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JOURNAL 
 
 TOUR IN ITALY, 
 
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 ON THE 
 
 PRESENT CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF RELIGION 
 IN THAT COUNTRY. 
 
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 LONDON: 
 
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 1863. 
 
« 
 
 
 K 
 
 lONDOHr : 
 
 GULBEET AND EIVINGTOK, PEINTEES, 
 ST. JOHN'S SQTJAEE. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITIOI^. 
 
 The six months that have elapsed since the 
 publication of the first edition of this Journal 
 have made no alteration in the religious con- 
 dition of Italy, except so far as they have 
 tended to bring matters nearer to a crisis. 
 Italy is now rent asunder by a violent intes- 
 tine schism. On one side, are the Arch- 
 bishops and Bishops, bound by oaths of feudal 
 vassalage to the Pope; on the other is the 
 Sovereign of Italy, the People, and a large 
 number of the Clergy. 
 
 Although the Roman Pontiff is now con- 
 fined within a narrow strip of territory, and 
 although the maintenance of his authority 
 A 2 
 
IV PREFACE 
 
 even at Eome itself is dependent on the arms 
 of France, and although Victor Emmanuel is 
 King of all Italy, with the exception of that 
 small Papal domain, and of Venetia which is 
 still subject to Austria, and although Sicily 
 also acknowledges him as her Sovereign, yet 
 by reason of the spiritual dominion exercised 
 by the See of Rome, through the Archbishops 
 and Bishops and Capitular Vicars, (where 
 Bishoprics are vacant,) the power of the King 
 of Italy is almost paralyzed, and the Con- 
 queror of the battle-fields of Magenta and 
 Solferino is resisted and defied by the Papacy 
 in the principal cities of his own Kingdom. 
 
 At Milan and at Florence the Sovereign 
 has attempted to exercise his royal prerogative 
 in nominating to ecclesiastical dignities, but 
 his nominations have been set at nought by 
 the Ecclesiastical rulers of those cities, acting 
 under orders from Rome. Victor Emmanuel 
 is King of Italy in name, but in fact, Pius IX,, 
 though almost a prisoner in his own city, is, in 
 many important respects. Sovereign Ruler of 
 the Italian Peninsula. 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION, V 
 
 The precarious position in which the tem- 
 poral Ruler is placed by the dominant sove- 
 reignty of the Papacy, and the consequent 
 feebleness of the Italian Government and 
 Italian Parliament, have been also displayed to 
 the world since the first publication of this 
 Journal by an attempt which has been made 
 by a celebrated person, who was once the 
 leading champion of the Papacy, the ex-Jesuit 
 Carlo Passaglia, now a Member of the Italian 
 Parliament at Turin, who endeavoured to 
 prevail on the Legislature to require an Oath 
 of Allegiance to the Crown to be taken by 
 the Clergy of Italy. He showed clearly in his 
 speech in Parliament, on the twenty-third of 
 April last, that the Pope obliges all Italian 
 Bishops to take an Oath of feudal vassalage 
 to himself; and that, as long as that Oath is 
 allowed to be taken, the Bishops of Italy are 
 not and cannot be loyal subjects of the Throne. 
 Indeed, in such a crisis as the present, when 
 the Pope is hostile to the King, they must be 
 placed in violent antagonism to it. He showed 
 that by the power which the Bishops exert 
 A 3 
 
VI PREFACE 
 
 over the inferior Clergy, whom they suspend 
 from the exercise of their office, and thus de- 
 prive of their daily bread, on account of their 
 loyalty to the Throne, it is impossible for the 
 Italian Government to be maintained, unless 
 it has the moral courage to strike at the root 
 of the evil, and to require an Oath of alle- 
 giance to be taken by all Ecclesiastics, so that 
 no one shall be promoted to ecclesiastical dig- 
 nities, whose loyalty has not been testified and 
 guaranteed by such an engagement. 
 
 But Passaglia's efforts were in vain. Pas- 
 saglia, the ex-Jesuit, the former champion of 
 the Papacy, who knows far better than many 
 politicians where the true strength of the 
 Papacy lies, and who is also well aware that 
 the physical power of Armies is but a feeble 
 thing when opposed to that spiritual Monarchy 
 which domineers over the human conscience, 
 and promises eternal happiness and glory to 
 those who are Confessors and Martyrs in its 
 cause, was unable to induce the Government 
 to engage in a moral conflict, which re- 
 quired more faith and courage, than even 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. vii 
 
 the most violent struggles of mere material 
 force. 
 
 Even Passaglia himself, who has mustered 
 an army of 9000 Italian Priests against the 
 temporal power of Eome, still shrinks from 
 an attack on its spiritual supremacy. He 
 skirmishes against the outposts of the Papacy, 
 but has not yet ventured to assault the citadel. 
 This nobler act of intrepid patriotism has 
 been reserved for priests in Southern Italy. 
 They have appealed to Scripture and Primitive 
 Christian Antiquity, and have boldly challenged 
 Pope Pius IX. to answer these questions: — 
 " Can it be proved from the Word of God 
 and from the History of the Early Church, 
 that the Bishop of Rome has a right to such a 
 spiritual supremacy as he now claims ? Has 
 he any authority to impose Oaths of vassalage 
 on all Bishops and Priests ? Has he autho- 
 rity to prevent the People of Italy from having 
 Bishops, except such as he approves, and whom 
 he binds as subjects to himself?" These are 
 the interrogatories which many of the Nea- 
 politan Clergy are now addressing to Pope 
 A 4 
 
Vlll PREFACE 
 
 Pius IX. ; and together with these questions they 
 are propounding others of scarcely less import- 
 ance : " Is the Roman Papacy authorized by Holy 
 Scripture or Primitive Antiquity to enforce 
 Celibacy on the Bishops and Priests of Italy ? 
 Does not the Roman Breviary need reforma- 
 tion ? Do not Reason, Scripture, and Anti- 
 quity all concur in testifying that Public 
 Prayers ought not to be in a dead language, 
 and that they cannot rightly be called Public 
 Prayers, unless they are offered up in a tongue 
 understood by the People ? " 
 
 These are questions which are now put to 
 the Papacy by many of the Clergy and Laity 
 of Italy; and the Church of Rome cannot 
 escape the necessity of giving an answer to 
 them. 
 
 It is earnestly to be desired for the sake of 
 Rome, Italy, and the World, that these ques- 
 tions may be discussed temperately and calmly 
 without further delay. The intestine strifes 
 and feuds which have been engendered in 
 Italy by the antagonism between the Papacy 
 and the Government, have already been very 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. ix 
 
 disastrous to Religion and Morals. The popu- 
 lar mind is every day becoming more and 
 more estranged from the Church of Rome; 
 and inasmuch as in their view the Church 
 of Rome is identified with Christianity, the 
 People of Italy are verging towards Infidelity ; 
 and when Religion has lost its hold over their 
 consciences and their wills, when their pas- 
 sions, exasperated and inflamed by a sense of 
 wrong, are let loose, then Anarchy and Blood- 
 shed will ensue, and a fierce spirit of Anti- 
 christianism, hostile alike to civil and eccle- 
 siastical Government, may be expected to 
 burst forth and rage with unbridled fury. 
 The most exalted Personage in Italy is not 
 insensible of this. He well knows that un- 
 less a salutary Reformation can be effected in 
 the Church of Rome, nothing can save Italy 
 from Infidelity and Revolution. 
 
 Perhaps those persons who are not engaged 
 in the struggle, and who, even because they 
 are not Italians, cannot be suspected of being 
 swayed by party feelings, or biassed by per- 
 sonal considerations, may in some respects be 
 A 5 
 
PKEFACE 
 
 able to render essential service in promoting 
 the peace and prosperity of Italy. Not by 
 angry invectives of violent declamation, not 
 by any arrogant dictation of assumed supe- 
 riority, but by calm and well-considered state- 
 ments, derived from the records of the past, 
 and especially from the Word of God and 
 from Church History, they may be of some 
 service in preparing the popular mind of Italy 
 for a consideration of the questions which 
 now urgently call for a solution ; they may 
 be permitted to labour in this charitable and 
 holy work by the dissemination of accurate 
 information on these questions. 
 
 The name of England now stands high in 
 Italy. Englishmen may do much, with God's 
 help, by intelligent sympathy, friendly inter- 
 course, and moral support, to avert the ca- 
 lamities which now threaten that beautiful 
 land ; and which, unless they are averted, will 
 inevitably extend themselves to other countries. 
 They may be enabled to promote the cause 
 of sound religion and social order in Italy, 
 Europe, and the World. 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. xi 
 
 The present year is an eventful epoch in 
 the history of the Christian Church. 
 
 This year (1863) is the Tercentenary of 
 the promulgation of the Thirty-nine Articles 
 of the Church of England'. It is also the 
 Tercentenary of the close of the sessions of the 
 Council of Trent. 
 
 An appeal may now be made to Three Cen- 
 turies, for their testimony concerning the prin- 
 ciples of doctrine and discipline embodied 
 in the two systems, respectively, of the 
 Church of England and the Church of 
 Rome. 
 
 What are the fruits of each ? Compare the 
 condition of England and Italy at this time. 
 In England we can now point to a National 
 Church, identified, in desire at least, with the 
 English People. We can now point to a loyal 
 Episcopate and a patriotic Clergy. We can 
 point to the homes of the English Clergy, 
 adorned with Christian graces and household 
 
 ^ In our Books of Common Prayer they bear the date 
 1562, but this is old style; and the first edition was 
 printed in 1563. 
 
 A 6 
 
Xll PKEFACE 
 
 virtues ; and in many cases, God be thanked, 
 those households are sources of many blessings, 
 spiritual and temporal, to the Parishes in which 
 they dwell. 
 
 But in Italy we see the Episcopate engaged, 
 under the Papacy, in a violent conflict with the 
 Monarchy. We see an unnational and anti- 
 national Episcopate. We see the Clergy of 
 Italy divided into two parts. One section is 
 opposed to the Bishops and to the rest of their 
 own brethren ; the other section is struggling 
 against the Crown, the Parliament, and the 
 People. The annual National Festival of the 
 Italian Constitution, on the first Sunday in 
 June, which ought to be a bond of National 
 Unity, and a day of National Joy and Thanks- 
 giving, and of Religious Loyalty and Patriot- 
 ism, is a continual occasion of national discord, 
 and of a renewal of those mediseval feuds of 
 Ghibellines and Guelphs which deluged Italy 
 with blood. 
 
 Whatever other moral, therefore, may be 
 derived from the spectacle before us, and from 
 a contemplation of these two Tercentenaries 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. xiii 
 
 of England and Rome, we see in the condition 
 of England and Italy at the present time a 
 striking practical evidence of the wisdom which 
 guided our own Forefathers in clearing the 
 Church of England from the corruptions of 
 Rome, and in delivering the State as well as 
 the Church of England from her usurpa- 
 tions. And we see a strong motive for thank- 
 fulness to God for the benefits which He 
 then bestowed upon us, by their means ; 
 and for zeal, faithfulness, and courage, in 
 maintaining these benefits, and in transmitting 
 them to posterity; and we may well unite in 
 an earnest desire and prayer, that on this 
 present Tercentenary of the close of the ses- 
 sions of the Council of Trent, the Crown and 
 the People of Italy may join with the Bishops 
 and Clergy of that country in an earnest 
 inquiry, whether the principles of Reformation 
 adopted in England three centuries ago are 
 not entitled to consideration, and perhaps also 
 to adoption; not because they are our prin- 
 ciples, but because they are grounded on the 
 foundation of Holy Scripture, as interpreted 
 
xiv PEEFACE 
 
 by the consent and practice of the Ancient 
 Church ; and because they brought the Church 
 of England more nearly to what the Church of 
 Italy herself was in primitive times, when she 
 shone most brightly, and was a blessing and 
 example to other Churches of Christendom. 
 
 Cloisters, Westminster, 
 July 29, 1863. 
 
 While engaged upon this Preface, I received 
 from an Italian friend, — who is in holy orders 
 in the Church of Rome, — a communication 
 on the present religious condition of Italy. 
 The following is a translation of it. If some 
 of the sentiments in it should appear to be 
 expressed with warmth and vehemence, the 
 candid reader will make due allowance for one 
 who cannot but feel deeply and speak strongly 
 on what affects the dearest interests of his 
 country : — 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XV 
 
 The Present State of Religion in Italy. 
 
 Hatino- learnt from experience, especially from facts 
 which are now occurring in Italy, we may confidently 
 assert, that the design of the Court of Eome to destroy 
 evangelical principles in the hearts of its votaries, has 
 been completely attained. Pears of the Inquisition, and 
 of its persecutions, have deterred the minds of the people 
 from serious inquiries into the doctrines taught by the 
 Eoman clergy, and into their fatal consequences. The 
 pure religion of the Gospel, and the institutions of the 
 ancient Church have been forgotten. On the other hand, 
 the maxims of Pope Gregory VII., supported by the 
 canons of the Council of Trent, and by the writings of 
 Cardinal Bellarmine, which deify the Pope, and make him 
 a despot upon earth, have been animated with new life. 
 The blessed Virgin has been proclaimed as queen of 
 heaven, without taint of original sin, and has been placed 
 in the stead of Jesus Christ ; and almost all the devotion 
 and all the prayers of the Eoman Church are directed to 
 her. At the present day she is declared to be " Go- 
 Bedeemer^^ of the world, as the Bishop of Mondovi calls 
 her in his work entitled " Vn Anello,^^ &c. &c. 
 
 Now-a-days many of the clergy are capable of doing 
 little else but commending to the people the worship of 
 the blessed Virgin, who, they say, replies to their ad- 
 dresses by opening her eyes or shedding tears, like the 
 Madonna of Spoleto, or Eimini, or by conversing in the 
 woods with rustic shepherdesses, like our Lady of La 
 Salette. The clergy avail themselves of such supersti- 
 
XVI PRErACE 
 
 tions as these to collect funds under the title of la Pro- 
 pagazione della Fede or Vinnocente Infanzia, by which they 
 enrich themselves, or fill the coffers of the oholo di 
 S. Pietro to maintain brigands ^. 
 
 Ever since the glory of the papal throne has been 
 impaired by the diminution of its territory, it has 
 hurled maledictions and excommunications against King 
 Victor Emmanuel and the Italian Nation, and has lent a 
 helping hand to conspiracies and rebellions. The clergy 
 in the provinces have set themselves to write politico- 
 religious journals, and availing themselves of the liberty 
 of the press, conceded by the Italian Constitution, have 
 filled their columns with shameless calumnies. They 
 have preached, and still preach, civil discord, revenge 
 private and public, and sanguinary rage, instead of 
 Christian love. And, as if this were not enough, they 
 have endeavoured to corrupt the soldiers of the Crown, 
 and have excited them to desertion. Hence the courts 
 of justice have been occupied in legal proceedings against 
 friars and priests accused of corrupting the troops, and 
 the prisons have been filled with criminals of this de- 
 scription. 
 
 * In the month of July, 1863, five notorious captains 
 of brigands, going from Eome, and bearing a Eoman 
 passport from the Secretary of State, Cardinal Antonelli, 
 in which one of them was described as an "indus- 
 triante," and recommended to public protection, were 
 arrested by the authorities of the Italian government on 
 board the French steamer the Aunis. 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XVU 
 
 Some parisli priests have used the excommunications 
 fulminated by the Pope against the present state of 
 affairs, in order to disturb the consciences of the dying, 
 and have denied them the consolations of religion unless 
 they made retractation. Home has become the centre of 
 reaction and conspiracies, and brigands issue from her, 
 who carry fire and slaughter into the South of Italy. 
 From her also go forth the collectors of Peter's Pence to 
 subsidize the arms of the Pope. The bishops of Italy, 
 being engaged in promoting the cause of the Pope, their 
 master, are forgetful of their sacred office as pastors of 
 the Church, and throw obstacles in the way of govern- 
 ment, and stir up anger and strife among the flock com- 
 mitted to their care. But they have lost their ancient 
 influence, and incur criminal lawsuits, commenced by the 
 government against them in its own defence, and to 
 hinder greater evils. Cardinal De Angelis, Archbishop 
 of Permo, is now confined at Turin, with another bishop, 
 for political reasons ; and the Cardinal Archbishop of 
 Pisa was in confinement for some months on the charge 
 of fomenting discord in his diocese. The Archbishop of 
 Spoleto converted a pastoral letter into a violent Philippic 
 against the king and government, exciting the people 
 to rebellion, and is now in prisori. Some also of the 
 bishops of the South of Italy are in prison for political 
 causes, and several of them are fugitives from their 
 dioceses. 
 
 In the mean time what has become of Christianity ? 
 
 If it were not too bold to make such an assertion, I 
 should say that in many quarters it is almost dead. The 
 shepherds of Christ's flock are intent on earthly things ; 
 
XVlll PREFACE 
 
 they endeavour to dazzle and divert the people with 
 pompous processions and gaudy festivals, or to fill their 
 imaginations with superstitious dreams. But the health- 
 ful pastures of salvation are abandoned. The sheep of 
 Christ are not nourished with the food of the Gospel. 
 Both high and low allow their eyes and ears to be fasci- 
 nated with religious spectacles, but do not amend their 
 lives. The middle classes are becoming sceptical and in- 
 credulous, and throw, as it were, together into one pro- 
 miscuous heap of confusion the temporal power of the 
 Pope, the worship of the Yirgin and the saints, the 
 Christian faith and sacraments, and they assert them aU 
 to be only a shop of secular traffic, by means of which 
 money and power may be gotten by the clergy. 
 
 Still here are the elements of Eeformation. The know- 
 ledge of evil often prepares the way for the examination 
 of good. In the midst of much corruption there are not 
 a few hearts open to truth. Wherever a zealous and 
 pious missionary goes forth and preaches the pure truths 
 of the Gospel, his words are not unfruitful. One proof 
 of this may be seen in the various congregations of Vau- 
 dois in many cities of Italy. A Roman Catholic priest, 
 Don Ambrogio, having been instructed in the doctrines 
 of the Church of England, began to preach in the streets 
 of Italian cities, and to expose the corruptions of the 
 Church of Eome, and obtained much favour with the 
 public. The Eoman Catholic priesthood has succeeded 
 several times in having him arrested, tried, and con- 
 demned. The government itself at first lent its aid 
 against him; but his cause has been heard, and his 
 preaching has been declared to be not contrary to law. 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XIX 
 
 and be now continues his efforts with ever-increasing 
 popularity. 
 
 There seems to be wanting only an electric shock to 
 awaken the national mind ; and sufficient authority to 
 give a steady beginning to Eeformation, which may lead 
 back the Church of Italy to her primitive condition and 
 ancient order. 
 
 At first it seemed probable that Padre Passaglia had 
 the requisite qualities for such an enterprise : he wrote 
 and is still writing the Mediatore, a weekly, and La Pace, 
 a daily paper, directed against the temporal power of the 
 Pope. But he highly exalts the Pope's spiritual dominion. 
 The temporal power of the Papacy is maintained by the 
 spiritual; and they cannot exist asunder. Passaglia, 
 having been elected a deputy, endeavoured in Parlia- 
 ment to impose a restraint on the dominion of Eome, 
 by obliging the clergy to take an oath of allegiance 
 to the Crown, when invested with any ecclesiastical 
 office ^ 
 
 However great the corruptions of the Church of Eome 
 may be, it must be remembered, that many of the clergy 
 are desirous of reform. Indeed, for the most part, the 
 
 * This act of Passaglia entailed on him the loss of the 
 friendship and protection of the Marchese di Cavour, in 
 whose mansion he was living when visited by the author 
 of this Journal (Vol. ii. p. 257) ; but he was forced to 
 leave it in consequence of this measure against the Papacy, 
 which has a warm supporter in the present representative 
 of the house of Cavour. 
 
XX PREFACE 
 
 inferior clergy differ widely in their opinions from the 
 Hierarchy, and are often opposed to the Episcopate. 
 Many parish priests, professors, and other learned eccle- 
 siastics, who derive their knowledge from sacred Scripture 
 and Church history, are at variance with those Bishops 
 and Dignitaries who are deficient in such doctrine. Pas- 
 saglia placed himself at the head of this portion of the 
 clergy when he issued his famous Address to Pius IX., 
 which was signed by 9000 priests, who entreated the 
 Pope to renounce his temporal power. Passaglia, not 
 being supported by the Italian government, was unable 
 or unwilling to carry out his project, and abandoned it. 
 Otherwise it was in his power to have produced a schism, 
 of which the Court of Eome stands in great dread, and 
 now all the more because this religious division has begun 
 with the Church of MUan. 
 
 The clergy of that noble city has been long divided 
 into two sections ; the more intelligent among them pro- 
 claim a desire to return to the Ambrosian ritual and 
 principles. Their opponents are devoted to Eome 
 and her decrees, nor is a foreign yoke displeasing to 
 them. 
 
 The Church of Milan is now without an Archbishop, 
 and is governed by a Vicario Capitolare, Monsignore 
 Caccia, of a rich and noble Milanese family. Three 
 canonries at Milan in the royal presentation were lately 
 to be filled up. Victor Emmanuel nominated three very 
 worthy persons to these canonries ; the Yicario resisted, 
 and refused investiture to them. Pierce litigation has 
 ensued ; but the government has caused the revenues of 
 the canonries to be paid to its nominees. The case is 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXI 
 
 still pending. Such a question miglit have been carried 
 to desperate lengths, if Eome had not prudently curbed 
 the impetuosity of its own representative. At the last 
 national festival of the Statuto, or Italian constitution, 
 the Vicario ordered that the Te Deum should not be sung 
 in the cathedral, but the canons refused to obey him, and 
 they would have been suspended by him a divinis, if Eome 
 herself, reflecting on the schism which would infallibly 
 have ensued, had not prevented this act of ecclesiastical 
 discipline. Of the 498 parishes which are contained 
 in the province of Milan, 308 celebrated the Statuto on 
 the 7th of June last with religious ceremonies, notwith- 
 standing the prohibition of the Archbishop's representa- 
 tive, Monsignore Caccia. To gain a better understanding 
 of the questions by which the Church of Milan is now 
 agitated, it may be useful to consult a recently-published 
 work entitled, ^^ Le piagJie della CMesa di Milano,^^ "the 
 wounds of the Church of Milan." In it the reader is 
 made acquainted with the disputes and diflSculties which 
 now disturb it. And if matters proceed as they are now 
 doing, they must very soon come to a crisis. 
 
 Having mentioned the wounds of the Church, I am 
 reminded of the recent meeting of Cardinals and Bishops 
 at Trent in commemoration of the Tercentenary of the 
 Tridentine Council. Not much concord, it seems, pre- 
 vailed among these prelates ; and they abstained from 
 declaring the necessity of the Pope's temporal power as a 
 dogma of the Church. The people of Trent desired to show 
 what the needs of the Church really were, and despatched 
 to this Episcopal conclave a number of copies of Eos- 
 mini's "ie cing/ue piagJie della CMesa'''' for distribution 
 
XXll PREFACE 
 
 among the Cardinals and Bishops. But their wishes not 
 being fulfilled, the work was reprinted, and a copy was 
 sent by post to each member of the assembly. The 
 Archbishop of Trent, offended by such a procedure, pub- 
 lished, a few days since, a pastoral letter complain- 
 ing bitterly of it, and denouncing it as an insult to 
 such distinguished guests and high dignitaries of the 
 Church. 
 
 In the midst of such a conflict of opinions and of 
 worldly interests, Morals and Eeligion decline and decay 
 among us. 
 
 It was asserted in the sixteenth century that the Papal 
 power was most strenuously defended by the least virtuous 
 among the clergy. If a priest preaches up the glory of 
 the Vatican, and Papal Infallibility, and divinizes the 
 Eoman Pontiff, he may live almost as he lists, with im- 
 punity as far as the Papacy is concerned. In the month 
 of May last the public was scandalized by an exposure 
 of the profligacies perpetrated in the Collegia di S. Pri- 
 mitivo at Turin, by the Brothers of Christian Doctrine, 
 called Ignorantelli. The government inquired into the 
 charges brought against them, arrested the Provincial 
 and five of the Professors. The pupils, three hundred 
 in number, of the highest families of society, were sent 
 to their respective homes, and the college was closed. 
 The Provincial has been condemned to fifteen vears' im- 
 prisonment. The charges, which were too clearly proved, 
 are such as cannot be described. 
 
 The discovery of these flagrant enormities has produced 
 a deep impression not only at Turin, but in all Italy. 
 A similar exposure has been made in the seminary at 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. xxiii 
 
 Caserta. Another Gollegio has been closed at Turin ; 
 and the Brothers of Christian Doctrine have been ejected 
 from the schools of public instruction at Eavenna. 
 These and other evidences of the most abandoned pro- 
 fligacy have confirmed the public persuasion that the 
 Church of Eome is chargeable with great moral and 
 religious guilt in imposing celibacy on the clergy. 
 
 It may now be asked, are there not some means avail- 
 able for restoring the Gospel to Italy, and for bringing 
 about a Eeformation of the Roman Church ? And if so, 
 have these means been adopted ? 
 
 These two questions are hard to solve. 
 
 We see what results have been already obtained, and 
 we may thence draw some conclusions as to the future. 
 Any one who ventured to speak of religious Reformation 
 thirty years ago would have been denounced as a mad- 
 man, or perhaps imprisoned and punished as a criminal. 
 The very name of the Holy Bible was rarely pronounced 
 among the learned, and Evangelical Truth seemed like a 
 hateful thing. Now the aspect of things is changed. 
 The Bible is widely circulated ; the English Book of 
 Common Prayer, translated into Italian, is read and 
 cherished in many Italian households ; the words 
 " Church Reform " are in the mouths of all. It is de- 
 manded even by the Clergy themselves. The idolatries 
 introduced among devotees are comparatively rare among 
 the people. The Erench themselves, who overrun Italy 
 with their new reHgious Institutions, only find favour 
 with some of the ancient nobility, or with the Bishops 
 and higher Clergy, who hope to impede by their means 
 
XXIV PEEFACE 
 
 the progress of the spirit of the age, and bring it back to 
 mediaeval darkness. 
 
 But in order that we may make some advance towards 
 true religious reformation, the movements of the Italian 
 Evangelical Societies must be organized in such a manner 
 that they may not run counter to each other. The 
 Barhesi, the Vaudois, the FlymoutJiists, the AposfoUci, 
 and such like, being antagonistic to each other, will only 
 produce confusion. No other than an organized Epis- 
 copal Church can be constituted in Italy. No other 
 religious bodies are conformable with, or adapted to, the 
 national mind of Italy, 
 
 In this short historical sketch I have only adverted to 
 the Church of Northern Italy, but much might be said 
 concerning that of Central and Southern Italy. In 
 Elorence the Archbishop is hostile to the present Govern- 
 ment, and has recently refused investiture to Canonico 
 
 B , whom the King (in whose patronage it is) had 
 
 nominated to a mitred Canonry at San Lorenzo. 
 
 In Naples, the Archbishop having fled to Eome, the 
 disaffected Clergy are constantly showing their ill-will to 
 the Grovernment. 
 
 But in Tuscany the Gospel has begun to be preached 
 in the country, as well as in the cities ; and at Naples 
 the doctrines of the Eeformation are beginning to make 
 way even among the multitude. Some Associations of 
 Priests disposed for Eeformation were formed, but not 
 being supported by the Government, they were of short 
 duration. But let us wait with faith and patience, and 
 the Spirit of the Lord will diff"use itself more copiously, 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXV 
 
 and the Way of Truth, Salvation, and Peace may ere 
 long be opened to us. 
 
 I have not spoken here of the confusion reigning in the 
 various Dioceses of the Kingdom of Italy which are now 
 deprived of their Bishops. Many Bishops have died of 
 old age, and many have fled to Eome, and their flocks 
 being left without counsellor or guide, are a prey to the 
 strangest philosophical reveries, or the wildest and most 
 fanatical superstitions. This has no efi^ect on the mind 
 of the Pope and his conclave of Cardinals. Pirmly re- 
 solved not to recognize the King of Italy, the Pope 
 refuses to allow any of the King's appointments and 
 promotions to Episcopal or other dignities in the King- 
 dom of Italy ; and incites the Bishops and the Generals 
 of the Religious Orders to leave no means untried for 
 stirring up disaffection to the Crown. But these endea- 
 vours being made public have served to expose the true 
 character of the Papacy. According to the Fatria of 
 Naples, the Papal General of a Monastic Order has 
 dictated the following instructions to the heads of the 
 different families of his order. " Let persons be affiliated 
 to us from among both regular and secular Clergy. Let 
 every instrument be used, and let nothing remain un- 
 tried in the confessional, the pulpit, and at the altar, to 
 destroy this godless Government, whose only object is to 
 subvert the religion of our Fathers. Confession is a 
 most potent means for acquiring a knowledge of families. 
 Let the female heart be judiciously sounded, which either 
 from want of culture or from natural weakness, if great 
 discretion is used, will respond to the appeals of the 
 Church." 
 
 VOL. I. a 
 
XXVI PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 "When men of dignity, wisdom, and £aith are placed at 
 the head of the Italian Grovernment, and when pious, 
 learned and zealous Ecclesiastics, unfettered by oaths to 
 the Papacy, are promoted to the Episcopal Sees now 
 vacant in Italy, they will be enabled by the help of God 
 to give free course to the Gospel, and to bring back the 
 scattered sheep to the fold of Jesus Christ. 
 
The following Letter from an intelligent 
 English friend, who is intimately acquainted 
 with the present state of religion in Italy, did 
 not reach me till the Second Edition of the 
 " Tour in Italy " had passed through the 
 Press. It is too interesting a communication 
 to be withheld from public notice, and there- 
 fore, with the writer's kind permission, it is 
 inserted here. 
 
 C, W. 
 
 September 2, 1863. 
 
 Deae Canon "Woedswoeth, 
 
 Tou asked for some account of what I observed of 
 the progress of religious and educational movements 
 during our recent rambles in Italy. 
 
 First, I noticed, with great thankfulness, that our 
 friends amongst the liberal Priests, and others, with 
 whom I had become acquainted on former visits, were 
 gradually but decidedly advancing in their ideas respect- 
 ing the urgent need of Eeforms in the Church, and iu 
 a 2 
 
XXVlll PEEFACE 
 
 their desire to promote them. This I found to be the 
 case on revisiting Florence, Naples, and other places. 
 During this last winter we traversed Italy from Piedmont 
 to Sicily ; and I can testify that in the various provinces 
 of Northern, Central, and Southern Italy that we have 
 visited, I am personally acquainted with Priests and 
 Laymen who have expressed their conviction that such 
 Eeforms as the following ought to be carried out, viz.: — 
 
 (1.) Pull and free restoration of the Bible to all classes 
 of the Laity. 
 
 (2.) Hestoration of the Liturgy in the vernacular 
 tongue. 
 
 (3.) Abolition of the enforced Celibacy of the Priest- 
 hood. 
 
 (4.) Restoration of the ancient independent Diocesan 
 rights of the Bishops, in lieu of their present vassalage to 
 Rome ; also the rights of Clergy and Laity in Diocesan 
 Synods and general management of Church affairs. 
 
 Tou know how strongly and how well Perfetti has 
 spoken upon such points as these in "II Clero e laSocieta." 
 I am convinced from all I have seen during the last 
 three winters, that Perfetti has but expressed the feeling 
 of a large and growing number of Italians, specially 
 amongst the lower Clergy and intelligent Laymen, who 
 are alive to the necessity of such reforms as these, if the 
 Church is to be preserved in Italy, and Italy itself pre- 
 served from wide-spread unbelief. 
 
 In numerous instances these persons have manifested 
 remarkable readiness to receive sympathy and informa- 
 tion from members of the Church of England. They 
 have gladly accepted, and helped to circulate, copies of the 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Xxix 
 
 Italian Version of the Book of Common Prayer, with 
 other publications showing the real character of the Ee- 
 formed Episcopal Church, a subject on which a marvellous 
 amount of ignorance and misrepresentation has hitherto 
 existed in the minds of Italians, as well as other foreign 
 Roman Catholics. You are aware that through the aid 
 of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and 
 the Anglo- Continental Association for making known 
 the Principles of the English Church, considerable num- 
 bers of these publications have been circulated in Italy 
 during the last three years. During this last winter I 
 could not but feel thankful to see that the seed thus 
 sown was, in several instances, manifestly yielding good 
 fruit, — in increase of sympathy with the Eeformed Epis- 
 copal Church, in the removal of misapprehensions, and 
 ia the promotion of a desire for analogous Eeforms in 
 the Church in Italy. 
 
 I was also very thankful to witness the great readiness 
 with which many persons welcomed publications recalling 
 Italians to the remembrance, and need of resumption, 
 of the ancient and undoubted rights of the People, 
 Clergy, and Bishops, according to the laws and usages of 
 the Church in earlier ages in Italy. 
 
 This was the case, in a striking degree, with those 
 " Three Letters " you have reproduced at the end of your 
 " Journal," " on the present Conflict between the Court 
 of Rome and the Kingdom of Italy." 
 
 On one occasion I witnessed the keen appreciation of 
 
 these Letters by a knot of Ecclesiastics, who said, " This 
 
 is just the sort of seed that ought to be sown far and 
 
 wide through the country." In the course of a few days 
 
 a 8 
 
XXX PEEFACE 
 
 these same men spread several hundred copies amongst 
 the various Cathedral Dignitaries, Parochial Clergj, and 
 others, in their own diocese and neighbourhood, 
 
 I have also good reason to believe that these Letters 
 have made considerable impression on the minds of many 
 Laymen in injSaential positions in Turin and elsewhere. 
 
 Though published in Turin, I traced their influence 
 far away. One evening in Naples I chanced to be dining 
 at a table-d'hate alongside two Italian Cavalry OflScers. 
 After chatting on a variety of topics, our talk fell upon 
 Church matters. One said, "We should have had a 
 schism in Italy before this time if we were not so gene- 
 rally indifferent ; we have grown so disgusted with the 
 actual condition of the Church, that too many of us leave 
 religion to the Priests and Monks, and content our- 
 selves with thinking it enough to be a ' Galantuomo,' do 
 no harm to our neighbour, and do what little good and 
 charity we can, and there's an end of it." 
 
 The other spoke so clearly and strongly on the need of 
 Church Eeform, and returning to the ancient rights of 
 People and Clergy, that I was quite struck, and remarked 
 
 that he appeared to have studied such subjects carefully ; 
 
 he said he had lately fallen in with an " Opuscolo," pub- 
 
 lished in Turin, which so thoroughly expressed his own 
 
 ideas, that he could have fancied he had been writing it. 
 
 This " Opuscolo" proved to be those "Letters." 
 
 More than once in Naples, and in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Priests told me they had been spreading them amongst 
 
 their neighbours. 
 
 In Palermo I witnessed a striking scene, — an erratic 
 
 fiery "Son of Etna," as he called himself, one of the 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXXl 
 
 volunteer chaplains on Garibaldi's expedition, came to ask 
 if I could procure him copies of these Letters, — he had 
 read them with deep interest, and said he longed to 
 preach their ideas. He carried off all I could get him, 
 fifty or sixty copies, and distributed them amongst his 
 friends a few days before a great public meeting, at which 
 he was to be one of the speakers. The object of the 
 meeting was to express sympathy with Poland, but he 
 said he wished also to speak on the necessity of religious 
 Eeform, and return to primitive Catholicism, for the free- 
 dom and independence of Italy itself. The meeting was 
 held in the Church of the Dominicans, the largest public 
 building in the city. The monks told me they estimated 
 that 7000 persons were present. All classes came, and 
 nothing could exceed the good order in which all was 
 conducted ; but when our fiery friend, in no feeble terms, 
 contrasted Eome as she is, with what the Church of 
 E-ome was in her primitive purity, and with what she 
 ought to return to ; and again, when he dwelt upon the 
 urgent necessity of bringing back the Clergy to their 
 right position in society, and allowing them to fulfil 
 their duties as heads of families and loyal citizens, the 
 vehement applauses from all parts of this great gathering 
 completely drowned his voice. Now I am free to con- 
 fess I should pay but little heed to the individual opinion 
 and weight of this speaker ; but when I saw such a large 
 assembly eagerly drinking in and vehemently applauding 
 his words, I could not but feel that he was to a great ex- 
 tent their mouthpiece, and that there must be plenty of 
 soil ready to receive such seed. The Dominicans spoke 
 to me afterwards with great approval of this speech. 
 
 a 4 
 
XXXll PREFACE 
 
 Whilst in the South I received from a friend a copy 
 of some excellent Letters on the celibacy of the Clergy, 
 also published in Turin. I felt sure they would be gene- 
 rally appreciated, and wrote for a number, but found that 
 the impression was exhausted. It appeared that the 
 men and boys who cry journals for sale in the streets of 
 Turin had sold them very readily. The same was the 
 case, I believe, with other Letters on the restoration of 
 the Liturgy to the vernacular tongue, and the Cup to 
 the Laity. I understand that several thousand copies 
 of this series of Letters have been spread throughout 
 Italy during this last winter. 
 
 Whilst on this subject, I must not forget to add that 
 
 our excellent friend, Count T , has lately been actively 
 
 exerting himself in spreading tliroughout the Diocese of 
 Milan and adjacent dioceses, a telling brochure on the 
 ancient independence of the Churches of North Italy. 
 This has met with the reception he anticipated: much 
 commendation from his liberal readers amongst Priests 
 and People, mingled with scornful rejection of any idea 
 of return to such ancient independence on the part of the 
 Ultramontane party. Several of the Lombard journals 
 have favourably noticed the work, as also have Perfetti 
 and others at a distance. 
 
 In Sicily the peculiar privilege won from the Pope by 
 Eoger the Norman, whereby the Kings of Sicily have 
 continued to be the hereditary Legates Apostolic of the 
 Pope, with power of restricting all communications be- 
 tween Home and the Church in Sicily to the one channel 
 of the King's Ecclesiastical Vicar, so that no bull or re- 
 script can be published, or dispensation granted, without 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXXlll 
 
 the royal consent, has, I believe, certainly tended to keep 
 alive a somewhat greater spirit of independence of Rome 
 amongst the Sicilian clergy and people, than amongst 
 their brethren on the mainland. I heard Sicilians who 
 were far enough from sympathizing with the Bourbons, 
 yet give them credit for having withstood the urgent 
 solicitations of the present Pope, and his recent pre- 
 decessors, who appear to have been keenly anxious to in- 
 duce them to renounce this privilege. I was struck with 
 the way in which a Sicilian gentleman of high position, 
 taking a part in public affairs, spoke of hia belief that 
 the best thing for Italy, and the readiest solution of the 
 Eioman diflSculty would be, to do as we did, and throw 
 off dependence upon Eome. " All of us to become Pro- 
 testants," he said. 
 
 Another Layman, whose official position and personal 
 connexions give him good opportunities of knowing the 
 mind of Sicilians, said, " I can't tell how it may be on 
 the mainland, but I feel convinced that Sicily wiU be- 
 come Protestant." An English friend who has resided 
 several years in Sicily told me that he found much libe- 
 rality of thought amongst some of the Priests with whom 
 he came in contact, and that he found them ahead of the 
 people in their ideas of the necessity of religious reforms. 
 So far as my personal observation went, this was fully 
 confirmed, for I have nowhere come in contact with 
 Priests more thoroughly disposed to adopt such reforms 
 as those mentioned in the beginning of this letter, than 
 some Priests I met in Sicily. Several of these men were 
 engaged in important positions in public education. 
 
 In Sicily, as in the rest of Italy, colporteurs are now 
 a 5 
 
XXXIV PREFACE 
 
 openly employed in the sale of Bibles and religious books. 
 In the country, the general ignorance of the population, 
 scarcely any of whom can read, would preclude much 
 demand ; but in the principal towns — Palermo, Messina, 
 and Catania— I understood there was a fair demand. 
 One young colporteur, who was visiting those places 
 whilst I was in the country, told me that in fiye weeks 
 he sold 120 Bibles — all he had — with a fair number of 
 other religious books ; including several copies of Jewell's 
 "Apology" and Bishop Bull's "Corruptions of Eome;" 
 which have also found a ready sale in Naples. He could 
 have sold more Bibles if he had had them : many he sold 
 in the caffes. I did not learn that any attempts had been 
 made in Sicily to form Protestant congregations, except 
 in Palermo, where the Vaudois have made a beginning 
 with some effect. The liberal feeling of the Sicilian 
 Clergy was shown in their general sympathy with 
 Graribaldi's expedition, and adherence to the new order 
 of things. This seems to have induced the Grovernment 
 to defer interference with the Church property in the 
 island. The suppression of Monasteries had not com- 
 menced in Sicily, though it was very shortly expected. 
 " We feel our life is very short," said a Benedictine to 
 me, on visiting his convent, one of the finest in the 
 country ; " and so, as you may see, we don't take any 
 pains to repair our buildings, — for we know we may any 
 day expect orders from the Government to turn out." 
 
 These Benedictines did not appear to share in the 
 literary pursuits which have so nobly distinguished their 
 brethren of Monte Cassino. So far as I could gather, 
 the suppression of Monasteries would meet with little or 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXXV 
 
 no objection. There is more feeling in favour of some 
 of the convents of Nuns, as well as of some of those of 
 the Mendicant orders. 
 
 On returning to Naples, I was struck with the eager 
 interest in Bible-reading which had recently sprung up 
 in the island of Ischia. Some visitors in the island had 
 found a noticeable disposition among the people to re- 
 ceive copies of the Scriptures, and inquire into their 
 contents. This received a great impulse, one day, in an 
 unexpected manner. Many, who take an interest in the 
 religious condition of Italy, will recognize, without my 
 naming him, an old English gentleman, whose venerable 
 appearance and aiFectionate warmth of manner carry his 
 simple words with great force to the hearts of all who 
 come across him, and convince them of his single-hearted; 
 loving earnestness. He generally carries his Italian 
 Bible in his pocket, and avails himself of any opportunity 
 for winning attention to some simple message from Grod's 
 Word, though he will never enter into controversy. 
 Whilst he was spending a few days with some conva- 
 lescent relatives on the island, they went to visit a private 
 chapel in the palazzo of one of the principal inhabitants. 
 This chapel contains a very beautiful group of sculpture. 
 The subject is a Scriptural one. They were very cour- 
 teously received by the family ; some members of which 
 had previously shown themselves favourably disposed to 
 inquire about the Scriptures. Whilst admiring the 
 group of sculpture, the old gentleman took out his 
 Bible, merely to read out the passage explanatory of it. 
 As he was reading, several friends and neighbours of the 
 family dropped in. His first thought was that they 
 a 6 
 
XXXVl PREFACE 
 
 probably would not be pleased at finding bim tbus en- 
 gaged, and that be bad better stop ; but, reflecting that 
 be waa simply reading God's Word, without any addi- 
 tions of bis own, or any thing likely to wound their 
 feelings by attacking them, be finished. The new 
 comers, and all present, listened very attentively, and, as 
 soon as be bad done, earnestly begged him to come again 
 and read and explain to them. 
 
 ""We have never bad this book," they said, "and 
 have never listened to it so reverently read in our own 
 tongue ; and we feel it is what we have great need of." 
 He demurred, however, to their request ; for be bad 
 arranged to return to Naples, and felt that probably 
 their wish was a passing one, and by no means felt clear 
 that it would be desirable for him to act upon it, so he 
 left without any promise to return : but a few days 
 afterwards he saw some of the party again, and they so 
 earnestly pressed him to come and read with them again 
 that he no longer felt it right to refuse, so he agreed to 
 meet them the next day, Sunday afternoon. On arriving 
 at the house, he found a little assembly of relatives and 
 
 ends, and, after the usual greetings, asked, " Shall we 
 have our reading here?" — in the room in which they 
 received him. " Oh, no ! " they said ; " we've got the 
 chapel ready ; come up to that." So up they went, and 
 found seats arranged. He said his first impulse was to 
 thank God for having put into their hearts the desire to 
 bear His Word. He then read some portion, talked 
 simply to them upon it, and prayed with them. They 
 were greatly impressed, and sent off to Naples to procure 
 Bibles for themselves. The feeling spread amongst the 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXXvii 
 
 neighbours, and fresh, supplies of Bibles were procured. 
 The Priests took up the matter, and preached vigorously 
 against "the heretical movement ;" but this only helped 
 on the spirit of inquiry. Animated discussions took place 
 in various houses — sometimes with visitors in the streets 
 — and a general interest was roused through the island. 
 Here also, as elsewhere, the conviction that the countries 
 in which the Bible has free course are also the countries 
 of most freedom, worked in many minds and helped on 
 the movement. 
 
 The winter before last I witnessed, in Naples, another 
 striking instance of the eager interest in Bible-reading 
 which is not unfrequently felt, for a time at all events, 
 amongst those who have been debarred from the free use 
 of the Word of God. PubHc conferences were held, on 
 two evenings in the week, in the refectory of an old 
 convent, which at that time was occupied as a day school 
 for the boys of the " Free Evangelical " converts from 
 Eome, and also as a night school for adults, on four 
 evenings in the week ; Public "Worship being held in it 
 on Sundays. This room would hold 250 men, when 
 closely filled. It was crowded during these conferences, 
 which were ably presided over by an advocate — Signer 
 Albarella — now holding an important post under Govern- 
 ment at Campobasso. Subjects for discussion were an- 
 nounced, and the attendance of Priests specially desired. 
 The first subject was, " Does the Bible, or does it not, 
 condemn the worship of Images and Pictures?" Tou 
 know the degree to which the use of images and pictures 
 prevails in Neapolitan churches. The discussion con- 
 tinued for four or five weeks. A Priest entered heartily 
 
XXXVlll PREFACE 
 
 into it, and stated, with, great moderation, the views of 
 the Church of Eome. At the conclusion, the President 
 ably summed up the arguments brought forward on both 
 sides, and then called on the assembly to declare their 
 opinion by a show of hands. Pour or five only sided 
 with the Priest ; all the rest voted that the Bible clearly 
 condemned the practice. I need not add that aU these 
 men are lost to Eome. The next subject brought for- 
 ward was the Eomish doctrine of the " Eeal Presence in 
 the Lord's Supper." It was impossible not to feel 
 carried back to the keen discussions that we read of as 
 agitating our own country during the Eeformation 
 struggles, as one looked round on this crowded gathering 
 of men of all ranks and classes, and watched the earnest, 
 eager manner in which they listened— Bible in hand, 
 many of them — to the various speakers, as these rose 
 from different parts of the room, to read and comment on 
 the passages, bearing on different phases of the subject, 
 which they had evidently been carefully studying at 
 home. I was immensely struck with the acuteness — 
 metaphysical subtlety I may almost call it— of the argu- 
 ments of many of these men. They appeared to me to 
 possess a singularly keen logical power of penetrating 
 and sifting a subject; greater, I thought, than would 
 usually be shown in popular discussions amongst our- 
 selves. This was combined, of course, with the fervency 
 of expression inherent in their southern temperaments. 
 They spoke with great warmth occasionally, though all 
 was conducted with the utmost good order and decorum. 
 At times, in discussing the physical consequences flowing 
 from Eome's dogma of the corporeal presence (viz. in 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXXIX 
 
 connexion with the reception and digestion of the ma- 
 terial Bodj and Blood), expressions were used which 
 were jarring and painful ; but it was impossible not to 
 feel that these were but the inevitable results of re-action 
 from Eome's unhappy attempt to push her definitions 
 beyond the warranty of Scripture. I left Naples before 
 that course was concluded, but I shall not soon lose the 
 impression these scenes made on me. Here were men 
 gathered from every rank of life — workmen, shopkeepers, 
 professional men, officers, &c. — (I remember one captain, 
 in fuU uniform, speaking with great force) — all coming, 
 with the Bible in their hands, and showing unflagging 
 interest in these discussions for three hours at a time ; 
 yet only two years before scarcely one of these men 
 could or would have dared to read the Bible openly ; in 
 fact, could not have done it without risk of imprisonment. 
 Now one saw the strength of the under-current of doubt 
 as to Eome's claims and teaching, which broke out as 
 soon as the double pressure she had so skilfully wielded 
 in Church and State was in a measure removed. Some- 
 times these scenes reminded one of St. Paul's work in 
 Corinth, when he " separated the disciples, disputing 
 daily in the school " with them ; and though far from 
 wishing to push such a parallel too far, I could not but 
 feel deeply thankful that, in one respect, a similar result 
 was following, viz. that many in that region " heard the 
 "Word of the Lord Jesus." These discussions laid the 
 foundation of a regular congregation, now under charge 
 of an able Yaudois Pastor — Signer Appia. There is also 
 a smaller congregation, under the care of Marchese Cresi. 
 On last Easter Day, I understood that 160 adults from 
 
I 
 
 xl preface" 
 
 tliese congregations joined together in the celebration of 
 the Holy Communion. I have sometimes asked Eoman 
 Catholic Priests, in Italy, why they do not meet these 
 movements by coming forward themselves, taking in 
 hand the Bible in the vernacular, and inviting their 
 people to meet them in Bible classes, or otherwise, for 
 friendly conference and instruction; thus taking the 
 wind out of their opponents' sails by showing that they 
 themselves have no dread of full and free Scriptural 
 inquiry to test their system. I have never found any 
 one who felt that this could be compatible with their 
 existing system. One earnest Parish Priest expressed 
 what, I believe, many feel, when he said to me, " I must 
 own that the Court of Eome" — he gravely corrected 
 himself and said, " I must own the Church of Eome has 
 too long kept the Bible out of the hands of the people, 
 for fear they should have the means of judging whether 
 we Priests walk in the right path or not." I saw, 
 just now, that a French correspondent of the " Journal 
 des Debats " mentioned the starting of a new journal, 
 " The Conscience," in Naples, for fall discussion of reli- 
 gious topics. He bemoans the inability or unwillingness 
 of the Clergy to take their part, and show that " Catholi- 
 cism" ought to gain by free inquiry, but says that the 
 present bearing of the Priests is tending to alienate 
 people from the Church rather than conciliate to it. 
 
 It is sometimes said on behalf of Eome that she shows 
 no dread of the Bible, because she entrusts it to her 
 most carefully trained and learned members — those, there- 
 fore, who are specially capable of effectively testing her 
 by it, and wielding it against her ; but ought it not to 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. xli 
 
 be added that these are precisely the men who have 
 previously undergone the longest and most careful 
 training of implicit subjection to her ; whose minds have 
 been moulded in her Ecclesiastical seminaries, and their 
 necks bowed under her yoke, for many long years before 
 they are entrusted with the Bible ? — so that, generally 
 speaking, they come to its perusal and study with the 
 deeply-rooted conviction that any thing they gather from 
 it must be erroneous and dangerous, if not completely in 
 accordance with her ruled interpretation ? I have been 
 constantly assured by Italian Priests that, as a rule, in 
 their Episcopal seminaries students rarely possess a copy 
 of the Scriptures ; and that their knowledge of them 
 (exclusive of the portions recited in Church Offices) is 
 generally confined to such passages as are adduced in 
 theological lectures, until after they are ordained Priests. 
 As a fact, I know that some of the most effective " Free 
 Evangelical" preachers in Italy are men who have been 
 led out of Eome by careful study of the Bible, after 
 having been ordained Priests, and even placed in charge 
 of parishes. 
 
 I am far from desiring to lay undue stress on the effi- 
 cacy of Bible-reading apart from living teaching ; but no 
 one who knows what has been the effect of earnest Bible- 
 reading in the case of individuals in Italy, who had pre- 
 viously been debarred from it, can help feeling deeply 
 thankful for the undoubted blessing that, in many cases, 
 has attended it. 
 
 An English gentleman, a large employer of Italian 
 labour, having some hundreds of men at work under him, 
 
xlii PREFACE 
 
 told me that in his neighbourhood a movement had been 
 going on, meetings of very simple character for Bible- 
 reading and prayer were held ; no regular preacher was 
 settled there ; and my friend did not feel it his duty to 
 take any part in the proceedings, but, he said, " I have 
 no need to ask which of my men have become interested 
 in this movement, for I can now always tell them, — they 
 are more thoughtful, steady, and trusty in every way 
 than they were before. Their organization and system 
 seems very feeble, but they appear to be men who have 
 learned to value God's word, and to be honestly and ear- 
 nestly trying to guide their lives by it." 
 
 I could give you similar instances of persons whose 
 hearts have been touched, and their lives influenced, in 
 the same way. I think you know Professor Vincenzo 
 Botta, whose able "Discourse on Count Cavour " you 
 have quoted (Journal of Tour in Italy, vol. ii. p. 271). 
 I had the pleasure of meeting him again in Naples, and 
 was much struck with his impression of the readiness of 
 the educated classes in Naples to interest themselves in 
 the religious and moral questions now affecting the future 
 of the country. He said, " In the other great cities of 
 Italy, I have found men engaged in public affairs, and 
 others, ready enough to take keen interest in political and 
 jfinancial questions, and in all that touches the political 
 and material progress of the country; but when one 
 touched upon moral and religious aspects of the progress 
 of Italy, they generally put these topics quickly aside, 
 and seemed little disposed to trouble themselves about 
 them in the present crisis. In Naples, on the contrary. 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. xliii 
 
 I have found discussion of such topics gladly welcomed 
 and keenly appreciated K" Professor Botta drew my at- 
 tention to some able articles in the "Eivista Napoli- 
 tana," on the relations between Church and State. These 
 showed the difficulties in the way of working out Cavour's 
 famous saying, "Libera Chiesa in Libero State," if the 
 GhurcJi of Borne, as she is, should be allowed unlimited 
 freedom in the State. This " Eivista " is a new Literary, 
 Scientific, and Political publication, coming out three times 
 a month. The Editor is a man of high repute for ability 
 and attainments. These articles were written in a thought- 
 ful, calm tone and style, entirely free from the personal 
 bitterness which, unfortunately, too often marks Italian 
 journals. 
 
 I was sorry to find that a variety of circumstances had 
 concurred to throw the working of the Neapolitan " Cle- 
 rico-Liberal Association " into abeyance for some months 
 past. The death of Monsignor Caputo, the Bishop who was 
 their head, was a great loss ; his position as Eoyal Chap- 
 lain-General of the old Kingdom of Naples gave him 
 special facilities for opening important Churches to some 
 of the members to preach in ^. The denunciation of their 
 
 ^ Professor Botta is a Piedmontese, and was formerly a 
 Professor of Philosophy in the University of Turin ; he 
 has worked as a Professor several years in New Tork, 
 and revisited Italy last winter, expressly to inform him- 
 self of the present changed condition of aifairs, specially 
 as bearing on Education and Eeligion. 
 
 ^ A letter from an Italian friend — received while these 
 sheets are going through the press — says, " The Cardinal 
 
1 
 
 xliv PEEFACE 
 
 journal, the " Colonna di Fuoco," by sixty-eight Neapo- 
 litan Bishops, who threatened suspension to Priests, and 
 refusal of Christian Burial to all who abetted it, though 
 a striking proof that the influence of the Journal and 
 Association had not been unfelt, yet naturally told upon 
 many of the poorer Priests, whose daily bread so literally 
 depends upon their Bishops' word. There is also too 
 much reason to fear that, in addition to open war made 
 upon them by Rome, attempts were made by secret emis- 
 saries to introduce discord and jealousies amongst the 
 members ; recriminations have taken place respecting the 
 management and accounts of the society, and the whole 
 result has been to put a stop to their Journal and united 
 action for some time. Meanwhile, however, the original 
 spirit that prompted them is far from having died out, 
 and is showing itself in various ways. One section has 
 started a fresh Journal, the " Emancipatore Cattolico," in 
 some features rather in advance of the " Colonna ;" others 
 are prepared for still farther forward movement, whilst 
 many of the members are just now engaged in re-organiz- 
 ing the association, and hoping to reproduce their Journal. 
 Some have joined Passaglia, who, as you are aware, is 
 trying to form one Libero- Clerical Association for the 
 
 Archbishop of Naples, a refugee in Eome, has excom- 
 municated and interdicted five churches in Naples offi- 
 ciated in by the Liberal Priests, and under the protection 
 of the Government. The decree of this furious Prelate 
 has not been cared for. The services in these churches 
 continue as usual." 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. xlv 
 
 whole of Italy. The old jealousies between North and 
 South, which break out in Politics, are, however, not 
 absent from Ecclesiastical minds, so that it is not easy 
 for Passaglia to weld all together. It is, moreover, an 
 undoubted fact that many of the 9000 who gladly joined 
 in his famous petition to the Pope for abandonment of 
 the temporal power, are by no means disposed to stop 
 short at that point, but are fully alive to the necessity of 
 its being followed by extensive reforms, such as the four 
 points I have mentioned. 
 
 "Whilst staying in the neighbourhood of Naples, a good 
 Parish Priest (one of the most earnest members of the 
 Clerico-Liberal Association) came to stay with us. We 
 had visited him and his family at their own home last 
 year, and had met with a most friendly welcome. We 
 then found him hard at work in his parish, in a large 
 country town. He was gathering his people every even- 
 ing for a course of Lenten Sermons, and was thoroughly 
 desirous for the restoration of the Bible to his people. 
 He was greatly interested in our Prayer Book, and in 
 Jewell's Apology (the Latin Edition has frequently told 
 well upon Priests), and also in some of your arguments 
 in "Theophilus Anglicanus," proving that the Church of 
 England was originally independent of Eome. This year 
 I was thankful to find in his case, as in others, that in- 
 creased knowledge of the real character of the Reformed 
 Episcopal Church, manifestly led to increased sympathy 
 with us and desire for analogous reforms in the Church 
 in Italy. He was thoroughly of accord with some of his 
 brethren, who were desirous to promote such reforms as 
 the four points mentioned in the beginning of this letter. 
 
1 
 
 xlvi PREFACE 
 
 He gladly joined with us in short morning and evening 
 prayers, in which the Italian version of our Prayer Book 
 happily enabled us to unite, reading, alternately, the 
 Psalms for the day, with a Lesson, and a portion of the 
 prayers. He said afterwards, " If we could but have our 
 Church services in our own tongue, and could have this 
 intelligible reading of the Psalms by Priests and people ; 
 and the Scriptures read out in our own tongue, in the 
 reverent way that seems habitual to English Church- 
 people, the face of things would be wholly changed in 
 our churches. Now, unhappily, our people too often 
 come in and out, chatting and laughing, not heeding the 
 service, and when we complain they say, * It's in Latin, 
 and we can't understand.' " He had been reading with 
 much interest the "Three Letters," and had been quietly 
 spreading copies in his own neighbourhood. One of his 
 recent sermons to his people had been on the observance 
 of Sunday in England; he had given them a sketch, 
 something like that graphic description by a French 
 Abbe, of Sunday in London, and then appealed to them, 
 "These are the people we call heretics, and out of the 
 pale of the Church. "Would it not be well if we were 
 good Catholics enough to be more like them in this 
 practice at all events?" He had taken part in Clerical 
 Education in more than one Episcopal Seminary, and we 
 found him engaged last year in teaching one or two 
 Students for the Priesthood. Like Passaglia, Perfetti, 
 and the generality of Liberal Priests I have met with, he 
 bemoaned the low standard of instruction for Priests in 
 those seminaries. He confirmed what I had before 
 gathered, that in the seminaries of Southern Italy if a 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. xlvii 
 
 student was known to possess a copy of Dante he was 
 immediately expelled. Gioberti's works naturally were 
 held in still greater dread. He mentioned, as a proof of 
 the determined opposition of the Bishops to the present 
 regime, as well as a proof of their increasing departure 
 from the ancient usages of the Church, regarding the 
 independent rights of the second order of the ministry, 
 that lately some of the Bishops in that neighbour- 
 hood have begun to exact a new oath from candidates 
 for the Priesthood. It is a secret oatTi, but it is to the 
 effect that the Priests who take it will report directly 
 to the Bishop all they do, and will perform none of their 
 functions except in accordance with his direct injunctions, 
 thus entirely breaking the ordinary relation between a 
 Parish Priest and his Curates, as we should call his 
 assistant Priests. He himself had just experienced the 
 effect of this oath in the case of a newly-ordained Priest, 
 who was residing in his parish. He had requested this 
 young man to help him in the annual benediction of the 
 parishioners' houses, which he gladly did; but in one 
 street he sent him into stood the guard-room of the 
 national guard of the town. The young Priest said he 
 could not bless that guard-room ; and when pressed to 
 give his reason, said that he was not at liberty to do it ; 
 that he had taken an oath, newly imposed by the Bishop, 
 and was bound to do nothing against his injunctions, 
 and must report to him all he did, and that giving 
 benediction to the national guard-house would be con- 
 trary to the injunctions he had received. What would 
 St. Peter and St. Paul have said to such a Bishop's 
 injunctions ? And what can Italian laymen, longing 
 
xlviii PEEFACE 
 
 for the freedom and unity of their country, think of 
 the claims of such ecclesiastics ? 
 
 Tou are, no doubt, well acquainted with the rich 
 stores of the famous library of the Benedictine Convent 
 of La Cava, between Naples and Salerno. One of the 
 Fathers, who was kindly accompanying me through this 
 Library, testified to the compulsory low standard of 
 clerical education under the Bourbon regime. The 
 present Abbot of that convent is also a Bishop, and has 
 his diocesan seminary, numbering thirty or forty stu- 
 dents, attached to the convent. I asked whether these 
 students would be taught to read the Greek Testament, 
 thinking that their position was an unusually favourable 
 one. The Father replied, " Tou will, perhaps, hardly 
 credit the restriction as regards education to which we 
 were subjected under the late regime ; but we were 
 stringently proMhited from teaching Greek to these 
 students. Now," he added, " we are free ; and I hope 
 that instruction will accordingly be improved, and that 
 these youngsters will know the Greek Testament." 
 Tet, be it remembered, that it was the Bourbon regime 
 with which Eome pulled hand in hand, and that, as is 
 notorious, she now looks with no very kindly eye upon 
 the Benedictines of Monte Cassino and their brethren 
 like-minded elsewhere. As a proof that there is great 
 ignorance prevailing respecting our own Church and 
 Liturgy, even amongst those whom we should expect to 
 be best informed, I may add that, on looking round this 
 Library, I noticed one shelf devoted to liturgies. " Tou 
 probably have our Anglican Liturgy there?" I remarked 
 to my companion. "No," he said, "we have not." 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. xHx 
 
 ** I rather wonder you have not a copy," I replied, " as 
 I've found it in several languages in the Library of the 
 Jesuits' College, Eome." "I'm sure we have not got 
 it," he said. " I've never seen it," He went on to say, 
 "I think the English Church has retained one fast- 
 day; only one. Good Friday, I believe, you observe?" 
 I said, " Yes, we do ; and also the forty days of Lent 
 (through which we were then passing), as well as the 
 other great fasts and festivals of the Christian year." 
 I explained that our branch of the Church does not, 
 like Eome, lay down specific rules for abstinence from 
 certain articles of food on fast-days, nor grant in- 
 dulgences for them, but contents herself with generally 
 enjoining on her members the duty, inviting them to 
 seek from Him, " who for our sakes fasted forty days," 
 "grace to use such abstinence, that our flesh being 
 subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey His godly 
 motions in righteousness and true holiness." I went on 
 to explain to him some of the main features of our 
 system as set forth in the Prayer Book. He said, " I 
 should very much like to see that book for information ; 
 it is quite unknown to me." On further conversation, 
 I found him keenly alive to Passaglia's movements, 
 reading the " Mediatore " with much interest, and fully 
 convinced that the changed political condition of the 
 country must involve great corresponding changes in 
 the relations between Church and State. I was glad 
 afterwards to be able to send him an Italian copy of 
 the Prayer Book, and also a French copy of your 
 "Theophilus Anglicanus." 
 An excellent English clergyman, a friend of ours, was 
 VOL. I. b 
 
1 
 
 1 PEEFACE 
 
 spending a few days last Lent with the Benedictines of 
 Monte Cassino : he found several of the Fathers in- 
 terested about our Prayer Book ; they came more than 
 once to his room to talk with him about it ; and, at 
 their request, he left his Italian copy with them. One 
 day he asked one of these good men, " Do you think 
 that your and our branches of the Church will ever be 
 re-united?" " Tes, I do," replied the Benedictine, 
 " though neither you nor I wiU live to see that day ; 
 but," he added, " meantime rememher that what you of 
 the Church of England can lest do to promote re-union 
 of the Church is, not to join us, iut help us in owr 
 attempts to purify ourselves^ 
 
 It is sad to see how far even members of this famous 
 brotherhood will go in practically promoting the sub- 
 stitution of the Virgin in place of her Divine Son in 
 books of popular devotion ! I send you a specimen, — 
 " The Psaltery of Mary," third edition, by D. Luigi 
 Tosti, of Monte Cassino, — he is a well-known writer of 
 popular works of devotion. Turn to Salmo xxiii., — the 
 Virgin as "The Eefuge of Sinners," — and notice the 
 way in which he has not scrupled to employ the parable 
 of the Prodigal Son, after the words, " I will arise, and 
 go to my father," &c., interpolating three pages, de- 
 scribing the penitent beseeching the Virgin to entreat 
 his father on his behalf, till he comes to, " My father 
 saw me afar off, full of compassion, because Mary had 
 told him of me, and his (in Italian it may be her) word 
 was of pardon and peace ;" then, after finishing the 
 parable, though not quite literally, he concludes, " But 
 in thy bosom, O Mary, I hid the memory of my sin, the 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. li 
 
 flower of my repentance." The book appropriately ends 
 with the "Te Deum Mariano," than which a more sad- 
 dening parody upon the noblest hymn of the Christian 
 Church cannot well be conceived. 
 
