ealousy by the court that he was soo n requested to
resig n h i s place an d to withdraw his n ame from the books Of
—
n
the associatio
a step which i n dicated at o n ce h i s growi n g
power an d the weak n ess of the govern m e n t He was also on e
Of the fou n ders of the Agric u ltural Society Of the State th rough
the papers of which he lai d before his cou n tryme n hi s e n larged
an d liberal views on trade an d i n dustry
The discussio n s on
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16
MA Z Z I N I
.
these topics led to others i n volvi n g still higher i n terests an d
prepared the people for t h e pol itical cha n ges which were soo n
to follow
We n ow reach the year 1847 whe n Italy seemed at last to
awake to the co n sciousn ess Of a n ew l ife Although the
n atio n al spirit si n ce 1 815 had bee n stifled
an d al m ost ex ti n
i
h
m
u
d
n
s
n
e
it
had
ore
tha
o
ce
burst
forth
a
flame
i
n
l
f
fi
t
u
g
too soo n however to be agai n subdued an d s moth ered In
183 1 a n ew apostle had appeared who b u r n i n g with e n th u
s i as m fo r liberty had relighted the dyi n g spark Of n atio n ality
Mazzi n i from h i s exile had co n ti n ued for m ore tha n fiftee n
years to fan with u n ceasi n g activity the fire Of patriotis m i n
the hearts Of hi s coun try m e n to i n cit e th e m to boldly
throw Off n ot o n ly the yoke Of foreig n do mi n ation but to
cast aside every vestige Of mo n archical i n stitutio n s an d to
seek their n atio n al u n ity i n o n e great republic Fixed i n this
idea he had subordi n ated the cause Of i n depe n de n ce to the
i n troductio n Of republica n gover nm en t as the o nly mea n s
adapted to sweep away the Obstacles to the reco n structio n o f
Italy as a n atio n Th e r ulers Of the co un try wholly ide n tified
with the i nterests Of the house Of Hapsb u rg had left to him
choice betwee n n atio n al i n depen de n ce an d thei r des
no
oti c s w ay an d fro m the begi n n i n g he had frow n ed o n all
p
compro mises with the thro n es of the pen i n s u la an d directed
his efforts to their overthrow Proceedi n g however upo n an
imagi n ary estimate of the stre ngth of the cou ntry ig nori n g
the actual co n ditio n of human n a t ure an d the e x igen cies Of
Europea n policy comma n di n g but li mited mean s e n tirely
disproportio n ed to his Obj ect an d led o n by h i s i n sti n ct
the bold co n spirator was desti n ed to e xhaust his party i n a
series Of atte m pts which though protests agai n st despotism
were little calc u lated to produce th e s e n atio n al res u lts to
whic h his life was devote d
Cavour regarded the proj ects Of Mazzi n i as utterly powerless
to lighte n the burde n Of domestic rule an d to e m an cipa te the
cou n try from foreig n domi n atio n A practical man by n ature
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G I OBER TI
18
.
complish the same obj ect thro u gh the existi ng mo n archy
re n ovated however by co n stitutio n al libe rty
Prom i n e n t amo n g th e se leaders was G ioberti A man of
lofty patriotism an d sai n tly character a philosophical writer
Of g reat re n ow n disti n guished by depth breadth an d n ovelty
of t h ought as well as by brillian cy o f style his i n flue n ce was
powerful an d salutary Co n sideri n g the papal an d the A u s
trian gover n me n ts as the two mai n stumbli n g blocks to It alia n
i n depe n d en ce i n his works he ai ed at the overthrow Of both
The papacy he did n ot directly attack as his predecessors i n
philosophy had do n e but he attempted to flan k an d turn
it i n to the service of the n atio n He sketched an Ideal
youthful an d vigorous which he e n deavored to assimilate to
the Old an d wor n out i n stitutio n Of the Vatican an d to place
at the head of the Italia n moveme n t The appearan ce Of
Pi u s IX i n the garb o f a reformer seemed for a mom e n t to
red uce his theory to fact though i n reality it re n dered the
discrepa n ci es an d i n co n gruities betwee n the ideal an d the real
papacy more co n spicuous an d irreco n cilable Could we lose
sight Of the ear n estn ess an d si n cerity of G i ob erti s character
it would appear that i n describi n g the papal power as the great
rege n erati n g age n cy of o u r age he i n te n ded rather to satirize
tha n to defen d its prete n sio n s an d that he aimed to e ffect by
praise what its professed oppo n e n ts strove to accomplish by
Ope n attack Thus o n ly could we explai n the con tradictio n s
exhibited i n his life an d works an d u n dersta n d how an arde n t
professor Of the papal faith he could u n dermi n e its fou n dation
bys ub sti tuti n g private j udgme n t for submissive beli ef ; h ow
an extravaga n t eulogist of the church he could be an u u re
le n ti n g ce n sor of its i n stitutio n s an d laws an d particularly a
stern de n ou n cer of the Jesuits the ack n owle d ged expo n e n ts Of
its doctri n e ; how fi n ally an e n thusiastic ad mirer of the papal
hierarchy he could aba n do n the papal priesthood as a calli n g
i n co n siste n t with his i n depe n den ce as a philosopher as well as
with his duties as a citize n It is o n ly by regardi n g his philos
op h y i n refere n ce to his poli t ical Obj ects that we are able to do
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I L RI SO RG I M E N T O
19
.
it full us ti ce for whe n Pius IX aba n do n ed the Italia n cause
which as pope he could n ot co n siste n tly support Gioberti
leavi n g at o n ce the papacy to its own d esti n y so u ght other
more substan tial bases for n atio n al exis t e nce an d poi n ted out
the house Of Savoy as the o nly hope of Italy He accordi n gly
as e arly as 185 1 i n his last an d best work : Il Ri nn ova m e n to
”
civile d Itali a established o n scie n tific grou n ds the n atio n al
hegemon y Of Sardi n ia an d showed the n ecessity of the Fre n ch
allia n c e an d the co n solidatio n Of the whole n atio n u n der the
sceptre Of V i ctor Emma n uel foreshadowi n g the glorious eve n ts
whose co n su m matio n alas $ he was n ot d e sti n ed to behold
Whatever therefore may be the philosophical value Of Gio
berti s Opi n io n s his political services u n doubtedly p aved th e
way to the bold an d brillia n t care er Of Cavour
The proj e ct Of an Italia n co n federacy u n der th e n omi n al
preside n cy Of the pope an d the ac t ual leadership Of Sardi n i a
bei n g the o n ly form of n atio n al existe n c e which at that time
appeared practicable was accepted by Cavour an d h e S haped
his policy accordi n gly givi n g however but little importan ce
Whe n the ce n sorship Of th e press was
to the papal eleme n t
somewhat relaxed he established i n Turi n i n co n n ectio n with
”
Cesare B alb O an d others the Risorgime n to a daily paper Of
which he became the chief editor an d which owi n g to his
skilful ma n ageme n t exerted a great i n flue nce on the course o f
eve n ts In this paper he advocated the i n depe n de n ce Of Italy
u n io n betwee n the pri n ces an d people progressive reform an d
a co n federatio n Of the Italia n States ; he developed also those
more ge n eral pri n ciples of free gover n me n t which he afterward
carried out i n his a dmi nistratio n In accorda n ce with the same
pri n ciples he also Sig ned about this time a petitio n to Ferdi n a n d
Of Naples implori n g hi m to secon d th e progressive moveme n t
little thi nki n g that the eve n ts of the next few years would
place at his disposal the crow n Of the desce n da nt of that mi s
crean t ki n g
In the begin n i n g of 1848 Cavour took the still more import
an t step Of dema n di n g from Charles Albert a co n stitutio n for
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A C ON STIT U TI ON D EMAN D E D
20
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his n ative State till the n u n der absolute sway A deputation
from Ge n oa h ad co m e to Tu ri n to urge upo n the ki n g the ex
pulsio n of the Jesuits an d the orga n izatio n o f the n atio n al
militia ; and the C hief editors aware o f the da n gers with which
that agitatio n was fraught met together for the purpose of com
bi n i n g their actio n i n support o f that deman d Cavo u r took
n o part i n the proceedi n gs u n til the as sembly was called to de
cide upo n the course of their fut u re actio n ; whe n com i n g
boldly to the poi nt he said : Why should we as k i n this
rou n dabout way for paltry reform s which will e n d i n little or
n o good ?
Let us at o n ce peti t i o n the ki n g to gran t us the
ben efi t o f free discussio n i n which the opi n io n s the i n terests
an d the wa n ts of the peopl e may be represe n ted
Let us de
ma n d a co n s t it utio n al charter The bold n ess of this motio n was
the more striki n g si n ce owi n g to the u n popularity from which
he had n ot eve n yet e m erg e d he could rely very little o n the
support of his colleagues an d still less o n the favor o f the
ki n g W hether Charl e s Albert was a despot by n ature or
whether he assumed o nly the garb of despotism to mak e him
self acceptable to Austria an d thus bli n d her to his future de
sig n s he was extre m ely calo n s of his ow n power an d very far
from admitti n g the right of the people to S hare with him the
man ageme n t o f their o w n affairs He had i n deed u n der the
pressure o f the times relucta n tly gra n ted a few admi n istrative
reform s ; an d n ow that a private citize n the target of both the
reactio n ary an d progressive parties should dare lo udly to de
man d a represe n tative gover n me n t an d th u s divide his s ov er
ei g n ty was such a mo n strous assu m ptio n that but fo r the agi
tati o n s Of the times Cavour would have bee n at o n ce disgraced
The maj ority of his colleagues havi n g decli n ed to support his
motio n an d the ce n sors of the press n ot havi n g allowed the
publicatio n of the proceedi n gs o f th e m eeti n g he took upo n
hims elf to write directly to the ki n g i n formi n g him of what had
passe d explai n i n g his motives an d poi n ti n g o ut th e da n gers
i nvolved i n a further del ay to comply with the exigen cies of
the age
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AN A PPEAL
ARM S
TO
21
.
Whatever may have bee n the effect of this commun icatio n
it i s certai n that the co n stit utio n was soo n after gran ted an d
he w h o was first to deman d it was withi n a few years called
to mould it i nto the cor n er sto n e of th e liberties of the whole
Italia n people
Had Charles Albert lo n ger resisted th e ad
v an ci n g tide of p u blic opi n io n his d yn asty would i n all prob
ability have bee n swept away with those of the other r u lers ; as
it was the charter th u s timely gra n ted proved to be the fortu
n ate bark desti n ed to bear his successor triumpha n tly amidst
co n te n di n g storms to the thro n e of Ita ly
Cavour was n ow appoi n ted member o f a committee charged
with the drawi n g up o f the electoral bill a labor which de
vol ved chiefly u po n h i m This bill w as s o broad an d liberal
i n its pri n ciples that i t proved n ot o n ly adapted to the wa n ts
o the whole u n ited
o f Sardi n ia b ut it h as si n ce bee n exte n ded
t
ki n gdom
The daw n of Italian i n depe n de n ce n e w approaches Mila n
has rise n in arms an d drive n the Austria n troops beyon d her
gates
The expectan t n atio n waits o n ly for a chieftai n to
ro u t the e n emy from his stro n gholds an d pursue him beyo n d
the Alps To Charles Albert all eyes are turn ed all arms are
exte n ded But he hesitates an d fears to risk the crow n h e
wears for the more brillia n t on e which he would grasp While
his chivalrous character his ambitio n the tradition s of the house
o f Savoy urge him o n ward his fam ily co n n ectio n s his co n ser
His
v ati v e te n de n cies his dread o f revolutio n hold him bac k
advisers recoil fro m the respo n sibility Of plu n gi n g the li t tle
State of Sardi nia i n to a war with a powerful empire an d th e
desti ny of the n ation seems equally imperilled by actio n an d
delay But with Cavour i n this crisis there w as n o doubt n o
hesitatio n ; an d while the ki n g surrou n ded by his cou n sellors
was debati n g i n stead of marchi n g at the head of his army he
“
published the follo win g appeal to arms : The supre m e hour for
the mo n archy of Savoy has str uck the hour for i n trepid actio n
the ho ur o n which depen ds the fate of empires an d the desti ny of
In view of the late eve n ts there is n o time for doubt
n atio n s
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3
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T HE LEA D ER SH I P OF SAR D I N I A
22
.
delay ; of all policies s u ch wo u ld be the most fatal Cool
i n j udg m e n t an d accustom ed to lis te n rather to the suggestio n s
o f reaso n tha n to the pro mpti n gs o f the heart well weighi n g
every word which we utter we sol e m nly an d co n scie n tiously
declare that there is o n ly on e course to be pursued for the ki n g
the gover n me nt an d the n atio n War $war at o n ce an d with
out delay It is i mpossible to retreat The n atio n is already
at war with Austria It is risi n g n ow to th e aid of the Lom
bards O ur volu n te e rs have already crossed the fro ntier ; our
citize n s are fur n ishi n g ammu ni t ion to the Mila n ese The peace
with A u stria i s broke n an d the ol d treaties on either S ide are torn
We have n ot to decide whether we
an d tra m pl e d u n derfoot
Shall co mm e n ce war or n ot ; ou r sole optio n i s whether we shall
declare ourselves loyally an d boldly for the cause of hu m a n ity
an d It aly o r whether we shall follow fo r a period the tortuous
path o f a doubtful an d i n si n cere policy We are i n a positio n
i n which courage is the true prude n ce an d temerity wiser than
cautio n Lombardy is i n flames ; Mila n is besieged ; there is
Had
n othi n g left for us b u t to fly to the aid o f o u r brothers
we but five thousan d m en o n the fro ntier we sho uld march
them at o n ce to Milan They might be defeated ; b u t the moral
effe ct of such an expeditio n would aid the Italia n cause far
more than a defeat could do it i nj ury W oe to us if for the
sake of i n creasi n g o u r preparatio n s we sh ould come too late ;
if wh e n we are ready to cross the Tici n o we Should hear that
the que en of Lo mbardy has falle n $ In our positi o n there is
but o n e policy we repeat ; n ot that of a Louis Philippe an d
G uizot but that of a Frederick the Great a Napol e o n an d a
Charles E mman uel ; the great policy of bold cou n sels
Th e same day on which Cavour expre ssed such a decided opi n
i on on the great questio n of the i n terve n tio n i n Lombardy
C h ar les Albert issued the fa m ous proclamatio n by which h e
placed himself at the head of the revol u tio n an d sec u red for the
S tat e th e leadership of the n atio n O ccupyin g a comm a n di n g
positio n betwee n the Alps an d the Mediterran ea n i n habited by
a people disti nguish ed by their practical se n se vigor of charac
or
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A PR I VA T E VOL U N T EER
23
.
ter an d warlike spirit an d ruled by a dyn asty whose power i n
Italy had bee n gradually augme n ted duri n g eight ce n turies
Sardi n ia see m ed peculiarly fitted for the desti n y assig n ed her
From this ti m e Sh e made com mo n cause with the whole n atio n ;
an d bravely e n teri n g i n to the are n a staked her o w n existe n ce
T wice prostrated she t wice arose from the con
o n the issue
fl i ct ; an d at last u n der the guida n ce of Cavour we shall b e
h e l d her u n iti n g the lo n g d ivided provi n ces i n to o n e whole as
a n ebulous spot scarcely visible far i n the space above attract
i n g aro u n d i ts n ucleus masses o f cosmical vapor at le n gth b e
co m es a lumi n o us star
D uri n g the war of 1848 T uri n wit n essed the ope n i n g of the
first parliame n t In that sessio n Cavour s at as the deputy o f
the first district of his n ative city ; a co n stitue n cy which with
the exceptio n of o n e short sessio n he co n ti n ued to represe nt to
the last U n ited to the aristocracy by birth an d by early asso
yet separated from that class by his liberal views ;
c iati o n s
te n di n g toward the democratic party i n his progressive ideas
yet opposi n g all radical an d visio n ary schemes he at firs t
stood almost alo n e i n the cha mber an isolated yet remarkable
figure Al tho u gh he gave his cordial support to the ad mi n i s
trati o n headed by his frie n d Cesare Balbo he did n ot Shri n k
e v e n i n his maide n speech from rebuki n g the mi n istry for their
weak n ess an d i n decisio n i n co n ducti n g the war at a time whe n
th e o n ly hope for its s u ccess was i n bold an d vigorous measures
He urged the immediate an d u n co n ditio n al a n n exatio n of Lom
bardy an d Ve n etia to Sardi n ia as a n ecessary step to stre n gthe n
the n atio n al forces ; an d devoted to co n stitutio n al freedom he
Opposed all e fforts to curtail it eve n s u ch as the exige n cy of
the time might seem to j ustify He n ow bega n to give evide n ce
o f his fi n a n cial abilities an d ot h erwise showed himself to be
emi n e n tly e n dowed with those qualities which belon g to the
ge n u i n e states ma n an d the leader i n parliame n tary debate
Whe n the n ews re ached T uri n Of the defeat Of the Sardi n i a n
army on the pl ai n s of C us toz a Cavour at o n ce e n listed as a
private volun teer an d was o n ly restrai n ed from taki n g the
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MORAL C O U RA G E
24
.
field by the armistice of Sal as co which for the time put an en d
to the war He co n ti n ued therefore to si t i n parlia m e nt u si n g
n o w all his i n flue n ce to secure thro u gh the mediatio n o f E
n
g
la n d an d Fran ce an ho n orable p e ace with A ustria si n ce he
co n sidered it i mpossible at that ti m e to carry on the co n test
Whatever Opi n io n may the n have bee n e n tertai n ed of C av our s
policy it can n ot be de n ied that it was emi n e ntly practical an d
dictated by that e nlighten ed states m a n ship which i n the p u r
s u it Of an Obj ect k n ows h o w to delay movem e nts o r cha n ge
positio n s i n order to secure its future attai n me n t Thus he
opposed i n 1849 the bolder vie ws of Gioberti which he re
garded as e n da n geri n g the n atio n a l cause at ho me an d abroad
but whe n Gioberti alarm ed at the excesses of the liberal party
i n ce n tral Italy proposed the armed i n terve n tio n of Sardi n ia
to restore the exiled pri n ces u n der the guara n ty of con sti tu
Agai n
ti o n al liberty he fou n d a sta u n ch supporter i n Cavo u r
whe n the defeat of that measure led the prime mi n ister to
withdra w from the cabi n et an d war was o n ce more declared
by the succeedi n g admi n istratio n he did n ot hesitate to bri n g
all his i n fluen ce to the support o f the govern me n t although
to the last he had discourage d the re n ewal of hostilities SO
the true statesman rises superior to party an d readily sacrifices
perso n al Opi n io n s an d feeli n gs on the altar of patriotism
The co u rse purs u ed by Cavour duri n g those stormy years
exhibits i n stro n g relief that moral courage with which he w as
peculiarly e n dowed B elievi n g the de m ocratic te n den cies of
the time utterly rui n ous to the n atio n al ca u se he fearlessly
threw hi mself agai n st the prevaili n g curre nt Of Opi n io n an d
thus greatly i n creased h i s u n pop u larity But this could n ot
deter him from performi ng what h e con s id ered his d u ty for he
did n ot belo n g to that class of politicia n s to be fou n d every
n try is subservie n t to self i n terest an d
where whose love of cou
whose obj ect is co n fi n ed to flatteri n g popular passio n s an d p rej u
dices It was a striki n g spectacle to see him at that time from
his seat i n the chamber defyi n g the storm of hisses an d yells
with which he was freque n tly assailed from the galleries O fte n
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26
MA SSI MO D A Z EGL I O
’
.
he was by n o mea n s a favorite with the people ed u cated as he
had been i n an atm osph e re of n arrow d e spotic an d bigoted i n
fl u en ces ; an d the disaste r of Novara had n o t lesse n ed the u n fa
v o rabl e i m pressio n u n der which he ca m e i n to power
Mistr u sted
by the co u n try the State disorga n ized a large sectio n of the
liberal party i n tum ult the ar my disco n t e n ted an d A u stria n
power i n the asc e n da n t , there was reason to fear that the i n
experie n ced ki n g would fu rl the n atio n al flag ab o lish consti tu
ti o n al liberty an d S hape his course i n accorda n ce with t hat o f
the other sovereig n s But Victor Emma n uel was n ot the man
to sacrifice the great i n terests at stake On the fatal n ight of
Novara whe n Charles Albert h avi n g i n vai n sought an ho n or
able death at the han d o f the e n e my surro u n ded by h i s ge n
eral s resig n ed his crow n the you n g ki n g had u n sheathed his
sword an d bran dishi n g it toward th e Austr i an c amp had s w orn
to ave n ge the wro n gs Of Italy Ge n erous an d fearless Victor
E mma n uel did n ot shri n k fro m the da n gers by which he was
e n c o mpassed an d fro m his accessio n he resolved to walk i n the
footsteps of his fa t her to uphold the free i n stit u tio n s of the
state an d retai n the leadership of the n atio n
To this en d he n ot o n ly pl e dged h i s word before the par
li amen t but he i n tr u sted himself an d the admi n istratio n of
th e cou n try to Massi m o d A z egl io whose n a m e alo n e was a
sym bol of n atio n ality No m an represe nted the cause m ore
e n tirely an d n on e was m ore fitted to guide the State thro ugh
that dan gerous period Though bor n in T u ri n he had passed
his life chiefly i n Rom e an d Flore n ce an d fro m the st u dy Of
Italia n history literature an d art he had derived that n atio n al
character by which his career has bee n so si n g u larly marked
In all the ma n ifestatio n s of his wo n derfully versatile g e n i u s
as a pai n ter of E u ropea n re n ow n as a n ovelist scarcely i n fe
rior to Ma nzo n i an d Grossi as an able political writer an d
a galla n t soldier Italy had bee n to h i m what B eatrice was t o
D a n te an d Laura to P e trarch She was h i s m u se w he n u n it
i n g history an d poetry to art with master ha n d which recalls
the ge n ius o f Salvator Rosa he depicted o n ca n vas the chal
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D AN GE R S
OF
T HE SIT U A TI ON
27
.
l en ge of Barletta the toas t of Ferruccio the battles of Leg n a n o
Of Turi n an d th e A ssi etta ; an d w h e n with surpassi n g wealth
o f i m agi n a t io n he illustrated the marvellous fa n cies of A riosto
as Michael A n gelo had before deli n eated those o f D an te I taly
still i n spired h i m wh en elevati n g roma ntic fictio n to i ts h ighest
expressio n he evoked from the past the heroes of history an d
with glowi n g ardor i n his Ettore Fi eramo s ca an d Nicol e de
Lapi he portrayed the varyi n g features of patriotism i n the
strife of the battle fi eld or i n the co n te n di n g emotio n s of love
“
A n d so too whe n i n the
Casi di Romag n a an d the Lutti
”
di Lombardia he exposed the i n iquiti e s of the courts of Rome
an d Vie nn a which had lighted i n surrectio n s i n those provi n ces
o n ly to exti n guish them i n blood an d warn ed his cou n tryme n
agai n st the reckless agitators who w e re their dupes an d tools
In 1848 Azeg lio had laid aside the pe n cil an d the p en for the
sword he had fought gallan tly an d had bee n wou n ded on th e
field an d thus prepared both by thought an d actio n o n the ao
cessio n of Victor E mma n uel he w as called to the premiership of
the cabi n et His high moral n ature his earn estn ess his aecom
l
i
s h m en ts
the simplicity an d the refi n eme n t of his man n ers
p
softe n ed by the i nflue n ce of literat u re an d the arts his elo
u e n ce an d h i s devotio n to the cou n try e n deared h i m to the
q
people while his aristocratic con n ectio n s his well k n ow n mo d
cratio n an d prude n ce an d h i s ope n oppositio n to th e Mazzi n i
party re n dered him acceptable to the courts o f Europe
At that ti me Europea n n atio n s were fast te n di n g toward mili
tary despotism an d the co n quests o f the precedi n g year were
passi n g from the grasp of the people The bastard republic of
Fra n ce had n ot o n ly refused aid to the war of Italia n i n d ep en d
e n ce but S he had armed her troops agai n st the sister republic o f
Ro me the lio n of St M ark after a heroic resista n ce had fallen
agai n be n eath the blood stai n e d talo n s of the double headed
eagle ; Messi n a an d Palermo had bee n bombarded ; Naples
misled by the treac h ero u s desig n s of her tyra n t had see n her
streets flow with the blood of her citizen s ; an d Flore n ce
eve n the beautiful Flore n ce birthplace an d shri n e of Italia n
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28
PROGRE SSI VE POL IC Y
.
ge nius had been polluted by the hated prese n ce of the Austrian
troops While despotism i n Italy again held its car n ival the
s un of liberty which had sho n e with fi tful glea m s i n Hu n gary
n e w agai n s et i n dark n ess
; Germa n y sa n k o n ce more to her for
mer dreams an d abstractio n s ; an d Fra n ce startled at her o wn
advan ce w as fast falli n g ben eath a military dictatorship In
the midst of these opposi n g forces Sardi n ia i n which were
cen tred the hopes of all Italy was forced to take her cours e a
frail bark o n a stormy s ea struck o n all sides by the wi n gs of
the t empest an d trembli n g o n the breakers which threate n ed to
e n gulf her B ut Azeglio is at the helm an d u n der his g ui d
a n ce the bark shall safely outride the storm Whe n reactio n
me n aced the o nly free State of the pe n i n sula an d the republic
an s by their futile attempts at revolutio n seemed be n t o n pre
cip i tati n
n
a
crisis
that
wo
u
ld
i
volve
the
armed
i
terv
tio
of
n
n
e
n
g
E urope the co n stitutio n al party stood by Azeglio an d Opposed
the e n emies of the co n stitution both at home an d abroad Thus
Sardi n ia was saved fro m the dire calamities prepared for her by
the co n spiracies co n cocted at the same time an d for the same
purpose i n the cabi n ets of diplo m acy an d i n the secret cou n cils
o f agitators
The co n stitutio n al party fou n d i n Cavour its most powerful
But while he coi n cided with Azeglio
an d devoted supporter
i n his e fforts to preserve free i n stitutio n s di ffere n ces of opi n io n
soo n arose betwee n those two statesmen as to the policy to be
pursued The admi n istration i n view of the da n gers from
abroad regarded a strict co n ser v atism as best calculated to avert
them ; Cavour on the co n trary while he dreaded reactio n
equally with his frie n d dreaded still more the lethargy which
this policy would n ecessarily i n duce an d believed that a more
liberal course without e n dan geri n g relatio n s with foreign gov
ern men ts would e n dear Sardi n ia to the progressive party abroad
satisfy the deman ds of public Opi n io n an d more firmly attach
the Italia n people to the house of Savoy He n ce whe n the
storm had somewhat subsided he at o n ce urged upon the gov
e rn m en t more progressive measures
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A Z EGL I O
A ND
C AVO U R
.
