CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THIS BOOK IS ONE OF 
 A COLLECTION MADE BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
 1854-1919 
 
 AND BEQUEATHED TO 
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029393620 
 
Cornell University Library 
 BX1723 .A57 
 
 Dealinas with the Inquisition: or „Papal 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 029 393 620 
 
 DEALINGS 
 WITH THE INQUISITION 
 
 OK, 
 
 PAPAL KOME, 
 HER PRIESTS, AND HER JESUITS. 
 
LONDON : 
 II. CI.AY. PRINTER, DftEADSTRKKT HILL. 
 
DEALINGS 
 WITH THE INQUISITION: 
 
 OR, 
 
 PAPAL ROME, 
 HER PRIESTS, AND HER JESUITS. 
 
 WITH IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 EEV. GIACINTO ACHILLI, D.D. 
 
 LATE PRIOa AND VISITOR OF THE DOMINICAK ORDEIl, HEAD PROPESSOR OF 
 
 THEOtOGY, AND TICAR OF THE MASTER OF THE SACRED 
 
 APOSTOLIC PALACE, ETC. ETC. 
 
 " Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: 
 the snare is broken and we are escaped." — Ps, cxxiv. 7. 
 
 '• It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made 
 void thy law," — Ps. cxix. 126. 
 
 LONDON : 
 ARTHUR HALL, V1RTUE-& CO. 
 
 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 185L 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 -♦- 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 My Ebasons for qivino the Histort op mt Impkisohmeni 
 
 10 THE WoKLD 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Or THE Subjects teeatbd uroH is this Nakraute ... 20 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Mt Ckbed 33 
 
 CHAPTER rV. 
 
 First Letter to Gregory XVI 58 
 
 Second Letter to Ditto gg 
 
 Letter to Pius IX 82 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Inquisition in the Nineteenth Centitky 
 
 96 
 
 CHAPTER TI. 
 The Subtlety op the Inquisition . . . ... 121 
 
 CHAPTER Til. 
 The Jesuits 1*6 
 
 CHAPTER Vni. 
 The Dominicans, and mt Life amonq them . . .179 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 My Conveksion 222 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 My Farewell to Rome . . ... . . . 260 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Naples and the Neapolitans ... ... 304 
 
 CHAPTER SII. 
 The Monks op Naples . . 345 
 
CONTENTS. vii 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mr Exile 364 
 
 CHAPTER XrV. 
 The Italian Chdroh ... . 378 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 JIy Mission ... . . . 402 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Castle of St. Anoei.o . . . . -157 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 MY REASONS FOR GIVING THE HISTORY OF MY IMPRISON- 
 MENT TO THE AVORLD. 
 
 It was in the month of July, 1843, that I was 
 released, by order of Pope Gregory, from my first 
 imprisonment in the dungeons of the Inquisition. 
 On this occasion, one of the Dominican monks who 
 serve the office of Inquisitor, inquired of me, with a 
 malicious look, whether I, also, intended, one day, to 
 write an account of the Inquisition, as a well-known 
 author had done before me, with respect to Spielberg, 
 in his celebrated work, " Le mie 'prigioni." Perceiving 
 at once the object of this deceitful interrogation, which 
 was only to afford a pretext for renewing my incar- 
 ceration, at the very moment when liberty was before 
 me, I smiled at my interlocutor, and exclaimed, 
 "How is it possible, padre Inquisitore, you can ima- 
 gine I can have any idea of vindicating myself, on 
 account of the imprisonment I have undergone ? No, 
 be assured, whatever injustice you may have com- 
 
 B 
 
3 MY REASONS FOE GIYING 
 
 mitted towards me, I shall attempt no vindication. 
 You know fall well that in this country there exists no 
 tribunal higher than your own : even that of conscience 
 is silent here, and prostrate before you. Should I 
 make my complaint elsewhere, and appeal to the justice 
 of another land, how could I hope, unknown aiid 
 unfriended as I am, that my story would be listened 
 to ? Distrust is natural to man. One only Tribunal 
 remains; from that neither you nor I can escape; 
 and it is to that same Tribunal that I shall be able to 
 summon the Pope and his Cardinals. Nay, setting 
 aside the idea of my own appeal, they will be summoned 
 to appear by the great Judge himself. I believe in the 
 declaration of Scripture, 'We shall all appear at the 
 judgment-seat of Christ.^ And it is there, padre Inqui- 
 sitore, that our cause shall be tried, and the justice of 
 your decrees adjudicated. Moreover, I shall not, at the 
 present time, describe my imprisonment ; not because 
 I have not sufficient materials, but because it shall not 
 be said that I seek to avenge myself, in publishing to 
 the world what you study to hide, and laying open to 
 sight what you would keep concealed from every eye. 
 This time I shall make it my business to write con- 
 cerning my liberty, rather than my confinement. The 
 latter, indeed, might gratify the merely inquisitive; but 
 the former will be a source of satisfaction to many kind 
 hearts. If I speak of my imprisonment alone, I merely 
 enjoy the advantage — perhaps a useless one — of en- 
 gaging for a while the ear of the pubHc ; but if I treat 
 of the liberty I have gained, O padre Inquisitore, the 
 
THE HISTORY OF MY mPHISONMENT. 3 
 
 holy and the real liberty I have achieved, then indeed 
 I may hope to see around me those generous spirits 
 who, also escaped from their imprisonment, flock to the 
 true standard of liberty — to the word of God." 
 
 At these words the Inquisitor appeared perplexed, 
 and, alluding to a former part of my observations, 
 abruptly remarked: "You have said you should not. 
 write an account <of your imprisonment this time; have 
 you then any idea of returning here ? " 
 
 " At any rate, you may rest assured, that should I 
 ever again be shut up in the Inquisition, no considera- 
 tion will prevent me from giving a full account of all 
 I may have seen or heard, as soon as I am released." 
 
 " Oh ! another time you would not get away so 
 easily." 
 
 " I can readily imagine it. Indeed, I do not know 
 how it has happened that I have got off so cheaply in the 
 present instance, with only three months' confinement. 
 Whether I shall ever return here or not, I cannot say ; 
 but in case you should lay hands on me again, would 
 you then, padre Inquisitore, permit me to give a short 
 account of my treatment?" 
 
 " Only let us see you back, and then it will be time 
 enough to talk about it," replied the Inquisitor, with 
 an air of spiteful derision, that sufficiently indicated 
 what kind of treatment I might expect. 
 
 Now, as it has happened that my return did take 
 place, I feel myself authorized, and indeed called upon, 
 to keep my word. The Inquisitor no doubt resolved 
 that if I ever again fell into his power, I should not 
 
 b2 
 
4 MY REASONS FOR GIVING 
 
 a second time escape ; and his purpose was %-ery near 
 being realized. Every precaution -was taken to render 
 my confinement more severe, and every means of 
 escape provided against. And as it was imagined that 
 the prisons of the Inquisition were less secure than 
 those of the Castle of St. Angelo, I was speedily 
 reinoved to that fortress. In fact, everything indicated 
 a determination, on the part of the Church of Rome, to 
 keep me in perpetual incarceration; so that I should 
 altogether have despaired of ever knowing the blessing 
 of liberty again, had my chance of obtaining it at all 
 rested on the will of my enemies. Often, no doubt, 
 the Inquisitors have said among themselves, " Ah ! this 
 time our prisoner will have no opportunity to write his 
 narrative." And I, on the other hand, kept repeating to 
 myself, " This time I shall effect my escape, even better 
 than the last : they trust in their gaolers, and in their 
 doors of iron; and I in that invisible hand which 
 throws open the doors, and lays the gaolers asleep." 
 
 They had apparently as much reason and probability 
 on their side as I had on mine. Their prognostications, 
 however, completely failed, while mine were realized ; a 
 proof, at any rate, of the superior value of my principle, 
 compared with their own. How often may they not 
 have been tormented with the thousrht that I mio-ht 
 possibly effect my escape ! And all the while I had no 
 intention of the kind. I will show hereafter how many 
 offers of assistance were made, both to myself and to 
 my friends, in case of my attempting flight, which they, 
 as well as myself, had the resolution to refuse. In 
 
THE HISTOKY Or MY IMPRISONMENT. 5 
 
 sliort, the Inquisitors were miserablCj lest they should 
 fail in their promise to retain me in their custody 
 whenever they caught me again. Why should not, I 
 observe mine towards them ? Since our first contest 
 is decided, the performance of my promise naturally 
 follows. 
 
 But ought this to be my sole motive why I should 
 give an account* of my imprisonment? No, indeed, 
 there are others of a better and a higher nature ; and 
 the principal one of all arises from the reverence I feel 
 for the truth, to my devotion for which my imprison- 
 ment bears testimony. 
 
 The Cliurcli of Rome, which has become the church 
 of Satan,* incessantly boasts itself as the sole Church 
 of Christ, under the title of Catholic and Apostolic; 
 and, according to its old practice of lying, it has endea- 
 voured to persuade the world that we, the people of 
 Rome, are so penetrated with its doctrines, and so 
 attached to its rites, that the denomination " Roman " 
 may be considered synonymous with that of " Papist." 
 And in order that it may not belie itself, it has esta- 
 blished a sacrilegious tribunal, wherein the Romans are 
 taught that neither human reason nor divine authority 
 ought to stand in their way of promoting its views ; 
 and that, if they are but faithful to the system it has 
 framed, all imaginable sins will be pardoned them ; nor 
 
 * I speak of the Church of the Pope and of the Cardinals, of the 
 Priests, and of the Jesuits ; not of the few true believers to be found 
 here and there, even in Eome, hidden from the eyes of the world, and 
 who may truly be called " firet-begotten children, whose names are 
 written in heaven." 
 
Missing Page 
 
Missing Page 
 
Missing Page 
 
Missing Page 
 
10 MY REASONS TOE GIVING 
 
 to all, and asserting ttat he is God. Let us pray that 
 the holy name of Jesus Christ may be no longer pro- 
 faned and blasphemed by a class of people who have 
 unworthily usurped it, and, as it were, solely to abuse 
 it. And let us pray that the holy "Word, the Gospel of 
 the Redeemer, be no longer persecuted in Rome, and 
 incarcerated in the Inquisition." 
 