 Can you find space to set some portions before your 
 readers ? Can the " destructive tendencies of the Church 
 of Eome" be more clearly shown than in such grievous 
 substitutions for the holiest teachings of our blessed 
 Lord Himself, and of His saints in early ages of His 
 Church ? Can we say that they, who in E,ome now 
 claim to sit in the seats of St. Peter and St. Paul, are 
 the successors of these Apostles in enjoining, as St. 
 Peter did (1 Pet. ii. 2), the little ones of Christ's flock 
 to " desire the sincere milk of the Word," that they " may 
 grow thereby?" And can they declare with St. Paul 
 (2 Cor. iv. 2) that they themselves " have renounced the 
 hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, 
 nor Jiandling the Word of God deceitfully 7''^ Tet, un- 
 happily, now in Italy, Episcopal writers are not wanting 
 who even outdo their Priests in thus feeding their flocks 
 with similar doctrine. Tou will, I doubt not, show how 
 the Bishop of Mondovi, in the recent publication of his 
 " Eing," scruples not to call the Virgin Mother of our 
 blessed Lord the " Co-Eedeemer," and, with a caution 
 worthy of the times of Tetzel, bids the traffickers in the 
 gold, silver, and copper rings, which accompany his 
 book, content themselves with " a discreet profit," in 
 order that the annexed indulgences may be the more 
 widely spread. Tet this is no unknown Bishop, but 
 (as you will see by another of his books I forward) one 
 of the foremost champions of the temporal power, and 
 
 b 2 
 
1 
 
 Hi PREFACE 
 
 honoured with the autograph approbation of the Pope 
 himself. Indeed, the " Eings," both material and meta- 
 phorical, were brought out for the edification of the 
 faithful on occasion of a special "Mission," undertaken 
 (at the Pope's request, it is understood) by the Bishop, 
 to the Pope's native city, Sinigaglia, and the profits 
 from the sale of them go to help to support the Episcopal 
 Seminary of Mondovi ! Can we wonder that Perfetti (" II 
 Clero e la Societa," p. 19), speaking of such books of 
 popular devotion, should exclaim, "To what exorbitant 
 lengths does the trifling of divers Prelates run! To 
 blasphemies, one would have to say, if there were not the 
 excuse of ignorance. Who can suppose that (books like) 
 these can be good instruments for making true conver- 
 sions, and for withdrawing the world from its indif- 
 ference ? " Or, again, that Passaglia's journal, " La Pace," 
 severely exposing this very "Eing" of the Bishop of 
 Mondovi, should conclude, " Whoever wishes to see of 
 what the blind fanaticism of the Clericals is capable, and 
 to what these vilest traffickers have reduced the religion 
 of Christ, let him spend fifteen centesimi, and he will be 
 able to assure himself with his own eyes?" I forward 
 you the "La Pace" containing this article, and also 
 happily containing a striking notice of the Bishop of 
 Cremona, a worthy contrast to his brother of Mondovi. 
 This noble-hearted Bishop, having been forbidden by 
 Eome to unite with his clergy and people in religiously 
 celebrating the national fete for the unity of the king- 
 dom, obeyed his ecclesiastical superior by abstaining, but 
 obeyed the loyal impulses of his own conscience also, by 
 placing in the Pope's hands the resignation of his Diocese 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. liii 
 
 the day after. Would not a few such men, supported as 
 they ought to be by the Government, speedily bring about 
 a solution of the present antagonism between Church and 
 State? 
 
 On returning northward, through Perugia, I had the 
 pleasure of meeting with Perfetti, who is now engaged 
 as Professor of Italian Literature in the University of 
 Perugia. He expressed his earnest desire to unite with 
 others of his countrymen in the promotion of the Eeforms 
 he has so graphically described (II Clero e la Societa) as 
 pressing, including the four points mentioned above. 
 He drew a sad and gloomy picture of the religious con- 
 dition of his country ; his great fear is that the present 
 wide- spread indifference, and disgust at Eome, will end 
 in a great falling away from Christian faith. He said, 
 " If I could see my countrymen, in large masses, earnestly 
 embracing any form of Protestantism, I could feel thank- 
 ful, for I should have faith that the organic Church 
 would eventually re-absorb what was true and vital ; but 
 it is their falling away altogether from Christian faith 
 that I see is the great danger." I spoke of that passage 
 in "II Clero e la Societa" (pp. 16 — 18), in which he 
 has given such a touching description of the " faithful 
 souls, religious and devout souls, hearts whose life is 
 Christ," whom he thanks Grod that He had made him 
 worthy to know, as a proof that there was good ground 
 for hope and encouragement amid much that was dark 
 and disheartening. He burst into tears, and exclaimed, 
 " Alas ! few of these were my own countrymen ; they 
 were almost all strangers and foreigners, with whom I 
 was brought into contact, from time to time, during my 
 
 b 3 
 
liv PEEFACE 
 
 twenty years' life and work in Eome." 1 know that 
 many good people have a notion that Italian liberal 
 Priests, disposed to Eeform, are mainly influenced by 
 political ambition. If you had space to give that passage 
 of Perfetti's, it might, I think, show that that notion is a 
 mistaken one, at least in some cases. I will only venture 
 to give the conclusion of the passage. 
 
 " I have demanded," he says, " of all these Christians 
 to whom things seen and touched were but as a shadow, 
 these Christians who felt in the life that declineth the 
 abiding life within, I have demanded of them the way by 
 which they were come to Jesus Christ and to peace. 
 Some have pointed me to the Bible ; some have spoken to 
 me of the tradition consigned in the writings of the 
 Fathers ; some have shown me the heaven above ; some 
 have repeated to me, like the mystic in his simplicity, 
 Via Crucis via Lims ; but hardly one has pointed me to 
 the Priest ; or this Priest himself had come to the truth 
 through those very same ways. The official Clergy, the 
 high Clergy, had had none but a very small part, an in- 
 significant part in these conversions truly supernatural, 
 in these conversions that cannot be explained without 
 recurring to the grace of God. This," he adds, " is a most 
 grave fact ; the Priest now no more converts. I speak 
 of conversions serious and sincere, of manly conversions, 
 such as those that St. Paul and St. John wrought." 
 
 I will only add that his long interview with me eon- 
 firmed my impression that his heart was as thoroughly in 
 earnest as that passage had led me to expect. 
 
 In Siena I met with the learned Dominican Grirolamo 
 Bobone, formerly Professor of Dogmatic Theology in the 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Iv 
 
 Eoman Archigymnasium, now holding the chair of Sacred 
 Scripture and of Hebrew in the University of Siena. He 
 has, however, laid aside his monastic habit, and is living 
 in quiet retirement as a layman. And why ? because he 
 has been suspended from officiating as a Priest by the 
 Archbishop of Siena, and obliged to leave his convent, 
 simply and solely for having written to Passaglia a Latin 
 Letter couched in most moderate terms, but containing 
 "urgent reasons in favour of the Italian cause;" these 
 reasons being entirely founded upon, and in great part a 
 simple transcript of, the words of St. Bernard and of the 
 Cardinal-Legate, President of the Council of Basle, to 
 the effect that the Pope ought to resign his temporal 
 power and grandeur rather than risk the loss of souls for 
 whom Christ died, and whose salvation was the sole 
 object of the appointment of the Christian ministry. The 
 letter concludes by earnestly but most respectfully pray- 
 ing that the Pope will take heed to the serious dangers 
 that are now besetting the Church in Italy. A Parish 
 Priest close to Siena, who translated this letter, was also 
 proceeded against by the Archbishop. I am sorry not to 
 have my copy at hand to forward you. 
 
 Bobone spoke strongly of the ignorance and supersti- 
 tion prevalent amongst the masses of his countrymen, 
 and of the need of reforming and purifying the Church. 
 
 He is engaged in writing in the "Mediatore," and has 
 recently been employed by the Government in re- 
 organizing a College at Prato. His case, and that of 
 the Priest who translated his book, has created consider- 
 able local interest. 
 
 On Sunday afternoon I went to a Parish Church, 
 
 b 4 
 
Ivi PREFACE 
 
 attached to the Cathedral, in Siena, hoping to listen to 
 the Dottrina Cristiana. A courteous old Priest, who 
 had been giving instruction, gave a most gloomy account 
 .of the prevalent indifference of the people, and of the 
 weakening of the Church's hold upon them. They found 
 the greatest difficulty, he said, in inducing young people 
 to come to the Dottrina Cristiana ; and that there was 
 a woeful falling off in general attention to religious 
 duties, since the conflict began between Eome and Italy. 
 "Whilst walking on the ramparts, in the evening, I fell 
 into conversation with a knot of people, who certainly 
 fully confirmed this Priest's views. 
 
 In Florence, one of the most learned Ecclesiastical 
 Dignitaries told another friend and myself: — "It is diffi- 
 cult for you, as foreigners, to comprehend the state our 
 people are coming to as regards religion. This last 
 Easter a very large number of our parishioners rejected 
 the tickets for admission to the Holy Communion. They 
 threw them back, I may almost say, in our faces ; for 
 many refused them with scorn and sarcasm. We had very 
 few communicants indeed." He spoke most strongly of 
 the absolute necessity of a re-adjustment of the relations 
 between Church and State, and of extensive reforms in 
 the Church, if it is to retain its hold in the country. 
 He also bore striking testimony to the good result of 
 other teaching in one case that had fallen under his own 
 eye. He said : — " It is, of course, grating to our feelings 
 to see the Protestant congregations that are making way 
 amongst us here ; but I am bound to acknowledge the 
 good result that I have seen in. one instance. A man 
 I knew here — a widower, of forty years of age — was 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ivii 
 
 living in adultery. Sometliing induced him to attend 
 one of the Protestant services. He became so deeply- 
 impressed that he entirely abandoned his sinful course 
 of life, united himself to that congregation, and I can 
 testify that he has been living consistently as a reformed 
 earnest Christian man during the last two years." He 
 also added, that he had been much pleased to find that 
 this man, far from having imbibed bitterness of feeling 
 against the Pope and Church of Eome, expressed his 
 conviction that the only right way to meet them was by 
 overcoming evil with good ; by prayer, and showing a 
 more excellent way. This case, he added, has thoroughly 
 convinced me that the teaching this man received must 
 have been really good. Tou are aware that our friend is 
 in intimate relation with official persons in high position. 
 I am thankful to find that he gathers, from recent com- 
 munications, that there is a growing feeling in high 
 quarters of the necessity of thorough Church Eeform, if 
 the Church itself is to be preserved in the country, and 
 Italy preserved from wide-spread indifierence and un- 
 belief. I found that in Pistoia and elsewhere large 
 numbers of people had, as in Florence, rejected the 
 tickets for admission to the Easter Communion. In 
 Genoa, which is remarkable for the general devotion of 
 the people, I was assured that the number of wafers 
 consecrated for the Host at Easter had fallen full one- 
 third below what were used some few years ago. One 
 of the most striking and mournful descriptions of the 
 present religious condition of the country I have heard 
 was from the lips of an old Ecclesiastic in Elorence, who 
 is also a Senator of the Kingdom, and holds an important 
 
 b 5 
 
Iviii PREFACE 
 
 official position. All his antecedents lead him to what 
 we should call strong Conservative tendencies; and I 
 have heard few Italians so calmly and impartially balance 
 the difficulties in their present position, and the pros 
 and cons as between Eome and united Italy; yet, 
 speaking of the present working of the Church in the 
 country, and the religious prospects of the future, he 
 did not hesitate to say, — " The manner in which our 
 Church system has long been practically carried out has, 
 unhappily, tended to obscure the vital elements of good 
 in it, by withdrawing the main stress from essential 
 features of truth, and laying it upon others which are 
 either less important, or, in many respects, superstitious 
 and erroneous. We have not kept the ' proportion of 
 faith' that St. Paul bade ; and the result is, that we have 
 a vast amount of indifference and disgust, as well as of 
 actual scepticism, amongst our educated classes, even in 
 high quarters. We have a good deal of what I may call 
 official, ceremonial religion, which appears to have very 
 little power to influence the heart ; and we have a re- 
 siduum of ignorance and superstition. I cannot see how 
 the Church is to retain its hold, if things go on in their 
 present course. God appears to be leading us in this 
 country to great and important changes, which He will 
 doubtless overrule to good ; but, humanly speaking, I see 
 that we are in great risk of passing through some great 
 religious catastrophe, which may, perhaps, violently sweep 
 away the official Church of the country. Nor should 
 I look upon that with much regret, if I could only see 
 an undergrowth of really earnest religious and moral 
 sentiment largely springing up amongst our people. 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. lix 
 
 I should then feel it was but as the seed bursting into 
 new life, and throwing aside the husk that had hitherto 
 held it : but it is the absence, the general lack of such 
 earnest religious sentiment that alarms me. It seems as 
 if we must pass through chaos first ; and out of it, God 
 will, I trust, bring a purer and better condition of faith, 
 though I shall not live to see it." 
 
 I have heard similar descriptions from others, but 
 none that impressed me more, from the character and 
 position of the speaker. 
 
 Remember, these axe the sentiments of no young en- 
 thusiastic liberal thinker, or hot-headed opponent of 
 Eome, but of a quiet elderly Ecclesiastic, and a landed 
 Proprietor, still, I believe, in the habit of ministering to 
 his own people on his estate, and one who has for many 
 years been honourably distinguished by earnest efforts to 
 promote the moral and intellectual progress of his coun- 
 trymen by improved education. As a proof of what he 
 said of the feeling of dissatisfaction with the actual 
 working of the Church prevalent amongst intelligent 
 Laymen, I may mention what one of the ablest and 
 most thoughtful University Professors I have met in 
 Italy said : " I am one of many who cannot continue to 
 attend our Church Services, the whole thing is so un- 
 satisfactory to us. Tet," he added, " do not think we 
 are utterly irreligious. "We are, many of us, I know, 
 earnestly searching after religion at home, though that, 
 we feel, must necessarily be imperfect. It seems," he 
 added, " as if Italy had missed the great opportunity for 
 JReligious E.eform which Northern Europe seized three 
 centuries ago, and now it appears very doubtful how far 
 
 b 6 
 
Ix PEEFACE 
 
 we shall be able to make up for lost way." Anotber 
 able scientific Professor, also a Senator of tbe Kingdom, 
 said, " I feel that tbe logical consequence of the steps we 
 have taken to promote liberty of conscience and of pub- 
 lie worship is the repeal of the Eirst Article of our Con- 
 stitution, which recognizes the Eoman Catholic religion 
 as that of the State. If that were repealed to-morrow, 
 you would see, I believe, the majority of educated 
 Italians openly fall away from the Church of Eome; 
 such numbers of us nominally adhere to it because 
 abandonment involves many inconveniences. I think it 
 probable," he added, "that Italy will take the lead in 
 Europe in practically applying the principle of entire 
 severance between Church and State." 
 
 I was thankful to hear one distinguished literary Pro- 
 fessor, well known for his researches into the life and 
 writings of Savonarola, express his hope and expectation 
 that Italy would work out her Church Eeformation. 
 But without wearying you with a number of individual 
 testimonies, which I might multiply, I may just ask 
 what would be our own hope of the Church of England 
 retaining its hold over the minds and affections of the 
 educated and higher classes amongst us, if we found, as 
 I have done in mingling with a considerable number of 
 University Professors and Public Schoolmasters in 
 Italy, that the very men most directly engaged in mould- 
 ing the minds of the future professional and public 
 laymen of the country were precisely those whose own 
 belief in and attachment to their Church system was so 
 manifestly shaken? I will only add that no Italian 
 more fully and more sadly confirmed the impression I 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. 1x1 
 
 had received from others as to the lack of earnest faith 
 in their religious system, as at present working, than 
 Passaglia himself. 
 
 " I do not hesitate to say," he told a friend and myself, 
 " that I believe there is no Christian nation at the pre- 
 sent moment in which vital faith in religion is so griev- 
 ously shaken as it is amongst my countrymen. I do 
 not speak of it," he added, " as a question of their being 
 good Catholics, but retaining earnest Christian faith at 
 all." Be it remembered that this celebrated theologian 
 no longer speaks as a recluse from his cell of study, — 
 though as he lately said in his place in the Italian Par- 
 liament, it was there, in his cell in Some, that he deeply 
 pondered and formed the resolve of devoting all his 
 powers to the noble aim of reconciling his Church and 
 Country, — a task he felt could only be achieved by con- 
 vincing the one that her abandonment of temporal claims 
 could alone rekindle the faith and win back the attach- 
 ment of the other. Tet I confess that amid so many 
 disheartening tokens, I often fell back with comfort on 
 the thought that the " seven thousand who never bowed 
 the knee to Baal" have ever represented a great and 
 cheering fact in all times and circumstances of God's 
 Church and people, — and I was thankful to know what 
 one earnest brave-hearted man, not afraid of risking hard 
 usage and imprisonment, could do in rousing popular 
 sympathy with his simple earnest calls to the people to 
 abandon the gross corruptions of Eome and return to 
 purer and more primitive faith and worship. Don A. G. 
 is a Piedmontese Priest under suspension, but during 
 the past year he has been going through the country in 
 
Ixii PREFACE 
 
 his priest's dress, preaching in the piazzas of Turin and 
 other large towns in Piedmont, as well as in a large 
 number of country places, always announcing himself as 
 " a Eeformer, not a Protestant," exposing the abuses of 
 Eome in homely vigorous language, and urging the need 
 of returning to primitive Catholicism. His preachings 
 are very simple, but well adapted to the common people, 
 who hear him gladly. After preaching, he distributes 
 the substance of his addresses printed in the shape of 
 dialogues between an Italian National Priest and a Priest 
 of the Pope. In these he urges the reading of the Bible, 
 the establishment of an Italian National Church, and the 
 recognition of Jesus Christ as the alone Head of the 
 Church ; condemns the sale of indulgences, benedictions, 
 dispensations, masses for the dead, &c, ; exposes the 
 absurdity of prayers in a tongue not understood of the 
 people ; also speaks plainly upon the abuses of the con- 
 fessional, Peter's Pence, brigandage, &c. He has sold 
 many thousand copies of these at a trifling price, as a 
 help towards his maintenance since his suspension. As 
 you will readily understand, the clerical Journals have 
 denounced him vehemently, and the Ecclesiastical Au- 
 thorities have done all in their power to stop his mouth. 
 At their instigation he has been repeatedly arrested by the 
 gendarmes, and occasionally led off handcuffed as a com- 
 mon criminal, the populace applauding him vigorously ; 
 but as no charge could be substantiated against him, he 
 has been as often set free again. Twice, however, he 
 has been formally tried before the tribunals in Turin, 
 and his printed addresses submitted to legal investigation. 
 These were found not to contain any indictable matter. 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixiii 
 
 Once he was sentenced to a short imprisonment for some 
 unguarded expressions about those who instigated his 
 arrest, but it was legally decided that his suspension by 
 the Bishop did not affect his right of preaching publicly, 
 so long as he committed no breach of the peace. WhUst 
 in prison, attempts were made by the Clergy to persuade 
 him to silence, and offers were not wanting to induce 
 him to abandon his present course, but in vain ; as soon 
 as he was out he began at once to preach again, and was 
 secretly commended and exhorted to persevere by some 
 of his brother Clergy. Just lately I saw a notice in one 
 of the Turin papers that the Vicar- General of the diocese 
 had issued a circular warning the faithful not to listen 
 to his preachings. This, however, appeared to have the 
 opposite effect to what was intended. The fact of his 
 going vested as a Priest, and declaring himself " a Re' 
 former, not a JProtestant" has procured him a ready 
 hearing from many who might not otherwise have been 
 so disposed to listen. This the excellent Yaudois Mis- 
 sionary Pastor in Turin remarked to me. I once had 
 the pleasure of meeting this Priest, and was much im- 
 pressed with his apparent thorough earnestness and 
 determination to persevere in the work he felt called to. 
 He is well known and esteemed by our excellent friend 
 in Turin, whom you so well know and value for his 
 work's sake. 
 
 Another incident showing the present temper of the 
 times, occurred within the last few weeks at Treviglio, a 
 country town in Lombardy. At the joint instigation of 
 a Priest and a Government employe, some lads lighted a 
 fire in the market-place, and burnt some copies of the 
 
Ixiv PREFACE 
 
 Bible (Diodati's version), the Government employe taking 
 an open part and stirring up the fire vigorously. Count 
 Tasca deemed it his duty, as a neighbouring resident, to 
 take up this case, and having promptly investigated the 
 facts laid them before the provincial authorities, and the 
 authorities in Turin, upon whom the Government of&cial 
 directly depended. Summary punishment was inflicted 
 upon the official, who found that he had severely burnt 
 his own fingers by this auto-da-fe, but the matter did not 
 quite end there. The Editor of a local journal, the 
 " Trevigliese," admitted a report of the Bible-burning 
 from a spectator, and commented upon it in forcible 
 terms, condemning the act as one of blind unreason- 
 ing fanaticism, only likely to defeat its own aim. This 
 Editor is a Priest, much respected by his neighbours, and 
 a man of independent position. His Bishop forthwith 
 intimated to him that he was suspended a divinis, with- 
 out, however, alleging any legal ground for the suspen- 
 sion. The Bishop further sent a Priest to preach in the 
 Parish Church on the subject, which he did, vigorously 
 denouncing the Editor and his journal, and all who 
 abetted it. The people were indignant, and the preacher 
 was glad to escape. The Editor, however, accepted the 
 Bishop's sentence, contenting himself with replying 
 through his journal that he was aware he might contest 
 the legality of the suspension, as not being based upon 
 any breach of Ecclesiastical discipline, but that he felt it 
 better to mark his own adherence to the new order of 
 ideas both religious and political, by quietly divesting 
 himself of his Priest's dress and living as a Layman until 
 the relations between Church and State should become 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixv 
 
 better harmonized. He has met with much sympathy 
 from his Lay neighbours. 
 
 I do not dwell at length upon the progress of the Yau- 
 dois and "Free Evangelical Italians," because you can so 
 readily procure full information upon their work through 
 other channels. I may say, however, that both are gra- 
 dually progressing, and breaking fresh ground in many 
 parts of the country. In MUan, and elsewhere in Lom- 
 bardy, their recent advance has been very marked. There 
 is an able and zealous Yaudois Pastor in Milan, whose 
 ministrations are well attended, and there are also, I un- 
 derstand, three other "Evangelical" congregations in 
 the city and suburbs, numbering altogether several hun- 
 dred members. Congregations have also sprung up in 
 several country places. 
 
 In the Yaudois church in Turin I witnessed a very 
 interesting ceremonial; the first ordination they have 
 held out of their Valleys^ at all events, as they would per- 
 haps say, since the days of the Apostolic Bishop Claude 
 of Turin, for it is a curious fact that the Yaudois fully 
 admit that anciently they were under Episcopal regime, 
 though they cannot tell when they lost it. Traces of 
 the exercise of Episcopal functions by the President of 
 their Synod are found as late as towards the close of the 
 seventeenth century, I believe. 
 
 Two candidates for the ministry were solemnly " set 
 apart by prayer and imposition of hands " in accordance 
 with their simple ritual. There were twelve or fifteen 
 Pastors from the Yalleys present, with a goodly congrega- 
 tion of their Lay members and friends. The portions of 
 Holy Scripture setting forth the character and duties of 
 
Ixvi PEEFACE 
 
 Christian ministers were read ; one or two suitable hymns, 
 led by an effective choir, and heartily joined in, were 
 mingled with the prayers ; a stirring sermon was deli- 
 vered by the presiding Pastor, Mielle, the Vaudois Mis- 
 sionary Pastor in Turin, charging the two young " sol- 
 diers of Christ," who were then about to buckle on their 
 armour in their Lord's service, to "war a good warfare," 
 "holding faith and a good conscience," in the double 
 conflict to which the special circumstances of Italy 
 seemed to call them, with corrupted Christian faith, over- 
 laid with superstition on the one hand, and indifference 
 running into unbelief on the other. They were earnestly 
 exhorted to keep ever in mind that the one great aim of 
 their missionary ministrations was to win souls to earnest 
 living faith in Christ, and to a corresponding holy life 
 springing from that faith, not to proselytize Italians to 
 the Vaudois or other special form of Church organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 After the sermon the " Veni Creator" was sung; then 
 followed the questions addressed to the candidates, cor- 
 responding to the questions put by the Bishop in our own 
 Ordination Service. These were read from their Service 
 Book. The candidates then raised their right hands and 
 swore — that, God helping them, they would faithfully 
 abide by the vows and promises they had made. 
 
 The imposition of hands then followed, but not quite 
 literally. The candidates knelt, the presiding Pastor 
 stood in front of them, the other Pastors forming a ring 
 round ; all then extended their hands over, but did not 
 actually touch their heads ; whilst the presiding Pastor 
 solemnly invoked the Holy Spirit to give them grace for 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixvii 
 
 the faithful discharge of their office in the ministration of 
 the "Word of God and of the Sacraments. The Holy Com- 
 munion was not administered ; but on rising from their 
 knees the presiding Pastor took each candidate by the 
 hand and gave him the " kiss of peace," with a few words 
 of brotherly welcome ; each Pastor in turn then stepped 
 forward and did the same, a suitable text or a word of 
 brotherly exhortation being given by each. There was a 
 grave earnest solemnity and Scriptural simplicity in the 
 ceremonial which was truly impressive ; and it certainly 
 conveyed to me the idea of being much more nearly in 
 accordance with the simple Scriptural accounts of ordi- 
 nations as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, than the 
 gorgeous and complex ceremonials I witnessed at an 
 ordination at St. John Lateran, Eome, so well described 
 in your Journal (vol. ii. pp. 43 — 51), but of which the 
 meaning was, apparently, almost wholly lost upon the 
 people who assisted as spectators, from its being carried 
 on in an unknown tongue, and also in under-tones which 
 would have rendered it difficult to follow had it been in 
 Italian. Perhaps I may be pardoned for saying that, 
 whilst witnessing these two widely different ceremonials, 
 I could not help appreciating more than ever our own 
 impressive Ordination Service. Its simple and intel- 
 ligible, yet solemn and touching, ceremonial contrasted 
 so forcibly with Eome ; yet left nothing to desire in ful- 
 ness of pure Scriptural tone and spirit, as well as of 
 primitive Apostolic order. 
 
 The candidates had come up from the Yaudois Theo- 
 logical College in Florence. Several Italian students, 
 some of them ex-priests, are now pursuing their studies 
 
Ixviii PEEFACE 
 
 there, with a view to devoting themselves to work in 
 Italy. "Whilst we were in Naples last winter a southern 
 Italian Monk went up to join this College. I had been 
 struck the winter before, on visiting his convent, to find 
 one of the first questions put to me by several of the 
 brethren was on the comparative merits of Martini's and 
 Diodati's Italian Version of the Bible. They told me 
 they were comparing them, and felt that the people 
 ought to have the Bible fully and freely restored to them. 
 In Tuscany and other parts of Central Italy the " Evan- 
 gelical Italians" and the Yaudois both appear to be 
 gradually making way, but, of course, with less excite- 
 ment than when their work was new. In Elorence, in 
 addition to the former agencies, Signer Gavazzi has 
 thrown in some fresh impulse ; he also publishes a 
 politico-religious Journal, with the vehement tone of 
 which, however, I was sorry to find several of his friends 
 much disappointed. In Pisa a small " Capella Evan- 
 gelica " is rising in sight of the Duomo ; perhaps the 
 clearest testimony that the "Evangelical" movement is 
 not unfelt there, was given by the Cardinal Archbishop, 
 who heartily denounced it in his Lenten Pastoral, and 
 apparently wished to impress his flock with the belief 
 that the drought from which they had been sufiering 
 was a visitation on account of these heretical innovations. 
 In Leghorn the efforts of the Yaudois appear to have 
 been very successful, and their influence is beginning to 
 tell amongst the upper classes. I must not, however, go 
 into further details on this point, except to add that 
 Colportage of religious books is systematically and vigor- 
 ously carried on throughout Italy by various Societies in 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixix 
 
 connexion with the "Free Evangelical" and Vaudois 
 work. Thirty thousand Bibles and Testaments were dis- 
 posed of by the British and Foreign Bible Society last 
 year, exclusive of those issued by other Societies. 
 
 The able controversial works of Dr. De Sanctis are in 
 much demand. Probably no one Italian writer of the 
 day has silently done so much as he has to stimulate 
 religious thought and inquiry. His Almanack, the " Amico 
 di Casa," has literally become a "Friend of the House" 
 in many thousand families ; last year, I understood, its 
 circulation amounted to 120,000 copies. It has earned 
 the distinction of being more directly and frequently de- 
 nounced in Episcopal Pastorals than any other book, and 
 has stimulated the production of a greatly improved 
 Eoman Catholic Almanack, " II vero Amico di Casa ;" 
 this, however, has not hitherto attained more than one- 
 twentieth part of the circulation of the other. 
 
 I believe that the wide-spread circulation of the Bible, 
 and of other religious books, has produced and is pro- 
 ducing a far wider effect in the country than would be 
 supposed, if its effects were judged only by the numbers 
 of Italians who have openly abandoned Eome and united 
 themselves to the various Protestant congregations. I 
 believe that the desire now manifested by many Priests 
 for the restoration, of the Holy Scriptures to the people 
 is, in a great degree, owing to the vigorous efforts that 
 have been made from without to supply this crying want. 
 I have good reason to know that in many families who 
 would shrink from avowing themselves Protestants the 
 Bible is read, and our own Prayer Book examined, and, 
 in some instances, used in domestic devotion. 
 
 Those who have earnestly striven to promote the 
 
Ixx PEEFACE 
 
 spread of the Word of God amongst Italians may rest 
 assured that they have been instrumental, under God's 
 blessing, in diffusing an amount of Scriptural light which 
 has reached the eyes, and, we may trust, has touched the 
 hearts, of many more than those who have openly broken 
 with Eome ; and the seed thus sown will yet, in God's 
 good time, show fruit. 
 
 Whilst the concurrent testimonies of a considerable 
 number of members of the Church of Eome, in various 
 positions in different parts of the country, coupled with 
 the results I witnessed of direct proselytizing efforts, led 
 to the conclusion that Eome's religious hold over the 
 Italians is becoming sensibly weakened, I was also 
 greatly struck with the extent to which she is alienating 
 from herself the sympathies of those who are desirous to 
 promote and profit by the development of public education. 
 Whilst the Government, in conjunction with the municipal 
 and other local authorities, backed by public opinion, are 
 making very vigorous efforts to promote national education, 
 Eome, acting through the Bishops, has taken up a position 
 of determined antagonism, and uses all her influence to 
 withhold the Clergy from throwing themselves heartily 
 into this great work ; and, in too many cases, openly 
 carries on vigorous war against it. Nor is this opposition 
 a new phase in her conduct since the formation of the 
 Italian Kingdom. I well remember, some few years ago, 
 at the time when the Piedmontese Government were 
 beginning to make vigorous efforts to establish Com- 
 munal Schools, a Deputy of the then Sardinian Par- 
 liament telling me, — " We have done all we can to 
 conciliate the Clergy, and secure their co-operation. We 
 appoiuted the Parish Priests ex officio leading members 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixxi 
 
 of the School Committee in each commune, and left the 
 ' Dottrina Cristiana ' — the religious instruction of the 
 scholars — entirely in their hands, that they might feel 
 sure of not being troubled with Lay interference." I 
 remember thinking at that time, what would Archdeacon 
 Denison — and those who, with him, were stoutly combat- 
 ing for what they felt to be the Church's due share in our 
 National education — have said, if such terms had been 
 offered to them by our Government ; yet, my informant 
 added, — " Despite all our attempts at conciliation, in- 
 junctions came from Eome, and we could scarcely get 
 any Priests or Nuns to work with us, thankful though 
 we should have been ; for at that time we had no Normal 
 Training Institution for Masters or Mistresses, and our 
 great difficulty was to secure a supply of Teachers." 
 One or two instances will best show that Eome still 
 offers the same opposition in other parts of the Kingdom 
 of Italy. Take an instance from Lombardy. The year 
 before last, in order to supply the great want of Teachers 
 for Elementary Schools, the province of Bergamo esta- 
 blished a Normal Training Institution for Schoolmis- 
 tresses. This Institution is in Eergamo, close under the 
 Bishop's eye. A lady, of great capability and energy, a 
 widowed daughter of Count Tasca, took the lead in its 
 management, and threw herself heartily into the work. 
 Two Priests, also, zealous for the promotion of popular 
 education, joined it : one specially to give the religious 
 instruction, in full accordance with the Diocesan " Dot- 
 trina Cristiana;" the other for general direction of the 
 course of studies. But the Bishop forthwith suspended 
 both these Priests ; and further issued a circular to all 
 his Parish Priests, forbidding them to give the ordinary 
 
Ixxii PREFACE 
 
 certificate of Baptism, as a testimonial of age, to any 
 young woman wishing to enter this Training Institution, 
 to qualify herself as a Schoolmistress. The Institution, 
 however, flourishes, despite the Episcopal denunciation. 
 We found some eighty students under training. Both 
 the Priests remained at their posts. All the arrange- 
 ments appeared very effective ; the Pupils thoroughly 
 interested in their work ; and the Institution has re- 
 ceived high commendation from the Grovernment School 
 Inspectors : but you may judge that the line taken by 
 the Bishop has done not a little to give the impression 
 that Rome is, in reality, inimical to the progress of 
 popular education. What, indeed, would be the feeling 
 amongst our own people, and what would become of the 
 Church's influence upon the (million and upwards ^ of) 
 children now happily in our Schools, if the Westminster 
 Training Institution for Schoolmistresses, and our nu- 
 merous Diocesan Training Colleges, were thus laid 
 under interdict by our Bishops ? instead of being, as, 
 thank God, they now are, amongst the Chiirch's main 
 stays. Take another instance, touching a higher 
 grade, from the opposite end of Italy. In Catania, 
 as in other parts of Sicily, the present Govern- 
 ment found there was great want of efElcient schools for 
 lads intended for the profession, and for preparation for 
 the Universities. In Italy the " Gymnasiums " and 
 
 ' The number of Scholars on the books of the Church 
 Week-day Schools in England and Wales is 1,187,086. 
 This number is stated at pp. 80 and 592 in Vol. i. of the 
 Beport of the Commissioners on Popular Education in 
 England, issued in 1861. 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixxiii 
 
 " Lyceums " correspond to the lower and upper divisions 
 of our great Public Schools. The Government last year 
 established a "Gymnasium." and "Lyceum" in one 
 building in Catania; there are now 200 scholars in it 
 under an efficient staff of Masters and Professors. A 
 Chapel was prepared, and a Chaplain nominated for their 
 religious instruction. The Director was desired to apply 
 to the Archbishop of Catania for his licence for the 
 Chaplain. The Archbishop did not deign to reply to 
 two written communications made to him. The Di- 
 rector was then ordered to make a personal applica- 
 tion, which he did, but the Archbishop simply replied 
 that he could grant no licence. He was asked if he 
 had any personal objection to the Chaplain nomi- 
 nated; none whatever; it would have been the same 
 with any other Priest ; he, the Archbishop, could have 
 nothing whatever to do with the work. The Chapel 
 therefore remains closed, and the Chaplain's duties are 
 dispensed with. Again, I may ask, what would become 
 of the Church of England, if her Bishops were thus to 
 use their influence to thwart the great public schools in 
 their Dioceses ? Can we wonder that these people keenly 
 feel that Eome shows herself resolved to do all she can 
 to hinder wholesome progress and the harmony of the 
 State ? That such is the feeling prevalent both amongst 
 Teachers and Pupils in the Public Schools of various 
 grades and in the Universities, I could not help seeing 
 from one end of the country to the other, and this state 
 of things is engendering such an amount of bitter feeling 
 against Eome and the Church, as at present working, 
 that it seems impossible, humanly speaking, that the 
 VOL. I. C 
 
Ixxiv PEEFACE 
 
 Churcli can avoid suffering immense loss of influence in 
 a few years if things continue as at present. Indeed she 
 has thus already lost, and is losing, her hold where this 
 system of opposition has been continued for some few 
 years. Take Grenoa as an example. Few Cities in 
 Europe, in proportion to their size, probably have made 
 more vigorous and successful efforts to promote educa- 
 tion amongst all classes than Genoa, since the establish- 
 ment of constitutional liberty. The Municipal Autho- 
 rities have freely expended large sums in establishing a 
 complete series of Schools, infant and elementary, for 
 both sexes ; secondary or " Technical " Schools for chil- 
 dren of Artizans and Tradespeople ; Gymnasium, Ly- 
 ceum, Normal Training Schools, and large Evening Schools 
 for adults. Including a not very large body of University 
 Students, and one or two Institutions dependent on the 
 Educational Department of the Government, there are, 
 I understand, some 16,000 scholars under instruction in 
 the public schools of all grades, out of a population of 
 nearly 128,000 (Dec. 31, 1861). The great majority of 
 these are in the Schools supported by the Municipality, 
 which last year expended 400,000 francs, say 16,000Z., 
 on public education. Not less than 2500 adults and 
 youths last winter attended the night schools. I shall 
 not soon forget the interesting visits I paid to several of 
 these Schools, in company with an English friend long 
 resident in Genoa, and with the courteous and most 
 obliging Municipal Inspector. One evening we spent 
 in a Mght School, attended by 300. men and youths, in 
 several rooms in one of the large old " Palazzos " which 
 abound in Genoa, and are readily convertible into con- 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixxv 
 
 venient schools. The good order, and quiet earnest atten- 
 tion to work in all the classes was very striking, the pro- 
 gress appeared very satisfactory, and there was a hearty, 
 frank, genial spirit manifested throughout, which showed 
 that they thoroughly appreciated the benefit of the in- 
 struction. One sailor, I remember, was present, who had 
 just passed a successful examination for the Government 
 certificate, qualifying him to act as master of a coasting 
 craft. This man had entered the night school, unable to 
 read, and had learnt all he knew there. But one feature 
 struck us forcibly ; whilst chatting with one and another 
 of the men and lads in the various classes, looking at 
 their work, and congratulating them on their progress, 
 many remarked, " We hope this is a good step towards 
 Eome;" " We hope this will be a great means towards 
 a strong and united Italy." It was impossible not to 
 feel the direction in which the current was setting, that 
 an educated Italian people ivould have their country for 
 themselves. The remark was more than once made to 
 me by Inspectors and other school officials, " Don't think 
 that we call forth these ebullitions of feeling, indeed we 
 have no occasion, we have rather to check and keep them 
 under." The geographical lessons, lessons on the duties 
 of citizens, all tend the same way ; the political creed 
 inculcated is short, but clear and unmistakeable, — Italy 
 one Kingdom, Home the Capital, Victor Emmanuel the 
 Constitutional Head. This prevails throughout. One 
 day in Elorence, whilst visiting the admirable Normal 
 Training School for Mistresses, containing some 130 
 students, I chanced to drop in upon a geographical 
 lesson. The Teacher was asking the names of places 
 
 c 2 
 
Ixxvi PKEFACE 
 
 from which different nations reckoned their meridian 
 distances, as Greenwich, Paris, &c. ; when she asked 
 "and for Italy?" the tone in which all called out 
 " Eome " was unmistakeable, as well as her reply, " Pre- 
 cisely so, — through the Capitol." But what bearing has 
 all this upon the Church ? I need not say that the 
 Ecclesiastical Authorities stand wholly aloof from and 
 frown upon it, though there are not wanting Priests who 
 see clearly how matters are going, and would thank- 
 fully, with Passaglia, remove the stumbling-block of the 
 Pope's temporal power, and throw themselves heartily 
 into the popular education movement, in the hope of 
 influencing it with a religious spirit and with attachment 
 to the Church ; and some are also glad to work as Masters 
 in these schools for the sake of improved stipend; but 
 that, in the main, this movement is telling directly 
 and powerfully against the Church of Eome cannot be 
 doubted by any who watch it. I was much struck with 
 what the excellent Municipal Inspector in G-enoa said, 
 the more so as he was evidently a man of very earnest 
 religious feeling. "I am not ashamed," he said, "to 
 confess myself a sincere Catholic, but I assure you I 
 spend many sad hours when I think of what the present 
 state of things is leading to. I see the scliism between 
 Church and State, between Clergy and People daily 
 growing wider, and I see the feeling of the people against 
 Eome and the Church becoming more embittered. Our 
 Clergy, unhappily, appear blind to the true interests of 
 the Church. They, many of them, dread the develop- 
 ment of popular education, believing that it tends in- 
 evitably to freedom of thought, and will end in Pro- 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixxvii 
 
 testantism. Thus, instead of accepting our invitations 
 to co-operation in the first instance, they have held aloof, 
 and too often, as far as they can and dare, speak and act 
 against us, thvrarting our work as much as they can. 
 They act under injunctions from Rome, which have the 
 effect of checking some who would themselves be dis- 
 posed to join and help us. Owing to the Clergy having 
 held aloof, and also to the continued determined oppo- 
 sition of Rome, there has sprung up a counter feeling on 
 the part of the Laity, that the special position and facilities 
 originally offered to the Clergy in the public schools 
 should be withdrawn. This has been in some measure 
 done, and now we have no special religious instruction, 
 except in the primary schools. In these we regularly 
 instruct in the 'Dottrina Cristiana,' and twice a year 
 invite all the Parish Priests to attend and examine in it, 
 that they may report if they are satisfied, but scarcely 
 one will come near. I verily believe that some are afraid 
 of being convinced against their will that we are really 
 doing a great and good work. Meantime our people feel 
 that they are getting a good education, thanks to the 
 government, thanks to the municipal authorities, thanks 
 to public opinion generally, but no thanks at all to, indeed, 
 in the teeth of Eome and the Church. They don't stop 
 to discriminate nicely between the temporal and spiritual 
 sides of the question, and the result is a wide-spread 
 growing feeling of disgust, which leads to indifference 
 and neglect of religion itself. The Church in this city 
 has lost and is losing its hold over the men and youths 
 to a sad extent ; very few, indeed, go to the churches to 
 attend the catechizing of the Priests in the 'Dottrina 
 
 c 3 
 
Ixxviii PREFACE 
 
 Cristiana,' and there is a great falling oflF in earnest 
 attention to religious duties. If I had not faith in the 
 essential truth of my religion and in an overruling Pro- 
 vidence, I should despair, for I often tremble for the 
 future of the Church in this country. Meantime I look 
 with hope and thankfulness upon our Infant and Primary 
 Schools, for I look upon these as a providential means 
 given us in our present transition state for keeping alive 
 the rehgious sentiment in the minds of the rising gene- 
 ration." I heard this good Inspector himself beautifully 
 exemplify this last remark when catechizing some of the 
 primary classes in a way which showed how thoroughly 
 he felt what he had said. I have dwelt upon Genoa 
 partly because, so far as I could judge, Genoa has taken 
 a decided lead in the systematic and successful develop- 
 ment of popular education, and partly because it affords 
 such a fair example of the results of Rome's determined 
 antagonism, and of the way in which she is alienating 
 from herself the sympathies of earnest, thoughtful 
 Italians, resolved to promote National Education, in the 
 full confidence that it must prove one of the most 
 efiective means for securing the unity and strength of 
 their country. I ought emphatically to add that no men 
 could show more thorough appreciation of the necessity 
 of religious faith and teaching as the only sure founda- 
 tion of family and national life, than did both the Muni- 
 cipal Inspector and Professor Boccardo *, the two leading 
 
 * Professor Boccardo is Professor of Political Economy 
 in the University of Genoa. His zeal and devotion in 
 the promotion of public education have deservedly won 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixxix 
 
 ofB.cials to whose courtesy and kindness we were so much 
 indebted in visiting these schools ; yet no men could more 
 forcibly describe than they did the schism between 
 Eome and the State on this vital question, and both 
 alike expressed their conviction that its bearing on the 
 future relations of the Church and country was pregnant 
 witJi importance. I gathered similar impressions, how- 
 ever, wherever I had opportunities of visiting the public 
 schools of all grades. It is one of the features that most 
 clearly marks the contrast between the past and present 
 regimes in Southern Italy. As you look at the mag- 
 nificent colleges in Naples and Palermo, for instance, 
 which so lately were in the hands of the Jesuits, and are 
 still as full of scholars as they then were, you feel what 
 a loss of influence Eome must have sustained by the 
 change of direction that has passed over them. 
 
 It is not merely that the most able and devoted sup- 
 porters of her system are gone, but that their places are 
 filled by those who are labouring to exercise in some 
 respects a diametrically opposite influence. It may, in^ 
 deed, be fairly said that the result of Garibaldi's mar- 
 vellous expedition proved that Jesuit influence in Southern 
 Italy was far from being deep and abiding, though un- 
 questionably there was no stronger support to Eome 
 and the Bourbon regime; but a single example of the 
 elements gathered to form the present educational stafl" 
 in a Southern City will tell better than many words the 
 change in the spirit of public instruction. The unity of 
 
 him the highest esteem amongst his fellow-citizens. He 
 is indeed the soul of this great movement in Genoa. 
 
 c 4 
 
IXXX PEEFACE 
 
 Italy is embodied by representatives from every great 
 province. Two of the Directors are Eoman exiles, ad- 
 vocates who had served as Deputies in the Eoman Par- 
 liament, and had been Governors of Provincial Towns in 
 1848. An exiled Venetian Professor, Professors from 
 Piedmont, Tuscany, and other parts, are all working under 
 the presidency of a zealous Sicilian nobleman ; need I say 
 that such men as these infuse into National Education a 
 spirit as diametrically opposed to the old influences of 
 Eome and the Bourbons as can possibly be conceived ? 
 Tet it is under similar influences that public education is 
 becoming vigorously and widely extended, in the great 
 centres of public opinion, in the cities and important 
 towns ; for, as yet, the country districts are far behind- 
 hand, specially in Southern Italy, where the population had 
 been left in primitive ignorance under the late regime. 
 
 In Messina we witnessed a curious illustration of the 
 present unsettled relations between Church and State. 
 The See is vacant, and the Archbishop's palace was filled 
 with the large classes of the recently -established Gym- 
 nasium and Lyceum. This, however, was but a temporary 
 arrangement until the Municipal Authorities and School 
 Commission could provide suitable accommodation. It 
 was somewhat amusing also that in this involuntary 
 Archiepiscopal school, I happened to drop in upon the 
 upper class of the Lyceum, "the Sixth Porm " as we 
 might say, during an historical lesson on the disputes 
 about investiture between Pope and Emperor. This led 
 to some remarks on the special privileges won by Eoger 
 the Norman from the Pope for himself and his successors 
 as hereditary Legates- Apostolic of Sicily. Afterwards I 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixxxi 
 
 had tlie pleasure of calling the attention of the intel- 
 ligent Professor (all the masters are so called) to the 
 general question as discussed in the '* Three Letters " 
 you have reproduced in your Journal. He was much 
 interested in them, took a somewhat different view, and 
 promised to write to the Author on the subject. In 
 Messina several Priests take a keen interest and a large 
 share in the work ; amongst others the zealous Secretary 
 of the School Commission, Abate Carmelo Allegra, long 
 known in Messina as a tried and earnest upholder of 
 liberal views both in politics and religion. He and some 
 of his brethren like-minded, suffered severely under the 
 old regime. They threw themselves heart and soul into 
 Garibaldi's movement for the liberation of Sicily, and 
 hence their present appointment to influential positions 
 in public instruction. In Palermo the great College for- 
 merly in the hands of the Jesuits presents a striking 
 sight, completely filled as it is with a variety of Schools, 
 from the elementary classes up to the Lyceum, including 
 also, in one part of the building, the Normal Training 
 School for Masters. I was particularly struck with the 
 Students in this Normal School. In Northern and 
 Central Italy, owing to the drain upon young men for 
 the army, for government employment, and for business 
 of all kinds, there is great difficulty in obtaining a supply 
 of Masters for Elementary Schools. In Southern Italy, 
 where there have been fewer openings for young men, the 
 case seems different. There were fifty-six students in 
 the Palermo Normal School, and their highly respectable 
 appearance and general tone and bearing, as well as their 
 great apparent interest in their work, were most en- 
 
 c 5 
 
Ixxxii PKEFACE 
 
 couraging for its future prospects. In Messina also 
 there is an eifective Normal School for Masters. 
 
 Eor young women the career of a National School- 
 mistress is an entirely new opening in most parts of 
 Italy. Hitherto respectable young women, not disposed 
 to enter domestic service, have had very few employ- 
 ments open to them, unless they became members of 
 religious orders ; now they appear thankful to enter upon 
 this new sphere. In Genoa several hundreds have been 
 trained. In Florence the 130 present students were 
 selected out of a large number of applicants. In Sicily, 
 however, the domestic habits of the people at first pre- 
 sented a great obstacle. Formerly it was not considered 
 correct for a young girl, after very early years, to attend 
 a public school; but, happily, this prejudice is giving 
 way, and both in Palermo and Catania we found Normal 
 Schools for mistresses making a very hopeful beginning. 
 In Catania a large Infant School, the most effective, 
 I thought, I saw in Italy, was conducted by an admi- 
 rable mistress, and two of her young female relatives ; 
 but these had been brought for the purpose from Pied- 
 mont. When first opened, this School had been looked 
 on with no little suspicion by the parents, who were shy 
 of entrusting their children to it. Now it cannot take 
 in nearly all who would thankfully be sent, and it is 
 creating a desire for other schools like it in the city. 
 
 National Education in most parts of Italy is but be- 
 ginning, and I was not able to obtain sufiiciently full 
 and clear statistical information to show, as I could have 
 wished, the contrast between the numbers of public 
 schools and scholars before 1860, and in the present 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixxxiii 
 
 year. But one or two facts respecting Palermo, from a 
 return kindly furnished by the able Provveditore, Signer 
 Alberto de Gioannes, may serve to give a fair idea of 
 the progress making there. 
 
 In 1860, there were in Palermo 9 Public Elementary 
 Day Schools, and 2 Evening Schools. 
 
 In 1863, 24 Day and 9 Evening Schools. 
 
 In 1860, these Schools comprised 1400 scholars ; this 
 year 2336. 
 
 In 1860, there were no Infant Schools ; in 1863, 4 Schools, 
 with 600 infants. 
 
 In 1860, no Public Schools for Girls ; 1863, 7, with 
 206 children. 
 
 In 1860, no Normal Training Schools for Masters ; 
 1863, 1, with 56 students. 
 
 In 1860, no Normal Training Schools for Mistresses ; 
 1863, 1, with 22 students. 
 
 The Municipality has also appropriated 24,000 ducats, 
 say 4000Z., for the further extension of Infant and Ele- 
 mentary Schools for boys and girls, and for Evening 
 Schools. This scheme is being daily carried out, and 
 when completed — by the end of this year, it is hoped — 
 the city will have 82 Schools for these classes alone. 
 I have already remarked that the large college of the 
 Jesuits is as full as formerly, though under changed di- 
 rection. This takes in the scholars of the Gymnasium 
 and Lyceum. "Technical" schools for the artizan and 
 tradesmen classes have also been established. In Southern 
 Italy the want of public schools was formerly supplied 
 in some measure by private schools (though not nearly 
 to the same degree as in Tuscany, where private schools 
 c 6 
 
Ixxxiv PEEFACE 
 
 were very numerous and efficient). In Palermo there 
 appears to have been no diminution in the number of 
 private schools, though there has been a falling off in the 
 scholars ; about a third of whom, it is thought, have been 
 absorbed into the public Schools. In the province of 
 Palermo a great extension of Communal schools has also 
 taken place during the past year. In the various chief 
 towns of the province, the higher schools are in course 
 of formation, the Elementary schools having been now 
 established. 
 
 In a recent number of the " Victoria Magazine," you 
 will find an interesting paper on the Palermo schools. 
 I had the pleasure of visiting several of them, in company 
 with the accomplished authoress of that paper, Miss 
 Anna Leigh Smith. 
 
 One day on visiting the University of Palermo we 
 casually met with four students, who courteously pointed 
 out the different features of interest. We found three out 
 of the four conversed readily in English : they said many 
 of the students could do the same : they manifested great 
 sympathy with England. 
 
 In Naples I had found several Professors well ac- 
 quainted with English, but did not observe the same 
 proficiency amongst the students I chanced to meet. 
 
 In Messina and Catania the Grovernment and local 
 authorities have shown the same zeal in promoting public 
 instruction amongst all classes, as in Palermo, and with 
 proportionate results. Elementary, Secondary, Night 
 Schools, as well as the higher Schools, are progressing in 
 numbers, and beginning to show corresponding good 
 results. I devoted a good deal of time to visiting these 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. IxXXV 
 
 various schools whilst lessons were going on, and felt 
 that the progress was very satisfactory. Nothing could 
 exceed the kind attention and courtesy I met with from 
 all engaged in them. The work is but beginning in 
 Sicily, but it is full of hope for the future. I may add, 
 that I was much struck with the manifest good results 
 that the military schools are producing amongst Sicilian 
 conscripts. Tou know that in Sicily conscription was 
 previously unknown, and consequently much dreaded. 
 Yet I fell in with two or three cases which showed what 
 might be hoped from it. In one of the vUlages between 
 Messina and Catania a young soldier was just come 
 home on short leave, on account of the death of his 
 father. In that village, as elsewhere, there had been 
 great dread of the conscription. But when the neigh- 
 bours saw this young man again amongst them, and 
 observed how much he had gained in the way of educa- 
 tion — that he could read, write, and cipher well, and talk 
 Italian, — whilst they all knew that on leaving home he 
 could not read at all, and could only speak his own 
 dialect ; and when they saw how much he was improved 
 in general bearing, and heard his own account of his 
 treatment in the army, the general feeling in that village 
 was quite changed, and fear of the conscription at an 
 end. Another very intelligent young soldier from the 
 neighbourhood of Syracuse was on board ship with us as 
 we were returning to Naples ; he told us " there had 
 been very great dread of the conscription in our part of 
 Sicily, but now that five or six of my comrades and 
 myself have been home on leave, and our neighbours 
 have seen what we have gained by our army life, — that we 
 
IxXXvi PEEFACE 
 
 have had good instruction, and that the lies that were 
 circulated about our bad treatment and food were only- 
 calumnies, — their feelings are entirely changed," We 
 were struck with his feeling of pride in being one of the 
 National Army of Italy. " I have gone with my regi- 
 ment," he said, "through different provinces of Italy, 
 and every where we are received as brothers ; this gives 
 us a new feeling, we are no longer a little people, but 
 form part of a great nation." He showed considerable 
 acquaintance with the Bible, and added, " I know that 
 no Christian who knows the Scriptures can consent to 
 idolatry, but it grieves me to own that there are many of 
 my countrymen who, from ignorance, worship in a way 
 that it is difficult to call by another name." IS'ext to 
 the Parliament, the Army is now, perhaps, the most 
 manifest embodiment of Italian Unity. There are no 
 longer provincial regiments, — Piedmontese, Lombard, 
 Tuscan, Neapolitan, &c., but each regiment is a thorough 
 mixture of Italians, Northern, Central, and Southern. 
 Every regiment has its school. The officers take a 
 regular share in the duty of instructing their men. 
 Such instances as I have just given can leave little 
 doubt, I feel, that if the present system continues a few 
 years, the Army will prove one of the most effective 
 means for educating and knitting together the Italian 
 people ; and as these soldiers return to their homes they 
 will effectually aid in increasing in their respective neigh- 
 bourhoods the sentiment of National Loyalty, and by 
 their example will tend to raise the level of public 
 education. 
 
 Eome's influence over the Army Chaplains, who are 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixxxvii 
 
 attached to eacli regiment, is but slight. They are, to 
 a man, with the Government. Several have volunteered 
 to celebrate the Te Deum on the National Fete for the 
 Unity of Italy. 
 
 In Naples, also, I may just notice a few points of 
 contrast between the late and present regime as regards 
 popular education : — 
 
 In 1860, no Normal Training School. 
 
 In 1863, one for Masters and one for Mistresses, 
 containing 32 and 40 Students respectively. 
 
 In 1860, there appear to have been no public Evening 
 Schools. 
 
 Last winter the Municipality opened fourteen, which 
 were attended by about 1000 scholars, adults and lads. 
 It is not, of course, to be expected that a population so 
 long neglected as regards education, and that has been 
 accustomed to so low a state of ignorance and supersti- 
 tion as the masses of Southern Italy, should all at once 
 appreciate the benefits of improved instruction now 
 ofiered to them ; so that it would be unfair, for instance, 
 to expect as large a proportionate attendance in Nea- 
 politan and Sicilian Evening Schools, now in their com- 
 mencement, as in Q-enoa. But I was thankful to see the 
 attendance so good as it was in these newly opened 
 Night Schools, and also to see the keen interest of the 
 scholars in their work. Generally speaking, the Evening 
 Schools in the south are attended by a much larger pro- 
 portion of boys than adults ; in this respect the reverse 
 of Genoa, There was also a marked difference between 
 north and south in the general cleanly, comfortable appear- 
 ance and neatness of dress of the one, as contrasted with 
 
Ixxxviii PREFACE 
 
 the far greater squalor of the other, which gave to some 
 of the classes a resemblance to our own "ragged schools," 
 though there were also very many cheering exceptions, 
 and the whole thing was full of cheering features. I was 
 particularly struck with the generous self-devotion of one 
 excellent Priest and a large staff of his private school 
 assistants, in opening one of the largest Night Schools, 
 and working it in his own private school-rooms. This 
 good man is one of the numerous private tutors, as we 
 might call them, who prepare young men for the Univer- 
 sity examinations in Naples. He has about 100 lads as 
 boarders in his house, in addition to a large number 
 of day pupils. "When the movement for public Evening 
 Schools commenced, he asked his assistants if they would 
 join him in devoting their evenings to work for the poor 
 classes — all kindly agreed ; and we found his school- 
 rooms filled with nearly 200 lads and young men, all of 
 the lower classes, but all working away with a right good 
 will. He told us he hoped to get this School firmly 
 established, and then hand it over to the care of the 
 municipality. Tet, he added, that he was coldly looked 
 upon by his ecclesiastical superiors for this ; in fact, was 
 rather a marked man. I could not but tell him that 
 I felt that both he and his assistants were most honour- 
 ably marked by such devotion to a truly Christian and 
 patriotic work, when their own not light day's work was 
 over. Passaglia, I may add, told me that in Home, some 
 years ago, he himself found that he was coldly looked 
 upon for a like reason ; he devoted himself vigorously 
 to Night Schools for similar classes, till the work proved 
 too much for his health. It was a curious token of the 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Ixxxix 
 
 Changed times in Naples, to find one of the most advanced 
 of these Evening Schools (the scholars in which were 
 amongst the most neat and comfortable-looking) at work 
 in the old Dominican convent, famous as the abode of 
 St. Thomas Aquinas, and the scene of his teaching. The 
 School is entirely in the hands of the municipality, and 
 the convent itself, like so many others, in course of 
 gradual extinction, a few monks only remaining ; and as we 
 saw one and another of them silently flitting through their 
 cloisters in the dark evening, they seemed like shades of 
 the past, rather than men of the present. When one 
 thought how very much the scholastic teaching of their 
 anciently-renowned master had given way to the surer 
 processes of modern thought and instruction ; and, still 
 more, when one thought of the dark memories that must 
 ever cling to the Dominican order — as Inquisitors — their 
 unflinching struggles to quench the first dawning rays of 
 freedom of thought and conscience on the revival of 
 Scriptural light and general learning, this Neapolitan 
 School, thrust in among the inmates of this convent 
 against their will, seemed no unfair illustration of Ma- 
 caulay's words (History of England, chap, i.) : " Erom 
 the time when the barbarians overran the Western Em- 
 pire to the time of the revival of letters, the influence of 
 the Church of Eome had been generally favourable to 
 science, to civilization, and to good government. But 
 during the last three centuries, to stunt the growth of 
 the human mind has been her chief object. Throughout 
 Christendom, whatever advance has been made in know- 
 ledge, in freedom, in wealth, and in the arts of life, has 
 been made in spite of her, and has every where been in 
 
XC PREFACE 
 
 inverse proportion to her power. The loveliest and most 
 fertile provinces of Europe have, under her rule, been 
 sunk in poverty, in political servitude, and in intellectual 
 torpor, vfhile Protestant countries, once proverbial for 
 sterility and barbarism, have been turned by skill and 
 industry into gardens, and can boast of a long list of 
 heroes and statesmen, philosophers and poets. Whoever, 
 knowing what Italy and Scotland naturally are, and what, 
 four hundred years ago, they actually were, shall now 
 compare the country round Eome with the country round 
 Edinburgh, will be able to form some judgment as to 
 the tendency of Papal domination." I could hardly ex- 
 pect, however, that the two Priests who, as forming part 
 of the Municipal Committee of School Management, most 
 kindly and courteously accompanied us in visiting these 
 Schools, should very readily respond to such reflections, 
 though they kindly refrained from demurring. 
 