The war of i n depe n de n ce immediately followi n g the p romul
n ted th e parlia
had
thus
far
preve
ati on of the co n stitutio n
g
me n t from i n troduci n g i n to legislatio n th e s e reforms which lay
pote ntially w i thi n its provisio n s So that although e n dowed
with this charter of rights the peopl e co n ti n ued to be ruled i n
ma n y respects by the laws of the form er regime Sardi n ia had
sealed with the blood of her so n s her claim to the leadership of
the n atio n al cause but the me rit of that claim was yet to be
proved by the wisdom of her codes ; the flag of Italia n liberty
proudly waved on the Carig n a n o palace b u t it waved as yet
over a people who still dragged the chai n s of their form er thral
d om
To throw off these chai n s t o bri n g the legislatio n i n
accordan ce with the co n stitutio n to dise n gage the State from
the clutch es of the church to give full expa n sion to the pri n ci
ples of liberty was accordi n g to Cavour the o n ly course for
Sardi n ia to pursue if She desired to be worthy of the champion
ship Of Italy
This task beset with extraordi n ary di ffic u lties required e n er
a
n
d
n
n
n
f
n
bold
ess
as
well
as
exte
sive
k
owledge
eco
omic
o
gy
an d political scie n ce
n
h
a
d
w
ile
Azeglio
was
more
able
to
;
guide the State safely through the da n gers from abroad Cavour
was better fi tted for the work of i n tern al reform The patriot
ism of the form er was m ore spo n ta n eous an d i n sti n ctive ; that
of the latter the result of reflectio n an d study ; an d i n this
regard Azeglio more resembled Mazzi n i tha n Cavour But
while Mazzi n i without calculatio n or discrimi n atio n recklessly
aba n do n ed himself to h i s i n sti n cts an d wasted his en ergies i n
spasmodic e fforts the fin e j u dgme n t an d the tact of Azeglio
mi n gled with excessive cautio n impelled him i n an opposite
directio n A true artist as a pai n ter an d as a writer he was
also an artist as a statesma n The idea of liberty produced i n
his m i n d the effect of the beautiful ; feeli n g it kee n ly rather
th an u n derstan di n g it com prehe n sively he fell i n love with it
he strove to actualize it b u t fi n di n g himself powerless to give it
complete expressio n he aba n do n ed hi m self to its co n templation
Cavour on the con trary had n o taste for the arts an d a thor
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ECC LE SI ASTIC AL REFORM S
30
.
l
o ughly busi n ess man dealt with political questio n s as w ith
practical co n cern s Without wasti n g hi m self i n looki n g at the
ideal S ide of political issues he strove to attai n practical results
The mi n d of Az eglio was m ore of an orie n tal cast ; the charac
teri stics o f Cavo u r were those of the ge n u i n e Y a nke e Had
they liv e d i n the age of chivalry th e o ne wo ul d hav e bee n a
k n ight of the cru sades the oth e r the b uilder of the river dyk e s
o f Lombardy ; o r had they m ade a pilgri m age to the East while
the on e would have ret u rn ed lade n with relics the oth er would
have brought back a cargo of mercha n dise Thes e differe n ces
ma n ifested themselves eve n i n their early life ; the youn g
Azeglio leaves a luxurious ho m e an d with sca n ty m ean s p ro
Ca v our on the co n trary
ce ed s to Rome to st u dy the arts ;
delays his travels abroad to look after h is estates an d byh i s
W o n derfu l b u si n ess tale n t largely i n creases his ample fortu n e
Vastly surpassed by Azeglio i n aesthetic attai n me n t s Cavour
towered over him i n exte n t of k n owledge comprehe n sive n ess of
i n tellect quick n ess of perceptio n force of character an d e n ergy
o f actio n ; an d while the o n e i n great crises adva n ced ti midly
an d slowly feel i n g his way the other with his Obj ect clearly i n
V ie w an d the full co n scious n ess o f his power overleaped all
impedime n ts These peculiarities i n the character o f the two
states m e n n at u re had i m pressed eve n on their e xter n al appear
a n ce The sle n der form th e d elicate feat u res an d th e po e tical
expressio n of Az eglio m ark e d h im as a m an Of refi n ed s en sibi l
ity an d ro m a ntic se n time n t as the kee n eye the broad brow
an d the sturdy fig u re of Cavour i n dicated at o n ce the iron w ill
a n d the power to e n force it
The first step toward re form was to e m a n cipate the State from
the church to dise n gage it from the ecclesiastical power which
for s o m a n y ages had pe n etrated an d i n crusted every depart
me n t an d clogged an d prev en ted all progress Azeglio would
gladly have p u t an en d to the usurpatio n s imm u n ities an d
privileges of the clergy ye t his lack of k n owledge i n e cclesias
tical ma t ters his cautio n an d his t aste made him shri n k from
e n teri n g i n to a co ntest s o bitter an d u n co n ge nial ; an d pressed
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SIC A RDI S
’
B I LL
31
.
by public opi n io n he strove to obtai n by n egotiatio n that which
he lacked the vigor to take by force He had agai n an d agai n
appeal ed to the holy s ee had sen t e n voy after e n voy written
lo n g diplomatic dispatches i nterlarded with quotatio n s from the
Scriptures the fathers an d the cou n cils humbly implori n g the
pope to allow hi m self to be shorn of h i s power an d strivi ng to
S how to the i n fallible head of the ch u rch what a mo n strous
blu n der he was committi n g i n refusi n g th e request Un success
ful i n this he had placed on the head of the you n g ki n g accus
tomed o n ly to t he helmet of the warrior the cap of the th eol o
gian an d drew the sovereig n i n to a perso n al co n troversy with
the pope who i n all questio n s relati n g to his o w n authority
has ever regarded discussion as imperti n e n ce The states m a n
who held the rei n s o f the gover n me n t had yet to le arn th at the
Gordi a n k n ot must be cut by a bold stroke Had E n gla n d i n
the l 6th ce ntury waited for the pleas u re o f the court of Rome
to break loose fro m its yoke she would yet fi n d herself at the
very threshold of civilizatio n Had Lo u is IX Charles V II
an d L ou i s XIV
d ema n ded the previous co n se n t o f the pope the
prag ma t ic sa n ctio n s which almost e n tirely freed Fra n ce from the
autho ri ty of Rome woul d n ever have bee n promulgated Had
the first Napoleo n failed to impos e h i s o wn co nditio n s his con
co rd at would n ever have bee n sig n ed
It is useless for Sparta
cus to k n eel before his master to discuss or to compromise
;
for his liberty he must boldly strike
Cavour urged upo n Azeglio the n ecessity of more vigorous
measures He poi n ted out the impossibility o f reco ncili n g the
exige n cies of the prese n t civilizatio n with an i n stitutio n o f the
past an d the fallacy of co n te n di n g that th e pope had no right
to i n terfere i n the legislatio n of the State while that right was
admitted by i m plori n g him to reli n quish it
O wi n g to h i s
i n flue n ce Co u nt Sicard i was called to the cabi n et which was
thus stre n gthe n e d by the upright an d fearless ch aracter of tha t
statesma n by his profou n d k n owledge of j urisprude n ce an d
the fame which he e nj oyed as the advocate of the views of
Paolo Sarpi the able an d bold defe n d e r o f the i ndepe n de n ce of
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M I N IST ER
32
.
Ve n ice agai n st papal e n croac hme n ts i n the 17 th ce n tury The
first measure of this mi n ister was the i n troductio n of a bill by
which e cclesiastical courts an d i m m u n ities were at o n ce abol
i sh e d t he clergy were s u bj ected to the comm o n law religio u s
corporatio n s were prohibited from accepti n g do n atio n s or b e
quests an d other provisio n s calculated to check the ecclesiasti
cal pre do mi n a nce were proposed Although this bill e mbraced
o n ly a few o f the n eeded reforms it i n volved the great pri n ciple
of the i n depe n de n ce of the State from the church an d as such
it Obtai n ed on o n e s ide the u n qualified approval o f the liberal
par ty o n the other it was met by the ch u rch factio n with an
a n imosity which could n ot have bee n m ore bitter had it at on e
stroke put an en d to all papal usurpatio n s
Cavour s upported the bill Of Sicardi i n a speech remarkable
for its comprehe n sive grasp o f thought an d the power with
which his views were e n forced Advocati n g a progressive
policy he thus addressed the admi n is t ratio n o n that occasio n
Go on boldly then i n th e path of reform D o n ot hesitate
because you are told that the ti m e is i n expedie nt ; do n o t fear
lest you Should weaken the co n stitutio n al m o n archy i n tr u sted
to your charge I n stead of weake n i n g i t you will cause it to
take such firm root i n the cou n try that eve n if the storm of
revolutio n S hould arise arou n d us the mon archy will n ot o n ly
n o t succ u m b to the o n slaught b ut collecti n g arou n d it all the
vital forces of Italy will lead our n atio n to the lofty desti n y
prepared for her
His speech which greatly co n tribut e d to
the passage o f the bill met with passio n ate Oppositio n from
ma n y of his political associates who from this ti m e regarded
him with bitter aversio n But heedi n g n either re m o n stra n ce
n or accusatio n he pursued his o n ward course though frie n ds
an d party remai n ed behi n d
In a subseque n t speech he
developed a complete system of reform i n all the differe n t
bran ches of gover n me nt with such extraordi n ary power as to
attract u n iversal atte n tion and to establish his positio n as the
first statesm an i n the cou n try
In the autum n of 1850 on the death o f Cou n t Sa n ta Rosa
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P U BL IC
34
IM P Ro v EM EN Ts
.
the commerce o f other n atio n s he re n dered her expa n sio n an d
prosperity an obj ect of i n terest to them all In carryi n g o ut
this policy he was bi t terly opposed n ot o n ly by th e r eactio n ary
party b u t by m a n y frie n ds of progre ss who u n abl e to rise to
h is high sta n d poi n t de m a n ded protectio n for agricultural pro
d u cti on s an d de n o u n ced co m m ercial liberty as r u i n o u s alike to
the i n depe n de n ce an d the prosperity of th e cou ntry Th e oppo
sitiou was carried s o far as fi n ally to en d i n a challe n g e from
o n e o f his m ost viole n t adversaries
On this occasio n he ex
h i bi te d his u sual courage an d calm n ess
I mm ediat ely before
the meeti n g took place he delivered i n the chamber a lo n g
speech on the s u bj ec t u n der discussio n an d then with the same
composure which atte n de d h i s ordi n ary movem e n ts repaired to
t h e appoi nted place
The combata nts fired at twe n ty fi v e paces
but both w e re u n hurt an d the affair term i n ated
But n o provocatio n n o de n u n ciatio n n o da n ger could divert
Cavour from his course while he beheld i n th e dista n ce the
m ag n ifice n t results of his policy
By sacrifici n g high duties he
e n couraged importatio n an d gave a n ew i mp u lse to i n dustry
an d to reve n ue
The i mportatio n s of 1858 as compared with
those of 1855 augme n ted more tha n fifty per ce n t ; the exporta
tio n s in still greater proportio n The growth an d man u facture
of S il k i n creased three fold the cotto n man ufacture fi v e fold
an d s o more or less with wool
flax machin ery an d t he like
The pri n ciple of fre e trade has probably n owhere bee n s o s u c
n Sardi n ia although it had its first trial at a
ces s ful l
i
tested
as
y
ti m e when the resources Of the cou n try were crippled by two
disastrous wars by mysterious dis e ases which lon g a ffe cted th e
t wo great staples S ilkworms an d V i n es an d by various commer
ci al crises i n Europe an d A m erica
To C av o u r Sardi n ia is also chiefly i n debted for the n etwork
of railroads which furrows her territory Whe n he e n tered the
cabi n et there were scarcely on e h u n dred miles i n the cou n try
an d at the time of his death all the pri n cipal li n e s i n that part
To expedite the public
of the ki n gdo m were i n full Operatio n
works he early called to the cabi n et the emi n en t e n gi n eer
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T A X A TI ON
35
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throu gh whose i n dustry he soo n completed the r oad
betw e e n T u ri n an d Ge n oa which from its m ou n tai n ous character
prese n t ed obstacles al m ost i n su rm oun table To this great tru n k
bra n ches w ere added co n n ect i n g those two cities with the other
mai n poi n ts of the State with th e valley o f the D a n ube an d
easter n Europe with Switzerla n d an d German y by pre posed
tu n n els t hro u gh the n orther n Alps an d with Fra n ce an d En g
la n d by that colossal work n ow i n progress that is to pierce
Mou n t Ce n is to ope n wi thi n th e n ext five years the gloomy corri
do rs of the Alps to the loco m otive an d afford to wester n Europe
through Italy the most direct passage to the eas t Wi t h equally
e nlighte n e d views he established telegraphic commu n icatio n i n
all directio n s ; an d havi n g u n ited Turi n to the other cities of
the State an d t o the capitals of Europe by the magic wire he
exte n ded it thro u gh the s ea an d from Piazza Castello se n t
his orders to Cagliari an d Sassari an d his greeti n gs to Malta
an d Africa
The tra n sfe r of the n aval arse n al to the Gulf of Spezia was
also a favorite pla n with h i m which whe n acco mplished will
a fford the n avy o n e of the most sple n did harbors i n the world
an d facilitate th e s e improve m e n ts i n the port o f Ge n oa cal cul at
ed to re n der it a fit e m porium for cosmopolitan co mmerce
Whe n to this we add th e i n crease o f the ar my an d n avy the
con str u ctio n of fortificatio n s an d m en of war the tran sformatio n
o f saili n g vessels i n to stea m frigates the extraordi n ary develop
me n t of the merca n tile mari n e the establishme n t of i n stitutio n s
o f public credit the expa n sio n o f the n atio n al ba n k the aboli
tio n of the legal rate o f i n terest the reductio n of postage the
exte n si o n of popular an d tech n ical e d u cati on an d ma n y other
reforms which he carri ed o ut either directly through his per
so n al exertio n s o r i n directly through his i n flue n ce an d super
visio n we may form an idea of the colossal work which he
acco mplished i n the period which i n terve n ed betwee n 185 1 an d
P al eo cap a,
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185 9
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course i n the ex e c u tio n of his vast d esig n s Cavour was
forced to i n crease ta xatio n ; an d that he failed to reform this
Of
,
P U BL IC D EB T
36
.
importan t departm en t h as bee n a gen eral charge agai n st his
admi n istratio n B ut co nsideri ng the extraordi n ary an d per
l
ex i n g circ u msta n ces i n which he fo u n d himself the wa n ts Of
p
the cou n try an d the mean s at ha n d we hold it as n ot the least
evide n ce o f his practical wisdo m tha t h e altho ugh u rg ed o n by
popular d em a n d k n ew how to abstai n from i n n ovatio n s which
eve n i n ordi n ary times are fra u ght with da n ger To augme n t
existi n g taxes an d to i n troduce n ew o n es i s after all the system
which is followed i n the great crises o f all co u n tries an d a bet
ter method is yet to be devised for s u pplyi n g the ways an d
SO it is with public debt
Taxatio n
can s of gover n me n ts
an d d ebt are but relati v e terms correspo n di n g to p u blic wealth ;
its resources must be
an d to estimate the burde n o f a n atio n
take n i n to acco u n t If Cavo u r has e n ormously i n creased the
l i abilities of his cou n try he has i n a greater proportion aug
m en te d its assets
E ngl an d i n the l 6th ce n tury had n o p ublic
debt an d her taxatio n was but o n e fortieth Of what it is n ow ;
the U nited States at the epoch o f the decl aratio n of i n d ep en d
e n ce had n o debt an d b u t little taxatio n ; yet it will hardly
be said that the econ omical co n ditio n of those coun tries i n the
past was better than at the prese n t ti m e Moreover an d this
poi n t sho u ld n ever be overlooked it was n ecessary that Sardi n ia
shoul d adv a n ce the mea n s req u isite for the delivera n ce of Italy
an d n o pecu n iary co n sideratio n could restrai n that State from
the fulfil m e n t of its d uty It was owi ng to the fi n an cial repu
tatio n of Cavo u r th at its public cre dit was sustai n ed am idst
the most tryi n g circu msta n ces an d that the cou n try was thus
e n abled to support the burde n of the n atio n al str u ggle While
Russia Au stria an d other great powers fou n d i n surm ou ntable
di ffic u lties i n raisi n g mo n ey Sardi n ia although sufferi n g from
the cholera an d deficie nt harvests n ever failed to n egotiate her
loa n s i n Lo n don an d Paris at the market price an d her bo n d s
issued u n d er the authority of her great statesma n have at all
times bee n as marketable i n the exchan ges Of th ose capitals
as th e Un ited States coupo n s are i n Wall stre et
It was o nly on e year from the time whe n Cavour e n tered the
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TH E C O U P D E
TA T
37
’
.
cabi n et an d so vigorously comme n ced the work of retrievi n g
the cou ntry from its prostrate co n dition whe n the n ight of the 2d
o f D ecember 1 85 1 closed upo n the grave o f th e Fre n ch repub
lic Three years before the coup d e tat took place poi nti n g ou t
the da n gers by which Fra n ce was me n aced Cavour had pr e di cted
i n s o man y words that the socialistic te n de n cies which the n
prevailed would bri n g the n ephe w of the great e m peror to the
imper ial thro n e At the time whe n Louis Napoleo n seized with
a stro n g han d the rei n s of pow er Fra n ce was sufferi n g from the
effects of the excessive impulse give n by the govern m e n t o f
Louis Philippe to the i n t erests o f the wealthy at the expe n se of
the labori n g classes Capital had absorbed all the adva n tages of
labor an d held over it despotic sway A u n iversal u n easi n ess
arose mi n gled with a deep hatred toward those wh om the peo
ple regarded as the cause of their distress an d the n ecessity of a
radical reform i n the orga nic structure of society took possession
n ifold schemes for e ffecti n g this
B
ut
the
ma
ubl i c mi n d
of the
p
cha n ge though co n tai n i n g some j ust v i ews abou n ded with the
e ries the more seductive to popular imagi n atio n as they were
vague an d visio n ary Fra n ce un der the guida n ce of weak le ad
ers soo n fou n d herself divided i n to two hostile parties the on e
allured by the bri ght promises of social rege n eration the other
alarmed by the gloomy prospect o f da n ger n ot less keen ly felt
for bei n g exaggerated an d u n defi n ed Mean while the political
factio n s which had bee n overthrow n by the revolutio n o f 1848
taki n g courage from the distracted co n dition of the people ral
lie d an d formi n g a vast co n spi racy agai n s t the re p ublic strove
to re establis h their power on its rui n s They soo n acquired th e
maj ority i n the le gislative assembly plotted the expeditio n
agai n st Rome an d waged war agai n st liberty at home
Whe n i n con seque n ce o f the pres ti ge at t ached to his n ame
an d the pop u larity o f the views which he had put forth duri n g his
exile Louis Napoleon was elec t ed preside n t the spirit of th e re
public had lo n g si n ce died away A profou n d diplomatist e ager
for power an d a firm believer i n his own desti n y Napol e o n
succeeded i n gradually compromisi n g his a d versari es before the
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SAR D I N I A T HREAT EN E D
38
.
securi n g at the sa m e time the support of the cler
n d of the wealthy classes
n g the odiu m o f all reac
a
Throwi
gy
ti o n ary measures o n the assembly an d assumi n g fo r himself the
merit of all reforms he advocated order for the security of the
higher classes an d pla n s for the i mpro v ement of the lower o n es
So step by step he ste althily adva n ced till seizi n g an d castin g
aside the co n spirators he gras ped in his own ha n ds the desti n y
It is n o t withi n ou r provi n ce to co n sider the
o f the n atio n
moral aspect of the coup d etat ; b u t this much may be said that
the foun ders of other mon archies had n either the Obj ect of s av
i ng their cou n tries from i m pe n di n g rui n n or eve n the se mblan ce
ular suffrage Cer tai n ly it is to b e regretted that Louis
o f po p
Napoleon m e n aced by ol d an d n ew faction s by approachi n g
an archy an d the Ope n hereditary hostility of the European
powers was forced to seize with an iro n grasp the helm of state
to veil the statue of liberty an d to assume the garb of a despot
B u t when Fran ce willi n gly accepts the n ew regime hail s her
r u ler as her redee m er an d cheerfully bestows upo n him the
i n sig nia of imperial dig n ity we believers i n the right of p op u
lar sovereig n ty feel bou n d to recogn ize that right i n the Fre n ch
people an d trust that the glories which they have achi e ved
u n der the star of Napoleon III will be crow n ed with that liber
ty which he himself has declared is the summit of all n atio n al
greatn ess
The political co n dition of Fran ce has always reacted o n other
n atio n s an d after the coup d e tat despotism became more threat
c ui n g toward Sardi n ia News of that eve n t had scarcely reached
the capitals of Europe before remo n stra n ces from various gov
e rn men ts were addressed to the court o f Turi n urgi n g the n eces
n g o r curtaili n g the guara n ties o f liberty secured
of
abolishi
s it
y
by the co n stitutio n The cabi n ets of Vie nn a Flore n ce an d
Naples we n t s o far as to i n trude their advi ce on the ki n g an d to
i n sist that Sardi n ian i n stitutio n s Should be brought i n to con
formity with those of the other states for despotism abhors all
con t act with liberty Victor E mman uel however refused to
violate the co n stitution which he had sworn to mai ntai n ; he
people
an d
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U RBA N O
RA TTA zz r
39
.