 At these words my companions started. " Is it true 
 then," said one of them, "that the Bible itself is 
 persecuted by the Church of Rome, and that the fol- 
 lowers of the sacred Evangelists ai'e incarcerated in 
 the Inquisition ? " — " By the way," exclaimed another, 
 " can you tell me what has become of the Inquisition ? 
 Is it shut up?" "1 imagine so," observed a third. 
 " I should like to ascertain the fact," was the remark 
 of a fourth. " Let us go to it," was the general cry ; 
 " let us go and see whether it be shut or open, and let 
 us endeavour to penetrate into its recesses." 
 
 The service being concluded, every one hastened to 
 leave the church. We directed our steps towards the 
 far-famed Holy Office, which is to the left of St. Peter's, 
 behind the colonnade. It was built by Pius V. about 
 the middle of the sixteenth century, on account of the 
 old building in the Via di Ripetta having been de- 
 stroyed by fire, by the Romans, after the death of 
 Paul IV. We had no difficulty in entering; there 
 were no guards to prevent us ; and we saw no one in 
 our way. AU was silent, but nothing was in disorder. 
 " Oh ! there is nobody here," said one. " And yet," 
 observed another, "the place does not appear to be 
 
THE HISTOKY OF MT QIPIIISONMENT. H 
 
 abandoned. Let us knock at the door." " Butj un- 
 questionably," was the remark of all of us, "there 
 can be no one here. Not, the Inquisitors themselves 
 would have the hardihood to attempt to carry on 
 their proceedings under the present Government. 
 A Republic and an Inquisition would indeed form a 
 curious anomaly ! " 
 
 We had not yet finished our disquisition on the 
 absurdity and even the impossibility of such a coalition, 
 when, aroused it should seem by the noise made by 
 our party, a Dominican friar made his appearance at 
 one of the doors. His countenance expressed doubt 
 and apprehension, and his step was uncertain. He 
 cast his eyes around, and as he saw that we were, for 
 the most part, young men, he appeared greatly to 
 doubt our prudence and our moderation. Who knows 
 what his sensations were at first seeing us ! With a 
 faint voice he asked what we wanted ; and understand- 
 ing that we were desirous to inspect the place, and 
 more especially to visit the prisons of the Inquisition, 
 he hesitated, drew back a few paces, and excused him- 
 self, saying that he had not the power to conduct us 
 about, as he was only there with his superior. In fact, 
 he was a lay-brother, and servant to the reverend 
 father, the Commissioner General of the Inquisition. 
 
 I knew this friar very well, but he was not aware 
 of my presence, as I did not at first address myself 
 to him. 
 
 " Frate mio," said I to him, " I do not wonder that 
 you are afraid of us, since every thing must be an 
 
13 MY EEASONS POR GIVING 
 
 occasion of dread to those wliose lives have been an 
 incessant source of reproach to them. Nevertheless, 
 I own I am surprised that up to the present hour, 
 when the Government and the people have sung the 
 Te Demi for the Eoman Republic, you and your 
 superior, with as many as surround him, should have 
 the assurance to show yourselves in this place, if not 
 to continue your former evil practices, at least to 
 testify your readiness to do so. And tell me, my dear 
 Dominican, for by this time you have sufficiently 
 recognised me, do you not think I deserve to be called 
 your friend, if I save you from the outrage to which 
 you have rendered yourself liable this day ? Neither 
 I nor anybody else could answer for your life, if it 
 were known that, through youi' means, the Inquisition 
 still existed in Rome. Tell me without hesitation, who 
 and how many are here." 
 
 "All," replied he, " are here at present who were here 
 originally. There are the same number of officials, 
 and they occupy their usual quarters. The head 
 commissioner is in yonder apartment, with his whole 
 suite, and at this very moment they are at table." 
 
 "Pray," demanded I, "are his companions Avith 
 him ? " 
 
 " One is there ; the other is away." 
 
 " Are the keepers of the prison here ? " 
 
 " Yes, aU three." 
 
 " Then there are still prisoners ? " 
 
 At this interrogation the poor Dominican, who 
 among many bad, might be termed a good man, made 
 
THE HISTORY 0]? MY IMPEISONMEKT. 13 
 
 no other reply than shrugging his shoulders^ leaving 
 me to guess his meaning. It was too evident that 
 there were still prisoners remaining, and that the 
 hateful tribunal still existed in full power ! 
 
 My friends insisted on visiting the building. I dis- 
 suaded them, however, from attempting it, assuring 
 them that no one of. its inmates would open the 
 doors to us, without our using a degree of violence 
 which would be highly unbecoming. The monk had 
 already left us, and we descended the stairs we had 
 previously mounted. The great gateway of entrance 
 was no longer unoccupied : the porter was tliere with 
 some other persons ; among them I recognised one of 
 the gaolers, whom I well remembered, as he was the 
 same that kept me in custody, in the year 1843. Two 
 others also I knew, who were spies of the Inquisition. 
 The gaoler was courteous enough in his way. 
 
 " Good day. Signer, how fares it with you ? " 
 
 " And how fares it with you ?" 1 returned. " Are 
 you still gaolers of the Inquisition? Have they not 
 yet dismissed you ? " 
 
 "No, we have not been dismissed, we are still ia 
 the exercise of our functions ; we are all paid as usual, 
 and as long as that is the case, you know, we are bound 
 to continue our service." 
 
 " It is an evil employment : how is it that you are 
 not ashamed to be found in it ? Besides, it is a dan- 
 gerous one now. The very name of the Inquisition is 
 sufficient to compromise any one, at the present junc- 
 ture. Take my advice, my friend, and before you are 
 
14 Mr REASONS POR GIVING 
 
 turned out by force^ depart of your own accord. 
 Should the people be given to understand that the 
 Inquisition still continues, that all its officials are still 
 in this place, judges, commissioners, clerks, keepers, 
 spies, etc., and consequently dungeons and prisoners, 
 I assure you, the building would soon be set fire to, 
 and those consumed who belong to it." 
 
 I have entered into this minute detail, to show 
 that the Inquisition, as it existed in former times, 
 still continued under Pius IX. ; and that when he took 
 flight with his cardinals, he left it on the same foot- 
 ing as usual. Indeed, I am not wrong in asserting 
 that Pius IX. and the cardinals gave strict orders that 
 no one belonging to the Inquisition should quit his 
 post on pain of certain expulsion. A further proof of 
 this is, that after our visit to the Inquisition all the 
 inmates remained at their post, until the Triumvirate 
 sent to turn them out by force, and took possession of 
 the place with all that it contained. 
 
 It is a fact, then, that Popery is always the same ; 
 barbarous, as in the middle ages, in which it took its 
 rise ; ferocious, as in the time of Gregory VIII. ; in- 
 creasing in cruelty more and more, as under Inno- 
 cent III., Boniface VIII., Paul IV., Pius V. j and 
 stolid, as since the restoration in 1815 : always seek- 
 ing to connect itself with kings, and to model its 
 cabinet on the plan of that of Austria and Russia. 
 Popery always has the same spirit, and the same laws ; 
 though, with respect to its habits and temper, it not 
 unfrequently wears a mask. Thus, Pius IX. put on 
 
THE HISTORY OF MY IMPRISONIUENT. 15 
 
 the show of liberality ; but this pope, believed so liberal 
 by many, was always secretly combined with the Jesuits 
 and the Inquisition. 
 
 It is, therefore, to unmask and to expose Popery, as 
 it is at the present day, that I undertake the writing of 
 this work ; that the world may know that in Rome, 
 and in the Roman States, excepting during the five 
 months of the Republic, the infamous and hateful 
 Inquisition has always been in existence. I have 
 already said enough to bear out my assertion, that one 
 of my chief reasons for writing an account of my im- 
 prisonment, is an offering that I desire to make to 
 truth. The fact is, that Christianity suffers more now, 
 than in former times, under this harsh slavery. Re- 
 ligion, being an affair between God and man, cannot 
 be bound, limited, or prescribed, by human laws ; she 
 must be free as thought itself. To this conclusion the 
 civilization of the present day has arrived; and all 
 sound philosophy teaches, that what we wish for our- 
 selves, we ought to allow to others. In matters of 
 religion, every one desires the enjoyment of the most 
 complete liberty. None are more tenacious on this 
 point than the priests of Rome themselves : they com- 
 plained bitterly when the Turkish Government, or that 
 of the Czar, forbade them the performance of their rites, 
 or the attempt to gain a proselyte. Do not they desire 
 their liberty most ardently, in all those countries where 
 the Greek Church is predominant ? What would they 
 not say to the Genevese if they attempted, in their own 
 city of Geneva, to subject the papist to any privation 
 
16 MY REASONS TOR GIVING 
 
 or restraint ? All the world knows how they swarmed 
 to the British parliament, to obtain the famous eman- 
 cipation. And even that was not enough for them : 
 how incessantly have they not since presented them- 
 selves before it, with fresh demands and renewed 
 audacity ? The papists, throughout the whole of Eng- 
 land and Scotland, desire to possess the liberty to talk, 
 to write, to preach, and to assemble themselves to- 
 gether. In every quarter they desire to build churches ; 
 and found colleges, schools, and houses, for the seclu- 
 sion of men and of women. In this country are to be 
 found priests of various orders ; and numerous com- 
 panies of Jesuits have established themselves in dif- 
 ferent parts of the British dominions, whence they send 
 forth their missionaries to every part of the habitable 
 globe. All these desire to possess the most unre- 
 strained liberty. And I by no means blame either 
 those who seek or those who grant it. 
 
 I maintain, however, that these very priests, who, in 
 other countries, seek not only to be in entire freedom 
 themselves, but even to rule arbitrarily over others, 
 refuse, in their own, to grant the least liberty of 
 thought to any one whosoever. The Eoman clergy 
 insist on their right to speak and to act in England, in 
 Scotland, and in Ireland, in the same manner as they 
 do in Rome ; but they do not allow either the English 
 the Scotch, or the Irish, to act as they please in the 
 Papal States. It is known to every one how many new 
 churches the Roman Catholic priests have built in 
 various cities of this island, besides those they already 
 
THE HISTORY OF MT IMPRISONMENT. 17 
 
 possessed ; but to the Englishj on the other hand, not 
 even a single church is allowed; and it was made a 
 great favour that they were permitted to assemble 
 for Divine worship in a humble building beyond the 
 gate of the Piazza del Popolo, outside of the walls of 
 Rome. So habituated are the Roman Catholic clergy 
 to act in this manner, that the complaints and re- 
 monstrances of tha whole world have no influence 
 whatever upon them, either in changing their conduct, 
 or in rendering them ashamed of it. So many years 
 have they practised their iniquity, that they have lost 
 the power of blushing ; and such is the evil conse- 
 quence of their habits, that they no longer feel the 
 least pang of conscience, either at the continual neglect 
 of their own diities, or their perpetual invasion of the 
 rights of others. 
 