 On the first visit of King Victor Emmanuel to Naples, 
 one of his acts was to grant 80,000 francs from his privy 
 purse for the establishment of Infant Schools, which had 
 not previously existed in Naples, but of which Cavour 
 had, years before, appreciated the benefit, and which he 
 had been among the first to introduce and largely carry 
 out in Turin. There are now ten of these "Asylums," 
 as they are called, though they are only Day Schools. 
 They comprise some 1200 to 1400 children, who remain 
 all day, and are provided with dinner and a piece of 
 bread in the afternoon, and also clothed iu a neat dress 
 during school-hours, but do not take it home. These 
 schools are supported mainly by the municipality, but 
 also partly by private contributions, through the " Society 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XCl 
 
 of the Private Municipal Infant Asylums." The noble- 
 hearted, earnest Secretary of this Society — Signer Alfonso 
 della Valle, of the ducal family of that name— takes the 
 deepest interest in this work ; indeed, appears the life 
 and soul of it. He would fain have a vein of voluntary, 
 loving charity run through the official help of the Munici- 
 pality. I was sorry to read the mournful tone in which 
 he pleads for this in the Eeport for this year, for he is 
 obliged to bemoan the falling off of interest on the part 
 of too many of the private contributors. He most 
 kindly and courteously took me through several of these 
 schools, which are in excellent order, — some of them 
 under Piedmontese Sisters of Charity, previously expe- 
 rienced in the same work in Turin, I well remember 
 the deep feeling shown by one of these excellent Sisters 
 on speaking of Count Cavour, who had first brought her, 
 with some of her companions, from Ivrea, to work in 
 Turin. Some are under ordinary mistresses. The 
 general cleanliness, good order, cheerfulness, and pro- 
 gress of the little children were very gratifying ; specially 
 when one contrasted them with the numbers of poor 
 little squalid creatures that abound in the crowded back 
 streets of Naples. I was greatly struck with the way in 
 which Signer Alfonso della VaUe had manifestly won 
 their hearts. They all brightened up as he came among 
 them, and both teachers and children evidently looked up 
 to him with gratitude and affection as their true friend. 
 If there were many young Laymen of education and 
 position like him in Southern Italy, things would, indeed, 
 be in a different state ; zealous, earnest, reverent, in the 
 religious faith in which he has been trained, yet keenly 
 
XCll PREFACE 
 
 alive to the wretchedly low moral and intellectual con- 
 dition of the masses of his countrymen, both in the 
 Neapolitan and remaining Papal states ; combining deep 
 attachment to his Church, with patriotic love of his 
 country, such as won him personal tokens of esteem from 
 Garibaldi, and drew forth as honestly indignant expres- 
 sions of scorn for Antonelli and his policy, as I have often 
 heard from Italian lips. One could but long to see far 
 more of his conscientious, earnest spirit at work amongst 
 young Italian Laymen, who have similar opportunities 
 for promoting the welfare of the poorer classes of their 
 countrymen. From a return, kindly furnished to me in 
 Naples, it appears that in the various Public Schools 
 connected with the municipality — Infant, Elementary, 
 and Evening — also including the Normal Training Schools, 
 with the Gymnasium and Lyceum, there were last De- 
 cember 10,520 scholars. I need, not say what a con- 
 trast this shows between North and South Italy, when 
 Genoa, with not a third of the population of Naples 
 (which is estimated at over 400,000), has so very much 
 larger a number ; but in Naples, as in Sicily, popular 
 education is but beginning, and the present beginning 
 gives great good hope for the future. I must not omit 
 to mention that the Italian ladies, to whom Garibaldi 
 appealed on behalf of the neglected children of their 
 more destitute countrymen, fitly commenced their re- 
 sponse to that appeal by opening a school for 100 children 
 at Torre del Greco last year, immediately after the devas- 
 tation of the place during the last eruption of Vesuvius. 
 I have seen many Mission Schools amongst recent con- 
 verts in heathen countries, but never saw a set of poor 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. Xciii 
 
 children for whom such a charitable work seemed more 
 needed. Two energetic mistresses were procured from 
 Tuscany ; and these little wild, squalid, unkempt crea- 
 tures, literally gathered out of the streets, soon began to 
 be brought into something like order and comparative 
 tidiness, and the school continues to make satisfactory 
 progress. 
 
 The Yaudois and "Free Evangelical" Italians wisely 
 consider schools as forming not the least important 
 side of their evangelical work. They have schools in con- 
 nexion with their work in all the large centres. In 
 Naples there are two excellent Day Schools, and an 
 Adult Night School in connexion with Signer Appia's 
 and Marchese Cresi's congregations. No one who has 
 attended the annual examinations, as I have twice had 
 the pleasure of doing, and listened to the remarkable 
 proficiency of the children in Scriptural Knowledge, can 
 doubt, that, so far as their influence reaches, such schools 
 must powerfully tell in leading the rising generation to 
 follow the example of the "more noble" Beroeans, and 
 test their religious teachers, as St. Paul was so thankful 
 to be tested, by " searching the Scriptures daily to see 
 whether those things Were so." God grant a like result 
 may follow now, and many be led to believe to the saving 
 of their souls ! The energetic Pastor of the Scotch Pree 
 Kirk in Naples, Eev. H. Buscarlet, is the mainspring of 
 this feature of the school work. The general secular in- 
 struction is also very good. If I remark as a cheering 
 feature that one of these Schools is 'paying, it is because 
 the Public Schools for the lower classes are 2^ gratuitous. 
 Many who are most zealous in promoting national educa- 
 
XCIV PKEFACE 
 
 tion are alive to this defect, and hope that it will in 
 course of time be remedied. The "Evangelization Com- 
 mittee" in Naples, -who succour the Italians in their 
 work, very fairly point to this paying School as a cheer- 
 ing proof of the interest felt by the parents, and also as a 
 test of the sincerity of the converts, in refutation of the 
 common taunt that converts are bought over. 
 
 The Committee fairly say, ""We were far from per- 
 suading ourselves, three years ago, that these people 
 would unloose their purse-strings in order to make their 
 sons Protestants." 
 
 The University of ^N'aples is attended by a very large 
 body of Students, estimated at from 8000 to 10,000. It 
 is, however, difficult to ascertain the exact numbers, 
 owing to the fact that matriculation is not required of 
 the Students. Degrees are conferred on all who can 
 pass the needful examinations in the different faculties, 
 without reference to any previous connexion with the 
 University, neither is attendance on the Lectures of the 
 University Professors at all obligatory. If the Pro- 
 fessors are able and in general repute, their Lectures 
 are largely attended. If not, private tuition supplies 
 their place. There are a very large number of Private 
 Tutors in Naples who have their own Lecture-rooms, 
 and draw large classes. Prom amongst these the seventy 
 University Professors are often recruited. This has for 
 a very long time been a peculiarity of the Naples Univer- 
 sity system, and when recently an attempt was made by 
 Signer Matteucci, late Minister of PubKc Instruction, to 
 place Naples under the same system that he wished to 
 carry out in all the Italian Universities, requiring all 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XCV 
 
 students to pass certain examinations on leaving the 
 Lyceum in order to qualify them for entering the Uni- 
 versity, such a vigorous opposition vras raised in the 
 Naples University that the scheme was, in that case, 
 dispensed with, and the University is allowed at present 
 to continue on its ancient plan, which it is asserted has 
 worked remarkably well ; the consequence is, that out of 
 so large a number of students only two took the trouble 
 to matriculate last year. In the Sicilian Universities the 
 result of the new system of more stringent preparatory 
 examinations has been at present to diminish the number 
 of students entering, an inevitable but wholesome result, 
 for the old standard had been far too low and the system 
 lax. Classical studies appear to have fallen to a won- 
 derfully low ebb, amongst the generality of Italian Uni- 
 versity Students. I visited several classical Lecture- 
 rooms, for Lectures are open to all comers, and was 
 surprised to see how extremely few students attended 
 the Greek and Latin Classes, specially the former ; the 
 Professors also testified to the small extent to which 
 Classical Studies are pursued in general. In the Univer- 
 sities, generally speaking, the faculties of Law and Medi- 
 cine embrace by far the largest proportion of Students. 
 There are also many intending to pursue Civil Engineer- 
 ing and Architecture. The number of these appears to be 
 on the increase. The Natural Science Classes are largely 
 attended, as they bear upon Medicine and other pursuits. 
 Pure Mathematics do not appear to be generally studied 
 to any great extent. There are also a considerable 
 number of students intending to qualify themselves as 
 Professors in the Gymnasiums and Lyceums. These 
 
XCVl PREFACE 
 
 are, of course, also likely to contribute future University 
 Professors. Many of these latter students are in the 
 " Convitti Nazionali," which the Government is organizing 
 with a view to a supply of good masters for the higher 
 Schools. These " Convitti " answer juost nearly to our 
 idea of Colleges. In several instances, as in Pisa and 
 elsewhere, they are attached to the University. There 
 are Grovernment "purses," Scholarships we might call 
 them, for deserving students, open to competition. There 
 is a resident staff of Professors, who give lectures and 
 regulate the discipline of the College. They have a 
 common hall for meals, with a " high table " for the Pro- 
 fessors or " Pellows." The students have the oppor- 
 tunity of attending the University Lectures. In the 
 Pisa " Convitto " an English Clergyman, of much expe- 
 rience in English public School work, holds a post as 
 Professor of Modern Languages. The Head of the Col- 
 lege is Professor Yillari, the well-known Professor of 
 Italian Literature in the University of Pisa. Professor 
 Villari was last year sent by the Italian Grovernment to 
 visit Germany, Prance, and Great Britain, to examine 
 and report upon their various systems of higher public 
 education. At the same time another Neapolitan Pro- 
 fessor was sent to study the systems of popular education 
 for the masses. Professor Villari visited Oxford and 
 Cambridge (but unfortunately not in Term time), as 
 well as our great public schools. He said he found the 
 London and Scotch Universities much the most nearly 
 correspond to the Universities in Italy. He appeared 
 much impressed with the way in which he found the in- 
 fluence of the Bible, and religious instruction based upon 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. XCvii 
 
 it, pervading our National education. In the Pisa " Con- 
 vitto " no special religious instruction is given ; mass is 
 said on Sunday mornings, but there is no daily religious 
 service. One feature that strikes an Englishman fami- 
 liar with our old Universities, is the almost entire absence 
 of two classes which form such important elements in 
 Oxford and Cambridge : those, I mean, from whom are 
 drawn our Landed Proprietors, Members of Parliament, 
 Country Gentlemen, and Clergy. There appears, indeed, 
 to be no large Italian class fairly corresponding to our 
 landed gentry resident on their estates, but it is to be 
 regretted that the sons of many families of the " no- 
 blesse " have not hitherto been generally accustomed to 
 benefit by University training. Instead of this they 
 have either been educated in Jesuit or other Clerical 
 Seminaries, or very frequently brought up at home, with 
 a private Tutor, generally a Priest ; and the result too 
 often is, that they have fallen behindhand in intel- 
 lectual cultivation, instead of being ready to take a 
 leading position in public affairs. There are, of course, 
 many brilliant exceptions: Cavour and Eicasoli alone 
 suffice to show that. No doubt, also, the tendency 
 amongst too many to rest content in a comparatively 
 low standard of cultivation and frivolous life, has arisen 
 from the lack of that wholesome stimulus to the honour- 
 able ambition of serving their country in public life, 
 which could hardly exist, and could not flourish, so long 
 as Italy was subdivided under such regimes as have now 
 happily passed away. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the present national rekindling 
 of political life, as well as intellectual activity, will rouse 
 VOL. I. d 
 
XCVlll PREFACE 
 
 a more general appreciation of the immense benefit to 
 be derived from that free mingling of various ranks, 
 and fair competition in intellectual struggles, which 
 University training so specially furnishes, and which, 
 assuredly, has proved in England not one of the least 
 influential means for developing and strengthening 
 national life. The absence of the other class, — the 
 future clergy of the country, — is the work of Eome. 
 The numerous Theological Professorships still existing 
 in the Italian Universities testify to a more wholesome 
 state of things, when, like our own old " seminaries of 
 sound learning, and religious education," they fur- 
 nished "a supply of men duly qualified to serve God 
 both in Church and State." But Eome has systemati- 
 cally worked out her aim of absorbing all ecclesiastical 
 power into the centre, whereby not only the rights of 
 the Laity in the Church have fallen into utter abeyance, 
 but also, — to use the words of Perfetti and others, — 
 " the Priests are now swallowed up in their Bishops, 
 and the Bishops in the Pope ;" so that in place of the 
 ancient independent positions, rights, and responsibi- 
 lities of the various ranks of the Church, combined in 
 due subordination, and knit together by mutual charity, 
 the system of Eome has become " a spiritual autocracy," 
 as thousands of her liberal Priests now declare. Mean- 
 time, she seems to have felt that the most efiective 
 means to her end, viz. welding together her ecclesiastics 
 into a compact army, acting upon a simple spirit of 
 military obedience, and ready implicitly to do her bid- 
 ding, was to withdraw them from that sympathy and 
 association with their Lay brethren, which University 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. xcix 
 
 life and training must give. She lias undoubtedly suc- 
 ceeded to a very great degree in that aim, but at the 
 cost of great past and present wholesome influence, how- 
 ever much she may have advanced her claims of autho- 
 rity ; and it now remains to be seen how far the system 
 she has worked out of isolating her clerical students in 
 Episcopal Seminaries will bear the strain of changed na- 
 tional life in Italy. It seems unlikely that, whilst the 
 intellectual life of the country is flowing with renewed 
 energy in channels which she has deliberately abandoned, 
 or is trying to obstruct, and whilst a spirit of religious 
 inquiry and free discussion is becoming awakened, a 
 Clergy drawn so largely from the lower ranks, shut up 
 from very early youth, for twelve or fifteen years, in 
 Seminaries entirely apart from Lay intercourse, and 
 subjected to a limited and thoroughly one-sided train- 
 ing, should be found well fitted for the arena on which 
 they have now to enter. Such is the acknowledged 
 conviction of some of Eome's ablest theologians and 
 deepest thinkers in Italy at present. Passaglia, Perfetti, 
 and many others, say without hesitation that the pre- 
 sent system of Episcopal Seminaries must be abandoned 
 or profoundly modified, if the Clergy are to hope to 
 retain influence amongst an educated Laity ^, They 
 
 ^ In many instances where sees are vacant from death, 
 or absence of the Bishops, the Seminaries are at present 
 closed. I was told of twelve in the Dioceses adjoining 
 Naples now closed. The number of vacant sees is fast in- 
 creasing ; upwards of fifty are now vacant by death. Out 
 of eighty-seven Neapolitan sees forty-three were vacant 
 
 d 2 
 
C PEEFACE 
 
 declare that for many years past the instruction given 
 in the Seminaries has been steadily deteriorating, instead 
 of keeping pace with the improved education of the 
 Laity. The present religious condition of Italy cer- 
 tainly shows how very widely they have already lost 
 influence; and the measure proposed by Passaglia in 
 the last session of the Italian Parliament points to the 
 remedy which he and the many who think with him 
 consider indispensable, viz. the return of theological 
 students to the wider training of Public Schools and 
 University life. Passaglia boldly moved that all eccle- 
 siastical benefices in the patronage of the Crown and 
 corporate bodies should henceforth be given only to 
 Priests who could produce testimonials of having ob- 
 tained a University degree, or, at the least, of having 
 passed the G-ymnasium and Lyceum examinations. There 
 appears, however, little prospect of Eome's abandoning 
 her deliberately adopted line. The theological faculty 
 in the Universities is practically defunct ; for it is 
 literally the case, as was shown in the Parliamentary 
 debate, that in most of the Universities the theological 
 professors are more numerous than the students. It 
 is weU known that for years past the Bishops have 
 
 by death and absence last spring. It is to be remem- 
 bered, however, that Italy furnishes nearly one-third of 
 the whole Eoman Catholic Episcopate — 274 Bishoprics 
 exclusive, I believe, of Sicily — so that a reduction of two- 
 thirds of the number would still leave more Bishops, in 
 proportion to the population, than either Prance or Spain 
 deem needful. 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. ci 
 
 looked with suspicion upon University clerical stu- 
 dents, and in some instances have formally interdicted 
 their clergy and students from attending even theolo- 
 gical lectures in the Universities. A curious instance 
 of this occurred last winter in Pisa ^ One of the theo- 
 logical professors in most repute applied for the loan 
 of a room in the " Convitto Nazionale," in which to 
 deliver his lectures. He stated that the Archbishop of 
 Pisa had prohibited his clergy from attending lectures 
 in the University, but that several Priests had expressed 
 a desire to attend his lectures, and he hoped that a 
 room in the " Convitto " might be deemed neutral 
 ground, sufficiently out of the pale of the University 
 to escape the Archbishop's interdict. The natural result 
 of the line taken by Eome is, of course, to lead the 
 Laity to feel that theological professorships had better 
 be put an end to. This was proposed during the last 
 session of Parliament; and the Minister of Public 
 Instruction was understood to agree to the suggestion, 
 that as the chairs of theology fell vacant, they should 
 not be filled again. In Naples the faculty is abolished. 
 Certainly, there seems no feature of Eome's ecclesiastical 
 machinery more suggestive to us, as English Churchmen, 
 ty way of contrast^ than her Diocesan Seminaries in 
 
 ° As a proof of the growing separation between the 
 Church and the old Educational Institutions, I may men- 
 tion that in Pisa the Cardinal Archbishop was formerly 
 ex officio Chancellor of the University, and all Degrees 
 were conferred in his Chancellor's Court. Now this 
 connexion is, I understand, entirely dissolved. 
 
 d 3 
 
Cll PEEFACE 
 
 Italy, productive as they have proved of a class of clergy 
 so widely separated from their Lay brethren in sym- 
 pathy and association. Often and often I have felt, 
 whilst in Italy, that it would indeed be a grievous day 
 for us if our Universities should fail to send forth a 
 supply of men duly qualified to serve God in Church 
 as well as in State, and if our Diocesan Theological 
 Colleges should tend to supplant, instead of supplement 
 our old Universities in that most important work. 
 
 Whilst the present vigorous development of National 
 Education amongst all classes in Italy is running in 
 channels apart from, and in great measure opposed to 
 the influence of Eome, her own powers of influencing 
 lay education are meantime decreasing. I have already 
 referred to the abolition of Jesuit teaching, and the 
 substitution of an opposing influence in its place. The 
 recent deplorable case of the College of the " Christian 
 Brethren" in Turin is adding a powerful impulse in 
 the same direction. Happily for the honour of the 
 Italian Clergy, none of the chief actors in these revolting 
 transactions were, I believe, Italian Priests, though, as 
 may well be imagined, the feeling against Eome has 
 not been diminished by the belief that the guilty head 
 of the College, with some of his abettors, found re- 
 fuge in Eome. The College, as you are aware, was 
 at once closed ; and I see that recently, at the re- 
 quest of many of the leading Laymen in Turin, the 
 Prefect of the city summoned a very influential public 
 meeting, to take steps for the establishment of a new 
 Institution, which should afford better safeguards for the 
 morality of their children. I was much struck with the 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION, ciii 
 
 tone of the leading Journals in Turin, in speaking of 
 this painful case. "The Opinione," amongst others, 
 said :— " It is useless to deceive ourselves. Italy is in a 
 much worse position, as regards public education, than 
 England and other Protestant countries. There, in 
 England, the old Educational Institutions are freely and 
 safely confided to the care of the Clergy, because their 
 position gives every guarantee for their wholesome, moral, 
 and religious influence, as well as for their discharge 
 of their duties as citizens. Here, unfortunately, these 
 guarantees are wanting, and we see that we cannot 
 entrust our children with the same confidence to the 
 care of Priests. It behoves us, therefore, to take steps 
 to secure what we need by other means." There are 
 still many admirably conducted " Scuole Pie," under the 
 care of the Scolopian Fathers, in Tuscany and elsewhere. 
 I was greatly interested in their very large and efficient 
 school in Florence, containing 1200 pupils. They have 
 also a branch school, with 400 more pupils, in the city ; 
 yet there are tokens that, as the Government Public 
 Schools progress, their influence diminishes. In Genoa 
 these schools are now closed. Nor is it wonderful that 
 the jealousy of those who desire a united Italy should be 
 roused even against these excellent Institutions, when 
 recently the Government detected, and the Journals 
 published, a circular, sent to these Fathers from the 
 Head of their order in Eome, granting them permission, 
 in order to save appearances in the eyes of the Govern- 
 ment, to attend with their pupils at the National Fete 
 for the "so-called'^ "Unity of Italy," but strictly en- 
 joining withdrawal if any religious celebration took 
 
 d 4 
 
CIV PEEFACE 
 
 place. What can Italians think of the loyalty, and 
 even the honesty, likely to be inculcated under such 
 influences ? 
 
 I must apologize for having run on to so much greater 
 length than I had anticipated ; but I felt anxious to 
 give you as fair a sketch as I could of the present edu- 
 cational, as well as directly religious movements we 
 noticed ; for I constantly felt that the one appeared to 
 be telling almost as directly and powerfully upon the 
 future of the Church and country as the other. May 
 I venture, in conclusion, to express my earnest hope 
 that an increasing number of English Churchmen, and 
 of our brethren of the Eeformed Episcopal Church, 
 may be led to follow your own example, and personally 
 investigate the present religious condition of Italy ? 
 How many are there who, like ourselves, are led to 
 Italy simply in search of health and information, who 
 might find, just as we have found, many opportunities, 
 from one end of the country to the other, for coming 
 into contact with both Priests and Laymen, whose 
 minds are deeply stirred by the crisis through which 
 both Church and State are passing? Many of these 
 men are growing in the conviction that the present 
 claims of Eome are unscriptural and uncatholic, incom- 
 patible alike vrith the spiritual welfare of the Church and 
 the political harmony of the State, and generally adverse 
 to wholesome intellectual and social progress. Judging 
 from our own experience, which you will, I believe, fully 
 confirm, there is the greatest readiness amongst thought- 
 ful Italians to welcome friendly intercourse, and inter- 
 change of ideas upon religious and educational questionsj 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. CV 
 
 when assured, as I have always taken pains frankly to 
 assure our friends, that we had no proselytizing aims in 
 view ; for that we felt it as unlikely that Italians could 
 become Anglicans, as that we could adopt their national 
 habits of life. But there is, I am sure, a large field and 
 wide scope before us of the Eeformed Episcopal Church 
 for giving information and sympathy to those who are 
 struggling, often under heavy discouragements and diffi- 
 culties, to work out their own ideas of Church Eeform, 
 and return to a purer and more primitive faith and 
 worship in their own way. I believe that since the 
 Eeformation there has never been such a manifest call 
 of Providence to rouse us to do all we possibly can to 
 help our Italian brethren in this way. We have hitherto 
 done very little, though you and we alike have seen that 
 that little has not been labour in vain. The Anglo- 
 Continental Association, as I imderstand, has never yet 
 received sufficient support to enable it to do any thing 
 like the work it might fairly do ; other channels, taking 
 a wider scope than its special object, are, as you are 
 aware, open to aU who may be willing to help. I 
 earnestly hope and pray that your influential voice and 
 pen may lead many to interest themselves in a country 
 to which we ourselves ages ago were so deeply indebted 
 for the rekindling of Christianity and civilization amongst 
 us ; and I cannot but hope that the present eventful 
 changes in Italy may be overruled to the clearing away 
 of much of the mutual misapprehension, ignorance, and 
 prejudice that has too long unhappily divided Christians, 
 and that in God's good time there may be a nearer 
 d 5 
 
CVl PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 approacli to the " one fold under one Shepherd, Jesus 
 Christ our Lord." 
 
 Forgive my troubling you at such length, and allow 
 me to subscribe myself, with deep respect, 
 
 Tour sincere Friend, 
 
 An English Chubchman. 
 
 To the Eev. Canon Wordsworth, D.D., 
 &c. &c. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 The title-page will have informed the reader 
 that the Tour, of which an account is given in 
 the present publication, was undertaken by the 
 Author for the purpose of observing the state 
 of Religion in Italy. 
 
 He was disposed to believe, before he set 
 out from England, that the present juncture 
 of Italian affairs may perhaps prove more 
 important to the Church in Italy than any 
 crisis in her history since the days of the 
 Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. 
 
 That impression was strengthened by his 
 visit to that country. 
 
CVlll PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 The Author's design, in the following pages, 
 will have been fully accomplished, if they 
 serve to shed any light on the religious condi- 
 tion of Italy; and to render any assistance, 
 however small, to the endeavours of those 
 loyal and disinterested persons in that country, 
 who are labouring to build up and consolidate 
 the fabric of constitutional Monarchy, and of 
 social Order, Prosperity, and Peace, on the 
 foundations of true Religion; and to restore 
 the Church of Italy to the purity, liberty, 
 and vigour, which distinguished her in ancient 
 times. 
 
 Cloisters, Westminster Alley, 
 Jan. 3, 1863. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 LondontoMouscron, Ij Conversation,! — 5j Cologne, — Churches, — 
 Congregations, 6j Frankfort, — Friburg, 7; Dr. Hirscher on 
 Reformation in the Eoman Catholic Church, 7 — 9 ; BMe, 9 ; 
 Cathedral at Bale, 10 ; Altar front, 11 ; Liturgy of the Reformed 
 Communion at Bale, 13 — 18; Council of Bale, History of, 19; 
 Its importance at the present time, ib.; Primitive Election of 
 Bishops, — Pragmatic Sanction, 20, 21 j Concordats, 22. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 FEOM bIlE to MILAN. 
 
 Lucerne, 24 ; Funeral Service, 25 ; Cemetery, — Monumental inscrip- 
 tions, ib.; Protestant Cemetery, 27 ; English Chapel, 28 ; Conver- 
 sation with Swiss Roman Catholic Priest and Professor, 29; 
 Purgatory, — Immaculate Conception, — Protestantism, — Gorham 
 Case, 29-— 37; Fluellen, 37; Roman Catholic Services, ib.; Influ- 
 aice of Reformation on, 39; Altorf, 40; Sermon at, ib.; Passag'e of 
 Mount St. Gothard, — Scenery, &c., 41 — 45; Vineyards, Mul- 
 berries, — Cemetery, 46, 47; BeUinzona, — Lago Maggiore, 47; 
 Roman Catholic Priest on Temporal Power, 48 ; Alpine Scenery, — 
 different opinions on, ib. ; A Peasant's opinions on Italian affairs, 
 49; Garibaldian attempt against Austria, ib.; Novara, battle of, 
 50 ; Abdications of Kings of Sardinia, 51 ; Magenta, 52. 
 
ex TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 MILAN. 
 
 Cathedral, 53 ; Ambrosian Ritual, 55 ; Present state of the Diocese, 
 — No Archbishop, — His deputy the Vicario Capitolare, — Reflec- 
 tions; — History of Elections of Bishops in primitive times, 57 ; Pope 
 Gregory Vllth's policy in this matter, 59 ; Council of Bale, 60 ; 
 Pragmatic Sanction, 61 ; Concordat of Leo X. and Francis I., — 
 Its influence and effects, — Conflict between Louis XIV. and the 
 Popes, ib. ; how ended, 62 ; Concordat between Napoleon and 
 Pope Pius VII., ib. ; "The greatest fault of his reign," 63; Subse- 
 quent conflict between the Pope and Napoleon, 63, 64; Vacant 
 Sees, 64 ; Napoleon's attempts to modify the Concordat, — Coimcil 
 of Paris in 1811, 65 ; Concordat of Fontainebleau in 1813, 66, 67 ; 
 Final result, 67 ; Application of this history to the present condi- 
 tion of Ecclesiastical affairs in the Kingdom of Italy, 68, 69; 
 Probable solution of the present difiiculty, 70 ; Episcopal Statistics 
 of Italy, 71 ; Vacant Sees in Italy, 72 ; Refusal of investiture to 
 Canonries on the part of Monsignor Caccia, deputy of the Arch- 
 bishop, ib. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MILAN {continued). 
 
 Cathedi-al, Vespers at, 73; Diurnum Ambrosianum, 74; Ambrosian 
 Breviary compared with the Roman, 75 ; Reasons which have in- 
 duced the Church of Rome to endeavour to abolish the French 
 Breviaries, and to substitute the Roman, in France, 75, 76 ; 
 The attempts of the Church of Rome to abolish the Ambrosian 
 Breviary, 76, 77 ; " Anniversary of the Italian Constitution," its 
 observance prohibited by the representative of the Archbishop of 
 Milan, but celebrated by the Chapter of the Cathedral, 78 ; 
 Influence of Garibaldi, 79 ; The Confessional employed as an instru- 
 ment of insurrection, ib.; Reasons of this abuse, 80; Visit to a 
 Roman CathoHc Rector, 81; "Societa Ecclesiastica " of MUan, 
 81, 82; Its design, and members, and history, 82, 83; Censured 
 and condemned by the present representative of the Archbishop, 
 84 — 86; Its suppression, 86; Internal conflicts in the Italian 
 
TABLE OE CONTENTS. Cxi 
 
 Churcli, 86 ; Mamiani's " Einascenza Cattolica," ib. ; Its Sketch 
 of a futiire Reformation for Italy, 87—90 ; Interesting " History 
 of the Diocese of Milan, during the last fifteen years," 90 — 95 ; 
 Ecclesiastical Seminary at MUan for the training of Clergy, its 
 history, 96; Education of Clergy in Italy, — Eosmuii, 96, 97; 
 Probable results in regard to the Monarchy and People, 99, 100 ; 
 Books of popular devotion, 100 ; Hopes of Reformation, — whence, 
 101 ; The question to be examiued, 102 ; Influence of the English 
 Book of Common Prayer in Italy, 103 ; Poverty and illiterate 
 character of the Clergy, 104, 105 ; Consequences of this, 105 ; 
 Remarkable avowals of a large body of the Clergy themselves, 107; 
 Policy of the Italian Government as to religious matters, ib. ; 
 Cavour's dictum, " Libera Chiesa in libero Stato," 108. 143. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MILAN (continued). 
 
 Ambrosian Library, — Dom. Giovanni Dozio, 110; His publications on 
 the Ambrosian Liturgy, 111; Dom. Luigi Biraghi, ib. ; His edition 
 of the genuine Hymns of S. Ambrose, 112 ; Hymns of S. Ambrose, 
 — their influence in the restoration of a sound faith, 112 — 116. 
 125 ; Their peculiar character and excellence, 116 — 118 ; Church 
 of S. Ambrose, 118; Atrium, — sepulchral inscriptions, 120; Ambon 
 or pulpitum, 120, 121 ; " MigM side and left side of Altar," mean- 
 ing of the terms, 121 ; Reminiscences of S. Ambrose, — SS. Ger- 
 vasius and Protasius, 122; S. Augustine, 123; MarceUina the sister, 
 and Satyrus the brother of S. Ambrose, 124; Suflragan Bishops of 
 Milan, 126 ; View of Church Government in Lombardy and Italy 
 generally, in the days of S. Ambrose, 126 — 128 ; Contrasted with 
 the present state of affairs under Pius IX., 128 ; Noble conduct of 
 S. Ambrose in vindicating and maintaining the true faith in the 
 divinity of Christ against Arianism, 129; Conversation with a 
 chierico, 130 ; Roman doctrine and practice as to the Administra- 
 tion of the Holy Eucharist, 130 — 134; Dogma of Immaculate 
 Conception, 135 ; Whether the Church of England has the Catholic 
 faith, 136; Has she altered the "Te Deum?" 137; Disastrous 
 consequences of tampering with ancient formularies, e.g. the 
 Athanasian Creed, 137, 138; Communion with S. Ambrose and 
 S. Augustine, 138. 
 
CXll TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 MILAN (continued). 
 
 Conversation with an Italian " Senatore," 140 — 143 ; On " senso 
 private," 141 ; What the Church is, 142 j "Libera Chiesa in libero 
 Stato," ib. ; Hopes of Union, 144 ; General view of Eeligion in 
 Lombardy and Italy, ib. ; Conversation with an Italian " Sena- 
 tore," 145 ; Eosmini, — Gioberti, — Mamiani, 147 ; Mezzofanti, the 
 late Cardinal, 147, 148; Church of S. Giovanni alia Conca, 
 149 ; EngUsh Church at Milan, 150 ; Lord's day, cause of non- 
 observance, 150, 151; Catechizing in the Cathedral, 151; In- 
 struction to Adults, 152—154; S. Carlo, 152, 153; Tomb of 
 S. Carlo, 154; Canonizations, cost of, 154, 155; Catalogue of 
 supposed relics, 156. 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 MILAN TO PATIA AND GENOA. 
 
 Pavia, 158 ; S. Augustine's Monument, history of, 158 — 161 ; Cer- 
 tosa, near Pavia, 161 — 163 ; Eule of S. Bruno, 163. 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 GENOA. 
 
 Genoa, — Dr. Luigi De Sanctis, 165 ; His Address to Pius IX., 166 ; 
 On enforced Clerical Celibacy, 167 — 169 ; " Colonna di Fuoco " on 
 that subject, 169 ; Petruccelli's Bill on that subject, — Passaglia's 
 remarks, 170; Reasons of De Sanctis for withdrawing from the 
 Communion of Rome, 171 ; Protestantism in its negative character 
 not acceptable to Italians, — " Colonna di Fuoco " on Protestantism, 
 172 ; Caricatures, 173 ; ReHgious condition of Genoa, ib. ; Schools, 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. cxiii 
 
 statistics of, in Sardinia and Italy generally, 174; Change of 
 religious habits, 175;^ Picturesque character of the streets and 
 buUdings, &c., of Genoa, 175, 176 ; Influence of Religious Art in 
 places of secular resort, 177, 178; Out-door Life, 178; "La Con- 
 cordia," — Sermon on Purgatory, 179 ; Accommodative skill of the 
 Church of Rome, 180, 181 ; Institution for taking care of unbap- 
 tized children, 183. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A TILLAGE IK THE APENNINES. 
 
 Ascension Day, — English Church, 184; "Colonna di Fnoco" on 
 reading the Bible, 185 ; Vaudois Church, 185, 186 ; The Church 
 of England not duly represented in the places provided for the 
 English worship in Italy, — Anticipations for the future, 186 ; 
 Visit to a Country Parish in the Apennines, 187 ; The Parroco, 
 his sympathies with England, 187, 188; Convocation of Canter- 
 bury, Address of certain Members of the Lower House on Re- 
 formation in Italy, 188 ; Coincidences of the Offices in the " Book 
 of Common Prayer " with those of the Breviary, on Ascension 
 Day, 190 ; Suggestion for a Latin edition of the " Book of Common 
 Prayer," 191 ; Providential arrangements for Union of Western 
 Christendom in the principles of primitive Catholicity, 192. 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 GENOA TO LEaHOBN, PISA, AND PLOEENOE. 
 
 Pisa, 194 ; Its group of buildings, — the Cathedral, Baptistery, Lean- 
 ing Tower, Campo Santo, 194, 195 ; Rhamnus and Girgenti, 194 ; 
 Present struggle of the Papacy and Papal Episcopate in Italy 
 against the Monarchy and People, ib. ; Its consequences, 195, 196 ; 
 Campo Santo, 196 — 198; Poetical description of, 198; Road to 
 Florence, 199, 200. 
 
CXIV TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 PLOEENCE. 
 
 Florence, 201 j "Societa Ecclesiastica " of Florence, — Censured and 
 condemned by the Archbishop, ib. ; Attempts of the members of 
 this and other similar Societies to return to primitive doctrine and 
 practice, 203 ; Present character of Civil Policy with regard to 
 Ecclesiastical affairs, 203, 204 ; Can it succeed ? 205 ; Picture of 
 the condition of the Priesthood, 206, 207; Conversation with an 
 Ultramontane Roman Catholic Priest, 208 — 211 ; Episcopal Charges 
 in Italy, 211 — 213; Collections in Italy for a new Roman 
 Cathohc Church in London, 213, 214. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 rLOBENCE (continued). 
 
 Anniversary of the " Constitution," an occasion of discord between 
 the Episcopate and the Monarchy; and between the People and 
 some of the Clergy ; and of the Clergy among themselves, 215 — 
 222 ; Consequences of this feud, 222 ; Vacant Episcopal Sees, 222, 
 223 ; The Apocalypse, 224—226. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 TLORENCE {continued). 
 
 Conversation with an Italian Advocate, 227; with a distinguished 
 Florentine Ecclesiastic ; his opinions on the presenb crisis, 228, 
 229. 231 ; Count Luigi Pianciani, — Perfetti, — Rosmini, — Massimo 
 D'Azegho, 230 ; Dante on the temporal power of the Popes, 231 ; 
 Guicciardini's Sketch of its rise, 233 — 235 ; Perfetti's work " On 
 the Clergy and Society," some account of, 235 ; His description of 
 present Ecclesiastical abuses in doctrine, discipline, education, 
 and worship, 237, 238 ; Needful reforms to be effected by return 
 to primitive practice, 239; Election of Bishops, 240; Rosmini, — 
 His remarkable book " On the five wounds of the Holy Chm-ch," 
 241 ; Some account of the Author, 243 ; Election of Bishops, — 
 His prophecy, 244. 
 
TABLE OE CONTENTS. CXV 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 TLOEEKCE (continued). 
 
 Colportage of Bibles, 246; Protestant Proselytism, whether wisely 
 and charitably conducted, 247 j Example of the Apostle St. Paul, 
 ib, ; What are the true principles of Eeformation, and How is it 
 to be set on foot and carried on ? 249 ; Questions now to be pro- 
 posed, 250 ; Claims of the Papacy to give investiture to Bishops, 
 251 ; Hopeful Anticipations, 251, 252. 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 rLOEENCE (continued). 
 
 Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, 253; View of Florence, 254; 
 S. Miniato al Monte, 256 ; Anniversary of Cavour^s death, 257 ; 
 Vaudois, 258 ; Signor Geymonat, ib. ; Sketch of their rise, history, 
 and persecutions, 258 — 260 ; Milton's Sonnet " on the Massacre in 
 Piedmont," 261 ; House of Savoy used by the Papacy as its instru- 
 ment for destroying the Vaudois, 260 — 262; Dr. Gilly, General 
 Beckwith, and the " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel," 
 262 ; Eemarkable retribution on the Papacy from Piedmont and 
 the House of Savoy, 263, 264 ; Vaudois " Articles," and " Liturgy," 
 265 — 267 ; Activity of some Rehgious Societies, — The principles of 
 the Church of England little known in Italy, 268. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI, 
 
 TLOEENCE (continued). 
 
 S. Onofrio, 269; Convent of S. Mark,— Savonarola, 270; Gradual 
 Suppression of Monasteries at this time, 270, 271 ; Reflections on 
 this measure, 271—273 ; Suggestions, 273, 274 ; Conversation with 
 a Dominican, 274—276. 
 
CXVl TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE KIOCl's ATTEMPTS AT EEFOEMATION. 
 
 Visit to Pistoia, 276; Sketcli of Scipio de Ricci's attempts at 
 Refonnation in the last century, 278, 279 ; Causes of their feilure, 
 279—286; What is to be learnt from the experiment ? 286—288; 
 Favourable circumstances at the present time for Reformation, 
 288 ; Ecclesiastical Seminary, 289 ; Visit to a celebrated Pistoian 
 Ecclesiastic, 290 ; His Lent Sermons, 290, 291 ; Reflections, 291 ; 
 His opinion on Ricci's Reformation, 292 ; Another opinion, 292, 
 293. 
 
 CHAPTEE XYIII. 
 
 PLOEEKCE {continued). 
 
 Sermon of an eminent Dominican at S. Gaetano, 294 ; His views of 
 Protestantism, 295 — 297 ; Interview with the Preacher, 297 — 301 ; 
 Inferences therefrom ; — Vaudois Sermon and Service, 301. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 FLOEENCE (continued). 
 
 The Baptistery, 304 ; Baptismal OiBce, 304—308 ; Use of three 
 Sponsors, 308 ; Reflections and Hopes for the future, 308, 309. 
 
LIST OF ADDITIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface to the Second Edition . . . . iii 
 On the Present State of Eeligion in Italy. By an 
 
 Italian Clergyman . . . . . . xv 
 
 Letter on the Same Subject, by a Member of the 
 
 Church of England ...... xxvii 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 Tuesday^ May 13^A, 1862. — Left London- 
 bridge at seven a.m. for Dover : among the 
 passengers were some Irish Roman Catholic 
 Priests going to Rome for the great gathering 
 there at Whitsuntide. From Calais by Lille 
 to Mouscron, the Belgian frontier: beautiful 
 cultivation, fine crops, gardens in excellent 
 order. At Mouscron a respectable-looking 
 man, about fifty-six years of age, got into 
 the carriage, — a second-class one, — he asked 
 me whether there were not many new churches 
 being built in England. " Yes." " Were 
 they for Catholiques?^'' "Yes; they are built 
 for the worship of God according to the ritual 
 of the Church of England, which is Catholiquer 
 "But you do not believe in the presence 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
A . LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 re'ellef^^ "We do not believe in a carnal 
 presence; but we believe that the body and 
 blood of Christ are received by the faithful in 
 the Lord's Supper." " But you do not believe 
 in Purgatory?" "No." "Nor practise Con- 
 fession?" "Yes — to God: and when the 
 conscience cannot otherwise be quieted, the 
 penitent is exhorted to go to the priest and 
 open his grief, that by the ministry of God's 
 Holy Word he may receive the benefit of 
 absolution, together with ghostly counsel and 
 advice; but as for the Roman doctrine of 
 Purgatory, we do not find it in Scripture, and 
 it was not believed by the Ancient Church : 
 it is no part ' of the Faith delivered to the 
 Saints,' and we therefore cannot receive it, 
 and we call ourselves Catholiques^ because we 
 belong to the Catholic Church and hold the 
 Catholic faith ; and we think that the Church 
 of Rome has exposed herself to the charge of 
 heresy and schism, because she adds new 
 dogmas to the Ancient Faith; (such as the 
 recently-published dogma of the Immaculate 
 Conception ;) and because she enforces them on 
 all as necessary to salvation, and therefore we 
 are sure that she is not the Catholic Church : 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 3 
 
 and thus also we know, that the Pope, who has 
 put forth this new doctrine, is in error, and 
 therefore cannot be infallible : and we feel 
 also much alarm for those who build their 
 religion on the foundation of the Pope's 
 supposed infallibility. What will become of 
 those who rest their faith on that foundation ? 
 What will become of many among them 
 when that foundation is taken away ? Will 
 they not become infidels ?" 
 
 " But," replied he, " if you had the proper 
 dispositions of heart you would receive all that 
 Rome teaches, and would not pretend to be a 
 judge of her doctrines;" and he instanced the 
 case of an unbeliever, who, he said, had been 
 brought under the influence of a saintly Con- 
 fessor, lately dead, whose name he mentioned, 
 and had embraced the true faith, unhesitatingly 
 and devoutly, and was immediately transported 
 into a holy ecstasy of joy and rapture — 
 "bonheur inconcevable." "There," said he, 
 " was a practical proof of the truth of the 
 doctrines of the Church of Rome." 
 
 How often does Romanism come into close 
 contact with Methodism, by making faith to 
 be purely subjective ! 
 
 B 2 
 
4 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 I ventured to submit to his consideration 
 whether such notions as these might not 
 eventually give a great advantage and triumph 
 to Infidelity; and whether perhaps it may not 
 be on account of the prevalence of such 
 notions that there is so much of incredulite in 
 this country. No religion can stand, unless 
 it be based on Reason ; not as if Reason could 
 discover Articles of Faith ; but Reason can 
 prove that the Holy Scripture is God's Word, 
 and Reason can show that certain doctrines 
 are rightly deduced from Scripture, and so 
 Reason leads to Faith. 
 
 " Have you ever read the works of Frangois 
 de Sales?" he asked; '"'• there you would see 
 the perfection of Christianity, and some of the 
 strongest arguments against heresy." 
 
 The train stopped — and just before he got 
 out of the carriage he apologized courteously 
 for having said any thing that might have 
 caused me pain ; for which I assured him there 
 was no reason. Here was a person of the 
 rank of a small tenant-farmer, taking much 
 interest in religious affairs, and endeavouring 
 to make a religious impression on a stranger. 
 Might not we profit by such examples of 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 5 
 
 spiritual earnestness and zeal? In the same 
 carriage there were two Irishmen also of the 
 middle class, who gave an interesting account 
 of the religious movement in the west of 
 Ireland, under the direction of the Bishop of 
 Tuam, and by means of an Irish-speaking 
 clergy {there is the great secret of its success) ; 
 and they bore testimony to the permanence of 
 its effect in the formation of regular congrega- 
 tions. They said that the recent appeal of 
 the Pope for " Peter's Pence " had not been 
 successful in Ireland, and that the Irish who 
 had gone to Italy to join the Papal Legion, 
 had come back disappointed and disconcerted 
 by the treatment they had received. 
 
 Arrived at Cologne^ Hotel du Nord, at 
 4.40 in the morning. 
 
 Cologne^ Wednesday. — Walked out at half- 
 past six A.M. ; found a large congregation in 
 the magnificent cathedral : indeed there were 
 three different congregations at three several 
 altars in the church. No excitement; it was 
 only Low Mass: the people were mostly of 
 the poorer class. Went also to two other 
 churches, the Church of St. Andrew and the 
 Jesuits : good congregations in both those 
 B 3 
 
6 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 churches; most of them had books and were 
 following the Service. Went again to the 
 cathedral at ten o'clock : another large congre- 
 gation of better-dressed people. High Mass. 
 Have we any thing like this manifestation of 
 public devotion in any of our cities in England 
 on week-days? Cologne is rather an ex- 
 ceptional place, I believe. It has an air of 
 leisure, not to say laziness, in its streets ; and 
 it preserves the traditions of mediaeval life 
 more perhaps than any great towns of Khenish 
 Prussia. 
 
 At half-past eleven went on by railway by 
 Mayence : schools making a holiday in parties, 
 attended by Sisters of Mercy, the caps of 
 the children wreathed with flowers : arrived 
 at Frankfort^ Hotel de Russie, at half-past 
 six P.M. 
 
 Thursday^ May 14:th. — Left Frankfort at 
 half-past ten a.m. for Bale ; a beautiful journey 
 of about 180 miles, having the Black Forest 
 on our left, and the distant hills of the Yosges 
 on our right : crops very forward in the 
 valleys, ripe cherries sold at the stations : one 
 of our companions was a young Jew reading a 
 little old Hebrew manual, " labra movens," — 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 7 
 
 and almost aloud, as the Ethiopian did in 
 his chariot, when returning from Jerusalem. 
 Another of our fellow-travellers was a ne- 
 gociant of Hamburg, who informed us that 
 the principal article of his personal expenditure 
 was cigars, of which he smoked a dozen a day, 
 and that he had just purchased a box con- 
 taining 1000. We passed some large, open, 
 ventilated sheds by the road-side, which, he 
 informed us, were for drying tobacco : had a 
 distant view of the spire of Strasbourg on the 
 right, and after some time passed by Freiburg, 
 with its beautiful pierced spire on the left, — a 
 place which has derived much celebrity from 
 the works of the learned Roman Catholic 
 Divine, Dr. B. Von Hirscher, the Dean of 
 that church, and Professor of Theology in the 
 University of that city. 
 
 Dr. Hirscher's book on the present state 
 of the Church — "Die kirchlichen Zustande," 
 published at Tubingen^ 1849, has been trans- 
 lated into French by M. A. Stappaerts 
 (Anvers, 1851), and into English by Dr. A. 
 Cleveland Coxe of Baltimore, who has prefixed 
 to it an interesting preface (Oxford, 1852), 
 and into Italian by Count Tasca (Milan, 
 B 4 
 
8 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 1862). It is one of the most candid and 
 eloquent statements that have ever appeared, 
 of the desire for Reformation which is felt by 
 devout and learned Roman Catholic Divines. 
 The Author draws a clear and striking picture 
 of the difficulties in which the Roman Catholic 
 Church in Germany was placed, in 1849, by its 
 separation from the State, and at the same 
 time displays the advantages which it might 
 derive from the possession of greater freedom 
 of action. He earnestly advises the formation 
 of Diocesan Synods, in which the Laity as 
 well as the Clergy should have a part, for the 
 management of the property and the main- 
 tenance of the discipline of the Church, and 
 gives a programme of the questions which 
 should be discussed at these Synods ; — 
 
 1. Measures to be adopted for the improve- 
 ment of Education, especially Clerical Educa- 
 tion. 
 
 2. Measures to be adopted for the recovery 
 of the great mass of the people — now alienated 
 from the Church, and what benefits may be 
 derived from religious " Conferences." 
 
 3. Liturgical Reforms. Revision of the 
 Breviary, &c. : whether the Liturgy should not 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 9 
 
 be in the mother tongue of the people ? 
 Reforms in the pompous ceremonial of the 
 Church. Communion in both kinds. Abuses 
 in the lax administration of the Holy Com- 
 munion "in articulo mortis." Reform of 
 abuses in Confession and Absolution. Reform 
 of abuses connected with the doctrine of 
 Purgatory and Indulgences. Abuses in the 
 worship of saints, " tending to Polytheism." 
 
 4. Discipline : abolition of celibacy of Clergy. 
 
 5. The introduction of the " Lay Element " 
 into Church Synods. 
 
 6. Abuses in religious confraternities. 
 These are the subjects which are discussed 
 
 by Dr. Hirscher in his Essay ; and his learning 
 and high position give additional interest to 
 his work, especially in these times. 
 
 May 16; Bale., Hotel de la Cigogne. — Early 
 in the morning walked to the bridge over the 
 Rhine. Very picturesque; lofty houses with 
 high pitched roofs; windows with bright green 
 shutters; lofty turrets with variegated tiling 
 of rich colours, like porcelain; gardens inter- 
 spersed among the houses, with acacias in full 
 bloom, and creepers mantling over the edge of 
 the river, which was flowing in a rapid, clear, 
 B 5 
 
10 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 dark green stream, sweeping along with a 
 glorious "pomp of waters." The city clean 
 and cheerful. 
 
 The old Cathedral — now in the hands of the 
 Reformed or Calvinists — stands on a noble 
 site ; a high terrace over the left bank of the 
 Rhine. On the north side is a very interesting 
 old doorway with sculptures representing the 
 Last Judgment. The venerable Cathedral is 
 kept in good order. Beautiful stained windows, 
 from Munich. Modern Calvinism is much more 
 tolerant than its former self; witness these 
 windows at Bale, and the magnificent recent 
 additions to Glasgow Cathedral. Bishop San- 
 derson would not have any occasion to preach 
 such a sermon ^ as he did to the people of 
 Lincolnshire, who in their zeal for reformation 
 destroyed the stained windows of Boston Church. 
 Norman clerestory ; apse ; where the high altar 
 once stood, are seats in parallel lines for the 
 principal male members of the congregation. 
 The women are separated from the men on 
 benches in the nave, which are ingeniously con- 
 trived with moveable backs, so that the persons 
 who occupy them may look either to the east 
 ' On Eom. iii. 8. 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 11 
 
 or west. There is a large new organ. The 
 congregation rarely kneels. There is not daily 
 service; but only service on Sundays, and two 
 week-days. The Holy Communion is adminis- 
 tered once a month : the Ecclesiastics sit behind 
 (i.e. to the east of) the Table, which, singular 
 enough, is oi stone ^ and the communicants come 
 up to it, one by one, and receive standing. 
 
 One of the most interesting remains of medi- 
 aeval art is the golden altar-front given to this 
 cathedral by the Emperor Henry II. (about 
 A.D. 1000) and his wife Cunegonde as a Thank- 
 offering to our Blessed Lord for his recovery 
 from sickness, and with the following inscrip- 
 tion containing a singular mixture of various 
 languages, and showing the transition of ver- 
 sification from quantity to accent. It is now 
 in the Hotel Cluny, at Paris : — 
 
 " Quis sicut Sel"^ forfcis, medicus, Soter^ benedictus ? 
 E-espice terrigenas clemens Mediator usias*." 
 
 There is a beautiful old Font in this Cathe- 
 dral : but it is never used. Baptism is adminis- 
 tered with a silver basin on the altar : the 
 
 * M, Hebrew for God. ^ Soter, Greek for Saviouk. 
 
 * Usias, Greek for {ovaiac) 'beings. 
 
 B 6 
 
12 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 father is always present and gives the name. 
 But they have also three God-parents, or 
 rather Witnesses. There is a hymn book — but 
 no prayer book for the people. The "Herr 
 Antistes," (is not this title a practical testi- 
 mony to Episcopacy ?) or other minister, uses 
 a book with prayers. I applied for a copy, and 
 was supplied with one in sheets (it is a small 
 volume of 250 pages in large type) for five and 
 a half francs; the reason why its price was 
 so high is that only a few copies are printed 
 for the use of the Clergy alone. 
 
 The Church of Eome ^nthholds the Scrip- 
 tures from the People : and keeps her Prayers 
 shut up in a dead language, for the most part — 
 whenever she has her own way, and excludes 
 the people from participating in them, and does 
 not allow them to obey St. Paul's precept, "I 
 will pray with the spirit, and I will pray 
 with the understanding also \" But may not 
 those Protestant Communities, which confine 
 the use of liturgical offices to their Ministers^ 
 and do not invite the People to participate in 
 them, be chargeable also with a want of due 
 
 * 1 Cor. xiy. 15. 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 13 
 
 appreciation of the true character of public 
 prayer, — of common prayer ? Are they not 
 even in some degree liable to the imputation, 
 with which the Church of Rome is justly 
 charged, of making divine service into an " opus 
 operatum " — a work transacted wholly by the 
 Minister ? However, let us be thankful for the 
 liturgical offices, in the vernacular tongue, 
 which are still preserved among them. I have 
 been agreeably surprised by much that is con- 
 tained in this little volume to which I have re- 
 ferred, which was printed at Bale in 1826. It 
 is a Ritual for the use, not only of this Church, 
 but of all the Evangelical Churches of the Can- 
 tonj Its Preface, which bears the signature of 
 Hieronimus Falkeisen, "Antistes und Archi- 
 decanus," expresses a desire that uniformity of 
 worship may be maintained in all the Churches 
 of the Canton. 
 
 It begins with forms of Prayer to be used 
 before and after sermons on Sundays and week- 
 days. There is also a form of Prayer for the 
 monthly day of supplication. These forms of 
 prayer are very long, and not broken by re- 
 sponses ; and the whole work of offering prayer 
 — as far as its outward expression is concerned 
 
14 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 — devolves entirely on the Minister. This is 
 the character of all the offices in this volume. 
 In all the 250 pages of which it consists, there 
 are not, I think, a hundred words which are to 
 be uttered by the people. 
 
 After the forms of Prayer for Sundays we 
 have Prayers before and after the instruction 
 of children ; next is a long general form of con- 
 fession, prayer, and thanksgiving to be used 
 when there is no sermon, but when the Scrip- 
 ture is read, with a short exposition — a very 
 excellent formulary, if its structure had been 
 more popular : there are eleven pages, in which 
 the Minister alone bears any part in the office. 
 
 This is followed by Prayers for Holy-days : 
 which are Christmas Day ; Last Day of the 
 Year ; New Yearns Day ; Palm Sunday ; 
 Maundy Tliursday ; Good Friday; Easter 
 Day ; Ascension Day ; Pentecost^ or Whit- 
 sunday ; there is also a special office for the 
 Autumnal Communion Day {Herbst-Kommu- 
 niontag). 
 
 Next follows the Office for Infant Baptism. 
 It begins with stating the authority, in Holy 
 Scripture, for the baptism of Infants^ and 
 with a declaration of what baptism is. Here 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 15 
 
 as might be expected, the peculiar teaching of 
 the school of Calvin shows itself. It reminds 
 the Parents, and Witnesses of the baptism 
 ( Taufzeugen)^ that they are bound to remind 
 the child of its baptism, and of the prayers 
 offered in its behalf, and of the promises made 
 in its name. The Apostles' Creed is then 
 recited by the Minister, who asks the Parents 
 whether they engage to bring up the child in 
 this faith, to which they reply "Yes." The 
 Minister then inquires of the Parents or 
 Witnesses what the name of the child is to 
 be; and then he administers the baptism with 
 the same words- as are in the English Liturgy ; 
 and offers a thanksgiving to God that the 
 child has been born "in the bosom of the 
 Christian Church, and that God has graciously 
 vouchsafed that the seal of Christianity, and 
 of His children, and the stamp of Christ's 
 sheep, should be impressed upon him." And 
 a prayer is offered, " that, as he is baptized with 
 water, so he may be baptized with the Blood 
 and Spirit of Christ." 
 
 The Office for Baptism is followed by one 
 for Confirmation. This is a long Office, occu- 
 pying more than twenty pages. 
 
16 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 It begins with an address to the congrega- 
 tion, on the uses of Confirmation; which is 
 followed by prayer to God; and this is 
 succeeded by a serious and earnest exhortation 
 to the Candidates ; in which they are reminded 
 that they have been baptized in the name of 
 the Blessed Trinity, and have been brought 
 up in the true faith, the principal articles of 
 which are then rehearsed and explained. A 
 series of questions is then addressed to the 
 Candidates. Do they willingly and openly 
 profess their belief in these articles ? Are 
 they duly thankful to God for His mercies 
 spiritual and temporal ? Are they resolved, 
 by God's grace, to serve Him truly unto their 
 lives' end ? " Do they feel true hunger and 
 thirst for the food of everlasting life, which 
 Jesus will give them in the signs and pledges 
 of His body and blood in the Lord's Sup- 
 per?" 
 
 The candidates then kneel down; and the 
 Minister offers up prayers in their behalf: at 
 the conclusion he says, " Now, dear children, 
 rise up from your knees in the name of God, 
 who is highly to be praised. Ye are not your 
 own; ye are His. Praise, ye heavens, the 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 17 
 
 Name of the Lord! Praise, ye angels, ye 
 guides of children, the Name of the Lord! 
 Praise, ye parents, the Name of the Lord! 
 Praise, ye children, the Name of the Lord ! " 
 " Ye are now invited to the Table of His 
 Grace, where the memorial of His Body will 
 be the food of your faith, and the memorial of 
 His Blood will be the refreshing of your 
 holiness in Love ; and where ye will have meat 
 and drink for life eternal, and be made one 
 with Him in His Body, and be prepared to be 
 partakers in His glory." 
 
 There is much in this Office that is ex- 
 pressed with great tenderness and beauty ; and 
 which many might be glad to see in an English 
 translation. 
 
 This Office is followed by "Preparation 
 for Holy Communion " and by the Office for 
 the Holy Communion; one portion of which 
 is called " Handlung vor dem Altare " (the 
 Evangelical Church of Bale does not scruple 
 at the word Altar) ; the form of Adminis- 
 tration of the elements is, " Your faith in the 
 death of the Body, strengthen and preserve 
 you unto everlasting life ; 
 
 " Your faith in the outpouring of the Blood, 
 
18 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 strengthen and preserve you unto everlasting 
 life." 
 
 Next follows an Office for Communion of 
 the Sick — for Matrimony — for Burial of the 
 Dead — for the Burial of a Child. 
 
 These offices are succeeded by certain forms 
 of notices or warnings of ensuing celebrations, 
 and by an Exhortation to Almsgiving ; and 
 by a form of Thanksgiving for Harvest. 
 
 I have dwelt more at length on this volume, 
 because it maintains the principle of Litur- 
 gical Uniformity, and bears a striking testi- 
 mony to the need of set forms of prayer and 
 offices of devotion, and because it might 
 encourage those of our Scotch Presbyterian 
 brethren, who are happily manifesting a desire 
 to possess a Liturgy of their own, and would 
 vindicate thqm from invidious imputations, to 
 which they might be exposed, unless they 
 could appeal to such precedents as these. 
 
 What is the cause of the vast religious 
 difference between the two Cities in which we 
 have been within these last forty-eight hours 
 — Cologne and Bale ? — the one is devoted to 
 Eome, the other almost canonizes Calvin. Is 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 19 
 
 it the neighbourhood of Switzerland, and the 
 frequent intercourse of its learned men with 
 those of Zurich and Geneva in the sixteenth 
 century, w^hich have influenced the character 
 of the cities ? And did the abuses of the 
 Papacy, which were brought to light at the 
 Council of Bale in the fifteenth century, make 
 a deep and lasting impression on the minds 
 of the people here ? Do they still live in the 
 memory ? 
 
 At the south-east end of the Church, and 
 attached to it, is an ancient upper-chamber 
 where the Sessions of that celebrated Council, 
 which attempted so much for the reformation 
 of the Church, were held in a.d. 1431 — 1437. 
 
 The Acts of some of its Sessions (in 1433 
 — 1436) which concerned the elections of 
 Bishops^ are very interesting in the present 
 age, when the question of the relation of the 
 Bishops to the Pope is becoming a matter of 
 great practical importance, especially in Italy. 
 It was resolved in that Council, that the 
 ancient elective rights of the People and 
 Clergy^ which had been usurped by the 
 Popes, should be restored; and that the 
 Bishops should be freely chosen by the People 
 
20 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 and Clergy with the consent of the Crown; 
 and should, when so chosen, be confirmed by 
 the Metropolitan of the Province^ in which 
 the diocese of the Bishop elect was situate, 
 according to ancient usage. 
 
 These decrees of the Council of Bale were 
 adopted by Charles YII. of France, in an 
 assembly of Prelates and Nobles, in 1438, at 
 Bourges. In that measure the king followed 
 the steps of his father Charles VI., who had 
 published an edict to the same effect in 1418, 
 and of St. Louis in 1268 ^, and those decrees 
 
 " See Concilia Labb. et Cossart, Tom. xi. p. 907. 
 Some of its articles are very deserving of attention at the 
 present time : — 
 
 " For the maintenance of the peace of the State and 
 the Church of our realm, and for the promotion of divine 
 worship, and salvation of souls, and in order to obtain 
 the favour and succour of Almighty God, vpe decree as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Art. 1. — That all Bishops and patrons of benefices in 
 our realm, preserve the full exercise of their rights, and 
 that every one enjoy the jurisdiction which appertains to 
 him. 
 
 " Aet. 2. — That the Cathedral and other Churches of 
 our realm enjoy the free exercise of election. 
 
 ****** 
 
 " Art. 4. — That all promotions, collations, and provisions 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 21 
 
 of the Council of Bale were incorporated into 
 what was called the Pragmatic Sanction \ 
 which for some time was regarded as the 
 charter of Ecclesiastical Law in France. 
 
 The Pragmatic Sanction contains the fol- 
 lowing words : — " The holy Fathers of the first 
 ages (of the Church) framed wholesome de- 
 crees and ordinances for the happy govern- 
 ment of the ecclesiastical body, both for the 
 election and institution of the Ministers of the 
 Church, and for their direction, and for that 
 of other Prelates. As long as those laws were 
 followed, the Church of God was the fruitful 
 source of honour and virtue: ecclesiastical 
 discipline preserved its vigour; religion, piety, 
 and charity flourished, and men enjoyed peace 
 of mind and worshipped the Author of this 
 godly quietness. But criminal ambition, in- 
 satiable cupidity, violating the rights of 
 
 of Prelacies, Dignities, and Offices Ecclesiastical be made 
 according to the order of Common Law, and the rules of 
 Councils, and the statutes of the ancient holy Fathers" 
 Cp. Monseign. De Pradt (ancien Archeveque de Malines), 
 "Les quatre Concordats," Paris, 1818. Tom. i. p. 200. 
 '' "Which may be seen in the work of Monseigneur De 
 Pradt, " Les quatre Concordats," i. pp. 204—212. 
 
22 LONDON TO BALE. 
 
 humanity, began to abandon the wholesome 
 decrees of the ancient Fathers^'' &c. 
 
 But in A.D. 1516 — 1518 a great revolution 
 was effected ; one of the greatest that has ever 
 taken place in ecclesiastical and civil affairs; 
 and its effects are felt in France, Italy, 
 Germany, Spain, and Portugal, even to this 
 day.- Pope Leo X. persuaded the French 
 king, Francis I., to set aside the Pragmatic 
 Sanction; and they framed a Concordat^ in 
 which the two contracting parties — the Pope 
 and the King — sacrificed the rights of the 
 People, Clergy, and Metropolitans, in order to 
 aggrandize themselves. The Christian Church 
 was a market, in which the Pope and the 
 King met together in order to barter away 
 what did not belong to them^ and what they 
 were bound to protect. 
 
 That Concordat has furnished the model 
 for similar contracts between Popes and Sove- 
 reigns even to this day. 
 
 Perhaps the present age may behold a 
 revival of the spirit which animated the 
 Council of Bale in the fifteenth century. Is 
 there not some prospect of such a revival in 
 Italy ? Has not the age of Concordats passed 
 
LONDON TO BALE. 23 
 
 away ? And will not the proper substitute 
 for them be found in a return to the usages of 
 primitive Christian antiquity ? 
 