S p ur n ed the me n aces of his would b e advisers
an d
stood by the
rights of the people Fi n di n g themselves ba ffled i n their efforts
to exte n d their ba n eful i n flue n ce over the o n ly free State of
Italy those despots appealed to Lo uis Napoleo n de n ou n ced
Sardi n ia as the ce n tre of revolutio n ary agitatio n an d besought
h i s i nterfere n ce as the rebels of the South are at this momen t
beggi n g support from foreign powers But as the machi n ation s
o f the petty rulers o f the pe n i n sula failed to e n list Fra n ce i n
their cause n ay as they were soo n after ign omi n iously expelled
from their thro n es while VictO
r Em m a n uel faithful to his mi s
sio n received the crow n Of Italy s o we believe that the civi li
z ati o n o f Europe will n ot n ow be prostituted to the service o f
barbarism i n America an d that the time is n ear at han d whe n
the glorio u s ban n er the emblem of the hopes of huma n ity so
lately trampled u n der the feet of parricides shall agai n proudly
wave from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico
The attacks of the Sardi n ian ou rnals upo n foreig n sovereig n s
formed o n e o f the pri n cipal grievan ces of which Austria com
plai n ed an d although Cavour an d Azeglio decli n ed to restrict i n
way
the
freedom
an
of the press t hey admitted the n ecessity o f
y
maki n g some provisio n to bri n g the O ffe n ders before th e courts i n
cases of libel For this purpose the admi n istratio n i n troduced a
bill which bei n g appare n tly an act of s ubmission to foreig n gov
e rn men ts was met with vigorous oppositio n by the liberal part y
The co nservatives o n the co n trary n ot o n ly supported i t but
took the occasio n of this discussio n to expatiate o n the excesses
of the press an d to deman d more severe restrictio n s Cavour
perceivi n g that this party would force the gover nme n t i n to re
actio n ary measures at o n ce aban do n ed it an d threw himself
i n to the ra n ks o f those liberals who ackn owledg ed Urba n o Rat
This statesman had acquired a promi n e n t
tazz i as their leader
positio n i n the house ; h e had bee n a member o f the cabi n et
presided over by Gioberti had succeeded him on his resign a
tio n had declared war agai n st Austria an d had retired on the
defeat of Novara Fro m that time he bega n to advocate a more
moderate policy i n accorda n ce with the exige n cies of the times
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V ISIT
40
To
ENGL AN D AN D FRAN CE
.
an d ,
although he Opposed the bill u n der discus s ion he ten dered
his support to the mi n istry o n co n ditio n that certai n reforms
sho u ld be e n ergetically carried out
Cavour on his own re
spo n sibility an d i n oppositio n to the m aj ority of the cabi n et
boldly accepted his offer an d with him an d h i s frien ds formed
a third party of whi ch he became the chief Thus these two
patriots starti n g from opposite poi n ts met each other an d i n a
peaceful fusion th ey accomplished the un io n Of the con serva
tive an d the progressive forces of the n ation By this mea n s
Cavour acquired the con trol of more vital eleme nts the adv an
tage of Rattazz i s j uridical scie n ce his admi n istrative tale n t
his kee n dialectic power his eloque n ce an d popularity His
allian ce however with a party which was regarded as opposed
to the admin istration was con sidered s o imprude n t that Azeglio
felt bou n d to se n d i n structio n s to the mi n isters abroad direct
i n g them to allay the suspicio n s which it might have e n ge n dered
at the foreign cou rts But altho u gh reproved by his colleagues
an d de n ou n ced as an apostate by those who look with aversio n
upon all progress an d develop m e n t Cavour n othi n g daun ted
co n ti n ued his course ; an d withi n three mon ths he n omi n ated
his n ew ally to the speakership o f the house an d carried the
electio n This was too m u ch for the cabi n et to bear ; i ts disso
l uti on followed an d Azeglio was appoi n ted to form a n ew
Where u po n Cavour retired con fiden t that he
admi n istratio n
would soo n return to power with i n creased stren gth
D uri n g the parliam e n tary recess Cavour agai n visited En g
While i n Lo n do n he made a mi d n ight tour
l an d an d Scotla n d
of i n spection u n der the guida n ce of a detective through the
l owest hau n ts of vice an d crime i n that metropolis i n order to
make himself acquai nted by person al observatio n with the
actual co n dition of the lower classes On his return to Paris
he met Rattazzi by appoi ntme n t an d the two statesmen had
impor t an t i n terviews with the e mperor to whom they had the
op portu n ity of represe n ti n g the true co n di tio n of a ffairs i n Sar
di n ia an d of urgi n g upon h i m the clai ms of Italy
In the abse n ce of Cavour Azeglio i n order to propitiate the
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42
B I LL
RA TTA Z Z I S
’
.
Cavour as the o n ly man able to cope with the difficulties of the
situatio n Victor Emma n uel accepted the advice but u n will
i n g to come to an ope n rupture with the pope he desired
Cavour to make a n other attempt at co n ciliatio n On these term s
he decli n ed the appoi n tm e n t; an d after several i n effectual e fforts
o n the part of the co n servatives to reco n struct the cabi n et
he was at len gth i n trusted with the admi n istratio n on his own
con ditio n s He assumed the presiden cy of the coun cil an d the
departme nt of fi n an ce
From this time to the period of his death with the exception
of a short i n terval Cavour co n ti n u ed to h old the rei n s of gov
He at o n ce i m pressed a deeper character of n atio n
ern m en t
ality upon the foreign policy an d whe n Austria con fiscated the
property of those amon g t he Italian s of Lombardy an d Ve n etia
who had becom e citizen s of Sardi n ia h e protested i n a memo
ran d u m agai n st such an outrageous m easure an d fi n ally obtai n ed
its repeal In his domestic policy too he carried out still more
e n ergetically the reform s an d public improveme nts already
referred to He Showed himself more an d more attached to
the spirit of the co n stitutio n ; an d e n cou n teri n g a stro n g an d
systematic opposition i n th e sen ate on accoun t of his liberal
views i n stead of i n troduci n g n ew an d more frie n dly members
i nto that assem bly as the gover n me n t had the right to d o he
preferred an appeal to the ballot box an d the result a fforded
him a n ew triumph
Cavour n ow called Rattazzi to the cabi n et as mi n ister of Grace
an d Justice an d thus perfected that allia n ce which h e had b e
fore i n augurated He caused at o n ce a bill to be i n troduced for
the suppressio n of various religi ous corporatio n s an d for the
taxation of the property of the church which till n ow had bee n
exempt Although this law by n o mean s i n cluded all the re
forms deman d ed by the time i t was a severe blow to the e ccl esi
If liberty was n ot restored by that act to the
asti cal party
n umerous misguided people who seduced by the bigot ry of the
past regime had i n their youth sacrificed on the altar of super
at least
s ti ti o n the i n alie n able birthright o f their perso n ality
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A C R ISIS
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thers were preven ted from fallin g i n to the same slavery
If all the i n stitutio n s a n tago nistic to civil progress were n o t
swept away their n umber was at least dimi nished If all t h e
public wealth was n ot return ed to the commu n ity which b e
u eath e d for its ge n eral weal was n o w u sed to its prej u d ice at
q
least a co n siderable portio n of la n d was redeemed which before
was e n feo ffed to the church If fi n ally the successors of the
fisherme n were n ot reduced to the sta n dard poverty of th eir
teacher provision was made for the relief of the rural clergy
who although the most laborious an d deservi n g were left to
star v atio n amidst the a ffl ue n ce of the bishops
W h ile this reform was u n der discussio n before the parliamen t
the high clergy left n o mean s u n tried to defeat its passage an d
fate seemed to co n sp i re with them Just at this time withi n a
few days Victor Emma n uel had see n the grave close over the
remai n s of his mother of h i s lovely you n g wife an d of his o n ly
brother an d the priests who had perso n al access to him avail
i ng themselves o f his despo n de n cy represe nted these cal amities
as i n dicatio n s o f divi n e wrath an d a j ust pu n ishme n t for his op
positio n to the church It was n o wo n der that at such a time
these artful i n timatio n s S hould make some impressio n o n the
ki n g overwhelmed by these successive bereavemen ts an d that
fo r a mome n t he should yield U rged by the warn i ngs an d
the me n aces of his ecclesiastical advisers he desired the mi n is
try to withdraw the bill an d to e ffect a compromise with the
court of Rom e At this request Ca vour an d the cabi n et at o n ce
resign ed The rej oici n g of the church party at this triumph was
equalled o nly by the ge n eral alarm But while the clergy were
strivi n g to form a n ew admi n istration Azeglio with that ge n er
o s it
n d lofty patriotism w hich have disti n guished his whole
a
y
life flew to rescue the cou n try from the impen di n g da n ger He
at o n ce dema n ded an audie n ce at the palace which for the first
time was refuse d In a few hours he prese n ted himself again
an d was agai n refused
He the n wrote a letter to the ki n g first
give n to the public i n a late E n glish work
The letter beari n g the date of April 29 th 1855 is as follows
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44
LE TT ER OF AZ E G L I O
.
‘
“
—
Sire In Spai n it
o n ce prohi bited u n der pai n of death
to touch the ki n g There was o n e whose robe caught fire ; n o
o n e ve n tured to lay ha n ds o n him an d the ki n g w as bur n t to
death But were I to risk my head o r the total loss o f your
maj esty s favor I would thi n k myself the most vile of m en
if i n a mome n t like this I allowed your refusal to see me to
deter me from addressi n g you Sire believe i n your old an d
faithful serva n t who i n your service has had n o other Obj ect
than yo u r good your fame an d the wel fare of the cou n try I
an d k n eeli n g at your feet : D o
s ay it wi t h tears i n my eyes
—
u
n o t proceed f rther i n the road you have taken
there is yet
time ; return to your previous on e A cabal of friars has s u c
ceed ed i n o n e day i n destroyi n g the work o f your r eig n
in
agitati n g the cou n try i n u n dermi n i n g th e co n stitutio n an d i n
obscuri n g your n ame for ho n esty an d truth There is n ot a
mome n t to be lost NO O ffi cial a n n o u n cemen t has as yet made it
impossi ble for you to retract It was said that the crow n desired
to take cou n sel on the subj ect ; let the crow n s ay that these
cou n sels have S ho w n the proposed con ditio n s to be i n admissible
Let what is j ust past be co n sidered as if it had n ever bee n
an d affairs will resume their n ormal an d co n stitutio n al curre n t
Sardi n ia will s uffer every thi n g except bei n g put a n e w u n der
the priestly yoke Wit n ess i n Spai n the result of the mon kish
i n trigues to bri n g the quee n to S ig n a disgraceful co n cordat
To what has it red uced her $ Similar i n trigues produced the
down fall of James Stua rt of Charles X an d man y others
Y our maj esty k n ows well that the thi n gs which I predicted
have come to pass Believe me ; this i s n ot a question of re
Amadeus II di sp uted for thirty years
ligi on but of i n terest
with Rome an d co n quered at the last Be firm an d your
maj esty will likewise co n quer D o n ot be in ce n sed again st me
This act Of mi n e is the act of an ho n est man of a faithful sub
an d of a true
cet
j
Such were the words o f Azeglio an d they were n ot written
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Th e Vicissitud e s
Lon d on , 1859
.
of I taly sin ce
th e C on
gre ss of Vienna
.
By
A
.
L V
.
.
Gretton
.
T HE C R I M E AN
W AR
45
.
vai n Cavour was again summo n ed the cabi n et restored
the idea of a compromis e dis missed an d the bill w h ich had
b ee n the occasio n of this con test received the approval of the
parliame n t an d the S ig n ature of the ki n g Had Cavour yi elded
had Az e glio failed to express less n oble se n time n ts to h is s ov
erei g n Victor Em man uel would n ot n ow wear the crow n of
Italy Let the n ames of Cavour an d Azeglio be e n graved on
that crow n They have saved th e kin g ; they have saved Italy
Thus far the chief Obj ect of Cavour had been to tra n sform
the an cie n t regime i n to a strictly co n stitution al govern men t
an d to u n ite it to other cou n tries by the S ilver thread Of co m
merce ; but n ow that the spirit o f freedom had i n fused vitality
i nto the State his purposes expa n ded an d his action took a
wider scope
The Crimea n war was the first eve n t whi ch
op en ed the way to this more exte n ded are n a Although the
allian ce of the two weste r n powers of Europe origi n ated i n th e
n ecessity Of checki n g the me n aci n g prepo n dera n c e Of Russia
i n the east Napoleo n had a n other Obj ect i n view that of break
i n g the u n io n o f those gover n me n ts which by the treaty of
Vi enn a had disho n ored Fra n ce an d brought about the dow n
fall of his dy n asty
This allian ce Would add greatly to his
authority amo n g n atio n s would awake E n gla n d to the d a n ger
of h is e n mity as well as to the adva ntages Of his frie ndship
sever her co n n ectio n with the Czar whom it would chastise an d
place Austria either withi n his power or that of Russia On
o n e han d s h e would be draw n i n to a war agai n st Russia o n the
other i n to a collisio n with E n glan d an d Fra n ce ; or re mai n i n g
n eutral
Sh e would estra n ge herself from all
In any eve n t
Austria would lose her i n flue n ce
Cavour perceived at o n ce the motives an d beari ngs of the
A n glo Fre n ch allian ce ; he s aw that Sardi n ia had a paramou n t
i n terest i n excludi ng Russia from the B osphorus and the D ar
da nelles the keys of the Medi terran ean an d that the time had
come whe n the treaty of Vie n n a the rock on which Italy had
bee n wrecke d was about to be shivered i n to fragme nts He
sa w that i n the approachi n g co n test the true positio n of the
in
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46
TO UR
W
IT H T HE
$
I NG
.
State was that where it might dispute with Austria the be n efits
o f the allia n ce S hould she j oi n the west e rn powers
o r meet
her o n the field should Sh e ally herself with Russia While he
eig n allia n ces that the ultimate
s aw that it was o n ly thro u gh fo r
desti n y o f the n ation could be acco mplished he felt also that
Sardi n ia owed it to h e rself to redeem her military reputatio n
as yet obscured by the defeat of Novara
With these views Cavour arde n tly advocated i n the cou n cil an d
the parliame n t the policy of j oi n i ng the allia n ce But he was
met with viole n t oppositio n It was regarded as sheer mad n ess
to e n gage Sardi n ia in a war with a powerful e mpire her armies
n ot yet orga n ized her fi n an ces embarrassed an d Austria threat
It was urged that Russia would n ever for
e n i n g her fro n tier
get the un provoked i n sult an d that whatever might be the re
sult of the co n flict she wo u ld still have power to oppose all
future attempts to secure Italian n atio n ality while on the other
ha n d the allies would be i n di ffere n t if n ot hostile But he
was i n flexible ; the very argume n ts used agai n st him becam e
weapo n s i n his han ds an d although assailed o n all sides by
fri en ds an d foes he defe n ded the proposed allian ce with gia n t
power an d succeeded i n carryi n g the resolutio n The treaty of
allian ce was sig n ed an d an arm y greater tha n had eve n bee n
stipulated was dispatched to the Crimea It is u n n ecessary here
to speak of the exploits o f that army which led by the galla n t
Alfo n so Lamarmora called forth the adm iratio n of the allies
The day whe n the Sardi n ia n troops withstood the first shock of
the e n emy at the battle of Tch ern aya an d s o bravely con tribut
ed to his defeat was the dawn of Italian i n depe n de n ce There
i n the far east where o n ce flourished th e Italia n colo n ies Sar
di n ia by the side of the Fren ch an d E nglish armies co use
crated i n the blood of her so n s the right of leadership i n the
n atio n al cause an d w o n the recog n itio n o f that right from the
allied powers
After t he fall o f Sebastopol Cavour ac compa n ied the kin g
Everywhere received with
o n his visit to Fra n ce an d E n gla n d
marks of that regard secured to him by his high character an d
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T H E C ONGR ESS OF PAR IS
47
.
positio n he availed himself of this opportun ity to u n ite i n
closer ties of frie n dship the house of Savoy with the sovereig n s
f
o
n
t
hose
cou
tries
to
place
before
the
represe
tatives
n
d
n
a
of
public Opi n io n the true aspect of affairs i n Italy as yet greatly
misu n derstood
At the close of the war Sardi n ia n otwithstan di n g the Oppo
sitiou o f Austria was admitted on a footi n g of equality with
t h e other powers in the co n gress of Paris an d Cavour was dele
gated to represe n t the coun try i n that assembly
His extra e r
d i n ary diplomatic S kill was n ever more co n spicuous than o n
that occasio n Havi n g established his positio n amo n g the mem
bers of the con gress an d co n ciliated those whom he wished to
make frien ds he i n duced the Fre n ch an d the E n glish represe n t
atives to bri ng the Ital i an questio n before the co n gress an d for
the first ti m e the voice of Italy was heard i n the cou n cils o f
Europe Without expressi n g his highest aspiratio n s or hi n t
i ng at territorial cha n ges which might create alarm Cavour
con fi n e d his remarks to the actual co n dition of Sardin ia i n her
relatio n s with the other Italian states
He mai ntai n ed that
surrou n ded on all sides by Austrian troops sh e was un able to
develop her i n stitution s an d resources ; that sh e was me n aced
alike by the despotis m of the Italia n pri n ces an d the revolutio n
ary spirit which it e n ge n dered ; that the military occupatio n of
th e duchies an d the legatio n s was i n direct violatio n of the
treaties whi ch guaran teed their i n depe n de n ce ; an d poi n ti n g out
particularly the wretched co n ditio n of the papal domi n io n s he
appealed to the powers of Europe to put an en d to abuses which
were the shame o f civilizatio n an d a perma n e n t source of d an
ger to the peace o f the pe n i n sula
Thus pleadi n g the n ation al
cause from a con servative poi n t of view an d withi n the limits
o f diplomatic form the Italia n statesma n obtai n ed a heari n g i n
the co n gress an d secured the sympathy of Fra n ce an d E n gla n d
Although the Austria n delegates opposed the i n troduction of
that subj ect as foreig n to the obj ect of the meeti n g the di s
cussi e n was carried on ; an d i n ord er to fix the atte n tio n of
those two powers he addressed papers to Cou n t W al ewsky
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I MPEN D I NG REVOL U TI ON
48
.
to Lord Clare n do n in which he forci bly reasserted th e
claims o f the n ation
Cavour soo n after laid before the parliamen t the proceedi n gs
He assured the chambers that although the
o f the co n gress
oppositio n o f A u stria had preve nted the passage of an y reso
luti e n i n favor of Italy the Italia n ca u se had become a Euro
pean questio n he declared that altho u gh the Austrian an d Sar
di n ia n delega t s had separated without perso n al ra n cor yet
each felt that the policy of the two n atio n s was farther tha n
ever fro m approximati n g an d poi n ti n g o ut the da n gers of the
situatio n b e appealed to the patriotism of the parliame n t to
s ustai n the govern me nt i n the eve nts which might ari se
The co u rse followed by Cavour i n the con gress of Paris was
approved by the cham bers an d rec e ived with patriotic e nthu si
asm by the cou n try which n ow hailed him as its desti n ed de
l i v erer From all parts of the pe n i n sula addresses were prese n ted
to him an d e n gravi n gs stat u ettes an d m edals i n his ho nor were
On th e very day of the e n tra n ce of
distributed over the la n d
Fra n cis Joseph i n to Milan the Milan es e forwarded to the corpo
ratio n Of Turi n a large con tribution for the mo n ume nt i n mem
o f the Sardi n ia n s who had falle n i n the Cri m ea
ns
Italia
or
y
all over the world u n ited i n the purchase of ca n n on for A les san
dri a an d soo n that fortress arm
ed with gu n s beari n g the n ames
o f Ne w Y ork Bosto n San Fra n cisco an d other cities frow n ed
defian ce o n the Austria n fron tier Mean whil e the Sardi n ia n
pres s op e n ed a more fierce broadside agai n st Austria an d the
n umerous refugees who si n ce 1848 had fou n d a h o me an d p o
sitiou i n Turi n bega n to look toward their n ative states with
hope fo r their approachi n g delivera n ce The govern me n t of
Vie n n a o n the other ha n d felt that a revolution was broodi n g
the more formidable because u n der the auspices of mo n archical
i ns titutio n s That an i n sign ifica n t state which a few years S i n ce
had bee n e n tirely u n der her co n trol an d twice crushed be n eath
her iro n heel should dare to summo n the Austria n empire be
fore the bar of the civili z ed world an d to den oun ce it as the
disturber of the public peace an d the violator of those very
an d
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5O
I NVA SI ON AN D
W AR
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prosperous si n ce the policy of my govern me n t rests o n j ustice
love of cou ntry an d liberty an d o n the sympathy which these
”
In the mean time Cavo u r holdi n g a ki n d of
ideas i n spire
dictatorship u n der the ki n g was vigorously urgi n g o n prepara
tio n s for war He reple n ished the treasury i n creased the army
stre n gthe n ed the fortificatio n s reorgan ized the militia an d i n
trusted to Garibaldi the e n listme n t an d comman d of the v ol un
teers who from all parts of the pe n i n sula were flocki n g to the
n atio n al sta n dard ; while i n his foreig n policy he strove to se
cure the frie n dship or at least the n eutrality of the Europea n
govern m e n ts an d to cast upo n the court of Vie nn a where it
belo n ged the respon sibility of approachi n g hostilities To the
same en d on h i s return from Plombi e res he had made a tour to
Bade n to visit the rege n t o f Pr u ssia an d had gra n ted to Russia
the privilege o f maki n g Villafra n ca a coal d ep Ot an d a h ar
bor for her steamers ; a co n cessio n which was i n te n ded both to
gratify that power an d to deal a blow to Austria whose i n ter
ests in the Mediterra n ean were thus coun terbala n ced by those
o f a rival empire
The circu msta n ces of the comme n ceme n t of the war are well
k n own Cavo u r had give n prom ise to E n gla n d that he would
abstai n from any hostile demo n stration toward Austria an d
Fran ce had declared that she would aid Sardi n ia o nly i n case
But while the prelimi n aries for a
of her bei n g attacked
European co n gress w e re u n der discussio n Fra n cis Joseph su d
d en ly broke off all n egotiatio n s an d se n t his ultimatum to
Turi n requirin g the govern m en t to disarm immediately on
pe n alty of an i n vasion With this arrogan t summo n s Cavour
of course decli n ed to comply He imm ediately obtai n ed a bill
from the parliam e n t vesti n g absolute authority i n the ki n g dur
i n g the war assumed the co n trol of the war depar tme n t an d
placed the army i n a defe n sive positio n On the 29 th of April
185 9 the Austrian s crossed the Tici n o the Fre n ch troops
hasten ed across the Alps an d the sea an d the trumpet of war
echoed thro u gh Italy The eleme nts were agai n st the e n emy ;
the rai n s which had falle n i n torre n ts had swolle n the ri vers an d
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V I LLA FRAN CA
51
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can als an d the floodgates an d dykes whi ch divert the waters
i nto the exten sive rice fi eld s havi n g bee n rem oved by the i n h abi
ta n ts the w h ole coun try was i n u n dated an d the i n vaders were
preve n ted from marchi n g on the capital
They were soo n
drive n from the territory an d withi n sixty days the vi ctories of
Mage nta an d Solferi n o brought the allied arm ies to the Mi n cio
o n their triu m pha n t way toward the Adriatic
In the midst o f these sple n did victories the n ews o f the
i n tervie w at Villafran ca fell like a thu n derbolt u po n Italy TO
Cavour it was a crushi n g blow He seemed to feel the co n een
trate d bi t tern ess o f the n atio n
O n ly two days before he had
se n t his greeti n gs to his cou n tryme n i n Am erica an d pledged
h i s faith that the fi n al triumph o f the commo n ca u se was n ear
at han d
an d n o w the Obj ect which h ad bee n for ce n turies the
aspiratio n o f patriots an d martyrs the aim of his hopes an d
labors he s aw va n ish at the very mome n t whe n it appeared
almost withi n his grasp The cry of a n guish which arose from
the Italia n s fell upo n his heart like a reproach an d the blood Of
those who had falle n on the plai n s of Lombardy cried to him
from the grou n d The very dark n ess i n which he was left as
to the motives of the peace o f Villafra n ca made him suspect
that Italy an d he himself had bee n betrayed It is said that
for a time he seemed to have lost his u sual self co n trol ; that
he decli n ed an i n terview requested by the emperor ; that he
urged the ki n g to rej ect the terms of the peace to recall his
army an d to leave Napoleo n to his desig n s Whatever truth
may be i n these stateme n ts it is certai n that as soo n as he heard
o f th e sudde n close of the war he resig n ed his O ffi ce an d retired
to his cou n try seat at Leri
He retired to decli n e the respo n si
bili ty of an act which he co n sidered disastrous to his cou n try
to keep al oof from all arra n geme nts which would compromise
the n atio n al movemen t an d as a private citize n to exert his i n
fl u e n ce ov er the people i n that course of moral resista n ce which
was to follow Writi n g to a frien d a few days after his retire
“
me n t he said : This resolutio n of retiri n g from ofli ce has not
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ote A
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POL I C Y OF NAPOL E ON
52
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bee n dictated either by a n ger or discourageme nt I have full
faith i n the trium ph o f the cause for which I have strive n
till n ow an d I am still ready to devote to it what little of life
an d power m ay yet be gra n ted to m e
B ut I am profou n dly
co n vi n ced that at this mome n t any participatio n i n public
a ffairs would be hurtful to my cou n try The desti n ies of Italy
have bee n tra n sferred to the ha n ds of diplo macy I am i n bad
Odor with the diplomatic world ; while my resign atio n is so ao
cep tabl e that its e ffect will be to r en der diplomatists more favor
ably disposed toward u n happy ce n tral Italy whose desti n ies they
are about t o decide on T h ere are circumsta n ces i n whic h a
statesma n cann ot put himself too promi n e n tly forward There
are others i n which the welfare of the very cause he serves re
quires him to retire from n otice This i s the deman d th at the
prese n t con ditio n of affairs makes upo n me A man of actio n
”
I retire from public life for the good of my cou n try
The policy of Cavour both before an d after the peace of
Villafran ca can n ot be fully u n derstood without an In qu i ry In to
the causes which led Napoleo n to e n gage i n the Italian war
an d to bri n g it to so s u dde n a close before i ts Obj ect was aecom
n ce betwee n him an d Victor Em m a n uel
li
That
the
allia
s h ed
p
was due i n a measure to his perso n al attach m e n t to the cause
there can be n o doubt D esce n ded from a family
o f Italy
which traces its origi n to Tusca n y an d Ve n ice an d n early allied
to the great Corsican he had bee n brought to Italy while yet a
boy an d had fou n d there a home i n his exile While his first
impression s hi s sym pathies and early associatio n s con n ected
h i m closely to the co un try his stro n g passio n s an d will his deep
re n dered h im more an Italia n than a
an d te n acious n ature
Fre n chman In his youth he had belon ged to the society of
the Carbo n ari h e had take n a promi n e n t part i n the revolution of
the Rom ag n a i n which he had lost a broth er ; he had co ntracted
many war m frie n dships ceme n ted by the perils an d the roma n
To this if we add the
ti c adve n tures i n cide nt to co n spiracy
n umerous ties which bi n d the family o f the Bo n apartes to Italy
the ideas of the fou n der of the dy n asty con c e r ni n g her future
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POL IC Y OF NAPOL E ON
53
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desti n y preser v ed as a sac red traditio n amo n g his re latives his
grateful re m embra n ce of the ser v ices an d fidelity o f the Italia n
soldiers i n his wars with Spai n an d Russia an d his regrets more
tha n o n ce expressed i n his captivity that he had do n e n o more
for that co un try we may safely co n clude that the third Napo
leo n had motives sufficie n t to avail himself of any opport u n ity
co n siste n t with his policy for promoti n g the i n terests o f th e
Italian n atio n His policy happily was en tirely i n u n iso n
Although by the Cri mea n war he had s ue
with his feeli n gs
cee d ed i n breaki n g up the allia n ce o f those p owers which had
guara n teed the executio n of the treaty o f Vie n n a as far as it
regarded territorial arra n geme n ts it still remai n ed i n force
His dy n asty however would n o t be firmly established u n til
Waterloo should be ave n ged by the complete blotti n g out of
that treaty an d a war for Italia n i n depe n de n ce Offered the
readiest mea n s for produci n g this result To accomplish it by
an attack i n the directio n o f the Rhi n e or across the cha n n el
would have brought upo n him a Europea n coalitio n B u t by
striki n g at Austria i n the pe n i n sula he would reach the p ower
which had most co n tributed to re n der that treaty O ffe n sive an d
e n gage i n a cause which would comma n d th e sympathy an d
ad miratio n of the world In any eve n t he would be able to
co n fi n e the struggle withi n the limits of that cou n try an d thus
avert the da n ger of a ge n eral war
But there were other reaso n s which i n flue n ced Napoleo n i n
espousi ng the Italian cause While this was i n accordan ce with
his feeli n gs an d his dy n astic i n terests it coi ncided also with
the traditio n al policy o f Fra n ce Fra n ce has n ot o n ly bee n at
all times the champio n of civilizatio n t hroughout the world
but has bee n always hostile to the domi n atio n of Austria over
the pe n i nsula The geographical an d eth n ographical a ffi n ities
which bi n d Fra n ce to Italy separate both from A u stria This
a n tago n ism appears throughout all Fre n ch history an d forms on e
o f its most salie n t characteristics
Whe n ever the Fre n ch people
have rise n to the sum mit Of power o n e o f their leadi n g obj ects
has bee n the reco n structio n of Italy as a n atio n To this e n d
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5
54
POL IC Y OF NAPOLEON
.