 Viewing things in this light, no one, I may venture 
 to hope, will blame me, if I speak out boldly of many 
 things which have lately taken place. Doubtless I 
 shall incur the severe censure of the Papal Court, 
 which will rise up against me, and loudly pour forth its 
 heaviest maledictions. Truly, instead of the furious 
 outcries in which the partisans of the Pope have 
 hitherto indulged, I would counsel them to endeavour 
 to answer me in a more worthy manner, and with the 
 same pacific spirit by which I shall be guided in my 
 writing. As to their clamour and their upbraidings, 
 nay, even their slanders, they will excite in me no 
 more fear than my imprisonment occasioned me ; 
 neither will any extent of abuse they may try to cast 
 
18 MY EEASONS FOR GIVING 
 
 -upon me^ remove from their own heads the disgrace of 
 the accusations I shall bring against them, and the 
 truth of which I challenge them to disprove. I shall 
 call things by their proper names, and shall distinguish 
 persons according to their actual merits, or otherwise. 
 But, that no one may conclude that I am instigated by 
 a spirit of vindictiveness, or a desire to injure the 
 reputation of those at present belonging to the Court 
 of Rome, I shall be careful to speak of individuals as 
 little as possible; for as no base motive inspires my 
 pen, so I do abhor, above all things, to defile my paper 
 with unworthy matter. In treating of any subject of 
 a dishonourable nature, I shall spare the names of 
 some who may be connected with it, and endeavour to 
 act with charity towards those who are yet living. 
 Nevertheless, I propose in these pages to give a warn- 
 ing for the time to come ; I shall unfold in them the 
 iniquity of the present day, in order that they may 
 serve as a lesson for the future. It will however be 
 necessary, occasionally, to state openly through whose 
 fault such things as I relate were effected. I should 
 be sorry for it to be said, that I undertook this work to 
 gratify any bad feeling ; my sole motive has been to 
 make the truth evident, that all may apprehend it. 
 It was for hearing and speaking the truth, that I in- 
 curred the hatred of the Papal Court. It was for the 
 truth's sake, that I hesitated at no sacrifice it required 
 from me ; and it is for the truth, that I lay the present 
 narrative before the public. 
 
 It is of little importance what outcry or party is 
 
THE HISTORY OF MY IMPRISONMENT. 19 
 
 raised against me. Abuse is the only reply that has 
 hitherto been offered me ; but I disregard it and return 
 it not. If any one writes in opposition to me^ all that 
 I ask is a fair opportunity of replying to him ; I know 
 my own fallibility to be great, and I have always hitherto 
 been disposed to acknowledge an error, when it has 
 been pointed out to me by candour and common sense. 
 I refer principally to matters of religion. If any one 
 opines that my language is not consonant with Scrip- 
 ture, I should desire that I might be called upon to 
 explain it ; because as I write to elicit the truth, who- 
 ever corrects in me an error, also promotes the same 
 object. And this is my rule of conduct with respect to 
 others. The time is now arrived for the full develop- 
 ment of the truth ; mankind, wearied of being so long 
 enchained, by the opinions of others, in the darkness 
 of error, now make the most strenuous efforts to free 
 themselves from their mental bonds. It is a struggle 
 between the oppressors and the oppressed. Those who 
 continue to advocate the right of oppressing, will be 
 hated by society, as well as those who desire to pre- 
 serve the privilege of lying. Falsehood is no longer a 
 venial ofl'ence ; it is a serious crime, and when re- 
 sorted to by persons in authority, it is always for the 
 purpose of oppression. The motto of the present age 
 is Liberty and Truth. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 OF THE SUBJECTS TllEATEB UPON IN THIS NAERATITE. 
 
 The title of this Ti'ork has reference to my six months' 
 imprisonment in the Inquisition, at Rome; conse- 
 quently, it will principally treat of the Roman Inqui- 
 sition, both as it exists at present, and as it existed in 
 the more flourishing times of the Roman Court. 
 
 Is the Inquisition of the nineteenth century, as it 
 existed under Gregory XVI., and as it now exists under 
 Pius IX., the same as the Inquisition of the sixteenth 
 century, under Paul IV. and Pius V. ? This is the 
 important question which every one asks, and to which 
 it is fitting that I should reply. 
 
 How is it, will be next demanded, that the Inquisi- 
 tion, which for three centuries has waged war against 
 civilization in all countries where popery has flourished, 
 — how is it that it has existed so long, loaded as it has 
 always been by the protests, the complaints, the threats, 
 and the execrations of all people? To this question, 
 also, I shall reply. 
 
 Wliat advantage, it may then be inquired, has 
 popery actually derived from the Inquisition, on ac- 
 
OF THE SUBJECTS TKEATED, ETC. 21 
 
 count of wliicli it has incurred so much odium on all 
 sides? This is a fair subject of inquiry, and I shall 
 lend my hand thereto, and state my views thereupon. 
 But at the very outset we shall have to pause in amaze- 
 ment at the incongruous spectacle presented to our 
 contemplation in French and Austrian soldiers march- 
 ing side by side with the Jesuits, and becoming the 
 tools of this same institution. 
 
 Let all those who have not hitherto sufficiently 
 observed these things, during the progress of the late 
 events, observe them now; note them well, and learn 
 to draw a right inference from them. It is for us to 
 transmit to posterity the record of what has passed in 
 our own times. Why should we refrain from speaking 
 of it ? Through fear of offending the two powers who 
 have, in the affairs of Rome, so basely lent their aid to 
 support the despotism of the pope ? I am not accus- 
 tomed to disguise my sentiments. I call him base, who 
 commits a base action, were he my own brother. 
 
 That Austria and France have dishonoured them- 
 selves, in lending their ser^dces to the pope, in the 
 bombardment of the three principal cities in his do- 
 minions, in order to bring them back to the rule of the 
 Jesuits and the Inquisition, is a fact that admits of no 
 question. The people of these two countries may seek 
 to excuse themselves, by throwing the blame on their 
 respective governments ; but I am of opinion that the 
 army, however employed by the government, represents 
 the nation, more especially in the case of a Republic. 
 I shall offer, therefore, a few observations on this sub- 
 
22 OF THE SUBJECTS TREATED UPON 
 
 ject, which may serve to elucidate more problems than 
 one. Such as. Whether the papacy be a religious or a 
 political system ? Whether the papacy can reform itself, 
 now that it is reduced to extremities? Whether the 
 overthrow of papacy would injure the cause of real 
 religion in Italy? And here we shall have to define 
 what papacy really is, and in what respect it differs 
 from pure and primitive Christianity. We shall also 
 give a brief statement of the doctrines of the Church 
 of Rome, its conduct as respects the Holy Bible, and 
 the reasons that have influenced the popes to prohibit 
 the reading of that inestimable treasure. This will 
 bring us to consider, whether it be possible for a system 
 of nominal Christianity to exist, in an enlightened age 
 like the present, contrary to the institution of Christ 
 himself, and to the doctrines of His Apostles ? Whether 
 the Italians, especially those of Rome and the Roman 
 States, can be compelled to maintain such a system, in 
 opposition to the convictions of their own judgment; 
 and whether the civilized nations of Europe could, in the 
 present day, endure a religious persecution ? Whether 
 liberty in matters of religion ought to be confined to 
 mere liberty of thought, or whether it should not 
 extend to liberty of speech, and forms of worship ? 
 Whether, while all other nations seek this liberty for 
 themselves, to the Romans alone every reasonable 
 demand for it should be invariably refused? 
 
 All these points will be fully treated of in the present 
 work ; and no degree of discussion or opposition that it 
 may draw forth will be unacceptable or displeasing to 
 
IN THIS NARRATIVE. 23 
 
 me; for in disquisitions like those Avhich I propose, 
 it is desirable that every voice should be heard. Shall 
 my arguments or my representations be contradicted ? 
 So much the better : the public will decide which is in 
 the right. I have no objection to be attacked, or even 
 to be overcome, should it be fairly shown that I am in 
 the wrong. When I throw down the gauntlet I desire 
 it should be taken up, and I am pleased when I meet 
 with a resolute antagonist. Should I declare, for ex- 
 ample, that the popes and their adherents have been 
 guilty of uttering falsehood, I must prove it, or I am 
 myself the culprit. But should I establish the truth 
 of my assertion, I have then a right to demand that 
 the popes and their adherents should be stigmatized 
 as false, accordingly. 
 
 Am I to be told that a pope is not to be censured 
 because he is infallible, or in other words, because he is 
 pope? If the fact of his falsity be estabhshed, is he 
 to be held guiltless through reverence to the imaginary 
 keys of St. Peter? And with respect to these keys, 
 what is to be understood by them ? Are they really 
 given to the popes ? and how, and for what purpose ? 
 Well may it be said that one question leads to another. 
 Suppose I happen to have no more respect for the 
 popes than they have shown, and still show, towards 
 those whom they call heretics; I shall feel myself at 
 liberty to tell the whole world what my opinion of 
 them is, and why I am led to entertain it. On all 
 other matters I make it a sacred rule to explain my 
 views with all possible clearness, and on every occasion 
 
24 or TUE SUBJECTS TREATED UPON 
 
 to tell the entire truth. Why then am I to conceal or 
 palliate it in this? How many have failed in their 
 object in consequence of concealing a part of the truth; 
 'how many others, through declaring it little by little, 
 have had their lives sacrificed before they had con- 
 cluded ! No such temporising will be mine ; I am 
 resolved to declare it entirely, at once, and without 
 reserve or disguise, whatever may be the result. It 
 is a great and holy cause which I have undertaken 
 to advocate, and one in which I have already learned 
 to suffer without a murmur. And what could my 
 enemies inflict upon me worse than they have done 
 already? I verily believe they indulge the hope of 
 getting me a third time into the Inquisition. Should 
 it be realized, my life would unquestionably be for- 
 feited to their revenge. But shall I be terrified at the 
 thought? Assuredly not; fear has never yet been 
 allowed to take root in my breast. Should I again fall 
 into their hands, let them do with me as they think fit. 
 In the mean while they cannot, at any rate at present, 
 prevent me from doing what most pleases myself; that is 
 to say, what my duty calls upon me to do ; what my most 
 sacred obligation as a minister of the religion of Christ 
 demands of me. I shall declare the truth to the world; 
 before God, and in the face of man I shall make it 
 known: and at the present juncture are there not 
 thousands, nay millions, disposed to listen to it ? 
 