 The apartment in which the Council of 
 Bale was held is now a Museum. Here is a 
 chest which belonged to Erasmus; and some 
 of the frescoes of Holbein's " Dance of Death." 
 On the south side of the Cathedral is an old 
 ruined church, used as a burial-place — very 
 picturesque and interesting. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 Friday^ May IQtth. — Left Bale at two p.m. for 
 Lucerne; a beautiful journey, especially as 
 we approached Lucerne, and its lake. The 
 train travelled leisurely, and afforded time to 
 look at the succession of picturesque views of 
 vale and mountain, Swiss-cottages, fields, gar- 
 dens, — here and there a flock of goats, — and 
 the Alps in the distance, capped with snow; 
 arrived at Lucerne at seven p.m. 
 
 Saturday^ May 17th. — Lucerne^ Hotel du 
 Cygne, with a beautiful view over the lake. 
 Bells ringing at half-past four in the morning 
 for mass. Walked out early to the cathedral : 
 fine situation on a hill above the town : the 
 two spires have a striking effect; entered the 
 church by a flight of high steps : mass, and a 
 funeral going on : a great deal of public 
 sympathy shown on these occasions ; more than 
 1000 persons present. The relatives of the 
 
FROM BALE TO MILAN. 25 
 
 deceased stand ranged on the two sides of the 
 door of a small mortuary chapel {chapelle 
 ardente) — outside the church — hung with 
 black, the men on one side, the women on the 
 other; hundreds of people came up, one after 
 the other, entered the chapel, and touched the 
 hands of the relatives, in token of condolence, 
 and then passed on. 
 
 Near the cathedral is a cloister and a 
 cemetery filled with monuments : and still 
 further up the hill is a large enclosed burial- 
 ground, for the Roman Catholic population ; 
 and another smaller one, with a very plain 
 wooden temple-like chapel for the Protestants, 
 with the words " Gott ist Liebe" inscribed 
 over the door. Near it, is a beautiful view of 
 the city and the lake. 
 
 The cloister near the cathedral is like a 
 Campo Santo, and contains some memorial 
 pictures of the departed, well executed, and in 
 good preservation : also some good specimens 
 of monumental sculpture. The sepulchral in- 
 scriptions in this Roman Catholic cemetery 
 are interesting. They do not give any in- 
 timation of a belief in the doctrine of Purga- 
 tory, but assume that the soul^'of the deceased 
 
 VOL. I. c 
 
26 TEOM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 is in a state of bliss. There are a few texts of 
 Scripture ; and many of the inscriptions are in 
 German rhyme, some in Latin. I copied the 
 following beautiful lines. Are they from an 
 ancient hymn ? They are like some verses of 
 Prudentius '. 
 
 " Deponit opus operator 
 In almis terrae gremiis ; 
 Fovendum semen seminator 
 Telluris dat sacrariis, 
 Spe fisus germen oriturum * 
 Sub caelitum auspiciis. 
 Nos semen damns carius 
 Lugentes terrae fotibus, 
 Sperantes fore ut ex morte 
 Cum meliore surgat sorte." 
 " The workman commits his work 
 To the genial bosom of the earth, 
 The sower commits his seed to be fostered 
 In the sanctuary of the soil, 
 
 ^ Cathemerinon x. 120. 
 
 " Mors hsec reparatio vitae est, 
 Sic semina sicca virescunt," &e. 
 Since the publication of the first edition of this journal 
 some kind correspondents have reminded me that these 
 lines coincide exactly in sense with the verses of 
 Schiller in the " Song of the Bell," beginning 
 
 "Dem dunkeln Schoos der heil'gen Erde." 
 * After this word is inserted " profuturum." 
 
FKOM BALE TO MILAN. 27 
 
 Trusting in hope that the germ will arise 
 Under the auspices of heavenly powers ; 
 We commit a dearer seed 
 With tears to the nurture of the earth, 
 In hope that out of death 
 It may arise with a better lot." 
 The Campo Santo has a very interesting" 
 compartment occupied entirely with graves 
 of little children. They are arranged like 
 garden-plots or parterres, with a small cross 
 of black wood, and inscription at the head, 
 and wreaths hanging on it. How many hopes 
 lie buried there ! But of how much joy also 
 is it the seed-plot ! 
 
 The larger Roman Catholic cemetery, which 
 is higher up the hill, is filled with graves, 
 almost all of which have a cross; the sepul- 
 chral monuments are engraved with various 
 Christian symbols, such as the palm, the fish, 
 the chrysalis, and butterfly ; a cross resting on 
 an anchor, a ripe ear of corn. 
 
 The Protestant burial-ground presents an 
 unfavourable contrast to this, in the coldness 
 and baldness of its features : no crosses, 
 nothing that appeals to the imagination, . or 
 ministers hope and comfort by the sugges- 
 tion of natural analogies. But on the other 
 c 2 
 
28 FROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 hand it had an advantage over the Roman 
 Catholic cemetery in the words of Holy Scrip- 
 ture on almost every grave. 
 
 Walking along a lane, on the banks of 
 which are wild strawberries and wild geraniums 
 in blossom, we had a lovely view of the lake. 
 Descended into the town : visited the new 
 English church, which is shared between the 
 English, and the Swiss Protestants. The font 
 is placed just in front of the altar. Surely 
 the result of all this parsimonious syncretism, 
 which is so prevalent on the Continent, must 
 be that the Church of England will be identi- 
 fied, in the mind of the people, with the 
 various Protestant denominations which are 
 now infected by Rationalism and Socinianism. 
 Would it not be better to worship in a barn, 
 than to give occasion to such a scandal as 
 this ? Even in political matters it is dis- 
 creditable to sacrifice a principle for money. 
 " Vendidit hie auro patriam," said the poet ' 
 of a class of persons whom he excludes from 
 Elysium. And are the principles, privileges, 
 and glories of the heavenly country to be 
 bartered away for money ? 
 
 * Virg. ^n. vi. 621, 
 
FEOM BALE TO MILAN. 29 
 
 Left Lucerne by steamer at two p.m. : a 
 delightful day, the scenery of the Lake and the 
 mountain above and around it indescribably 
 beautiful. One of our fellow-passengers was 
 an intelligent Roman Catholic Priest about 
 forty years of age, in ecclesiastical dress, with 
 breviary and umbrella. He was a member of a 
 religious order in Switzerland, and held an im- 
 portant post in one of its schools of education. 
 When I mentioned the pleasure I had felt in 
 seeing the sympathy shown to the mourners at 
 the cathedral this morning, he said that it 
 was due to the "esprit du Catholicisme," 
 which had taken deep root at Lucerne, and 
 even exercised a salutary influence on the 
 Protestants of the place. When I observed 
 that I had been also struck and surprised at 
 the absence of all reference to the Roman 
 Catholic doctrine of Purgatory from the se- 
 pulchral monuments in the cloisters and 
 cemetery, he said that people were naturally 
 inclined to indulge in, and to express, hopes 
 for their departed friends, but the Catholic 
 Church laid great stress on that doctrine. 
 
 Was not the sympathy which we witnessed 
 an emotion of the human heart, sanctified no 
 
 c 3 
 
30 FROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 doubt by grace ; and as to the expressions on 
 the gravestones, may not the human heart be 
 a better teacher than the Roman Catholic 
 Church? 
 
 " No," said he, " the doctrine of Purgatory 
 is a logical result of the revelation, which the 
 Church has received of the divine holiness; 
 and it is a necessary deduction from the fact^ 
 which is obvious to all, that many persons 
 depart this life in a state — not of gross sin — 
 but of indifference; a sort of neutral state, 
 neither very bad nor good; and who require, 
 therefore, to be qualified and prepared, by the 
 purifying influence of suffering, for admission 
 into the divine presence. I remember," he 
 added, " that when I was a boy, this difficulty 
 struck me. How can the greater part of men, 
 who die in that neutral state, ever be received 
 into the society of angels and of God ? and 
 yet, can they all be excluded from it ? Heaven 
 forbid ! I therefore was rejoiced to accept the 
 solution provided by the Catholic Church in 
 the doctrine of Purgatory." 
 
 " But are you sure that this is the true 
 solution ? doubtless it might occur to the 
 unregenerate reason, and it seems to have 
 
FEOM BALE TO MILAN. 31 
 
 suggested itself to the heathen mind^ But 
 is it safe to build doctrines on the foundation 
 of reason, apart from Revelation ? And where 
 is the doctrine of Purgatory revealed in Scrip- 
 ture?" 
 
 "In the second book of Maccabees ^" 
 
 "But that book is not Canonical. Nor 
 does it follow that, even if it were good to 
 pray for the dead, we ought therefore to 
 accept the doctrine of Purgatory; the prayer 
 there mentioned was for holy persons, that 
 they might have a joyful resurrection ^" 
 
 " But the Fathers who lived in the next age 
 to the Apostles taught this doctrine of Purga- 
 tory." 
 
 "Pardon me: they may have written some 
 passages which speak of a purgatorial fire 
 
 * e. g. as in the lines of Virgil, Mn. vi. 737, — 
 
 " penitusque necesse est 
 
 Multa diu concreta modis inolescere miris ; 
 Ergo exercentur poenis, veterumque malorum 
 Supplicia expendunt ; alis8 panduntur inanes 
 Suspensae ad ventos, aliis sub gurgite vasto 
 Infectum eluitur scelus, aut exuritur igni. 
 Quisque suos patimur Manes ; exinde per amplum 
 Mittimur Elysium." 
 
 ' 2 Mace. xii. 44. ** 2 Mace. xii. 44, 45, 
 
 C 4 
 
32 FKOM BALE TO MILAN'. 
 
 at the last day, supposed to be described by 
 St. Paul \ but none of them ever taught the 
 Roman doctrine of Purgatory as a state of 
 departed souls." 
 
 " But the Catholic Church now teaches it." 
 "No: the Roman Church does; but not 
 the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church 
 is the Church of all time, as well as of all 
 place, and if the doctrine of Purgatory was 
 not taught by the Church in the time of the 
 Apostles and of the primitive Fathers (as, 
 assuredly, it was not), it cannot be said to be 
 taught by the Catholic Church. And, since 
 the Church of Rome imposes upon all persons 
 this doctrine, and many others, which were 
 never taught by the ancient Church, there- 
 fore it is evident that she is not the Catholic 
 Church; nor even a Catholic Church, so far 
 as those doctrines are concerned; but that in 
 these respects she is a schismatical and heretical 
 opponent of the Catholic Church. And this 
 she has done in a remarkable manner by her 
 new dogma of the Immaculate Conception." 
 
 "But," said he, "our Lord promised to 
 St. Peter His perpetual presence and support, 
 '1 Cor. iii. 13—15. 
 
FKOM BALE TO MILAN. 33 
 
 and founded His Church upon him; and 
 therefore we may be sure that when the suc- 
 cessor of St. Peter takes counsel with the 
 Bishops of the Catholic world, as he did in the 
 promulgation of that doctrine of the Immaculate 
 Conception in 1854, Christ Himself speaks by 
 the mouth of His Vicar, the Bishop of Rome." 
 " How then was it, that, when the question 
 of this same doctrine was brought before the 
 Council of Trent in the sixteenth century ^, 
 which she calls a general Council, and asserts 
 to have been guided by the Holy Spirit, the 
 Bishop of Rome did not then determine the 
 controversy which divided the Franciscans 
 and Dominicans on this very subject ? If this 
 
 * At the fifth session of the Council of Trent in a.d. 
 154f6 : in the Bull of Pope Sixtus IV., a.d. 1483, it is 
 candidly owned that the doctrine had not yet been de- 
 cided by the Pope Q'nondmn a Eomana Ecclesia et 
 Apostolica sede decisam'^). And even in our own days 
 the present Pope, Pius IX., said in his letter dated from 
 Gaeta, Peb. 2, 1849, that " a vehement desire had arisen 
 in the Catholic world, that it should at length he decided by 
 a solemn decree of the Apostolic See, that the Blessed 
 Virgin vpas conceived without original sin;" and he 
 made this dogma to become " an Article of Paith " on 
 the 8th of December, 1854. 
 
 c 5 
 
34 FEOM BALE TO MILAN 
 
 doctrine is true now^ surely it was true then ; 
 if it is necessary to salvation now^ it was 
 necessary then ; and if our blessed Lord has 
 appointed the Bishop of Kome to be His Vicar 
 on earth, would He not have declared the 
 truth of the doctrine then, and have put an 
 end to their angry debates ?" 
 
 "But," said he, "the time had not then 
 arrived for the declaration of the doctrine. 
 Do you not know what Vincentius Lirinensis 
 says, that the Church teaches ' non nova, sed 
 novef' 
 
 " But this dogma is novum : it was never 
 made an Article of Faith before, as it is now 
 by the Church of Rome." 
 
 " It is only a development of what was old." 
 
 "Pardon me, it is a new heresy, opposed 
 to the old faith. The old faith is, that Christ 
 alone was conceived and born without sin ; and 
 this new dogma is a contradiction of the old 
 faith : and this your theory of development, 
 as you are aware, though patronized in modern 
 times by some of your learned divines, especially 
 in England (who perceive that Rome teaches 
 much that is new^ and that they must devise 
 some theory to account for it), was strongly 
 
FROM BALE TO MILAN. 36 
 
 censured by one of your greatest theologians, 
 Bossuet, writing against the Calvinist Jurieu, 
 who had broached that same theory of De- 
 velopment." 
 
 " But Bossuet is not an authority with us 
 now." 
 
 " No : though unity of teaching is professed 
 by the Church of Rome, yet her doctrines and 
 opinions change from time to time. Bossuet 
 was honoured once, and the theory of De- 
 velopment was proscribed : but now the theory 
 of Development is adopted, and Bossuet is in 
 disgrace." 
 
 " Well, but what principle of belief have 
 you Protestants ? Where is your norma jidei ? 
 The Bible, and the Bible only, I suppose, in- 
 terpreted by every man, woman, and child as 
 they like best." 
 
 " Yes, — the Bible is our rule of Faith ; but 
 not the Bible interpreted by every man accord- 
 ing to his own caprice : the Church of England 
 declares in her sixth Article that the Holy 
 Scriptures are her Rule of Faith, but she also 
 says in her twentieth Article that ' the Church, 
 i. e. the Universal Church, not the Roman, 
 has authority in controversies of faith;' and, 
 c 6 
 
36 J-ROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 in fact, she sets before her people in her 
 Liturgy the three Creeds as her doctrinal 
 standard, and as an authoritative interpreta- 
 tion of the Bible, in matters of Faith." 
 
 " But this is not the opinion of most Pro- 
 testants with whom I have conversed." 
 
 " But, my dear sir, it is the doctrine of the 
 Church of England, which does not content 
 herself with what is negative, but she has her 
 positive side also. She is Protestant in con- 
 tending against the errors of Rome, but she is 
 Catholic in maintaining the truths of Chris- 
 tianity. And she is Protestant because she 
 desires to be Catholic.^' 
 
 He seemed surprised at this, but rejoined 
 by a reference to the Gorham case, where, he 
 said, it was declared by the Church of England 
 that a minister of the Church might deny the 
 necessity of Baptism. 
 
 " No : the Judges in that case did not claim 
 any authority/ to determine articles of faith; 
 but they claimed authority to decide whether 
 or no such or such a tenet was reconcileable 
 with the received doctrines of the Church of 
 England ; and they said that in their opinion 
 the disbelief of the doctrine of Regeneration in 
 
FROM BALE TO MILAN. 37 
 
 Baptism did not disqualify a person for having 
 the cure of souls : but they did not and could 
 not touch the Book of Common Prayer : which 
 every one, who has cure of souls, is obliged to 
 use, and which plainly teaches the doctrine of 
 Regeneration in Baptism. And how many 
 errors does the Church of Rome not only 
 tolerate, but enforce!''^ 
 
 The steamer arrived at a small town on the 
 banks of the Lake : we exchanged a friendly 
 farewell, and he went on shore. 
 
 We passed William Tell's Chapel, and 
 reached Fluellen, at the head of the Lake, in 
 the evening ; glorious scenery, — mountains 
 going down precipitously into the waters : the 
 hill-sides variegated with beautiful green 
 patches of meadow grass, sprinkled with 
 pastoral huts : fine timber trees, especially firs 
 of every variety of colour, and the meadows 
 running up to peaked limestone-rocks — snow 
 lying in their recesses — and streams dashing 
 down from them in cascades. 
 
 In the evening heard the church-bell ring- 
 ing; went at half-past seven p.m. to the small 
 church at Fluellen, a simple and rather pretty 
 building, with steeple and tall slim wooden 
 
38 FROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 spire. Church quite full of peasants : this on 
 a week-day. The church adorned in rather a 
 tawdry style ; a good deal of tinsel and artificial 
 flowers, especially on the altar, where stood 
 an image of the Blessed Virgin in a fine white 
 muslin dress. 
 
 The priest, accompanied by two little boys, 
 went up to the altar; unlocked the ciborium, 
 took out the host in the ostensoir, presented 
 it to the adoration of the people, and then 
 went to a side-altar; lighted up the candles, 
 and knelt before it with his back to the people ; 
 on each side was one of the little acolytes 
 kneeling by him; and began the prayers; a 
 Litany in German : the women were kneeling 
 on the north side of the church; the men on 
 the south : all in open benches, no chairs : the 
 responses hearty and full. Why should not 
 the peasantry of our English villages be led to 
 show the same earnestness in devotion — even 
 on week-day evenings ? I followed the priest to 
 his lodging, and he kindly invited me to enter: 
 asked him some questions about the service. 
 He said it was the "Rosary of the Blessed 
 Virgin," the same as in the Roman Ofllce, but 
 not in Latin, but German; and this, he said, 
 
FROM BALE TO MILAN. 39 
 
 is used every evening in this month (May), 
 being " the month of Mary." 
 
 The priest seems to be much respected and 
 loved by the people. I heard him spoken of 
 in high terms ; and observed that, as he went 
 home from the church, in his alb and black cap, 
 the little children ran up to him to touch his 
 hands, and the people all took off their hats. 
 
 The efforts of the Swiss and German Re- 
 formers are perhaps seen in some respects to 
 more advantage in their effects on the Roman 
 Catholic congregations, than in the Protestant. 
 They extorted from the Papacy the use of 
 some prayers in the mother tongue, and thus 
 they gave an impulse, such as we have seen 
 to-day, to the devotion of the people. Would 
 to heaven that the Reformation could have 
 proceeded in the Church, as it did in England, 
 instead of outside it and against it ! Here is 
 a practical lesson for Church Reformation in 
 Italy. If the Church of Italy is to be re- 
 formed, it must be reformed from within : it 
 must reform itself 
 
 Sunday., May 18th. — Awakened by bell for 
 Mass at half-past four in the morning ; another 
 Mass at half-past five; another at half-past 
 nine (high mass) ; the church crowded ; the 
 
40 FROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 music rather operatic : after the mass, a pro- 
 cession, with the host carried round the 
 church ; images borne before, and banners. 
 No one scarcely beside the priest receives at 
 high mass ; but many receive at the low 
 masses, early in the morning. 
 
 Walked to Altorf; entered a farm-house: 
 over the door was a little picture pasted up 
 with an inscription in German, " O Mary, 
 conceived without sin, pray for us, who resort 
 to thee for help." Fine church : good peal of 
 bells : vespers : large congregation of women : 
 few men : none of upper class. The priest, 
 after reading a few words, and giving a short 
 exposition from near the steps of the altar, 
 went up into the pulpit, and delivered a ser- 
 mon in German, on the life and character of 
 the Prophet Daniel, rather diffuse; it com- 
 prised a summary of the history 
 
 1. Of Susannah; and Daniel's judgment 
 upon her case. 
 
 2. The three children cast into the furnace 
 at Babylon. 
 
 3. Of Nebuchadnezzar's dream; of the four 
 successive great Empires of the world; and of 
 the kingdom of Christ ; — with practical appli- 
 cations on each head. 
 
PEOM BALE TO MILAN. 41 
 
 The manner of the preacher was animated ; 
 his descriptions graphic, e. g. of the Babylonian 
 monarch's feathers and claws, which he repre- 
 sented with much liveliness of gesture; but, 
 notwithstanding his efforts, many of the con- 
 gregation were asleep. It was a very hot day. 
 
 An Italian family at the hotel at Fluellen 
 just come from Rome: one of the ladies said 
 that some hundreds of bishops had already 
 arrived at Rome for the canonization of the 
 Japanese Martyrs, which is to take place there 
 on Whitsunday next (June 8th), and that vast 
 preparations were being made in the Church 
 of St. Peter's for the ceremony. "Ma," said 
 she, "guastano S. Pietro," "they are spoiling 
 St. Peter's by the huge apparatus of wood- 
 work, &c., and there will be so many candles 
 blazing in the church that who knows but 
 they may set it on fire ?" 
 
 There seems to be a good deal done for 
 instruction in these Swiss villages ; the schools 
 are free, endowed by the Commune; almost 
 all children between seven and fifteen go to 
 school ; the boys are superintended by a priest, 
 the girls by some religieuses. 
 
 Monday^ May 19th. — Left Fluellen at five 
 
42 PHOM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 in the morning: by Post across the Mount 
 St. Gothard pass, over the Alps to Italy. The 
 road runs by the side of the river Reuss, which 
 flows down into the Lake of Lucerne, and 
 tumbles down over rocks, and is crossed ever 
 and anon by picturesque stone bridges. Wo- 
 man with goitre, one of the first signs of the 
 Alps. " Quis tumidum guttur miratur in Al- 
 pibus ^ ?" Passed through Waas ; halted at 
 Amsteg : romantic chalets : the pine planks of 
 which they are built take a fine rich mellow 
 reddish colour : open galleries, with stone stair- 
 case, and overhanging roof of rough stone slabs. 
 The morning was rainy, but it cleared up as we 
 ascended the pass. Below the road in the val- 
 ley were rich green pastures, which contrast in 
 a striking manner with the savage character of 
 the scene. It resembles the pass of Tempe, with 
 its steep overhanging crags. Goats were climb- 
 ing about the rocks, and browsing on the low 
 shrubs ; also pretty, small dun cows, like Alder- 
 neys; and very ungainly-looking, thin, brown, 
 almost yellow, pigs. By the side of the road 
 were a great many wild flowers now in bloom, 
 coronella, eyebright, wild strawberry, heartsease, 
 
 ^ Juvenal xiii. 162. 
 
FEOM BALE TO MILAN. 43 
 
 forget-me-nots, deep blue gentianella, lilac- 
 coloured auriculas, ferns, and beautiful Alpine 
 roses with pink flowers. These continued to 
 grow almost to the summit, when we entered 
 the region of ice and snow. We seemed to pass 
 through all the seasons in this day's journey. 
 
 Crossed the "Devil's Bridge." Here the 
 sublime grandeur of the scenery, the deep, dark 
 ravine, the rushing river dashing in cataracts, 
 the solitary and awful majesty of the mountains 
 and rocks are beyond all powers of description. 
 In their presence, Man and Man's works seemed 
 to dwindle into nothing ; and yet in this sublime 
 wilderness Man's hand makes itself felt ; there 
 is the bold adventurous road like a living thing 
 running with daring enterprise along the brink 
 of the precipice \ and leaping with an airy 
 
 ^ A frightful accident occurred a short time after we 
 crossed this pass. About two miles below the " Ponte del 
 Diavolo," at a bridge called Sprenki, the horses of the 
 Diligence took fright, and the Diligence was hurled down 
 nearly three hundred feet into the abyss below the road, 
 and was shattered to pieces ; one of the travellers in the 
 Diligence (there were three beside the conducteur), an 
 Italian gentleman (Cavaliere Magenta, Prefect of Bologna), 
 was killed. 
 
44 FROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 bound by tbe hanging bridge over the dark 
 gulph below it ; and there is also the long and 
 almost interminable line of the Electric Tele- 
 graph flying from one lofty pole to another, and 
 running on for many a mile in its unwearied 
 course, and wafting in a few minutes over 
 this lonely mountain-pass the news of Italian 
 conflicts or counsels to the valleys of Swit- 
 zerland and to the Capitals of France and 
 England. 
 
 Halted again at Hopital : thence the ascent 
 was still more steep, and the scenery even more 
 stern, the temperature more and more cold. 
 At last we reached the top of the pass, — a wide 
 flat covered with snow, and large ponds of blue 
 ice (this on the 19th May) ; and the snow, 
 mixed with a drizzle of rain, fell on us as we 
 crossed it. 
 
 Thence the road descended at a rapid rate : 
 and we travelled down its windings at a quick 
 trot; our driver spun us round the corners of 
 the zigzag road with wonderful ability, seeming 
 much to delight in his own skill, and with an 
 enthusiasm something like that of the ancient 
 charioteers in the Circus, who have furnished 
 
 1 
 
FROM BALE TO MILAN. 46 
 
 materials for so many fine passages to the an- 
 cient Poets ^ 
 
 Passed through Airolo to Faido, where we 
 slept. 
 
 Tuesday^ May 2()th; Faido. — Started at four 
 o'clock in the morning for Bellinzona. The 
 moon shed its silver light upon us while the 
 rest of the landscape was in dark shade. Mul- 
 berry-trees (gelsi) by the road-side, and many 
 other signs that we were now coming to "il 
 bel paese, ove il si suona." Fine Spanish chest- 
 nuts, walnuts, pears, in the meadows and 
 orchards, and yellow broom in flower. The 
 soft fiery glow of the summer light of the 
 rising sun gilded the snow on the mountain- 
 tops in the horizon. 
 
 Next we come to the region of vineyards; 
 vines trellised upon pergole, forming a beautiful 
 shady arbour, and realizing the Scriptural de- 
 scription of the happinessof Solomon's age, when 
 every man "dwelt under his own vine V' — an 
 expression not very intelligible to those who 
 
 ' e. g. Yirgil's Georg. iii. 103, — 
 " Nonne vides, cum praecipiti certamine campum 
 Corripuere ruuntque effusi carcere currus ?" &c. &c. 
 ' 1 Kings iv. 25. 
 
46 FROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 only see vines trained against a wall, or in a 
 hot-house. Here also we came to the land of 
 Churches with tall bell-towers (campaniles), 
 with pierced windows ; and here and there were 
 open Chapels at the road-side with paintings in 
 fresco. One of these Chapels had a picture of 
 the crucifixion, and of St. Augustine and his 
 mother Monica, — suggestive of recollections 
 of his sojourn at Milan. Passed a Cemetery 
 walled in, with an inscription over the gate, 
 "Beati qui in Domino moriuntur^" None of 
 the Churches had churchyards. This is a 
 great loss. Ugo Foscolo somewhere describes 
 his pleasurable emotions at seeing an English 
 churchyard: and certainly this union of the 
 dead with the living in connexion with the 
 Church serves to keep alive the feeling of the 
 communion of saints, — 
 
 " One family we dwell in Him ; 
 One Churcli above, beneath, 
 Though now divided by the stream, 
 The narrow stream, of Death'." 
 
 In the fields by the road-side men were 
 gathering mulberry-leaves from ofi^ the trees, 
 
 * Eev. xiv. 13. ' Charles Wesley. 
 
FEOM BALE TO MILAN. 47 
 
 and packing tliem in sacks for the silk-worms 
 (bachi di seta) ; the trees when stripped looked 
 dead and bare and dry, like skeletons. For 
 some years past the silk-worms of Lombardy 
 have been suffering from a disease, of which no 
 one seems able to discover the cause or the 
 remedy. This has affected not only the market 
 of silk, but has also much injured the pro- 
 prietors of mulberry-trees, the demand for mul- 
 berry-leaves being much diminished, and their 
 price reduced. 
 
 Halted at Bellinzona, the capital of the Can- 
 ton of Tessino, an interesting old town, partly 
 Swiss and partly Italian, with a middle-age 
 Castle. Thence through the plain by the side 
 of the Ticino (memorable for the campaigns of 
 Hannibal) to Magadino on the Lago Maggiore : 
 at Magadino found a steamer, ready to convey 
 us down the lake to Arena. 
 
 The course of these steam-boats is very con- 
 venient for those who have leisure, and who 
 wish to see the adjacent country ; they cross, and 
 recross, from one side of the lake to the other, 
 in order to take in passengers from the dif- 
 ferent towns on the banks. 
 
48 FKOM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 We crossed from Magadino to Locarno. A 
 grave-looking priest in the steamer told me that 
 the deputies of the Canton of Tessino were then 
 holding their sittings at Locarno, where he 
 landed. These Swiss legislators are rather 
 afraid that the Italians will be desirous of ab- 
 sorbing their canton into the kingdom of Italy. 
 He thought that the hopes of Italian unification^ 
 as it is called, with a capital at Rome, were il- 
 lusory. The States of Italy, he said, had never 
 been united, and never would be. And as for 
 the surrender of the Pope's temporal power — 
 all good Catholics, he conceived, would be op- 
 posed to such a measure as " contro i senti- 
 menti cattolici." 
 
 He asked me by what route I had come into 
 Italy. I was rather amused with the terms in 
 which he spoke of the scenery of the Alpine 
 passes. It was "orrida e selvaggia !" — but 
 this, it will be remembered, was the language 
 of the Ancients concerning mountain scenery. 
 Tempo was not " a pleasant vale " in their eyes ; 
 and the Alps were almost always described as 
 stern, savage, and inhospitable, not only by an- 
 cient Poets, but by modern Tourists even to the 
 
FKOM BALE TO MILAN. 49 
 
 time of Burnet and Addison. The poet Gray 
 was the first to discover the attractions of the 
 Lake scenery of Westmoreland. 
 
 A peasant came into the steamer atCanobbio, 
 and talked freely in a very diflPerent strain about 
 the state of Italy. As to the " radunanza " of 
 Bishops at Rome, the plea that it was for the 
 Canonization of Martyrs was a mere pretext 
 " pei ciechi," but " all persons," he said, " who 
 had their eyes open, could see that it was a 
 ' congiura contro le liberta Italiane.'" He had 
 read Lord Palmerston's speech on Italian affairs, 
 and all the lovers of freedom in Italy were 
 thankful to England for the support she had 
 given to their designs. He spoke of the recent 
 attempt made by a party of Garibaldian volun- 
 teers to excite the population of the Tyrol and 
 of Bergamo, Brescia, andyenetia,to rise against 
 the Austrians, which might have suddenly in- 
 volved the whole of this country in war. 
 
 On the 15th May, — last Thursday, — the 
 Garibaldian commander. Colonel Nullo, was 
 arrested at Palazzuolo, by order of the Turin 
 Government (the King and principal ministers 
 were absent at Naples), and with some other 
 officers were conducted to the prison of Brescia ; 
 
 VOL. I. ]> 
 
50 FROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 on which the mob arose, and broke into the 
 prison, crying, Viva Garibaldi! and the military 
 fired upon them, and some were wounded, and 
 two killed. Garibaldi has written a letter, dated 
 Trescorre, 16th May, in which he identifies 
 himself with the movement, and says that 
 Colonel Nullo acted under his orders ; and in 
 another letter, written on Sunday last, he pro- 
 tests against the cruelty of the Government and 
 the army which perpetrated the " strage di 
 Brescia." 
 
 It was a beautiful afternoon, and we had a 
 good view of the Lake and surrounding scenery ; 
 — passed by Isola Bella, and came in sight of 
 the colossal statue of S. Carlo Borromeo at 
 Arona. 
 
 We landed at Arona, and took the train to 
 Novara, memorable for the battle fought on 
 the 23rd March, 1849, between the Piedmon- 
 tese and Austrian armies. The Austrians 
 numbered 80,000 men, and 200 pieces of 
 artillery : the Sardinian force did not amount 
 to more than one-half that of their opponents. 
 After a courageous struggle, the King of 
 Sardinia, Carlo Alberto, was defeated by 
 the veteran Austrian general Eadetzki, and 
 
FROM BALE TO MILAN. 51 
 
 lost 4000 men, and 6000 more were wounded. 
 At fall of night the King summoned his 
 generals, and in their presence, and in that of 
 his two sons, the Duke of Savoy and the Duke 
 of Genoa, announced to them his resolution 
 to abdicate his throne, in favour of his son 
 Victor Emmanuel, then Duke of Savoy; and 
 immediately, accompanied by a single servant, 
 he quitted Italy for ever, and retired to 
 Portugal, where he died on the 13th July, 1849. 
 The Stoics of old, such as Cato of Utica 
 and Brutus on the plains of Philippi, took 
 refuge in death, when they were worsted in 
 the field. The Kings of Sardinia have often 
 put an end to their troubles by abdication. 
 Amedeus VIII. abdicated the throne in 1434, 
 Victor Amedeus in 1730, Charles Emmanuel 
 IV. in 1802, Victor Emmanuel in 1821, 
 Carlo Alberto in 1849. The House of 
 Savoy has been distinguished by physical 
 courage, allied to a gloomy piety, bordering on 
 fatalism and fanaticism. When fortune is 
 adverse, there is something attractive to 
 certain temperaments, in the change from a 
 crown to a cowl, and from a throne to a 
 cloister. The struggles *of life require more 
 
 D 2 
 
52 FROM BALE TO MILAN. 
 
 moral courage than the conflicts of the 
 field. 
 
 From Novara we passed over the plain of 
 Magenta, close to the field of battle : a soldier 
 in the train pointed out a place where, he said, 
 2000 bodies were buried: a white column 
 marks the spot where General Espinasse fell. 
 It is impressively solemn and awful to be 
 suddenly brought from the bustle and stir of 
 railway excitement, to such a spot as this — 
 " With such vast hoards of hidden carnage near, 
 And horror breathing from the silent ground." 
 
 The Austrians left 6000 men killed or 
 wounded on the field. The Italians and 
 French had about 4000 killed or wounded; 
 and they lost fifty-two officers. 
 
 After the battle, the Austrians evacuated 
 Milan; Victor Emmanuel and Napoleon III. 
 entered the city in triumph; and the former 
 was proclaimed " King of Italy." 
 
 The battle was fought on the 4th June, 
 1859. 
 
 We arrived at Milan on the evening of 
 Tuesday, May 20th. 
 
CHAPTER in. 
 
 MILAN. 
 
 Milan, Wednesday morning, May 2\st. — 
 Went to the Duomo, or Cathedral. Externally 
 it looks too much like a work of Sculpture 
 rather than Architecture, and the eye is 
 fatigued with its pinnacles and statues — the 
 latter are said to be 3000 in number. It 
 wants chiaroscuro ; and some of its details, 
 especially in the facade, and the Roman 
 erection on the roof of the nave, greatly impair 
 the effect. But who can describe its interior ? 
 After the light and somewhat tawdry decora- 
 tions of many other continental churches, this 
 magnificent Cathedral, especially when entered 
 from the subterranean passage which leads 
 from the Archbishop's palace, produces a 
 powerful impression on the mind, by its vast 
 size, its lofty proportions, its solemn gloom and 
 sublime grandeur, and the rich hues of its 
 D 3 
 
64 MILAN. 
 
 stained glass windows. It seems as if the 
 ancient spirit of religion, such as dwelt at Milan 
 in the days of S. Ambrose, loved to linger 
 here. The inscription which is conspicuous 
 on the Rood-loft, "Attendite ad Petram 
 unde excisi estis V' pointing to Christ (and 
 not Peter) as the true Rock of the Church, is 
 very significant. There are side-altars, but 
 not prominent as in many churches. At the 
 east end of the church are large and lofty 
 windows of stained glass (some of them recent, 
 by Bertini), representing a series of subjects 
 from the Old and New Testament: singular 
 enough, one of the windows is filled with a 
 vast number of pictures from the Book of 
 Revelation, delineating the divine judgments 
 on the mystical Babylon, "the city on the 
 seven hills ^." The windows, which have 
 been replaced by these modern works of art, 
 were shattered by the cannonading which 
 announced the coronation of Napoleon I. as 
 King of Italy on the 26th May, 1805. 
 
 There is no screen to the choir. The 
 noble, spacious ambons^ or pulpits, at the 
 
 ' Isa. li. 1. ' Eev. xvii. 9. 
 
MILAN. 55 
 
 intersection of the nave and transepts, from 
 one of which the Gospel and Epistle are read 
 in the eyes and ears of the congregation, 
 (would that they were read in their mother 
 tongue !) are gratifying evidences of the 
 ancient zeal of the Milanese Church for the 
 Holy Scriptures, and for the instruction of the 
 people in them. Then there is the peculiar 
 Ambrosian ritual, which the Church of Rome 
 has in vain attempted to extinguish (as she 
 has extinguished all the local Breviaries of 
 the French Dioceses, in order that she may 
 substitute the Roman Breviary in their stead), 
 and it remains a living proof of the ancient 
 independence of the Milanese Church. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, that the Church of 
 Milan will not allow Priests of the Roman 
 ritual to officiate at the high altars in her 
 churches, nor to officiate on great festivals, 
 and at some other ceremonies, — especially 
 offices for the dead, — except under urgent 
 necessity ^ 
 
 Besides these local privileges, we must 
 not forget the Catechetical teaching instituted 
 
 * See the " Cerimoniale Ambrosiano," Pt. i. p, 71, ed. 
 3.853. 
 
 D 4 
 
56 MILAN. 
 
 by S. Carlo Borromeo — who was born in 1538 
 at Arona, and made Archbishop of Milan in 
 1560 — which is still conducted with great 
 spirit in this cathedral every Sunday, and is 
 another proof of the religious vitality of the 
 Church of S. Ambrose. 
 
 But what is the present condition of the 
 Church of Milan ? 
 
 A short time before the Austrians were 
 driven from Milan, in 1859, the Archbishop 
 of Milan, Monsignor Romilli, died, and the 
 Emperor of Austria nominated Monsignor 
 Ballerini as his successor. But this nomina- 
 tion did not take effect, and the Arcivescovado, 
 or Archiepiscopal palace, is now occupied 
 in part by Canons of the Cathedral ; the 
 grass is growing in the courtyard; and that 
 noble building presents a desolate appearance. 
 The See of Milan being vacant, the Chapter 
 of the Cathedral chose one of their body, 
 Monsignor Caccia, to act as Yicario of the 
 Archbishop. In the " Calendarium Ambrosi- 
 anum " for the present year, — which is put 
 forth by his authority,- — he is described by 
 the title of " Eccl. Metropolit. Primicerius, et 
 sede vacante Vicarius Generalis Capitularis." 
 
MILAN. 57 
 
 He is also " Bishop of Famaugusta, domestic 
 Prelate of the Pope, and an assistant at the 
 Pontifical Throne." 
 
 But Monsignor Caccia has also quitted 
 Milan, and resides at Monza; and now the 
 See of S. Ambrose is without a Bishop ; and 
 the province of Milan, which contains many 
 Suffragan Bishops, is without a Metropolitan. 
 The people of Milan are without a chief 
 pastor. Ordinations and Confirmations are 
 suspended ; the body is without a head. 
 
 This state of things suggests many interest- 
 ing reflections. 
 
 In primitive times^ the Clergy and People 
 of a Diocese elected their Bishop : and when 
 the Empire became Christian, the Emperors 
 exercised great influence in the appointments 
 of Bishops. The Bishops of each Province, 
 when elected by the Clergy and People, and 
 approved by the Crown, were confirmed by 
 the Metropolitan of the Province, and were 
 consecrated by him, and by two or three other 
 of the Bishops of the Province. But in early 
 times the Bishop of Rome had no voice in the 
 matter, except with regard to the Bishops of 
 the suburhicarian churches, i. e. those who had 
 D 5 
 
58 MILAN. 
 
 Sees in the neighbourhood of the urbs or city 
 of Rome \ 
 
 In course of time the Emperors assumed to 
 themselves almost the exclusive share in the 
 nomination and investiture of Bishops, to the 
 prejudice of the ancient elective rights of the 
 Clergy and People. 
 
 In the seventh and three following centuries 
 the Emperors of the East, and after them the 
 Emperors of Germany, had considerable in- 
 fluence, not only in the election of other 
 Bishops, but even in the appointment of the 
 Popes of Rome. But Pope Gregory YII., 
 Hildebrand, on the plea of restoring to the 
 Clergy their ancient rights, contested the 
 question of investiture with the Emperor 
 Henry IV., and succeeded in wresting it from 
 him, A.D. 1074. 
 
 The Pope deprived the Emperor of that 
 power, by the aid of ih-Q forged decretals of the 
 Roman Canon Law ; and having succeeded in 
 doing so, the Pope and his successors next 
 directed their efforts against the Clergy and 
 People; and, first, by influencing elections of 
 
 * Evidence will be given hereafter in proof of these 
 statements. 
 
MILAN. 59 
 
 Bishops by threats or promises, and by con- 
 centrating those rights in capitular bodies, 
 (which, from the fewness of their members, 
 were more easy of control,) they at last 
 transferred virtually the nomination of all 
 Bishops to themselves. 
 
 They impaired the power of the Arch- 
 bishops, or Metropolitans, of the several 
 Provinces of Christendom by authorizing 
 appeals from their jurisdiction to the Court of 
 Rome; and by sending Papal Legates from 
 Rome to supersede their authority ; they 
 enforced celibacy on the Clergy, and thus 
 weaned their affections from the family and 
 the State, and absorbed them into the Papacy ; 
 and they multiplied their own spiritual 
 militia of the religious orders ; and they im- 
 posed on all Bishops, at their consecration, a 
 new form of oath\ by which they withdrew 
 them from allegiance to their Sovereigns, and 
 bound them as Vassals to the Roman See. 
 This oath may be seen in the "Pontificale 
 
 * Under Gregory VII. (a.d, 1074) ; enlarged by Pas- 
 chalis II. (a.d. 1099—1118), and still further by Gre- 
 gory IX. (a.d. 1227—1241), and Clement VIII. (a.d. 
 1592—1604). 
 
 D 6 
 
60 MILAN. 
 
 Romanum," printed by authority at Rome, ed. 
 1818, p. 62. By it the Bishops bind themselves 
 " to persecute and impugn all heretics and rebels 
 against their Lord the Pope," and to maintain 
 the "royalties of Peter"— i. e. the power 
 claimed by the Pope — against all men. Thus 
 the Popes extended and strengthened the 
 foundations of that universal spiritual empire, 
 which held the world beneath its sway. 
 
 The Council of Bale, in 1433—1436, strug- 
 gled against these Papal usurpations, as has 
 been already observed, and endeavoured to 
 restore the right of election to its ancient, 
 lawful possessors ; and the Pragmatic Sanction 
 at Bourges, in 1438, gave a civil as well as 
 ecclesiastical support and authority to its 
 decrees ^ But in 1516, as has been before 
 
 ® The salutary effects of the Pragmatic Sanction are 
 thus described by Monseigneur De Pradt, i. p. 203 : " La 
 'pragmatique retablit les elections (des eveques) avec 
 I'institution par le Metropolitain et ses comprovinciaux ; 
 elle debarrassa la France des exacteurs de Eome; en 
 maintenant Vancien ordre des institutions episcopates elle 
 pourvut a ce que les eglises ne restassent point sans 
 pasteurs, et les pasteurs sans eglises, pendant ces longa 
 espaces de temps ou les concordats les ont fait manquer 
 les uns des autres." 
 
 I 
 
MILAN. 61 
 
 noticed, Pope Leo X. induced Francis I. 
 of France to abrogate the Pragmatic Sanction, 
 and to accept an arrangement \ by which the 
 King was to be allowed to absorb into him- 
 self the elective privileges of the People and 
 Clergy, and the Pope was to swallow up all 
 the rights of the Metropolitans, and to have 
 the sole authority in the institution of Bishops ; 
 so that no Bishop should be thenceforth con- 
 secrated without the permission of the Pope. 
 It was commonly said at the time that in 
 forming this concordat^ " the Pope and the King 
 gave to one another what did not belong 
 to them," namely, the rights of the People, 
 Clergy, and Bishops, and even the sacred 
 inheritance of Christ's Church. 
 
 Other sovereigns of Europe were beguiled 
 by the Court of Pome, and imitated the ex- 
 ample of Francis I. ; and the influence of that 
 Concordat is still felt in almost every part of 
 the continent, — especially in Italy. 
 
 For ten years, from 1683 to 1693, the King 
 of France, Louis XIV., had a severe struggle 
 with the Popes, Innocent XL, Alexander YIIL, 
 
 ^ A similar compact had been made between Nicolas V. 
 and the Emperor of Germany in 1448. 
 
62 MILAN. 
 
 and Innocent XII. The consequence of this 
 conflict was, that not one Bishop was conse- 
 crated in France during that time, and at the 
 end of it, viz. in 1693, there were no less 
 than thirty-jive Bishoprics vacant in France. 
 By the Concordat, the Pope had been allowed 
 to have a veto on the nominations of the King ; 
 and the Pope refused to give " institution " to 
 the King's nominees. 
 
 Strange result ! Unhappy catastrophe ! A 
 Pope and a King quarrelled, and the Church 
 was not to have Bishops ! The People are to 
 be left without pastors ; 
 
 " Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi." 
 
 In the year 1693 Louis XIV. (wishing 
 to make use of the Papacy for a political 
 purpose against England) made a humble sub- 
 mission to the Pope^; and the Pope vouch- 
 safed to give bulls of institutions to the French 
 Bishops named by the Crown. 
 
 In the year 1801 Napoleon Buonaparte, then 
 First Consul and President of the French 
 Republic, endeavoured to restore the public 
 
 ' The letter of submission whicli Louis XIY. wrote to 
 Pope Innocent XII., fell into the hands of Napoleon, 
 who put it into the fire.— De Pradt, i. p. 354. 
 
MILAN. 63 
 
 profession of the Christian religion in France, 
 and with this view he entered into negotiations 
 with the Pope, Pius YII. He also, in imita- 
 tion of Francis I., made a Concordat with 
 the Papacy, first for France, and next also for 
 " the Republic of Italy." He did not restore 
 the rights of election of Bishops to the Clergy 
 and People, but he claimed for himself the 
 nomination of all Bishops in France. But in 
 order that the Pope might support him in the 
 exercise of this patronage, he conceded to the 
 Pope a veto on all his appointments. 
 
 This, he afterwards said, was the greatest 
 mistake of his reign — " La plus grande faute 
 que j'aie faite, c'est le Concordat.^'' He used 
 this expression in the presence of the Due de 
 Rovigo and Monseigneur De Pradt, at the 
 Trianon, in the summer of 1811 : he repeated 
 the expression several times (De Pradt, ii. 
 p. 497, 9). He had put himself in a false posi- 
 tion. For he thus made the Papacy necessary 
 to himself. He had not provided for an emer- 
 gency, in which the Pope might be at variance 
 with the Crown, and might effectually show his 
 hostility by refusing to institute any Bishop 
 whom the Crown might nominate. The Pope 
 
64 MILAN. 
 
 excommunicated Napoleon, then Emperor^, 
 on the 10th of June, 1809. What now was 
 to be done ? Napoleon convoked the National 
 Council of Paris in 1811. In the letter of 
 summons to the Bishops, he expressed his 
 regret that " the most illustrious and populous 
 churches of the empire were vacant^ because 
 one of the contracting parties, i. e. the Pope, 
 refused to give effect to the Concordat V' and 
 " it was necessary," he said, " to take measures 
 to fill up the vacant sees; and if such 
 measures were not speedily adopted, Episco- 
 pacy might become extinct in France and 
 Italy, as was almost the case in Germany, 
 where there were only eight Bishops ^." 
 
 The Council of Paris consisted of more than 
 a hundred Bishops, from France, Italy, and 
 Germany. It was held in the Archbishop's 
 Palace, under the presidency of Cardinal 
 
 " He was crowned Emperor of France, December2,1804. 
 
 * The Pope professed a readiness to institute, but lie 
 would not insert the JEmjperor^s name in the bulls of 
 institution ; he would not acknowledge his right to nomi- 
 nate, which was tantamount to refusal of institution. — 
 See De Pradt, i. p. 823 ; ii. 144. 
 
 ^ This letter is printed by Cardinal Pacca, Memorie 
 Storiche, p. 530, ed, Pesaro, 1830. 
 
MILAN. 65 
 
 Fesch. The Bishops had not been prepared 
 by previous information and conference; and 
 the excommunication of the Emperor by the 
 Pope seemed to them to render an accommo- 
 dation impossible; and after some turbulent 
 scenes the Council was dissolved. But it was 
 summoned again; and it adopted unanimously 
 the following decree (on Aug. 5, 1811): — 
 " That no Episcopal See ought to remain 
 vacant more than a year," and "that the 
 Emperor of France should nominate to all 
 vacant Sees, and request the Pope to institute 
 his nominees ; and that if after the expiration 
 of sij7 months the Pope refused to institute the 
 Bishops nominated by the Crown, then the 
 Metropolitan of the Province should give the 
 requisite institution ; and in case of Arch- 
 bishops^ under similar circumstances, the 
 senior Bishop of the Province should give 
 institution." This arrangement was nothing 
 more than what the Pope had previously 
 agreed to in a paper drawn up at Savona, 
 dated 19th of May, 1811 ^ 
 
 ^ The paper may be seen in Cardinal Pacca's Memorie 
 Storiche, p. 364, ed. Pesaro, 1830. See also De Pradt, ii. 
 p. 470. 
 
QQ MILAN. 
 
 The Council of Paris resolved that these 
 decrees should be submitted to the Pope for 
 his approval. In the event of the Pope's 
 refusal to approve this decree, Napoleon de- 
 clared his determination to return to the 
 " Common law of the Church, by which the 
 right of institution would devolve on the 
 Metropolitan^ without the intervention of 
 the Pope; as the usage had been before 
 the Concordat of Francis I. and Leo X.* " 
 Alarmed by this declaration, Pius YIL, in a 
 brief dated 20th of September, 1811 (called 
 "^^ quo ad sum?7ium"), gave his consent to 
 this arrangement ^ ; and in the beginning of the 
 year 1813 (Jan. 25th) a new Concordat was 
 drawn up and signed by the Emperor and 
 Pope at Fontainebleau, in which the above- 
 named decree of the National Council of Paris 
 was inserted ^ This Concordat extended not 
 
 * De Pradt, ii. p. 516. Monseigneur De Pradt was 
 himself a Member of the Commission appointed to ne- 
 gotiate with Pius VII. 
 
 * Which may be seen in De Pradt, ii. pp. 507 — 514. 
 
 ^ It is as follows : — " Les six mois expires, sans que le 
 Pape ait accorde I'institution, le Metropolitain, et a son 
 defaut, ou s'il s'agit du Metropolitain, I'eveque le plus 
 
MILAN. 67 
 
 only to the Archbishoprics and Bishoprics in 
 France, but to those also in the Kingdom 
 of Italy ^ with the exception of the six suh- 
 urhicarian Sees, and ten others to be agreed 
 upon. 
 
 Thus (says Monseigneur De Pradt, who was 
 one of the members of the Council, ii. p. 481) 
 Napoleon " solved the problem which Louis 
 Xiy., with Bossuet and the Parliaments of 
 France, had been unable to solve ; and the world 
 beheld the remarkable spectacle of a military 
 Conqueror who was resolved that the Church 
 should never want Bishops, and that of a Pope 
 who contended that the Church should be 
 without Bishops," except at his own pleasure. 
 
 But the fortunes of Napoleon were then 
 beginning to wane : and on the 24th of March, 
 1813, Pius yil. wrote a letter of recanta- 
 tion to the Emperor, in which he revoked his 
 assent to the Concordat^ of Fontainebleau ; 
 
 ancien de la province, procedera a 1' institution de I'eveque 
 nomine; de maniere qu'un siege ne soit^ jamais vacant 
 plus qu'une annee." — Art. iv. of the Concordat of Eon- 
 tainebleau, signed by the Emperor Napoleon and Pius 
 VII. on Jan. 25, 1813. 
 
 ' The letter may be seen in Cardinal Pacca's Memorie 
 Storiche, pp. 406—410. 
 
70 MILAN. 
 
 Episcopate, and of the Clerical body, through 
 the Episcopate. And since the Clerical body, 
 — by reason of the combination of spiritual 
 with temporal matters, — is the pivot of the 
 tranquillity of the State, hence it follows, 
 that the Pope, by his influence over the Epis- 
 copate, is the arbiter of the peace of the 
 Realm ^" 
 
 If the Throne of Italy is to stand, she must 
 have a loyal Episcopate. But she cannot have 
 a loyal Episcopate — no, she will have an Epis- 
 copate opposed to the Crown, — if the Pope is 
 to have a veto on appointments to Italian 
 Bishoprics ; and if the Bishops of Italy are to 
 take such oaths as he imposes upon them. 
 
 These questions call for a speedy solution. 
 According to the ancient laws of the Church, 
 as well as on principles of common equity 
 and charity, no Episcopal See ought to be 
 kept vacant above two or three months. At 
 present, there is a violent struggle between 
 the Papacy and the Crown, and it is daily 
 becoming more fierce. On one side is the 
 Papal Hierarchy, and on the other the 
 
 * Les quatre Concordats, i. p. 280. 
 
Oo MILAN. 
 
 and by the fall of Napoleon and the return of 
 the Bourbons the Papacy was raised again to 
 the same position which it had occupied in 
 1801 \ 
 
 It has retained that position till the recent 
 campaign of Magenta and Solferino, which 
 has been followed by the annexation of 
 Lombardy, Tuscany, Naples, Sicily, and a 
 large part of the Roman States (viz. the 
 Legations of Romagna, Umbria, and the 
 Marches), to the crown of Victor Emmanuel, 
 now King of Italy. 
 
 Throughout the whole of the Kingdom of 
 
 Italy no means now exist for filling up any 
 
 vacant Episcopal See. Precisely the same 
 
 difficulty has now arisen in Italy, as occurred 
 
 in France under Louis XIV. in 1683, and 
 
 under Napoleon I. in 1809. How will this 
 
 difficulty be solved? Will Victor Emmanuel 
 
 make a humble submission to the Pope, as 
 
 Louis XIV. did ? Or will he obtain from the 
 
 * Louis XVIII. in 1817 accepted a Concordat, by 
 which he agreed to return to that of 1516 between Leo 
 X. and Francis I. ; but this Concordat of 1817 has never 
 been received in France by the Parliaments and Courts. 
 — See Dupin, Manuel du Droit Ecclesiastique, 1844, 
 p. 241. 
 
MILAN. 69 
 
 Pope a Concordat like that which Napoleon 
 extorted from Pius VII. at Fontainebleau in 
 1813 ? Neither of these results seems very 
 probable. And even if the Crown should 
 resort to one or other of these alternatives, 
 will the Metropolitans, Clergy, and, above all, 
 the People of Italy, consent to an accommoda- 
 tion by which their own ancient rights would 
 be sacrificed ? Or will the Crown, the Clergy, 
 and the People unite in an earnest endeavour 
 to ascertain their own relative rights and 
 duties in this grave matter, according to the 
 ancient laws and practice of the best ages of 
 the Church ? 
 
 These are important questions suggested by 
 the present state of the Archiepiscopal See of 
 Milan ; and I have dwelt upon them at greater 
 length, because the best interests of Religion 
 are involved in them ; and because the sta- 
 bility of the Kingdom of Italy may depend in 
 great measure on their right and proper 
 adjustment. The words of Monseigneur De 
 Pradt, in his history of Concordats, deserve to 
 be well weighed : — " The Episcopate is the 
 pivot of the Clerical body: the Concordats 
 have made the Pope to be the master of the 
 
MILAN. 71 
 
 Government and the People, and some of the 
 Clergy. Eeligion suffers by this struggle : if 
 it is prolonged, the People may lapse into 
 irreligion, and if irreligion prevails. Revolution 
 will soon follow. Many Bishoprics are now 
 vacant in Italy. The Government is exposing 
 itself to the charge of indifference to religion, 
 by keeping those Sees void, and by sequester- 
 ing their revenues. But if the vacant Epis- 
 copal Sees of Italy are filled up with loyal, 
 learned, and religious men, then the Spiritu- 
 alty and Temporalty would co-operate in har- 
 monious efforts for the religious and secular 
 welfare of the people. The importance of 
 this question is placed in a still clearer light, 
 when the statistics of the Italian Episcopate 
 are examined. The Dioceses of Italy are very 
 numerous: and wherever there is a Bishop, 
 the Pope has now a person who is bound to 
 him by oaths of allegiance, and who exercises 
 an almost unbounded power over the Clergy. 
 In Piedmont there are thirty-three Bishop- 
 rics, in Yenezia eleven, in Lombardy five, in 
 Tuscany twenty-one, in the old Ecclesiastical 
 States seventy, in the Duchy of Modena eight, 
 in Sicily and Naples one hundred and nine. If 
 
72 MILAN. 
 
 these Sees were filled by pious, learned, en- 
 lightened, and loyal men, not trammelled by 
 unrighteous oaths, but appointed according to 
 the laws and usages of the ancient Catholic 
 Church, Italy would rise to a position such as 
 it has never yet occupied in the history of 
 Europe and the world. 
 
 Since the above remarks were written, a calculation has 
 been made, from which it appears that there are (Nov. 
 1862) no less than thirty-four Bishoprics vacant in the 
 Kingdom of Italy. They are as follows : — In Piedmont, 
 7 ; Liguria, 1 ; Sardinia, 6 ; Lombardy, 2 ; Parma, 1 ; 
 Tuscany, 6 ; The Marches, 3 ; Umbria, 2 ; Naples, an- 
 cient Kingdom of, 3 ; Sicily, 3 ; Total Vacant Sees, 34. 
 
 They now (April, 1863) have reached the amount of 43 ; 
 and the question of Investiture has become one of critical 
 importance to the dignity of the Crown, by the nomina- 
 tion on the part of the King, of three Ecclesiastics to 
 Canonries at Milan, and by the refusal of Investiture on 
 the part of the locum tenens of the Archbishop, acting 
 under instructions from Eome. — \_Note to Second Edi- 
 tion.'] 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MILAN {continued). 
 
 Wednesday afternoon^ May 2\st. — At half- 
 past two attended Vespers in the Cathedral. 
 Canons about twenty in number came out 
 of the Sacristy in procession, — attired in 
 white, red, and green, — and went up to the 
 raised stalls at the east end of the choir, 
 where they seated themselves in a semicircle 
 according to the usual ancient arrangement, 
 the Bishop being supposed to occupy the 
 seat in the middle of the apse. Few persons 
 were present. A young priest with his " Di- 
 urnum Ambrosianum " in his hand, very reve- 
 rent and attentive. There are several Canon- 
 ries now vacant, which cannot be filled up, 
 because the Vicario Capitolare, — the deputy 
 of the Archbishop, — will not give institution 
 to the nominees of the Crown. 
 
 I procured a copy of the Diurnum Ambro- 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
74 MILAN. 
 
 sianum, and on comparing it with the Roman 
 Ritual I observed many deviations between the 
 two. Let me specify some in the ritual for the 
 present month, May. The Roman Church has 
 canonized two of her Popes, Gregory YIL, and 
 Pius v., and their festivals occur in May. 
 That of Pope Pius V. is on the 5th of this 
 month ; and in the services appointed for that 
 day he is lauded as "having discharged the 
 duty of an Inquisitor with inflexible courage^'' 
 and having "crw^Ae^ the enemies of the Church^'' 
 doubtless with reference to his conduct to Queen 
 Elizabeth, against whom he issued a Bull of 
 excommunication and deposition (on Feb. 24, 
 1567), commanding her subjects to rise up in 
 rebellion against her. 
 
 Similarly Pope Gregory VII. is eulogized in 
 the Roman Breviary on May 25th because " he 
 strenuously resisted the Emperor Henry IV., 
 and deprived him of his crown^ and released 
 his subjects from their allegiance '." 
 
 These words stand in the Roman Breviary, 
 and are recited by her in her Churches at this 
 
 ' The words in the Eoman Breviary are, " regno pri- 
 vavit, atque subditos populos fide ei data liberavit." 
 
MILAN. 75 
 
 day; it is clear from them that the Church of 
 Rome has never renounced her claim to de- 
 throne kings; and to release their subjects 
 from their allegiance; on the contrary, she 
 now worships as saints those Popes who 
 asserted those claims, and who also put them 
 in force. 
 
 On looking into the Calendar of the Milanese 
 Church, I see no mention of either of these 
 Popes. It is w^ell known also, that many 
 Roman Catholic Princes forbade these por- 
 tions of the Roman Offices just specified, 
 for these two festivals, to be printed in the 
 Breviary used in their dominions. They were 
 expunged from the Breviaries of Naples, 
 Venice, Spain, and France. But it is very 
 remarkable, that these very offices which were 
 suppressed by Bourbon Princes, have now re- 
 appeared in the Breviaries of France^ under 
 Napoleon III., the Sovereign of the popular 
 choice ! Popes of Rome are now eulogized in 
 all the Churches of France for having deposed 
 kings ! The Church of Rome has had a tem- 
 poral end in view, in supplanting and dis- 
 placing all the national Breviaries of France, 
 and in substituting the Roman Breviary in their 
 E 2 
 
76 MILAN. 
 
 place. In her plea for " liturgical uniformity" 
 there was a covert design for spiritual and tem- 
 poral aggrandizement. She forgets nothing. 
 With her, the acts of Gregory VII. and of 
 Pius V. are as fresh as if they were done 
 yesterday, and is it too much to say, that by 
 eulogizing those acts annually in the house of 
 God, she shows her desire that these acts may 
 be repeated, and avows her own determination 
 to repeat them, — whenever she may have the 
 power to do so ? 
 
 In the Milanese Calendar, the 5th of May is 
 the day appointed for the commemoration of 
 the Conversion of S. Augustine by S. Am- 
 brose : how different are the emotions which 
 are suggested by that event, from those which 
 spring from a remembrance of the acts of 
 Pope Pius y. ! On the 25th of May, Dionysius 
 Archbishop of Milan occupies the place which 
 is given in the Roman Breviary to Gregory VII. 
 
 In the pontificate of Gregory XIII. (a.d. 
 1578 — 1585) an attempt was made by the 
 Church of Rome to supersede all other Latin 
 Liturgies by the Roman : and the Pope sent a 
 brief to the Governor of Milan^ in which he 
 authorized him to have the Roman Ritual used 
 
MILAN. 77 
 
 daily in any Church of Milan that he might 
 choose. But S. Carlo Borromeo wrote two 
 letters of remonstrance to the Pope in order 
 to vindicate and maintain the independence of 
 the Ambrosian Bitual. 
 
 It is a remarkable circumstance, that two 
 years ago (1860) the Church of Eome took ad- 
 vantage of the vacancy of the See of Milan, and 
 induced Monsignor Caccia to publish a new 
 edition of the Ambrosian Breviary, '■'■juxta 
 mentem Apostolicce sedis,'^ and under the au- 
 thority of the holy '■''Roman Congregation of 
 Rites." 
 
 Besides this, the Church of Rome endea- 
 voured to persuade some congregations of 
 regulars, particularly the Barnabites, who 
 serve the parish of S. Alexander at Milan, 
 to adopt the Roman Ritual; but the popular 
 feeling revolted against the usurpation. The 
 " Ladies of the Sacred Heart " at Milan have 
 also shown a desire for the introduction of the 
 Roman Ritual instead of the Ambrosian ; and 
 it is evident that if Rome gains the mastery in 
 the present conflict, the Ambrosian Ritual will 
 disappear. 
 
 Yesterday (May 20th) the Chapter of the 
 E 3 
 
78 MILAN. 
 
 Cathedral of Milan agreed to observe the 
 national anniversary (Festa dello Statuto) of 
 June 1, by a religious celebration in the Cathe- 
 dral, notwithstanding the opposition of the 
 Archbishop's locum tenens^ the Vicario Capi- 
 tolare, Monsignor Caccia, and notwithstanding 
 the decree issued from the Roman Penitenzieria 
 on May 18, 1861, which forbade all Priests to 
 celebrate that anniversary. 
 