He n ry IV d irected his ge n ius ; an d it is remarkable that the
first step he proposed toward its accomplishmen t was to exte n d
the sway o f the house o f Savoy over the territory held by
Au s tria Had his desig n s bee n carried out had n ot the dagger
of Rav aill ac cut short his career Italy would have bee n prob
ably an i n depe n de n t n atio n two ce n turies ago This policy was
n ot reli n quished with the death of that great ki n g ; it was
favored by Rich elieu an d n early accomplished by Louis XV a
ce ntury later DA rge n s on the mi n ister of that mo n arch char
acteriz ed by Voltaire as fit to be secretary o f state i n the re
public of Plato was an earn est advocate of this idea There
were the n as n ow n ot wa n ti ng i n Fran ce n arrow mi n ded m en
who regarded with j ealousy the growth of a great n atio n beyo n d
“
the Alps ; an d of such he th u s writes : They may quote as
much as they please the sayi ng of Cardi n al d Os s at about the
you n g wolves of Savoy an d s ay that should the ki n g of Sar
di n i a become so powerful we would be obliged to fortify Lyo n s
These are but prej udices i n stigated by the hatred of Spai n
There will be still i n all cases a great di ffere n ce of power be
twee n Sardi n ia an d Fran ce O ur dan ger arises o n ly from on e
so u rce the house of Austria Neighbors we must have an d n oth
i ng better could happe n to us tha n that the small states should
grow at the expe n se of the large o n es
It would be glori
ous for Fra n ce to break the chai n s of Italy an d to deliver her
from the yoke of Germa n y It would be a mortal blow to
Aust ria as it would restrict her power withi n her o wn limits
This would mark a great era i n the history o f Fra n ce an d the
ki n g would gather from it a glory which wo u ld ren der his reign
illustrious to all
It is n eedless to say that this same idea directed the policy
But the con queror o f Mare n go i n his
of the first Napoleo n
e fforts to i n troduce i n to Europe the pri n ciples of the Fren ch
revolutio n w as obliged to disregard the rights of n ation ality
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See th e M e moire s d u M arqu is d Argen son , tom
iii For th e documents rel tive
t o th e tra d ition l policy of Fran c e i n regar d to I t ly s ee th e work o f C an estrin i ;
D ell Politica Piemonte se n el S ecolo vii
’
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a
a
a
x
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a
POL IC Y OF N A POL E ON
55
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His course bei n g opposed by the p ote n tates of Europe he was
forced i n to co n quest to give expa n sio n to the civilizi n g i nfl u
e n ces of Fra n ce an d to defe n d her territory from threate n ed i n
Italy thus fell u n der his power But that his domi n io n
v as i o n
over the pe n i n sula had b ut a temporary charac t er an d that i t
was i n te n ded to prepare it fo r its o wn i n depe n de n ce he himself
declared n ot o nly at St Hele n a but as early as 1805 whe n
addressi n g the Italian deputatio n charged with o fferi n g h i m the
crow n o f Italy he said : My i n te n tio n has alwa y s bee n to
re n der the Italia n n atio n free an d i n d epe n de n t I accept the
crow n an d will pre serve it but o n ly fo r such time as my own
”
i n terests may require
The predo mi n a nt idea o f Napol eo n I
was to secure the prepo n dera n ce Of Fra n ce i n the cou n cils of
Europe u n der the asce n de n cy of the Bo n aparte dy n asty an d
it co n ti n ues to be that of the prese n t em p eror B ut w hile the
former strove to en force this policy by giga n tic wars an d con
quests more i n accorda n ce with his o wn te n de n cies an d the age
his successor proposes to accomplish the same en d by moral
rather tha n by physical force Educated i n a more refi n ed
civilizatio n with a character formed i n exile an d misfortu n e
pro n e to trace political eve n ts to their ge n eral causes thorough l y
imbued with the views of his predecessor yet fully aware of
their shortcomi n gs he seeks the same result through mea n s
more i n co n formity with the prese n t time
Co n quest would
be to him more rui n ous than it was to his great relative Th e
spirit of n a t io n ality s o characteristic o f our day aided by the
predomi n a n ce of material i n terests an d the j ealousies and
me m ories o f the past would ren der such a course utterly d is
astro u s In proof of th is we may quote his o wn words ad
dressed to the Italia n s i n o n e of his proclamatio n s duri n g the
”
late war : Y our e n emies said he who are also mi n e would
dimi n ish the u n iversal sympathy which Europe feels fo r your
cause by attempti n g to make people believe that I m
ake war
o n ly for my perso n al ambitio n o r fer the aggra n dizeme n t
If there are men wh o do n ot un
o f the territory o f Fra n ce
In the prese n t
d ers tan d their age I am n ot of that n umber
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T HE
56
E X P E DI T I O N
R OM E
To
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e nlighte n ed co n ditio n on e is far greater for the moral i n flue n ce
which he is able to exert than for fruitless co n quests It is
this moral i n fluen ce that I seek with pride by co n tributi n g to
”
re n der free o n e o f the most beautiful cou n tries of Europe
Th e ce n tral idea o f his policy could n o t be more clearly an d
forcibly expressed The first step In its developme n t is to s e
cure the political existe n ce an d power of the Lati n races by
u n iti n g th e m i n a co n federatio n headed by Fra n ce an d ev en tu
ally to be a u gme n ted by others belo n gi n g to the Scl av on i c an d
German ic groups He seeks n o t the prepo n dera n ce of Fran ce
by chai n i n g other n atio n s to her car as the first Napoleon at
te mpted to do but by creati n g such circumsta n ces i n the Euro
pea n policy as to i n duce them to follow her course By thus
securi n g allies i nstead of rivals he would be aided i n carryi n g
o u t his desig n s fo r the adva n ce m e n t of c ivilizatio n throughout
the worl d an d i n actualizi n g his early defi n itio n of the e mpire :
L empire c est la paix
It was i n this poi n t of V iew that he
formed the allia n ce with E n glan d an d courted the s upport n ot
o n ly of Sardi n ia but of Naples Spai n an d Swede n ; that b e ex
erte d h i s i n flue n ce fo r the n atio n al u n ity an d i n depe n de n ce o f
the D a n ubian pri n cipalities favored the pla n s of Spai n i n Moroc
co an d Mexico an d pre posed her admissi o n amo n g the great
powers ; that h e promoted the ope n i n g of the isthm u s of Suez
i n order to give back to the n atio n s S ituated o n the M edi ter
ran ean their commercial prepo n dera n ce ; that he Oi n e d E n gla n d
i n the war agai n st Chi n a u n dertook the expeditio n to Syria
an d fi n ally e n gaged i n the cause of Italy an d both i n war an d
i n peace made himself the patro n o f her n atio n ality
The expeditio n agai n st Rome which seem ed e ntirely opposed
to this obj ect was i n fact a step toward its accomplish m e nt
Although that eve n t took place u n der the preside n cy o f Louis
Napoleo n it had bee n matured by the p recech n g ad mi n istratio n
In ac
an d was forced upo n him by the legislative assembly
cep ti n g that measure he Obtai n ed the support of the clergy an d
other reactio n ary parties co n solidated his power gai n ed a foot
h old i n the very heart of the pe n i n sula cou n terbalan ced the i n
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NATI ONAL U N IT Y
58
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failed ; for while i n the U nited States such a form of govern
me n t is a n ecessity fro m its vast exte n t of territory its varied
i nterests an d irres istible force o f expa n sio n i n Italy it would
be u n desirable from her limited area equal o n ly t o that of the
States of Ne w Y ork and Pe nn sylva n ia her commo n civilizatio n
A co n federacy am o n g
an d her facili ty of i n tereo mmu n i catio n
the Italia n mo n archies an d n o other would be possible at prese n t
by m ultiplyi n g dyn astic i n terests would create n ew a n tagon
isms ; an d thus the complicatio n s an d the dan gers i n here n t to
federal i n stitutio n s would be vastly i n creased
Add to this
th at the States as they existed before the late war were b u t arti
fi ci al an d i n comp le te aggregatio n s o f parts of the n atio n with
o u t life or history of their o wn an d that the cities the o n ly
great i n di v iduali t ies of the cou n try could n ot properly be
subj ected to any other organ izatio n tha n to the gover nme n t
which represe n ts Italy herself
In the civilizatio n of the prese n t day great states alo n e can
compete with the more advan ced n atio n s ; an d the I t alia n peo
ple receivi n g a n ew impulse from the free i n stitutio n s of Sar
di n ia n ow rapidly con verged toward their political u n ity The
Austria n troops had n ot yet crossed the l i ci no before the ce n
tral States aban do n ed by their rulers haste n ed to place them
selves u n der her protectio n an d Cavour was n ot backward i n
gra n ti n g it He se n t commissio n ers to those States orga nized
n ew governm e n ts i n the n ame of Victor Em m a n uel abolished
the c ustom houses prom ulgated the Sardi n ia n laws an d pre
pared the coun try for that u nio n which he could n ot as yet
effect i n an Offi cial capacity In this work he was aided by the
en lighte n ed co operatio n of man y patriots an d particularly of
Baro n Ricasoli i n Flore n ce to whom n ext to Cavour an d Gari
baldi Italy is i n debted for the co n quest of her n atio n ality
D esce n ded from on e of the most an cie n t families of Tusca n y
e n dowed with a refi n ed an d cultivated i n tellect a ster n i n tegrity
an d an i n do m itable will an d ex e rcisi n g a comma n di n g i n flue n ce
over his cou n tryme n Ricasoli was chiefly i n strume n tal i n le ad
i n g T usca n y forth to lay o n the altar of patriotism her tradi
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TH E M
Y ST ER Y OF V I LLAF RAN C A
59
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glories an d to merge her i n dividual life i nto that of the
n atio n
While these au p i ci ou s circumsta n ces gave promise
that before the close of the war a great part of the cou n try
wo ul d be co n solidated i n to o n e free govern me n t th e world was
startled by the sudde n n ews of the peace of Villafra n ca
For this step o n the part of Napoleo n various causes have
bee n assig n ed promi n e n t amo n g which was his supposed desire
to check this u n expected movemen t of a nn exatio n But eve n ts
have proved that his real Obj ect was to perfect rather tha n to
preve n t it The emperor could n ot op p ose the accepta n ce by
Victor Emma n uel of the crown o f Italy without violati n g the
pri n ciple on which he held his o w n ; and o n e n teri n g Mila n
while exhorti n g the Italia n s to fly to the n ation al sta n dard h e
had formerly pledged himself n o t to i n terfere with the wishes
P ercei v
Of the people i n regard to their future orga n i zatio n
i n g n ow that a co n federatio n would n ot be accepted by the
States an d k n owi n g that their u n io n would e n able them to
achieve their i n depe nde n ce by their own exertio n s he had the
courage to cut short the war i n his brillian t career of victory
The co n
an d to leave them to accomp l ish their o wn desti n y
ti n u an ce of the war might free Ve n ice from A ustria n rule but
it would at the same time i n the n e w issue which had arise n
i n volve him i n a direct co nflict with the pope whose posses
sio n s had bee n already e n croached upo n a co nflict which would
e n da n ger hi s security at home from the i ntrigues of the clergy
an d other parties who though i n di ffere n t o r hostile to the i n
tere sts o f the church would gladly avail themselves of th i s
pretext to plot agai n st his thro n e He could n ot take part i n a
direct struggl e for Italian u nity without Ope nly violati n g i nter
n atio n al l a w which still protected the Italia n pri n ces thus i n
curri n g the da n ger of a coalitio n S u ch a course too would
excite the oppositio n of certai n classes i n Fra n ce who although
sympathizi n g with the freedom of Italy regarded with j ealousy
*
the prospect of her co n solidation an d i n creasi n g power
Add
to this that i n V ie w of the possibility of a lo n g resista n ce on
tio nal
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See
n
ote B
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60
T H E M Y ST ER Y
V I LL A FRAN C A
or
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the part of the e n emy i n tre n ched in the fortr esses the emperor
had early e n tered i n to a co n ditio n al allia n ce wi th $ ossuth an d
other pop u lar leaders for the purpose of promoti n g i n case of
n ecessity revolutio n ary moveme n ts i n Hu n gary an d oth e r d i s
a ffected portio n s of the Austrian e m pire A co n ti n ua n ce of
the war wo uld thus greatly wide n its sph e re an d complicate its
results ; an d whe n it bec ame appare n t that its Obj ect could be
accomplished by leavi n g the Italia n s to gai n stre n gth by con
solidatio n it was obviously the wisest policy to avoid the i m
pe n di n g da n gers of coali tio n an d revolutio n by withdrawi n g
from the field at a mome n t whe n he fou n d hi mself i n a positio n
to dictate the co n ditio n certai n to produce that result the n on
i nterve ntion o f Austria
Although the chief obj ect of the peace of Villafra n ca was the
i n depe n de n ce of Italy to be w on by the Italia n s themselves it
sec u red other scarcely less importa n t e nds The problem which
Napoleo n III seems to have proposed to himself was to Obtai n
the maxim um o f results by the m i n i m u m of war By the s ud
d en termi n atio n o f the campaig n while he saved himself from
the risk of losi n g what he had gai n ed he preve n ted at o n ce the
allia n ce on the eve of bei n g co n summated betwee n Austria an d
Prussia an d arrested the march of the Prussia n troops across
the Rhi n e ; he m ade his power felt by the gover nmen ts of
Europe whose i nterfere n ce he ope n ly disregarded i n his n ew
te rritorial arra n geme n ts ; an d havi n g checked the pride o f
Austria he w o n her frie n dship by his magn a n imity whe n d is
hearte n ed by a series of defeats S he saw herself at o n ce saved
from destructio n with a comparatively small sacrifice
On his retur n from the Italia n campaig n Napoleo n himself
tat that although he
declared i n his address to the Corps d E
fou n d Europe i n arms ready to dispute h i s successes o r to
aggravate his disasters he would have still co n ti n ued the war
if the mea n s to be employed had n o t bee n disproportio n ed to
the i nte n ded result ; that prosecuti n g the struggle on the Adige
he would have bee n obliged to accept the challe nge on th e
Rhi n e stre ngthe n himself by an allia n ce wit h revolutio n an d
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C AVO U R
61
R EI N ST A TE D
risk what a sovereign should n ever do e xcept for the i n d ep en
de n ce of h is own coun try ; and pleadi n g the i n terests of Fra n ce
as the cause which had i n duced him to put an end to the war
he closed his address with the followi n g words : The peace
which I have co n cluded as every day will reveal will be fruit
ful i n good results for the happi n ess o f Italy the i n flue n ce of
”
Fra n ce an d the quiet of Europe
Looki n g n ow to Italy
u n ited from Susa to Syracuse a u n ion perfected withi n less
tha n two years from that time we see the glorious fulfilmen t o f
those prophetic words ; an d the peace which seemed a mortal
blow to the daw n i n g hope of the Italia n s by the stipulatio n at
fi rst withheld from public k n owledge th at n o coercio n would
be employed to e nforce i ts Offe n sive terms i n augurated i n Italy
the great pri n ciple of popular sovereign ty an d became the key
s to n e of the Italia n n atio n ality
We have see n that Cavour o n withdrawi n g fr om the cabi n et
after the peace o f Villafra n ca retired to his estate at Leri But
he still remai n ed the recog n ized head of the n atio n al move
me n t ; an d his oppositio n to that act before its full sig n ifica n ce
was disclosed added to his popularity He was n o t lo n g how
e v er i n discoveri n g the thread of the appare n tly tortuous policy
From
of the emperor
an d he eagerly availed himself of it
h i s retreat he kept up a co n sta n t correspo n de n ce with the lead
ers of ce n tr al Italy urgi n g them to be firm an d un compromis
i ng
The admi n istratio n o f Rattazzi who had succeeded him
trammelled by embarrassme n ts of all ki n ds looked to Leri for
cou n sel an d directio n ; an d the people of the Tuscan an d
z
Emili an provi n ces e n couraged by h i s example an d stre n gth
e n ed by his advice positiv ely refused to receive b ack their
pri n ces n otwithsta n di ng the urge n t e n treaties o f the emperor
an d decli n ed to adhere to an
n of adj ustme n t but that o f
pla
y
a nn exation to Sardi n ia At this crisis Cavour w as recalled to
the cabi n et ; an d reassumi n g the presiden cy of the cou n cil an d
the departme n t of foreig n affairs he at o n ce dissolved the cham
b er elected a fter the u nio n of Lombardy caused cen tral Italy
to be divided i nto electoral districts an d declared to the p owers
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AVO Y AN D N IC E
62
S
.
Europe that the restoratio n of the dukes bei ng utterly i m
possible an d any other arran geme n t o f the orga nizatio n of
those provi n ces fraught with da n ger he felt it h i s duty to ao
cept on behalf of the ki n g their un io n with Sardi n ia Na
ol e o n had mea nti m e o ffered n e w propositio n s to Sardi n ia
p
which although less Offen sive than those of the late treaty were
yet opposed to the absol ute a nn exatio n of Tuscan y an d the
Romagn a But Cavour at o n ce d ecl i n ed them ; an d proposed
i n stead to submit that questio n which had bee n already d o
cided by the legisl atures of those Sta t es to the direct vote of
—
the pe ople thus appeali n g to the same source which the em
eror recog n ized as the origi n of his o wn power an d to which
p
he had j ust p re posed to refer the a nn exation of Savoy an d Nice
to Fra n ce
The u n io n of these provi n ces had bee n agreed upo n at the
i n tervie w of Plombi e res as a co n ditio n of the allia n ce which
was to deliver Lombardy an d Ve n etia from the Austria n yoke
Fra n ce had lo n g before claimed the possessio n of Savoy and
Nice an d had always e n forced this claim whe n ever a favorable
occasio n prese nted itsel f Nice a part of an cie n t Prove n ce
seem ed rather allied to the Fre n ch tha n to the Italia n n atio n ;
i n geographical positio n lan guage an d i n terests
an d Savoy
was in fact but a Fre n ch provi nce They had bee n wrested
from Fra n ce by the treaty of Vie n n a an d Napoleo n was n o w
led to request their surre n der n ot o n ly by dy n astic exige n cies
but also by the n ecessity of a ffordi n g compe n satio n to the
Fre n ch people for the sacrifice of blood an d treasure which the
war would en tail on them The peace of Villafra n ca havi n g
left a part of the Italia n territory i n the possessio n of Austria
N apoleo n for the ti m e waived his claim ; but n ow as the an
an d Sardi n ia expa n di n g he
n ex ati on was rapidly progressi n g
desired that that stipulatio n Should be complied with Cavour
could n ot refuse co n siste ntly with his pri n ciples an d the wel fare
i n asmuch as i n s u bj ecti ng the cession to the
o f his co u n try
vote of the people the right of popular sovereig n ty would be
mai ntai n ed an d a precede n t established which would be highly
of
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ANNE XA TI ON OF C EN T R A L ITA L Y
63
.
advan tageous to the settleme n t of similar questio n s which might
arise i n the pe n i n sula
The i n habitan ts of Savoy an d Nice
were therefore summo n ed to the ballot box to decide whether
they would belo n g to Fra n ce or to Italy A n overwhelm
i n g maj ority bei n g i n favor of Fre n ch rule those provi n ces
passed u n der th e domi n io n of the empire while Parrn a Mode n a
T uscan y an d the Legatio n s by the voice of their people hailed
the yo un g chief of the a ncie n t house of Savoy as ki n g of
Italy
Such was the first great achieveme n t toward Italia n u n ity
which early i n 1 860 had bee n attai n ed chiefly through the wi s e
policy of Cavour Well might the ki n g i n addressi n g the n ew
“
parliame n t co n gratulate t he co u n t ry that Italy was n o lo n ger
the Italy of mu n icipal govern men ts o r that of the middle ages
”
but the Italy of the Italia n s
Atten ded by his mi n ister he
departs to visit the n ew domi n io n s which n ot the sword of the
co n queror but the hearts of the people had bestowed u po n him
The e n thusiasm with which the illustrious visitors are received
Now for the first
i n the n ew provi n ces exceed s all descriptio n
time the se n time nt which before had bee n so lo n g restrai n ed by
the bou n daries of cities an d states overleaps all barriers an d i s
merged i n the deep emotion of patriotism ; all traces Of a n cie nt
feuds have van ished ; the o n ce rival cities emulate each other
i n their expressio n s o f m utual affectio n
Ge n oa retur n s to Pisa
the chai n s o f her harbor seized ce nturies before an d to th i s
time held by that ci ty as a trophy ; the sword which Castruccio
C as tracan e the Ghibelli n e chieftai n had i n the 14th ce n tury
bequeathed to him who should deliver the cou ntry is n e w con
ferred upo n Victor Emman uel ; an d the ve n erable Ni ccolini
the n atio n al poet i n whose patriotic strai n s the fire of D a n te
still burn s haste n s with totteri n g steps to prese n t to th e ki n g
”
his master piece the Arn aldo da Brescia blessi n g the ki n d
fate that had allowed him before his eyes close on the sweet air
”
o f Italy to s ee the aspiratio n o f his life accomplished
Let
Parma an d Mode n a Flore n ce an d Bologn a deck them selves i n
their sple n did array to welcome the warrior an d the statesman
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64
GAR I BAL D I
.