 Now since it is an incontrovertible fact that I was 
 imprisoned in the Inquisition from July 29, 1849, to 
 January 19, 1850, on this topic I shall also write and 
 
IN THIS NAREATIVE. 25 
 
 disclose every particular connected with it. Six months 
 of close imprisonment, under the most barbarous of 
 tribunals, without any sufiicient cause, is not a circum- 
 stance to be lightly passed over; neither ought I to 
 be silent with respect to the cruelties and injustice to 
 which any one, however innocent, may be subjected 
 under its tyranny. 
 
 The story of my imprisonment presents a new feature 
 in the annals of the Inquisition. Secure of their privi- 
 lege, satisfied with the possession of their prey, which 
 they were persuaded no earthly power could force them 
 to surrender, they delayed my condemnation, partly 
 because the tribunal was not yet entirely re-organized, 
 owing to the absence of the Pope and the Cardinals, 
 and partly because — in consequence of the fact of my 
 imprisonment being well known, and many persons of 
 high consideration having declared themselves inte- 
 rested in my favour — they feared their designs might 
 be frustrated, were it made public that I had received 
 ray final sentence. Their only course, therefore, was 
 to condemn me to suffer in secret. But hundreds 
 were continually inquiring as to my fate, and it would 
 have been highly impolitic in the priestly party to 
 afford any opportunity for commenting upon it. 
 
 In cases of this kind the principal object of the 
 subtle Inquisitors is to gain time, and in the mean 
 while to spread abroad vagiie and uncertain reports, 
 relating to further accusations than those originally 
 alleged, in order to distract the attention and confuse 
 the minds of the friends of the party accused. And 
 
 c 
 
26 or THE SUBJECTS TREATED TJPON 
 
 tliis measure was speedily adopted witli regard to my- 
 self. A report was circulated that I had been guilty 
 of other crimes than those for which I was placed in 
 the Inquisition. We shall soon see what these crimes 
 werej and how quickly they vanished away. The fact 
 was, that I was detained captive in order to grace the 
 triumphal car of Pio Nono, on his return to Rome. 
 I was expected to acknowledge once more, the sove- 
 reign and the pontiff in him whose temporal supremacy 
 and spiritual infallibility I had alike denied. I was to 
 humble myself before him, confess my guilt, abjure my 
 present creed, implore forgiveness ; and then, after 
 many supplications for mercy, I might, if really re- 
 pentant, hope to be permitted to vegetate, during the 
 remainder of my days, in nominal freedom and positive 
 bondage. 
 
 Such probably were the intentions of my persecutors, 
 which were in a single moment rendered vain and 
 hopeless by my quietly withdrawing myself from their 
 protection when they least expected it. It will be well 
 that I should explain the system usually observed by 
 the Inquisitors, and show their manner of calculating, 
 which, except in the present instance, has perhaps been 
 hitherto infallible. A prisoner to escape from the In- 
 quisition, without being retaken ! escape too from the 
 Castle, in which he was placed for (greater security !— 
 was ever such a thing heard of? Certainly this 
 was a triumph for the nineteenth century of which 
 the sixteenth could not boast. I shall treat then 
 concerning my escape; not only of the fact itself, but 
 
IN THIS NAEEATIVE. 27 
 
 of the causes that rendered it possible to be eiFected. 
 I shall show the motives that induced the French 
 to restore me to liberty; and the manner in which 
 tliey granted what I had full right to demand at their 
 hands. 
 
 A few pages will be given to the transactions of the 
 French with regard to myself, which I shall accurately 
 detail, in order that no future historian may deceive 
 the world by a false account. 
 
 But before my departure from the Inquisition, there 
 are two circumstances on which I shall dwell more at 
 large, under the impression that those persons for 
 whom I chiefly write, will be greatly interested in a 
 minute account of all that took place on those occa- 
 sions. I refer to my examination before the Judge of 
 the Inquisition, and ray conference with the Theologian 
 of the same establishment, who was sent to endeavour 
 by his arguments to bring me back to the Church of 
 Rome. How such an idea ever got into their heads 
 I cannot imagine. They knew that I had abjured 
 their system in consequence of a thorough conviction 
 of its falsity. They knew that for ten years I had 
 studied the subject night and day. They were not 
 ignorant that such attempts had been made before, and 
 that they had always proved unsuccessful. Papal Rome 
 had had to lament the defeat of many of her cham- 
 pions, who had leagued together to overcome me. 
 
 I was greatly surprised to see this Theologian, and 
 still more so to hear that he had been sent by the 
 Cardinal Vicar, by order of the Pope. Our conference, 
 
 c2 
 
28 OF THE SUBJECTS TREATED UPON 
 
 therij which took place privately, in a corner of the rich 
 saloon of Juho Romano, in the Castle of St. Angelo, 
 is now destined to become public, and I shall with 
 great satisfaction undertake the office of making it so ; 
 in order that not only all that passed between us may 
 be known, but that the manner of it may also be 
 understood. 
 
 The Romish priests always expect that persons 
 placed in the Inquisition will lose courage, and become 
 unable to exert their strength of mind. And this per- 
 suasion they naturally indulge in, from the established 
 fact, that the major part of those who are incarcerated 
 within its walls do become enfeebled, even to wasting 
 away, and begin to implore compassion. But they do 
 not call to mind how many others are to be found in 
 the annals of the same Inquisition, who have displayed 
 the most heroic fortitude, have resisted all the vaia 
 arguments of their fallen and corrupt Church ; and, full 
 of zeal, have opposed the truths of the Bible to their 
 decrees, the Gospel to tradition, the true Word of God 
 to the vain conceits of men. In short, it was resolved 
 to try their arts on me. I shall faithfully relate the 
 result of their endeavours, in order that it may furnish 
 an example, and serve for the edification of others. 
 The conferences between the Theologian of the Romish 
 Church and myself, will occupy an important portion 
 of this work. 
 
 My imprisonment was also intended to deprive me 
 of the benefit of any communication with my friends. 
 Such were the orders issued from the first, and they 
 
IN THIS NARRATIVE. 29 
 
 continued in full force throughout the whole period of 
 my confinement j the gaolers were threatened witli 
 punishment if they allowed the least communication 
 with me whatever. Nevertheless^ though how it hap- 
 pened I cannot tell, I certainly was visited by many. 
 MeanwhUcj I enjoyed full liberty of mind, and was too 
 sensible of the importance of my mission to rest from 
 the work of God. Within those walls I not only served 
 as a witness of the Truth, I was also an expounder of 
 it. With my Bible in hand, I discoursed of religion to 
 all who came into my presence, satisfied, each time, 
 that I was exalting the name of Christ, in casting down 
 that of the Pope; and that I was building up again 
 the pure religion of our fathers, on the ruins of the 
 superstitions introduced by the priests. I was full of 
 faith in the declaration of the Lord that Babylon 
 should be destroyed, that a voice should cry : " Come 
 out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her 
 sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." * 
 
 This voice, I repeated to myself, shall be mine; I 
 will execute the command of the Eternal Judge, I will 
 warn my brethren. Yes, I will warn them in the 
 name of Grod, and in the power of Christ, to take ven- 
 geance on this shameless harlot. 
 
 " Reward her even as she has rewarded you, and 
 double unto her double, according to her works : in 
 the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. How 
 much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, 
 
 * Eev. xviii. 4. 
 
30 OE THE SUBJECTS TREATED UPON 
 
 SO much torment and sorrow give lier ; for she saith iu 
 her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall 
 see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in 
 one day; death, and mourning, and famine; and she 
 shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the 
 Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the 
 earth, who have committed fornication and lived de- 
 liciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for 
 her."* 
 
 In this manner I communed with myself, and thus 
 I made known my sentiments to others. Neither did 
 my opinions remain confined within the walls of my 
 prison; frequently they made their way abroad, with- 
 out being conveyed by any messenger from myself; 
 nor was I permitted to approach any stranger from, 
 without. I mention this lest any one should be com- 
 promised among those who are at present under the 
 clutches of that barbarous tribunal. 
 
 May what I have to relate tend to the glory of God, 
 and to the welfare of souls ; and may it lead to the 
 shame and dishonour of those instruments of wicked- 
 ness, whose business it is to do the work of Satan. 
 Those who do not blush at their evil deeds will have to 
 endure the disgrace of hearing themselves spoken of 
 with reproach ; and perhaps on this account alone they 
 may be induced to desist from the commission of further 
 offence. I do not altogether despair of producing some 
 salutary effect in them through the means of this 
 
 Eev. 
 
 xyiii. 6 — 9 
 
IN THIS NARRATIVE. 31 
 
 publication. If nothing further, it will at least strike 
 their minds, enter into their hearts, and perhaps, as I 
 sincerely desire, lead them back to a state of moral 
 health. 
 
 My story will be told with simplicity, and my observa- 
 tions given with freedom. My chief care will be to give 
 no just cause for reproach. If many, as will probably be 
 the case, differ from»me, it will give me little concern. 
 If they should be my friends, I should request them to 
 specify their objections — I might, perhaps, sometimes 
 profit by them. At any rate I deem it expedient to 
 open my whole mind to my readers, and to disclose in 
 all sincerity what I believe in matters of religion, so 
 that no one may be mistaken in me, and that with 
 regard to' 'the tendency of my mind and operations 
 there may not be two opinions. So that, should my 
 name survive the tomb, posterity may know that it Avas 
 I who preached to the brethren of his native country 
 religious reformation. 
 
 If I had published this declaration before I fell a 
 second time into the hands of the Roman Inquisition, 
 I should have been spared the trouble of making so 
 many explanations to the Pope and the Cardinals, with 
 respect to my change of opinions. They would then 
 have had a more clear and definite idea of what existed 
 in the interior of my mind, and would not have de- 
 ceived themselves with the hope that I was not so 
 attached to the truth as to resist their artifices as 
 firmly as, through the grace of God, I was enabled 
 
32 OF THE SUBJECTS TREAraD UPON, ETC. 
 
 to do. And they would then necessarily have had a 
 less confident hope that, through their instigations, 
 that return which St. Peter speaks of in his Second 
 Epistle (chap. ii. ver. 22,) might have taken place, but 
 which the Theologians of the Inquisition would have 
 denominated a wonderful return to the arms of the 
 Holy Mother, the Church of Rome. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 MY CREED. 
 