 Thursday^ May 2'^Znd. — This morning, when 
 we were at breakfast at the Caffe Cova, some 
 lads with muskets passed along the streets. 
 On inquiring who they were, we were informed 
 that they were some of the volunteers who had 
 gone from Milan to join the standard of Gari- 
 baldi's corps in their rising against the Aus- 
 trians. That enterprise, undertaken without the 
 sanction of the Italian Government, ended in 
 a collision between the Garibaldian Volunteers 
 and the King's troops, and in the arrest of the 
 Colonel of the Volunteers. But though this act 
 of Garibaldi is freely censured by many as 
 anarchical, and although it might have led to the 
 sacrifice of many lives of youthful enthusiasts, 
 and although it might have brought the Aus- 
 trians out of the fortresses of Peschiera and 
 
MILAN. 79 
 
 Mantua, with a tremendous onslaught upon 
 the city of Milan, unprepared to resist them, 
 yet the present Government does not seem to 
 be disposed to act with much energy in the 
 matter. Garibaldi has written a letter in 
 which he makes himself responsible for the 
 whole affair. Yet he is not censured by the 
 Government. Indeed it seems to connive at his 
 enterprises, and to tempt him on to other ad- 
 ventures of the same kind. How will this end ? 
 An Italian friend, who is very intimate with 
 Garibaldi, said to me, " You know that among 
 heathen nations there are some objects which 
 the Priests taboo^ and no one dares touch them ; 
 the People of Italy idolize Garibaldi, they have 
 tabooedhim.^ and no one ventures to touch him." 
 
 Our informant took care to complete his ani- 
 madversion on the quixotic enterprise of Gari- 
 baldi, with a vehement expression of indignation 
 against the conduct of the Priesthood under 
 Austrian influence. "What do you think," 
 said he, " of Priests refusing Absolution to 
 Italian soldiers at Confession, unless they 
 pledge themselves to desert the standard of 
 the King of Italy ?" 
 
 This is a true charge. The Italian Govern- 
 E 4 
 
80 MILAN. 
 
 ment has instituted legal proceedings against 
 Monsignor Canzio, the locum tenens of the 
 Bishop of Bologna, for the circular which he 
 has addressed to the parochial clergy of the 
 Diocese, in which he enjoins them to make use 
 of the Confessional as an instrument for exciting 
 the soldiers to desertion ; and similar measures 
 have been resorted to against the Bishop of 
 Fano for the same reason. The Italian Govern- 
 ment ought not to be surprised by such acts on 
 the part of Italian Bishops. The Bishops of 
 Italy are bound by solemn oaths to " uphold 
 the royalties of Peter " (i. e. the Roman Su- 
 premacy) "against all men," and to maintain the 
 laws and canons of the Papacy. Among those 
 laws and canons are some which distinctly 
 assert that "all oaths, which are opposed to 
 tne interests of the Church of Rome, are not 
 to be regarded as oaths, but as perjuries^'' and 
 that " oaths of allegiance, which are prejudicial 
 to the Roman See, are not binding'^ T 
 
 Such acts as those of Monsignor Canzio of 
 
 ^ See the Papal Canon Law, approved and published 
 bj ita authority, Decretal Greg. IX., " De Jurejurando," 
 Lib. ii. Tit. xxiv. Tom. ii. p. 358, ed. Lips. 1839. The 
 whole of that title is very instructive. 
 
MILAN. 81 
 
 Bologna, and of the Bishop of Fano, are mere 
 symptoms of an inveterate malady: if the 
 Italian Government would reach the root of 
 the evil, must it not go far deeper than it is 
 now doing ? Ought it to prosecute Bishops of 
 Italy for doing what in their conscience they 
 feel bound to do ? Ought it not rather to help 
 them to enlighten their consciences^ and make 
 them sensible of the degradation to which they 
 have been reduced by the usurpations of Rome ? 
 Ought it not to emancipate the Episcopate of 
 Italy from the thraldom of its present depend- 
 ence upon Rome, and to restore it to the 
 spiritual freedom which it enjoyed in the 
 fourth century ? 
 
 I called on a distinguished Ecclesiastic, a 
 Preposto or Rector of one of the principal 
 parishes of Milan, and a member of the " So- 
 cieta Ecclesiastica " of Milan: he was sitting 
 in his library, in his cassock, &c., and sur- 
 rounded with books and papers. He favoured 
 me with copies of the " atti," or proceedings of 
 the Society, and at this and a subsequent inter- 
 view he gave me all the information which I 
 desired concerning its designs. Its history is 
 important, as illustrating the present condition 
 E 5 
 
82 MILAN. 
 
 and sentiments of an intelligent portion of the 
 Clergy of this City and Diocese. 
 
 The " Societa" was instituted in 1859; and 
 as its " regolamento organico " declares, its 
 design is " to promote among its members the 
 cultivation of religious studies, especially those 
 which have a practical influence on the social 
 welfare of the people." Any ecclesiastic of the 
 Diocese may be elected a member of it. It has 
 a reading-room, where the members assemble 
 from time to time for the reading of essays 
 composed by themselves on subjects proposed, 
 and for subsequent oral discussion of those 
 subjects. 
 
 The meetings take place at intervals of at 
 least three weeks, and their ordinary duration is 
 two hours. My friend informed me that the 
 Society consist of about two hundred mem- 
 bers : of these, four are Canons of the Cathe- 
 dral (being one-sixth of the whole number of 
 Canons) ; nine Rectors (Preposti) of City 
 Parishes, being two-fifths of the whole num- 
 ber ; forty-one Curates of the City ; thirty-nine 
 Rectors and Vicars of Country Parishes : very 
 few members of religious orders belong to the 
 Society. 
 
MILAN. 83 
 
 It is a remarkable proof of the bitterness of 
 party feeling now prevalent in Italy, that a 
 Society so constituted, and having such objects 
 in view, should have been encountered with 
 much obloquy and opposition in various 
 quarters. 
 
 The Ultramontane Journals in Italy, such as 
 the Armonia at Turin, the Difensore of Mo- 
 dena, the Osservatore of Brescia, and the Ci- 
 viltd Cattolica at Rome, have been loud and 
 vehement in their denunciations of it. The 
 latter, in its number for April last (p. 116), 
 describes it as " a scandalous, schismatical, 
 and revolutionary society, and as guilty of re- 
 bellion against the Pope and Holy Roman See." 
 And in France the journal, — which has in- 
 herited the principles and spirit of the " Uni- 
 vers^^ — the '"'' Monde ^^ has described it as a 
 "lodge of clerical freemasonry, in which the 
 most ungodly machinations are concerted 
 against ecclesiastical authority." The de- 
 famatory articles of this last-named journal 
 (contained in its numbers of the 21st and 
 81st Oct., 1861) were made the ground of an 
 action against it for libel on the part of the 
 Society, and the editors of the paper were 
 E 6 
 
84 MILAN. 
 
 condemned in February last by the " Correc- 
 tional Tribunal of Paris " to a month's im- 
 prisonment, and to pay 1300 francs' fine and 
 costs. 
 
 Notwithstanding this, the Society has found 
 a more formidable adversary nearer home, in 
 the person of the present representative of 
 the Archbishop of Milan, the Vicario Capito- 
 lare, Monsignor Caccia. 
 
 Monsignor Caccia, in a letter to the Pre- 
 sident of the Society, Giulio Ratti, Rector of 
 the Church of S. Fedele at Milan, dated 
 Monza, 9th Feb., 1862, expressed his regret 
 that the Society had been formed, and his 
 desire that it would dissolve itself. 
 
 To this letter the President replied, 14th 
 Feb., 1862, with a humble petition that Mon- 
 signor Caccia would examine the design and 
 proceedings of the Society, and would afibrd it 
 an opportunity of stating its cause ; and if he 
 approved its principles, would place himself at 
 its head. 
 
 This reply brought another letter from 
 Monsignor Caccia, dated Monza, 16th Feb., 
 1862, in which he reiterated his recom- 
 mendation that the Societv should cease to 
 
MILAN. 85 
 
 exist. This requisition elicited a respectful 
 expostulation from the Society. At its session 
 of March 11, 1862, it declared that it has not 
 infringed any law, civil or ecclesiastical; it 
 does not disguise its "earnest desire," to 
 quote its own words, "to see a reconciliation 
 between the Clergy and the People, and 
 between the Church and the State : it affirms 
 that it maintains inviolate the principles of 
 Faith and Obedience to the Gospel, and to 
 the traditions of the Church, and to the 
 higher powers, especially to the Holy See." 
 And after a long discussion, it adopted the 
 following resolution : " That for the reasons 
 stated in the processo verbale of that session, 
 it cannot comply with the declaration of 
 Monsignor the Vicario Capitolare, recom- 
 mending the dissolution of the Society, and 
 desires that this resolution be communicated 
 to him and each of its members." 
 
 The Yicario replied to this declaration by 
 an intimation that he could not receive any 
 deputation from the Society, unless it were 
 commissioned to communicate to him the fact 
 of its dissolution. 
 
 This letter was read at a meeting of the 
 
86 MILAN. 
 
 Society held on the 7th of this month, when 
 seventy members were present ; but pro- 
 duced no other effect than that of a reso- 
 lution that the Society should meet on the 7th 
 of June, for the re-election of officers. 
 
 The Vicario has since rejoined (Nov., 1862) 
 with a condemnation of the Society, and with 
 a peremptory order for its dissolution. 
 
 I offer no comment on these circumstances, 
 but recount them simply as reflecting some 
 light on the present condition of the Church 
 in this city. There is an unhappy schism, 
 which is now rending the Diocese. A large 
 and powerful portion of the Clergy are at war 
 with their Ecclesiastical Superior, who has been 
 driven from the city by the people'; and are 
 divided from the rest of their brethren, some 
 of whom have not scrupled to affirm that the 
 ministrations of the Clergy of the " Societa 
 Ecclesiastica " are irregular and even invalid, 
 and ought to be shunned by the faithful \ 
 
 My friend asked me whether I had seen a 
 work lately published, entitled "Rinascenza 
 Cattolica?" It is written by a distinguished 
 
 ^ La Diocesi di Milano, p. 108. 
 * Ibid. pp. 110, 111. 
 
 I 
 
MILAN. 87 
 
 person, Mamiani, formerly Minister of Public 
 Instruction. " You will see that it advocates 
 free election of Bishops by the People and 
 Clergy: this is our principle. The Clergy 
 and People ought to be restored to their 
 undoubted rights in the election of their Chief 
 Pastors. We desire nothing new, but only to 
 return to the ancient principles and practices 
 of the Catholic Church." 
 
 I have been much interested by this volume, 
 which is written in an attractive style. 
 
 The Author imagines himself to be a Roman 
 Missionary of the Propaganda, who after ten 
 years' imprisonment at Japan returns to Pome. 
 He is brought in an English vessel, the 
 " Isaac Newton," to Civita Yecchia, where he 
 finds the whole city illuminated, and cele- 
 brating a festival. On inquiring the reason, 
 he is told that the People are rejoicing at the 
 election of their Bishop, which had taken 
 place that morning. The Author takes his 
 place in the railway train, and is told that 
 Bishops are now chosen by the Clergy of their 
 Dioceses ; and that the former practice has been 
 abandoned, according to which the elections of 
 Bishops were governed by Concordats between 
 
88 MILAN. 
 
 the See of Rome and the Courts of Italian 
 Princes. He arrives at Rome, and is lodged 
 at the Propaganda, which he finds greatly 
 improved; he is astonished and delighted by 
 the altered aspect of Rome: a fresh life has 
 been breathed into it : its Churches, its Clergy, 
 its Ritual are all animated by a new spirit; 
 the Inquisition has been abolished; the Con- 
 vents have been reformed ; the temporal Power 
 of the Papacy has been abolished ; Rome has 
 become the capital of Italy; the Italian Par- 
 liament meets in the Capitol; the State has 
 been reconciled to the Church, and the Church 
 is loyal to the State: and both co-operate in 
 harmonious efforts for the public weal. The 
 infidelity and immorality of the Roman priest- 
 hood, of which he draws a dark picture, and 
 which had produced its natural fruits of un- 
 belief and profligacy among the People, and of 
 contempt and hatred of Christianity (pp. 113, 
 114), had been succeeded by a golden age of 
 virtue and piety; and this series of beautiful 
 pictures is completed by a sketch of a Bishop 
 of Rome — such as Rome had in primitive 
 times — who expresses the delight which he 
 feels in being relieved from the weight of 
 
MILAN. 89 
 
 secular cares which formerly oppressed him, 
 and in being able to devote all his resources to 
 the advancement of the divine glory by the 
 preaching of the Gospel and the salvation of 
 souls. 
 
 At the conclusion of his pastoral address, 
 the Bishop of Rome is represented by the 
 Author as no longer seated in his chair, but 
 raised aloft on a golden cloud, from vs^hich he 
 bestows a benediction on Rome and the world ; 
 the People of Italy kneeling before him re- 
 ceive his apostolic benediction; the air is 
 filled with sweet fragrance, like the perfumes 
 of Paradise ; and the nations of the earth 
 flock from the four quarters of the world with 
 banners and colours flying, which they plant 
 with enthusiastic joy on the hill of the Va- 
 tican. 
 
 This romantic vision of an imaginary future 
 is one which fascinates many in Italy at this 
 time. It may exercise a salutary influence, if 
 it excites the desire, and if it creates the deter- 
 mination, to ascertain from the authentic 
 records of Holy Scripture and primitive Anti- 
 quity what were the principles of the Christian 
 
do 
 
 MILAN. 
 
 Church, and what was the condition of the 
 Church of Rome in Apostolic times. 
 
 There is one question of great interest which 
 the Author proposes to the Italian people. " Is 
 it not derogatory to religion to say that the 
 Christian Church must perish, if the Pope 
 loses his temporal power, and becomes the 
 subject of a king ? The Christian Church," he 
 says, "has her fixed dogmas and laws. Are 
 not national Churches — each with their own 
 Primates and Bishops — suflBcient for their own 
 spiritual existence?" 
 
 " We will not appeal to the Greek Church ; 
 which, except in one article, has preserved 
 the primitive dogmas without any dependence 
 on the Pope. The Latin Church herself has 
 had many intervals when the Papal chair was 
 vacant ; did it then cease to exist ^ ? " 
 
 Might not the writer have referred to the 
 Church of Milan herself, in the best ages, 
 when she was not subject to Rome ? 
 
 My friend the Preposto said that he could 
 not accept the Anglican doctrine that our 
 Lord had not constituted One Supreme Visible 
 ^ Kinascenza Cattolica, p. 160. 
 
MILAN. 91 
 
 Head of His Church on Earth. Some Visible 
 Head (he thought) was necessary, hut this 
 Head ought also to be chosen by the free 
 suffrages of Christendom. 
 
 He said that the accounts given of the 
 Church affairs of Milan in a book lately 
 printed here, and entitled " The Diocese of 
 Milan in the last fifteen years," ("La Diocesi 
 di Milano negli ultimi quindici anni,") was 
 written in a sober and earnest style, by a 
 grave and religious person well acquainted 
 with the history of the Diocese, and might be 
 entirely relied on for veracity. 
 
 In the correspondence of Passaglia's journal, 
 the Mediator e^ for this month (May 1862, 
 p. 637), that work is described as a "libro 
 molto serio, ed importante, d'un interesse non 
 solo locale per la Lombardia, ma generale par 
 tutta ritalia: parla di Gaisruck, di Romilli," 
 (the former Archbishops,) "di Ballerini, di 
 Caccia, del clero, dei riti, del popolo, delle 
 curie," &c. I will say a few words concerning 
 it. 
 
 The Author of this " History of the Diocese of 
 Milan " begins his narration at the year 1847, 
 when Count Romilli was nominated to the 
 
92 MILAN. 
 
 Archbishopric by the Austrian government, 
 and the nomination was approved by the Pope ; 
 the usual mode of appointment to Bishoprics 
 in Lombardy at that time. Eomilli suc- 
 ceeded Cardinal Gaisruck, who was much 
 respected by the Diocese. 
 
 Romilli is described as a person of feeble 
 character, and of no theological learning; and 
 as allowing himself to be swayed by intriguing 
 men, who governed the Diocese by means 
 of spies and informers, and thus exercised a 
 secret and mysterious influence, which made 
 them dreaded by the Clergy. 
 
 " After the appearance of the Jesuits among 
 us," says the author, " a spirit of mutual 
 distrust and constraint diff'used itself in the 
 Diocese. Espionage was made the instrument 
 of ecclesiastical superintendence, and com- 
 pleted the work of diocesan disorganization ; it 
 was known in the remote corners of the 
 Diocese, who was the unhappy priest that had 
 accepted the office of being the spy of his 
 brethren : and I know an incumbent who last 
 year was on the point of resigning his bene- 
 fice, because while he was receiving marks 
 of seeming respect and affection from the 
 
MILAN. • 93 
 
 Ecclesiastical Court of the Diocese, that same 
 Court kept a spy at his side, who was its agent 
 of police for the district ^" 
 
 One of the prime agents of this Romilli 
 was Taramella, a person of great subtlety and 
 shrewdness, but of profligate life, and who, 
 after a career of some years, in which he 
 governed the Diocese by fear, was condemned 
 to ten years' imprisonment at Mantua for his 
 delinquencies. 
 
 Taramella was succeeded in the administra- 
 tion of the affairs of the Arch-diocese by two 
 other persons, who exercised a dominant 
 influence over the Archbishop till the time of 
 his death at the beginning of June, 1859; and 
 one of these persons, Monsignor Ballerini, 
 was nominated by the Austrians on the 4th 
 June, 1859 — the very day of the battle of 
 Magenta — to succeed Archbishop Romilli in 
 the see of Milan. On the 6th the Austrians 
 evacuated the city: on the 8th Victor Em- 
 manuel was in Milan. Ballerini has disap- 
 peared from public life. The see of Milan is 
 vacant. Monsignor Caccia has been elected by 
 
 ^ La Diocesi di Milano, 1862, p. 55. 
 
94 • MILAN. 
 
 the Chapter of the Cathedral as locum tenens 
 of the Archbishop ; but lives at Monza. 
 
 It appears from the incidents related by the 
 writer, that the Austrian policy has been 
 injurious to the Diocese by its endeavours to 
 exercise secular influence on the Archbishop 
 and Bishops of the Province of Lombardy, 
 and through them upon the Clergy; and by 
 using them as its tools for political purposes. 
 Austria has secularized the Spiritualty, and 
 has degraded the Episcopate and Priesthood 
 in the eyes of the People, and made them and 
 itself obnoxious to the Nation, and brought 
 Religion into contempt, and thus prepared the 
 way for its own downfall. 
 
 The writer deplores that the Clergy of the 
 Diocese, having relied so long on the secular 
 arm, have lost much of their inner spiritual 
 life, and that now, when the Austrian Power 
 has fallen, they do not find themselves in a 
 condition to exercise their legitimate spiritual 
 influence upon the people. Having been 
 employed as Austrian agents of police, they 
 now discover that they are not regarded by 
 the people as Christian Pastors. 
 
 " What," asks the writer, " is the present 
 
MILAN. • 95 
 
 spiritual condition of the Province of Milan? 
 The Bishops are less united than ever. The 
 Ecclesiastical authority is a lifeless skeleton : 
 may the day arrive when it will be clothed again 
 with flesh, and quickened with life! What 
 is the religious life of the people of this 
 Diocese ? It ought to be animated with a 
 religious spirit diffnsed from the heart of its 
 Ecclesiastical ruler. But this it has not. It 
 is like an old hollow tree which supports itself 
 on the bark of its trunk, but has not alto- 
 gether lost the beauty of its leaves. Instead 
 of drawing life from its centre, it leans on its 
 circumference ; alas ! if a hurricane should 
 come and batter it with its fury. 
 
 " If the day should arrive (which Heaven 
 forbid!) when the Catholic Faith should find 
 in Italy only a tomb, what would be the in- 
 scription which succeeding ages would read 
 there ? ' Behold here the end to which the 
 Faith has been brought by the infatuated 
 obstinacy of Rome and her champions.' " 
 
 There is another little volume lately pub- 
 lished at Milan, which deals with an impor- 
 tant Ecclesiastical question, and which has 
 attracted much attention. It is entitled, " II 
 
96 MILAN. 
 
 Seminario di Milano e gli Oblati." It de- 
 scribes the unhappy condition into which the 
 Episcopal Seminary of Milan for the training 
 of Clergy has fallen, under the direction of 
 the religious congregation called the " Oblati," 
 to whom it was committed in the recent 
 archiepiscopate of Romilli, who expelled, in 
 1853, sixteen of the former Professors from 
 the seminary — some of them very able men, 
 respected and beloved by the pupils, — but 
 suspected of being too favourable to the cause 
 of Italian liberty, in order to make way for 
 the members of this religious congregation. 
 The author is loud in his complaints of the 
 incompetency and ignorance, as well as the 
 bigotry, of these theological teachers, and of 
 the evils thence resulting to the Church and 
 to the country. 
 
 "It is a lamentable truth (says the writer^), 
 attested by the unanimous voice of the Clergy 
 and Laity, that the teaching of the Ecclesias- 
 tical Seminaries of Italy, for the training of 
 the Priesthood, is in a deplorable state of 
 decline." He appeals to the witness of the 
 
 '' II Seminario di Milano, p. 4. 
 
MILAN". 9 7 
 
 Abate Gioberti, and Abate Rosmini, and 
 Filippo Perfetti, and even to the avowal of 
 the Ultramontane periodical, the Civiltd 
 Caftolica of Rome. " The instruction," he adds, 
 " is miserable, in regard to the subjects taught, 
 the mode of teaching, and the quality of the 
 teachers. The Seminary of Milan, in the 
 Archiepiscopate of Gaisruck, was in a better 
 condition than those of other Dioceses. But 
 the events of 1848 and 1849, which excited a 
 vindictive spirit in the hearts of the Austrian 
 rulers of Lombardy, had a disastrous influence 
 on the Seminary of Milan. The whole corps 
 of professors was dismissed; and " (as has been 
 before stated) " the Seminary was placed under 
 the control of the Congregation above men- 
 tioned." He then cites the words of one of 
 the best priests and wisest philosophers that 
 Italy has produced in the present age, one whose 
 piety and virtue are universally acknowledged, 
 and who had great experience in teaching, 
 who is now no longer living, Rosmini. " We 
 have abandoned the study of the Scriptures 
 and of the Fathers, and have declined to the 
 age of those wretched text-books which are 
 used in our seminaries, and which will one 
 VOL. I. F 
 
98 MILAN. 
 
 day be regarded as the most trashy and 
 repulsive compositions that have been pro- 
 duced in the eighteen centuries of the life 
 of the Church; books without spirit, with- 
 out principles, without eloquence, and without 
 method." 
 
 " The biblical studies, which have made so 
 much progress in other countries, are jejune, 
 or rather null, in our Seminary. The reading 
 of the Holy Scriptures is neglected; and the 
 study of Church History is treated with 
 indifference ^ 
 
 "In former days our young Clergy were 
 nurtured under the eye, and beneath the roof of 
 our Bishops ; but now our probationers for the 
 Priesthood scarcely see any one, and converse 
 with no one, but themselves. They are shut 
 up in the narrow cells of their own minds. 
 They are under a rigid and heartless 
 discipline of fear. They never attain to any 
 noble spiritual elevation. They become me- 
 chanical, material, sensual. This for the 
 most part is the condition of the Ecclesiastical 
 Seminary of Milan, which contains 600 
 
 ' II Seminario di Milano, 1862, pp. 18. 21. 
 
MILAN. 99 
 
 students, the future teachers of the people; 
 the priests of the Church of Lombardy. 
 
 " When they come in contact with the people, 
 they will be unable to sympathize with them ; 
 the Clergy \7ill be anti-social, and Society 
 will be anti-hierarchical. Indeed these results 
 are already visible : and when the Ministers 
 of Religion are despised and detested, what 
 will become of Religion itself? What will 
 become of Society? Will it not be dis- 
 organized and desolated by the ravages of 
 Democracy and Anarchy?" 
 
 The following words were written by a 
 young student of the seminary of Milan in the 
 month of March in the year 1862: "Gracious 
 heavens! to what a point are we hastening! 
 to the terrible dilemma of either disobeying 
 our superiors, or rebelling against our own 
 consciences. We shrink from either alterna- 
 tive. . . . But in the mean while what is the 
 Government doing ? Does it now give a 
 thought to us ? We too are Italians ; and the 
 Municipality of the city is indifferent to our 
 condition. If things go on a little longer as they 
 do now, both the Church and the Country will 
 rue it. The Church will have an incompetent 
 F 2 
 
100 MILAN. 
 
 Clergy, hated by the People : the Country will 
 be detested, betrayed, and assailed by the 
 Clergy. Here are many, who, being beguiled 
 by their superiors, deem it a conscientious 
 obligation to rebel against the Government . . 
 and they are doing it. Woe to those who 
 will take no thought of these things till it is 
 too late!" 
 
 The present Government of Victor Em- 
 manuel is occupied with military preparations, 
 and diplomatic negotiations; and as yet has 
 paid little attention to the affairs of Religion 
 and of the Church. It is much, however, to 
 be hoped that it may assist the Church to 
 remove the abuses which now impair her effi- 
 ciency. A loyal and learned Episcopate and 
 Clergy, freed from the trammels of the Court 
 of Rome, might preserve the Country from the 
 social dangers which now threaten it, and 
 might effectually co-operate with the Govern- 
 ment in consolidating the fabric of the State 
 on the basis of true religion. 
 
 I called on an intelligent Italian layman, 
 interested in Church affairs; he showed me a 
 book of prayers compiled by the late Abate 
 Misserini from Holy Scripture and the Ancient 
 
MILAN. 101 
 
 Fathers. "Is this book popular?" I asked. 
 "No." "Why not?" "The Clergy for the 
 most part recommend another sort of Manuals 
 of devotion. Here is one, which is very popu- 
 lar — the ' Filotea ' of Riva, one of the confes- 
 sors of the Cathedral; it is in the 13th edition, 
 and sells by thousands. But look at it; it is a 
 lihro fanatico. Every disorder of every part 
 of the human body has a Saint, to whom the 
 patient may pray for a cure; and this little 
 book is stuffed full of legendary fables, and 
 draws the people off from sound religion to 
 Superstition, and Superstition is preparing the 
 way for Infidelity. When they find that a 
 great part of their religion is false, they will 
 soon come to think that none of it is true." 
 
 On returning to our hotel, found an Italian 
 friend. He said that the hope of Reformation 
 in Italy was from the People. "But why 
 not," I asked, " from the Clergy also ? Do 
 you think that attempts at Reformation of a 
 Church can prosper except they come from 
 within f " " No : they must come from 
 within^ and they may come from the ' basso 
 clero ' in Italy, but will not^ I fear, come from 
 the Bishops. The Austrians endeavoured to 
 F 3 
 
102 MILAN. 
 
 rule us by means of the Papal Episcopate, 
 just as the Normans tried to govern your 
 Saxon forefathers by Norman Bishops; and 
 the Bishops of Italy were the slaves of 
 Austria and the Pope, in order to be the 
 tyrants of the Clergy and the People." 
 
 I asked, why the Government of Italy did 
 not proceed now, as our rulers did at the 
 English Reformation, namely, by proposing 
 this question : " Can it be proved from Holy 
 Scripture and Ancient Christian Authors that 
 the Bishop of Rome has any more power in a 
 foreign state — such as the kingdom of Victor 
 Emmanuel now is with respect to Rome — than 
 any other Bishop has ?" 
 
 " Oh ! but (he replied) if that question were 
 now put, the Bishops of Italy, being what they 
 are, would all say Yes^ "But could they 
 prove it ? Let the question be examined : let 
 it be inquired, what power had the Bishop of 
 Rome in this city of Milan in the days of S. 
 Ambrose f Had he any voice in the election 
 or consecration of S. Ambrose ? No. Had 
 he any jurisdiction over the Metropolitans of 
 Aquileia or Ravenna? No. Had he any 
 jurisdiction at Turin or Genoa? No. Let 
 
MILAN. 103 
 
 the Church of Italy return to what she was in 
 her most glorious times, and then the Realm 
 of Italy will prosper — but not otherwise." 
 
 " Ma ci vuol tempo," he said, " and in the 
 mean time a great deal is being done by the 
 circulation of books which are preparing the 
 way for Reformation. I have endeavoured to 
 acquaint my friends in Italy with the contents 
 of the English Book of Common Prayer. Hun- 
 dreds of copies of the Italian Translation of it 
 have been circulated, and it has been eagerly 
 received by many. I lent a copy of it to a 
 Priest who used to rail against England as a 
 land of schismatics, heretics, and infidels, and 
 he confessed to me that the Litany in that 
 Book was the most beautiful form of Prayer 
 he had ever seen. After the battles of Ma- 
 genta and Solferino I was entrusted with the 
 superintendence of the Military Hospitals ; and 
 I thought that I could not do better service 
 to the poor wounded soldiers in those hos- 
 pitals, — there were some of almost all Euro- 
 pean Nations, — than by supplying them with 
 suitable forms of devotion in their own mother 
 tongue. So I translated many of the Collects 
 and Prayers of the English Prayer Book into 
 F 4 
 
104 MILAN. 
 
 various languages, and put them into the hands 
 of the soldiers on their sick beds in the wards 
 of the hospitals. Almost all accepted and used 
 them, and expressed the great comfort they 
 found in them. Some of the Roman Catholic 
 Clergy and Bishops who visited the hospitals 
 were delighted with them, and I was warmly 
 thanked for what I had done. They did not 
 know whence the prayers came. Some thought 
 they were my own ; at last, however, it was dis- 
 covered that they were translated from the 
 English Prayer Book, and then one of the 
 Bishops in my neighbourhood denounced them 
 as heretical, and laid a complaint against me 
 before the Government. But I did not mind 
 that. The good had been done, though with 
 some loss of friends and worldly advantage on 
 my part, and I thank God for it, and know that 
 He can reward me a hundredfold." He spoke 
 these words with tears in his eyes. 
 
 " One of our great difficulties in Italy," he 
 said, "is from the low origin and poverty of 
 the Clergy, and from their want of learning ^ 
 
 ' There are a few exceptions. Monsignor Pietro Emilio 
 Tiboni, formerly Professor of Hebrew and Theology in 
 
MILAN. 105 
 
 They are almost all from the lower classes, 
 peasants, or small shopkeepers. The people, 
 especially in the towns, are above their teachers 
 in intelligence : penury makes the Clergy de- 
 pendent and servile, and tempts them to resort 
 to low arts and shifts for a livelihood, or to 
 superstitious tricks and impostures, and they 
 have not the requisite knowledge to enable 
 them to labour with success in the work of 
 Eeformation. Few of them have any collections 
 of books. Many of the Bishops are of plebeian 
 origin (there are some exceptions, the Bishops 
 of Como and Bergamo), and when raised from 
 humble estate to high positions in the Church, 
 they are too often the worst tyrants of all." 
 
 An interesting work on the social and in- 
 tellectual condition of the Clergy in Italy has 
 lately been published by an able and thought- 
 ful writer, Filippo Perfetti, entitled " II Clero 
 e la Societa," in which he investigates the 
 causes which have led to the degradation of 
 the Clergy, and considers the means by which 
 
 the Ecclesiastical Seminary of Brescia, lias published 
 some very learned works, particularly his Misticismo 
 Biblico, Milan, 1853. 
 
 F 5 
 
106 MILAN. 
 
 they might be enabled to exercise their legiti- 
 mate influence for the moral and religious 
 benefit of the country'. There is also a 
 striking declaration on the part of a large 
 body of the Clergy themselves, in a remark- 
 able Address to the Pope which has lately been 
 published at Naples, and signed by many 
 thousand Priests. I will transcribe some para- 
 graphs from it. 
 
 " Cosi basso e caduta la sublimissima santifi- 
 catrice missione della Chiesa fino dall' infausto 
 momento in cui lo spirito del mondo pote 
 sbalzar dal suo altare un tempo si pieno di 
 luce e di vita la Croce nuda del Cristo, per 
 sostituirvi I'aureo simulacro del dio potere! 
 , ... Si direhbe die in fatto di corruzione 
 non si potesse andare piu innanzi. Eppure 
 in fondo a quelle piaghe^ che sformano cosi 
 orrihilmente le divine sembianze della sposa 
 deW Agnello immacolato, il popolo vede qual- 
 ehe cosa ancora di peggio, per cui e costretto 
 di rivolger da quelle lo sguardo inorridito. 
 Vede i santi ministeri della Chiesa, i suoi 
 celesti conforti, i suoi riti piu augusti e tre- 
 
 ' More is said concerning this work below, chap. xii. 
 
MILAN. 107 
 
 mendi divenuti oggetto di sacrileghe specula- 
 zioni. Vede la Cattedra santa delF Evangelo 
 conversa in profana tribuna, in cattedra di 
 pestilenza, dalla quale si predica la ribellione 
 alle patrie autorita, rinfiammando odii san- 
 guinarii e fratricide passioni. Vede, e fa orrore 
 a solo pensarlo, vede convertersi i tribunali di 
 grazia e di remissione in covi di raggiro tene- 
 broso ed esservi perfino chi osa abusare di un 
 COS! santo e pietoso instituto, col renderlo una 
 requisitoria di polizia, in cui si promette oggi 
 al penitente il perdono di Dio per darlo domani 
 in poter del carnefice." 
 
 I asked my friend, " Will the Bishops of 
 Lombardy go to Rome for the Canonization at 
 Whitsuntide?" "No, they are afraid lest if 
 they go they will not be allowed to come 
 back." " But why does not the Government 
 endeavour to come to terms with them ? Why 
 does it not attempt to conciliate them, or at 
 least some of them ? There must be some 
 reasonable men among them." "Unhappily, 
 the Government is ' poco curante ' about re- 
 ligion. Our rulers suppose that they can 
 govern without it, that they can keep the 
 people in order by secular and material powers, 
 F 6 
 
1 08 MILAN. 
 
 by an army and a police. This is our mis- 
 fortune. Cavour's maxim was, ' Libera Chiesa 
 in libero Stato.' A Church ought to be free 
 to do good^ and ought to be assisted by the 
 State to do good ; but a Church ought not to 
 be free to do evil ; and the Church of Rome, 
 when she wishes to do evil^ is sure to plead a 
 desire to do good. She pleaded zeal for God's 
 glory when she massacred the Huguenots. She 
 is now pleading a desire to do honour to some 
 holy martyrs, and sends for all the Bishops 
 of Christendom on that plea, and commands 
 them to leave their own flocks at Whitsuntide 
 to w^ait upon her ; but she has a political view 
 and secular end in all this : she seeks to main- 
 tain thereby her own usurped power, by which 
 she keeps the souls and bodies of men in chains. 
 Therefore the maxim ' Libera Chiesa in libero 
 State,' which sounds so plausible in theory, is 
 really an illusion in practice. Men cannot 
 do without Religion. No civil Government 
 -can subsist without a religious basis. All 
 attempts to raise up States without religious 
 foundations have failed. The Italians espe- 
 cially are a religious people. It is wonderful to 
 see how strongly they are afffected by reference 
 
MILAN. 109 
 
 to the events of Sacred History. An orator 
 the other day was making a funeral speech to 
 the people on the soldiers who fell in Sicily, 
 and compared Garibaldi to the sword drawn 
 by the Angel against the host of Sennacherib. 
 The comparison was received with an enthusi- 
 astic burst of applause: if he had compared 
 him to Hector, Ajax, or Achilles, it would 
 have fallen quite flat: the Italians love to 
 think that they have Religion on their side. 
 It is much to be desired that our Government 
 would understand this, and then it might do 
 any thing." 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 MILAN {continued). 
 
 May 2drd. — Visited the Ambrosian Library. 
 Found one of the Prefetti of the Library there, 
 the learned ritualist, Dom. Giovanni Dozio, 
 who has published some valuable treatises on 
 the peculiarities of the Ambrosian Ritual. 
 
 His " Cerimoniale Ambrosiano," published 
 at Milan in 1853, is a learned and interest- 
 ing work, and full of information concerning 
 the history of that Ritual. 
 
 He had some volumes of Muratori and Ma- 
 billon open before him, together with some 
 ancient MSS., and informed me that he was 
 engaged in collating and verifying the cartu- 
 laries and other documents cited by those 
 Authors. I asked him whether S. Carlo Bor- 
 romeo, who revised the Ambrosian Ritual, had 
 
MILAN. Ill 
 
 not made some modifications in it, as was 
 done by Leo X., Paul Y., and especially Urban 
 VIII., in the Roman Breviary; and by the 
 Archbishops of Paris in the Parisian Bre- 
 viaries of the seventeenth and eighteenth 
 centuries, with a view of giving them a more 
 classical tone and character, with the aid of 
 Santeul, Charles Coffin, and others, whose 
 Hymns have been adopted by some in our own 
 days as Hymns of the primitive Church. He 
 said that something of that kind had been 
 done in the Ambrosian Liturgy ; and put into 
 my hands a volume published at Milan in the 
 present year by one of his brother Prefetti of 
 the Ambrosian Library, Dom, Biraghi, which 
 is entitled "Inni Sinceri di Sant' Ambrogio;" 
 and in it the learned editor has endeavoured 
 to restore the Hymns of the great Milanese 
 Bishop to their primitive form. I procured a 
 copy of this work at the Library, and have 
 been much gratified by it. 
 
 It is one of the most favourable specimens 
 of the theological learning which still lingers 
 in the Diocese of Milan. The author of the 
 recent History of that Diocese draws a very 
 pleasing portrait of the piety, virtue, and 
 
112 MILAN. 
 
 erudition, and public services of the revered 
 Editor, and deplores, as one of the evil signs 
 of the times, that such a person has been left to 
 languish in obscurity \ One of the unfor- 
 tunate results which that writer laments as 
 arising from the want of encouragement to 
 theological studies, and the low tone to which 
 the clerical character has been reduced, is, that 
 many of the Clergy of northern Italy had re- 
 nounced their ecclesiastical calling, and be- 
 taken themselves to secular pursuits. He 
 states that in Piedmont such cases of defection 
 are common, and expresses a fear that Italy 
 may be degraded in this respect to the mise- 
 rable condition of France, where more than a 
 hundred Clergy^ in Paris alone, are at this 
 time engaged in driving cabs ^ 
 
 Ought not England to take warning from 
 this example ? 
 
 The Hymns of S. Ambrose have exercised 
 a powerful influence on Christendom. They 
 
 ^ See the pathetic complaint in pp. 45, 46 of La 
 Diocesi di Milano, 1862. 
 
 ^ La Diocesi di Milano, p. 52. I was assured by a 
 learned Priest at Paris last year that this number is 
 helow the mark. 
 
MILAN. 113 
 
 were designed by him to be a preventive against 
 the errors of Arianism, and to confirm the pro- 
 fession of the true faith in the doctrine of the 
 Trinity, and the divinity of Christ. Hence 
 their doctrinal character. In a letter ^ to his 
 sister Marcellina, S. Ambrose says that the 
 Arians complained that he had bewitched the 
 people of Milan by his poetry ; and he speaks 
 of the marvellous effects produced by it in 
 recovering the multitude from heresy to the 
 true faith. S. Augustine testifies to the potent 
 effect of those hymns upon his own mind* 
 after his baptism ; and says that he was melted 
 to tears by them in the Church at Milan. S. 
 Celestine, the friend of Augustine, replied to 
 the Nestorians by quotations from the Hymns 
 of S. Ambrose. Isidore of Seville, and Bede 
 in England, bore testimony to their influence 
 in their age and country : very many of them 
 have found a permanent place in the liturgies 
 of the Western Church \ 
 
 On account of the celebrity of S. Ambrose, 
 
 * Ambros. Epist. xx. 
 
 * S. Aug. Conf. ix. c. vi. c. vii. 
 
 * See Biraghi's preface to the Inni Sinceri di Sant' 
 Ambrogio, p. 4. 
 
114 MILAN. 
 
 many Hymns have been attributed to him 
 which are not his. And on the other hand^ 
 some critics have gone into the opposite ex- 
 treme, and have deprived him of his property. 
 In the Benedictine edition of his works only 
 twelve Hymns are admitted, and Dom. Biraghi 
 shows reason for believing that only seven of 
 these are genuine. This learned Milanese 
 theologian has therefore had a difficult task to 
 perform, and he seems to have done it well. 
 He has examined all the Hymns which are 
 called " Ambrosian," and he states the grounds 
 on which a hymn has been admitted or re- 
 jected by himself. Does it correspond in matter 
 and style to the genuine hymns of S. Am- 
 brose ? Does it offend against the rules of 
 prosody, which, for the most part, were care- 
 fully observed by S. Ambrose ? Does it 
 neglect metre^ and adopt rhyme^ which was 
 never used by him ? Does it find a place in 
 the ancient liturgical service-books of the 
 Church of S. Ambrose, the Church of Milan ? 
 Has it been ascribed to S. Ambrose by authors 
 contemporary with him, or who lived soon 
 after him ? 
 
 The application of these criteria to the 
 
MILAN. 115 
 
 Hymns commonly called Ambrosian, has re- 
 sulted in the adoption of eighteen Hymns and 
 four Poems as the genuine offspring of the 
 great Milanese Bishop: these are Hymns for 
 Christmas Eve^ Epiphany (where he specifies 
 Christ's three Manifestations, viz. to the Wise 
 men, at His Baptism, and at Cana), Paschal- 
 tide ; these three are admirable specimens — 
 St. John the Evangelist's Day; on St. Peter 
 and St. Paul, in which he asserts St. Paul's 
 equality to St. Peter ^ ; for Martyrs ; at 
 Cock-crow ; at Daybreak — a noble hymn, 
 full of love and reverence for Christ the true 
 Day-spring ^ ; at the third hour on Sundays ; 
 
 ■ .^ " Primus Petrus Apostolus, 
 
 ISTec Pauius impar gratia, 
 
 Electionis vas sacrse 
 
 Petri adaequavit fidem ;" 
 and so in his treatise on the Holy Spirit, lib. ii, ad fin. 
 "Nee Pauius inferior Petro." 
 
 ^ " Splendor paternse glorise, 
 
 De luce lucem proferens. 
 
 Lux lucis, et fons luminis. 
 
 Diem Dies illuminans, 
 
 Verusque Sol, illabere, 
 
 Micans nitore perpeti, 
 
 Jubarque Sancti Spiritus 
 
 Infunde nostris sensibus." 
 
116 MILAN. 
 
 at the third hour on other days ; at the sixth 
 hour; at the ninth hour; at Evening. On the 
 Martyrdom of S. Agnes (a beautiful hymn) ; 
 of SS. Victor^ Nahor^ and Felix^ martyred 
 at Milan ; of SS. Protasius and Gervasius ; of 
 S. Lawrence^ Archdeacon of Rome. Hymn to 
 be sung by Virgins ; Verses on the Baptistery ; 
 Epitaph on his brother Satyrus; on the Basi- 
 lica Romana at Milan ; Couplets on the paint- 
 ings from the Bible, in the Basilica Ambro- 
 siana. 
 
 The learned Editor favours his readers with 
 a well-drawn character of the genuine Hymns 
 of S. Ambrose, which, in these days when so 
 much is written on Hymnology, may be in- 
 teresting to many; 
 
 " S. Ambrose has a style peculiar to him- 
 self, clear, sweet, and yet vigorous, grand, and 
 noble; wonderful closeness of thoughts; sin- 
 gular brevity of expression. In his Hymns 
 he never allows himself to be led away by 
 poetical prettiness, but loves sublime doc- 
 trinal verities; he soars aloft with a bold 
 flight to the contemplation of the Ever-Blessed 
 Trinity, the mysteries of Heaven, the divine 
 morality of the Gospel; and prefers the vivid 
 
MILAN. 117 
 
 and homely language of Scripture to a flowery 
 and fascinating style. 
 
 " There are no glittering flashes ; but his 
 hymns beam brightly with a calm, severe, and 
 spiritual enthusiasm : there is not much of 
 tender sentiment, but there is the courage of 
 the Cross, the power of Faith, the victory of 
 the Gospel over the world. This being so, 
 we cannot adorn with his name certain Hymns, 
 which have indeed a religious sentiment, but are 
 without vigour, without clear dogmatic views, 
 without elevated thoughts ^ He wrote his 
 Hymns, not because he was excited by poetical 
 fire, nor as an innocent solace and refreshment 
 to himself, but in order to supply instruction, 
 and minister wholesome spiritual food to the 
 flock committed to his care. And he reaped 
 the fruit of his labours, beyond his most 
 sanguine expectations, as he himself testifies, 
 and his biographer Paulinus records. The 
 people of Milan, and a large part of the 
 Western world, were rescued from Arianism 
 and were confirmed in the faith, in no small 
 degree, by the Hymns of S. Ambrose '." 
 
 ^ Inni Sinceri di Sant' Ambrogio, p. 7. 
 ' Ibid. pp. 12, 13. 
 
118 MILAN. 
 
 May not this fact be instructive to others ? 
 May it not remind us that Hymnology like 
 that of S. Ambrose may be a very effective 
 instrument in recovering modern populations 
 to an intelligent appreciation and love of the 
 doctrines of Christianity, and of the discipline, 
 worship, and ritual of the Church ? 
 
 Attached to the Ambrosian Library is a 
 gallery of pictures; more interesting, I think, 
 than the Brera. I was surprised to see no 
 artists studying these beautiful works, or copy- 
 ing the pictures of this collection; there were 
 only two so engaged in the Brera. " The 
 young painters and sculptors are all gone after 
 Garibaldi," was the explanation given by the 
 custode. 
 
 Went from the Ambrosian Library to the 
 Church of S. Ambrogio, the most interesting 
 church in Milan for its antiquity. It was 
 founded by S. Ambrose, and dedicated by him 
 on June 19, a.d. 387 ^ The present form of 
 this Church is due to Ambrosius Anspertus, 
 Archbishop of Milan in the ninth century; 
 
 ^ See S. Ambrose's Letter to his sister Marcellina, 
 Epist. 22, and Biraghi, Inni Sinceri di Sant' Ambrogio, 
 pp. 81—85. 
 
MILAN. 119 
 
 but it was probably built upon more ancient 
 foundations. Like S. Clemente at Rome, it is 
 approached through an atrium, or open court- 
 yard, or ante-temple, surrounded by a cloister 
 on each of its four sides. 
 
 In these atria, in former times, the poor 
 asked the alms of the faithful; here the 
 penitents implored their prayers; here those 
 who were under penance remained exposed to 
 wind and rain, hence called " hyemantes," and 
 were not permitted to enter the doors of the 
 sanctuary. 
 
 These ante-temples were used also in ancient 
 times as places of interment, and the walls of 
 the atrium of S. Ambrogio are encrusted with 
 many sepulchral marbles having ancient in- 
 scriptions. I observed one which comme- 
 morates a certain Satyrus^ an exorcist of the 
 Church, whose name recalls that of S. Am- 
 brose's brother, who, as well as S. Ambrose, 
 was a Governor of a Province; and to whom, 
 after his own elevation to the Episcopate, 
 S. Ambrose confided the management of his 
 temporal affairs, and who is commemorated in 
 one of the chapels of this Church. The in- 
 scription is, — 
 
120 MILAN. 
 
 SATVEVS EXSOR 
 CISTA MAEITVS 
 SE VIVVM CONT. 
 VOT. POS. 
 DEP. DIE 
 XVII KAL 
 M. IAN 
 
 EILIA EOEYM 
 
 Some of the Inscriptions are in Greeks mixed 
 with Latin, e.g. — 
 
 B. M. 
 €N0AAE KITE {i. e. Ketrai) €N 
 €1PIN {dp-hv-a) O KAAO(s) 
 KVMHTOC BACCOC 
 
 and I observed one in Hebrew^ with the em- 
 blem of the seven-branched candlestick. 
 
 In the nave of the Church of S. Ambrogio 
 is a very interesting ambon^ or large pulpit, of 
 marble, where the reader in ancient days 
 stood to read the Gospels and Epistles to the 
 people; here they would be well heard. Ser- 
 mons were usually preached from the steps of 
 the altar. The ambon is very spacious, and 
 might have served also, as such places usually 
 did, for the Canonical Singers of the Church. 
 
MILAN. 121 
 
 It is adorned with an ancient bas-relief, repre- 
 senting an agape or love-feast^ such as is 
 mentioned in the New Testament by St. Paul 
 and St. Jude ^ 
 
 In ancient churches there were usually two 
 ambons, that on the north for the reading of 
 the Gospel, that on the south for the Epistle 
 and for other lessons of Scripture. S. Carlo 
 Borromeo gave direction that there should be 
 two such ambons in all the Churches of his 
 Diocese; the ambon for the Gospel w^as to be 
 the higher of the two *. 
 
 In the earliest liturgical writings the south 
 side of the altar, — or the side on which the 
 Epistle is read, — was usually called the right 
 side; and the north side, or that on which the 
 Gospel is read, was called the left side. But 
 at the end of the fifteenth century an altera- 
 tion was made by Romish liturgical writers — 
 such as Patrizi and Marcello — in the language 
 of the Church in this respect; and since their 
 time the north side has been called the right 
 side ; and the south side is termed the left ; a 
 
 ' 1 Cor. xi. 20—23. Jude 12. 
 * Cerimon. Ambros., p. 72. 
 VOL. I. G 
 
122 MILAN. 
 
 remarkable change, which arose from the 
 practice of having Crucifixes upon altars, and 
 from the reference of its bearings to them: 
 "nam crucijixi super ipso stantis dextera 
 ad cornu evangelii vergit ^" 
 
 This church is full of records of S. Am- 
 brose. It was founded by him. We cannot 
 believe the story that its doors are those which 
 he closed against the Emperor Theodosius, 
 after the massacre of Thessalonica (a.d. 390), 
 but they serve to remind us of the fact. 
 There is an ancient portrait of him on a 
 pilaster of the Church opposite the ambon. 
 The mosaic over the altar in the choir repre- 
 sents the Saviour in glory, with a Greek 
 Inscription, "Jesus Christ the King of Glory," 
 
 TC XC 6 BACH- 
 -A€V TIC 
 AUJZHO) 
 
 I have copied the errors exactly. SS. Ger- 
 vasius and Protasius are at his side, and 
 supply another reminiscence of the history of 
 S. Ambrose. The bodies of those saints and 
 martyrs were discovered a.d. 386, in times of 
 
 * Grass! in Cerimon. Ambros., p. 71. 
 
MILAN. 128 
 
 trouble and persecution for the true faith in 
 our Lord's Divinity, and were interred in this 
 Basilica ; and it pleased God to work a miracle 
 in behalf of the truth for which they suffered, 
 to which S. Augustine, then at Milan, has 
 borne witness ^, and also S. Ambrose himself 
 in a Hymn ^ written by him on that occasion. 
 In the choir are ancient mosaics representing 
 events in the life of S. Ambrose, and in the 
 apse behind the altar is an ancient marble 
 chair for the Archbishop of Milan, and on each 
 side of it are stalls for the Canons, who occupy 
 the places of the Suffragans of the province. 
 Near them is a representation of the Bap- 
 tism of S. Augustine, which took place on 
 Easter Even, the 24th April, a.d. 387, in the 
 Baptistery, which was near the greater Ba- 
 silica, within the walls of the city, to the south 
 of the Basilica of S. Thecla. There is also a 
 Lectern, on which is a very ancient Ambrosian 
 Service-book in vellum, a large folio volume, 
 
 * S. Aug. de Civ. Dei xxii. 8. Serm. 286. Confessions, 
 Book ix. See also S. Ambrose, Epist. 22, and Paulin. 
 Yit. Ambrosii, § 14, 
 
 ^ The Hymn beginning " Grates tibi Jesu novas." See 
 " Inni Sinceri," p. 18, and p. 81. 
 G 2 
 
124 MILAN". 
 
 richly illuminated, and with the musical 
 notation; it is one of six volumes. There is 
 also in this Church a chapel which bears the 
 name of Marcellina, the sister of S. Ambrose. 
 It is said that her body reposes by the side of 
 that of her brother, and of those of SS. Ger- 
 vasius and Protasius, beneath the altar of this 
 Church. S. Ambrose died at the age of 57, 
 and was buried here on Easter Day, a.d. 397. 
 There is also here a chapel, formerly called 
 the Basilica of Fausta, but now known by the 
 name of the brother of S. Ambrose, S. Sa- 
 ti/rus, where are some very interesting ancient 
 Mosaics. S. Ambrose wrote an epitaph in 
 elegiac verse in memory of his brother ^, who 
 died A.D. 379, and was buried here near the 
 body of S. Victor; and last year (1861), when 
 some excavations were made in this chapel, 
 their remains were found in a marble sar- 
 cophagus, with the initials S. V. S. S. H. R., 
 which have been explained to signify, " Sanc- 
 Tus Victor, Sanctus Satyrvs hic requi- 
 
 ESCUNT." 
 
 In the midst of these reminiscences of the 
 
 ® The Poem begins " Uranio Satyro supremum frater 
 honorem." Inni Sinceri, p. 137. 
 
MILAN. 125 
 
 great Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the 
 Western Church, I sat down on one of the 
 benches of the nave, and enjoyed the pleasure 
 of reading some of his Hymns, of which I had 
 procured a copy at the Ambrosian Library. 
 Their grave and sober dignity, the deep dog- 
 matic truths which they contain, and which are 
 there commended to the memories and hearts 
 of the people with unadorned simplicity; 
 and their holy thoughts, expressed in terse 
 and nervous language, — show, that clear and 
 vigorous writing, and sound orthodox teaching, 
 were combined in the Hymnology of the 
 ancient Western Church; and may serve as a 
 corrective of modern tendencies to substitute 
 sentimentalism for doctrine, and meretricious 
 verbal prettiness for modest chastity of style. 
 One of the extant poems of S. Ambrose con- 
 sists of twenty-one couplets ^, which describe 
 the different paintings of scenes from the Old 
 and New Testament which formerly adorned 
 the walls of this Church; and by the help of 
 these verses it would be easy to restore it in 
 that respect to the appearance which it pre- 
 sented in the fourth century. 
 
 ® Inni Sinceri, p. 144. 
 G 3 
 
126 MILAN. - 
 
 This venerable Church, its mosaics, its 
 choir, its ambon, its ancient marble chair, and 
 the stalls which have succeeded the seats of 
 the Suffragan Bishops of the Province, suggest 
 some reflections on the ancient condition of the 
 Church of Milan, as compared with its present 
 state. 
 
 In the days of S. Ambrose, who was conse- 
 crated to this see in a.d. 374, the Bishop of 
 Milan was elected by the Clergy and People^ 
 and by the Bishops of the Province, with the 
 consent of the Emperor, without any reference 
 to the Bishop of Rome. This is confessed by 
 some of the most learned Poman Catholic 
 writers ^ The Bishop of Milan was a Metro- 
 politan, and had jurisdiction over a large 
 Province which contains nearly twenty Epis- 
 copal Sees. There were formerly ancient 
 chairs here for eighteen Suffragans, nine on 
 each side of the Metropolitan ^ On the right 
 side were the names and pictures of Bishops of 
 
 * e. g. Peter de Marca, Archbisliop of Paris, de Con- 
 cordia Sacerdotii et Imperii, VI. iv. p. 256, ed. Yenet, 
 1770 ; and see Thomassin. Yetus et nova Eccl. Disciplin. 
 ii. 2, c. 8. 
 
 ^ See the description of the Basilica Ambrogiana, 
 Milan, 1837, p. 47. 
 
MILAN.: 127 
 
 Vercelli, No vara, Lodi, Tortona, Asti, Turin, 
 Aosta, Acqui, and Genoa : on the left, those of 
 Brescia, Bergamo, Cremona, Ventimiglia, Sa- 
 vona, Albenga, Pavia, Piacenza, and Como ; all 
 which were Suffragans of Milan; and here it 
 seems that provincial Councils were held. In 
 the age of S. Ambrose the Bishops of these 
 sees were elected by the Clergy and People^ 
 and were confirmed by the Metropolitan of the 
 Province, — that is, by the Bishop of Milan, 
 and were then consecrated by him and two or 
 three of his Suffragan Bishops. All this was 
 done without any reference to Home. Thus 
 S. Ambrose, in his Epistles still extant, men- 
 tions that he himself ordained the Bishops of 
 Pavia, Brescia, Como, Bergamo, and others ^ 
 
 Such was the form of Church- Government 
 which had been established at Milan in the 
 fourth century; and this is a specimen of what 
 prevailed in other Provinces of Italy, for ex- 
 ample in the Picenian Province, which com- 
 prised the Episcopal Sees of Sinigaglia, Pesaro, 
 Rimini, Urbino; in the Flaminian Province, 
 which contained Ravenna, Faenza, Imola, 
 
 * See Tillemont, Memoires, Vol. x. p. 37, Art. vi. Saint 
 Ambroise. 
 
 G 4 
 
128 MILAIT. 
 
 and other Bishoprics; in the ^milian Pro- 
 vince, in which were the Sees of Bologna, 
 Modena, Parma, and others; and in the Ve- 
 netian, which contained Aquileia, Padua, 
 Verona, and others; these Provinces were 
 governed hy Metropolitans, and neither they 
 nor any of their Suffragan Bishops were in 
 any degree dependent for their election or 
 confirmation or consecration on the Bishop of 
 Rome. 
 
 But at the present time^ the Bishop of Rome 
 will not allow the Clergy and People of any of 
 the dioceses above mentioned, to have Bishops 
 without his consent. Now that Pius IX. is at 
 variance with Victor Emmanuel, the Clergy 
 and People of Italy are to be deprived of 
 Bishops ! " What have these sheep done V' 
 that they are to have no Pastors ? " Feed My 
 sheep," was our Lord's command to St. Peter^, 
 but the successor of St. Peter, as the Pope 
 claims to be, heeds not the divine words. 
 The People of Italy are not to have Bishops. 
 It is in vain for them to attempt to exercise 
 their ancient rights, and to choose Bishops, 
 
 ^ 2 Sam, xxiv. 17. 1 Chron. xxi. 17. 
 ° John xsi. 16 J 17. 
 
MILAN. 129 
 
 for the Ordination of Clergy or for the Con- 
 firmation of children, unless the Bishop of 
 Rome is pleased to send to them what he 
 calls "bulls of institution." Italy is virtually 
 under an Interdict. Even if another Ambrose 
 were to arise at Milan, or another Philastrius 
 or Gaudentius at Brescia, those holy men 
 could not now be consecrated. But this was 
 not so in the age of Ambrose, Philastrius, and 
 Gaudentius, all of whom the Church of Rome 
 herself professes to revere as saints, and whose 
 names she has inserted in her Breviary. . . . 
 " Quousque tandem ? " How long will Rome 
 tax the patience of the People, and presume 
 on the divine forbearance ? 
 
 The history of the Church of Milan in the 
 age of S. Ambrose is fraught with instruction 
 and encouragement, in reference to Christian 
 doctrine as well as to Church Discipline. 
 
 The predecessor of S. Ambrose in the See 
 of Milan was Auxentius, who had occupied 
 this See for twenty years, and who was the 
 leader of the Arian heretics in the West, and 
 the bitter opponent of S. Hilary and S. Phi- 
 lastrius and other orthodox teachers. But it 
 pleased God in due time to raise up in an 
 G 5 
 
130 MILAN. 
 
 extraordinary manner an Ambrose to succeed 
 him, and to contend manfully and successfully 
 for the true faith, against the heresy which 
 had been propagated by his predecessor. Be- 
 sides this, some in high places, especially 
 Justin a the Empress, encouraged the Arian 
 heresy ; and S. Ambrose had to encounter 
 their bitter opposition. He did encounter it, 
 and overcame it. Such examples as these may 
 stimulate the courage, and may comfort the 
 hearts, of the faithful in times of trial and 
 defection like the present. 
 
 I fell into conversation with a young chierico 
 of this Church ; he led me into the Sacristy, 
 and took out an unconsecrated wafer, and de- 
 scribed the mode in which the Priest receives 
 and administers. The minute directions in 
 the Roman Missal to the celebrant Priest, to 
 pour a few drops of water into the wine in the 
 chalice, and to break the host (which is done 
 after the consecration) into two several parts, 
 and to break off a particle of one of the parts, 
 and to put it into the chalice, and then to 
 receive the two parts, and to consume the 
 whole of the wine with the particle in it, are 
 more remarkable, when we consider that with 
 
MILAN. 131 
 
 all this scrupulous care with regard to the 
 reception of the bread and wine by the cele- 
 brantj the people are deprived of that share 
 in the blessed Sacrament, which He who in- 
 stituted it designed for them. 
 
 One part of the doctrine of Rome contradicts 
 another. She says, in one of her popular 
 Catechisms for First Communion, published at 
 Florence in 1861, that " by virtue of the con- 
 secration, the substance of the bread is changed 
 into the substance of the body and Mood of 
 Christ" ("la sostanza del pane si converte 
 nella sostanza del corpo e sangue di Cristo "), 
 and she says that "the Communicant who 
 receives only the bread, receives the blood as 
 well as the body of Christ;" and thus she 
 defends her own practice in denying the cup 
 to the communicant. And yet she orders the 
 celebrant to receive the cup ; and teaches 
 in the same Manual that the ''''celebrant re- 
 ceives the blood under the species of wine " 
 ("il celebrante piglia il sangue sotto la specie 
 del vino^^); and she also says "that, by virtue 
 of the words of consecration, the body only of 
 Jesus Christ is under the species of bread, and 
 the blood only under the species of wine^ 
 G 6 
 
132 MILAN. 
 
 These words are in a catechism published at 
 Florence in 1861, by authority of the Arch- 
 bishop, 13th edition, p. 32. 
 
 Surely there is much confusion here. 
 
 If the celebrant is commanded to receive the 
 cup^ and if, under the species of wine, he 
 receives the blood, and if " the blood only of 
 Christ is under the species of wine^^^ how can 
 the communicant be sure that he himself 
 receives the blood, since he is not permitted to 
 receive the cup f And again, if " the sub- 
 stance of the bread is changed into the sub- 
 stance of the body and blood of Christ," and 
 therefore the communicant receives the blood 
 when he receives the bread, why did our 
 Blessed Lord institute the Holy Sacrament 
 with wine as well as bread ? and whv did He 
 say, when He blessed the cwp, " Drink ye all 
 of this^ for this is My blood ^V It seems, 
 therefore, that the Church of Rome in this 
 matter is not consistent with herself, and con- 
 tradicts One far greater than herself. 
 
 The consumption of the whole of the wine 
 by the celebrant alone^ and of all the parts of 
 
 ' Matt. xxvi. 27, 28. 
 
MILAN. 133 
 
 the whole wafer^ isolates the celebrant from 
 the Congregation, and even from the other 
 Priests. The Church of Rome forbids the 
 celebrant to share his consecrated wafer with 
 any one else. This seems to be altogether at 
 variance with the intention of Him who insti- 
 tuted the Holy Sacrament to be a means of 
 showing forth and strengthening the com- 
 munion of His members in Himself, and their 
 mutual love to each other in Christ by par- 
 taking of the ''''one bread^^ (1 Cor. x. 17), and 
 " the cuf (1 Cor. x. 21; xi. 26), in the Holy 
 Eucharist. 
 
 This isolation and non-communion (if the 
 word may be allowed) is still more visible in 
 the practice which has grown up in the Church 
 of Rome, of administering to the People, not 
 just after the reception by the celebrant, 7ior 
 even during the celebration of the Mass, but 
 after it ; and even at a different time from it, 
 by means of consecrated wafers reserved in 
 the tabernacle of the Altar. 
 
 "You do not believe in the real presence, 
 and you do not reserve the host for the sick 
 and absent," said my young friend to me ; and 
 
1 34 MILAN. 
 
 when I informed him that the Church of 
 England teaches in her Catechism that "the 
 body and blood of Christ are verily and indeed 
 taken and received by the faithful in the 
 Lord's Supper;" and that she has provided a 
 special office for the Communion of the Sick, 
 he said, " But suppose a Priest is not fasting, 
 how can he administer the Communion to a 
 sick person ? " " Do we not read in the Gos- 
 pels," I replied, " that our Lord instituted the 
 holy Sacrament, and that the Apostles received 
 it, when they were not fasting f how do you 
 account for this, if it is absolutely necessary to 
 be fasting, in order to partake of the Holy 
 Communion ?" 
 