who have g i ve n to them n atio n al life ; let the people te n der to
them the triu mphs which Rome bestowed upo n her con querors ;
let the arts revive their a n cie n t glory an d lay their tributes at
their feet ; let music pai n ti n g an d poetry celebrate the u n ion
Of ce n tral Italy with Sardi n ia It i s the dawn of the n atio n s
birthday
But a n other act of the great dra m a n ow ope n s ; a nother hero
n o w appears o n the stage
We search i n vai n the archives of
history for heroic deeds an d marvellous achieve m e n ts like
those which a little more tha n a year ago sen t a t h rill of admira
tio n an d j oy through the hea rts of all the frie n ds of liberty i n
both hemispheres Fo r this we m u st go back to the legen dary
ages whe n the gods mi n gled with m en the ages of Hercules
o f O di n an d Thor ;
an d Theseus
an d whe n ce n turies shall
have passed away an d Italy shall agai n have reached the
apex of her great n ess an d the memory of the great chieftai n
S hall have bee n still more e mbe llished by popular imagi n atio n
the n ame of Garibaldi will be i n vested with my t hical glory
surpassi n g that of the Cid i n Spai n an d Jea n n e d A rc i n Fra n ce
On the 11th Of May 1860 Garibaldi at the head of on e thou
san d patriots la n ded at Marsala He came he saw he co n
quered Withi n les s tha n four mo n ths he had delivered ten
mi llio n s o f l taliafrs from the hated yoke of the Bourbo n s
Fo r a work like that which Garibaldi acco m plished Cavour
had n o power A statesma n far removed from revolutio n ary
i mpulses his ge n ius co n sist e d rather i n directi n g eve n ts tha n
forci n g them Believi n g i n the ulti mate u nion of the n atio n
his origi n al pla n had bee n the co n solidatio n o f n orthern Italy
i n to o n e ki n gd o m which sho u ld gradually absorb the e n tire
pe n i n s u la But the peace of Villafra n ca havi n g defeated that
desig n his n ext obj ect became the a nn exatio n of ce n tral Italy
The i nsti n ct of the people ho wever outstripped this process of
gradual absorptio n an d hasten ed to p recipitate an imm ediate
u n i o n of the whole cou n try O f this i n sti n ct Garibaldi was the
great represe n tative Esse n tially a man of the masses shari ng
their virtues as well as their fa u lts with the heart of a lio n
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66
C AVO U R A N D G AR I BAL D I
.
peali n g to their co n servative te n den cies an d by represe n tn
that an effort to put dow n the move men t by force o f arms
woul d cause a revolutio n throughout the pe n i n sula an d en
dan ger the exist en ce of m on archical i n stitutio n s he saved th e
expeditio n s from an armed i n terve n tion B u t whe n success ap
n ged his poli c
Cavour
cha
y
o f i n actio n for a
eare d certai n
p
course of active sym pathy an d n ot o nly allowed volu n teers to
depar t fro m the ports of the State an d subscriptio n s for their
aid to be widely circulated but he hi m self a fforded the e nter
prise direct assista n ce
Before the war of 1859 S ardin ia had proposed an allian ce
with the ki n g o f Naples o n co n ditio n of his gra n ti n g a con sti
tu ti o n to h i s people an d j oi n i n g i n the war agai n st A u stria
Hitherto he had resisted all adva n ces But n ow that Garibaldi
havi n g po ssessed himself of Sicily was k n ocki n g at the gates
of Naples Fran cis II haste n ed to accede to those terms an d
proposed to Share wit h Sardi nia the p on tifi cal do mi n io n s But
it w as too late Si n ce the war had comme n ced such chan ges
had occurred i n the pe n i n sula that Cavour i n tur n decli n ed the
proposed allian ce ; an d as E nglan d Fra n ce an d Russia urged
upo n him its accepta n ce he wisely i n sisted o n delayi n g all n o
i
t
i
o n s o n the s u bj e ct u n til that sovereig n should prove him
t
a
o
g
self able to mai n tai n his thro n e ; and i n the m ea n time claimed
as a prelimi n ary that he should recogn ize the i n depe n de n ce of
Sicily B u t Garibaldi left n o ti m e for decisi o n ; he at o n ce
made his trium phan t e ntry i n to Napl e s while the fugitive ki n g
took refuge i n Gaeta
Betwee n Cavour an d Garibaldi there e xisted great di ffe re n ces
of character The o n e was e n dowed with comprehe n sive g en
ius with a clear kee n i n tell ect that n either i magi n atio n n or im
pulse could seduce ; affl ue n t aristocra t ic r e served Ofte n s atiri
cal an d imperious u n yieldi n g i n his Opi nion s with power to
ben d the co n victio n s of others to his own ; too co n fide n t i n him
self to court popular favor an d devoted to labors more cal cu
lated to excite the admiratio n of the thoughtful than to dazzle
the multitude The other of more limited capacity but of
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C AVO U R
A ND
G AR I BAL D I
67
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wider sympathies w as ruled by i m agi n atio n an d impulse dis
posed to regard all question s from a si n gle poi n t of v iew demo
cratic by birth an d pri n ciples of Sparta n S i m plicity of life an d
ma nn ers desp isi n g ran k an d wealth ki n d straightforward
easily i n flue n ced by all who approached him i n the n am e of
patriotism an d from his wo n derful success as w ell as from his
rare perso n al qualities the idol o f the masses Both true patriots
both equally courageous an d e n ergetic while the on e exerted his
ge n ius in diplomatic strate gy the other was en gaged i n irregular
warfare B oth equally ambitious to serve their cou n try while
on e accepted the ho n ors bestowed upo n h im the other disdai n ed
all disti n ctio n s but delighted to app ear i n public i n his worn
red sh i rt Both of sterli n g i n tegrity while the o n e on e n teri n g
offi ce disposed of his shares i n the public stocks to place him
self beyo n d the reach of suspicio n the other duri n g his dicta
torsh ip received but two dollars a day from the public treasury
an d after co n queri n g a ki n gdom retired like Ci n ci n n atus o f ol d
to his farm to live by the labor o f his ha nds
These characteristics combi n ed with an i n te n se h atred of all
diplomacy produced i n Garibaldi a person al a n tipathy to C a
vour which on the surre n der o f Nice culmi n ated i n ope n hos
That his birthplace should have bee n ceded to Napoleo n
til i ty
who m he disliked still more tha n Cavour he regarded almost as
a perso n al i n sult ; an d although that surre n der had bee n ap
proved by th e parliame n t an d the ki n g an d voted for by the
people Cavour appeared t o him as its sole author He did
n ot see that had Nice bee n refused the Italia n cause would have
bee n e n da n gered an d that the mi n ister who should have i n cur
red the respo n sibility of the refusal would have bee n liable to
i mpeachme n t as a traitor He overlooked the fact that his ex
h
o had protected
ed i ti on s had fou n d a supporter i n Cavour
w
p
them fro m$
foreig n i n terve n tio n an d that it w as i n n o small degree
d u e to his e fforts that he was e n abled to e n ter Naples alo n e an d
to be received with ope n arms by t h e Neapolita n troops who
still held possessio n of the city His prej udice n o doubt was
i n a great meas ure the effect of the i n flue n ces by which he was
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EV I L I NFL U EN C E S
68
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s urroun ded He had early i n life bee n conn ected wi t h Mazzin i
an d lo n g co n ti n ued to m a n i fe st his sympathy with the republi
can party
B ut wh e n Ma n i n the Ve n etia n patri ot urged the
u n io n of al l parties u n der the leadership o f the h ouse o f Savoy
he re n ou n ced his former allia n ce an d gen erously gav e his ad
h ere n ce to the co n stitutio n al mo n archy of Victor Em m a n uel
Later o n becomi n g perso n ally acquai n ted with the ki n g he
fou n d i n his character si m plicity straightforward n ess an d patri
o ti s m much th at was co n ge n ial to himself an d he co n ceived fo r
h i m a loyal attachme n t
This course was at the time bitterly
co n de m n ed by his former associates and by Mazzi n i hi m sel f
But n ow i n the hour o f his triumph those who n ot lo n g before
had bee n e n gaged i n vilifyi n g his n ame i n E u rope an d i n
America flocked to Naples i n si n uated themselves agai n i n to
his con fide n ce an d by playi n g on his real o r fan cied gri eva n ces
strove to wide n the breach betwee n him an d Cavour whom they
j ustly r egarded as the great supporter of co n stitutio n al mo n ar
chy an d the staun ch oppo n e n t of their sche m es : Good u n so
the
h
i
s ti cate d ge n erous an d n e w i n the art of gover n me n t
p
hero of the battle fi el d became a child i n the ha n ds of those
adve n turers ; Naples an d Sicily fell u n der their co n tr ol an d
exhibited more completely tha n ever the e ffects of that d i s or
n i z ati o n to which they had bee n previously red u ced by a
a
g
lo n g reig n o f despotism Fro m Gaeta Fra n cis II n ow threate n
ed an i n vas i o n o f his form e r dom i n i o n s while A u stria from
Vero n a an d Ma n tua an d Lamorici e re from An co n a were pre
pari n g to act i n co n cert with h i m In this state of thi n gs it was
n ecessary that souther n I t aly should at o n ce declare her u n i o n
wit h the n orthern an d ce n tral provi n ces an d thus j ustify the
i n terve n tio n of Sardi n ia by which al on e regularity could be
i n troduced i n to the admin istratio n an d the i n vasion resisted
The gre at maj ority de man ded an n exatio n ; but Garibaldi who
had take n possession of the ki n gdom i n the n am e of Victor Em
ma n uel see m ed to waver betwee n his former adhere n ce to
Mazzin i an d his fidelity to t h e ki n g Pressed by p u blic Opi n io n
to co n sult the vote of the people he at last co n s en ted to open the
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A MA STE R ST RO $ E OF POL IC Y
69
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b allot box but o n ly o n co n di t io n of the dismissal of Cavour from
the cabi n et Such a r e quest destructive o f all co n stitutio n al
liberty fou n d n o favor with the ki n g ; an d Cavour receivi n g
n ces o f co n fide n ce from the parliame n t decided o n a
n ew assura
bold moveme nt The situatio n w as growi n g every day more
ala rm i n g ; while a n archy threate n ed Naples the merce n aries of
the pope were pouri n g i n from all quarters an d Garibaldi himself
s began to
was held i n check o n the Voltur n o the republica n
speak Ope n ly o f attacki n g the Fre n ch garriso n at Rome an d the
Austria n s In their fortresses Ba ffled i n their pla n of rem ov
i n g Cavour from the gover n me n t they prevailed o n Garibaldi to
subordi n ate the a n n exatio n o f southern Italy to the delivera n ce
o f Rome an d V e n ice a n d he i n fact proclaimed that he would
allo w the u n io n to be co n sum m ated o n ly whe n he could crow n
Victor E mma n uel ki n g o f Italy o n the $uiri n al
Cavo u r s aw that the attempt to carry out this pla n would
bri n g certai n defeat i n volve Sardi n ia in a war wi th Austria
break up the Fre n ch allia nce cause the aba n do nme nt of the
n o n i n terve n tio n policy
an d probably sacrifice the co n quests
already achieved
Had Garibaldi bee n able to carry ou t
his drea m to make his tri umphal passage across U mbria an d
the Marches rout the troops of Lam orici e re put to flight the
Fre n ch army expel A u stri a an d bri n g aid to Hu n gary an d
Pola n d his very successes would have provoked an armed i n ter
v en ti o n
His triu mphs as well as his defeats appeared equally
fatal to Italy There w as n o time to lose ; If we do n ot reach
the Cattolica before Garibaldi we are lost said Cavour to a
frie n d
By a mas t er stroke o f policy he determ i n ed at o n ce t o
take possessio n o f U mbria an d the Marches push forward the
army to Naples an d Sicily an d to wrest from Garibaldi the lea d er
ship Of the n atio n The deputatio n s fro m those provi nces dem an d
i n g i m med ate a n n exatio n were at o n ce favorably liste n ed to
Cardi n al A n t on elli was summ o n ed i n the n ame of Italy to d is
h an d h i s merce n a ries the Sardi nia n arm y crossed the fro n tier
an d the fleet s e t sail for the Adriatic
We n eed n o t here describe
the Vi ctory of C as telfilard o an d the siege of A n co n a whe n the
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6
,
IT AL Y U N ITE D
70
.
papal army was scattered to the win ds Lamorici e re take n pris
o n er Per u gia ave n ged an d the n atio n al flag u n furled over the
papal dom i n io n s Victor Emman uel at the head of his troops
n o w e n tered the Neapolita n territory an d o n approachi n g the
camp at Capua was met by Garibaldi who amidst the en th u si
as ti c cheers of the two armies sal uted him ki n g of Italy
The wisdom of the policy followed by Cavour on this occa
sio n can o n ly be questio n ed by those who make the pri n ciple
of n atio n ality subservie n t to th e i nterests of dy n asties an d to the
claims of despotism By taki n g possessio n of Umbria an d the
Marches an d by occupyi n g souther n Italy he defeated the rash
desig n s of the republica n s an d put an en d to the n ot less men
aci n g proj ects of Lamorici e re an d Fra n cis II
He S howed also
a j ust appreciatio n of the character of Garibaldi on whose p a
tri oti s m l oyalty an d ge n erous i n s ti n cts he co n fide n tly relied ;
an d he was n ot mistake n ; for scarcely had the ki n g a n n ou n ced
his i n te n tio n to proceed to Naples whe n the great chieftai n lis
te n i n g n ow to th e voice of his heart at on ce summon ed the peo
ple to the ballot box an d the a nn exatio n bei n g voted for by a
large maj ority he at o nce resign ed his dictatorship an d retired
to his humbl e home
In reviewi n g the eve n ts of 1860 i n souther n Italy if we
were u n acquai nted with the actual se n ti m e n ts o f Garibaldi
toward Cavour an d his aversio n to all diplomatic artifice we
might suspect that he had purposely allowed the irregularities
o f his admi n istratio n an d me n aced Rome an d Ve n ice for the
sole Obj ect of alarmi n g the Europea n powers an d th u s of pav
As it was it is due to
i n g the way for subseque n t eve n ts
Cavour that great impedi m e n ts were turn ed i n to powerful
mean s an d that the u n ity of Italy was secure d by the co
Operation of his frie n ds as well as by the Opposition of h i s foes
On the 18th o f February 1861 the first Ital i a n parliame n t
represe n ti n g u n ited Italy co n ve n ed in the ol d capital of Sardi n
ia The roar of the ca nn on which celebrates its first meeti n g
mi n gles with that which a n n ou n ces the fall of Gaeta ; the sou n d
echoes throughout the pe ni n sula an d bears to Austri a an d the
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V E N IC E
71
.
papacy a war n i ng of their approachi n g dow n fall
Italy at last
revives ; sh e revi ves i n the u n ity of her people her co n stit u tion
She rises from ben eath the rui n s of the thron es
an d mo n archy
which cr ushed her the barriers which divided her an d take s
her place am o n g n atio n s
Her stan dard proudly waves from
Milan to Palermo ; her army m arches i n triumph from Mo n te
Rosa to the xEtn a ; her n avy rides j oyfully o n the M editer
Now for the first time the cou n try
ran ean an d the Adriatic
me n o f A lfi e ri an d Pari n i take thei r s eats by th e side of those
o f Vi ce an d Tasso ; the cou n t ryme n o f Ariosto an d Volta wit h
those o f D a n te an d Galileo B ut alas $we look i n vai n i n the
parliame n t of the n atio n for the represe n tatives o f Ve n ice an d
Rome The lio n o f St Mark is still chai n ed to the thro n e o f
the Hapsburgs the keys of St Pet e r the emblem of the th ral
dom of Italy still ha n g o n the walls of the Vatica n
The delivera nce of these n oble provi n ces n o w became th e
chief obj ect o f Cavour He was n ot however permitted to
carry out his gra n d desig n s He led the peop l e forth from
their captivity to a height from whe n ce the promi sed la n d lay
stretched out before their gaze ; but like the prophet of ol d
he fell at the very e n tra n ce bequeathi n g to his successors the
glory o f co m pleti n g his gre at work The pri n ciples by which
this was to be accomplished Cavour himself laid dow n i n o n e
Of h is la ter an d more comprehe n sive efforts before the parlia
me n t n ow assembled
Ve n ice the illustrious martyr which had bee n sacrificed by the
peace of Villafra n ca for the sake of the whole n atio n m u st be
rescued he urged either by purchase o r co n quest ; the cou n try
speedily orga nized an d stre ngthe n ed i n its military resources
an d allia n ces ; an d as an immedia t e war fo r the co n quest was
impossible from the wa n t of preparation at home an d the state
o f p u blic se n time n t abroad he advocated the n ecessity o f pro
d u ci n g a cha n ge i n this respect by provi n g to the world the
ability of th e Italia n s to form a u n ited stro n g an d i n depe n de n t
n atio n based o n the u n a n imous co n se n t of the people
an d to
accomplish by them s elves that great e n terprise Italy might
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72
R OME
T HE C AP IT AL OF IT AL Y
.
thus e ffect the delivera n ce both of Ve n ice an d Rome whe n
ever the favorable mo m e n t should arrive
Rome the immortal city which has for s o man y ce n tu ries
co n ce ntrated i n herself the history of all Italy for her glo ri es
mag n ifice n ce an d positio n is th e n atural capital of the ki n gdo m
Th e other cities eal ou s of supremacy amo n g themselves yield
precede n ce to her which they ack n owle dge as the he ad of the
cou n try the sy mbol the ce n tre an d the co m plem e nt of Italia n
u n ity but whic h as a papal city i n evitably becomes the an tago
n ist o f the n atio n al S pirit an d the stumbli n g block of n atio n al
liberty Whe n therefore the u n io n had bee n sa n ctio n ed by
the vote of the two houses an d measure s i n trod u ced for its
co n s u m matio n the parliame n t at o n ce proclaimed Ro m e the
seat o f go v er n me n t an d urged the admi n istratio n to e n force
this claim This resolutio n w as brought forward by the advice
of Cavo ur ; an d the speeches which he delivered on that occa
sio n amo n g the last of his parliam e n tary career were character
i z e d by a peculiar clear n ess an d force of la n guage breadth o f
thought an d ear n estn ess o f purpose D welli n g on the n eces
o f u n iti n g Rome to the n atio n an d thus o f restori n g that
si t
y
glorious city to civilizatio n i n the n ame of Turi n to which he
was attached by i n terest an d a ffectio n he declared that the pres
e n t capital which fo r the last thirtee n years had n obly born e
the burden o f the n ation al struggle was ready to submit to
this last great sacrifice an d for the sake of Italy cheerfu lly to
waive her claims i n behalf of the a n cie n t city of the C ae sars
Si n ce the n n atio n al right dema n ded the possessio n of Rome
it remai n s to be see n how Cavour proposed to effect it He be
held e n thro n ed i n the Vatica n the successor of an u nbroke n li n e
of po nti ffs reachi n g far back almost to th e daw n of Christian ity ;
i
a
the priest ki n g who holds d o uble sceptre i n the n ame of the
Almighty an d represe n ts an i n stitutio n which though tot t eri n g
d
an d cru m bli n g u n der the weight Of m a n y ce n t u ries is s u stai n e
by a vast hierarchy by ti m e ho n ored maxims by religious
aspiratio n an d sai n tly ab n egatio n as well as by superstition
par ty spirit an d political i n trigue He saw th e papal thro n e
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74
T HE PAP AC Y I N T HE M I DD L E A GES
.
cratic the n aristocratic it fi n ally culmi n ated i n a mo n archy with
the Bishop of Rome at its head who was soo n recog nized as the
spiritual ki n g of Christe n do m the divi n ely appoi n ted i n terp re
ter of the C hristia n faith the ce n tre an d the symbol of religious
u n ity This tra n sformatio n took place i n an age whe n religio n
co ntrolled all i n dividual an d social life ; whe n theology w as the
sy nthesis of all scie n ce Ca n o n law the o n ly exi sti n g code an d
the church the o n ly spiritual age n cy The pope thus came to
be rega rded as the expo n e n t of civiliza tio n the source of all
law order an d authority the u n iter an d ruler of ma n ki n d
Altho u gh his empire was esse n tially spiritual it exte n ded over
all depart me n ts o f life ; for sovereig nty over the soul of m an
implies sovereig n ty over the body which is the co n ditio n of
the soul s m an ifestatio n T his claim to spiritual an d u n iversal
power is the ce n tral idea i n the history of the papacy It first
asserted itself i n the p on tificate of Gregory the Great ; it i n spired
Gregory VII an d I n n oce n t III it a n imated the lo n g struggle
agai n st the empire ; it brought to the holy s ee pri n cely do n atio n s
i ari o s the B org i as
o f reve n ue an d territory ; it e n abled the R
th e Medicis and the Farn esi to co n quer by viole n ce an d fraud
a ki n gdom i n the very heart of t he pe n i n sula ; it ki n dled the
fires of the i n quisitio n ; it p re scri b ed the writi ngs of Galileo
an d the poetry o f Milto n ; it made perma n e n t the i n terve n tio n
o f fore i g n armies i n Italy stimulated the di v isio n o f her terri
tory an d her people an d que n ched their aspiratio n s i n the blood
The same S pirit n ow le ads Pius IX
o f patriots an d martyrs
to resist the advan ci n g waves o f moder n civilizatio n an d causes
him to oppose Victor Emma n uel i n th e reco n structio n of Italy
as a n ation as his predecessors opposed the Lon gobard ki n gs
Frederick II $ i n g A rd uin an d other n oble prin ces who strove
to achieve the same obj ect
In the i n fa n cy of moder n n atio n s th e p ap al soverei gn ty
although i nvolvi n g spiritual serv itude was legitimat e because
the papacy represe n ted the mi n d of huma n ity an d was the
o nly ex i sti n g age n cy of progress The n it stood forth the sole
a ntago nist of the prevaili n g barbarism the o n ly beaco n of moral
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A ND
T H E P AP AC Y
MO D E R N CI V I L I Z ATI ON
75
.
i n tellectual light I t preserved the treasures of Greek an d
Ro m a n ge n ius fostered scie n ce established the u n iversities of
E urope summo n ed the arts to do homage to Christian ity an d
reared cathedrals and mo n ume n ts i n its ho n or ; it se n t forth
armies of apostles througho u t the world an d employed all
human an d divi n e powers for the moral educatio n o f man The n
the s uccessors of St Peter held i n truth the keys of heaven
an d hell ; they could arm the people an d d rai n the treasuries o f
Europe for their holy wars ,dist ribute co n ti n e n ts an d crow n s
amo n g subj ect ki n gs cause emperors to k n eel abj ectly at their
feet an d n atio n s to tremble a t their wrath
But with the adva n ce of civilizatio n whe n n ew pri n ciples an d
n ew forces were evolved an d n ew forms of society appeared the
papal power bega n to d ecli n e as paga n ism had decli n ed at the
approach of Christia n ity Whe n the revival of letters awoke the
h uma n i n tellect from its lo n g slumber an d the i n ve n tio n of
pri nti ng ope ned the chan n els of thought whe n the discovery of
America wide n ed the field of ma n s activity an d n ew la nguages
became the ger ms of n e w n atio n alities Rome ceased to be the
ce n tre of the mora l world an d the voice of the great reformer
fou n d an echo i n the hearts of the people The reform atio n
was the da wn of the great era of spiritual eman cipatio n ; to the
papal authority it Opposed the light which lighteth every m an
”
that cometh i n to the world ; to the rites of the church the
e ffi cacy of moral ag en cies to the perpetuity of th e priesthood an d
the ecclesiastical votes the everlas ti n g respo n sibility of the hu ma n
co n scie n ce an d to the h i erach y the equality o f men Scholars
j urisco n s u lts an d sta tesme n eagerly accepted the new pri n ciples
u n iversities an d legislative codes were e n fra n chised t h e auton
om
o f the state was a ffi rmed the right o f popular sovereig n ty
y
asserted an d the revolutio n s o f E n gla n d Fran ce an d America
followed as successi v e acts of the great drama which ope n ed with
the burn i n g of t he h u ll of Leo before the gates o f Witte n berg
The supremacy o f huma n reaso n an d of co n scie n ce was estab
li s h ed ; h e resy n o lo nger a crime became a sacred right an d
the aban do n me n t of an i n stitutio n n ow a barrier to human
an d
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76
I NEV ITABLE
OF T HE PAPA C Y
L OG IC
.