 Ti-IE first time that I was laid hold of by the Inqui- 
 sition, I blamed myself for not disclosing more fuUy 
 what my belief was at that period. Already for several 
 years, I had received the doctrines of the Bible : I had 
 become a theologian of the true primitive Church. 
 I cannot, however, say that as yet I was a firm believer, 
 since I had not the spirit of the Gospel of Christ 
 abiding in me ; which is neither the fruit of our read- 
 ing, nor the work of our own intellect, but is given us 
 immediately from God. I was a Christian in mind, but 
 not in heart. If Christianity, as some suppose, were a 
 mere opinion, a belief, it would suffice, in order to 
 become a Christian, to admit the truth of the Scrip- 
 tures. The absurdity of which is manifest, from the 
 consideration that, in this case, the first Christian 
 would have been no other than the devil, since he was 
 the first to acknowledge the truth of Christianity. 
 I understood and acknowledged the truth, although I 
 was not yet fully actuated by it j I possessed the under- 
 standing of faith, but not faith itself^ I could instruct 
 
 C3 
 
3di MY CREED. 
 
 others in its precepts, tut was not myself capable of 
 obeying them. This, I apprehend, was a state neces- 
 sary for me to undergo, preparatory to the great 
 change— as the state of the chrysalis is essential to the 
 production of the butterfly. I stood midway between 
 the old and the new man : the old man. was already 
 buried, but the new man had not yet come to life. 
 
 What, then, would have been my profession of faith, 
 at that period? That of a theologian, who draws his 
 arguments from the Bible ; that of a man who, aware 
 not only of the errors of others, but of his own also, 
 renounces, condemns, and endeavours to get rid of 
 them, by every possible means. This profession of 
 faith I had not yet publicly avowed, but in many ways 
 it might have been surmised ; and putting together the 
 various opinions I had already made known, it was not 
 difficult to form a pretty correct idea as to the whole of 
 my religious persuasions. I by no means wanted the 
 courage — I wanted only a fitting opportunity to declare 
 myself. 
 
 Every action, to be well performed, ought to be done 
 in its proper time and place. The true reason, there- 
 fore, why I had not avowed my full sentiments, was 
 that a fitting opportunity had not yet presented itself. 
 
 But Kome was not ignorant of my real opinions. 
 Surrounded as I was with spies, although leading a 
 private life in Naples, separated from the Domini- 
 cans, apart from society, and buried among my books, 
 the Papal Court found no difficulty in becoming ac- 
 quainted with my state of mind, and was displeased 
 
MY CREED. 35 
 
 thereat ; and since there appeared hut little hope that 
 I should retrace my steps, it would have been very glad 
 had I come so far forward as to afford a pretence for 
 my apprehension. 
 
 The Inquisition, ever since the year 1833, had been 
 endeavoiiring, by means of their secret spies, to discover 
 in my conduct some ground for accusation. But these 
 Worthy emissaries, ■ either through want of ability, or 
 from not being so malicious as the Inquisition required, 
 brought nothing against me that the Holy Office could 
 take hold of. Their accusations, as far as I could learn, 
 were vague, uncertain, and frequently contradictory. 
 Among my accusers were two cardinals. One of them 
 stated that during all the time I had lived with him, 
 (I think it was during Lent, in 1835,) although he had 
 studied my character with great attention, he never 
 could make me out satisfactorily ; that he had listened 
 to above forty of my sermons, and never found in them 
 a single expression to which he could object ; — but that 
 in my private conversation he had often detected much 
 bitterness against the Court of Rome, and, in many 
 points, direct opposition to the Council of Trent ; and 
 that, although not himself altogether a disciple of 
 Bellarmin, he felt shocked at the severity of my attacks 
 upon that celebrated writer : neither, he continued, 
 did I spare the other two historians and annalists of 
 the Church of Rome, Orsi and Baronio ; that I spoke 
 highly of Fra Paolo Sarpi to Cardinal Pallavicino ; that 
 I ridiculed the sanctity of Gregory VII., and went so 
 far as to say that it would be well to take the opinion 
 
36 MY CKEED. 
 
 of tlie Countess Matilda on that point. The other 
 cardinal who accused me, expressed himself as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 " I have nothing to say against Father Achilli my- 
 self, but my vicar has told me that he is unstable in 
 his faith. I think him a dangerous character : it would 
 be best to make a friend of him, by kind treatment. 
 I see no middle path ; we must either make him a 
 bishop, or shut him up in the Inquisition." 
 
 This worthy cardinal was generally considered to be 
 rather deficient in judgment. I am of a contrary 
 opinion. Indeed, when I read his letter, among other 
 documents respecting my cause in the Inquisition,* 
 I judged him to be more crafty than many of his 
 brethren. 
 
 Among other accusations brought against me, there 
 v/as one written by two Dominicans, who had formerly 
 been my pupils in theology ; and these friars deposed 
 that I manifested a continual spirit of opposition to 
 many of the doctrines of the Church of Rome, and that 
 they entertained but little doubt that I should shortly 
 renounce it altogether,— which, indeed, I had already 
 done. I was also accused, by them, of paying no 
 respect to authority. Another Dominican asserted that 
 
 * On one occasion I was left alone by the Inquisitor, above an hour, 
 in one of the apartments of the Holy Office, while the cardinal was pre- 
 paring my process. He had inadvertently left on the table a bundle of 
 papers, containing the correspondence of the Inquisition with its 
 agents, and from which my accusations were drawn. I deemed myself 
 at fall liberty to peruse these documents, and obtained from them much 
 important matter relating to my affairs. 
 
MT CREED. 37 
 
 I did not believe in the power of the keys to absolve 
 the penitent ; and that I explained in a perfectly new 
 manner the words of Christ addressed to Peter : " And 
 I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 
 heaven," &e. ;* that my explanation, he continued, was 
 as follows : — " I will give unto thee," signifies a pro- 
 mise that Jesus Christ makes to Peter, and not a power 
 which he confers upon him, as the Church of Rome 
 asserts. " The keys " signify knowledge, whereby we 
 unlock and arrive at the mysteries of science, &c. " Of 
 the kingdom of heaven," signifies of my Church upon 
 earth ; on which account we say in our prayers, " Thy 
 kingdom come." Thus, " I will give unto thee the keys 
 of the kingdom of heaven," means, I promise to give 
 unto thee the knowledge of my Church, that is to say, 
 to place thee within it, to give thee fully to understand 
 its principles and its doctrines, and the spirit with 
 which it is animated. And the following passage, 
 " Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound 
 in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth 
 shall be loosed in heaven," is to be interpreted by 
 another, " Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be 
 bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on 
 earth shall be loosed in heaven." f And this, again, by 
 the following, "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are 
 remitted mito them ; and whosesoever sins ye retain, 
 they are retained." J " Ye "—it being no longer said 
 to Peter alone, but to all the apostles j yea, to all the 
 
 » Matt. xvi. 19. t Matt, xviii. 18. J John xx. 23. 
 
38 MY CREED. 
 
 disciples also, wliich includes all believers. Wherefore 
 St. Augustine exclaims, What is said to St. Peter is 
 said to all : Quod dictum est Petro dictum est omnibus. 
 To you believers, what ye bind shall be securely bound, 
 and what ye loose shall be entirely loosed. 
 
 This interpretation had given such great uneasiness 
 to the poor friar, that he found it necessary to disbur- 
 then his conscience, by relating the whole to the Inqui- 
 sitors. I do not recollect on what occasion, or in what 
 place, I told him all this : it is, however, perfectly true; 
 and I imagine, in his own miud, the friar did not dis- 
 agree with me ; though he found it extremely difficult 
 to reconcile it with the tenets of the Church of Rome, 
 which preach that Jesus Christ, iu these words, confers 
 upon Peter the authority of the keys ; by which is to 
 be understood the power of excommunication, and of 
 absolution, to whomsoever he thinks proper, and for 
 whatever cause he may judge expedient ; and that this 
 poorer is still possessed by the heirs of St. Peter, the 
 Popes of Rome. 
 
 My opinions on these heads were extremely unpalat- 
 able to the Church of Rome; and the more so from 
 the consequences that might attach to them. Other 
 accusations were also preferred against me, with refer- 
 ence to the famous dogma of Transubstantiation. It 
 was asserted that I did not appear to believe in the 
 literal sense of the words of Christ, respecting the bread 
 and wine of the Last Supper. 
 
 All this, however, was very imperfectly related by 
 my accuser, so that I think no great effect was pro- 
 
MY CEEED. 39 
 
 duced by his disclosures on the minds of the reverend 
 Inquisitors. 
 
 Much clearer was the account of a poor nunj written, 
 as she stated, at the instigation of her confessor. With 
 great simplicity, she related a conversation she had held 
 with me in the confessional, respecting the two sacra- 
 ments which entirely occupied the spiritual thoughts of 
 this poor sister. Confession, and the Holy Supper. She 
 said, with respect to the first, that of all the confessors she 
 had ever heard of, I had the most strange and singular 
 method. I would listen, she said, with the greatest 
 patience, to the disclosure, not only of her sins, but of 
 her thoughts and her feelings as well; in short, of all 
 her deficiencies ; and that I was very earnest in direct- 
 ing her conscience with respect to what she ought to 
 do, according to the dictates of the Spirit ; but that 
 when we were arrived at that point when I ought to 
 have given absolution to her, I invariably turned my 
 back, saying that it belonged to God alone to give 
 absolution for sins committed against himself, and that 
 we can only absolve each other for the offences we may 
 have mutually committed against each other. The 
 priest and the bishop can, in the name of the Church, 
 absolve such sins as are committed against the Cnurch, 
 and nothing further. 
 