 According to the teaching of the Church of 
 Rome it is essential to be fasting since the 
 previous midnight, before the reception of the 
 Holy Communion. In the " Catechism for 
 First Communion " (printed at Florence in 
 1861, p. 6), the communicant is taught that 
 he would "be guilty of most grievous deadly 
 sin ('peccato mortale gravissimo') if he eats 
 any thing after midnight before the com- 
 munion." 
 
MILAN. 135 
 
 My young friend turned the conversation, 
 and said, " But you do not believe in ' Maria 
 immacolata.' " 
 
 " We believe that Christ alone is without 
 taint of sin, and we know that the great 
 Father and Saint, S. Augustine, who is so 
 much honoured at Milan, and in this Church, 
 taught the same doctrine \ and that the dogma 
 of the Immaculate Conception was never im- 
 posed upon you as an article of faith till the 
 year 1854." 
 
 "Then you do not acknowledge the authority 
 of the Pope, the successor of St. Peter ? " 
 
 " We do not believe that he is competent to 
 impose new articles of faith upon the Christian 
 world. We know from the Epistle to the 
 Galatians that on one occasion St. Peter him- 
 self 'walked not uprightly according to the 
 truth of the Gospel ' (Gal. ii. 8 — 15), and 
 that St. Paul resisted him to the face ; and (as 
 S. Augustine observes in his correspondence 
 with S. Jerome) the Epistle to the Galatians 
 is Canonical Scripture, dictated by the inspi- 
 ration of the Holy Ghost, and therefore we are 
 
 ^ The proofs of this may be seen in a Sermon by the 
 Author of this Journal, Occas. Sermons, XII., p. 104. 
 
186 MILAN. 
 
 sure it is true that St. Peter erred; and those 
 also may err, who call themselves St. Peter's 
 successors, and they ought to be resisted when 
 they 'walk not uprightly according to the 
 truth of the Gospel,' as understood and pro- 
 fessed by the ancient Catholic Church." 
 
 " But you have not the faith of the Ca- 
 tholic Church." 
 
 " Yes, we have the Creeds of the Church ; 
 we have the same Creed as the Church of 
 Rome uses in the administration of Baptism 
 — the Apostles' Creed, — and we have the 
 same Creed as the Church of Eome uses at the 
 Holy Communion, — the Nicene, or Constan- 
 tinopolitan Creed, — and we have carried our 
 moderation toward the Church of Home so far 
 that we have retained the ' filio-que ' in the 
 latter, believing as we do that it is a true 
 assertion, although it was inserted by one of 
 the Popes ® in an irregular way." 
 
 " But you have altered the ancient offices of 
 the Church." 
 
 " Have we ? which do you mean ? " 
 
 ' Pope Nicolas I., who was Bishop of Eome a.d. 858 
 to 867. 
 
MILAN. 137 
 
 "You have altered the Te Deum ; and I 
 will show you where you have done it." 
 
 He went into the Sacristy, and brought out 
 a Service-book, where he pointed to the verse 
 in the Te Deum, " Tu ad liberandum sus- 
 cepturus hominem non abhorruisti Yirginis 
 uterum." 
 
 "Pardon me, we have not made any alte- 
 ration there," and I repeated the words as 
 they stand in the English Liturgy ; " we recite 
 those words in our Churches every day." 
 
 Our American Brethren have altered that 
 verse in their liturgy, and we may hence take 
 occasion to observe that alterations of ancient 
 formularies^ which have been received in the 
 Church for many generations, are very dan- 
 gerous, and furnish occasion of reproach to 
 our brethren of the Church of Rome, who are 
 always on the alert to take advantage of them, 
 and to denounce those who alter ancient offices, 
 as innovators and schismatics. 
 
 This may also serve as a warning to some 
 among us who would tamper with our English 
 Book of Common Prayer, and perhaps rob us 
 of some of those formularies by means of which 
 
138 MILAN." 
 
 we communicate with ancient Christendom. 
 If (as some of our friends suppose) we were to 
 part with the Athanasian Creed (as the Ame- 
 rican Church has unhappily done), we should 
 expose ourselves to censure from our enemies, 
 and give a triumph to Popery ; 
 
 "Hoc Ithacus velit, et magno mercentur Atridse." 
 
 My young friend seemed a little discon- 
 certed, and I tried to comfort him with the 
 assurance that there were very many things 
 in which we were entirely of one mind ; and in 
 this Church of S. Ambrose I could solemnly 
 make the following assurance: "We receive 
 the same Scriptures as S. Ambrose did; we 
 profess the same faith, in the same Creeds, as 
 S. Ambrose and S. Augustine did, and as 
 all the greatest Fathers of the ancient Western 
 Church did ; and if we are not agreed in some 
 points with the present Church of Rome, it is 
 because she has departed in these respects 
 from that ancient Faith, which S. Ambrose 
 and S. Augustine held and taught; and 
 because we know from the voice of God Him- 
 self in Holy Scripture that 'if any man, or 
 
MILAN. 189 
 
 even an angel from heaven preach to us any 
 thing beside^ what was preached' by the 
 Apostles, and was received by the Apostolic 
 Churches, ' he is to be Anathema.' " 
 
 3 TTupk, Gal. i. 8, 9. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MILAN (^continued). 
 
 May 24th. — I called with an Italian friend 
 on a distinguished person, formerly a member 
 of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, and now a 
 Senator of Italy, and a Judge, who has written 
 many valuable works on the present condition 
 of Italy, especially with regard to the See of 
 Rome. Like almost all the letterati of Italy 
 at the present day, he is very eager for the 
 abolition of the Pope's temporal power. He is 
 well versed in the history of the Papacy, and 
 — what is more remarkable in an Italian 
 layman — well acquainted with the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, which he quoted in the words of the 
 Vulgate with readiness and precision. "Is 
 the Bishop of Rome necessary to the Church ?" 
 he said. " If so, what becomes of the Church, 
 when the Papal See is void ? Does she cease 
 
MILAJSr. 141 
 
 to exist ? Where then is Christ's promise to 
 her? He did not constitute any spiritual 
 supremacy in His Church. Let then the 
 orders of the Church be reduced to their 
 primitive simplicity, Bishops, Priests, and 
 Deacons. As for the temporal power of Kome, 
 ' the gift of Constantine ' (as it is called) and 
 of Charlemagne, that has been the bane of 
 Christendom. Wonderful retribution!" he 
 exclaimed, " Kome deprived Kings — your King 
 John, for instance — of their dominions, on the 
 plea of religion; and now God is raising up 
 Kings to deprive her of her temporal power, 
 and to 'render to her double for her sins.' 
 He is bringing upon her the consequences of 
 the principles and practices of her Hilde- 
 brands, her Innocent the Thirds, and her 
 Boniface the Eighths. But remember, I do 
 not confound the ' Chiesa di Eoma' with the 
 ' Curia di Roma.' I abhor the court of Rome, 
 but I love much that is in the Church of 
 Rome : I revere the Pope as a Bishop, but owe 
 him no allegiance as a King. We must go 
 back to the condition of the Church as dis- 
 played to us in Holy Scripture. Do not 
 suppose, however," said he, "that I would 
 
142 MILAN. 
 
 leave the Bible to be interpreted and tampered 
 with by every man as he likes. No. I reject 
 the ' senso privato,' and I accept the ' Chiesa 
 vera primitiva ' as the Interpreter of Scripture. 
 But what," added he, " is the Chiesa f Not 
 the Pope, not the Bishops and Priests alone, 
 but the whole body of the faithful associated 
 with them. But the misfortune is," he said, 
 "that the Laity do not concern themselves 
 much with these things. The Government 
 allows the People to imagine, that the Pope 
 and his Bishops are the only persons who care 
 a whit for Religion and the Church ; and thus 
 they give a great advantage to the Papacy. 
 When I was in Parliament, I conjured Cavour 
 to encourage pious, learned, and loyal Priests; 
 but he let matters take their own course, and 
 allowed Beligion and the Church to shift for 
 themselves. I told Cavour that his celebrated 
 maxim ' Libera Chiesa in libero Stato,' which 
 many admired as a fine saying, is a ' spropo- 
 sito,' and would one day be found to be so. 
 Take, for example, the claim of the Church of 
 Rome to summon all Bishops to Rome. Is 
 she to hQfree to do this at whatever time, and 
 for whatever cause, she pleases to do so ? I 
 
MILAN. 143 
 
 SO, then the Bishops of Italy are not subjects 
 
 of the King of Italy, but are vassals of the Pope 
 
 — they are slaves of a foreign Potentate, 
 
 hostile to the King. And thus the King of 
 
 Italy himself is a subject of the Pope of Rome, 
 
 and the Pope will crush him if he can. But 
 
 do not persecute the Church, I said to Cavour, 
 
 do not persecute any one; encourage her to 
 
 do her duty, and let her be free to do her 
 
 duty, and help her to do all the good in her 
 
 power." 
 
 "Yes," added the friend who had accom- 
 panied me ; " and it is much to be regretted 
 that the municipality of Milan did not engage 
 the services of the loyal and religious Parish 
 Priests in the primary Schools of the city, but 
 placed those schools under the control of 
 masters, who will teach them liberalism, and 
 lead them on to democracy." 
 
 " There is a great deal now said and written 
 in Italy in behalf of ' Italia unita,' but what 
 is still more necessary," said I, "is 'Chiesa 
 unita.' " " Yes," said the Senator, " that is 
 true; and you may depend upon it, that if we 
 could get rid of the Pope's temporal power, we 
 
144 MILAN. 
 
 should have gained a great step to the union 
 of the Church." 
 
 I was much struck hy the fervid eloquence 
 with which he spoke, and could not but think 
 that if Italy had many laymen like him in 
 piety, learning, and vigour, she would, with 
 the divine blessing, be enabled to recover her 
 place among the nations of the earth. 
 
 My companion walked with me to the 
 Cathedral, and as we stood before the facade 
 of that magnificent building, he paused and 
 said, "I have been in almost all parts of 
 Italy, and I believe that the people of Lom- 
 bardy are, on the whole, the most religious of 
 all its inhabitants. I have observed," he 
 added, " that the nearer you come to Rome, 
 the further you seem to be from religion. If 
 you wish to see the religion of Milan in its 
 genuine character, get up early in the morn- 
 ing, and go to the churches then, or go to 
 them in the evening, at about half-past seven 
 o'clock at this season, and you will find them 
 filled with the working classes. As for the 
 upper ranks, it is true that they are for the 
 most part indifierent to religion. When the 
 
MILAN. 145 
 
 Austrians were in power here, many of the 
 upper class professed to be religious, because 
 it suited their interests ; it was necessary to 
 go to mass, &c., in order to obtain any civil 
 employment under Government, but this was 
 an hypocritical pretence, and now they have 
 thrown off the mask." 
 
 I went accordingly at half-past seven p.m. to 
 the Church of S. Fedele. There was a large 
 Congregation of common people : very few young 
 men. The service was the "Rosarium B. V. M." 
 The responses full and general, as usual in 
 this office. Would that it were more scrip- 
 tural and more spiritual ! 
 
 May 2bth^ Sunday. — Festival of Saint 
 Gregory VII. (Hildebrand), in the Roman 
 Breviary, where he is eulogized (as was before 
 noticed) because he dethroned the Emperor of 
 Germany, Henry IV., and absolved his sub- 
 jects from their allegiance. How deeply the 
 policy of Hildebrand has sunk into the heart 
 of Italy ! It is living, in its practical results, 
 at this day. 
 
 My friend, the Senator, called at an early 
 hour of the morning, and renewed his conver- 
 sation on the temporal and spiritual power of 
 
 VOL. L H 
 
146 MILAIT. 
 
 the Papacy. " We have had great men," said 
 he, " in Italy, who have written well on the 
 measures to be adopted by us for restraining 
 the spiritual and temporal usurpations of the 
 Papacy. There was Antonio Rosmini, who 
 published some excellent works on this sub- 
 ject \ But he was timid (pauroso), and made 
 an humble submission to the Pope. There 
 was Vincenzo Gioberti^ also, who has left some 
 very valuable suggestions in his opere postume^ 
 which you ought to read : they contain a plan 
 of a reformation for Italy. And there are 
 some excellent remarks in the brochure of 
 Mamiani (Rinascenza Cattolica). By the 
 
 ' His " Le cinque Piaghe di Eoma " is one of the most 
 remarkable works of modern days, in this respect ; it was 
 condemned by the "Congregation of the Index" at Rome: 
 more will be said of it in another place ; see chap. xii. 
 
 ^ Gioberti was excommunicated, and several of his 
 books were condemned by the Eoman " Congregazione 
 deir Indice." Gioberti, who was a Priest, put forth in his 
 celebrated work, " II Primato civile degli Italiani," the 
 theory of an Italian confederacy with the Pope at ita 
 head as President, and the King of Sardinia as ita 
 military chief; he afterwards became President of the 
 Council at Turin in December, 1848, but his administra- 
 tion was as brief as it was unsuccessful. 
 
MILAN. 147 
 
 way, he has made some observations on the 
 applicability of the prophecies of Scripture to 
 the present time. But, as I said before, some 
 of the present rulers of Italy do not seem 
 sufficiently to remember the declarations of 
 Almighty God in Scripture, — 'By Me kings 
 reign,' &c., ' Righteousness exalteth a Na- 
 tion,' — ' Per Me reges regnant et legum 
 condi tores justa decernunt.' ' Per Me potentes 
 imperant, et potentes decernunt justitiam ^' 
 'Justitia elevat gentem, miseros autem facit 
 populos peccatum*.'" They do not seem to 
 remember, that they cannot counteract Popery 
 except by Christianity. 
 
 My friend had been well acquainted with 
 Mezzofanti, whom I had seen at Bologna and 
 Rome in 1831, 1832 : he bore testimony to 
 the great modesty as well as to the wonder- 
 ful gifts of that extraordinary man, who spoke 
 thirty-two languages, — that is, ten more than 
 were spoken by Mithridates. " I have, by 
 the favour of God, a talent for languages," 
 Mezzofanti used to say, but " non sono dotto, 
 non conosco che parole." My friend said that 
 
 ^ Prov. viii. 15. He quoted from the Yulgate. 
 * Prov. xiv. 34. 
 
 H 2 
 
148 MILAI?. 
 
 he had conversed with Mezzofanti in two 
 patois of Sardinia, and found him versed in 
 hoth. I mentioned the saying of the late 
 Francis Hare concerning Mezzofanti, that he 
 had a larger bunch of keys in his hand than 
 any man that ever lived, but that he never 
 unlocked any thing with them : his vast know- 
 ledge of language was never applied to any 
 scientific or literary purpose. Lord Byron 
 said that he was a walking Polyglot, and 
 ought to have lived at the time of Babel, and 
 to have served as interpreter ; certainly it 
 would have been a noble and a holy use of his 
 marvellous gift, if it could have been employed 
 in bringing the discordant tribes of earth, or 
 even of Europe, to a common consent in the 
 great truths of the Gospel. The Rationalists 
 of modern days have attempted to explain 
 away the miracle which the Church celebrates 
 at Pentecost, the gift of tongues. The extra- 
 ordinary talents which Almighty God still 
 bestows now and then on individuals, — such 
 as Mezzofanti in Italy, (and may we not add 
 the name of one of our own Bishops in the 
 Pacific, Bishop Patteson ?) may serve to re- 
 mind us of His divine power in this respect, 
 
MILAN. 149 
 
 and to convince the incredulous, that if a 
 worthy purpose was to be gained thereby, such 
 as the manifestation of the power and love of 
 the Holy Ghost in publishing the one Gospel 
 to all Nations in their own tongues by the 
 Apostles of Christ, and in counteracting the 
 evils of Babel by the blessings of Sion, surely 
 the bestowal of the Gift of Tongues on the 
 disciples at Pentecost was in perfect accord- 
 ance with the divine attributes. 
 
 Went to the English chapel in Yicolo di 
 S. Giovanni alia conca^ one of the oldest 
 Churches of Milan ; its existence mav be 
 traced in Manuscripts of the eighth century : 
 it is called " alia conca^^'' from the cauldron of 
 boiling oil into which St. John the Evangelist 
 is said to have been put by the order of the 
 Emperor Domitian — to which S. Ambrose 
 refers in his hymn for St. John's Day ; — St. 
 John is represented on the fayade of the 
 Church as standing in a conca. The English 
 Chapel is part of an old disused Church given 
 to the English congregation by Victor Em- 
 
 5 Inni Sinceri, p. 101, where is an engraving of the 
 bas-relief on the fa9ade of this Church. 
 H 3 
 
150 MILAN. 
 
 manuel at the request of the English ambassa- 
 dor, Sir James Hudson. It is well fitted up, 
 and the Service was well celebrated, with 
 excellent singing. The beauty of the English 
 Liturgy is perhaps most felt in a foreign land. 
 If the people of England were deprived of the 
 Church Service for a year, how much would 
 they value it ! 
 
 There is little evidence of any religious rest 
 on the Lord's Day in the streets of Milan. 
 Is not this secularization of the Christian 
 Sunday due to the erroneous teaching of 
 the Church of Eome, which has altogether 
 lost sight of the scriptural authority for the 
 sanctification of the Lord's Day ? In a popular 
 Catechism, now in the thirteenth edition, for 
 the use of the " Scuole Pie," printed at 
 Florence in 1861, and authorized by the 
 Archbishop, the Fourth Commandment is ex- 
 plained to oblige the Christian to observe the 
 '•'' festivals of the Church^'' pp. 15, 17, but 
 not a word is said concerning the Lordls 
 Day. 
 
 The same Catechism omits the Second Com- 
 mandment altogether, nor does it give any 
 exposition of it in explaining the ^r^^ Com- 
 
MILAN. 151 
 
 mandment. In both these respects, this 
 popular Catechism is far worse than the Trent 
 Catechism ; and is one evidence among many 
 that the popular theology and popular practice 
 of Rome are lower than the teaching of her 
 Schools. 
 
 Here also is a striking evidence of the evil 
 effects produced by the neglect of Holy 
 Scripture on the part of the Clergy, and by 
 their denial of it to the people. If the Bible 
 were known by the Clergy and the People, 
 these perversions of God's Law could never 
 have been tolerated. 
 
 At half-past two p.m., went to the Cathe- 
 dral. The north and south aisles of its 
 interior were parted off from the nave with 
 purple stuff curtains ; in the aisles, behind the 
 curtains, were classes for boys and men on the 
 south side, and for girls and women on the 
 north. The boys were learning to read and 
 write, till a quarter to three ; they were stand- 
 ing or sitting in groups, with small ink- 
 bottles and copy-books, — very little order or 
 method, and not a little noise ; they would 
 have made a poor figure in the Reports of Her 
 Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. At a quarter 
 H 4 
 
152 
 
 MILAN. 
 
 to three the bell rang, and they all knelt down 
 for prayer, and the Clergy commenced instruc- 
 tion in the Catechism, with boys and girls 
 respectively in the south and north aisles of 
 the Cathedral ; this was a more orderly pro- 
 ceeding. I attended the classes of men^ which 
 were at the east end of the south aisle : very 
 interesting ; at the entrance was suspended 
 a board with the words " Pax Vobis," and 
 " Humilitas," S. Carlo's motto. These Cate- 
 chetical Schools were instituted by him ; and 
 similar Schools were established by him in 
 other parts of the Diocese. He had a con- 
 siderable share in framing the celebrated 
 Trent Catechism, which was composed by four 
 theologians selected and encouraged by him, 
 and was completed in December, 1564 — as he 
 states in a letter to Cardinal Hosius — and was 
 printed at Rome in the Pontificate of Pius V., 
 in 1566. S. Carlo had learnt the importance 
 of catechizing from the Reformers, especially 
 from Luther and Melanchthon ; and the good 
 which has been done by catechizing in the 
 Church of Rome at Milan and in Lombardy 
 generally, is in no small degree a fruit of the 
 Reformation. Our Romanist brethren seem 
 
MILAN. 1 53 
 
 to be little aware how much they owe to the 
 Reformers, whom they vehemently denounce 
 and abhor. Ought they not to thank them 
 for their Trent Catechism, and for vernacular 
 Bibles — and vernacular prayers — wherever 
 they have any : and even for much that is 
 good in the disciplinarian reforms of the 
 Council of Trent ? 
 
 In a space of about eighty feet square were 
 four classes of men, each arranged in a quad- 
 rangle with four benches, a Priest for each : 
 and the men were sitting, some by his side, 
 and others facing him, others on the benches 
 to his right hand and to his left. In one of 
 these classes were as many as 300 men. The 
 Priest was addressing them in a clear voice, 
 and with lively action, — no questions. One of 
 these four Priests was discoursing to his class 
 on the sin of exposing oneself to temptation. 
 The second was going through the Creed, and 
 giving a short explanation of each article : the 
 third was speaking on the forgiveness of in- 
 juries ; the fourth, on the omnipresence of God. 
 All that I heard was excellent ; and this kind 
 of familiar, plain, personal, and practical ad- 
 dresses to groups of persons in small numbers 
 H 5 
 
154 MILAN. 
 
 — all of whom could hear and see — seems to 
 be better adapted to instruct the people than 
 what we call ''^ sermons for the masses^ Most 
 of the men were of the middle class, and were 
 grave, serious, sedate, and attentive. This was 
 one of the most edifying" sights of the kind 
 that I have ever had the good fortune to see 
 in a continental Church. 
 
 It is to be regretted that the impression 
 produced by this interesting sight should be 
 at all impaired by associations of a different 
 character. How much more appropriate a 
 monument of a Christian Bishop is this Cate- 
 chetical School than the subterranean Tomb 
 where the body of S. Charles Borromeo is pre- 
 served, in a shrine of gold and silver ! It is 
 dressed up in pontifical robes, enriched with 
 sparkling diamonds, and with the head re- 
 posing on a gilded cushion ! Melancholy spec- 
 tacle ! in which the brilliant splendour of 
 earthly pomp contrasts ill with the solemn 
 realities of weakness and mortality, and with 
 his own motto, " Humilitas." 
 
 S. Charles Borromeo was nephew of Pope 
 Pius IV. ; he died Nov. 4, 1584, aged 46 years, 
 and was canonized by Paul V., in 1610: but 
 
MILAN. 155 
 
 his canonization cost his family and friends so 
 large a sum of money that they were deterred 
 from attempting to obtain a similar honour 
 for his scarcely less celebrated cousin, Cardinal 
 Frederick Borromeo ; who has been commended 
 to the affectionate reverence of posterity by 
 the pen of Manzoni in his I promessi sposi — 
 a tribute surely far more congenial to the mind 
 of a saintly person, than the venal apotheosis 
 of a Roman Canonization ^ 
 
 A person can hardly obtain a place now in 
 the Roman Calendar, unless he belongs to a 
 rich family, or to some monastic order who 
 will pay the expenses of his sanctification, as 
 the Franciscans and Jesuits are now doing for 
 the Japanese Martyrs at Rome. St. Paul and 
 St. Peter would not have much prospect of 
 being canonized, unless some religious order 
 would be kind enough to undertake their cause, 
 and defray the cost of their canonization. 
 
 I observed some other objects in the Duomo 
 which disturb the religious solemnity of this 
 noble Minster, and detract from the spiritual 
 edification of its services. What must a rea- 
 
 " See below, chap. xix. 
 H 6 
 
156 
 
 MILAN. 
 
 sonable and reflecting worshipper think of the 
 honesty and veracity of those who tell him, by 
 an inscription engraved in large letters at 
 the east end of this Cathedral, that this 
 '' augustissima Basilica " contains the following 
 relics ? — 
 
 " A part of our Lord's cradle, and swaddling 
 clothes. 
 
 " Item. A part of the towel with which He 
 wiped His Disciples' feet. 
 
 '"''Item. A part of the pillar at which He 
 was bound and scourged; four thorns of His 
 Crown; part of the reed with which He was 
 struck; part of the wood of the Cross; one 
 of the nails; part of the Soldier's spear; part 
 of the sponge. 
 
 " Item. Two teeth of Elisha. 
 
 '^ Item. A bit of Moses' rod, &c. 
 
 " Item. " 
 
 But I refrain, — such pious frauds as these 
 must mar the efifect of the teaching of a Church, 
 and shake men's confidence in her. Fortu- 
 nately the inscription is in Latin. 
 
 Let us hope that the time is not far distant, 
 when the Church of Milan may clear herself 
 from such superstitions, deceits, and corrup- 
 
MILAN. 157 
 
 tions as these, and may dispense the wholesome 
 food of the Gospel to the people, in this mag- 
 nificent Minster ; and that the Catechetical 
 School of S. Charles Borromeo at Milan may 
 vie in Christian rivalry and religious emula- 
 tion with that of St. Mark at Alexandria. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MILAN TO PAVIA AND GENOA. 
 
 Monday^ May 2Qth. — Left Milan for Pavia and 
 Genoa. The Churches of Pavia are very in- 
 teresting, especially the Cathedral, and the 
 Church of S. Michael. There is a sombre, 
 severe, and stern aspect in these Churches, 
 which, with their fabrics still unfinished, seem 
 to connect the spectator of the present day 
 with centuries long gone by. 
 
 The Cathedral contains a beautiful speci- 
 men of fourteenth century work, commenced in 
 A.D. 1 362, as Cicognara assures us \ the altar- 
 tomb of S. Augustine under a canopy, adorned 
 with more than 200 figures : some of the guide- 
 books speak of this tomb as containing the re- 
 mains of the great African Bishop ; but it is, I 
 
 ' Storia di Scultura, iii. 292. 
 
MILAN TO PA VIA AND GENOA. 159 
 
 believe, only a cenotaph. However, it is very 
 interesting, as an evidence of the veneration 
 in which the memory of S. Augustine was 
 held in the middle ages : and it is well that 
 the great African Father should he thus 
 honoured in Lombardy, where he spent some 
 of the most eventful years of his life ; and that 
 now, when Hippo is in ruins, and there are 
 scarcely any remains of the African Churches, 
 their greatest Bishop and Doctor should be 
 venerated in a Cathedral of Italy, which owes 
 to him so much of its theological learning. 
 
 Besides, although the remains of S. Augus- 
 tine are not in this monument, yet there is 
 good reason to believe that they are now at 
 Pavia. S. Augustine died at Hippo, in 
 Africa, Aug. 28, a.d. 430, aged seventy-six 
 years, when that city was besieged by the 
 Vandals. 
 
 His body was buried at St. Stephen's 
 Church at Hippo ; and it was carried thence 
 to Sardinia when Africa was overrun by Van- 
 dals and Visigoths, and the orthodox Bishops 
 were banished by them. Some place that 
 translation in a.d. 484; others assign a later 
 date to it. 
 
160 
 
 MILAN TO 
 
 In A.D. 710, Luitprand, King of Lombardy, 
 recovered the remains of the great African 
 Bishop from the hands of the Saracens, who 
 were then masters of Sardinia, and brought 
 them to Pavia. 
 
 In A.D. 796, Charlemagne commissioned 
 Oldrad, Archbishop of Milan, to examine the 
 records of these translations of the remains; 
 and the facts now stated are grounded on the 
 Archbishop's report. 
 
 In the year 1695, Oct. 1, some repairs 
 were made in the crypt of the Church of St. 
 Peter " in coelo aureo " at Pavia, where the 
 remains were believed to be ; and a silver chest 
 was found there with an inscription, it is 
 said, in Gothic characters, of the word 
 AGOSTINO. 
 
 An account is given of this discovery by 
 Father Montfaucon, in his Diarium Italicum, 
 who visited Pavia at that time (p. 26). Ma- 
 billon says (Diar. Ital. p. 221), that, when he 
 was here, it was generally believed that the 
 body was beneath the altar of St. Peter's 
 Church. 
 
 Tillemont, in his Ecclesiastical Memoirs, 
 seems to incline to the opinion that its place 
 
TAVIA AND GENOA. 161 
 
 cannot be clearly determined. Vasari ^ ap- 
 pears to be disposed to believe the story 
 that the beautiful marble monument which 
 once stood at the high altar of St. Peter's, 
 Pavia, actually contained the body of S. 
 Augustine. 
 
 We went from Pavia to the Certosa, a 
 sumptuous Monastery — one of the most 
 splendid in the world — which is due to the 
 remorse of John Galeazzo Yisconti, the first 
 Duke of Milan, for the murder of his uncle 
 and father-in-law and family — whom he 
 poisoned. How many of the noblest buildings 
 owe their origin to the most heinous sins ! It 
 contains his monument, but it also is a ceno- 
 taph. 
 
 Galeazzo died in 1402, and was buried in 
 the cathedral of Milan ; but his body was 
 afterwards removed; and in 1562, when this 
 monument was finished, — it had been begun 
 in 1490, — his body could not be found. 
 
 We drove under a frescoed gateway, and 
 crossed a courtyard, and entered the nave. 
 Vespers were going on ; the efiect of hearing 
 
 " Vita di Girolamo, iii. p. 30. 
 
162 MILAN TO 
 
 beautiful music, in a large magnificent build- 
 ing, without seeing any living creature, is 
 very solemn and impressive. It seems as if 
 the sounds come from the spiritual world. 
 After the vespers saw the Superior — he alone 
 is allowed to converse : other members of the 
 order, in their light-coloured dress of serge, 
 were moving silently about the Church, like 
 shadowy figures on a wall. The Carthusian 
 rule is very strict. They never touch animal 
 food : " neppure ammalati." I went into the 
 two cloistral quadrangles ; the lesser contains 
 a beautiful garden rich in flowers; and the 
 walls are adorned with graceful bas-reliefs in 
 terra cotta, representing scriptural subjects. 
 The larger cloister enclosed a field of corn: 
 the views of the noble Monastery from these 
 courts are very picturesque. Each of the 
 Monks has a separate abode which opens into 
 the garden : and there is a little window-like 
 hatch by which his food is introduced. No 
 woman is allowed to enter the cloister. I 
 gathered a sprig of heartsease from the garden, 
 to console the ladies of our party for their 
 exclusion. The monks, with all their re- 
 strictions, cannot exclude nature, and natural 
 
. PAVIA AND GENOA. 163 
 
 affection. These flowers themselves are wit- 
 nesses to that truth : — 
 
 "Natiiram expellas fur(!a, tamen usque recurret." 
 
 And are they to have heartsease and polyan- 
 thuses in their garden, and to know nothing 
 of the beautiful colours and fragrant perfume 
 of the sweet flowers of Christian graces in 
 holy women ? Strange contradiction ! 
 
 The recluses have no communication with 
 one another, and never see one another except 
 at the hours of Divine Service, and at rare 
 intervals. In seems as if the rule of S. Bruno 
 had been dictated by his impressions on seeing 
 his friend and companion, Raymond, suddenly 
 snatched away at a social meeting, and then 
 laid out in a coffin on a bier by torchlight, as 
 dead, in a chapel hung with black, and then 
 suddenly rising out of the coffin, and exclaim- 
 ing, " Justo judicio Dei appellatus sum, justo 
 judicio Dei judicatus sum," and then falling 
 back dead. From that day S. Bruno re- 
 nounced the world, and dedicated himself to 
 the monastic life. 
 
 According to the original rule of S. Bruno 
 (who died a.d. 1101) every cell was to be fur- 
 
164 MILAN TO PAVIA AND GENOA. 
 
 nished with a stock of parchment, pens, ink, 
 and colours, and every monk was obliged to 
 spend a certain time in transcribing or illu- 
 minating MSS. How much of our present 
 knowledge is due to the patient industry of 
 these Carthusian brethren ! The invention of 
 printing has robbed them of a great part of 
 their occupation, but it has profited much by 
 their labours. There is a large library in the 
 monastery. 
 
 In the fields between the Certosa and Pavia, 
 women were busy haymaking. Costume of 
 the women and girls, striped lilac petticoats, 
 white jackets, and large straw hats. 
 
 We passed through Alessandria, where we 
 halted for some time, and arrived at Genoa at 
 ten P.M. — Hotel de France — very good. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 GENOA. 
 
 Genoa^ Tuesday^ May 27. — Walked along the 
 walls and ramparts of S. Chiara, — glorious 
 view of hills, city, gardens, and sea, — to Santa 
 Maria di Carignano : called on the celebrated 
 writer and preacher, formerly a Priest of the 
 Church of Rome, Dr. Luigi De Sanctis. His 
 Almanacco had a sale of 80,000 copies last 
 year : he has published a Letter to the Pope ; 
 and a tract on Clerical Celibacy (1862), both 
 of which he gave me. 
 
 The former, — the "Lettera a Pio IX.," — was 
 written in 1849 (March 12), from "a Roman 
 exile to a Roman exile." De Sanctis had 
 been a Professor of Theology and a Parish 
 Priest at Rome, and he had left it and become 
 a " Ministro del S. Vangelo," and Pius IX. had 
 been driven from Rome to Gaeta. The letter 
 bears testimony to the private virtues of the 
 
166 GENOA. 
 
 Pope, but expresses the writer's conviction 
 that the Divine Judgments are hanging over 
 the Papacy for its sins. 
 
 " Meditate, O holy Father," says the writer 
 to the Pope ', " on the dread transactions of 
 the Great Day, when the Divine Judge will 
 demand of thee an account of thy stewardship 
 (Luke xvi. 2), and when He will say, I com- 
 manded men to ' search the Scriptures ' (John 
 V. 39) ; why then didst thou forbid them to do 
 so, in My name ? I commanded them to wor- 
 ship God in spirit and in truth (John iv. 24) ; 
 why then didst thou substitute a material and 
 superstitious ritual in the place of the pure 
 worship of the one true God ? I taught them 
 that there is but ' One Mediator between God 
 and men' (1 Tim. ii. 5); why didst thou 
 disparage My mediation by adding to it that 
 of the Angels and Saints of thy Calendar ? I 
 commanded them to worship the one true God, 
 and Him only ; why didst thou erect altars to 
 Saints, and commandedst men to worship their 
 images and relics ? I bade them to observe 
 the ten commandments (Matt. xix. 17); how 
 
 • Lettera a Pio IX., pp. 12, 13. 
 
GENOA. 167 
 
 is it then that thou didst dare to cancel one of 
 them? (Exod. xx. 4—6.) I said that My 
 blood cleanseth from all sin (1 John i. 7), 
 and that there is no condemnation to them 
 that are in Me (Rom. viii. 1 ) ; wherefore 
 then didst thou invent the pains of Purgatory 
 for those who die in a state of grace ? I said 
 that My sacrifice was offered once for all, and 
 could not be repeated (Heb. x. 1 — 18) ; why 
 didst thou depreciate the infinite worth of My 
 blood-shedding, by teaching that it must be 
 repeated often every day ?" 
 
 His treatise " on the Celibacy of the Clergy" 
 has already appeared in several editions, but 
 the edition of the present year is much more 
 complete than any of the preceding. It is a 
 masterly work, written with that clearness and 
 vigour for which the Author is distinguished ; 
 and it has a special value, because the Author, 
 who passed a considerable time at Rome as a 
 theological teacher and a Parish Priest, had 
 the best opportunities of observing the prac- 
 tical working of the law of enforced Celibacy 
 on the lives of the Clergy, and of its consequent 
 influence on the faith and practice of the 
 people. Persons who may feel any doubts as 
 
168 GENOA. 
 
 to the irreligious and antichristian character 
 and effects of this law of Clerical Celibacy, 
 which the Church of Rome enforces by the 
 most solemn sanctions, especially by the Decrees 
 of Trent ^, which she affirms to be inspired by 
 the Holy Ghost, may be requested to ex- 
 amine the fourteenth chapter of this treatise 
 from pp. 168 to 174. After a perusal of the 
 details ^ there set down, — which are too re- 
 volting to be transcribed — concerning the pre- 
 sent effects of enforced Clerical Celibacy, at 
 Rome herself^ which boasts to be "the Holy 
 City," the " Mother and Mistress of Churches," 
 they will probably need no other argument to 
 convince them that the enactment of this law 
 is very like a fulfilment of the prophecy of 
 Scripture concerning the " lawless One " who 
 " sets himself in the temple of God, as if he 
 were God" (2 Thess. ii. 4); and that the 
 Church which enforces such a law, in God's 
 name, on His Ministers, cannot be the true 
 Church of God, the holy Bride of Christ. 
 
 ^ Cone. Trid. Sess. xxiv. can. 9. 
 
 ^ " Chi e in Eoma che non possa rammentare a centi- 
 naia simili fatti (and horrible they are) e nominare 
 le persone?" p. 171. 
 
GENOA. 169 
 
 This treatise is very important at the pre- 
 sent time. Not long after my visit to Dr. De 
 Sanctis, a Member of the Italian Parliament, 
 Petruccelli, brought in a bill to enable the 
 Clergy of Italy to marry. That bill has been 
 supported by the organ of the reforming 
 portion of the Clergy of Italy, the Colonna 
 di Fuoco *, which says, " We cannot deny the 
 existence of this plague of moral degradation 
 in the Clergy ; the Celibacy of the Clergy is to 
 be placed in the same category as the temporal 
 power of the Pope." 
 
 This is true; it was in order to detach the 
 Clergy from the ties of Family and of Country, 
 and to make them members of the Papal 
 Family, and subjects of the Papal Monarchy, 
 that Pope Gregory VII. enforced that anti- 
 social and anti-christian enactment, — by which 
 he defied the divine declaration that " Marriage 
 is honourable in all " (Heb. xiii. 4), and in- 
 curred the divine denunciation on those who 
 "forbid to marry" (1 Tim. iv. 1); which is 
 called " a doctrine of devils." And the carnal 
 end which he had in view, — that of promoting 
 the temporal aggrandizement, and of gratifying 
 * Por July 25, 1862. 
 VOL. I. I 
 
170 GENOA. 
 
 the worldly pride and ambition of him who 
 calls himself the Vicar of Christ, is an aggra- 
 vation of the guilt which is inherent in the 
 law itself. 
 
 The bill of Petruccelli has also been dis- 
 cussed by Padre Passaglia, in his journal ^, 
 who is less disposed to approve it; but his 
 objection seems to lie rather against the form 
 in which the question is brought forward, than 
 against the discussion of the question itself. 
 Passaglia is of opinion that this is a matter 
 which ought to be referred to the Spiritualty; 
 that it is a fit subject for consideration in the 
 Synods of the Church; that the initiative 
 ought to be there; and that when the Spiritu- 
 alty has deliberated upon it, and has declared 
 the result of its deliberations, then would be 
 the time for the Civil Power to intervene. 
 The Courts of France have decided that there 
 is no civil law in that country which hinders 
 the marriage of the Clergy .... But to 
 return to De Sanctis. 
 
 He does not seem to have much hope of re- 
 ligious reformation from within the Church of 
 Rome : and it was in despair of any such im- 
 ' The Mediatore, N'os. 30, 31, 32. 
 
GENOA. 171 
 
 provement on her part that he renounced 
 communion with her. " If I had been a Priest 
 in the Church of England^'' he said, " I would 
 not have quitted her. I know the evils of 
 division ; and it was by compulsion that I left 
 the Church of Rome. She enforces sinful 
 terms of Communion, and renders commu- 
 nion with her impossible: the sin of schism 
 lies at her door." 
 
 It seems to be matter of regret that so able, 
 learned, and devout a person should be so 
 isolated as he appears to be. He has a con- 
 gregation and a daily evening service in a 
 " Chiesa Evangelica Italiana;" — no Liturgy: 
 some ex-priests come to him regularly for in- 
 struction. 
 
 "I fear," said he, "that the true Church 
 in Italy will be but a ' piccolo gregge.' " 
 
 But might it not be larger, if there was a 
 well-considered systematic effort to pi^eserve 
 what is good and ancient in the Roman 
 Church, and to clear it from corruptions, 
 errors, and innovations ? And are there not 
 many in the Church of Rome herself who are 
 even now engaged, — quietly it may be and 
 patiently, but not less steadily and surely, — in 
 I 2 
 
172 
 
 GENOA. 
 
 this holy work ? I believe that there are : and 
 much may be done by the members of the 
 English, American, and Colonial Churches, 
 to promote this design. Of this I am fully 
 convinced, that the Italian People will never 
 accept a cold, bare, negative Protestantism. 
 The temperament of the whole Italian Nation 
 from Turin to Tarentum revolts against it. 
 There has been a series of articles in the 
 " Colonna di Fuoco^^ the organ of the reform- 
 ing Clergy in Italy, with this significant title, 
 "II Protestante non e Italiano;" and this is 
 perfectly true, in the negative sense of the 
 word Protestant. The Italians may remain 
 Roman Catholics ; they may become secu- 
 larists, scoiFers, and libertines; or they may 
 reform their own Church by preserving what 
 is grand and sublime in her Ritual and Liturgy, 
 and what is Scriptural, Catholic, and primitive 
 in her Doctrine ; and restoring her Ecclesias- 
 tical Government and Discipline to the standard 
 of the best and purest ages of Christendom. 
 And much depends on the wisdom of the rulers 
 and counsellors of Italy during the next few 
 years for the determination of the question, — 
 which of these three courses will be pursued ? 
 
GENOA. 1 73 
 
 One of the most painful symptoms of the 
 dangers of the present times in Italy is in 
 the number of Caricatures which meet the eye 
 in the streets, where the most sacred objects 
 of religion are exposed to ridicule. There is 
 but one step between superstition and buf- 
 foonery. The production and display of 
 such profane ribaldry in the shop- windows, 
 and on the walls of the streets, without let or 
 hindrance, show that there must be a great 
 deal of deep-rooted Indifference, if not of Infi- 
 delity, in the hearts of the people. 
 
 Genoa seems to be divided into two parties. 
 On one side are the Clergy, opposed to religious 
 reform and intellectual improvement, and with 
 them are the ancient Nobility, devoted to the 
 Papacy; many of them very pious and chari- 
 table, especially the ladies of rank. When the 
 Cholera raged in Genoa, and the Matron of 
 one of the greatest of the Hospitals quitted her 
 post in alarm, her place was taken by one of the 
 Nobles of Genoa and his wife, who discharged its 
 duties for some time. On the other side are 
 the commercial and maritime classes, the Maz- 
 zinians and republicans. Each party is acting 
 I 3 
 
174 GENOA. 
 
 and reacting upon the other, each is exaspe- 
 rating the other, and driving it into extremes. 
 
 The instruction in the Schools is excellent 
 here, especially the primary Schools, which are 
 Yery numerous in this and other places in 
 Piedmont. The progress made in Piedmont, 
 compared with other parts of Italy, in primary 
 instruction, is very striking. In the Neapolitan 
 Provinces, with a population of seven millions, 
 there are only 2500 Schoolmasters, whereas in 
 the Kingdom of Sardinia (to adopt its former 
 name), with a population of only four millions, 
 there are 7150 Schoolmasters. 
 
 The relative statistics of the Provinces of 
 Italy are as follows, according to the last Italian 
 authorities : — 
 
 Popolazione. Maestri. 
 
 " Le provincie Napoletane 7,060,618 2,590 
 
 Sicilia 2,223,476 740 
 
 Marche ed Umbria . . 1,395,799 869 
 
 Toscana 1,815,248 739 
 
 Emilia 2,127,105 1,545 
 
 Lombardia 3,026,533 5,463 
 
 Provincie Sarde . . . 4,079,678 7,150 
 
 Totale 21,728,452 19,096 ^" 
 
 ® From the Corrispondenza Franco-Italiana. 
 
GENOA. 175 
 
 There are excellent Industrial Schools for the 
 lower orders, and the people will soon be far 
 in advance of their religious teachers. And 
 then what will be the consequence ? 
 
 " I well remember the time," said a resident 
 in Genoa to me, "when every one went down 
 on his knees in the streets before the host at 
 the Festival of Corpus Domini. Now, few 
 but the peasants and old women pay it such 
 reverence : the young men smoke their cigars, 
 and look on with indifference." 
 
 Genoa is one of the most interesting cities 
 in Italy for old conventual buildings. You 
 pass out of a busy street by one of those long 
 narrow and rather steep thoroughfares, bril- 
 liant with gold, jewelry, silver filagree- work, 
 and coral ornaments, and traversed by long 
 trains of mules tied to one another's tails, 
 and muzzled with corded nose-bags, — you 
 enter a by-lane, and come into an old cloistered 
 quadrangle, shaded with orange-trees, with an 
 old monastic well in the centre, and you see 
 walls engraved with venerable ancient inscrip- 
 tions, or adorned with mediaeval sculpture. 
 Such are the cloistered retreats of S. Andrea 
 and of the Church of S. Matteo, founded in the 
 I 4 
 
17(> GENOA. 
 
 twelfth century, with its interesting records of 
 the Dorias. On the fagade of the Church is 
 an inscription which records a victory gained 
 by the Genoese fleet under Lamba Doria over 
 the Venetians under Dandolo, on Sept. 7, a.d. 
 1298, at Scarzola. The cloisters contain the 
 remains of two colossal statues of Dorias — one, 
 the celebrated Giannetto, who commanded in 
 the great naval victory of Lepanto in 1571. 
 Strange to say, these memorials of Genoese 
 glory, which once stood in front of the ducal 
 palace, were thrown down and mutilated by a 
 revolutionary mob intoxicated with Galilean 
 phrenzy, in 1 7 97. 
 
 Another relic of mediaeval history sur- 
 vives in the Dominican Convent, still tenanted 
 by a few friars, — some learned and intelligent, 
 — the last of their race : half of the convent is 
 now used as a barrack. The ancient ruined 
 Church of S. Agostino is also very interesting : 
 I observed the date of a.d. 1293 on its fa9ade. 
 Not far from it you may light upon some re- 
 mains of an old Roman wall and aqueduct, 
 and on a fragment of an ancient column of 
 cipollino in a courtyard of a monastery. 
 
 There is a peculiar charm in Italian towns, 
 
GENOA. 177 
 
 — a charm perhaps derived from the influence 
 of Grecian art, and especially from that of 
 Athens. How noble and dignifying a sight 
 did the agora, or market-place of Athens, 
 present, with its grand and graceful works of 
 Painting and Sculpture, raising the mind from 
 secular business to higher aspirations! And 
 in like manner, amid the bustle and din of 
 trade and commerce in Italian cities, the eye 
 is refreshed, ever and anon, with some beau- 
 tiful works of art which lift the thoughts 
 above the level of mere worldly traffic, and 
 open out to the eye, as it were through a 
 spiritual loophole, glimpses of the unseen 
 world. In the most crowded thoroughfare of 
 Genoa, — the Strada degli Orefici, — are two 
 beautiful gleams of this kind ; one is the lovely 
 picture of the Holy Family, by Pellegrino 
 Piola, over one of the shops ; this picture be- 
 longs to the guild of the goldsmiths, and is 
 much prized by them. Nearly opposite is a 
 very graceful basso-rilievo of the Nativity. 
 Such works as these, preserved in their origi- 
 nal freshness for centuries (the picture is 
 carefully covered with glass), and representing 
 subjects of everlasting interest, and of calm 
 I 5 
 
178 GENOA. 
 
 repose and unruffled quietness, exercise a spiri- 
 tualizing and elevating iilfluence on the ephe- 
 meral eagerness and hurry of the passers-by, 
 and doubtless serve to remind some among 
 them of the vanity of secular and earthly 
 things, and of the peace and permanence of a 
 better world. 
 
 What would the ancient Greek artists have 
 given for the privilege of representing such 
 glorious scenes as have been revealed to the 
 imagination of Christian Art! Even now it 
 is refreshing in the leisure-hours of Fancy 
 and Meditation, to iinagine a Presepe sculp- 
 tured by the hand of Phidias or Praxiteles for 
 the market-place of Athens. 
 
 The out-door life of Italy is one of its chief 
 charms, especially at this season of the year; 
 it suggests a reminiscence of picturesque de- 
 scriptions of hours spent by her Classical Poets 
 in ancient days at the side of streams and 
 fountains, beneath the shade of fair trees, with 
 fragrant flowering shrubs clustering around 
 them, and with statues, single or in groups, 
 disposed at intervals amid the trees. There is 
 a quiet place at Genoa, to which we resorted 
 frequently for rest and refreshment, and to 
 
GENOA. 179 
 
 which we owe a tribute of gratitude, "the 
 Concordia," as it is called : and it is pleasant 
 to remember its sparkling fountain and its 
 large oleanders with their profusion of red 
 flowers, and the orange-trees in fruit, and the 
 nespoli, and laurustinus, and pomegranates, 
 and the willows hanging over the clear basin, 
 and the marble tables near which we passed 
 some happy hours during our sojourn in this 
 noble city. 
 
 Wednesday/ evening, May 28. — Went to 
 the Church alle Vigne — a large congregation 
 assembled to hear a sermon. The Preacher 
 was standing on a platform, on which a high 
 crucifix was fixed at his left hand : behind 
 him was an arm-chair : he had a fine sonorous 
 voice, and used much action. He began with 
 a violent invective against the rationalizing 
 Philosophy of the day, and deplored the ravages 
 it was making among the people, who imagined 
 all the while that they were gaining some new 
 illumination from it: "Povero popolo!" he ex- 
 claimed ; for all the while " they are becoming 
 more and more the dupes and victims of the 
 Evil Spirit of delusion." 
 
 This was the prooemium to a Sermon on 
 I 6 
 
180 GENOA. 
 
 Purgatory. It betrayed uneasiness, and was 
 in an apologetic tone. He stated the objec- 
 tions made to the doctrine of Purgatory by 
 some, especially the Protestants (of whom he 
 said some very hard things), for instance, that 
 the doctrine had been fabricated by the Clergy, 
 " per motivo di lucro sacerdotale," and that it 
 was not to be found in Scripture : he referred 
 to the usual text, 2 Maccabees xii. 44. " But 
 even z/'the doctrine is not true'''' (he said) " it 
 can do no harm; but, on the contrary, is an 
 exercise of Christian love for the departed." 
 And then he exemplified the consolatory effects 
 of the doctrine upon bereaved and mourning 
 widows, and upon others who found quiet com- 
 fort in showing their love for their deceased 
 friends, by praying, and procuring masses, &c., 
 for the deliverance of their souls out of Purga- 
 tory; all which comfort, he said, would be 
 taken from them if they were robbed of their 
 belief in Purgatory. 
 
 Most true it is, that the Church of Rome 
 has shown consummate skill in accommodating 
 herself to the best feelings of human nature; 
 and almost all her errors and corruptions in 
 doctrine and practice derive their power from 
 
GENOA. 181 
 
 the affections of men, and still more of women, 
 when in sorrow and distress, either for sin 
 committed, or for suffering endured; 
 
 " The way is smooth, 
 !Por Power that travels with the human hearts 
 
 But surely the very consciousness of this truth 
 ought also to suggest the Poet's lesson of self- 
 control ; — 
 
 " Te holy men, so earnest in your care, 
 Of your own mighty instruments beware!" 
 
 How can it be said that the doctrine of Pur- 
 gatory can " do no harm," if it tempts men to 
 try " to be wise above what is written V' and 
 to "teach for doctrines the commandments of 
 men^;" and if the sacrifice of the Mass for the 
 dead, and eleemosynary indulgences doled forth 
 for money by the Church, expose the Church 
 to suspicion of covetousness and fraudulent 
 traffic in spiritual things for filthy lucre ^ ; and 
 if it makes an invidious distinction between 
 
 ^ 1 Cor. iv. 6. 
 
 * Matt. XV. 9. Mark vii. 7. 
 
 ' 1 Tim. vi. 5, where the Apostle speaks of "corrupt 
 men who suppose that religion is a trade;" see also 2 
 Cor. ii. 17. 
 
182 GENOA. 
 
 rich and poor ', and if it tempts men to put 
 off their repentance, while they are alive, and 
 while the day of repentance lasts, and before 
 the hour of death comes, " when no man can 
 work:" and if it be at all true (as Bishop Bull 
 observes) that a belief in Purgatory will, it is 
 to be feared, be the cause of many men's ex- 
 clusion from Paradise and from Heaven ? 
 Surely then the doctrine of Purgatory may be 
 found to have done great harm. 
 
 The congregation was large, and consisted 
 mostly of the middle and lower classes. The 
 Preacher recommended them not to argue upon 
 such questions as these, but to repose implicit 
 faith in the Catholic Church, which could 
 neither err nor deceive; but at the same time 
 his sermon must have suggested to them 
 several arguments against Purgatory, and 
 must have also disclosed to them the fact that 
 the Roman Catholic Church has many adver- 
 
 ^ These abuses of the doctrine of Purgatory and In- 
 dulgences are freely pointed out by a learned Eoman Ca- 
 tholic "Writer, Dr. Gr. B. Sirscher, in his work (referred 
 to above, p. 7) on the present state of the Church : his 
 remarks on these points are very striking, and deserve 
 careful consideration. 
 
GENOA. 183 
 
 saries; and must, I conceive, have sent them 
 away rather more disturbed than settled in 
 their minds. 
 
 Confessions were going on in different parts 
 of the Church during the Sermon. 
 
 On coming out of the Church, I observed 
 on the Church-door an " avviso dell' opera di 
 santa infanzia," a charitable association of per- 
 sons for taking care of outcast unbaptized 
 children : and a meeting was to be held of the 
 Association to consider the names ("da im- 
 porsi a bambini infedeli ") to be given to such 
 children. A very excellent institution, espe- 
 cially for large towns. Would it not be better 
 to imitate this example, rather than to agitate 
 for the "repeal of the 29th Canon ?" 
 
 Another " avviso " of a very different cha- 
 racter was affixed to a neighbouring wall, i. e. 
 an announcement of a new work, being "A 
 Biography of Pope Sixtus V.," and an Essay 
 " Suir ipocrisia della Curia Romana." Such 
 Advertisements as these are now very common 
 in Italy. In the Churches you may hear ser- 
 mons in favour of the Pope's temporal power, 
 while the neighbouring walls are eloquent in 
 their denunciations of it and of every thing 
 that belongs to the Court of Rome. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A VILLAGE IN THE APENNINES. 
 
 May 29, Genoa^ Ascension Day. — Almost all 
 the shops shut. Churches full at an early 
 hour of the morning; many sailors present. 
 Service at the English Church, Casa Rocca, 
 Via Asarotti; an excellent Sermon by the 
 English Chaplain, the Rev. Alfred B. Strettell. 
 A friend presented me with a copy of an 
 Italian work just published, " On the Reading 
 of the Bible '." It is a Collection of the articles 
 inserted in the Neapolitan journal just men- 
 tioned as the " organ of the reforming Clergy 
 of Italy," the Colonna di Fuoco, in the months 
 of February and March last. The writer says 
 that " the ignorance of the Bible among Catho- 
 lics is one of the principal causes of the absence 
 of the virtue, knowledge, order, advancement, 
 and liberty, which they would otherwise have ;" 
 
 1 Napoli, 1862. See also the " Secolarlzzazione della 
 Bibbia," by Monsignor Tiboni. 
 
A VILLAGE IN THE APENNINES. 185 
 
 and the Author makes an appeal to the Govern- 
 ment to introduce the reading of the Scrip- 
 tures in the " national schools," in the mother 
 tongue of the people. Having adduced a large 
 number of passages from the Scriptures and 
 the Fathers, in which the reading of the Bible 
 is commended, the Author puts this question ^, 
 " How can Romanism regard it as an evil to 
 the faith that every Christian should read the 
 Bible ? How can Romanism forbid the 
 reading of it ? . . Ought we not rather to 
 regard such a privation as an evil to the 
 faith ? . . According to Romanism, more evil 
 than good is derived from reading the Bible ^ 
 And yet God commands all to read it!" This 
 and much more of the same kind is found in 
 this volume. There is nothing new in these 
 remarks themselves, but there is something 
 new in the fact that they are put forth by a 
 Roman Catholic Priest, and are adopted by a 
 Periodical, conducted by Roman Catholic 
 Priests, and the exponent of the opinions of a 
 large body among them. 
 
 The Yaudois have a large Church in the 
 
 ' P. 33. ' P. 86. 
 
186 A VILLAGE IN THE APENNINES. 
 
 same street as that in which the English 
 Chapel is at Genoa. Why should not Eng- 
 lishmen at home co-operate with their fellow- 
 countrymen abroad in endeavouring to present 
 the Services of the Church of England to the 
 eyes of the people of Italy in such a manner 
 as would commend them to their reverence 
 and affection ? The English Book of Common 
 Prayer is the best exponent of the doctrine 
 and discipline of the Church of England ; and 
 if the Services of the Book of Common Prayer 
 were celebrated in their fulness and integrity, 
 and with that simple dignity and beauty which 
 is the characteristic of the English Ritual, a 
 salutary impression would be made on the 
 mind of Italy, and a practical refutation would 
 be given to the imputations of heresy, schism, 
 and latitudinarianism which are studiously pro- 
 pagated by many of the Roman Catholic Bishops 
 and Clergy in Italy against the Clergy and 
 People of England; and some progress would 
 also be made toward an internal Reformation 
 of the Church of Italy, — the only kind of Re- 
 formation which can be prosperous and per- 
 manent. 
 
 Went to some beautiful gardens in the 
 
A VILLAGE IN THE APENNINES. 187 
 
 Acqua Sola; broad walks, overshadowed with 
 the thick foliage of old ilexes ; a large basin of 
 water with swans floating on it; carnations on 
 the terrace, which commanded an extensive 
 view of the city and adjacent country; and a 
 little Paestum of roses beneath the terrace ; a 
 charming spot for such a summer day as this. 
 Went in the afternoon to a beautiful country 
 Parish in the Apennines; it is situated in a 
 glen above a mountain stream, overshadowed 
 with chestnut-trees ; delightful fresh air. 
 Visited the small parsonage of the Parroco, 
 close to the Church, with a lofty belfry seen 
 from afar; and near it a little School, built of 
 wood and straw. The Parroco dined with us. 
 I had the pleasure of sitting opposite to him ; 
 a well-informed, intelligent man, of grave and 
 serious aspect and demeanour. He expressed 
 great regard and esteem for the Church of 
 England, and an earnest desire for union with 
 us. "And," said he, "when the temporal 
 power of the Papacy is abolished, then the 
 great hindrance to that union will be removed." 
 He drew a lively picture of the future hap- 
 piness of Christendom, when that consum- 
 mation is attained; it would be, he thought, 
 
188 A VILLAGE IN THE APENNINES. 
 
 like the beginning of a golden age of peace and 
 felicity. He was acquainted with Mamiani, 
 the Author of Rinascenza Cattolica^ and had 
 imbibed similar opinions. He was much inter- 
 ested in hearing of an effort made by the 
 Lower House of Convocation in the Province 
 of Canterbury, to open communication with 
 the Clergy of Italy, who are craving for sym- 
 pathy from England, especially those among 
 them who are thought by the Court of Rome 
 to be too eager for Reformation *. 
 
 * The effort referred to was in the form of an Address 
 from certain Members of the Lower House to the Upper, 
 Feb. 28, 1861, as follows :— 
 
 " "We, the undersigned members of the Lower Souse 
 of Convocation of the Province of Oanterhury, respectfully 
 invite the attention of the Upper House to the oppor- 
 tunity now afforded by Divine Providence for the ad- 
 vancement of true religion in Italy. 
 
 " We regard with thankfulness the facilities offered at 
 the present time for the diffusion of the Holy Scriptures 
 in that country, and we rejoice to learn that many 
 Italians have shown a desire to procure copies of the 
 JEnglish BooJc of Common Prayer in their own tongue, and 
 have expressed their approval of it. 
 
 " We are of opinion that the Church of England ought 
 not to remain passive and silent at so important a 
 juncture, and we earnestly pray that she may be enabled 
 
A VILLAGE IN THE APENNINES. 189 
 
 To-day being Ascension Day, I took occasion 
 to observe to tbis learned ecclesiastic, that the 
 
 by the Divine blessing to avail herself of those means 
 which are novr vouchsafed to her of promoting the cause 
 of Christian truth and unity in a country to which she 
 herself was indebted in the sixth century for many 
 spiritual benefits. 
 
 " We, therefore, humbly submit to the consideration of 
 your Grace and your Lordships whether it might not be 
 expedient that a committee of this Convocation should 
 be appointed with instructions to prepare the draught of 
 a letter from the Bishops and Clergy of this Province 
 representing to the Clergy and Ijaity of Italy the blessings, 
 spiritual and temporal, which, under God's providence, 
 this Church and IRealm have continued to derive for three 
 centuries from the English Reformation, preserving, as it 
 did, the Holy Scriptures, the Sacraments, and the Creeds 
 of the Christian Church, and the three Orders of the 
 Christian Ministry, while it purified them from novelties, 
 errors, and corruptions. 
 
 " "We would also suggest that such a communication 
 from this Synod might convey to the Clergy and People 
 of Italy the assurance of our hearty sympathy and co- 
 operation in all the efforts that they may make to follow 
 the example of England, reforming herself, and to maintain 
 those Scriptural and Catholic truths and ordinances which 
 they have inherited from primitive Antiquity, and to clear 
 them from those abuses by which in the course of ages 
 they have been marred and blemished. 
 
 " We therefore humbly pray your Grace and your Lord- 
 
190 A VILLAGE IN THE APENNINES. 
 
 offices in our Book of Common Prayer cor- 
 respond in many respects to those in his Bre- 
 viary. " We have the same Collect, Epistle, 
 and Gospel as you have for this festival — 
 Ascension Day." " Yes," said he, " I also 
 have made the ' confronto,' " and he began to 
 quote from the Breviary the beginning of the 
 Epistle for the Day from the Acts of the 
 Apostles, "Primum quidem sermonem feci de 
 omnibus, O Theophile," &c. &c., and it was a 
 great pleasure to him, he said, " to observe the 
 correspondence." 
 
 The English Prayer Book translated into 
 Italian is very acceptable to many in Italy, 
 and is doing great good. The " Society for 
 Promoting Christian Knowledge " has rendered 
 great service by its editions of the Book of 
 Common Prayer in Italian, and by its liberal 
 grants for the supply of copies of them in 
 Italy ; which are administered, I believe, 
 through the Bishop of Gibraltar. There is 
 now another work that still remains to be 
 
 ships to give the requisite directions for the appoiutment 
 of a Committee, for the purpose of framing the draught of 
 such a Letter, to be submitted to this Convocation for 
 consideration at some early opportunity." 
 
A VILLAGE IN THE APENNINES. 191 
 
 done, which would be of infinite service, espe- 
 cially in its influence on learned, intelligent, 
 and Catholic-minded members of the Italian 
 Episcopate and Priesthood; I mean the trans- 
 lation of the English Prayer Book into Latin, 
 The Collects ought to be presented as nearly 
 as may be in their ancient Latin dress, 
 wherever they have been adopted from the 
 old Latin Service-books; and the Epistles and 
 Gospels, and other portions of Scripture, ought 
 to be given in the primitive ^ Latin Vulgate^ 
 wherever that version is not at variance with 
 the original. If this were done, the Italian 
 Clergy would see at one glance how much we 
 have in common with themselves^ and they 
 would rejoice to know that the Church of 
 England has a Liturgy which contains so 
 much material with which they are familiar by 
 daily use. The " Breviary " is their Manual, 
 — their daily companion, — and the corre- 
 spondence of the English Prayer Book with 
 the Latin Breviary in the structure and 
 arrangement of the services seems to be 
 
 ^ I saj primitive, because the original readings of the 
 Yulgate have sometimea been tampered with in more 
 recent editions. 
 
192 A VILLAGE IN THE APENNINES. 
 
 a providential dispensation for the future union 
 of Western Christendom. 
 
 If our Reformers had adopted the Easter7i 
 Calendar ® and Liturgy, or if they had framed 
 an entirely new one^ there would not have 
 been these points of contact, which now exist 
 between us and other Western Churches; and 
 which seem to suggest an earnest endeavour to 
 enter into free and friendly communication 
 with such learned and charitable members of 
 the Italian Priesthood as this excellent Pastor, 
 with whom it was my privilege to have some 
 delightful, friendly, and fraternal intercourse, 
 in this beautiful country Parish among the 
 Apennines. 
 