progress a moral obligatio n New methods an d n ew scie n ces
arose ; a n ew literature an d a n ew philosophy appeared ; an d
Shakespeare Goethe $ a n t an d H e gel were hailed as ki n gs
an d lor d s o f the hu m a n m i n d
Now the press supersedes the
oracle o f St Peter ; priests bishops an d cou n cils give way to
me n of scie n ce to scholars artists statesme n and parlia m e n ts
Political eco n o my succeeds th eology i n dustrial an d comm erc i al
activity displaces the ol d asceticism ; n ew an d more Christian
codes are pro mulgated ; the ballot box supplan ts the papal
bull ; physical scie n ce develops n ew forces m ore S piritual tha n
those of the lege n dary ; the steam e n gi n e an d the el e ctric tele
graph prov e far more be n eficial to ma n ki n d than all the bless
i n gs dispe n sed Urbi an d O rbi from the Vatica n ; an d while
an ambiguous word from th e lips o f Napoleo n or t he seizure
of two rebel slaveholders by an America n commodore spread
alarm an d co n stern ation throughout Europe all t he m al edic
tio ns of Pi us IX an d the o nce dread thu n ders of Rom e fall
harmlessly upo n an age which liste n s to them o n ly with pity
o r scor n
The papacy resti n g o n pri n ciples which are i n direct an tag
o n i s m to those of moder n civilizatio n
an d havi n g thus lost
its hold o n p ublic opi n io n has ceased to be a S piritual power
an d is reduced to a mer e extern al establish me n t
It is n ot am
bitio u n or obsti n acy which places Pius IX i n opp ositio n to o ur
age ; but it is the duty o f his positio n the i n evitab le logic of
the system which he represe n ts the n ature of the power which
he claims to have i n herited fro m h is predecessors Should he
admit the pre e mi n e n ce of i n di v i dual reaso n over his authority
religious freedo m the freedom of the press the sovereign ty of
the people an d other axioms o f social scie n ce he wo uld at o n ce
re n ou n ce his prete n sio n s to spiritual sovereig n ty and cease to
be pope Claimi n g to e nj oy the exclusive possessio n of i mmut
able truth to be the supreme guardia n o f j ustice an d to have
the right if n ot the power to e n force his faith upo n man ki n d
“
the supreme po n ti ff ca n n ot says Pius IX i n o n e of h i s last
allocutio n s stretch out his righ tha n d of frie n dship toward th e
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A FR E E C H U R C H
77
.
civilizatio n of the prese nt sto op to co n ditio n s with it or bi n d
”
hi m self to allian ce therewith
This a n tago n ism which is in
here nt to the papal i n stit utio n is still more clearly defi n ed by
Greg o ry XV I o n e of the most lear n ed divi n es who has ever
filled the papal chair whe n in his e n cyclical lette r of 183 2 he
“
declares that the u niversal church is distracted by whatever
that the rege n eratio n of the church is S imply absurd
IS n e w
that the opi n io n purporti n g that salvatio n
an d i nj urious
may be secured through all Christia n co mm u n io n s provided
man lives ho n estly an d rightly is a perverse doctri n e p rop a
gated by the artifi ces of bad m en that the freedom of con
scie n ce is n ot o n ly an absurd an d erro n eous maxim but a de
that the freedom of the press is a baleful liberty for
l iri u m
“
which o n e ca n n ot feel too much horror th at the separati o n
that civil
o f the state from the church i s i nj urious to both
authority is give n to gover n me n ts n o t o n ly fo r temporal Obj ects
an d
but m ore particularly for the defen ce of the church
fi n ally that
the right of revolutio n is co n dem n ed by all
”
huma n an d divi n e laws
S uch is the attitude of the papal church i n relatio n to the
civilizatio n of th e 19 th ce n tury From its lo n g domi n atio n
its assu mptio n of divi n e prerogatives an d i ts de n u n ciatio n
o f all reforms
as attacks upo n religio n the papa cy i n Italy
has become i de ntified with C h ristia n ity which as a religious
faith has n o w reache d that poi n t of decli n e which the paga n
i s m of Ro me had at tai n ed i n the age o f Traj a n —
i t has become
an exter n al an d se n suous worship with the people a subj ect o f
scepticism an d i n di ffe re n ce with the e n li ghte n ed classes an d a
matter of policy with the govern me n t The assert io n o f Ma
ch i avelli at the close of the 15th ce n tury that it was to the
church that the Italia n s owed th e loss o f their religio n as well
as the divisio n s o f their
is eve n more true i n o ur day
The ide n tificatio n of t he ge n ui n e catholic eleme n ts of Ch ris
t i an i ty wit h what is purely exclusive an d sectaria n i n the Ro
man church has n ot o n ly led to the dege n eracy of the religious
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M achiavelli
Dis cors i SOp ra la Prima Deca d i
T Livio
.
.
Lib
.
cap
.
12
.
78
A FREE ST AT E
.
se n time n t o f the people but it stre n gthe n s n ow the prete n sion s
Of the pope an d weake n s the positio n of the Italia n govern me n t
*
i n their stru ggle for the po s sessio n of Rome
A S lo n g as th e
papacy is ide n tifi e d with Christia n ity all attempts to reco n cile
the church with the highest Christian civilization to which Italy
aspires must n ecessarily fail The late proposal to guara ntee
to the pope the privileges of sovereig nty to his cardi n als the
dig n ity o f pri n ces an d to sustai n his court fro m the fi n an ces
of the State i s obvio usly i n direct oppositio n to reli gious free
dom which recog nizes n o privileged sect an d exclud es all taxa
tio n for religious purposes ; n either will such co ncession s sa tisfy
the claims of the church or the religious an d poli t ical i nterests
o f the cou n try
The church can o n ly be reco n ciled with th e
freedom of Italy by cutti n g off the papal excresce n ce an d re
turn i n g to its primitive orga nizatio n by recog n izi n g i ts depe n
de n ce on the state i n all civil matters ; by resto ri n g th e ri ght
o f electio n to the clergy an d the people ; b
n di n g its s u pport
fi
y
i n volu n tary co n tributio n s by tra n sformi n g the hierarch y from
a caste which i n the words of Rosmi n i
is n ow divided fro m
society at large with i n terests lan guage laws an d customs of
i ts o w n $1 i n to a free an d i n depe n de n t mi n istry ; by adopti n g
i n short the co n stitutio n of the pri n cipal churches i n the
U n ited States which fi n ds its model i n the apostolic times
Thus tra n sformed the freedom of the ch urch would be se cured
by the free i n stitutio n s of the state the o n ly guara n tee which a
ge n ui n e Christia n church can dema n d or a free govern m e nt can
give But these reform s which would destroy the existi n g
papacy it is i n vai n to expect ; an d it i s therefore i mpossible
for the state to aban do n those rights over the church which
are i ts o n ly security agai n st the e n croachme nts of an i n stitutio n
which n ow more tha n ever is plotti n g agai n st its liberties
Whatever policy may be followed i n regard to the papacy
wheth er the Roman q u estio n will be solved before or after the
death of the presen t pope Rome ca n n ot lon g co n ti n ue a papal
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Se e n ote O
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f
Le C in qu e P
i ghe della C l ies a di Antonio R os mi ni
a
r
.
C ap I
.
.
See
n
ote D
.
A FRE E ST A T E
79
.
.
city surroun ded as S he is by a free n ation
Mea n while Ital y
to achieve the freedom o f the state must proclaim the S piritual
sovereig n ty of the i n dividual co n scie n ce the sole sovereig n ty
u n der G od an d thus secure th e freedom of the citize n s i n re
l igi ou s matters
NO truth is more clearly demo n strated by
modern philosophy tha n that religi ous opi n io n s belo n g esse n
ti ally to the i n dividual an d that the s t ate bei n g i n compete n t
to regulate the extern al acts depe n de n t o n those Opi n io n s th e
existe n ce of a n atio n al church or of a state religio n is in
compatible with free i n stitutio n s The power of the Roma n
emperors exte n ded over the body an d soul of the subj ect ;
but Christian ity appeared to s et free the divi n e eleme n t of
the huma n mi n d an d to assert i ts n atural sovereig nty Re
l igi o n an d scie n c e two bra n ches from the same root were thus
made free by the missio no f the Redeemer an d the state has n o
more power over th e on e tha n over the other There are moral
eleme n ts i n the n ature of m an which were particularly devel
Oped by the Gospel an d without which n o soc i ety can flourish
B ut they have an absolute worth i n depe n de n tly of any sa n ction
o f gover n me n t ; they belo n g to a sphere i n fi n itely superior to
that of the sta te an d form an esse n tial part of modern civil
i z ati o n Th e huma n mi n d if l eft alo n e will bri n g supern atural
i n flue n ces to bear on society ; but the state as such has n o
co n trol over these i n flue n ces an d the attempt to e n force it led to
the persecutio n of the early Christia n s brought heretics to th e
du n geo n s an d the stake of the i n quisitio n subj ected Catholics
an d disse n ters to civil disabilities i n Protesta n t cou n tries r en
dered Protesta nts odious to Catholic gover n me n ts an d all be
li ev ers i n Christ outcasts amo n g Mohammeda n s
It is i mp os
”
sible says Cavour to co n ceive a greater calamity for a civil
i z e d people tha n to see civil an d religious authority u n ited i n
on e ha n d an d that the ha n d of the gover n me n t
The h istory of
all ages an d all co untries establishes this fac t ; where these two
authorities have bee n u n ited civilizatio n h as almost i n stan ta n e
o u sl
n ci n g an d has n ever failed to retrograde ulti
ceased
adva
y
mately ; the most odious of despotisms has bee n es tablished ;
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80
A FREE ST AT E
.
an d
this result has happe n ed equally whe n ever a sacerdotal
caste has assu m ed temporal a u thority or whe n ever a caliph or
sulta n has assumed S piritual power Everywhere this fatal co n
”
fusio n of authority has led to the same res u lt
The u n io n
”
O f state an d church re n ders society a hideous m o n ster
says
Maca u lay
cursed with o n e pri n ciple of se n sa t ion an d two
pri n ciples of volitio n Self loathi n g an d self torturi n g— made up
o f parts which are drive n by fra n tic i mpulse to i n flict m u tual
pai n yet are doomed to feel whatever they i n flict ; which are
di v ided by an irreco n cilable hatred ye t are ble n d e d i n an i n dis
”
soluble ide ntity ; an d the disti n guished writer illustrates this
u n io n by that wild Persia n fable i n which $ i n g Z ohak gave
the devil leave to kiss his sho u lders In sta n tly two serpe n ts
S pra n g out which i n the fury o f hu n ger attacked his head an d
atte mpted to get at his brai n Z ohak pulled them away an d
tore them with h i s n ails ; but he fou n d that they were i n sep a
rable parts of himself an d that what he was lacerati n g was his
*
o w n flesh
Th e separatio n of state an d church which was on e of the
chief obj ects of C av o ur s policy is a pri n ciple logically derived
from the doctri n es of the Reformatio n ; but it is o nly i n the
U n ited S t ates that it bears its perfect fruit Here religious
li berty i n corporated with the character o f the people has b e
come a basis of n atio n ality far more firm tha n that which other
n atio n s seek i n exter n al co n formity o f worship ;
placi n g all
de n o m i n atio n s Prot esta n t an d Catholic o n an equal footi n g
bi n di n g all to the laws of the state it gi v es full s ce p e to that
competitio n which is the source of all progress leaves them to
provide fo r their o wn s u pport an d for the religious ed u catio n of
their co m mu n ica n ts an d re n ders the clergy an d the laity of al l
sects though clad i n di ffere nt u niform s soldiers of the sa me
army who be n eath the same flag o f liberty do battle agai n st
the commo n e n emy ig n ora n ce an d wro n g Thus toleran ce is
promoted Christia n feeli ng n urtured an d civilizatio n devel
oped It is o n ly by adopti n g this ge n ui n e catholic syste m of
C h urch a d S t t
by T B M c ul y
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n
a e,
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a a
a
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D I FF IC U L TI E S A T NAPLE S
82
.
Gra nti n g the n that the chieftai n had some grou n d forcom
plai nt had he allowed himself to be led by hi s ge n erous
n ature he would have ov e rlooke d the errors of the admi n istra
tio n i n asmuch as Cavour had ever S how n that his oppositio n to
him was i n spired solely by the public n ecessities n ot by any
feeli n g o f rese n tme n t or j ealousy Garibaldi was too true a
patriot n ot to disti nguish the cause of the n atio n from the m en
i n power ; an d ready to sacrifice hims elf to the former he
would have cheerfully submitted to all he might have con si d
ered as a slight or i nj ustice But u nhappily on leavi n g Naples
he had falle n agai n u n d er th e co n trol of ill advisers whose
i n flue n ce was exerted to i n crease rather tha n to allay his
a n imosity This was the more easy as the admi n istratio n of
Naples which had succeed e d his dicta t orship was far from reme
dyin g the evils which had led to the chan ge A p e ople whose
character partakes of the volca n ic n ature o f their soil ; whose
me n tal structure although substa ntially Italia n i s ti n ged with
Greek peculiarities ble n ded with a stro n g te n de n cy to s up erst i
tio n the legacy of the Spa nish domi n atio n ; a n d whose spirit
has been crushed for ce n turies u n der the degradi n g i n flue n ces
o f bigotry a n d despotism th e Neapolita n s could n ot at o n ce
ide n tify the m selves with the more positive characteristics o f
the n orthern Italia n s Had it bee n possible to surrou n d Gari
baldi with more e n lighte n ed and patriotic cou n sellors it would
doubtless have bee n more wise i n that period of tra n sitio n to
ha v e retai n ed him as govern or over a people who still regard
with awe the m i racle of the tra n sform atio n of the blood of St
Ja n uarius A hero of al most super natural prestige was best
fitted to cou n teract the i n flue n ce of the priesthood over the
lowe r classes But Cavo u r could n ot i n tr ust the admi ni stratio n
to that party whose directio n had proved s o dan gerous to the n a
ti o n al cause an d i n seeki n g to avert this evil he i n curred others
Th e revolutio n ary ele m e n ts acquired n ew
n ot less m ischievous
stre n gth from the disco n te n t which arose fro m the supersedi n g
of their represe n tative an d Cavour n o w fou n d h imself Opposed
i n Naples n o t o nly by the republica n s b u t by the clergy an d
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CAU S E S
OF
D ISSE N T
83
.
the other allies of the dethro n ed Bourbon wh o had fou n d
refuge withi n the walls of the $uiri n al where he occupied
hi m self i n e nlist in g i n to his service brigan ds from all q u arters
o f Europe who m he let loose upo n the Neapolita n territory
eag e r for pillage an d blood fit cham pio n s o f his rights A m idst
these diffi culties it is n ot surprisi n g that order was n ot at o n ce
established especially whe n it i s co n si dered that Cavour res
ol u tely decli n ed to proclai m martial law however j ustified by
the n ecessities Of the ti m e si n ce he believed that i n th e en d
n atio n al progress would be more be n efited by the excesses
an d the eve n t
o f lib e rt y tha n by the coerci o n o f despotism
seemed to prove the wisdom of h i s policy
In all revolution ary periods utopia n theorists empirical poli
ti ci an s disappoi n ted o ffice se e kers m en o f defi n ite an d m en of
vague ideas guided by a ntipathy o r by sy mpathy by ambitio n
o r patriotism although divided amo n g themselves will o n o c
casio n s rally arou n d a commo n ce ntre to prese n t a stro n g fro n t
of opposition to the gover n me n t SO in the first Italia n parlia
me nt these various eleme n ts u nited an d looked upo n Garibaldi
as their leader Before the electio n s they proposed to n omi n ate
him a ca n didate i n ma ny districts i n order to display a power
ful ma n ifes tatio n agai n st the policy of Cavour part icularly
agai n st the Fre n ch allia n ce to which they attributed the delay
Garibaldi aware
i n the settleme n t o f t he Roma n questio n
that his place was n ot i n the parlia me n t at first decli n ed all
n omi n atio n s an d it was o n ly through the e n treaties of his frie n ds
that he fi n ally co n s e nted to represe n t on e of the districts o f
Naples The d ecrees of the govern me n t i n relation to the dis
ba n di n g o f the volu n teers had produced great disaffectio n an d
he n ow urged their repeal the mai n te n a n ce of the v ol un
teers o n a war footi n g an d the ge n eral armi n g of the cou n try
measures which the govern me n t could n ot adopt i n V iew of the
complicatio n s they wo u ld i n volve with foreig n powers
Public se n ti me nt was divided on this subj ect an d the agr
tati on s which followed threate n i n g to disturb th e co n cord to
wh i ch the past successes were chiefly due Baro n Ricasoli p ro
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T HE GAR I BAL D I D EBATE
84
.
posed to i ntroduce the question be fore the parliame nt i n the
hope of bri n gi n g about a reco n ciliatio n betw e e n th e two leaders
On the 18th o f April 1861 the day appoi nted for tha t discus
sio n Garibaldi for the first time mad e his appeara n ce i n the
chamber o f deputies He e n tered the hall clad i n his worn red
shirt surrou n de d by his frie n ds amidst the cheers of the h ouse
B aron Ricasoli soo n ope n ed the debate by
an d the galleries
depicti n g i n glowi n g colors the triumphs which thus far had
crown ed the e ffor t s of the Italia n people an d d eplori n g the fatal
misu n dersta n di n g which had arise n betwee n the two m e n who
had re n dered the greatest service to the cou n try with patriotic
earn estn ess he called upo n the house to i n quire i n to its cause
an d de m a n ded from the m i n istry that i n formatio n should be
laid before the chamber o n the co n ditio n of the regular army
The secr etary of war accordi ngly brought
an d the volu n teers
forward a report o n the n atio n al forces an d strove to demo n
strate that the late decrees were favorable to the volu n teers an d
best calc u lated to secure their future services
Garibaldi the n rose an d tha n ki ng Ricasoli for havi n g i n tro
d u ce d a subj ect o f s uch vital importa n ce to him as it regard ed
the i n terest s o f his co mpa n io ns i n arms he admitted the disagree
me n t existi n g betwee n him an d Cavour but he de clared that he
was al ways ready to yield whe n ever the welfare of the cou n try
dema n ded it Had he closed his speech at this poi nt he w ould
have wo n the day ; but n ew to parliame n tary usag es an d i n sti
gated by S ome of his most reckless adheren ts he allowed him
self to be carried a w ay by h i s ill feeli n g He repeated his for
mer tau n t that Cavour had made him a foreig n er i n his n ative
lan d ; he reproached him fo r havi n g blighted his s u ccess i n
Naples by his cold an d ba n eful i nflu e n ce ; an d risi n g to the cli
max of bittern ess he acc u sed him of havi n g i n stigated civil war
Wou n ded to th e quick
an d of bei n g the e n e m y of his cou n try
Cavo u r rose to protest But the ho u se protested for him ; the
members spra n g to their feet as o n e man an d amidst the gen
eral con fusio n an d S houts o f an i ndig n a nt assembly the chair
This protest fou n d an echo
man declared the house adj ourn ed
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T HE GA R I BAL D I D EBA T E
85
.
through the whole civilized world an d the press of E urope as
wel l as of America—i n deed all who felt an i n t erest i n the cause
of Italia n liberty—while they bestowed o n the great chieftai n
the tribute o f their u n bou n ded adm iratio n were u n a n imous in
the expressio n of their sorrow that he who represe nted the arm
of Italy should have i n dulged i n such an attack upo n him who
represen ted the n atio n al mi n d
The house bei n g called to order Ge n eral Bixio an arde n t
patriot a warm frie n d of Garibaldi an d o n e o f hi s bravest
lieute n an ts made an earn est appeal to him n ot to sacrifice to
h i s feeli n g the holy cause i n which they were all with equal p a
tri otis m e n gaged ; he i m plored Cavour t o forgive his chief an d
both to u n ite their e fforts i n accomplishi n g the great work which
Provide n ce had i ntrusted to their ha n ds Cavour was first to
accept the proposed reco n ciliatio n ; an d with his usual cool n ess
an d urba n ity he O ffered n o t o n ly forgive n ess but oblivio n fo r
wha t had j ust occurred ; he had eve n the mag n an imity to
j ustify the attack of his adversary remarki n g that from the
grief he himself had felt whe n he thought it his duty to advise
the ki n g to cede Nice an d Savoy he could well u n dersta n d the
feeli n gs of the ge n eral an d the rese ntme n t he had sho w n
Would to God that the reco n ciliatio n which at first w as accept
ed by Garibaldi had bee n perman e n t $ But while the house by
passi n g the resolution of Ricasoli by an overwhelmi n g maj ority
expressed its adhesio n to the policy of Cavour the great chief
tai n still co n ti n ued to distrust the statesman
No r was the
atte mpt made by Victor Emman uel to cha n ge his feeli n g more
successful They met i n deed at Mo ncalieri where they had
bee n i n vited by the ki n g ; but while Cavour too high souled
for ra n cor cheerfully offered his ha n d i n frie n dship an d n ever
ceased to express h i s appreciatio n of the high qualities of Gari
baldi the latter always reflecti n g the Opi n io n of those who sur
ro u n ded him failed to reciprocate the feeli n g except for the
mome n t
Althou gh Cavour came o ut of this co n flict victorious he felt to
the h ea t t he wou n d which had bee n i n flicted upo n him re nder
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86
OVER W OR $
.
ed still more severe by the effort to co n ceal it From that time a
cha nge took place i n his coun te n an ce He had already ma n i
fes te d symptoms of decli n i n g health an d suffered from repeated
attacks of con gestio n of the brai n The great amou n t of labor
which he performed the imme n se respo n sibilities o f hi s posi
tio n his bitter disappoi n tme n t at the abrupt termi n ation of the
war his i n te n se an xi ety arisi n g from the u n settled affairs of
Naples Ve n ice an d Rome the attacks o f those from whom he
expected a cordial support all combi n e d to tax to the utmost
his exquisite se n sibility ; while his u n healthy man n er of life
h i s lo n g fasts alter n ati n g with hasty meals his close con fi n e
me n t an d the n eglect of physical exercise all con tributed to
u n dermi n e his iro n co n stitutio n H i s eyes n ow lost their bril
l ian cy his o n ce florid complexio n assumed an u n n atural hue
an d his habitual cheerful n ess was succeeded by fits o f mela n
ch e ly an d n ervous excitability For the first time he complai n
ed of fatig ue of his i n ability to rest ; an d he co nfessed to a
frie n d that he felt his frame givi n g way be n eath his mi n d an d
”
will which still urged it on an d expressed a wish that time
”
might be allowed him to fi n ish his work
The n said he
I should care little for what happe n ed ; i n deed I sho uld be
”
glad to die
Still he worked o n wi th redo u bled zeal to the
last He was every day at his post i n the parliame nt a n sweri n g
question s i nitiati n g the n ew house i n to the proceedi n gs of con
s ti tu ti o n al gover n m e n t urgi n g forward measures best adapted
to accomplish the u n ity o f the n atio n an d explai n i n g his policy
with i n creased p ower an d ear n estn ess as if a secret voice told
him it was the legacy he was to bequeath to his co un try A s
t he head of th e executive departme n t his labors were still
greater ; the sudde n a n n exatio n of s o man y n ew provi n ces i n
creased his duties to a prodigious exte n t O ld abuses were to
be do n e away with n ew i n stitutio n s i n troduced clashi n g i n ter
ests reco n ciled fi n a n ces systematized taxes revised ways an d
mean s provi ded the codes reformed railroads marked ou t an d
built telegraphs exte n ded the army an d n avy i n creased every
departme n t reorgan ized and i n S hort order created ou t of chaos
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L AST I LLN ESS
87
.