 " One day, I said to him," added the nun, speaking 
 of me, " '1 believe that Confession, as the Church 
 teaches, is a sacrament instituted by Christ for the 
 remission of all sins whatsoever. Is it not so?' — 
 ' I think not,' replied he, ' because I do not find any 
 
40 MY CREED. 
 
 passage in the Holy Scriptures where the institution of 
 this sacrament is spoken of.' — 'And the injunction of 
 St. James, " Confess your sins to one another ? " ' — 
 ' They are of the same signification as those that follow, 
 "and pray one for another." Do you imagine that 
 only nuns and monks are to pray for the remainder of 
 mankind ? " Confess your sins to one another," signi- 
 fies that it is your duty to confess to m.e the sins you 
 have committed against me ; and I, on the other hand, 
 will do as much towards you, if ever I should offend 
 you.' — ' Then it is unnecessary that I should reveal to 
 a confessor the sins I may have committed against the 
 laws of God?' — 'Not only unnecessary, but the prac- 
 tice is pernicious, if you believe that the confessor can, 
 on the part of God, pardon you. We read that this 
 power is granted by God to his Christ, who says, " But, 
 that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on 
 earth to forgive sins," &c. God can delegate to another, 
 in an extraordinary mission, authority to announce to 
 others that he has pardoned them, as we read in the 
 case of Nathan, with respect to David. But who do we 
 ever read of that was appointed by God to act as a con- 
 fessor, and to give absolution in his .stead ? Jesus 
 Christ has given to believers the power to remit their 
 own offences, entirely, and for ever; and this he has 
 done because he is constituted the Head of the Church, 
 that is to say, of the people who are believers; to which 
 people God has promised remission of sins through 
 faith in Jesus Christ.'—' Then,' said I to him," con- 
 tinued the nun, " 'how shall I be assured that my sins 
 
MY CREED. 41 
 
 are forgiven me, unless a prophet is sent to tell me so, 
 as he was to David ? ' — ' Oh ! you will know it/ re- 
 plied he, ' through evidence of your own faith, if you 
 can truly say to yourself, " I believe in the remission of 
 sins." Is not faith more convincing than words? Man's 
 words may deceive you, but not the word of God. 
 If you were to hear from me, what you have so often 
 heard from others, , " I absolve you from your sins," 
 what assurance would you have that you were really 
 absolved? What am I, but a sinner, like yourself? Do 
 you apply for health to a sick man, or for wealth to a 
 poor one ? Oh ! how is it possible that you can prefer 
 to be so continually deceived? Poor deluded being, 
 come out of this darkness, and open your eyes to the 
 light.' — ' Then,' I replied, ' my father, according to 
 your idea, I ought never to confess to any one. How, 
 then, could I partake of the Holy Supper ? ' — ' St. 
 Paul,' he returned, 'has said, "Let a man examine 
 himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of 
 that cup." St. Paul nowhere tells us that it is first 
 necessary to confess to a priest.' " 
 
 Here terminated the first part of her account, which 
 was entirely confined to Confession. The second part 
 related to the Communion, and was as follows : — 
 
 " One day I was at confession : my heaviest crime 
 was a want of faith in the sacrament of the Holy 
 Supper. I accused myself of having entertained doubts 
 as to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. — 
 'What do you understand by the real presence?' 
 demanded he. — ' The substance presented before us of 
 
42 MY CREED. 
 
 the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.' — 
 ' If such be your opinion, you are deceived,' he pur- 
 sued; 'this substance cannot exist in the bread and 
 wine. You know that this sacrament is instituted by 
 Christ, to eat and to drink. Hence the precept, " Eat 
 and drink;" and, again, the penalty for non-observ- 
 ance : " If ye eat not of this bread and drink not of 
 this cup, ye have no life in you." Understand well 
 that the body of Christ was not made to be eaten, nor 
 his blood to be drunk. The natural body of Christ was 
 offered in sacrifice once only,* which is enough for our 
 sanctification, if you believe St. Paul speaks the truth.' 
 — ' I believe it, indeed,' replied I, ' but I also wish to 
 believe in the Holy Mother, the Church of Rome.' — 
 'My good daughter,' he said, 'if these two should be 
 opposed to each other, to which of them would you give 
 credence, — to St. Paiil, or to the Church of Rome?' — ■ 
 ' I should certainly be more inclined to believe St. 
 Paul, since he speaks through Divine inspiration.' — 
 ' The case is plain then, — St. Paul and the Church of 
 Rome are in opposition. The apostle calls that which 
 we eat in the sacrament, bread, and that which we 
 drink, wine ; whereas the Church of Rome pretends 
 that the bread and the wine vanish away, at the appear- 
 ance of the body and blood of Christ.' — ' But then,' 
 I rejoined, 'where is the sacrament; where is the com- 
 munion of the body and blood of Christ?'—' Clearly 
 in the bread and in the cup. You believe St. Paul— 
 hsten to his words : " The cup of blessing which we 
 * Heb. X. 10. 
 
MY CREED. 43 
 
 blesSj is it not the communion, of the blood of Christ ? 
 The bread which we break, is it not the communion of 
 the body of Christ ?"'*— To be candid," added the 
 nun, " this doctrine led me away for a time ; and in 
 communicating in future, I intended to eat of the 
 bread, and to conjoin myself by faith only, to our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. From which period I could no longer 
 adore the sacrament, saying to myself. This is merely 
 bread; it can have no particular signification shut up 
 there ; — and so all my devout prayers to this same 
 sacrament were suddenly put an end to. I expe- 
 rienced a sort of repugnance in bending my knee 
 as I passed before the altar, saying to myself. If it 
 be merely bread, it is an act of idolatry to wor- 
 ship it; — ^and at length I felt shocked to see others 
 prostrate, and adoring this bread, and offering up 
 prayers to it, as if it were God. Afterwards, I confess, 
 I experienced much suffering when other confessors 
 undertook to lead me back to ray old belief. It was 
 necessary to prohibit me from thinking on the words of 
 St. Paul, of which no one was able to give me a satis- 
 factory explanation; unless I should call the reply of 
 a certain reverend father (to whom I confided my diffi- 
 culty) a satisfactory one, when he assured me that he 
 thought it wiser not to trouble his head about such 
 matters, lest he should have to find the best argument 
 and the most satisfactory explanation within the walls 
 of the Inquisition." 
 
 This poor nun, who was at that time converted by 
 * 1 Cor. X. 16. 
 
44 MY CKEED. 
 
 my arguments, was afterwards compelled to denounce 
 me to the Inquisition, whicTi she had done through fear 
 of being herself confined there, had she refused ; as 
 the Inquisition obtains possession of tbe greater part of 
 its victims by threatening those who will not denounce 
 them, with imprisonment themselves. And I have no 
 doubt that she was so threatened more than once. 
 Alas ! no person shut up there has ever escaped : one 
 must live as the priests command — or die ! 
 
 Prom these and other similar accusations was my 
 process got up before the Inquisition, in the year 1842. 
 Here then was my profession of faith, warranted on 
 very respectable authority. I was very glad to see an 
 account of it ; and, to say the truth, I felt not a little 
 proud of it. I hastily put together these few notices, 
 and hid them for future use. I was annoyed that I 
 had not time to read more of the voluminous process, 
 and to extract from it other portions. I should per- 
 haps have found a complete series of accusations, 
 which might have completely laid open my entire 
 Christian belief. In fact, there were denunciations 
 with respect to what I had taught in the schools, in 
 the confessional, and in the pulpit. Doubtless, the 
 opportunity was not lost of accusing me of frequently 
 controverting the doctrines of Thomas Aquinas, re- 
 specting the pretended propitiatory sacrifice of the 
 Mass, the number of the Sacraments, the value of In- 
 dulgences, the torments of Purgatory, and other simi- 
 lar doctrines of that time, handed down to us as 
 dogmas of religion. 
 
MY CKEED. 45 
 
 If these accusations were joined to others, which I 
 saw in the volume at the Inquisition, chiefly from 
 Naples, with respect to my preaching, then indeed 
 there would have been nothing wanting to satisfy the 
 Holy Office that I was a heretic, in every sense of 
 the word, and richly merited to be consigned to the 
 flames. 
 
 The Dominicans, Jo whom, in honour of their founder,* 
 has hitherto been granted the great privilege of being 
 the chief agents in the Inquisition, hold Thomas 
 Aquinas and his doctrines in the highest esteem and 
 veneration, insomuch that their principal school is 
 called after his name. There is no degree of praise 
 that they have not lavished on their master, on whom 
 they have even bestowed the title of Angelic ; and they 
 have represented him, as all the world knows, with a 
 radiant sun in his breast, as symbolic of his wisdom, 
 and a dove at his ear, to indicate the presence of the 
 Holy Spirit, revealing to him the truth. Among other 
 pleasant stories recorded of him, is one which relates 
 that the crucifix addressed him in a set speech, in 
 approbation of his doctrine, saying : " O Thomas, thou 
 hast written well concerning me ! " The Dominicans 
 
 * Domenico di Guzman was the first Inquisitor, under Innocent III. 
 (1215), to whom he suggested the great project of destroying by an 
 armed force all the Protestants of that period, chiefly known under the 
 denominations of Albigensea and Valdenses. This friar in conjunction 
 with the pope founded an order of knights, whom he frequently led on 
 himself, and who were renowned for their massacre of these good Chris- 
 tians, who, retaining the Gospel, rejected the new doctrines of the Fourth 
 Council of the Lateran. 
 
46 MT CBEED. 
 
 swear to follow altogether the theological and philoso- 
 phical views of Thomas Aquinas ; and it is indispensably- 
 requisite to take an oath to that effect, before admission 
 into their colleges. At the present juncture, all who 
 do not agree with the Jesuits, flock to the schools of 
 the Dominicans. Indeed, I am of opinion that these 
 two parties divide among themselves the whole Church 
 of Rome : those who are not Jesuits or Molinists, are 
 Dominicans or Thomasines. Other schools of theology 
 are of little account, and are scarcely known, having no 
 followers beyond the immediate establishments; such 
 as the Benedictines, the Augustines, the Carmelites, and 
 others. 
 
 Brought up myself in this school of Aquinas, I was 
 early imbued with his doctrines. Five years I studied 
 the writings of this author, so celebrated for learn- 
 ing and scholastic subtlety. Unquestionably, Thomas 
 Aquinas was not the original framer of the Romish 
 doctrines : they were akeady produced, and he did no 
 more than defend and explain them. The most inge- 
 nious of theologians, he possessed a rare faculty of 
 persuasion; so that if instead of the doctrines he 
 undertook to defend, he had had others placed before 
 him, still more opposed to the truth, he would equally 
 well have reconciled them at once to the Holy 
 Scriptures and to the teaching of Aristotle. In his 
 Summa Theologia is to be found all that can be most 
 interesting to Rome, except il diritto nuovo of the 
 Council of Trent. I have always admired the in- 
 genuity of this writer, but very early I experienced 
 
MY CItEED. 47 
 
 considerable difficulty with respect to some of his 
 theories. 
 