 ' As may be seen in Daniel's Codex Liturgicus,-Tom. 
 iv. pp. 212—278, ed. Lips. 1853. For example, the Greek 
 Church has no season of Advent ("Annus Grsecorum 
 Ecclesiasticus non orditur ab tempore Adventus, quod 
 prorsus ignorant — ") ; and its cycle of Saints' Days and 
 other Festivals is different in many respects from that of 
 the "Western Church, 
 
 1 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 GENOA TO LEGHORN, PISA, AND FLORENCE. 
 
 Left Genoa at a quarter to twelve o'clock at 
 night for Livorno (Leghorn) by steamer, with 
 250 Italian soldiers on board, who were going 
 on to Naples and Sicily. Beautiful starlight 
 night. Arrived at Leghorn at nine in the 
 morning. Thence to Pisa. 
 
 It is in vain to attempt to describe the 
 beauty of the group of buildings; the Cathe- 
 dral (founded a.d. 1067); and the Baptistery 
 (founded a.d. 1153); and the Leaning Tower 
 (founded a.d. 1174); and the frescoes and 
 monuments, and all the interesting reminis- 
 cences of the Campo Santo (founded a.d. 
 1188). The comparative isolation of these 
 glorious buildings adds greatly to their effect; 
 they are removed from the busy haunts of 
 men ; and stand almost in a monastic solitude, 
 — a religious retirement and sacred hermitage 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
194 GENOA TO LEGHOEN, 
 
 of their own. In this respect they resemble 
 those beautiful groups of ancient Temples, 
 such as may still be seen at Rhamnus in 
 Attica, or at Girgenti in Sicily, which were 
 designed, it would seem, to inspire religious 
 meditation and devotion by their comparative 
 seclusion and silence. The sacred groves, with 
 which they were surrounded, encouraged this 
 pensive feeling, and ministered a soothing 
 influence to the weary spirit, jaded by the din 
 of the city, and resorting to their peaceful 
 shade for quiet thoughts and holy aspirations. 
 Sad it is, that the spiritual quietness of 
 this sacred spot at Pisa should now be marred 
 by civil and religious strife. In the Prado^ or 
 meadow, in w^hich the Cathedral and Bap- 
 tistery stand, preparations are being made for 
 the erection of a temporary building in which 
 Mass is to be celebrated on Sunday next, June 
 1, being the National Anniversary of the 
 Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy. And 
 why ? Because the Cardinal Archbishop of 
 Pisa will not allow the Cathedral to be used 
 for that purpose. The Pope will not permit 
 him to do so : and the Archbishop has sent a 
 circular to all his Clergy, threatening them 
 
PISA, AND FLOEENCE. 195 
 
 with suspension, if they take any part in the 
 National festival. So Altar is to be erected 
 against Altar, and Priest to be set up against 
 Priest, almost beneath the shade of the glorious 
 Minster, and of the sublime Baptistery in 
 which all the infant children of Pisa are 
 admitted by the Sacrament of Baptism into 
 one communion and fellowship in the mystical 
 Body of Christ. And the celebration of the 
 Union of the States of Italy under one King is 
 to be made the occasion of a spiritual feud 
 and of a national schism. And this is to be 
 the case not only at Pisa, but also at Lucca 
 and Florence, and other great cities of Italy. 
 The mediaeval feuds of the Guelphs and 
 Ghibellines are now raging at the doors of the 
 Cathedrals of Italy; and this conflict will be 
 renewed year after year on the 1st of June, 
 till one party or the other is silenced : for, as 
 to agreement between them, while the claims 
 of the Papacy are what they are, — and she 
 boasts herself to be unchangeable, — this seems 
 to be impossible. The People are exasperated 
 by this anti-social, anti- national and anti- 
 christian antagonism of the Papal Hierarchy, 
 The Christian Scriptures command Bishops to 
 K 2 
 
196 GENOA TO LEGHORN, 
 
 offer up " prayers for Kings and all in autho- 
 rity ','' and condemn those who resist " the 
 higher powers ^ " in any thing not contrary to 
 the divine law. But the Pope, who professes 
 to be the Vicegerent of God, sets himself in 
 opposition to the Word of God, and commands 
 the Archbishops and Bishops to punish those 
 who obey that Word, which they are bound to 
 preach. The consequence is that the Walls of 
 the city of Pisa cry out against the Pope and 
 the Hierarchy, " Abbasso il Papa-re," " Viva 
 Italia unita," " Viva Roma Capitale d'ltalia." 
 Is it not true, that the Papacy is the cause 
 of the schism which is now rending Italy 
 asunder ? Is it not true also, that the Papacy 
 is the principal cause of the miserable dis- 
 union of Christendom ! 
 
 Suspended to the wall in the cloisters of 
 the " Campo Santo " at Pisa, are the long 
 massive iron chains which once guarded the 
 entrance of the Port of Pisa, and which were 
 carried off in triumph some centuries ago by 
 the rival Republic of Genoa, and have been 
 now restored by " la generosa Genova," as an 
 
 ' 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2. 
 
 ' Eom. xiii. 1, 2 : cp. Titus iii. 1; 1 Pet. ii. 13. 
 
PISA, AND FLORENCE. 197 
 
 inscription states, with an expression of hope 
 that all the remembrances of former rivalries 
 and feuds may be buried and forgotten in the 
 Unity of Italy. 
 
 Some of the most pathetic records of the 
 departed glories of Pisa are seen in the large 
 rusty iron rings in the walls of its Palaces on 
 the Lung-Arno, to which the noble galleys 
 of the Pisan Patricians were moored; and 
 from which they were unloosed when they 
 went forth in gilded pomp, with streamers 
 flying, down the Arno, perhaps to a crusade in 
 Palestine, or to a battle at Lepanto, or to 
 meet the rival fleets of Venice, Genoa, or 
 Florence in the waters of the Mediterranean. 
 
 All these are passed away — and Pisa is 
 now almost a city of the dead : it is itself a 
 " Campo Santo " of departed heroism and 
 glory. 
 
 The interior of the Campo Santo is filled 
 with earth brought from Jerusalem in a.d. 
 1228 by fifty galleys of the Republic, when 
 the Pisans were driven from Palestine by 
 Saladin. It is now covered with a beautiful 
 greensward; and we sat down upon it, enjoy- 
 ing the fresh air and the sight of lovely roses 
 K 3 
 
198 GENOA TO LEGHOEN, 
 
 in full bloom clustering and twining about a 
 monumental pillar in it. 
 
 I cannot resist the pleasure of transcribing 
 tbe following lines suggested by this interest- 
 ing spot : — 
 
 " Young, middle-aged, and old 
 From century on to century ,^ must have known 
 The emotion — nay, more fitly were it said — 
 The blest tranquillity that sunk so deep 
 Into my spirit, when I paced, enclosed 
 In Pisa's Camfo Santo, the smooth floor 
 Of its arcades, paved with sepulchral slabs. 
 And through each window's open fret-work looked 
 O'er the blank Area of sacred earth 
 Fetched from Mount Calvary, or haply delved 
 In precincts nearer to the Saviour's tomb. 
 By hands of men, humble as brave, who fought 
 For its deliv'rance — a capacious field 
 That to descendants of the dead it holds 
 And to all living mute memento breathes, 
 More touching far than aught which on the walla 
 Is pictured, or their epitaphs can speak, 
 Of the changed City's long-departed power, 
 Glory, and wealth, which, perilous as they are, 
 Here did not kill, but nourished. Piety. 
 And, high above that length of cloistral roof. 
 Peering in air and backed by azure sky, 
 To kindred contemplations ministers 
 The Baptistery's dome, and that which swells 
 
PISA, AND FLORENCE. 199 
 
 Prom the Cathedral pile ; and with the twain 
 Conjoined in prospect mutable or fixed 
 (As hurry on in eagerness the feet, 
 Or pause) the summit of the Leaning Tower. 
 Nor less remuneration waits on him 
 Who having left the Cemetery stands 
 In the Tower's shadow, of decline and fall 
 Admonished, not without some sense of fear, 
 Fear that soon vanishes before the sight 
 Of splendour unextinguished, pomp unscathed. 
 And beauty unimpaired. Grand in itself 
 And for itself, the assemblage, grand and fair 
 To view, and for the mind's consenting eye 
 A type of age in man, upon its front 
 Bearing the world-acknowledged evidence 
 Of past exploits, nor fondly after more 
 Struggling against the stream of destiny. 
 But with its peaceful majesty content. 
 
 Oh, what a spectacle at every turn 
 The place unfolds, from pavement skinned with moss, 
 Or grass-grown spaces, where the heaviest foot 
 Provokes no echoes, but must softly tread ; 
 Where solitude with silence paired stops short 
 Of Desolation, and to E-uin's scythe 
 Decay submits not *! " 
 
 How beautiful is the road between Pisa and 
 Florence, at this season of the year, when the 
 
 3 "Wordsworth's Poems. Memorials of a Tour in 
 Italy. Musings at Acquapendente," p. 271. 
 K 4 
 
200 GENOA TO LEGHORN, &C. 
 
 vines are in their full luxuriance of leaf, and 
 the brooms, and mulberry-trees, and olives, 
 diversify the scene with their foliage, and here 
 and there the tall poplars and dark cypresses, 
 with their spire-like forms, give almost an 
 architectural charm to the scene: now and 
 then the eye catches a glimpse of the river 
 Arno in its low bed of reddish sand, and the 
 valleys stand thick with golden crops of corn ; 
 and above them are the blue ridges of the 
 Apennines studded with white villages. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 FLOKENCE. 
 
 Florence^ Saturday^ May "^Ast. — Called on an 
 Ecclesiastical Dignitary, to whom I had a 
 letter of introduction, who is connected with 
 the " Societa Ecclesiastica " of Florence, for 
 the protection of the loyal priests against the 
 oppressive and arbitrary despotism of the 
 Roman Curia, which checks and punishes 
 all religious patriotism on the part of the 
 Priesthood, by means of the superior authority 
 of the Bishops, who are bound by oaths of 
 vassalage to the Roman See. 
 
 This " Societa Ecclesiastica " of Florence 
 was connected with another at Arezzo; but 
 the deputy of the Bishop of that city (the 
 Vicario Capitolare) has issued a circular to its 
 members, in which he threatens them with 
 "suspensio a divinis, ipso facto incurrenda," 
 unless they detach themselves from it. 
 
 The Archbishop of Florence has condemned 
 K 5 
 
202 FLOEENCE. 
 
 the Florentine " Societa" here, and has threat- 
 ened with suspension all the Priests who 
 belong to it. The aggregate body of these 
 " Ecclesiastical Societies for mutual succour " 
 has an Episcopal President and Head, in the 
 Kingdom of Naples, in the person of Mon- 
 signor Michele Caputo, Bishop of Ariano, and 
 "Cappellano Maggiore " to the King; but he 
 stands almost alone, and nearly all his Epis- 
 copal brethren are opposed to these Societies '. 
 The consequence is, that the Florentine " So- 
 cieta " has dwindled almost to nothing ; it 
 had once sixty members, and now has only 
 twelve. All these have been suspended a 
 divinis by the Archbishop ; they are not allowed 
 to say mass : and many of the loyal Clergy are 
 now almost in a state of destitution. The 
 few members of the Society, who still hang 
 together, meet for the study of the Scriptures, 
 and for mutual instruction and edification. 
 
 * Monsignor Caputo is now no longer Kving : he died at 
 Naples on September 6th, 1862. The priest of the parish 
 refused to administer to him the Holy Communion on 
 his death'bed, unless he "renounced his errors:" to 
 which the Bishop replied that he had nothing to retract, 
 and he received the Viaticum from another Priest, Ca- 
 nonico Papalia. 
 
FLORENCE. 203 
 
 I received from my friend a copy of the 
 " Statuto fondamentale " of the Society, which 
 was authorized by an Ordinance of the 
 Government, signed by Baron Eicasoli, on 
 October 8, 1860, of which he also gave me a 
 copy, together with an address delivered by a 
 distinguished Priest, Luigi Crescioli, at the 
 first general meeting of the Society, on the 
 4th July, I860. 
 
 My ecclesiastical friend, who is a grave and 
 thoughtful person, very quiet and sedate in 
 his manner, expressed himself with much 
 sorrow for this state of things, but without 
 any bitterness or rancour. He is fully per- 
 suaded that it is necessary for the Church in 
 Italy to return to first principles ("tornare ai 
 principii") of Christian discipline; and to 
 examine carefully the teaching of Holy Scrip- 
 ture, and of the Primitive Church; and he 
 showed an interest in the history of the 
 Church of England. He had in his hand 
 Massingberd's History of the Reformation, 
 which he had been reading. He regretted 
 the indifference of the Italian Government to 
 the affairs of religion and the Church, and he 
 did not see how the loyal and patriotic Clergy 
 K 6 
 
204 FLORENCE. 
 
 could stand their ground against the almost 
 overwhelming power of the Papacy and the 
 Papal Episcopate. When Ricasoli was in 
 office, the Government approved the " Societa 
 Ecclesiastica," but the present Administration 
 gives it no effective support. 
 
 The fact seems to be, that the present 
 Government is eager enough to restrain the 
 encroachments and usurpations of the Papacy, 
 but does not know how to raise up a solid 
 edifice of constitutional Monarchy. It adopts 
 now and then hard measures against the 
 Bishops ^ ; it brings some of them before the 
 
 ^ As a specimen of the feeling of the Government, and 
 of its measures against the Episcopate, the Bill brought 
 in by the Keeper of the Great Seal, Conforti, may be 
 cited ; in which are the following articles : — 
 
 " Art. 5, All Ordinaries (i. e. Archbishops and Bishops, 
 &e.) of the Kingdom of Italy shall be bound to commu- 
 nicate copies of their Pastorals, Charges, &c. before 
 publication, to the Minister of Justice; and such 
 Pastorals cannot he published hefore they are approved ly 
 the Keeper of the Great Seal. 
 
 "Art. 6. All contravention of these orders will be 
 punished by imprisonment or fine." 
 
 This Bill was brought into Parliament in July, 1862 : 
 but it was not passed, and Conforti has retired from 
 the Ministry. 
 
FLOEENCE. 205 
 
 civil tribunals, and puts others into prison; 
 it taxes Church property, and alienates the 
 revenues of Monasteries and Convents. But 
 it does not seem to have any well-devised plan 
 or judicious system of Ecclesiastical Reforma- 
 tion; it is destroying a good deal, but it is not 
 building up any thing; it is exasperating the 
 Bishops, the Monastic Orders, the Ultramon- 
 tane Clergy, the College of Cardinals, the 
 Boman Congregations and Seminaries, and the 
 Pope ; but it is not conciliating any one ; it is not 
 encouraging anyone ; it is making no friends and 
 adherents among the loyal and patriotic Clergy ; 
 it does indeed dole out a miserable pittance of 
 alms to some of them ; but it is giving them no 
 moral support; it is not cherishing and en- 
 couraging their efforts, it is not raising up or 
 bringing forward men of character, probity, 
 integrity, and learning, who would give it wise 
 counsel how to proceed in dealing with such a 
 powerful and subtle antagonist as the Papacy, 
 and who would show clearly to the Nation, by 
 writing or otherwise, what the usurpations of 
 the Papacy are, and what were the principles 
 and usages of the ancient Catholic Church. 
 I have been reading the address of the priest 
 
206 FLOEENCE. 
 
 Crescioli, who was the Secretary, and was ap- 
 pointed to be the organ of the " Societa Eccle- 
 siastica " of Florence, at its first general Meet- 
 ing; it draws a melancholy picture of the 
 decay of the spiritual influence of the Clergy, 
 and of the consequent spread of Irreligion and 
 Immorality, and of the alienation of a large 
 portion of the Italian Priesthood from the 
 Italian Episcopate: the Author states his 
 belief that there is little hope of amelioration 
 from the Hierarchy. I transcribe the follow- 
 ing paragraph, delivered (it will be observed) 
 at Florence, at a meeting of Roman Catholic 
 Priests ; — 
 
 " Quindi la necessita di porre un argine 
 al rapido scadimento del Clero e delle sane 
 credenze^ e di tornare 1' uno e le altre in onore : 
 al fine eziandio di scongiurare la orribil cata- 
 strofe, cui la societa corre incontro inevitabil- 
 mente per la stessa cagione, la quale vie 
 sempre piu progredendo ne' suoi guasti, con- 
 durrebbe difilatamente alia totale anarchia 
 delle idee e degli aff*etti, alio scatenamento 
 delle piu brutali passioni, al sovvertimento 
 d' ogni ordine religioso, morale, politico e 
 sociale. 
 
FLORENCE. 207 
 
 " Quindi le istanze frequent! e dolorosamente 
 inutili di uomini d' altissimo ingegno e di 
 vasta e profonda dottrina e venerabili per la 
 santita della vita. 
 
 " Quindi la desolante persuasione universale 
 che in fatto di riforma, o di emenda, stolta 
 cosa e sperare die la iniziativa si parta dalV 
 alto Clero. Per mancanza della qual persua- 
 sione, e spinto invece da fiduciosita giovanile, 
 osai per lettere tentar 1' animo di Gregorio XVI 
 e di Pio IX colla viva parola, e ne trassi 
 certezza che quei sommi di ben altre e piu 
 gravi cure si stavano profondamente occupati." 
 
 Surely some of those persons who have been 
 tempted to quit the Church of England for 
 that of Rome, might have done well to ponder 
 such avowals as these from the mouths of 
 Roman Ecclesiastics. 
 
 One of the great charms of the towns of 
 Italy at this season, is the profusion of flowers. 
 At the corners of the streets are floral cornu- 
 copias, full of carnations, magnolias, Can- 
 terbury bells, and geraniums of the brightest 
 hues, contrasted with pure white lilies. The 
 gardens of some of the Palaces are now rich 
 in orange-trees covered with fruit, large luxu- 
 
208 FLOEENCE. 
 
 riant catalpa-trees in full blossom, oleanders 
 ten feet high, with pink and white flowers, 
 magnolias, pomegranates, &c. 
 
 Saturday Evening. — Yididi a visit from an 
 Ultramontane Priest, who has published several 
 literary works. He frankly allowed that a good 
 deal is taught in the Romish Schools and 
 Colleges, in reference to the Church of Eng- 
 land, which is known to be untrue ; and that 
 what is true is often concealed from the 
 pupils. But he thought that a similar fault 
 was also committed on our side, with regard to 
 the Church of Rome. He therefore heartily 
 welcomed every occasion of intercourse with 
 members of the English Church. 
 
 His view of public affairs was not cheering. 
 He feared that Italy would ere long be in- 
 volved in civil war. The Government is 
 obliged to levy very heavy taxes to support the 
 immense military force which it now main- 
 tains, amounting to more than 300,000 men, 
 which is far above the proper proportion for 
 such a country as Italy. This produces dis- 
 content. " You must not suppose," he said, 
 "that the people are in love with the new 
 order of things, although you will see all 
 
FLOEENCE. 209 
 
 Florence illuminated to-morrow, and the na- 
 tional tricolor will be streaming from all the 
 windows of the houses. You cannot judge of 
 the people's hearts from these outward demon- 
 strations. They are afraid to express their 
 dissatisfaction." 
 
 " Few of the Clergy are on the side of 
 the Government, and they who are, are not 
 the most reputable. To give you a speci- 
 men — the other day, one of these ' loyal 
 Clergy' was preaching at the Church of Santa 
 Croce, in Florence, and said that the entrance 
 of Garibaldi into Palermo was as glorious 
 as that of our Blessed Lord into Jerusalem ; 
 and some of these liberal Clergy preach 
 strange doctrines, as, for instance, that there 
 is no such thing as a ' Christian Priest- 
 hood ;' and that every one is a Priest to 
 himself, &c. &c. The Italian Government 
 is not a match for the Papacy ; it has no 
 fixed system of principles, as the Papacy has ; 
 it has no powers of cohesion and consoli- 
 dation, and therefore I do not believe that 
 the idea of an united Italy will ever be 
 realized." He contrasted the profuse bene- 
 ficence with which the adherents of the 
 
210 FLOEENCE. 
 
 Papacy had recently responded to the ap- 
 peal for pecuniary help to the Pope, with 
 the insignificant results of the subscription 
 entered into for military aid to Garibaldi. 
 " In the mean time, however, the cause of true 
 religion, is suffering by the conflict between 
 the civil and spiritual power, and the result 
 will be a triumph of infidelity and anarchy, to 
 be followed, I suppose, by military despotism." 
 
 I asked whether the attack now made upon 
 the Papacy might not be regarded in the light 
 of a divine retribution for her presumptuous 
 and tyrannical claims and usurpations ? 
 
 He endeavoured to soften down these, and 
 said that they were only to be imputed to the 
 personal character of particular Popes, such 
 as Gregory VII., Innocent III., and Boni- 
 face VIII. ; and were no part of the Papal 
 System. " But," said I, " are not these usur- 
 pations embodied in the Papal Canon Law ^ ? 
 are they not even consecrated by the Roman 
 Breviary, and the Roman Pontifical ? They 
 are not only the usurpations of Popes, but of 
 
 * They may all he found in the latest edition of the 
 Roman Canon Law ; i. e. that of 1839, Leipsic, 2 vols, 
 
 4to. 
 
FLOEENCE. 211 
 
 the Papacy ; and the Papacy identifies herself 
 with them in her official documents, and she 
 enforces the maintenance of the principles of 
 these usurpations by the solemn oaths which 
 she imposes upon all the Bishops of the Roman 
 Catholic world." 
 
 My friend sent me copies of the Lent Pas- 
 torals lately put forth by many Italian Bishops ; 
 and he specially commended that of the Bishop 
 of Lucca, who, he said, stood high for his 
 literary attainments. It has been severely 
 criticized by Padre Passaglia, in his Mediator e 
 (5th April, 1862). On the other side, Pas- 
 saglia and the many thousand priests who are 
 associated with him in his protest against the 
 temporal sovereignty of the Pope, are de- 
 nounced by the Archbishop of Spoleto, in his 
 Quaresimal, in the most vehement language, 
 of which the following is a specimen : — " Chi 
 non sa oggimai che, inchinando ipocritamente 
 il Pontejice^ vuole strapparglisi dalla fronte 
 r augusta tiara, fame un suddito, maneggiarlo 
 a talento, e sottoporne T azione al loro arbitrio, 
 e alia loro influenza ? E chi e finalmente che 
 possa ignorare, che a causa si empia e diaholica 
 
212 FLOHENCE. 
 
 tiene bordone una microscopica parte di superbi 
 e sciagurati ecclesiastic^ valendosi di quel 
 carattere di cui furono insigniti dalla bonta 
 di Dio, a decoro e gloria della sua Chiesa, per 
 combatterla piu efficacemente e prostrarla sul 
 suolo avvilita, e coprirla di squallore ?" 
 
 And yet we are sometimes assured that the 
 Church of Rome is perfectly united ; and she 
 allures many to her communion by a promise 
 of peace ! 
 
 The same Archbishop exhorts the people 
 of his Diocese to resort to the Blessed Virgin 
 for aid, in these times of religious division ; 
 and he assures them that " the arm of 
 Mary will lay prostrate the enemies of the 
 Church." 
 
 These Pastorals are important documents as 
 coming from the Bishops of Italy at a time 
 which, as they all allow and affirm, is very 
 critical for the Church of Rome. Indeed, the 
 present juncture is the most eventful one for 
 the Church of Italy, since the time of the 
 Council of Trent. I have before me the Epis- 
 copal Charge of the Bishop of Guastalla, 
 who says that " inasmuch as the Pope has 
 
FLOEENCE. 213 
 
 declared that the spiritual and temporal power 
 of the Papacy are not to be separated, all 
 efforts to separate them are schismatical." 
 The Bishop of Montalcino condemns all the 
 attempts of the religious reformers of Italy; 
 and he also grounds his hopes of the final 
 triumphs of the Papacy on the "intercession 
 of the Blessed Virgin, who is reigning in 
 heaven, clothed in light more brilliant than 
 the sun, honoured by angels, venerated by an 
 immense multitude of virtuous Italians, who 
 commend themselves with confidence to her." 
 Here also are the Charges of the Archbishops 
 of Pisa and Florence, and the Bishops of 
 Narni, and of Orvieto and Perugia, and Cefalu 
 in Sicily. The language of all these Mani- 
 festos betokens much uneasiness; much alarm 
 at the prospect of Reforms, or (as they call 
 them) Revolutions in the Church; and implicit 
 devotion to the Pope, both as a temporal and 
 spiritual Ruler. 
 
 The Bishop of Cefalu supplies some par- 
 ticulars concerning the Indulgences given by 
 the present Pope to encourage the erection 
 and endowment of a Roman Catholic Church 
 
214 FLORENCE. 
 
 in London; and states that 200,000 francs 
 have been already raised for it, and informs 
 his Clergy that he has been desired to give 
 orders that Collections should be made for it 
 in his Diocese. 
 
 What would the Pope say of a similar 
 subscription, set on foot by English Bishops, 
 for an English Church at Rome ? 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 FLORENCE {continued). 
 
 Sunday^ Ju7ie 1. — Went to the English 
 Church, Via Maglio, at eleven a.m., and half- 
 past three p.m. 
 
 The city was illuminated to-day, being the 
 " Festa dello Statuto." The Piazza dell' Indi- 
 pendenza was the centre of the gaiety. There 
 was little creative invention in the arrange- 
 ment of the lamps ; no devices ; not even any 
 mottoes; not much enthusiasm or joy in the 
 look of the people; indeed this is a time of 
 anxiety and suspense. Tuscany has lost its 
 ancient nationality; and the Kingdom of Italy 
 is not yet constituted. It has no capital. It 
 is a body without a head. In this state of un- 
 certainty, Commerce and Trade suffer. No 
 one can tell what will come next. 
 
 I went to the Duomo ; only a small congre- 
 gation there, even at ten in the morning. 
 
216 FLORENCE. 
 
 The people are much vexed and annoyed, 
 because the Archbishop, acting under orders 
 from Rome (of May 18, 1861), will not allow 
 the national Anniversary to be celebrated, or 
 in any way recognized in the Cathedral. I 
 was therefore surprised to see in the evening 
 that the exterior of the cupola of the Cathe- 
 dral was illuminated. On inquiring of one 
 of the Canons of the Cathedral the reason of 
 this discrepancy, I was informed by him that 
 the external decorations, and the material 
 repairs of the Cathedral, are under the 
 management of a separate Corporation, dis- 
 tinct from that which has the control of the 
 ritual of that church. 
 
 Here is a striking specimen of the conflict 
 which is now rending this country in pieces. 
 On this Sunday, June 1st, the festival of the 
 King and the Nation, the interior of this noble 
 Cathedral shows no sign of joy and thank- 
 fulness ; it is possessed, as it were, with a deaf 
 and dumb spirit; its Archbishop and Clergy 
 will listen to no entreaties, and refuse to utter 
 a single syllable of supplication for the Mo- 
 narch and the People. But the exterior of 
 the Cathedral is one blaze of light, and exults 
 
FLORENCE. 217 
 
 in an ecstasy of joy. The greatest Church of 
 Tuscany is a house divided against itself — a 
 melancholy specimen and epitome of the state 
 of Italy at this crisis; and an omen, it is to 
 be feared, of coming sorrows. 
 
 Another unhappy demonstration of the same 
 spirit of discord showed itself in the beautiful 
 suburb of this magnificent city. The National 
 Festival could not be celebrated in the Cathe- 
 dral; the Bishop of Rome would not allow it. 
 But the Civil Powers of Florence rightly 
 deemed that a religious celebration of this 
 Anniversary was a homage due to the Divine 
 Arbiter of the destiny of Nations, and a public 
 acknowledgment that the happiness of a State 
 depends on His protection and blessing. They 
 therefore gave directions for such a celebration 
 in the Cascine^ or suburban Park of the City; 
 and it was performed there by a military 
 Chaplain, who exposed himself thereby to 
 censure and suspension from his Ecclesiastical 
 Superior. 
 
 I afterwards heard that the Military Chap- 
 lains, who officiated in a similar ceremony at 
 Pisa, at Lucca, and Leghorn, were threat- 
 ened with suspension by their Bishops, and 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
218 FLORENCE. 
 
 that by some dexterous manoeuvre of the 
 Colonels of their regiments they were rescued 
 from Ecclesiastical penalties. 
 
 The Bishop of Guastalla also has forbidden 
 his Clergy to take part in the national festival, 
 and placed his Cathedral under an interdict 
 because he heard that the Chapter of the 
 Cathedral intended to celebrate the Anni- 
 versary there. The Bishop's letter on the 
 occasion to his Chapter and Clergy is such a 
 remarkable document, — as an indication of 
 the temper of the times, — -that it deserves to 
 be placed upon record : — • 
 
 " Modena, 29 Maggio, 1862. 
 
 " Illustrissimi Signori. 
 
 " Veduto il pubblico avviso di codesto Mu- 
 nicipio in data del 26 corrente dove si an- 
 nunzia, che nella p. v. domenica, in occasione 
 della festa nazionale si fara ancora una fun- 
 zione religiosa nella nostra Cattedrale, a cui si 
 presta, dicesi, spontaneo il Capitolo; 
 
 " Meravigliato che, dopo i nostri ordini, 
 espressi della stessa Congregazione dei vescovi 
 e regolari, si ardisca di venire ad una cosi 
 
FLORENCE. 219 
 
 flagrante violazione delle leggi ecclesiastiche e 
 a cosi oltraggioso disprezzo dell' autorita ; 
 
 "Noi, tenendo fermo quanto abbiamo dis- 
 posto, e riservandoci di procedere contro 
 quegli ecclesiastic!, cui sappiamo doversi in 
 particolare ascrivere la promozione di questo 
 scandalo, abbiamo decretato che resti sulV atto 
 inter detta quella chiesa di Guastalla, dove si 
 fara domenica prossima una straordinaria reli- 
 giosa funzione, senza Nostro permesso, e in 
 onta a quanto alle SS. VV. Ill™' e stato piu 
 volte comunicato. 
 
 " Esterniamo intanto alle SS. W. la Nostra 
 stima e considerazione. 
 
 '■'•AlV originate sottoscritto 
 
 " PiETRO Vescovo di Guastallay 
 
 The Vice-President of the " Societa Eccle- 
 siastica " of Florence, Canonico Luigi Ricasoli, 
 has published a notification to the effect that 
 — " Since all the Priests of that Society are 
 suspended by the Archbishop of Florence^ and 
 cannot therefore officiate in their clerical 
 character, on the day of the Statuto, they 
 desire to testify their loyalty and patriotism 
 L 2 
 
220 FLORENCE. 
 
 by a manifesto of their principles." It con- 
 tains the following protestations : — 
 
 " Che Essi " (i. e. the members of the So- 
 ciety) " non hanno mai infranto il giuramento 
 spontaneamente e liberamente prestato al Re 
 eletto Yittorio Emanuele II., ed alio Statuto 
 fondamentale del Regno. — Che finalmente, 
 mantenendosi veri e sinceri cristiani, cattolici, 
 apostolici, hanno pregato e pregano tanto in 
 particolare, quanto nelle loro raunanze, perche 
 tutti i Ministri della Santa Chiesa, deposti i 
 secolari desiderj, e rinunziati i caduchi beni 
 terreni, aspirino solo agli spirituali e celesti 
 che guidano alia vita eterna; perche tornino 
 a benedire ed abbracciare nella pace del 
 Signore e nella fraterna carita tutti i fedeli 
 cristiani, ed in particolare i figli di questa 
 prediletta Italia, riconciliandoli col Capo 
 visibile della Chiesa, che e pure italiano. 
 Pregarono e pregano finalmente per la Con- 
 cordia di tutti i figli d'ltalia, affinche spenti 
 gli odj ed abolite le infami sette, si abbraccino 
 nel santo vincolo di carita per concorrere tutti 
 alia completa unificazione ed al finale trionfo 
 della Nazione. 
 
 " Viva I' Italia libera ed Una. 
 
FLORENCE. 221 
 
 " Viva Fittorio Emanuele II Re Costitu- 
 
 zionale. 
 " Viva la Vera Religione di Gesu Cristo, 
 
 " H Vice-Presidente 
 
 "LuiGI RiCASOLI, 
 
 " Can. de la Metrop. Fiorentina. 
 "F. Caldini, 
 
 " Segretario Generale." 
 
 On the other hand the National Anniver- 
 sary was celebrated by the Chapter of the 
 Cathedral of Milan (which has no Bishop now) 
 and in some other Churches. I believe that 
 the Bishops of Cremona, Larino, and Mazzara 
 were present at the celebration in their Cathe- 
 drals. 
 
 The Bishop of Como has also shown more 
 toleration in this matter than most of his 
 Episcopal brethren. But Monsignor Tom- 
 maso Ghilardi, Bishop of Mondovi, sent a 
 circular to the Clergy of his Diocese, in which 
 he told them that every Church where the 
 national festival was celebrated, would be 
 placed under an Interdict. Even the Capitular 
 Vicars have issued similar letters. The 
 
 L 3 
 
222 FLORENCE. 
 
 Vicario Capitolare of Grosseto announced to 
 the Clergy of that Diocese, that in "conse- 
 quence of the prohibition from the Roman 
 Penitentiary^^ all Parish Priests were rigor- 
 ously forbidden to take any part in any re- 
 ligious ceremony connected with the Anniver- 
 sary. 
 
 Such is the state of things now: Bishops 
 against Clergy; Clergy divided among them- 
 selves; the Government and the People at 
 war with the Episcopate ; Society distracted, 
 and Peligion suffering from the heat of parties 
 and the strife of tongues. 
 
 Monday^ June 2nd. — A Florentine Ecclesi- 
 astic informed me to-day that there are six 
 Bishoprics now vacant in Tuscany, and a 
 great many Parishes left without Incumbents : 
 the reason is, as was before intimated, that 
 the Pope will not give the required " bulls of 
 institution " to the King's nominees to Episco- 
 pal Sees ; and the Bishops, who are the Pope's 
 subjects, bound to him by oaths of vassal- 
 age, will not give institution to the King's 
 nominees to the benefices in the royal patron- 
 age. 
 
 The result of this conflict between the King 
 
FLOEENCE. 223 
 
 and the Pope is very hurtful to religion and 
 morality. I asked why the Government did 
 not dispense with the Papal institution. 
 "Hanno paura," was the reply. I asked 
 whether the Government did not remember 
 the inscription on the Palazzo Vecchio of the 
 city, "Rex regum et Dominus dominantium." 
 The Government need not fear the Pope, if it 
 can prove to the People, as might easily be 
 done, that the Pope, in claiming a right to 
 deprive the cities of Italy of Chief Pastors, is 
 setting himself in opposition, not only to the 
 King of Italy, but to the "Rex regum et 
 Dominus dominantium," that he is robbing 
 Christ's flock of the spiritual food and 
 guidance which He willed that they should 
 have. Let the Rulers of Italy show to the 
 people of Italy that the Pope has not religion 
 on his side, as he pretends to have, but is 
 resisting the will of God, and is pursuing an 
 Antichristian policy ; then they will be able to 
 withstand the Papacy: but they will not be 
 able to resist it by secular arguments alone, 
 and by political considerations; and even if 
 they were, they would have no solid founda- 
 tion for their own authority, because, by 
 
 L 4 
 
224 
 
 FLOEENCE. 
 
 abandoning the principles of true religion, 
 they would have created a spirit of irreligion 
 among the people, and would have given 
 impulse to a revolutionary movement, which 
 will not spare the civil institutions of the 
 country, but will eventually be destructive of 
 the Monarchy. 
 
 I do not desire to mingle the solemn con- 
 siderations, derivable from the prophecies of 
 Holy Scripture, with these desultory reflec- 
 tions, but I cannot forbear observing that the 
 Book of Revelation contains a remarkable 
 prediction that the "Kings of the Earth," — 
 the secular Powers of this world, — will inflict 
 severe chastisement on the mystical Babylon ; 
 and after they have done the deed, they 
 "will weep over her, and bewail her'." May 
 not this perhaps be, because any religion, 
 however corrupt it may be, is better than no 
 religion at allf and because by weakening 
 the power of Rome, without providing, at the 
 same time, any sound religious foundation for 
 their Thrones, they will have exposed their 
 People to the ravages of Irreligion and Un- 
 
 * Rev. xviii. 9. 
 
TLOEENCE. 226 
 
 belief, which must be productive of a restless, 
 factious, and anarchical spirit, that will have no 
 more reverence for Sovereigns than it has for 
 Popes, and will involve their Kingdoms in 
 confusion and ruin ? 
 
 The traditional authority of the old local 
 municipalities in the great cities of Italy, — 
 such as Genoa, Milan, Florence, Pisa, and 
 Naples, — has been impaired by recent events 
 which have dissipated that bright vision of 
 " Italian Commonwealths, each city a star-like 
 seat of ancient glory." Their light has been 
 eclipsed by the splendid promise of Italian 
 Unity. 
 
 The once potent influence of Romanism as 
 a system of religious belief acting upon prac- 
 tice, is also becoming hourly weaker and 
 weaker in Italy, and this decay of its influence 
 renders it a duty more urgent and imperative 
 to raise up another and sounder spirit of 
 Religion, as a substitute in its place. The 
 fabric of Italian Society is like a venerable 
 old building, whose foundations have been 
 loosened by the decay of religion ; and if the 
 building is not shored up, it must fall. If 
 measures are not adopted for strengthening 
 
226 FLOEENCE. 
 
 the social structure, the result is inevitable. 
 It is not Victor Emmanuel who will triumph, 
 nor is it the Papacy which will gain the day, 
 but an Infidel and ruthless Democracy will 
 reign victorious, and will ravage Italy with its 
 fierce passions, and will reduce this beautiful 
 land to a desolate wilderness. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FLOEENCE {continued). 
 
 June 3. — Called this morning on a celebrated 
 Italian Advocate. Like many other intelli- 
 gent men of his class, he appeared to think 
 that the destruction of the Pope's temporal 
 power would be the panacea for the evils of 
 Italy ; and that it is necessary to strain every 
 nerve to obtain that result; and that other re- 
 forms, political and religious, would then follow 
 as a matter of course. "Let us once get Rome, 
 and then all the questions which were de- 
 bated at your English Reformation in the 
 sixteenth Century will come upon us — yes, 
 flow in upon us in a torrent, before we are 
 prepared for them." " Why then do you not 
 prepare for them now ? " " La politica assor- 
 bisce tutto," was the reply : that is the answer 
 now generally given to all such questions. 
 Politics absorb every thing; and all politics 
 L 6 
 
228 FLORENCE. 
 
 seem to be merged in this one consideration, 
 How are we to get Rome ? How are we to 
 dethrone the Pope, and crown Victor Em- 
 manuel King of Italy, in the Roman Capitol ? 
 
 In the evening I called upon one of the 
 most learned Ecclesiastics of Florence : he 
 spoke with fervid eloquence on the present 
 crisis. " Nothing," he said, " can be more 
 painful and disastrous than the struggle be- 
 tween the spiritual and temporal power. ' Non 
 finira senza sangue.' It will not end without 
 bloodshed. This political conflict is also very 
 injurious to our literature. No great literary 
 work can be undertaken by us now. People 
 read newspapers and political pamphlets and 
 little else. It is a national characteristic of 
 Italians to be jealous of one another, and 
 to be intolerant of one another's merit, and 
 therefore we do not work harmoniously toge- 
 ther ; and we are too impetuous and passionate, 
 and do not consider things calmly, and are too 
 proud to learn of others." 
 
 He deplored in strong terms, — quite as 
 strong as those used by Filippo Perfetti in his 
 book lately published at Florence, — the pre- 
 sent degraded condition of the Clergy ; they 
 
TLOEENCE. 229 
 
 are, he said, for the most part, " senza istru- 
 zione," illiterate and ignorant : and he la- 
 mented that many of them, to use his own 
 words, are " scostumatissimi." 
 
 "Our Episcopate is debased — our Bishops 
 are slaves of the Pope, and despots of the 
 Clergy, and of the People. What a glorious op- 
 portunity was that which our own Archbishop 
 had in the present week of asserting the true 
 character of the Christian Episcopate ! The 
 Pope commanded him not to pray for the 
 King and the Nation in the Cathedral : the 
 Pope commanded him to prevent the Clergy 
 and the People of Florence from praying for 
 the King and the Nation. Monstrous usurpa- 
 tion I Ought not the Archbishop to have re- 
 monstrated with the Pope ? Ought he not to 
 have withstood the Pope, as St. Paul with- 
 stood St. Peter to the face when he was to be 
 blamed ' ; and ought he not to have reminded 
 him that Almighty God commands us to pray 
 for Kings and all in authority ^ ; and that in 
 forbidding us to pray for our King and our 
 Country, the Pope is resisting God ?" 
 
 ' Gal. ii. 11. ^1 Tim. ii. 1, 2. 
 
230 FLORENCE. 
 
 He spoke of certain recent publications, 
 which had called attention to the usurpations 
 of the Curia Romana ; for instance, the 
 book entitled " Rome des Papes," by Count 
 Luigi Pianciani, who (he said) had the best 
 opportunities of observing the working of the 
 tribunals, &c., at Rome. There are also the 
 publications of Filippo Perfetti (formerly Se- 
 cretary of Cardinal Marini and Librarian 
 of the University), entitled, " The Clergy 
 and Society; or, on the Reformation of the 
 Church;' ("II Clero e la Societa," &c.,) 
 '"'■Remembrances of Rome^' ("Ricordi di 
 Roma,") and " On the new conditions of the 
 Papacy ;' ("Delle nuove condizioni del Pa- 
 pato ") ; also, the remarkable work of Abate 
 Rosmini, " The five wounds of the Holy 
 Church^' (" Le cinque piaghe della Santa 
 Chiesa,") and " Urge7it Questions^' by Mas- 
 simo D'Azeglio. 
 
 " However," said he, " do not imagine that 
 I wish to say any thing against the Church of 
 Rome ; it is against the Court of Rome, and 
 its secular authorities that I am speaking ; her 
 pride and lust of power — there is the cause of 
 our misery ; and I am saying nothing new. 
 
FLOEENCE. 231 
 
 Ever since the eighth century there has been 
 a succession of illustrious men who have pro- 
 tested against its usurpations. It is the union 
 of the temporal and spiritual power, and the 
 carnal abuse of the spiritual power by the 
 Papacy for its own ambition and aggrandize- 
 ment, that has done the mischief. It is Dante 
 who says ^ : — 
 
 * la Chiesa di Roma 
 Per confondere in se due reggimenti 
 Cade nel fango, e se brutta e la soma.'" 
 
 The names of Petrarch and Arnald of Brescia 
 and Guicciardini were also mentioned as 
 exponents of the same feeling ; and when I 
 referred to the remarkable chapter \ in which 
 Guicciardini traces the rise and progress of 
 the Papal power, but which was not allowed 
 by the Papal censors to appear in the Italian 
 edition of his History, he said that some other 
 remarks of the same distinguished writer on 
 the same subject, had recently been published, 
 
 ' Purgatorio, Canto xvi. 
 
 * In the Fourth book of bis History. 
 
232 TLOEENCE. 
 
 for the first time, in a collection of his " Opere 
 inedite " by Canestrini, at Florence ^ 
 
 " We must begin" said he, " with questions 
 concerning the proper limits of the Pope's 
 authority and jurisdiction, and then we may 
 arrive in due time at reformation in matters of 
 doctrine. Among those which would first 
 come under consideration, are the celibacy of 
 the Clergy, and the enforcement of private 
 confession to a Priest." 
 
 " Yes," I added, " and the reading of the 
 Scriptures by all." 
 
 " True," he replied, "we must come to that. 
 In the mean time, Keligion sufiPers from the 
 struggle between the Roman Hierarchy on the 
 one side, and the Government and People on 
 the other : and from the conflict also between 
 our Bishops on one side, and many of the 
 Priesthood on the other. If you had been 
 here last month, the month of May, the ' Mese 
 di Maria,' which is the season most favourable 
 
 * Printed by Gr. Barbera, Via Faenza, who also pro- 
 miaes an edition of all the remains of Era Paolo Sarpi, to 
 be edited by Perfetti : a very valuable work for the present 
 times. 
 
FLORENCE. 233 
 
 for popular devotion, you would have seen that 
 some of our Churches were almost empty. 
 We are passing through a severe crisis. No 
 one can tell to what it may lead." 
 
 In the heginning of the fourteenth century 
 the illustrious Florentine Poet, Dante Ali- 
 ghieri, wrote his treatise " De Monarchia," in 
 which he contended for the rights of civil 
 Rulers against the usurpations of the Papacy ; 
 and ahout two hundred and twenty years 
 afterwards the noble Florentine historian, 
 Francesco Guicciardini, wrote his History of 
 his own time, in which he who was the 
 favoured friend and counsellor of two Floren- 
 tine Popes of the house of the Medici, Leo X. 
 and Clement VIL, has drawn the masterly 
 sketch, already noticed ^, of the rise and pro- 
 gress of the Papacy. He there shows how, 
 from slender beginnings, the Popes gradually 
 arose to power; how for many centuries the 
 Popes were nominated by the Emperors; but 
 in course of time, when the Empire became 
 weak, the election of Popes was transferred 
 from their hands to those of the Cardinals; 
 
 « Above, p. 231. 
 
234 FLOEENCE.; 
 
 and the Popes proceeded to claim a veto upon 
 the nomination of the Emperors, and then to 
 exercise a power of dethroning them; and 
 so, step after step, rising higher and higher, 
 and urging new claims, and using the terrors 
 of spiritual weapons for temporal ends, and 
 wielding the thunders and lightnings of a 
 double supremacy, they kept Sovereigns in awe, 
 and trampled all earthly Powers under their 
 feet. Guicciardini's words are as follows : — 
 
 " His igitur fundamentis et modis ad terre- 
 nam potestatem elati, et sensim animarum 
 salutis divinorumque prseceptorum obliti, atque 
 ad mundana imperia omni cogitatione con- 
 versi, nee divina auctoritate alio quam quasi 
 telo et instrumento rerum fragilium abu- 
 tentes, Principes potius gentium quam rerum 
 sacrarum Pontifices videri cceperunt. Horum 
 curse et negotia non jam vitse sanctimonia, 
 non religionis incrementa, non erga Deum et 
 homines caritas, sed exercitus, sed bella in 
 Christianos, sed pecuniae immensa cupido, 
 novae leges, novae artes, novae insidiae ad 
 pecuniam undique cogendam; in hunc finem 
 audacissime arma coelestia vibrare, profanarum 
 sacrarumque rerum nundinationem impuden- 
 
FLOEENCE. 235 
 
 tissime exercere. Hinc opes in immensum 
 adauctse, et in totam ipsorum aulam effusse, ex 
 quibus fastus luxus, mores turpi ssimi, libidines 
 voluptatesque nefandse." 
 
 Wonderful words, especially as coming from 
 the Secretary of the Pope ! 
 
 In this Chapter two recent publications 
 have been mentioned, which, as they throw 
 much light on the history of Religion in Italy 
 at this time, deserve some further remark. 
 
 The first of these is entitled, " The Clergy 
 and Society^ or on the Reformation of the 
 Church ; " it is written by Filippo Perfetti^ a 
 Priest, who was Secretary of Cardinal Marini, 
 and Librarian of the University of Rome, and 
 President of the CoUegio Ghislieri, and who 
 now occupies a literary post at Perugia. 
 
 It was published at Florence in the present 
 year. 
 
 "It is a melancholy sight," he says, "and 
 one which ought to afflict the heart of every 
 Christian, to see the Church of Rome and its 
 partizans abusing the name of Religion for 
 temporal interests ; and it is still more dread- 
 ful to think that this grievous abuse does not 
 
^36^^ FLORENCE. 
 
 offend the consciences of all : but that, on the 
 contrary, a man is denounced as an enemy 
 of the Church, and a scholar of Macchiavelli, 
 who protests against such a violation, and is 
 indignant at this confusion of secular and holy 
 things." 
 
 He deplores the consequent inability of 
 Religion to do her proper work of social 
 sanctification. " The Church and Society 
 are severing themselves from one another 
 more and more. We have a Laity which is no 
 longer religious, and a Clergy without moral 
 influence. What will become of us ? A few 
 Priests, scattered here and there, raise a feeble 
 voice against these evils, and they are met by 
 maledictions ! 
 
 "At a time, while civil Governments are 
 becoming more popular, and are assuming re- 
 presentative forms, and submit to be controlled 
 and criticized, the Government of the Church 
 and its Hierarchy are becoming more and more 
 despotic ; the Priest is merged into the Bishop, 
 and the Bishop is absorbed into the Pope. 
 The crowning dogma of all clerical education 
 is idolatry of the Pope. The Pope is the 
 Church." 
 
JTLOEENCE. 237 
 
 " The Episcopate has had the boldness to 
 declare to the Clergy of Italy that they have an 
 absolute and unlimited right to suspend any 
 Priest at their pleasure, without giving any 
 reason for such suspension. Christ made 
 them Ministers, and they have made them- 
 selves Despots. 
 
 " What is the use of our remonstrance ? 
 Let the Churches of Italy perish " (is the 
 reply); "it matters not, if their sacrifice can 
 maintain the Pope on his throne! Let the 
 souls and bodies of the People perish; it 
 matters not, if Revolution is thus goaded to 
 excesses, and is conquered by a malignant 
 policy I" 
 
 The Author next speaks of the separation 
 between the Clergy and the People in the 
 public offices of Religion. 
 
 "What is now the state of things in our 
 churches, at the time of public worship, even at 
 the celebration of the holiest mysteries of our 
 Religion ? The People are either indifferent 
 to what is going on, or pray without at- 
 tending to what is being done by the Priest. 
 There is a wide gulph between Priest and 
 People, in that very place, and at the very 
 
238 FLOEENCE. 
 
 time, when Priest and People ought to be 
 united before God with one heart. The Priest 
 is isolated in the very centre of the sublimest 
 mysteries; he stands isolated at the Altar; 
 he stands isolated at the tombs of the Mar- 
 tyrs. The People know not, care not for what 
 is going on ; till they are wakened from their 
 lethargy, not by the human voice, but as if they 
 were mere animals, by the metallic tinkle of a 
 bell, which is a signal to the sheep of Christ!" 
 He then considers the Clergy in their moral 
 relation to the People; and shows how the 
 Clergy are incapacitated from exercising a 
 moral influence on the popular mind by the 
 position into which they have been forced by 
 the Papacy — a position antagonistic to the 
 Nation, to its liberty, its intelligence, and its 
 advancement. Besides, the Clergy, as a body, 
 he says, who ought to be Teachers of the 
 people, are inferior in learning to the educated 
 classes of the laity; and if any one stands 
 forth from among the Clergy, and distinguishes 
 himself from the rest of the Clerical body by 
 genius or learning, — such as Gioberti, Ros- 
 mini, and Passaglia, — he is proscribed by the 
 Hierarchy, or is driven astray, as Lamennais. 
 
FLOEENCE. 239 
 
 "Who can justify," he asks, "the conduct of 
 Eome towards those great names ? " 
 
 " The Clergy have need of two Reforms : a 
 reform in their morals, and a reform in their 
 influence on society; and neither of these is 
 possible, while the domination of the Hierarchy 
 is unlimited as it now is. The action of the 
 Hierarchy must be restrained within the limits 
 of the divine constitution of the Churchy 
 
 To eiFect this reform, Italy must return to 
 the principles and practices of the Church 
 Catholic as displayed in the Holy Scriptures, 
 and in the works of the primitive Fathers of 
 the Church. 
 
 The misfortune is, that the Clergy of Italy, 
 he observes, are not acquainted with the Bible. 
 
 " The Bible, interpreted by the Church, is 
 the food of the soul. What was the teaching 
 of the holy Fathers ? It was the exposition of 
 the Bible. But now our Catholic populations 
 are ignorant of the Bible ; they who are called 
 devout among us are ignorant of the Bible, 
 no less than they who are indifferent to reli- 
 gion. The Scriptures have been supplanted 
 by a scholastic Theology; and this scholastic 
 
240 FLORENCE. 
 
 Theology has produced the results which we 
 see and deplore. The Priesthood has set itself 
 up in the place of the Bible, instead of building 
 itself up with the Laity upon the foundation 
 of the Bible. One of the greatest sins of the 
 Catholic Priesthood is that of having wrested 
 the Bible out of the hands of the People. 
 Let us return to the Bible : let us return to 
 the Gospel; and let us dive deep into the 
 holiness of the character of the Divine Re- 
 deemer; He is our pattern; let us conform 
 ourselves to His life, to His image. If this 
 had been our rule, who among us would have 
 ventured to compare the Pope, who destroys 
 us, to the Son of God who has saved us ? 
 Perhaps the extravagant idolatry of the Pa- 
 pacy, which our own age has witnessed, and 
 still sees, is permitted by God in order that 
 we all, both Pastors and flock, may be revolted 
 thereby, and be driven to the love and practice 
 of Christian humility and charity." 
 
 He concludes with stating his opinion, that, 
 for the restoration of the Church to its proper 
 position, it is requisite that the People and 
 the Clergy should recover their ancient rights 
 
FLORENCE. 241 
 
 in the election of Bishops. '■'• Let the People 
 and the Clergy with the Metropolitan choose 
 their Bishops ^" 
 
 It is probable, that, unless the Government of 
 Italy adopts some measures for adjusting this 
 question of election, it may find that the 
 present suspension of the action of Concordats 
 between itself and the Papacy may lead, sooner 
 than it is aware, to a popular election of 
 Bishops, without any reference to the Crown. 
 
 The other volume, to which I have referred, 
 is that of the Abate Antonio Rosmini^ entitled, 
 " Le cinque piaghe delta Santa Chiesa V' 
 " The five wounds of Holy Church." 
 
 It is not possible to do justice to this re- 
 markable work by a brief abstract. The tone 
 of saintly piety and serious earnestness which 
 pervades the work, the stores of sound learning 
 which are contained in it, the clear, calm, and 
 unimpassioned statement of wrongs and their 
 remedies, contribute to render it an admirable 
 specimen of genuine Christian philosophy. 
 
 I shall content myself with stating what, in 
 
 ' P. 56. 
 
 ' The edition to which I refer was published at Naples 
 in 1860. 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
242 FLOEENCE. 
 
 the mature judgment of this holy man, exem- 
 plary priest, and profound philosopher, the 
 wounds of the Church of Italy are, which are 
 now bleeding, and implore aid. 
 They are as follows : — 
 
 1. The severance of the Clergy from the 
 People in public worship (pp. 1 — 19). The 
 remedy for that would he, he says, in the 
 substitution of the mother tongue of the people 
 for a dead language. 
 
 2. The insufficient education of the Clergy. 
 He deplores the neglect of the Scriptures, and 
 of primitive Theology ; and the substitution of 
 miserable, dry, and jejune epitomes of the 
 dogmatic teaching of the Schools. " Who will 
 restore," he asks, "to the Church her great 
 Teachers ? ' i suoi grandi libri,' the Bible, 
 and the primitive Fathers ?" (pp. 20 — 45.) 
 
 3. The disunion of Bishops ; the trans- 
 formation of Bishops into feudal lords, striving 
 for wealth and power, and exercising an arbi- 
 trary power over the Clergy. The reform 
 would be in the restoration of the duties and 
 privileges of the Metropolitans, and in the 
 action of Synods (pp. 45 — 68). 
 
 4. The appointment of Bishops hy the State^ 
 
FLOEENCE. 243 
 
 without any of the safeguards, which were 
 provided in the ancient Church, by the in- 
 tervention of the Clergy and People in the 
 choice of Bishops (pp. 68 — 151). 
 
 5. The control of Ecclesiastical property hy 
 the State ; and the remedy is, that the Church, 
 by which the Author means the Laity as well 
 as the Clergy, should have the free adminis- 
 tration of her own revenues. He is very 
 earnest in his advocacy of a return to the 
 practice of resorting to the free-will offer- 
 ings of the People for pious and charitable 
 purposes. 
 
 This Volume was completed in the year 
 1846, at the accession of Pius IX.; when 
 the Author entertained a sanguine hope, that 
 the Pope, whose intimate friend and counsellor 
 he was, would adopt these suggestions of re- 
 formation. This fact should be remembered 
 by the reader, who may feel some surprise 
 in seeing that the Author throws a veil over 
 the corruptions and usurpations of the Papacy. 
 While he inveighs strongly against the arbi- 
 trary abuses of the civil power in the appoint- 
 ment of Bishops, he says nothing of the usur- 
 pations of the Papacy in that respect. 
 M 2 
 
244 FLORENCE. 
 
 The Pope offered him a CardinaFs hat; 
 which he declined. 
 
 When Pope Pius IX. changed his policy, 
 Rosmini was disgraced, arrested, and sent 
 to Naples; and then exiled from Southern 
 Italy, and his book was condemned by the 
 Church of Rome : he submitted to the Papal 
 sentence, and died at Stresa on the Lago 
 Maggiore in 1855, at the age of fifty-five. 
 
 In the edition of this work, which is before 
 me, there is an interesting letter (pp. 1 75 — 1 77) 
 on the ancient elections of Bishops by the 
 Clergy and People^ written at Stresa, 8th June, 
 1848, and a second letter (p. 178), in which 
 the Author expressed a hope, that Carlo Al- 
 berto might be induced to cede his own rights 
 of nomination, to the Clergy and People of the 
 Dioceses of his Kingdom; and he does not 
 hesitate to avow his conviction, that " le 
 elezioni de' Yescovi a Clero e Popolo sono di 
 diritto divino " (p. 178), and he concludes with 
 these prophetic words, "Although at the 
 present time the Christian People (of Italy) 
 seems to take little interest in the appointment 
 of Bishops, the time will come when it will take 
 the greatest interest in that question.^'' 
 
FLOEENCE. 245 
 
 That prophecy is now fulfilled. The ques- 
 tion of the election of Bishops in Italy is one 
 of urgency at the present crisis; and unless 
 the Government of Italy takes measures for the 
 equitable settlement of that question, the day 
 may arrive, when (to quote the Author's words 
 in the same page) "the People of Italy will 
 wrest from the grasp of the Sovereign the 
 liberty of choosing their Bishops." 
 
 M 3 
 
CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 FLORENCE (^continued). 
 
 June 4. — I heard to-day that the work of 
 colportage of religious books is hecomirig 
 more difficult in Tuscany than it was a year 
 ago. The Archbishop of Florence has made 
 strong remonstrances against it : and the 
 Laws of Tuscany against reading the Bible, 
 though not actually enforced, still remain un- 
 repealed. At the same time it may be men- 
 tioned as an encouraging fact, that several 
 hundreds of the middle and poorer classes meet 
 habitually at Florence to read the Bible. 
 
 A friend told me, that last year a tract — 
 denouncing the errors of Popery — had been 
 circulated among the soldiers at the Cascine 
 on June 1, but that those who circulated it 
 then, would not venture to do so now. May 
 not this change in the temper of the authori- 
 
FLORENCE. 247 
 
 ties be due in a great measure to the some- 
 what indiscreet zeal, and aggressive spirit, in 
 which the work of religious propagandism has 
 been often carried on? In the shop-window 
 of the "Libreria Evangelica," in the Via 
 Tornabuoni in Florence, I saw a print, in 
 which the principal doctrines and practices of 
 the Roman Catholic Church were exposed to 
 contempt : and I was assured, that Roman Ca- 
 tholic Priests, who were attracted to the win- 
 dow by the print, which represents the inside 
 of a Roman Catholic Church, turned from it 
 with expressions of anger and indignation, 
 which they showed by spitting upon it. In 
 their eyes it was a profane and blasphemous 
 caricature. Surely such representations as 
 these are as uncharitable and unchristian, as 
 they are imprudent and injudicious. St. Paul 
 was the most courageous and zealous of Chris- 
 tian Missionaries. But his courage and zeal 
 were guided by wisdom, and regulated by cha- 
 rity, and he showed his wisdom and charity 
 by endeavouring to conciliate and win the 
 affections of his heathen audience. As a 
 Christian Preacher, he began his addresses to 
 them with referring to matters in which he 
 M 4 
 
248 FLORENCE. 
 
 and they were of the same mind ; and not to 
 things in which he differed from them. He 
 entered into their feelings : he sympathized 
 with them, he identified himself with them, as 
 far as he could. He placed himself on their 
 ground, and endeavoured to look at things 
 from their point of view. Thus, for instance, 
 in preaching to the men of Athens, he took 
 his text from the Altar which he had seen in 
 their own city '. The declaration of the town- 
 clerk of Ephesus is a remarkable tribute to 
 the moderation and wisdom of Apostolic mis- 
 sionary preaching; "Ye have brought hither 
 these men, who are neither robbers of 
 churches (temples), nor yet blasphemers of 
 your goddess ^" 
 
 But now-a-days some missionaries and 
 preachers of the Gospel, — the Gospel of peace 
 and love, — seem to think that they cannot do 
 better, than in commencing their appeals to 
 those whom they wish to convert, by outraging 
 their most cherished affections, and revolting 
 all their most deeply-rooted convictions. And 
 these zealous missionaries are highly offended, 
 
 ' Acts xvii. 23. ^ Acts xix. 37. 
 
FLORENCE. 249 
 
 and greatly exasperated, and perhaps complain 
 that they are "persecuted for righteousness' 
 sake," if their efforts at proselytism are re- 
 strained; and so, by their indiscreet zeal, they 
 damage the holy cause which they go forth to 
 serve. 
 
 Surely there is a wide domain of common 
 ground between ourselves and the intelligent 
 Clergy and Laity of Italy, in which we may 
 meet together, and calmly deliberate concern- 
 ing the fundamental principles of Christianity. 
 They agree with us in reverence for the Bible, 
 and for the doctrine and discipline of the 
 primitive Church. They agree with us in 
 acknowledging the authority of the Three 
 Creeds, the necessity of a Priesthood for the 
 preaching of the Gospel, and for the adminis- 
 tration of the Christian Sacraments. Ought 
 we not to begin with those points in which 
 they are seeking Reformation, namely, in mat- 
 ters which concern the jurisdiction of the 
 Papacy ? They are prepared to determine 
 these questions by an appeal to Holy Scrip- 
 ture, and to the ancient laws and usages of the 
 Christian Church. Might we not render 
 essential service, in promoting their desires 
 M 5 
 
260 FLOEENCE. 
 
 and endeavours in this respect? Might we 
 not aid them, in diffusing information con- 
 cerning the laws of Church Government in 
 primitive times ? Might we not aid them, in 
 proving to the People of Italy, that the claims 
 of the Pope to regulate the appointment of 
 Bishops throughout Italy, and to impose oaths 
 of vassalage upon them, are not founded on 
 Scripture, nor on the authority of Christian 
 Antiquity, but are novel and unjust usurpa- 
 tions ? Might we not assist them, in opening 
 the way for the appointment of pious, wise, 
 and learned men to the vacant Bishoprics and 
 Parochial Cures in Italy; of men unfettered 
 by trammels of subjection to the Papacy, and 
 free from the bondage of unrighteous oaths ? 
 And if a change were made in the position of 
 the Hierarchy and Priesthood in these re- 
 spects, would not a door be opened for re- 
 forms from within^ -in a regular and orderly 
 manner ? 
 