As mi nister of foreign affairs the whole burde n of the compli
n
n
d
a
n
relatio
s
with
other
cou
tries
rested
upo
him
he
n
d
a
t
e
c
;
f
o
n
n
forced
to
keep
a
co
sta
t
watch
over
the
chess
board
a
s
W
Europea n d iplomacy i n order that he might i n flue n ce the move
me n ts of frien dly powers ward off the attacks of e n emies an d
seize the mome n t i n which he might check m ate the e mperor of
Austria an d the govern me n t of Rome In fact he had the
co ntrol o f a tita n ic revolutio n which his positio n obliged him
to direct solely through diplomatic S kill an d e n ergy
This burde n of the whole n atio n i n its tra n sitio n state would
have broken dow n a frame of eve n greater e n duran ce Previous
to the adj our nm e n t of the great n atio n al festival to be cel ebrat
ed for the first time i n the begi n n i n g of Ju n e 1861 the vast
amoun t of busi n ess to be tran sacted re n dered the S itti n gs of
the parliame n t u n usually laborious an d strai n ed to their utmost
te n s i o n the already overwrought faculties of Cavour On the
29 th of May the last day of his p u blic life he passed the
mor n i n g at the departme n t of state ; i n the aftern oo n he ad
dressed th e ch amb er o n various topics an d the discussio n turn
i n g o n th e claims of the volun teers he heartily supported the
mot io n fo r co n ciliatio n declari n g that al l who had fought for
Italy whatever might have been their political a n tecede n ts an d
Opi n io n s deserved well of the cou n try On the same eve ni n g he
was s eized with a chill which co n ti n ued through the n ight an d
i n the morn i n g acc ordi n g to his custom i n S imilar cases he
himself prescribed bleedi n g On the mor n i n g o f the 3 1s t of
May his co n ditio n was so far improved that he i n sisted o n giv
i n g audie n ces an d summo n ed to his bedsi d e the mi n ister of the
V iceroy of Naples who had j ust arrived from th at city
An
exciti n g con versatio n of two hours brought o n a relapse with
n ew an d m ore da n gerous symptoms ;
an d o n Su n d ay the 2d
o f Ju n e after a m edical co n sultatio n he was o n ce more bled an d
the Operatio n was repeated agai n an d agai n For this method
o f treatme n t much blame has bee n attached to his physicia n s
particularly i n the Un ited States an d i n E n gla n d
B ut it was
pursued i n accordan ce with the wishes of Cavour himself who
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88
D E AT H
.
h avi ng experie n ced relief from it i n other S imilar attacks an d
havi n g very little faith i n m e dical S kill i n sisted that this rem
ed
n e should be applied
T
h
alo
tru
cause
the
disease
e
e
f
o
y
whic h closed his career whatever form it may have assumed
was overwork ; an d it is doubtful if h i s exhausted n ature p os
sessed suffi cie nt power of reactio n u n der any mode of treat
me n t
On Thursday the 4th of Ju n e alarmi n g sy mptoms bega n to
appear i n the suffe rer an d the n ews of his da n gerous con ditio n
S preadi n g through Turi n cast a deep gloom over the city
The stree ts le adi n g to his palace were soo n filled with a
S ilen t an d sorrowful multitude eagerly awaiti n g reports from
the sick chamber Those who but the day before had been
his bitter Oppo n e n ts n ow layi n g aside all party co n sideratio ns
mi n gled with that a n xious crowd ; eyes which had regarded
hi m with cold n ess or e n vy were n o w wet with tears an d ma n y
a o n e amo n g that thro n g would willi n gly have g iven himsel f
a sacrifice to save the life o n which the fate o f the n atio n
seemed to ha n g A n d whe n toward the l ast that d eep silen ce
was broke n by the soun d of the bell of th e viaticum altern at
i ng with the prayers for the d yi n g an d the solem n processio n
of torch bearers led by the good FraGiacom o beari n g the host
was see n e n teri n g the palace a s ob of a n gui sh arose from that
multitude as if the last hope of the cou n try was about to be
exti n guished forever Withi n be n eath the roof u nder which
he was bor n co n scious th at his last hour has come yet calm
co n fide n t an d sere n e lies the dyi n g statesma n ; dyi n g at the
close o f the first festi v al o f the n atio n al birthday thus ren
dered doubly sacred to posterity ; surrou n ded by h i s ho u se
hold an d frien ds i n the embrace of the ki n g to whom he had
give n the crow n of Italy ; ami dst the a n xiety of all Europe
expressed by the hourly telegrams received from the various
—
capitals ; dyi n g as he lived an ho n est m an a tr u e patriot
opposi n g to the last the papal church whose s acrame n ts the
symbol s of Christian ity he receives i n S pite of her ex commu n i
catio n thus S howi n g that he can be a Christia n witho u t bei n g
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9O
P E R S ONAL APPEAR AN CE
.
an d
asked to place them by the side of those of Machia
velli an d Galileo But Cavour had lo n g before expressed a
wish to be laid i n the tomb of his an cestors an d i n the little
village of San te n a withi n the family chapel his ho n ored dust
reposes
The deep emotio n which the death of Cavour everywhere
occasio n ed is fresh i n our memory It was n ot alo n e the result
o f that sympathy with which all civilized n atio n s regarded Italy
but it arose from an appreciatio n of the high perso n al qualities
o f the great patriot
E very freeman whether i n Europe or
i n America felt that i n him he had lost a frie n d
The parlia
me nt of E n gla n d resou n ded with the praises of the illustrious
dead ; the e mperor of Fra n ce true to h i s frie n dship hasten ed
to recog n ize over his grave the ki n gdom of I taly ; an d the
people of the Un ited States forgetti n g for a mome n t the calam
ities of civil war through the countless voices of their press
gave utteran ce to the u n iversal se n time n t of regret—a se n ti
me nt profoun d ly echoed i n the hearts of those Italia n s who
had left their n ative lan d i n despair whe n n o ray o f hope
pierced the gloom of the future who from these distan t shores
watched wi th i n te n se emotio n th e resurrection of their cou n
try as he raised her i n to life an d who in their abse n ce foun d
their o n ly co n solation i n seei n g their beloved Italy agai n
take her place amo n g the n atio n s L e t the Italia n people fol
l ow the teachi n g an d example of their great statesma n an d
whe n gen eratio n s shall have passed away an d the fruits of the
u n ity an d i n depe n d e n ce which he secured shall have reached
their maturity the lo n ely tomb of Sa nten a will become the
Mou n t Vern on of Italy the sacred S hri n e to which pilgri ms
wi ll come to do homage to the me m ory of him who gave life
an d freedom to a n atio n
In perso n Cavour was belo w the med i um height ; his figure
was stro n gly b u ilt ; his brow massive an d i n tellect u al ; his eyes
were cl ear an d pe netrati n g ; an d over his firmly s et mouth a
smile half iron ical an d half humorous habitually played His
whole face i n dicated the stre n gth the se n sibility an d vivaci ty
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PR I VA TE L I FE AN D
C HA R ACTE R
91
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his character an d faithfully reflected all h i s emotio n s ; i n
which respect alo n e he was n o diplomatist In deed his u n
co nscious outward ma nifestatio n s of pleasure or dissatisfactio n
were s o marked that the state of his mi n d could be easily i n
terp rete d by those w h o watched him eve n as he passed alo n g
the streets
His pr i vate li fe was quiet an d laborious To the last he
con ti n ued to rise betwee n four an d five O clock i n the morn i n g
He devoted the first hour to his perso n al afl ai rs an d the remai n
der of the day to his duties at the departme n t or i n the parlia
me n t After a late di nn er he return ed to h i s occupatio n s an d
remai n ed e n gaged u n til past mid n ight He fou n d h i s chief re
creatio n i n his oc casio n al visits to his es tates at Leri where lay
i n g aside the cares o f state he delighted to mi n gle with his
ten an ts to discuss with them the best methods of agriculture
to direct their labors an d to provide for their comfort an d i m
prove m en t H e was n ever married Whe n i n the city he lived
with his elder an d o n ly brother the Marquis Gustavo di Ca
vour a member o f th e parliame n t a man of great n oble n ess of
character an d of high i n tellectual attai n me n ts but from whose
religious views he differed widely Cavour co n sidered Christi
n its relati o n to social existe n ce
an it
i
as
a
religio
love
n
f
o
y
an d progress ;
an d while he strove to i n fuse i n to the n atio n
those catholic pri n ciples of life he left to his brother the study
o f its metaphysical an d theological aspects
He was deeply
attached to his family to his survivi n g n ephew he bequeathed
the bulk of his fortu n e an d he desired to be laid by the side
o f the other wh o had falle n i n the war of i n depe n de n ce
In
man n ers he was simple an d charmi n g ; his co n versatio n was
brillia n t an d witty He was ge n ial an d fo n d of frolic an d fun
although his temper w as passio n ate an d he was at times impe
ri ou s an d i n tolera n t o f oppositio n eve n fro m his bes t frie n ds
But this was eva n esce n t ; an d either wro n g o r right with his
equals or subordi n ates with frie n ds o r foes he was always the
first to seek a reco n ciliati o n whe n ever he had give n offe n ce
His perso n al p rej udices an d a ntipathies were not deeply rooted
of
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92
AS A D EBATE R AN D ST AT E S MAN
an d
.
easily gave way while the grea t power of satire which he
possessed he freely used as a weapo n n ot as a vehicle o f ill
n ature
He was accessible to the humbl est citize n He w as
ki n d ge n e ro u s an d te n der hearted an d delighted i n acts of b e
n e v ol e n ce m an y of which he performed i n secret
Firm i n the
co n scious n ess of right he was superior to flattery or ce n sure ;
an d altho ugh as the moral dictator of the n atio n he ge n erally
chose for his subordin ates m en of mediocrity laborious an d
submissive rather than those who were remarkable for ge n ius
o r perso n al i n depe n de n ce he appreciated tale n t an d patriotism
eve n i n his adversaries whom he ofte n i n trusted with important
Offices
A S a debater Cavour was n o t disti n guished by brillia n cy of
la n guage imagery of style modulatio n of voice or elegan ce of
g es ture but by affluen ce of thought an d ge n eral k n owledge
by wit an d force of reaso n i n g an d expressio n His speeches
were more sy n thetic tha n a n alytic deali n g with a subj ect i n
al l i ts pri n ciples an d relatio n s rather tha n i n i t s details
an d
more rese mbl i n g philosophical essays on practical a ffairs than
the S pecial pleadi n gs of th e lawyer or the efi us i on s of a rhet
Clear precise an d logical he lacked the gra n deur of
o rician
Webster the i n spiratio n o f Clay an d the fi n ish of Everett ; but
he fixed the atte n tio n by his well defi n ed premises breadth of
treat me n t power o f argume n t aptn ess of illustration n atural
n ess of style an d al m ost mathematical seque n ce of ideas
He
possessed i n a remarkable degree the faculty of a n ticipati n g
the thoughts of others lon g before they were expressed ; an d
whe n a dull speaker or an i mprude n t frie n d had the floor h is
ge n eral u neasi n ess an d restless motio n ma n ifested his impa
O ver the house he exerted an almost absolute sway
ti en ce
an d his speeches especially those o n free trade the allia n ce with
E ngla n d an d Fra n ce the Rom an questio n an d o n other subj ects
of eq u al importa n ce will re m ai n e n duri n g mo n ume n ts of his
parliame n tary ability
The gra n deur of C av ou r s character as a statesma n must be
estimated by the mag n itude of his obj ect the bold n es s an d the
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C ON C L U SI ON
93
.
prude n ce with which he executed his design s an d the extra e r
d i n ary po wer which he possessed of foreseei n g results an d of
co n verti n g obstacles i n to mea n s He combi n ed the ori gi n ality
an d depth o f a theorist with the practical ge n ius of a true re
former ; he u n derstood the character of the age i n which he
lived an d made it tributary to his great purposes He made
self govern m e nt the Obj ect of legislation political eco n omy th e
source of liberty an d liberty the basis of n ation ality Aware
that n either revolutio n n or co n servatism alo n e could produce
the rege n eratio n of his cou ntry he Opposed them i n their sepa
rate actio n while he grasped them both with a firm ha n d yoked
them together an d led them o n to con ques t He s aw that Ital
i an i n depe n de n ce could o n ly be attai n ed thro u gh the aid of
foreig n allia n ce ; he recog n ized i n Napoleo n III the p ers on ifi
catio n of orga n ized revolutio n an d the n atural ally o f the Ital
i an people ; an d the work which he foreshadowed i n the u n io n
o f th e Sardi n ia n troops with the armies o f E n gla n d an d Fra n ce
the Crimea an d fo r which he laid the fou n datio n i n the
co n gress of Paris was achieved with the victori es of Mage n ta
an d Solferi n o a n d the recog n itio n o f the n ew k in gdom o f Italy
More tha n five ce n turies ago whe n D a n te beheld the S ple n
dor of Italia n civilizatio n obscured by civil war an d foreig n
Oppressio n his beautiful cou n t ry divided i n to petty sovereign
ties distracted by mutual j ealousies the fair p rovi n ces of the
south co n vulsed by the i n trigues of the heirs of Charles of A n
”
j ou Rome mixi n g two gover n me n ts that ill as s e rt Flore n ce
disturbed by demagogues Ve n ice misruled by aristocrats Mil an
harassed by Guelph lords Vero n a by Ghibelli n e masters Pisa
a rm ed agai n st Ge n oa Ge n oa agai n st Ve n ice the papacy stru g
gli n g agai n st the e mpire the e mpire agai n st the papacy an d
the fury of discord everywhere ragi n g h e poured forth i n s ub
lime strai n s which have echoed thro u gh the ages hi s warn i n g
to n atio n s agai n st the cala m ities of disu n io n In vain he strove
to u nite those discorda n t ele m e n ts i nto harmon y an d n ation
ality ; an d to this cause devoted his ge n ius his love his re
l ig i on his life an d co n secrated his labors as poet an d soldier
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C ONC L U SI ON
94
.
as magistrate an d statesma n In vai n he called upon Albert
an d He n ry VII
an d appealed to C an della Scala lord of Vero
n a an d to other Italia n p ri n ces for aid
Broke n dow n by the
di sasters o f his cou n try disappoi n ted i n his love his property
co n fiscated exiled from h i s n ative city a fugitive u n der s en
te n ce of death wan deri n g through the pen i n sula an d provi n g
everywhere
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salt th e savor is of others bread
H ow har d th e p assage to d escen d an d cli mb
By others st airs
’
H ow
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”
’
he
reached Rave nn a to breathe his last i n the bittern ess o f s or
row an d despair B ut rej oice O illustrious sh ade $ The sacred
fire of patriotism which burn s i n thy immortal s o n g has at last
ki n dled the hearts of thy cou n trymen Thy lofty aspiration s
born e o n the wi n gs of thy divi n e poetry like i n visible hosts
have led thy cou n try on to liberty an d u n io n ; thy n oble
dream is at last fulfilled
B ehold the papal thro n e crumb
li n g to its foun datio n s the imperial sceptre broke n asun der
an d the Italia n cities
upo n whom thou didst lay thy u n mer
ciful scourge with the torches o f discord exti n guished like a
ban d of sisters arrayed u n der the stan dard of that Em m an uel
*
whom in thy vision thou didst foresee
Be n d dow n 0 i mmo r
tal ge n ius of Italy $be n d dow n from thy paradise where i n the
light supreme tho u livest receive i n to thy bosom the spirit of
the great Italia n whom we mourn ; who has wrought thy divi n e
poem i n to thy n atio n s history ; who has accomplished the work
to which thou didst give thy life Receive h im an d as o n ce
Beatrice led t hee be thou his g u ide thro u gh those real ms where
fou n ders of n atio n s champio n s of liberty martyrs an d be n e
factors of huma nity forever dwell i n glorious immortality
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See
Note F
.
N O T ES
N O TE
TH E followi n g
A
.
.
xtract fro m a l ett er addr e ss ed by Cavour to th e wr i t er of
this discours e dat ed $uly 9 th 1859 two days b efor e th e i n t ervi e w of V illa
fran ca prove s how bright w er e his a n ticipatio n s at that time an d how
highly b e appr eciat ed th e sym pathy e xpr ess ed by th e Am er i can p e opl e
for th e Italian caus e : Th e u n an i mous expr essio n s of sympathy an d
affectio n which all c ivi liz ed n atio n s b estow e d upo n th e d efen d ers of
Italia n i n dep en d en c e show that our caus e is clos ely con n ect ed with th e
vas t i nt er ests of justic e an d civilizatio n Th e cou n try which gav e birth
to Washi ngto n has always b een th e first to g i ve us substa n tial proofs
of its b en evol en c e F ollowin g its exa mpl e an d a i d ed as A m erica was by
th e g en erous armi e s of F ra n c e w e shall r each our goal an d Italy havi n g
s ecur ed h er ihd ep en d en ce will bri n g agai n to th e ass embly of n ation s th e
”
tribut e of h er activity i n i n dustry sci en c e an d arts
e
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N O TE B
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P ro mi n en t
amo n g th e writ ers of th i s class i s L amarti n e who i n h i s
Cours fa mili er d e L itt $ratur e 61 E n tr eti en
s eems to hav e propos ed
to hi ms elf th e obj e ct of e xciti ng th e j ealousy of th e F r en ch p e opl e agai n st
th e Italian mov emen t
Co mmo n plac e argu men ts borrow e d fro m th e up
hold ers of th e A ustria n an d papal gov e rn men ts for m th e substan c e of h i s
p ag e s in which party spirit is ill co n c eal ed u n d er th e char m of styl e H e
mai n tai n s that a co n fed eratio n is th e n or m al stat e of th e p en i n sula an d
d escrib e s Italia n u n ity as a S ardi nian co n qu e st th e r esult of th e a mb i tion
of th e hous e of S avoy aid ed by th e i ntrigu e s of E n gla n d who thus plots
agai n st th e s e curity of F ran c e O mitti ng to stat e th e facts on wh i ch h i s
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NO T E S
96
.
assumptio n s r est i t is diffi cult to en t er i nto an y criticis m of h i s D iplo mat i c
”
L itt $ratur e th e m ai n obj ect of which is s o evid en tly to attack th e policy
‘
of th e F r en ch emp eror Th e plan of L amartin e co n sistin g i n dividin g th e
cou ntry i n to various s mall sov er eig nti e s would doubtl ess m ak e it sub serv
i en t to th e i n t er e sts of oth er n atio n s ; but u n it ed Italy a m ariti me pow er
with a populatio n of tw enty six millio n s would b e much m or e lik ely to b e
r egard ed by E n glan d as a rival than as a tool Wh en L amarti n e th e
r epublica n of 1848 talks of th e e quilibriu m of n ation s i nt er n atio n al right
Ita li a n n a ti ona li ti es th e n e c essity of an allian c e b etw een F ran c e an d
A ustria an d th e r esp ect d ue to diplo matic tr e ati es i n la n guag e which
would b eco me a M ett er ni ch w e r ecall th e O pi n ion e xpr e ss ed by Cavou r on
that writ er as e arly as 1845 wh en th e ev en ts of th e followi n g y e ars had
This gr e at
n ot y e t r e duc e d to its just proportio n s his stat es m a n ship
po et wrot e Cavour an d illustrious writ e r has hith erto S how n too littl e
pow er of appr e ciati ng th e positive an d practical sid e of life for h i s O pin io n
to carry m uch w eight Th e v ery w ealth an d pow er of i magi n atio n to
which his gr e at lit erary succ ess is d ue s eem to b e i n sur mou ntabl e obstacl es
to his discipli ni n g his mi n d an d sub mitti n g it to th e s ever e exig en ci e s of
sci en c e an d logic H e is di squalifi ed th erefor e for for mi n g an y pr ecis e or
valid opi nio n with r egard to qu estio n s which r elat e to th e policy of th e
”
d ay
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N O TE C
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discussi n g th e Ro man qu estio n it is i mportan t to i n sist on this disti n o
tio n b etw e en thos e g enui n e pri n cipl e s of Christian ity which con stitut e th e
basis of th e Ro m an church an d thos e of th e papacy an accid en tal an d
t emporary for m through which th e Christia n r eligio n m a n ifest ed its elf i n
ag es bygo n e Th e co nfou n di n g of th e divi ne an d hu man el emen ts of re
lig ion of th e absolut e Christia n id ea with i ts historical m a n ife statio n s has
e v er b e en th e sourc e of r eligious d e spotis m and co n ti n u e s to b e th e gr e at
i mp edi men t to th e full r e alizatio n of Italian u n ity an d i n d ep e nd en c e Th e
spiritual sover eig nty of th e papacy is assumed as an e ss en tial el emen t of
Christian ity both by th es e writ ers who m ai ntai n that th e t emporal pow er
is a n ec e ssary co n ditio n for th e fr e e ex ercis e of th e spiritual jurisdictio n an d
by thos e who co n sid er that pow er ob n oxious to th e tru e i n t er ests of th e p a
pal i n stit utio n All th es e writ ers alth eugh appar ently b elo ngi n g to opposit e
schools admit a p ri ori th e S piritual pow er of th e papacy as a pri ncipl e in
h er en t to Christia n ity thus ig n ori n g alik e th e apodictical co n cl usio n s of
mod ern philosophy which have lo n g si n c e sw ept away that assu mptio n
In
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98
NO TES
.
ackn owl edg e or r epudiat e i ts authority an d which disr egardin g all d is
t in ctio n b etw een fundamen tal an d s e co n dary t en ets holds as e qually h er et
i cal thos e who r ej ect th e u n iversal dogmas of th e cre ation i n carn atio n an d
r edemptio n an d thos e who d en y th eir ass en t to its own doctrin es on th e
i nfallibility of th e church tran substan tiatio n co n fe ssio n purgatory an d
th e lik e—such an i n stitutio n ca n n ot b e prop erly call e d catholic or un i
v ersal M uch l ess can it b e e xp e ct e d that oth er church es should co me to
th e support of thos e e xclusiv e pri n cipl e s which th ey con sid e r as oppos ed
to th e gosp el as w ell as to th eir ow n exist en c e E qually sophistical app e ars
th epl e a of G uizot i n b ehalf of th e t emporal pow er as n e c essary to th e fr ee
d om of th e church
If oth er church e s can exist an d flourish although d e
p riv ed of all t emporaliti es it ca nn ot b e s een how a ki n gdo m is n e c essary to
th e Ro man church
Religious authority d eri v es its l egitimacy o n ly from
th e fr ee will of thos e who gran t it an d exclud e s th er efor e all e xt ern al pow er
for its e n forc ement Th e fr eedom of th e papacy in volvi n g th e s ervitud e
of Italy is n ot fr eedom but d espotis m ; an d th e argu men ts employe d by
G u i zot i n th e d efen c e of such a caus e fall to th e grou n d lik e thos e of
th e slav ehold ers of th e S outh who att empt to justify th eir r eb ellion agai n st
th e fr ee st gov er n men t in th e world u n d er th e pl ea that th e ir lib erty is
i nfr in g ed upon u n d erstan di n g for this lib erty th e pow e r of e xt en din g
hu man slavery ov er th e Am erican con tin en t In advocati n g th e caus e of
papal lib erty G uizot advocat es th e caus e of slavery i n Ital y n ot that of
Christian ity
Whil e th e d efen d ers of th e papacy by co nfou n di ng it with Christian i ty
are brought i n to op en co n fl i ct with th e Italian n atio n ality thos e writ ers
who on th e same grou n d strive to r eco n cil e th e papacy with Italy com
pro mis e th e clai ms of both P as sagli a i n his Pro G aussa Italica ad Ep i sco
pos Catholicos professi n g his en tir e s ubj ectio n to th e spiritual sovereig n ty
of th e pop e which h e co n sid ers ess en tial to Christian ity co n t en ds that th e
papal t emporaliti es are an imp edi men t to th e ex ercis e of S piritual j uris di c
t i o n an d i n sists that th e former should b e r en oun c ed for th e pr es ervatio n
of th e latt er This vi e w is commo n to oth er writ e rs of th e Catholic party in
Italy am o n g who m are m a n y pri e s ts who lik e P assaglia havi n g sustai n ed
w ith h eroic d evotio n th e papal syst em u ntil th e n atio n al caus e s eemed lik ely
to triumph n ow give to it this qualifi ed support Th e distin ction b etw een th e
spiritual an d t emporal pow er is th e pivot upo n which th e argum en ts of th e se
writ ers turn Let th e pop e say th ey co n fi n e hi ms elf to his r eligious avoca
tion s an d fro m th e V atican rul e his spiritual ki n gdom Let th e Italia n gov
o me an d fro m th e $uiri n al pr esid e over th e tem
ern men t tak e poss essio n of R
poral i n t er e sts of th e n atio n an d th e r eco n ciliatio n of th e papacy an d Italy will
be an acco mplish ed fact A b e autiful arran g emen t if it did n ot r e st en tir ely
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NO TES
99
.