 Having completed my course of study, I was ap- 
 pointed, in my twenty-fourth year, to the duty of 
 teaching. The first book on which I had to display 
 my ability was this very Summa Theologia of Thomas 
 Aquinas. Many opinions were formed as to how I 
 should acquit myself on the occasion. It was predicted 
 by some who had heard me strongly object to various 
 points in the Thomasine doctrines, that I should not 
 prove very faithful to them. The General of the Domi- 
 nicans hesitated to confide to me a school belonging to 
 the order, after he had heard that in my examination 
 I had shown but little respect for the scholastic doc- 
 trines; and he wrote to a certain cardinal, who had 
 sought to engage my services, as professor of theology, 
 in a seminary : " I would willingly accede to the re- 
 quest of your Eminence, with respect to the Reader 
 Achilli, were I not obliged, for certain reasons, to 
 examine him a little further as to his orthodoxy."* 
 After the lapse of a year, however, he granted me per- 
 mission to officiate at Viterbo, where, for a considerable 
 length of time, I was professor of various sciences, at 
 the Seminary and Bishop's CoUege, as I was also of 
 theology in the College of the Dominicans. 
 
 My labours in these situations obtained for me, from 
 
 the very beginning, considerable reputation, and not a 
 
 few friends gathered round me. Still I had many 
 
 enemies, and chiefly among the friars, — a class of 
 
 * Letter from Father Velzi to Cardinal Galeffi (1826). 
 
48 MY CREED. 
 
 gentry who to a very little good, adjoin a large share 
 of evil. Few among them are respectable in character, 
 the major part of them being lazy vagabonds, who, 
 to avoid every species of exertion, either physical or 
 mental, and to pass their whole lives in sloth and 
 ignorance, adopt the frock and cowl, which at once 
 authorize them to receive food, clothes, and lodging, 
 without any trouble or labour on their part. Altogether 
 they constitute the worst part of society, and only serve 
 to demoralize it by their bad example. As I could 
 never endure them, and shunned all intercourse with 
 them, it was natural that I should incur their hatred 
 and censure. 
 
 It appeared that those among the friars who disliked 
 me, feared me no less; since in all their attempted 
 persecutions, they studiously avoided coming forward 
 and avowing their hostility. However this may be, out 
 of the cloister I was equally beloved and protected. 
 Many bishops had a regard for me, and several car- 
 dinals. Pope Gregory XVI. looked upon me with a 
 favourable eye, and recommended me to the general of 
 our order; and his predecessor, Leo XII., had offered 
 me the post of Deputy Master of the Sacred Palace, in 
 the year 1827. 
 
 In the mean while my enemies grew more and more 
 uneasy every day, and were more and more disap- 
 pointed. Did they attack me on one side? They were 
 speedily put to confusion. On the other? It fre- 
 quently happened they inflicted injury on themselves 
 alone. Often, I believe, they despaired altogether of 
 
MY CREED. 49 
 
 accomplishing their evil intentions towards me. One 
 only method remained, by means of which secretly and 
 securely, and without danger of being discovered by 
 myself or my protectors, they might effect their object ; 
 and this was the Inquisition : for in that place no one, 
 not even the dearest friend, can afford protection or 
 support. 
 
 Every accusation Jias to be fully entered into. The 
 accuser gives his name to the tribunal, which for its 
 own part affects to be ignorant of it. The same with 
 the witnesses. Karely does it happen that they are 
 examined a second time. Their first deposition is 
 sufficient. 
 
 They began in this manner with respect to myself, 
 in order to undermine the edifice they were determined 
 to destroy ; and the first attack was made at Viterbo, 
 in concert with certain parties in Rome, and some of 
 the Dominicans from Naples, who were also invited to 
 lend their assistance. 
 
 But observe the foolishness and blindness of men ! 
 They who wielded this powerful weapon against me, 
 thought to destroy me with it ; instead of which, they 
 were the means of giving me fresh life. They under- 
 took to explain to others my profession of faith, which 
 I had not yet been able to make out clearly to myself. 
 They reared the structure in the most solemn manner, 
 before the Inquisition, that they themselves might no 
 longer doubt, and that the memory of my conversion 
 from papacy to pure Christianity, which began about 
 the year 1830, from which epoch the earliest of my 
 
 D 
 
50 MY CREED. 
 
 accusations are dated, might for ever be preserved. 
 May the Lord be praised ! 
 
 Why do not my present enemies publish these facts 
 in the manner in which they took place? I should 
 like to see the secret accusations against me openly 
 detailed. Instead of falsely framing charges of immo- 
 rahty which never existed, let them state my real 
 crimes. They might show " that in point of religious 
 belief I could not depart from the Holy Scriptures, that 
 my Christianity did not extend beyond the Bible ; that 
 I was greatly opposed to the later doctrines of the 
 Roman Church ; that my theology had existed eighteen 
 centuries, neither more nor less ; and that every article 
 that did not conform itself to this old theology, I 
 neither owned for doctrine nor for Christianity." Such 
 was the epitome with which a Dominican friar of 
 Naples wound up a lengthened declamation, to prove 
 that I was — guess what : a Nestorian, a Novatore. 
 
 To say the truth, if the Commissioner of the Inqui- 
 sition had communicated to me the substance of the 
 above, I should have leaped for joy. But in the opinion 
 of the friar, these premises were terrific. A heretic, 
 according to the Bible ! A Novatore, according to 
 primitive Christianity! These titles were for me a 
 source of pride and gratification. The Inquisitor thought 
 it far better that I should not be made acquainted with 
 these charges. He did not foresee that I might read 
 them without his permission. But since I had read 
 them over, and retained them perfectly in my memory, 
 it frequently happened that I made use of them, in my 
 
MY CBJEED. 51 
 
 replies to the Inquisitor. For example, when he asked 
 me Quid sentis defide? I remember my answer was : 
 
 " To those who are good Latin scholars, this question 
 may be considered in three points of view : you might 
 intend to ask me what I think concerning faith? or, 
 what do I think I ought to believe ? or, lastly, what is 
 it that I do believe ? I will readily reply to all these 
 points. 1st, What do I think concerning faith? That 
 it is a gift from God, by which we are made believers 
 in the truths that He has revealed. — 3d, What do I 
 think I ought to believe ? The truth alone, which He 
 has revealed to us, according to what is written in the 
 authentic book of Divine Revelation, and interpreted 
 according to the spirit and common sense of Christen- 
 dom. — 3d, What is it that I do believe ? The answer 
 is already given." 
 
 " Then," rejoined the Inquisitor, " you believe no- 
 thing but what you find written in the Bible?" 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " And you think that all that was said and done by 
 Jesus Christ is recorded in that book ? How is it then 
 that St. John tells us, that if that had been the case, the 
 whole world would not have contained the books that 
 would have been written ?" 
 
 " I am glad. Father Inquisitor, to hear you quote a 
 text from the Evangehst, which, if I interpret it aright, 
 leads us to infer that Jesus did many other things 
 which we do not know ; and not, as you imagine, that 
 we know them from other sources, and that, as they 
 are told to us from these sources, so we ought to believe 
 d3 
 
a MY CREED. 
 
 tbem. I do not believe, Father Inquisitor, more tLaii 
 I find written, because I know it to be sufficient; 
 I am satisfied that I am not deceived ; and besides, 
 I believe that no one should add to what is written 
 from Divine inspiration. You have quoted St. John, - 
 I now quote him in my turn, and I select that pas- 
 sage in which, speaking of his Revelation, he affirms as 
 follows : 
 
 " ' If any man shall add unto these things, God 
 shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this 
 book : and if any man shall take away from the words 
 of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his 
 part out of the book of life.' 
 
 " Is it not clear, from this, that we are instructed 
 neither to add to nor to take away from what is 
 written? The faith, therefore, that I profess, is the 
 same that was defined by Jesus Christ himself, ema- 
 nating from him eighteen centuries ago. This law was 
 never abrogated in order to engraft new doctrines upon 
 the old, or to make us falsify our original belief. Are 
 you of opinion. Father Inquisitor, that we can possess a 
 different faith from our fathers? I speak of those 
 early fathers, who, in this country, renounced idolatry 
 to follow Christ ; of those very men to whom the 
 apostle addressed the invaluable testimony : ' Your 
 faith is spoken of throughout the whole world ! ' In 
 all other matters I am willing to go vrith the nine- 
 teenth century; but as regards religion, I do not depart 
 from the first. I do not know. Father Inquisitor, what 
 your opinion is; but I am firm in the belief that all 
 
MY CREED. 53 
 
 Christians ought to be similarly minded, and that the 
 Church should return to its first state, both as regards 
 discipline and faith." 
 
 Such then, at that time, was my profession of faith ; 
 in which I was continually, through the operation of 
 various circumstances, being perfected ; not a little 
 assisted by the machinations of my enemies themselves. 
 It is true, I had nob yet sufificient courage to seek for 
 occasions of trial ; but on their occurrence, I invariably 
 experienced such grace and favour from God, that in 
 no instance was the opportunity lost of deriving due 
 profit from them. And since it has been ordained by 
 Providence that I should bear solemn testimony in 
 favour of the pure and true religion of Christ, and pub- 
 licly make avowal of my faith before men, and before 
 God, so it was expedient that I should, in the first 
 instance, make declaration of it in the face of my 
 enemies, and of that very tribunal before which so 
 many had sacrificed their lives in defence of the same 
 holy cause. 
 
 I did not at that time perceive the lofty designs of 
 this all-wise Providence : my eyes were not open to 
 behold the hidden destiny which, nevertheless, was in 
 store for me. I walked in darkness, and only knew 
 that I should not lose my way, because I was assured 
 that a Divine hand would be my protection and my 
 guide. 
 
 At present, however, through the mercy of the 
 Lord, I see my way more clearly. By his power I 
 have been snatched from the abyss of perdition, deli- 
 
54 MY CEEED, 
 
 vered from the malice of my enemies^ and conducted to 
 a land where there is liberty of belief, and where man 
 lives honourably in obedience to the laws of truth and 
 justice. 
 