 The Clergy and People of Italy are not yet 
 ripe for polemical discussions of controverted 
 points of theology ; but they are prepared and 
 eager for the investigation of questions of 
 Church discipline ; and the work of Reforma- 
 
FLORENCE. 251 
 
 tion might be commenced with an appeal 
 to Christian Antiquity, — especially to the 
 Christian Antiquity of Italy ^ — in order to 
 settle the true limits of the Bishop of Rome's 
 jurisdiction. There are providential circum- 
 stances which render this appeal not only sea- 
 sonable, but imperative. The fact that two of 
 the greatest Archiepiscopal sees of Italy are 
 now void, — Milan and Turin, — and that thirty- 
 two other Bishoprics are vacant, by reason of 
 the conflict between the Pope and the King; 
 and the fact also, that it is uncanonical and 
 unjust to keep those sees vacant^ afford a 
 favourable occasion for the discussion and 
 settlement of the whole question concerning 
 the relative rights of the Crown, the Clergy, 
 and the People, in the nomination and ap- 
 pointment of Bishops ; and this discussion 
 would not fail to reveal a series of usurpations 
 on the part of the Papacy, and in other re- 
 spects would prepare the way for a general 
 examination of its claims, temporal and spiri- 
 tual. 
 
 Let the Churches of England, Ireland, and 
 America, and of the Colonies of Great Britain, 
 invite the Church of Italy to meet them on this 
 M 6 
 
252 FLOEENCE. 
 
 common ground of Christian Antiquity; let 
 them assist the Church of Italy in an honest 
 endeavour to ascertain, what were the rights 
 of the Italian Clergy and People in the fourth 
 century, and what were then the Laws and 
 Usages of the Italian Church, and what was then 
 the extent of the jurisdiction of the Bishop of 
 Rome. Thus Italy might obtain a peaceful 
 solution of the difficulties which now embarrass 
 her. She might, by God's help, emancipate her- 
 self from the thraldom of Rome, without break- 
 ing the bands of the Gospel, and casting away 
 the cords of Christianity : rather, she would be 
 strengthening those sacred bands and cords, 
 which are the surest pledges and safeguards of 
 national peace and prosperity; and the Italian 
 Monarchy would rest securely on the solid 
 basis of ancient Catholic Truth. 
 
CHAPTER Xy. 
 
 FLOEENCE {continued). 
 
 Wednesday Afternoon. — Went to the Pitti 
 Palace and Boboli gardens. We made friends 
 with an old gardener, who had lived there thirty 
 years, and had seen many changes in the occu- 
 pation of the princely Palace; and, like the 
 broom in the fable of a late English Poet, had 
 remained in his place, while the princely oaks 
 had been torn up by political storms. 
 
 In a time of social and political restlessness, 
 he had passed his days peacefully among these 
 trees, and shrubs, and flowers, like Homer's 
 old ^ Laertes, who spent his tim^e quietly in his 
 vineyard, while the suitors of Penelope were 
 rioting in the Palace of Ulysses ; or like Vir- 
 gil's " Corycian old man," who dwelt peace- 
 ably among his roses and amid his beehives, 
 
 * Homer, Odyss. xxiv. 225. 
 
254 FLORENCE. 
 
 and beneath the shade of his lindens and his 
 elms ^, while the Roman world was distracted 
 by civil wars ; or like the peasant, whom Clau- 
 dian describes as dwelling in the neighbour- 
 hood of Verona, but who rarely went beyond 
 the range of his paternal fields, and lived in a 
 peaceful old age, unconscious of social feuds 
 and untouched by political revolutions \ Our 
 old gardener led us to a short wooden ladder 
 fixed against a wall, and from the top of it we 
 enjoyed one of the most interesting and beau- 
 tiful views which can any where be seen. In 
 the distance were the blue ridges of the Apen- 
 nines, crested with old cities, such as Fsesulse, 
 dating from the days of the early Etruscans, 
 and more ancient than Rome. Beneath us lay 
 the city of Florence, with its noble buildings, 
 suggestive of recollections of Dante, and Bru- 
 nelleschi, and Savonarola, and Michael Angelo, 
 and Galileo, and the Medicean Princes and 
 Popes. On our right was the Church of Santa 
 Croce, the Westminster Abbey of Florence; 
 — more to the left was the Duomo, the St. 
 Paul's of Florence, with its glorious cupola and 
 lofty campanile, and the roof of the Baptistery ; 
 * G-eorgic iv. 125 — 145. ' Claudian, Epigram ii. 
 
FLORENCE. 255 
 
 and, still more to the left, the Church of San 
 Lorenzo, and that of S. Maria Novella: and 
 the Yale of the Arno flowing toward the 
 Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 The Boboli gardens with their dark avenues 
 of ilex and laurustinus and other evergreens, 
 and their funereal cypresses, had a gloomy ap- 
 pearance, and there was a black thunder-storm 
 brooding in the clouds above us, which added 
 to the solemnity of the scene; and the long 
 and lofty terraces, and high flights of stately 
 stone steps leading up to them, and the walks 
 of these princely gardens, now deserted — but 
 formerly alive and brilliant with gay com- 
 panies of Florentine princes, and patricians, 
 and fair ladies in holiday costume — produced 
 a sad and melancholy impression, which was 
 in harmony with the prospect before us. 
 
 The ancient glories of Florence have glided 
 away like a dream : the independence of this once 
 famous Republic has disappeared : the national 
 dignity, which it enjoyed as a separate princi- 
 pality, has floated away like a phantom, chased 
 by the visionary day-dream of an united Italy. 
 What will its future be? The olive-trees, 
 some of which the gardener told us were 400 
 
256 FLORENCE. 
 
 years old, seemed to be the most permanent 
 living objects in the scene. 
 
 This evening an ecclesiastical friend, con- 
 nected with the Church of S. Lorenzo, paid us 
 a visit. He said that the original Church of 
 S. Lorenzo stood outside the walls of Florence, 
 and was consecrated by S. Ambrose (about 
 A.D. 393), who was intimate with Zenobius, 
 then Bishop of Florence : and that it was the 
 primitive Cathedral of Florence: it is now a 
 Collegiate Church, with about a dozen Canons, 
 I believe. 
 
 Thursday^ June 5. — Went to S. Miniato al 
 Monte; steep ascent with cypresses at the 
 top. You mount the hill by a Yia Crucis, 
 very significant and characteristic, as leading 
 to the beautiful view at the summit of the hill 
 from that Church. A Gethsemane of toil, 
 leading to an Olivet of triumph. S. Miniato 
 is now a burial-place. There is a crypt be- 
 neath the Church. This must be a laborious 
 ascent for a funeral cortege; but perhaps the 
 labour is well compensated by associations and 
 suggestions suitable for religious musing and 
 meditation, and by its retirement from the 
 city, and its elevation above the business of 
 
FLOEENCE. 257 
 
 the world. The ambon in the Church carries 
 us back to ancient times, when the Gospel was 
 read openly to the people. 
 
 Friday^ June 6. — Grand Mass to-day at 
 S. Croce in honour of Cavour, it being the 
 first anniversary of his death. There were 
 banners fringed with crape, hung out of the 
 windows in the streets. On the eve, at the 
 " Ville de Paris," the men (no women) were 
 engaged in making wreaths and garlands of 
 flowers, lilies, carnations, blue larkspurs, and 
 green leaves, to decorate his cenotaph. 
 
 Over the door of the Church was the follow- 
 ing inscription : — 
 
 " A Camillo dt Catoite, 
 
 Mente d' Italia, 
 
 Che oggi fa 1' anno lo pianse 
 
 Binnovando per voto pubblico 
 
 Degne onoranze. 
 
 Giuriamo a Dio in questo Santuario 
 
 Di avita sapienza e gloria perenne 
 
 Compiere con fede, senno, am ore, 
 
 Ond' ebbe cominciamento, 
 
 L' TJnita della Patria," 
 
 The scene in the Church after the Mass was 
 too dramatic and artificial for our taste. The 
 glare and smell of the countless candles, the 
 
258 :^LORENGE. 
 
 gaudy style of ornament of the high catafalque, 
 raised in the centre of the Church ; and, above 
 all, the glorification of the human instrument, 
 in the temple of God, were all repugnant to 
 the feelings, in different ways. All that was 
 here displayed began and ended in man. 
 
 Went to Casa Salviani, Via Chiara, lately 
 purchased as a college for the Vaudois ; I be- 
 lieve, in great measure, by the generous 
 liberality of members of the Free Kirk of Scot- 
 land. Had an interview with the Vaudois 
 Pastor, Geymonat, a zealous, able, and eloquent 
 man, who oflSciates in the Church of the Vau- 
 dois, or Valdesi (as the Italians call them), and 
 also gives instruction as Professor in the Col- 
 lege, which is for the training of theological 
 students. 
 
 Signer Geymonat has lately published at 
 Florence an interesting history of that body, 
 entitled, " Gli Evangelici Valdesi^ He traces 
 their origin from the ninth century, — espe- 
 cially from the time of Claudio, a Spaniard, 
 who was Bishop of Turin in a.d. 822, and pro- 
 tested vehemently against the corruptions of 
 Rome, in doctrine and worship. 
 
 In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, other 
 
' FLOEENCE. 250 
 
 champions arose who contended for a purer 
 faith; and Signor. Geymonat justly observes 
 that the Church of Kome has done injustice 
 to the Waldenses^ by ascribing their rise and 
 name to Peter Waldo or Valdo^ who flourished 
 at the end of the twelfth century. 
 
 Their name, like that of the Albigenses, is 
 of local origin. The latter were so called from 
 Albi, where they dwelt ; and the valleys of 
 Piedmont gave their name to the Valdesi, or 
 Vaudois. It is more probable that Waldo was 
 so named from the Waldenses, than that the 
 Waldenses were so called from him *. 
 
 The " Holy Office of the Inquisition," in- 
 stituted by S. Dominic, and fostered by Pope 
 Innocent III., in the thirteenth century, en- 
 deavoured to exterminate the Waldenses. The 
 fourth Lateran Council, at Rome, proclaimed a 
 religious war — a crusade — in a.d. 1215, against 
 the Christians of Piedmont. The Emperor 
 Frederick II., stimulated by Pope Honorius 
 III., issued an edict for their utter extinction. 
 Other Popes, such as John XXII., Clement 
 VI., Gregory XL, Clement YIL, continued 
 the war of persecution. Innocent VIII., in 
 * Geymonat, p. 10. 
 
260 FLORENCE. 
 
 1477, published a Bull in which he charged 
 his Nuncio, in Savoy, to require the King of 
 France and the Duke of Savoy to extirpate 
 the Waldenses, and in which he authorized 
 him " to preach a holy crusade against them, 
 and to offer to all the faithful, who assisted 
 him, plenary indulgences and pardon once in 
 their lives \ for all their sins ;" and gave free 
 liberty to any one to seize their goods ; and de- 
 clares that all "Kings and Magistrates shall 
 be deposed and excommunicated," who do 
 not obey the orders of the Nuncio in this 
 matter. 
 
 The subsequent History of the Waldenses 
 exhibits a continuation of the same conduct 
 on the part of the Papacy during the two fol- 
 lowing centuries. Especially in the years 
 1535 — 1537, the fury of Rome, aided by Carlo 
 III. of Savoy ^ raged against them; and burst 
 forth again in 1557 and 1560; and once more 
 in 1637 — 1640, under Christina, regent of 
 Savoy ^ daughter of Mary of Medicis^ Pope 
 Innocent X., in 1649, issued a Bull, in which 
 he annulled all the franchises which had been 
 conceded to the Waldenses by the House of 
 ' P. 27. " See p. 59. 
 
FLOEENCE. 261 
 
 Savoy ; and commands were issued from Turin^ 
 in 1655, " to put them to the sword ^" Dread- 
 ful was the carnage which ensued. Milton, in 
 his Sonnet " on the Massacre in Piedmont," has 
 uttered a prayer to heaven, that the groans 
 may there be recorded of those who were slain 
 in their ancient fold 
 
 " By the bloody Piedmontese, that roll'd 
 Mother with infant down the rocks : their moans 
 The vales redoubled to the hills, and they 
 To Heaven." 
 
 Cromwell sent Sir William Morland to 
 Turin with a letter to the Duke of Savoy, in 
 which he implored him to spare his own sub- 
 jects; and on the 18th of August, 1656, some 
 respite was obtained for them by the Truce of 
 Pinerolo: and 40,000/. was collected in their 
 behalf in England, under Cromwell's auspices ; 
 and Sir W. Morland published a History of 
 their sufferings, at London, in 1658. 
 
 Their peace was of short duration. The 
 Church of Rome exerted her influence at the 
 courts of Louis XIV. and of Victor Amadeus 
 II. of Savoy ^ and an edict was issued at Turin 
 
 ' " Ho visto r ordine d' uccidere tutti" 
 
262 FLORENCE. 
 
 on the 9th April, 1686, which was the counter- 
 part of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 
 The Waldenses were forbidden to exercise 
 their religion on pain of expulsion from their 
 homes. The Waldenses met in a religious 
 council, and resolved to celebrate the Holy 
 Communion on the following Easter. A war 
 of extermination ensued, and 6000 were cast 
 into prison, and more than 1000 slain ^. 
 
 They were again aided by England. Queen 
 Mary, the wife of William III., instituted a 
 fund, which still exists; and which, together 
 with the additions made in England in 1776, 
 produces an annual income of 13,000 francs, 
 which are distributed among thirteen Minis- 
 ters of the Waldensian Communion by the 
 instrumentality of " The Society for the Pro- 
 pagation of the Gospel." Substantial aid has 
 also been supplied by two generous persons, 
 the Reverend Dr. Gilly, late Canon of Dur- 
 ham, and General Beckwith. The Yaudois 
 College of Torre, in 1855, was instituted by 
 Dr. Gilly and General Beckwith; and the 
 latter has aided in the foundation and repara- 
 tion of eighty Yaudois Schools. 
 * P. 68. 
 
FLOEENCE. 263 
 
 By a decree of the Waldensian Synod in 
 1860, it has been resolved to transfer the 
 Theological School from Torre to Florence, 
 where I had an interview to-day with the 
 learned and able writer of the History of the 
 Waldenses, who was the Secretary of the 
 Assembly which published the " Constitution 
 of the Evangelical Church of the Waldenses " 
 at Torre, on 25th May, 1855; which may be 
 seen in his volume ^ 
 
 There is something prophetic in Milton's 
 Sonnet, just noticed (Sonnet xviii.) : — 
 
 "Avenge, O Lord, Thy slaughter'd saints, whose bones 
 Lie scatter'd on the Alpine mountains cold. 
 .... Their martyr'd blood and ashes sow 
 O'er all the Italian fields, where still doth sway 
 The triple Tyrant." 
 
 It is a signal retribution of Divine Providence 
 on the Papacy, that the present assaults upon 
 Rome are coming from Piedmont ; that is, from 
 precisely that part of Italy, which — as is 
 shown in the above historical sketch — was the 
 scene of its most barbarous and cruel outrages 
 
 ' Pp. 198— 210 
 
264 FLORENCE. 
 
 upon the poor, simple, and helpless Christian 
 worshippers in the valleys of that region, who 
 were butchered like sheep by the emissaries 
 of Rome. Rome preached Crusades against 
 Piedmont. Piedmont is now preaching a 
 Crusade against Rome. Rome stimulated the 
 House of Savoy to exterminate the Christians 
 of those valleys. The House of Savoy is now 
 leading the legions of Italy — some 300,000 
 strong — against Rome. 
 
 Carlo Passaglia is also leading his spiritual 
 forces — his 9000 Priests — from Piedmont to 
 the doors of the Vatican, and conjures the 
 Pope, in the name of Christianity and of Italy, 
 to abdicate his temporal sovereignty, and to lay 
 down his royal diadem at the feet of Victor 
 Emmanuel. Are not these " signs of the times ? " 
 May we not mark the footprints of Divine 
 Omnipotence, and of Divine Justice here ? 
 
 I heard on good authority that the Free 
 Kirk of Scotland, which has little sympathy 
 with "the Plymouthists," as they are called 
 here, prefers to work with and by the 
 Waldenses, who have Teachers trained and set 
 apart for the ministry of the Word and Sacra- 
 ments. The Waldenses have also some set 
 
FLOEENCE. 265 
 
 liturgical forms, and recite the Creed, the Ten 
 Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer in 
 their public worship. They have also a 
 " Confession of Faith " agreed upon by the 
 Vaudois Churches in 1655, which consists of 
 Thirty-three Articles : 
 
 The substance of these articles is as follows : — 
 
 1. On the doctrine of the Trinity in 
 Unity. 
 
 2, 3, 4. On the veracity and inspiration of 
 the Canonical Books of the Old and New 
 Testament. 
 
 8. On original sin. 
 
 11. On election and reprobation. 
 
 13. On the two Natures — the Divine and 
 Human — in the One Person of Christ. 
 
 15, 16. On the Sacrifice of the Cross — 
 offered once for all, and not to be repeated — 
 the sole meritorious cause of justification with 
 God. 
 
 17. On union with Christ, and Justification 
 by Faith, resting on the promises made in 
 the Gospel. 
 
 19. On Christ the Only Mediator and 
 Intercessor with the Father. 
 
 20. On the promise which God makes of 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
266 FLORENCE. 
 
 regeneration in Christ to those who are united 
 to Him by Faith. 
 
 21. On the necessity of good works.' 
 
 22. On the eternal reward promised to good 
 works. 
 
 23. Against invocation of Saints, who are to 
 be imitated, but not worshipped. 
 
 24. On Christ the Only Head of the One 
 Church which God has instituted in the world 
 for the salvation of men. 
 
 25. 26, 27. On the holiness, unity, and 
 indefectibility of the Church. 
 
 28. On the necessity of the means of grace, 
 which are the Word of God, and the two 
 Sacraments, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, 
 which God has instituted as means whereby 
 we are united to Christ, and partake of His 
 benefits. 
 
 29. On the Sacrament of Baptism, which 
 was instituted for a witness of our adoption ; and 
 wherein we are washed from our sins in the 
 blood of Christ, and are renewed in holiness 
 of life. 
 
 30. On the Lord's Supper, or Eucharist, 
 which Christ has instituted to be the food of 
 our souls, in order that, by a true living faith. 
 
FLOEENCE. 267 
 
 and by the incomprehensible virtue of the Holy 
 Ghost, we eating effectually His flesh, and 
 drinking His blood, and being joined most 
 nearly and inseparably to Christ, may have 
 eternal life in and through Him. 
 
 31. On the necessity of the Christian Mi- 
 nistry for the preaching of the Word, and 
 Administration of the Sacraments : which Mi- 
 nistry consists of Pastors, joined with Elders 
 and Deacons. 
 
 32. On the Civil Magistracy, instituted by 
 God. 
 
 33. On the duty of receiving the Apostles^ 
 Creed^ the Ten Commandments^ and Lord's 
 Prayer^ as fundamental documents of faith 
 and worship. 
 
 The Waldenses, or Vaudois, observe also 
 certain Holydays of the Church, Christmas 
 Day, Ascension Day, and Good Friday. 
 
 A zealous member of the Scotch Free 
 Church said to me, that he and his brethren 
 could do nothing with the "Plymouthists ;" and 
 that no permanent effect could be produced on 
 the Italian mind by their irregular efforts, but 
 that more might be hoped, he thought, from 
 the Waldenses, who were pious, prudent, and 
 N 2 
 
268 FLORENCE. 
 
 earnest men, and who did not send forth their 
 ministers till they had gone through a long 
 course of study, and had passed the test of a 
 searching examination. Is not this a testi- 
 mony on the part of the Free Church of 
 Scotland to the necessity of Church-organiza- 
 tion ? And ought not that organization to be 
 preferred which has the stamp of Antiquity 
 and Catholicity ? 
 
 The Free Church is active at Florence; the 
 Vaudois also, who are now entering on a new 
 career in this spacious theological Seminary, 
 and the Plymouthists, are not idle. These 
 religious Societies are the representatives of 
 the Reformation ; and they have rather an 
 aggressive character. But scarcely any thing 
 is done here by the Churches of England, 
 Ireland, Scotland, and America for the pur- 
 pose of opening out friendly intercourse with 
 the Roman Catholic Clergy, and of conciliat- 
 ing their affections and confidence, and of 
 leading them on to Reformation by an appeal 
 to the principles of primitive Christianity. 
 
CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 TLORENCE {continued). 
 
 Went to S. Onofrio to see Raffaelle's fresco in 
 the Cenacolo, now secularized : the colours are 
 fresh and clear. Two of his sketches for it 
 are preserved in the apartment ; the lower 
 limbs were carefully delineated before they 
 were draped : an evidence of the science which 
 underlies the surface of this great Master's 
 pictures, and which is the cause of the beauty 
 of the forms which it underlies. This fresco 
 is well known to the world from its excellent 
 photograph. 
 
 Went in the afternoon to the Convent of 
 S. Mark: beautiful frescoes of Fra Angelico 
 in the Cloisters and Chapter-house, and cells 
 of the monks. Some of the figures in these 
 frescoes are exquisite specimens of artistic 
 N 3 
 
270 FLORENCE. 
 
 delicacy and purity in conception and execu- 
 tion. 
 
 Visited the cell of Savonarola, described as 
 " Apostolicus " in the inscription there ; but 
 my companion, who belonged to the Monastery, 
 said that the great Florentine preacher was 
 "fanatico per la liberta." These are melan- 
 choly days for all who have any connexion 
 with Monasteries ; and the memory of all 
 Reformers, even of those who proceeded from 
 their own body, seems to be ungrateful to 
 them. The Italian Legislature has recently 
 passed a Law^ which prohibits the Monastic 
 Orders from incorporating any new members, 
 and transfers the property of these religious 
 houses to the Crown, for Civil and Military 
 purposes, under certain conditions, viz. that 
 public worship should still be maintained, and 
 " works of art " should be preserved. 
 
 The Convents and Monasteries of Italy are 
 now dying slowly of atrophy and inanition. 
 Many of the cells of this noble Monastery are 
 untenanted. The monks, who still linger on 
 in this once celebrated Monastery, seem to be 
 
 ^ December 22, 1861. 
 
FLORENCE. 271 
 
 moving about like shadows ready to vanish 
 away. Their long white flowing Dominican 
 robes, and their large broad-brimmed black 
 beaver hats, contrasted strangely with the 
 bright uniforms and glittering bayonets of the 
 soldiers who are quartered among them ; and 
 the once peaceful cloisters of Fra Angelico 
 were sounding with the military music of the 
 Florentine National Guard. 
 
 This suppression of Monasteries is a severe 
 blow to the Papacy, whose most able cham- 
 pions and active emissaries have proceeded 
 from them. Striking metamorphosis, and 
 strange transition ! These Monasteries, which 
 were like camps and fortresses of the Papacy, 
 are now converted into barracks, and the 
 spiritual militia of the Papacy is making 
 way for the soldiery of Victor Emmanuel. 
 
 In a work written by a son of Archbishop 
 Sandys, and pupil of Richard Hooker, about 
 265 years ago, and addressed to Archbishop 
 Whitgift, and entitled " Europse Speculum," or 
 a " Survey of the State of Religion," especially 
 in Italy, there are some excellent remarks on 
 the services rendered to the Papacy by what 
 the Author calls ^'the multitude of Friars 
 N 4 
 
272 FLORENCE. 
 
 ready to he 'put in arms^^^ p. 74, ed. 1673. 
 The Franciscans alone in the time of Pope 
 Sixtus V. are said by him to have been 30,000, 
 " and the Dominicans strove in competency 
 with the Franciscans in all things." This 
 work of Sir Edwin Sandys is one of much in- 
 terest to the traveller in Italy, even at this day. 
 
 Doubtless the vices of the Monastic Orders 
 have been, in a great degree, the cause of the 
 misfortunes which have lately fallen upon 
 them. The people of Tuscany cannot forget 
 the exposure of the immoralities practised in 
 them, and patronized by them, of which many 
 proofs were given in the days of the Archduke 
 Leopold, and which he attempted to restrain. 
 And the large numbers of religious houses — 
 there were then 213 Convents, and 136 
 Monasteries in Tuscany — were also prejudicial 
 to them. 
 
 No institutions perish, except by internal 
 corruption ; but they who execute penal retri- 
 bution upon them, are too often carried away 
 by a spirit of revenge or self-interest, and do 
 not reform^ but destroy. 
 
 No more recruits are now to be added to 
 the Monastic muster-roll of Italy. This is 
 
FLORENCE. 273 
 
 indeed a severe loss to the Papacy. But may 
 it not also be detrimental to Religion, unless 
 it be accompanied with other wholesome 
 measures of reformation ? 
 
 The Monasteries sent forth many able and 
 learned Preachers, who in some degree made 
 compensation for the ignorance of the Paro- 
 chial Clergy, especially by their preaching as 
 Home Missionaries in great towns. 
 
 As Sir Edwin Sandys observed in his days, 
 in the work just noticed, p. 86, " Preaching is 
 an exercise in which the secular Priests list 
 not to distemper their brains much, but 
 commend it in a manner wholly to the 
 Regulars'' 
 
 The danger is now, that with the suppression 
 of the Monasteries, the character of the Clergy 
 may sink even lower than it is ; and that they 
 may become a race of mere mass-priests, 
 ignorant and superstitious, and trading on the 
 ignorance and superstition of others; and 
 thus prepare the way for an antichristian 
 outbreak of Infidelity and Socialism. Would 
 not the Parliament of Italy do well and wisely, 
 if, instead of proceeding to secularize all the 
 N 5 
 
274 FLORENCE. 
 
 Monasteries and their endowments, it would 
 reserve some of their buildings and revenues 
 for the improvement of the intellectual and 
 social condition of the Parochial Clergy? 
 Would not the Parliament of Italy be render- 
 ing an essential service to the State, as well as 
 to the Church, if it were to apply some of the 
 resources from the suppressed religious houses 
 to the foundation of Universities and Colleges^ 
 and endowment of Professorships; parti- 
 cularly for the instruction of the future Clergy 
 of Italy in Biblical learnings Church History^ 
 and dogmatic Theology f The instruction now 
 given in the Ecclesiastical Seminaries of Italy 
 is confessedly poor, meagre, and jejune; it is 
 not based on a sound knowledge of Holy 
 Scripture and the early Fathers, but on the 
 dicta of the mediaeval Schoolmen and Papal 
 Canonists, and cannot produce loyal subjects 
 any more than learned divines. 
 
 I entered into conversation with one of these 
 Dominicans whom I met in the cloister of S. 
 Mark's. On expressing my regret at the 
 appearance of religious indifference now visible 
 in Florence, he said, "You ought to have 
 
TLOEENCE. 275 
 
 come here in Lent, when some of the Churches 
 were filled with large congregations listening 
 to eloquent preachers." 
 
 Those preachers were members of religious 
 Orders, and produced an extraordinary effect; 
 some of their sermons contained energetic 
 denunciations against Protestantism, which 
 were enthusiastically received ^ But I do not 
 think that they have produced any salutary 
 effect of a permanent character on the faith 
 and practice of the people. 
 
 I told him that I hoped he would not judge 
 of us by what he heard in popular harangues 
 against Protestantism. " But," said he, " you 
 have no 'Capo Vivo della Chiesa.'" " Yes, we 
 have, Christ Himself." "But not His Vica- 
 rio?" "No; we do not find that the Church 
 of Christ is built upon One Apostle, but ' on 
 Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself 
 being the Head Corner-stone ^ ;' not upon one 
 stone, but upon 'twelve stones^;' and we know 
 that St. Paul rebuked and resisted St. Peter, 
 
 ^ Some account of tliem was afterwards given in tlie 
 Civilta Cattolica for May 1862, p. 363. 
 ' Eph. ii. 20. 
 * Eev. xxi. 14. 
 
 N 6 
 
276 FLORENCE. 
 
 and S. Polycarp resisted Anicetus, Bishop of 
 Kome; and S. Cyprian resisted Stephen, 
 Bishop of Rome." "But," said he, "Augus- 
 tine affirms that Cyprian expiated his error by 
 martyrdom ! " " Yes, expiated the error into 
 which he had fallen in maintaining that 
 baptism when conferred by heretics is no 
 baptism at all; but Augustine does not charge 
 Cyprian with error because he resisted Pope 
 Stephen ; indeed Augustine himself resisted 
 two Bishops of Rome." " But," he replied, " if 
 you read the Santi Padri, you will see your 
 error." " We do read the Santi Padri, and I 
 am inclined to believe that there are more 
 copies of the Santi Padri in one 'vicolo di 
 Londra ' that I could mention, than in all the 
 booksellers' shops of Florence." I had been in 
 many of them, and had not met wdth a single 
 copy of any. " Oh ! but," he rejoined, " we buy 
 them all, and we have S. Tommaso d' Aquino, 
 and we all study him." 
 
 Drove in the evening to the Lung' Arno, 
 and the Cascine : beautiful lights on the hills 
 after a shower; the air so clear and transpa- 
 rent, that distant objects were visible almost 
 in minute details. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE RICCl'S ATTEMPTS AT 
 REFORMATION. 
 
 Saturday^ June 7th. — Went this morning by 
 railroad to Pistoia, the Episcopal See of 
 Scipio de Ricci, whose endeavours to make 
 reformations in the Church of Rome in Tus- 
 cany, under the Grand Duke Leopold, in the 
 latter part of the last century, have given to 
 his name a celebrity beyond the limits of 
 Italy. 
 
 Scipio de Ricci was born at Florence on the 
 9th of January, 1741 . His mother was of the 
 noble family of the Ricasolis, which has de- 
 rived new lustre in our own days from the 
 administration of Baron Ricasoli, the successor 
 of Count Cavour in June 1861. 
 
 Scipio de Ricci was educated in early life 
 among the Jesuits, but he passed from their 
 
278 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE EICCl'S 
 
 hands into those of the Benedictines, and 
 became one of the most energetic opponents 
 of the Jesuits, and one of the most zealous 
 advocates of Jansenism: he was advanced to 
 the Episcopal See of Pistoia and Prato in the 
 year 1780. 
 
 Scipio de Ricci convened his Diocesan 
 Synod at Pistoia on September 18, 1786, in 
 the Church of S. Leopold. Ricci was too 
 ambitious of pre-eminence. He wished to be 
 the head of a religious party. There was 
 something of vain-glorious weakness on his 
 part in taking the lead of his brother Bishops, 
 and separating himself from them. Thus he 
 damaged his own cause, created opposition, 
 and brought obloquy on himself. Besides 
 this, he incautiously mixed up the dogmas of 
 Jansenistic theology with questions of religious 
 reformation : in so doing, he wished to humble 
 the Jesuits and the Papacy ; he adopted some 
 of the theological propositions which had been 
 condemned in the Papal bull Unigenifus, and 
 thus exposed himself to much animadversion 
 on religious grounds. 
 
 His Synod consisted of 234 members, priests 
 or theologians, and was attended by several 
 
ATTEMPTS AT REFOEMATION. 279 
 
 celebrated canonists. The Council had seven 
 sessions, which were harmonious enough, and 
 it was disposed to adopt the reforms which 
 the Bishop proposed; but the Court of Rome 
 exerted its influence on the nobility of Pistoia, 
 and the opponents of Kicci were able to 
 prevent the publication of the Acts of the 
 Synod, under the plea that fifty-seven ques- 
 tions on the subjects discussed had been issued 
 by the Grand Duke to the Bishops of Tuscany, 
 and that their replies to those questions were 
 far from being uniform ; and " that a National 
 Council of the Bishops of Tuscany was about 
 to be summoned at Florence; and that it 
 would be premature and inexpedient to pro- 
 mulgate any decrees of a Diocesan Synod 
 (such as that of Pistoia), before the reso- 
 lutions of the National Council of Florence 
 were known." 
 
 That National Council of Florence was 
 summoned on the 17th of March, 1787, and 
 met at Florence on the 23rd of April in that 
 year; three Archbishops were present, and 
 fourteen Bishops. 
 
 This was a fatal step. The Bishops had 
 not been prepared by previous conference and 
 
280 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE EICCl'S 
 
 deliberation. They had not had time to con- 
 sider fully the questions proposed to them. 
 The principles and usages of primitive Chris- 
 tian Antiquity had not been calmly and clearly 
 presented to their view; they were not well 
 versed in the history of the gradual progress 
 of Papal usurpations on the rights of the 
 People, the Clergy, the Episcopate, and the 
 Crown. They did not know that the Canon 
 Law of the Roman Courts, and of their own 
 Ecclesiastical tribunals, is adulterated with 
 many spurious decrees, which were inter- 
 polated by Roman Canonists, for the purpose 
 of aggrandizing the Papacy, and ought to be 
 expunged. They regarded the Papal Canon Law 
 with almost as much reverence as the Bible. 
 They brought to the Council all the prejudices 
 derived from the study of that Papal Canon 
 Law; which is grounded on the founda- 
 tion of the false decretals and mediaeval 
 traditions that had taken deep root in the 
 belief and practice of the Roman Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 They came to the Council in the chains and 
 fetters of oaths of vassalage to the Pope, by 
 which they had bound themselves " to main- 
 
ATTEMPTS AT BEFOKMATION. 281 
 
 tain the royalties of St. Peter against all men, 
 and to persecute and wage war with all rebels 
 against the Pope." 
 
 Besides, they were exasperated against Ricci 
 personally, because, in their opinion, he had 
 stolen a march upon them by his Synod of 
 Pistoia; and they came together with a deter- 
 mination to crush him, and to reject his 
 reforms, which they regarded as having an 
 heretical tendency and schismatical character. 
 
 In addition to this, the questions submitted 
 by the Grand Duke to the Bishops were so 
 numerous and various, affecting some of the 
 most difficult questions of theological doc- 
 trine, as well as concerning the minute details 
 of Clerical studies and Ecclesiastical discipline, 
 and long-established usages and ceremonies of 
 Ritual and Worship, that the Bishops might 
 well be alarmed at the prospect before them, 
 and might suppose that they were threatened 
 by a religious revolution. 
 
 Consequently, as might have been antici- 
 pated, Ricci and his Episcopal allies, the 
 Bishops of Chiusi, CoUe, and Soana, were 
 overwhelmed by the votes of the other Bishops 
 who were adverse to reformation. And when 
 
282 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE RICCl'S 
 
 the majority of Bishops had once committed 
 themselves publicly by declarations in Synod 
 against the proposals of the Grand Duke, it 
 was vain to hope that they would afterwards 
 recede from those resolutions, to which they 
 had given a formal adhesion. They were 
 obstinately fixed in a determination to resist 
 all reformation. 
 
 The nineteenth and last Session of this 
 Council of Florence was held on the 5th of 
 June, 1787. After its close the Grand Duke 
 Leopold published a Manifesto, in which he 
 expressed his bitter disappointment at the 
 result of its deliberations. 
 
 After the failure of the attempt at Florence, 
 Ricci had little encouragement to persevere in 
 his own efforts at Pistoia. Indeed, during the 
 Sessions of the Council at Florence, the popu- 
 lace of his Diocese had been agitated by 
 Papal emissaries, who persuaded the laity 
 that their Bishop was infected with heretical 
 opinions, and was determined to destroy the 
 most sacred objects of their devotions; espe- 
 cially that he intended to demolish an Altar 
 of the Cathedral at Prato, in which a cintola^ 
 or girdle, supposed to have been worn by the 
 
ATTEMPTS AT KErORMATION. 283 
 
 blessed Virgin Mary, was preserved with reli- 
 gious veneration. 
 
 On the 20th of May, the mob of Prato rose 
 in a riot of fanaticism, and proceeded to 
 the Church where the altar was, and tore 
 down the Bishop's throne and arms, and burnt 
 them in the market-place of Prato ; and illu- 
 minated the Church where the sacred girdle 
 was, and displayed it to the reverence of its 
 votaries. They also reinstated the images 
 which had been removed by the orders of the 
 Bishop, and burnt the books which he had 
 distributed among his Clergy, and menaced 
 the professors of his Ecclesiastical Seminary, 
 and the priests of the Parishes who were 
 supposed to be favourable to his views. 
 
 The publication of the Acts of the Synods 
 of Florence and Pistoia, and the excitement 
 produced by it in Italy and Europe, and the 
 rupture which ensued between the Grand 
 Duke Leopold and the Court of Rome, and 
 the cabals of the Bishops of Tuscany, headed 
 by the Archbishop of Florence, against Picci, 
 and their intrigues among the Clergy of his 
 Diocese, many of whom abandoned their 
 Bishop, and recanted their own subscriptions 
 
284 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE EICCl'S 
 
 to the Acts of the Synod of Pistoia, were 
 followed by the death of the Emperor Joseph 
 in February, 1790, and by the elevation of the 
 Grand Duke Leopold to the imperial throne. 
 Ricci was now isolated and disheartened ; he 
 retired from his Diocese, and resigned his 
 Episcopal See: but Rome would not allow 
 him to enjoy repose. The Pope, Pius YI., 
 condemned the Acts of his Synod in the bull 
 " Auctorem Fidei," promulgated on the 31st of 
 August, 1794. 
 
 This Bull (which is appended to some 
 recent editions of the Papal Canon Law') 
 contains no less than eighty-five articles on a 
 great variety of questions of doctrine, dis- 
 cipline, and ritual, and shows clearly the 
 indiscretion and rashness of Ricci in dogma- 
 tizing on so many matters, of such a miscel- 
 laneous character, and some of them of such 
 difficulty and importance, without adequate 
 preparation on his own part and that of his 
 Clergy to pronounce upon them, and with still 
 less disposition on the part of the people to 
 accept their decisions. 
 
 ' e. g. that of Leipsic, 1839, Appendix to Tom. ii. p. 
 146. 
 
ATTEMPTS AT REFORMATION. 285 
 
 Five years afterwards Ricci was arrested at 
 Florence by those loyalists of Arrezzo who had 
 been exasperated by the excesses of the French 
 revolutionists in Italy, and supposed him to be 
 favourable to the Galilean cause. He was 
 cast into prison in Florence, and from prison 
 he was transferred to the Dominican Convent 
 of S. Mark, where he is said to have found 
 some comfort in the records there preserved of 
 its former great preacher, the Florentine 
 reformer, Savonarola, in whose cell he some- 
 times said Mass. 
 
 In the year 1805 Florence was visited by 
 Pope Pius yil. on his return to Rome 
 from Paris after the Coronation of Napoleon ; 
 and Ricci was induced by the Pope to sign a 
 recantation, which was announced by Pius 
 VII. with great joy in his Allocution to the 
 Cardinals at Rome, in the secret Consistory of 
 June 26, 1805 ^ Ricci died at Florence on 
 the 27th of January, 1810. 
 
 A good history of Ricci's Episcopate would 
 
 ^ This Speech may be seen appended to recent editions 
 of the Roman Canon Law, e. g. that of Leipsic, 1839, 
 vol. ii.. Appendix, p. 163 ; compare Carlo Botta's Storia 
 d'ltalia, Lib. xxii. 
 
286 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE EICCl'S 
 
 be of inestimable benefit at the present time. 
 It would suggest many wholesome cautions 
 and admonitions to those who may be led to 
 engage in the work of Religious Reformation. 
 Ricci's attempts at Reformation were abor- 
 tive, but even on that account they are fraught 
 with warning and instruction to the present 
 age. They indicate what is to be avoided. 
 They show that Religious Reformation must 
 not be attempted in a spirit of self-love and 
 self-display: not with a view of gratifying 
 personal vanity and private ambition, but with 
 a single eye to the Divine glory. They show 
 the importance of considering well where to 
 begin; they show the necessity of not at- 
 tempting too many things at once; and above 
 all, of not alarming deeply-rooted prejudices, 
 and of not exciting popular passions, especially 
 in matters which relate to religious worship. 
 The public mind must first be di\Aj prepared 
 by the diffusion of sound knowledge and intel- 
 ligence, and must thus be enabled to reform 
 itself. The failure of Leopold's and Ricci's 
 attempts at Reformation seems also to afford 
 additional proof that the true method of be- 
 ginning such an undertaking at the present 
 
ATTEMPTS AT KEFOEMATION. 287 
 
 time, would be, as has been already said, to 
 deal first with matters of discipline^ rather 
 than of doctrine. If Ricci had not introduced 
 the tenets of Jansenism into the Acts of his 
 Council, but had limited himself to the Re- 
 formation of abuses in Ecclesiastical discipline 
 and government, he would have been on safe 
 ground. But by entering upon the region of 
 polemical theology, he exposed himself and 
 the Grand Duke to the suspicion of heresy, 
 and thus frustrated the Grand Duke's at- 
 tempts to put the discipline of the Church 
 upon a better footing. The Pope would not 
 have been able to withstand the efforts of the 
 Tuscan Reformers, if they had carefully 
 studied the records of the primitive Church 
 from the times of the Apostles, and in the first 
 four centuries, and if, when they had com- 
 pletely mastered that subject, they had begun 
 with an appeal to Holy Scripture and primi- 
 tive Antiquity in matters of Church govern- 
 ment, and with a strenuous endeavour to 
 restore primitive Church discipline, which the 
 Pope detested more than all the propositions 
 of Jausenius. 
 
 The true method of conducting the work of 
 
288 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE EICCl'S 
 
 Keformation would be to recall the minds of 
 the Clergy and the Nation to the principles 
 and usages of the primitive Churchy especially 
 in the appointment of Bishops. 
 
 The vacancy of so many Episcopal sees in 
 Italy at the present time, and of so many 
 Ecclesiastical dignities, is a very favourable 
 circumstance, which did not exist in Ricci's 
 time. Let those vacancies be filled up with 
 persons unfettered by trammels of bondage to 
 the Papal See; and when a certain number of 
 wise, learned, pious, loyal, and patriotic men 
 has been appointed to Episcopal sees, and other 
 Ecclesiastical dignities, and Parochial cures 
 of Italy, and when the popular mind has been 
 enlightened by sound teaching of the Holy 
 Scriptures, and by the requisite knowledge of 
 the doctrine and discipline of the Primitive 
 Church, — especially the Primitive Church of 
 Italy, — then it may be hoped that, with the 
 Divine Blessing, religious Reformation will 
 spring forth of itself, as a spontaneous de- 
 velopment of the inner working of the Spirit 
 of God in the heart and mind of the Church 
 and Nation of Italy, 
 
 I visited the Bishop's Palace, a handsome 
 
ATTEMPTS AT EEFOEMATION. 289 
 
 building erected by Scipio de Ricci in 1787. 
 The See of Pistoia is now vacant. One of the 
 Canons of the Cathedral (Monsignor Breschi) 
 is acting as Vicario Capitolare, or Deputy of 
 tbe Bishop. He has lately put forth a Pas- 
 toral, in which he exhorts the Clergy and 
 People of the Diocese to rally round the Pope : 
 he was holding his ecclesiastical Court in the 
 Episcopal Palace. 
 
 Why should not a Bishop be appointed to 
 the See of Pistoia, who, profiting by Ricci's 
 mistakes, might resume the work of Reforma- 
 tion, and have a part in conducting it to a 
 favourable issue ? 
 
 I also visited his Seminary, or theological 
 training College, nearly opposite to the Palace : 
 it has a noble corridor, and beautiful garden ; 
 and there are now about 120 students. I was 
 informed that the system of teaching now 
 pursued was not in harmony with the prin- 
 ciples of the present regime. Indeed this can 
 hardly be expected, as long as the influence of 
 Rome is what it is, and as long as the received 
 text-books of theological Schools are what 
 they are. At Rieti the pupils of the Bishop's 
 theological Seminary displayed the Papal 
 
 VOL. I. ^ 
 
290 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE EICCl'S 
 
 escutcheon, on the anniversary of the Statuto ; 
 the Government shut up the Seminary, and 
 sent the pupils home. 
 
 I had a letter of introduction to a celebrated 
 
 person at Pistoia, Dom. , who is well 
 
 known to the public as having been invited, 
 and almost compelled, by the people of Pistoia 
 to preach to them a series of sermons in the 
 Cathedral last Lent ; his eloquence, his high 
 character, and his age, — and perhaps even his 
 physical infirmity — he is nearly blind, but is 
 very hale and vigorous — and his known hos- 
 tility to the temporal power of the Papacy, 
 brought the people to the doors of his house, 
 which (as he informed me) they almost be- 
 sieged with clamour and importunity, and at 
 last he yielded to their solicitations, and went 
 to the Cathedral, where he was received with 
 the greatest enthusiasm. But though beloved 
 and revered by the people, he is ''suspended^ 
 by the present representative of the Bishop, 
 and not allowed to hear Confessions. How- 
 ever, the Vicario Capitol are was obliged to 
 allow him to preach, in order to avoid a 
 popular insurrection ! 
 
 Strange contrast ! The people of Prato in 
 
ATTEMPTS AT REFORMATION. 291 
 
 Ricci's time rose in rebellion^ because tbey 
 thought he was going to rob them of the 
 ' miraculous girdle ; ' and this year the people 
 of Pistoia, Ricci's Episcopal city, rose up in a 
 fit of enthusiasm to do honour to a suspended 
 Priest of the city, who makes no secret of his 
 desire that the Pope should be divested of his 
 temporal power. 
 
 This contrast is instructive. It shows that 
 any thing may be done in the way of reform- 
 ing the abuses of the Papacy, as to its claims 
 to temporal supremacy and dominion, and its 
 usurpation of Ecclesiastical jurisdiction in 
 appointment of Bishops, &c., and that the 
 People would look calmly on, as they have 
 lately done at the spoliation of the Pope of a 
 large part of his territories, — indeed they have 
 been abettors of that spoliation, — and at the 
 suppression of Monasteries and Nunneries ; but 
 they must be educated a great deal more than 
 they now are in the vital truths of Chris- 
 tianity, before they will part with a single 
 object of their devotion ; — and when they have 
 been educated, they will be the first to batter 
 down the idols which they themselves have 
 worshipped. 
 
 o 2 
 
292 PISTOIA. SCIPIO DE EICCI'S 
 
 I had a long conversation with this vene- 
 rable Ecclesiastic, and found that he was en- 
 tirely of the opinion which is expressed above, 
 that Kicci failed because he attempted too 
 much at once, and did not begin with matters 
 of Ecclesiastical Discipline and Jurisdiction, 
 but entangled himself in polemical questions, 
 and thus embarrassed himself and his cause. 
 Besides, said he, Kicci was not a man of learn- 
 ing, and therefore he was not a match for 
 the Pope's theologians. 
 
 Walked with him to see another friend : we 
 were joined in our way by a Priest who had 
 been suspended " a divinis " for his loyalty. 
 " Siamo sagrificati dai nostra superiori," said 
 he : we called together on another Ecclesiastic 
 who is engaged in collecting materials for a 
 history of Ricci and his times. 
 
 On this subject I will paraphrase a passage 
 from a French writer ^, "In their plans for 
 Reformation, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, 
 Leopold, and the Bishop of Pistoia, Ricci, 
 were not quite agreed. Leopold desired to 
 
 ' Esprit de I'Eglise, De Potter, torn. v. p. 90, Paris, 
 1820. 
 
ATTEMPTS AT EEFOEMATION. 293 
 
 tiaiionalize the Church of Tuscany, and to 
 emancipate it from the trammels of Rome, — 
 to which it ought never to have been subject. 
 Ricci aspired to be the leader of a religious 
 party, and to humble the Papacy by achieving 
 a triumph for Jansenism at the doors of 
 Eome. By this imprudent measure he ruined 
 the plans of his Master, the Grand Duke. 
 The Pope condemned the dogmatic innova- 
 tions of the Bishop, and in condemning them 
 he censured also the disciplinarian attempts 
 of Ricci's patron, the Grand Duke, which he 
 feared and detested more than the Bishop's 
 theology ; and which he would not have 
 dared to denounce publicly, for fear of ex- 
 asperating both Princes and People, who had 
 their eyes opened to the ambitious pretensions 
 of the Court of Rome." 
 
 There is much truth in these remarks, and 
 they deserve to be weighed well at the present 
 crisis. 
 
 o 3 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 FLORENCE {continued). 
 
 Sunday^ June 8th. Whitsunday. — After the 
 English Service went to the Duomo. " Is 
 there any sermon here to-day?" "No," was 
 the reply, " but there is one at S. Gaetano," — 
 a neighbouring church. So to S. Gaetano I 
 went. High mass was just over, and the 
 candles were being put out ; and a bell rung, 
 and out of the Sacristy came forth a Dominican 
 
 Friar, Padre —. , one of the leading men 
 
 of the Order, attended by an acolyte, and 
 mounted the Pulpit ; knelt down toward a 
 crucifix on his left, and he began his "con- 
 ferenza," as it was called, being one of a 
 series, on the " rights of man." 
 
 He commenced with a description of man's 
 rights hefore the Fall, and with a statement of 
 
FLORENCE. 295 
 
 the conditions of obedience to God, by which 
 they were controlled ; and then proceeded to 
 speak of his condition after the Fall. How 
 were his lost rights to be recovered? This 
 question (he said) could only be solved by 
 reference to the Bible, but " not (he added) 
 to the Bible interpreted according to each 
 man^s private sense^ as the Protestants teach 
 us, but under the guidance of the Church. 
 And Holy Scripture, thus explained, instructs 
 us to look to Christ as our ' Reparatore.' 
 The work of Restoration was effected by the 
 Incarnation and Death of the Son of God ; 
 and we must avail ourselves of the benefits 
 thus conferred upon us by God. And how are 
 we to obtain these benefits ? how are we to 
 obtain pardon and grace ? how are we to 
 recover what Adam lost ? How are we to 
 regain heaven ? The Protestants tell you 
 that you have nothing to do but to look to 
 Christ crucified," — and then he turned to the 
 crucifix in an attitude of adoration, — " and to 
 apply to yourself the righteousness of Christ 
 by faith, as they call it, and to assure your- 
 self confidently that God imputes Christ's 
 righteousness to you personally^ and then, 
 o 4 
 
296 TLOEENCE. 
 
 they say, the work of salvation is done for 
 you ; you need nothing more. But the Catho- 
 lic Church teaches, that you must lead a holy 
 life, a life of obedience and self-sacrifice, that 
 you must follow the example of Christ's life, if 
 you would enjoy the benefits of His Death; 
 you must be ready to do and to suffer for 
 Christ, as those holy men did and suffered 
 whom the Chief Pontiff ('il sommo Gerarca ') 
 is canonizing to-day and proposing to the 
 veneration of the faithful at Kome (the 
 Japanese Martyrs). But do not think that 
 you may sacrifice your life recklessly," — and 
 then he uttered a strong protest and solemn 
 warning against suicide ; — " and you must be 
 ready to give your goods to feed the poor : you 
 must consider that nothing is your own, but 
 that all things are common. Act in this 
 spirit: imitate the first Christians. Do not 
 however suppose that property is not autho- 
 rized by Christianity :" — and then he made 
 some good remarks against communism : — 
 " but exercise the spirit of love as taught by 
 the Catholic Church ; she, and she only makes 
 men charitable : in Protestant countries there 
 is no true Charity. There the poor perish 
 
PLOKENCE. 207 
 
 with hunger, while their neighbours are roll- 
 ing in wealth and revelling in luxury, and yet 
 look on with indifference." He then appealed 
 for the alms of the congregation, and a collec- 
 tion was made; and he informed them what 
 would be the subject of the next conference, 
 to which he invited their attendance. He 
 then descended from the pulpit and disap- 
 peared. This Sermon was delivered with 
 ease and dignity of manner; the style was 
 clear and elegant, the utterance fluent, ready, 
 and agreeable. 
 
 I felt rather disconcerted by the character 
 he had given of Protestants to the congrega- 
 tion, and went to the Sacristy and asked, 
 " Has the Preacher left the Church ? " " Yes ; 
 he is ' rientrato nella casa del Priore.' '* 
 " Would you have the kindness to conduct me 
 to him V " Certainly." I was led through a 
 gallery, up a staircase, and was introduced 
 into an apartment, where the Preacher was 
 taking coffee, with two other Priests, after the 
 Sermon. The Priests retired, and left me 
 with the Preacher. Having apologized for 
 the visit, and having expressed the pleasure I 
 had derived from a considerable portion of the 
 o 5 
 
298 FLORENCE. 
 
 Sermon, I said I felt sure he would pardon me 
 if, as a minister of the Church of England, 
 I ventured to offer some respectful expostula- 
 tions on certain statements in his discourse: 
 "You said, I think, that the Protestant 
 Communities have no rule for interpreting the 
 Bible, but leave it to be twisted about by 
 every man according to his caprice. This, I 
 venture to assure you, is not the case with the 
 Church of England. She knows that the 
 true sense of the Bible is the Bible; and 
 that a false sense is not the Bible, but a 
 perversion of it; it is man^s word put in the 
 place of God's Word: the Church of England 
 therefore not only places the Bible in the 
 hands of her people, but she helps her people 
 to understand it aright; she accompanies it 
 with her Book of Common Prayer, in which 
 are the three Creeds, and a Catechism, and 
 Articles of Religion; and she says in her 
 Articles, that 'the Church' — that is, the 
 Church universal ' — ' has authority in Contro- 
 versies of faith.' She asserts that the Church 
 is the 'Keeper of the Bible,' and that no one 
 
 ' Art. XX. 
 
rLOEENCE. 299 
 
 can prove the Integrity, Genuineness, and 
 Inspiration of the Bible without the help of 
 the Church. The Church of England defines 
 the Canonical Books of Scripture to be those 
 books which are 'generally received in the 
 Church ^' 
 
 " Besides, you said, if I remember rightly, 
 that Protestants teach that a man will be 
 saved if he can assure himself that he is 
 favoured by God; and that he need not fear 
 any thing if he can work himself up to a 
 persuasion that God imputes to him the 
 merits of Christ, and that this we call 'justifi- 
 cation by faith.' Now let me be allowed to 
 assure you, that the Church of England does 
 not separate the doctrine of Justification from 
 that of Sanctification, but teaches with St. 
 Paul that ' without holiness no man shall see 
 the Lord ^ ;' and I asked him whether he was 
 acquainted with the works of our Bishops, — 
 Bishop Bull on this subject?" To which 
 he replied in the negative. He listened 
 courteously to what was said, and then replied 
 that if I had attended to his sermon I might 
 
 2 Art. yi. ' Heb. xii. 14. 
 
 O 6 
 
300 FLORENCE. 
 
 have perceived that he had not once men- 
 tioned the Church of England^ for which 
 he professed much respect: he had said 
 nothing at all of "la chiesa Anglicana," but 
 that his remarks referred only to those forms 
 of Protestantism which were known to the 
 people of Florence, especially that of the 
 Waldenses and their adherents, who, he said, 
 " are very busy in making Proselytes, and cir- 
 culating books against our Religion : they all 
 appeal to the 'sense private;' and in cau- 
 tioning the people of Florence against Pro- 
 testantism, I referred to those Protestants 
 with whom alone the people of Florence 
 are acquainted : how could I do otherwise ?" 
 
 This statement suggested feelings of regret 
 that the Church of England is not better 
 known than it is in Italy ; and that the notions 
 which the Florentines have of Protestantism 
 should be derived from a form of Peligion, 
 which is antagonistic in its operations, and 
 which can hardly be expected to make a 
 favourable impression upon them by its system 
 of Church Polity, and Kitual. 
 
 I took occasion to offer a respectful re- 
 monstrance on the representation which the 
 
FLOEENCE. 301 
 
 Preacher had given of Protestant Philan- 
 thropy. " Are you aware that the people of 
 England had proved their sympathy with the 
 poor by legislative enactments which make all 
 real property liable to contributions for the 
 relief of the poor, and that thus a public 
 regular provision is made for the succour of 
 the indigent, in addition to the private benefi- 
 cence which shows itself in the foundation and 
 support of many charitable Institutions ? " No, 
 he was not. 
 
 We parted from one another with a friendly 
 farewell on both sides, and I felt a strong 
 persuasion, derived from the sober and serious 
 tone of his sermon, and from the courteous 
 gentleness of his manner, that we should have 
 found many things in common between us; 
 and I felt also an earnest desire that he had 
 some better means than he seemed to possess 
 of making an acquaintance with the English 
 Church and Reformation. 
 
 I went in the evening to the Vaudois 
 Church; a large upper room in the Via alia 
 Vigna Nuova. About a hundred persons 
 present. A portion of Scripture (Acts ii.) 
 appropriate to the day (Whitsunday) was 
 
302 FLOKENCE. 
 
 read by a lay deacon from the Version of 
 Diodati. The Sermon was an eloquent dis- 
 course in Italian by Pastor G , dressed as 
 
 a layman. He asserted explicitly the " Inspi- 
 ration of Scripture " and the doctrine of the 
 "lavacro di rigenerazione:" he said that the 
 Holy Spirit is the true "Vicario di Gesu 
 Cristo," and that Jesus Christ, not St. Peter, 
 is the Rock of the Church. He spoke in 
 somewhat disparaging terms of the " Power of 
 the Keys," and inveighed in vehement lan- 
 guage against the errors and corruptions of 
 the Church of Rome. He modestly acknow- 
 ledged the shortcomings of their own congre- 
 gations, especially in the neglect of Common 
 Prayer, to which the outpouring of the gifts of 
 the Spirit was promised by Christ. 
 
 After the Sermon the preacher made a 
 familiar address, in which he gave an account 
 of various matters, which he supposed might 
 be interesting to the congregation. Among 
 these he mentioned that an English Clergy- 
 man would address them in the ensuing week, 
 who had lately been to Rome to circulate 
 tracts among the Roman Catholic Bishops 
 then assembled for the canonization, and who 
 
FLORENCE. 303 
 
 had been sent away by the Governor of Rome, 
 Monsignor Matteucci, but not without an 
 indemnity for the cost of the lodging he was 
 obliged to quit, and of the tracts, which were 
 confiscated by the authorities. A favourable 
 specimen of Roman lenity. The prayer after 
 the Sermon was a long rambling efi'usion by 
 the Lay deacon. 
 
 Went afterwards to the Cascine: beautiful 
 moonlight view of the Arno, and of the groves 
 on its banks : fireflies flitting through the air, 
 and glowworms twinkling on the ground. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 FLOEENCE {continued). 
 
 Whit'Monday^ June 9th. — Before breakfast at 
 our hotel we had a visit from a mendicant 
 friar, a Capuchin with his sack slung over his 
 shoulder; he was sad, like the Dominicans, at 
 the prospect of the extinction of his order. 
 Went to the Church of S. Spirito, hoping 
 for a service there appropriate to the day : no 
 Sermon — a florid messa cantata. 
 
 Went in the afternoon to the beautiful 
 Baptistery, whose bronze gates by Ghiberti 
 were said by Michael Angelo to be not un- 
 worthy to be gates of Paradise. Two 
 women came into the Baptistery, bringing 
 with them a baby to be christened, one of 
 the women being the Godmother^; no other 
 
 • The Church, of Eome reg^uires one sponsor for every 
 infant : a man for a male child, a woman for a female 
 
FLOEENCE. 305 
 
 person was present besides two Priests and 
 myself. 
 
 The Priest, after breathing into the infant's 
 face three times, made the sign of the cross 
 upon it, and uttered a prayer ; and then 
 placed his hand upon its head, and uttered 
 another prayer, and then exorcised the salt, 
 ("exorcizo te creatura salis,") and put a 
 particle of salt into the infant's mouth, and 
 said another prayer, and then made the sign 
 of the cross on the forehead of the child, and 
 placed his hand again on the head of the child, 
 and said another prayer ; then he recited the 
 
 child : she admits two sponsors, i. e. a man and a woman 
 for any child, but never two men or two women ; nor 
 ever the parent of the child; and she affirms that a 
 spiritual affinity is contracted, by sponsorship, with the 
 baptized person, and with the parents of the baptized 
 person; which affinity precludes Marriage, and would 
 dissolve it if it had been contracted. No Monks or Nuns 
 may be sponsors. 
 
 In cases of danger of death, baptism may be adminis- 
 tered, according to the Church of Eome, by any one 
 whether priest, or layman, or woman, even though they 
 be heretics, excommunicated, or unbelievers, " servata 
 tamen forma et intentione Ecclesice" which (in the 
 latter instances) seems to be a hazardous and precarious 
 supposition. 
 
306 TLOEENCE. 
 
 Creed, and the Lord's Prayer, together with 
 the sponsor ; and then proceeded to exorcise 
 the Evil Spirit with a certain form of words ; 
 and then he put his finger into his own 
 mouth, and touched with the saliva the ears of 
 the infant, and said, " Ephphatha, quod est, 
 aperire^;" and then touched the nose of the 
 child, and then addressed the appointed inter- 
 rogatories to the sponsor, "Dost thou renounce 
 the Devil, and all his works, and all his 
 pomps ?" He then dipped his thumb into the 
 oil, and anointed the infant, and wiped the 
 anointed places with cotton-wool ; and then 
 asked the sponsor ''''Dost thou believe f^^ 
 
 It is observable that the Church of Rome 
 still retains the Apostles' Creed in the Sacra- 
 ment of Baptism, as she does the Nicene Creed 
 in the Holy Communion ; — in neither case 
 has she ventured to append the Tridentine 
 additions. 
 
 The name of the child was then asked and 
 given : the Priest did not receive the child 
 into his own arms^ but while the sponsor was 
 holding the child, he poured water with a 
 
 * A bold application of the Divine words in Mark vii. 
 34. 
 
FLORENCE. 307 
 
 ladle over it three times, in the form of a 
 cross, the three affusions being made while he 
 pronounced the names of the Three Persons of 
 the Blessed Trinity. He then anointed the 
 infant's head with the chrism, and wiped the 
 head with cotton-wool, and placed a white 
 napkin on the head of the child, while he 
 uttered the prayer, " Accipe vestem candidam 
 quam immaculatam perferas ante tribunal 
 Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, ut habeas vitam 
 aeternam," — a record of the white marriage- 
 garment given at Baptism in the Primitive 
 Church ^ He then put into the hand of 
 the Sponsor, representing the child, a lighted 
 taper, saying "Accipe lampadem ardentem," — 
 another edifying reminiscence of the ancient 
 practice of the Church, and of the term by 
 which Baptism was called in the ancient 
 Church — illumination \ The Priest then 
 took pen and ink, and registered the Baptism 
 in a book, and delivered a copy of the entry to 
 the mother. 
 
 I inquired of one of the Priests whether all 
 
 * May the author be allowed to refer to his note on 
 Matt. xxii. 11, 12 ? 
 
 * (pojTKTfjLOQ : see on Heb. vi. 4 ; x. 32. 
 
308 FLOEENCE. 
 
 the Baptisms of Florence were solemnized n 
 this baptistery : if I remember rightly, he said 
 that they were. " How many baptisms have 
 you had to-day?" "Seven." "I suppose 
 that the water is blessed." "Yes, by the 
 Archbishop twice a year, on Easter Even 
 and Whitsun Eve." " Is any fee required for 
 baptism ? " " None ; but any one offers what 
 he pleases." 
 
 We may be disposed to regret that some of 
 the ceremonies here mentioned have not been 
 retained by our own Church. But on the 
 whole the effect of the administration of 
 Baptism — as I saw it on Whit-Monday in this 
 noble baptistery — was unsatisfactory. The 
 Latin Prayers were muttered over by the 
 Priest with unseemly haste, and were almost 
 inaudible, and certainly would not be under- 
 stood by the greater number of parents and 
 sponsors, and there was no congregation 
 present. 
 
 I think we may recognize the good sense of 
 the Church of England in not being content 
 with one Godfather or Godmother, and ap- 
 pointing that there should not be less than 
 three sponsors : she thus provides that there 
 
FLORENCE. 209 
 
 should never be a baptism solemnized in her 
 communion, to which our Lord's words may 
 not be applied, "Where two or three are 
 gathered together in My Name, there am I in 
 the midst of them = ;" and she thus secures a 
 compliance with the Scriptural condition as 
 to witnesses,—'' In the mouth of two or three 
 witnesses every word shall be established ^" 
 
 I never was more strongly impressed with 
 the value of a Liturgy in the mother tongue of 
 the people than on this occasion. How much 
 sound doctrinal and practical teaching is con- 
 tained in the Baptismal Office of the Church 
 of England, and how blessed and solemn is 
 the effect of the united prayers of the con- 
 gregation for the unconscious infant then 
 received into the arms of Christ ! When will 
 the Church of Italy recover such privileges as 
 these ? 
 
 ' Matt, xviii. 20. 
 
 ^ Deut. xis, 15. 2 Cor. xiii. 1. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
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