a men tal abstraction upon which it i s i mposs ibl e to bui l d up a social
r eform Th e distin ction b etw e en th e spiritual an d t emporal pow er as
u n d erstood by P as saglia an d his co mpan ion s is but a r elic of th e scholastic
philosophy fou n ded on th e id ea of an opposition e xisti n g b etw een th e sofil
an d body th e for me r b ei n g subj ect to th e authority of th e pop e th e latt er
to that of th e emp eror ; an d as th e soul w as r egard ed as th e m istr e ss of th e
body so th e papacy logically clai me d ri ght of d o mi n ation ov er rul ers an d
p eopl e Th i s claim gave ris e to th e lon g struggl e b etw een th e papacy and
H app ily si n c e that ti m e ph i losophy has mad e so me progr e ss
th e empir e
S i n c e th en psychology an d physiology hav e e stablish e d th e fact of th e u n ity
an d th e i n divisibility of hu m a n n atur e ; th e y hav e show n that th e body i s
but th e n e c essary co n ditio n of th e soul s man ifestatio n an d that n ot o n ly
n o oppositio n
but p erfe ct harm o n y e xists b etw een th e two M ean wh i l e
o ntology an d id eology r evi v ed th e an ci en t doctri n e of Plato corroborat ed
by th e t eachi n g of th e G osp el of th e i mman en t pr es en c e of th e A bsolut e
to th e hu m an mi n d ; a pr e s en c e through which so me of th e pr erogatives
of th e D eity are co mmu n icat ed to th e i n t ell ectual cr eatur e wh i ch thus i s
mad e s elf sov er eign an d i n d ep en d en t i n all sp i ritual matt ers
To gran t spiritual sov ere ig nty to th e pop e or to an y hu man organ izat i on i s
to r ecog ni z e th e r i ght of sp i ritual d espotism If such sover eig n ty i s n ot a
fict i on but a r eality it n ec e ssarily e xt en ds over th e spiritual faculti es of man ;
i t i n volves th e co n trol of what is fr ee an d u n co ntrollabl e ; it impli es th e sub
of
h
whol
m
n ; it e xclud e s all oth er sov e r eign ti e s ; an d t en di n g to
i
n
t
e
a
c
t
o
e
e
j
u n it e th e rac e u n d e r i ts sway it must tra mpl e of n ec e ssity upo n th e right
of n ation ality Thus th e papacy is an tago n isti c to i n t ell ectual an d r eligious
lib erty th e sover eignty of th e p eopl e an d th e right of n ation ality which are
th e charact eristic featur es of m od er n civilizatio n W e go farth e r an d say that
P ass agli a an d th e oth er th e ologian s of th e n ew school ca nn ot co n sist en tly
with th eir syst em discuss th e clai ms of th e papacy sin c e spiritual pow er
i n clud es in its elf th e absolut e r i ght of d efi nin g its ow n n atur e i ts li mits an d
con dition s A dd to this that th e church a ccordin g to papal doctri n e is a
divi n ely appo i nt ed i n stitution en dow e d with a co n stitution of its ow n with
a d et ermin e d ord er which r en d ers i ts syst em on e an d co mpl et e Th e pr es
e rv ati on of this hi erarchical ord er is n ec e ssary to th e pr e s ervatio n of th e
church its elf ; an d thos e who pr e su me to substitut e for that authority th ei r
o w n privat e judg men t d e stroy th e e co n o m y of th e e ccl e siastical e stablish
men t of Ro m e
Wh en P assagli a th er efor e accu mulat es authoriti e s fro m
th e B ibl e an d th e fath ers to co n tradict th e clai m s of th e pap acy how e v e r
right h e may b e h e cann ot call hims elf a follow e r of th e syst em of which
th e papal church is th e r epr e s en tativ e
A s lo n g as h e profe ss e s hi ms elf
subj ect to th e papal authority h e will b e prop erly r emi n d ed that it do e s
on
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NO T E S
100
.
b elon g to a subordi n at e to disput e th e rights of h im who has th e pow er
of loosin g an d bi n di n g who i s th e t each e r an d th e sh eph erd whil e h e
l
i
P
a
ss
a
g a) i s but a discipl e an d a S h eep bou n d to follo w n ot allow e d to l e ad
(
Th e fact that ev en thos e who are m or e e ar n est i n supporti n g th e papal sys
tem d estroy it i n th e ir att em pt to li mit it S hows that spiritual sov e r eig n ty
has lost all r eality an d has b eco me o nly a n ame M any of th e politician s
i n Italy k n owi n g of r eligious m att ers o n ly what th ey hav e l e arn e d fro m th ei r
n urs e s or fro m th e h e ars a
y of papal th eology i n th e struggl e i n which
th ey are en gag ed profess gr eat r ever en c e an d v en eratio n for th e papal see
as a spiritual pow er evid en tly fe ari n g that th e disr egard for that pow e r
should b e co n sid er ed as a disr egard for Christia n ity H appily hu man n a
tur e i s mor e logical an d si n c er e tha n politicia n s an d th eologian s an d w e
trust m or e i n its d evelop men t than in th e artifices of th e for mer or i n th e
quibbl e s of th e latt er n ot o n ly for a sp eedy sol ution of th e Ro man qu estio n
but particularly for that i n t ell ectual eman cipatio n which i s th e first con
ditio n of th e r eg en eratio n of Italy Let th e enlight en ed class es aban do n th e
highly i mmoral practic e of ex tolli n g an i n stitut i o n whos e dogmas th ey do
n ot b e li ev e an d ma y of whos e pr e c e pts th ey daily violat e ; l e t th em shak e
p
Off that m en tal l ethargy which a lo n g r eig n of d e spotis m has fast en e d upo n
th em ; let th em purify th eir r eligious s en ti men t through th e light of g en
uiuc Christian ity which is e ss en tially ration al moral an d civilizin g ; let
th em b e si n c er e co n sist en t an d have th e moral courag e to act accordin g
to th eir b eli ef Th en an d th en o n ly will th ey b e abl e to l e ad th e p eopl e
i n th e path of m od er n civil zatio n which was O p en to ma n ki n d through th e
tri u mph of hu man r easo n ove r papal traditio n
n ot
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N O TE D
.
work of Ros min i Le ci n qu e piagh e d ella Chi e sa i n which th e
wou n ds of th e church are typifi ed by thos e of Christ o n th e cross i s an
i mportan t pro d uction n ot o n ly for its subj ect but also for th e n ame of its
writ er an d th e circu mstan c es u n d er which it was publish e d N o man has
do n e s o much for th e i n t er ests of th e papacy as Ros mi n i A pri e st a th eolo
gian a philosoph e r an d th e fou n d e r of a r eligious ord er h e m ay b e con sid
er ed as on e of th e gr e at e st lu mi n ari e s which hav e e v e r ador n e d th e church
Although his philosophical pri n cipl e s if logically follow e d would hav e l ed
h i m to r en ou n c e his all egia nc e to th e papal sov e reig n ty h i s th e ological
syst em ch e ck ed th e flight of his g en i us an d caus e d h i m to sacrific e his
ratio n al th eor i es to his r eligious t en ets for th e support of an authority
which is th e a n ti th esis of all ration ality In Ros mi n i w e must distin guish
Th e
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NO T E S
102
.
striv e to m ak e th e episcopat e an obj e ct of attract i on for pious and eu
light en ed m en an d n ot for worldly i n trigu ers as it i s at pr es en t ; 4 th that
th e e l e ctio n s of bishops an d th e ad mi n istrat i o n of th e ch urch should b e
r estor ed to th e cl ergy an d th e p eopl e to whom th ey origin ally b elon g ed
an d that th e bishops an d pri e sts c e asi n g to co n fi n e th ems elv e s to th e for
malities an d S hows of worship should b eco me agai n th e con fid an ts th e
fr i en ds an d th e fath ers of th e faithful ; 5th that th e cl ergy should r eturn
to th e spo nt an eous co n tribution s of th e p eopl e as th e o nly prop er mean s of
sustain in g e ccl esiastical e stablish men ts
H ad Ros mi n i trac e d th e evils of th e church to th eir l egiti mat e origi n h e
would have fou n d that th ey aros e from th e v ery n atur e of th e papacy an d
that th e r eforms h e propos e d could o nly b e acc ept ed by acc epti n g th e
prin ciple of th e Refor mation which d estroyi ng th e papal sover eign ty
has r estor e d to th e cl ergy an d th e laity th eir p erson al r espo n sibility and
r en d er ed e ccl esiastical i n st i tutio n s capabl e of progr ess Th e con d emn a
t i o n of th e book of Ros mi n i affor d s an oth er evid en c e of th e utt er im
possibil ity of i n troducin g r eform i nto th e papal syst em H e hims elf
s eems to hav e admitt ed this i mpossib ility wh en complyi n g with th e first
d uty of a b eli ev er i n th e church h e sub mitt ed to th e papal s en t en c e an d
d isavow ed all that was co n d emn e d i n his work A ssu min g that th e
papacy was th e fou n datio n of th e Catholic church an d that this alon e was
Thos e wh o
th e church of Christ h e could n ot do oth erwis e than sub mit
co n d emn his sub missio n are e ith er u n acqu ain t ed with th e r equir ements of
B etw een Ros
th e papal church or disr egard th e duty of co n sist en cy
mi ni who hu mbly bows to th e papal authority an d Lamen n ai s who op en ly
r eb els agai n st it th er e i s n o cours e whi ch a logical min d can acc ept
H ow ev er w e may d e plor e th e hu miliatio n to which Ros mi n i was subj e ct ed
by his r elig i ous faith h i s tran sc en d en t mer i t can n ot b e d en i ed W e clos e
th es e r em arks wit h th e foll owi n g passag e through which w e first pr e s en t ed
his n am e to American scholars :
It m ay b e allow ed to th e writ er of this pap er to i n troduc e to th e ao
quai n tan c e of Am erica n r eaders th e v en erat ed n am e of this gr eat p h ilos o
ph er a n am e which r ecalls to his mi n d th e sw eet es t r ecoll ectio n s of h i s
life an d e xcit es i n his h eart th e d eep est gri ef for his un ti mely d eath
which d epriv ed Italy of on e of h er n obl est so n s an d sci en c e of on e of its
most gift e d devot ee s D e vot e d as a pri est r efi n ed as a scholar sou n d as a
stat esm an sublim e as a th i n k er hu mbl e as a Christian an d bold as a phi
l o s oph er Ros mi n i u n it e d i n hi ms elf i n a high d egr ee m a n y qualiti e s an y of
which would b e su ffici en t to co n v ey to post er ity th e n a me of its poss essor
Th e acut en e ss and br e adth of his mi n d w er e o n ly e quall e d by th e e xt en t of
his l earn in g an d by th e r efi n emen t of h i s tast e With th e sy n th etic pow er
an d
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NO T E S
103
.
of D an t e and w i th th e a n alyt ical faculti e s of Tho mas A qui n as his mi n d
with th e
e mbrac e d all hu m a n k n owl e dg e i n its u n ity an d u n iv e rsality
vi e w of er ectin g a philosophical en cyclop aedia which was to b e d erive d
fro m on e prin cipl e an d di v i d ed i n to differ en t bran ch es accordi n g to th eir
logical ord er O f this en cyclop aedia h e publish ed so me tw en ty volu me s i n
wh i ch sci en c e is fou n d e d on a n e w an d i mmovabl e basis an d d ev elop ed
with such a d eep broad an d origi n al su rvey that few philosoph ers e ith er
In
in a n c i en t or m od er n ti mes can b e co m par e d to h im i n this r e sp e ct
his r eligious fe eli n gs though a sin c er e b eli ever an d en light en ed apostl e of
th e Catholic church i n which h e was bor n an d e ducat ed y et h e did not
approve n ay O p enly co n d emn ed th e e xc ess e s of th e cl ergy an d what ever
abus e s h e mi ght hav e fou n d in th e church H en c e th e s ever e trials to
which h e was sub mitt ed u n d er th e i nflu en c e of extr eme parti e s of both
s i des B ut th e strict n ess of Rosmini s life an d th e holy charity with wh i ch
h e was en dow e d s e cur e d h i m th e b l ess e d n ess which aris e s fro m th e
co n t emplation of truth an d th e practic e of b en evol en c e Tol era nt of all
opi n io n s an d resp ectful to all men though diss enti n g fro m h i m d e sp i si n g
all ho n ors which th e world could b estow upo n h i m givi n g up to charitabl e
obj ects th e larg e fortu n e which h e ha d i nh erit ed fro m his fa mily Ros mi n i
show ed hi ms elf a tru e follow er of h i m i n th e faith of who m h e liv e d an d
di ed H e en d ed his life i n 1855 at S tr esa on th e L ago M agg i or e at th e
”
An a ccou n t of th e sys tem of ed u ca ti o n
y ears
See
ag e of fi fty e ight
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and
By
f
o
th e i ns ti tu ti ons
V INOENZ O
B O TTA
,
s ci ence a n d
f
o
art
i n th e ki ngd om
Sa r d i n i a
f
o
.
H artford , 1 858
.
NOTE
E
.
follow i n g extract fro m M acaulay whos e i n d ep en d en t charact er an d
lib eral v i e ws give great w eight to h i s authority on this subj e ct illustrat es
th e b eari n g of th e pr i n cipl e of th e Refor m atio n although but i mp e rfe ctly
d e velop ed o n th e progr ess of n atio n s :
Th e P rot estan t b e as ts an d m ost j ustly that w ealth civilizatio n an d
i nt ellig en c e hav e i n cr eas e d far mor e on th e n orth e r n than on th e southe r n
sid e of th e g eographical bou n dary which ru n s b etw een th e t wo r eligio n s ;
that cou n tr i es so littl e favor ed by n atur e as S cotlan d an d P russia are n ow
am ori g th e m ost flour i shi n g an d b est gov e r n e d portio n s of th e world whil e
ba n ditt i i n fe st th e b e autiful S hor e s of Campag n a an d th e fertil e se a coast of
th e p o n tifi cal stat e s is aba n do n e d to bu ffalo e s an d w i ld boars It ca nn ot b e
doubt ed that sin c e th e l 6th c e n tury th e P rot estan t n atio n s fa i r allowan c e
Th e
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NO T E S
104
.
b ei ng mad e for physical disadva n tag es have mad e d ecidedl y gr eat er prog
r ess tha n th ei r n eighbors Th e progress mad e by thos e n atio n s i n which
P rot e sta ntis m though n ot fi n ally succ e ssful y et main tai n e d a lo n g strug
Wh en w e
gl e an d l eft p er man en t trac e s has g en erally b een co n sid erabl e
co me to th e C atholic lan d to th e part of E urop e i n which th e first spark of
Refor matio n was trodd en out as soon as it app ear ed an d fro m which pro
ce ed ed th e i mpuls e which drov e P rot e sta n tis m back w e fi n d at b e st a v ery
slow progre ss and on th e whol e a r etrogr ess i o n Co mpar e D enmark and
Wh en L uth er b egan to pr each th e sup eriority of th e P ortu
P ortugal
gu s s e was u n qu e stio n abl e ; at pr es ent th e sup eriority of th e D an e s is n o
l ess so Co mpar e E din burgh an d F lor en c e E di nburgh has ow e d l ess to
cli mat e to so i l an d to th e fost er i ng car e of rul ers than any capital
In all th e s e r esp e cts F lor en c e has b een sin gu larly
P rot estan t or Catholic
happy Y et who ever k n ows what F lor en c e an d E di n burgh w er e in th e
g en eratio n pr ec edi n g th e Refor matio n and what th ey are n ow will ao
k n owl edg e that so me gr e at caus e has duri n g th e last thr ee c en turi es
op erat ed to rais e on e part of th e E urop ea n family or to d epr e ss th e oth er
Co mpar e th e history of E nglan d and that of S pai n duri ng th e last c entury
In ar ms arts sci en c e s l ett ers co mmerc e agric ultur e th e co n trast is most
striki n g : Th e distin ction is n ot co nfi n ed to this sid e of th e A tlan tic Th e
colo n i e s plan t e d by E n glan d i n Am er i ca hav e i mm easurably outgrow n in
pow er thos e plan t ed by S pai n Y et w e hav e n o r easo n to b eli eve that at th e
b egi n n i n g of th e 16th c en tury th e Castilian was in an y r esp ect i nferior to
O ur fi rm b eli ef is that th e n orth ow e s its gr eat civi liza
t h e E n glish ma n
tio n an d prosperity ch i efly to th e moral effect of th e Prot estan t Reforma
tio n ; an d that th e d ecay of th e south er n cou ntri es of E urop e is to b e
”
See M aca u la y 0 n Ra n h e s
m ai n ly ascrib e d to th e gr eat Catholic r evival
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H is tory
f
o
th e P op es
”
.
N O TE F
.
followi ng passag e from th e D ivi ne Co medy P urgatori o Ca nto
XXXIII wh er e B eatric e for et ells to D an t e th e adven t of a military l ead er
th e on e sen t f r om God who shall r e d e em th e cou n try an d s la y bo th th e f ou l
th e accomp li ce of h er gu i l t (th e for e ig n
on e (th e papacy) a n d th e g i a n t
ow
r
which
co
n spir ed with th e pop e s agai n st n atio n al u n ity ) r efe rs with
e
p
gr e at er propri ety to V ictor E mma n u el th e r epr es en tative of th e Italia n
p eopl e than to C an d ella S cala or an y of thos e a n ci en t chi efs to who m th e in
It is probabl e that D a nt e i n this an d oth er
t e rp reters of th e po em apply it
S i milar passag es did n o t i n t en d to d esig n at e an y particular l e ad e r but that
Th e
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NO T E S
106
.
ratio n ; and whil e th e stat es men of E n gla n d hav e so sig n ally fai l ed to
appr e ciat e th e tru e issu e of th e co n te st which has men ac ed th e n atio n al
e xist en c e of a gr e at p e opl e alli ed to th e E n glish n atio n by rac e an d
lan guage h e fro m th e b egi nn in g e xpr ess ed an i n t ellig en t s ympathy for th e
fr ee S t at es i n th eir pr es en t co n t est for co n stitution al lib erty an d n ation
ality This bri ef tribut e to his memory could n ot b e m or e prop erly
co n clud e d than by quotin g th e follow i n g extract fro m his last d e spatch
addr ess ed to Ch evali er B ertin atti th e m in ist er of Italy at Washi n gton on
th e 22d of M ay 1 861 o n ly a few days b efor e his d eath :
You will co nti nu e to hold with th e l egal gov er n men t of th e fe d eral
u n ion thos e fri en dly r elatio n s to which th ey have acquir e d a n e w titl e by
th eir pro mpt an d g en erous r ecognition of th e kin gdo m of Italy A t th e
sam e time you will m ai n tai n a strict r es erve toward th e parti es which
divid e th e co n fed eration B ut this r es erv e M o n si eur l e Ch evali er will
n ot pr ev en t us fro m m an i festi n g our sy mpathi e s for th e triu mph of th e
N orth e rn S tat es ; for th eir caus e is th e caus e n ot o n ly of co n stitution al
lib erty but of all hum an ity Christian E urop e can n ot wish succ ess to a
party which b ears on its sta n d ard th e pr es ervation an d e xt en sio n of
slav ery an d which re e stablishi n g l ett ers of m arqu e an d privat eeri ng calls
i n to its s ervi c e a prin cipl e con d emn ed alik e by hum an con sci en c e an d
O ur m ost sin c er e an d ard en t wish would b e for an
m od er n civilizatio n
ho n orabl e agr eemen t which r eu n itin g th e S tat e s mo men tarily s eparat ed
should e xti n guish th e torch of civil war i n a cou n try whos e lib erty an d
”
prosp erity formed but n ow th e ad mi rat i on of th e whol e world
C A V O UR
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C O RR ES PON D E N CE
th e
To complete the p rese n t publicatio n
de n ce
in
107
.
fol lowi n g
co rr es p o n
refere n ce to it i s subj Oin ed :
—D
NEW Y O R $ , February
l 0th , 1862
.
Un d erstan din g that you hav e prepar ed a
d iscours e on th life an d policy of th e lat e Cou n t Cavour i t would grati fy
th e u n d ersig n ed as w ell as ma n y oth ers a mo n g your fellow citiz en s i f you
would giv e th em an opportun i ty of h eari n g it an d t esti fy i n g th eir r esp ect
for th e m emory of th e gr eat stat e sman of Italy whos e n a me has b ecome
i d entifi ed with th e caus e of c i v i l an d r eligious l i b erty W e are v ery
r esp e ctfully yours
P R O FE SSO R B OTT A
ear
Si r
e
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-
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,
G E O R G E OP a
E (M a yor
L UTH E R B R A DIS H
f
o
th e
(P r esi d en t of
f New Yor k)
ci ty o
th e H i s tor i ca l Soci ety)
F DE P E Y S T E R ( Vi ce P res i d en t of
.
.
M O OR E (Li brari an
f
o
.
th e H is tori ca l Soci et )
y
-
.
G H
.
th e H i s tor i ca l Soci ety)
.
.
(P r esi d en t of th e C olu mbi a C ol lege)
IS AA C FE RR IS ( C h an cellor of th e U
n i v ersi ty o
f New Yor k)
H OR A C E W E B S T E R (P r i n cip a l of th e Fr ee A ca d emy)
FRA N C IS L IE B E R (P rof essor i n th e C olumbi a C ollege a n d
i n g M ember of the Ins ti tu te of Fran ce)
C
H
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$ IN G
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corres on d
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W C B RY ANT
C H B UTLE R
H E N R Y T TUC $ E R M A N
G E OR G E B A NC ROP T
.
G E OR G E
S A M UE L
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F O LSO M
F B M OR S E
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E
P R OF SS O R
—I
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$A M E S
G E N TLE M E N
.
W
.
B EEx M A N
ROTT A
’
S
.
.
R E P LY
.
NEW YO R $ , Febr ua ry 1 7 th ,
1862
.
m
hon or ed an d gratifi ed i n r ec eivi n g your i n vitatio n to
d eliv e r a discours e co mmemorat i v e of th e gr eat stat es man to who m my
cou n try is chi efly i n d ebt ed for its n atio n al exist en c e an d whos e achi eve
men ts for m s o brillia n t an episod e i n co n t emporary history
I Sh all b e
most happy to co mply with your r e qu est
I am with gr eat r e sp ect
Y our ob e di en t s ervan t
V B OTT A
a
,
.
.
,
,
,
th e H on
To
oth ers
.
.
G E OR G E O P DY $ E , M ayor
of
th e
.
c i ty of
New Y ork ,
.
an d
RESOL UTIONS
1 08
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At the close of the discourse the followi n g resolutio n s O ffered
by Rev J P Thompso n D D were u n a n imously adopted :
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Resolved That th e thanks of this meeti n g b e t end er ed to P rofessor
V i n c en zo B otta for his i n structiv e an d discri mi n ati n g discours e upo n th e
charact er an d s er v i c es of Cou n t Cavour an d that i n vi ew of its p erman en t
historical i nt er e st an d valu e h e b e r equ est ed to pr epar e th e same for th e
pr ess in th e E n glish F r en ch an d Italian to n gu es
Resolved That th e disi n t er est ed patriotis m th e en light en e d stat es man
ship th e e arn est an d co n sist en t d evotio n to civi l and r eligious lib erty that
mark e d th e car eer of Co un t Cavour plac e h im a mo n g th e n obl e st champ
io n s of political fr eedo m an d of social progr ess ord er an d virtu e through
co n stitut i o n al law ; an d that his rar e ad mi nistrative capacity ex ercis ed for
th e s e en ds en titl es h im to th e pra i s e of th e reg en erator of Italy
Res olved That as th e n ame of this moral l ead er i n th e d ev elop men t of
th e fr ee an d en light en e d n atio n ality of Italy b elo n gs n ot to his cou n try
o n ly but to m an kin d w e clai m a frat ern al i n h eritan c e with th e Italian
ory of Cavour an d will gladly un it e wit h th em i n an
n atio n i n th e me
appropriat e m o n u men t to his fam e
Resolved That whi le our ow n e xp er i en c e is t eachi n g us a n e w that th e
stability of fr e e i n stitutio n s d ema n ds th e political an d moral u n i ty of a
n atio n g eographically an d historica lly on e w e d e sir e th e m or e e ar n estly
th e p erfe cti n g of that Italia n u n i ty which th e g en i us an d sag acity of
Cavour s o happily i n augurat e d
Res olved That s in c e th e pr es ervatio n of n atio n al u n ity u n d er free i n sti
tuti on s d em an ds th e r emoval of what ev er syst em or policy is a n tago n istic
to th e rights of p erso n or of co n sc i en c e th e Italian govern men t an d n atio n
w i ll have our e ar n e st m oral support i n th ei r end eavors to t er mi nat e all
for eign do mi nio n an d all poli tico eccl esiastical governmen t upo n th eir soil
an d to bri n g th e e n tir e populatio n of Italy u n d e r a co n stitutio n of p erfe ct
c i vil and r eligious fr eedo m
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This d iscourse was by request repeated before the New Y ork
Athe n aeu m Associatio n March 12 and before the Bosto n
Y ou n g Me n s Assoc i atio n o n the 1 9 th of the same mo n th
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1 862
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