 My first step, on finding myself a free man in a free 
 country, was to make a full and unqualified declaration 
 of my religious belief, that there might not remain the 
 least shadow of doubt as to my entire secession from 
 the Church of Rome. 
 
 Every one acquainted with me knows that I never 
 attempt to disguise what I feel ; should prudence occa- 
 sionally enjoin me to be silent, it is only for a very 
 short time that I can listen to her dictates. My energy 
 increases before an opposing, barrier, until, like a rush- 
 ing torrent, it levels and destroys every object it meets 
 with. Thus, no sooner did an outlet present itself for 
 the manifestation of my opinions, than they eagerly 
 pressed forward, and swept away all opposition that 
 stood in their way. 
 
 I was fuU of wrath against the Church of the priests, 
 ever since I had been aware of the deceit in which I 
 had been educated; and still more so, on account of 
 having myself been instrumental in propagating her 
 doctrines and her errors. This wrath I had hitherto 
 been obhged to restrain within my own breast; but 
 when I arrived in Corfu, in the year 1843, I found an 
 opportunity for giving way to it, of which I quickly 
 availed myself. My tongue was not idle, and my pen 
 was more active still. 
 
 I regret that I have not kept copies of several let- 
 
Mr CREED, 55 
 
 ters I wrote at that time to divers cardinals at Rome, 
 which, although full of stern reproof, were written 
 without hitterness, and in a conciliatory spirit; and I 
 still rememher them with pleasure, because I know 
 that they evinced how strong my feelings were upon 
 the subject. 
 
 I shall, however, here present to my readers copies 
 of two letters whieh I wrote about the same period to 
 Pope Gregory XVI., as well as of one which I subse- 
 quently addressed to his successor Pius IX. ; and these 
 win form the subject of the succeeding chapter. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Letter I. 
 
 To GaEGORY XVI. Bishop and Sovereign of Rome, 
 GiACiNTO AcHiLLi, Minister of the Italian Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 HOWEVEE known my sentiments may already be to 
 youj from several letters, whicli I have recently written 
 to your two cardinals, Polidori and Lambruscliinij still 
 I regard it as desirable to make a more ample declara- 
 tion to yourself, so as to throw greater light on ray 
 faith, and to leave no longer in doubt the form of reli- 
 gion which I follow and profess. 
 
 Believe not, Holy Father, that I am urged to this 
 step by any feeling of resentment in consequence of 
 the injuries done me in Rome, by certain of your 
 ministers; or that I wish to avenge myself thus, for 
 the hundred days during which I was shut up, last 
 year, in the Inquisition without any just cause. May 
 God pardon you your offences, as entirely as I pardon 
 you that act, though it brought upon me heavy suffer- 
 ings ! I have been enabled to derive benefit from it ; 
 and that which by you was designed for my injury, the 
 
FIKST LETTER TO GKEGOET XVI. 57 
 
 all-wise God has turned to my advantage. So that 
 now, on reckoning up my account, I find that my gain 
 has heen far greater than my loss ; that my sorrow has 
 been turned into joy ; that the plot has turned against 
 the plotters, to whom nothing has remained but 
 remorse for the attempt, and the shame of a miserable 
 defeat. 
 
 Holy Father, if you really fear God, you know suffi- 
 ciently that He is not to be trifled with— in other 
 words, we cannot lie to Him, nor purpose one thing 
 and say another. Allow me, then, now to summon you 
 into His presence, to discuss your faith and my own ; 
 for we are both equal before Him ; the Decalogue and 
 the Gospel are equally imposed upon us both. Except- 
 ing these, I know no other law to direct me in my 
 belief and in my actions; and I am convinced that 
 there should be no other, for any one who calls him- 
 self a Christian. 
 
 Tell me, I pray you, whence you derive those of 
 your dogmas which exist not in the Gospel, and those 
 numerous doctrines which are not to be found in any 
 book of the Scripture ? I am entitled to ask you ; for, 
 after examining your lauded fountains of tradition, 
 your theologians, and the Fathers, so dishonestly edited, 
 — I have found superabundant fraud, both in inter- 
 pretation, assertion, supposition, and inference; for all 
 seem to be concentrated in the object of making the 
 Pope universal sovereign; establishing him as head 
 and lord of the entire Church, with full and absolute 
 power of loosing and binding — that is, of destroying 
 
 d3 
 
58 PmST LETTEK TO GKEGORY XVI. 
 
 and building up,— declaring his Church, as a spiritual 
 kingdom, superior to every state, to every people, to 
 every dynasty; so that, according to this theory, the 
 power of the pope is made to absorb every other power; 
 from that of God himself, who alone, in other times, 
 judged men to life or to perdition, down to that of the 
 lowest baron, who can only have from the pope the 
 legitimate power over his vassals. 
 
 Such fables might be told in the vaunted days of 
 Gregoiy VII. ; when they were coined, with the design 
 of extending the papal mantle over the whole world; 
 subjecting to him, as far as possible, the kingdoms of 
 Europe and Asia. Such was the object of the Cru- 
 sades. Such was the object of the foundation of the 
 numerous Orders, — enrolled, under various devices, for 
 the purposes of the popes, and sent to the most remote 
 countries, to preach, together with the Gospel, the 
 primacy, the sovereignty, the infallible, irresistible, 
 fearful omnipotence of the Most Holy Bishop of Rome ; 
 under pain, if they did not, of being severely punished, 
 and with the promise, if they did, of being rewarded, 
 after death, with the honours of the altar. 
 
 History, Holy Father, teaches us this whenever 
 we read it with the necessary discernment. These 
 Orders, however, increased, spread, and were laden by 
 Rome with privileges, exemptions, and even riches; for 
 the monks, yet more than the priests, played the papal 
 game, related to the nations the holiness of the popes, 
 how the Holy Spirit chose them, and how Christ and 
 the Virgin conversed with them familiarly. Happy 
 
FIEST M;TTEK to GEEGOHY XVI. 59 
 
 whoever could obtain an Agnus Dei, or other favour ; 
 whilst for an indulgence, silver and gold were spent 
 without restraint. Hence the immense riches which, 
 from every quarter, showered upon Rome, and rendered 
 the popes proud, their courts insolent, their city the 
 most beautiful in the world. 
 
 But times changed; that is to say, many well- 
 informed persons Amongst the faithful, perceived the 
 imposture of these sellers of Christ; and first with 
 words, afterwards by acts, revolted against the disorder 
 which not only blinded them with error, but despoiled 
 and oppressed them. 
 
 And now came the epoch of the Reformation — of 
 that religious rising which, excited by God, and guided 
 by the Spirit of the Lord, succeeded in enhghtening 
 and persuading half Europe to separate from the theo- 
 ries of popery, without fear of offending religion, — nay, 
 rendering justice, by so doing, to that Gospel which 
 the popes had adulterated, which Rome had profaned, 
 which had been made an instrument of extortion and 
 falsehood, by the aid of priests and monks. But this 
 lesson, honestly given to them by nations, was not 
 enough to correct the popes : even the half of their pro- 
 selytes who remained to them, were sufficient to main- 
 tain their courts in all their luxury; and one hope 
 comforted them, that by the use of skilful artifices, 
 they might destroy the work of Luther and of Henry 
 VIII., as they had done that of so many others. 
 
 Holy Father, how has this hope for three centuries 
 failed your predecessors ! Nay, you yourself have had 
 
60 rmsT letter to gkegoet svi- 
 
 the grief of losing several districts, in the north and in 
 the south, which called themselves yours, without any 
 hope that they will ever return to you again. 
 
 If you wish to know the reason, I can tell it you. 
 It is because our times are no longer in accordance 
 with the impostures that you sell by your monks, who, 
 full of ignorance and superstition, still hawk about the 
 fables of Rome. The world will no longer listen to 
 your universal primacy, because every one knows that 
 it does not extend beyond the two millions and a half 
 of people, which, by the deference of the sovereigns of 
 Europe, it is still permitted you to govern by force of 
 arms. 
 
 Your indulgences, your relics, are specifics which 
 are gone out of use. The excise upon sins, which 
 you enforce once a-year, to be paid through your 
 privileged exactors, is, be assured, paid by the gene- 
 rality in false money ; inasmuch as now nearly every 
 one comprehends that, however great may be the 
 authority you possess, that power assuredly is wanting 
 to you which belongs to God alone. Still, it is to be 
 bitterly lamented, that a great part of Europe stiU 
 tolerates that trickery of yours — a spectacle revolting 
 to the good sense, not to say to the religion, of man- 
 kind — that a juggler should boast of being able to 
 transform, by virtue of certain words, a portion of 
 bread and wine into Deity. Too great, O Holy Father, 
 too great is the abuse attempted to be practised on 
 your adherents ; placing them in the very condition of 
 those who were once taught that gods might be born 
 
FmST LETTER TO GREGORY XYI. 61 
 
 in a garden. Why so far outrage your friends as to 
 make them afterwards ashamed of themselves, when 
 they come to reflect upon the fraud? It makes them 
 hate and curse you when this happens. In these our 
 days, when even children are angry at heing deceived, 
 men have suflBcient self-love rather to bear blows than 
 to be treated with fraud and delusion. 
 
 And do you know, what follows ? The gravest of all 
 evils — the total loss of religion. Eoman Catholics, if 
 not quick in taking refuge in some reform or other, 
 become Atheists, at the first moment that having their 
 eyes open, they perceive they have been drawn into 
 such gross errors. They feel an indignation which 
 makes them discredit everything ; believing that there 
 can be nothing good where so many evil things are 
 presented to them to swallow. Just as, when in a most 
 exquisite dish we find foreign substances which ofl'end 
 our senses, we do not endeavour to separate them, but 
 rather reject the whole; so it happens to Papists, when 
 they perceive the falsity and fraud which lie hidden 
 under the Roman faith. 
 
 What now will you say. Holy Father, if I prove to 
 you that by means of popery men become more wicked, 
 and are so speculatively ? The power that you confer 
 of absolving, to whom does it not secure pardon ? Who 
 is there that, having fulfilled that rite of yours, does 
 not feel persuaded that he has settled his accounts, 
 to open them again with equal extravagance ? Let the 
 fact convince you. Where are the greatest numbers of 
 robbers, traitors, adulterers, if not in the midst of your 
 
62 PmST LETTER TO GEEGORY XVI. 
 
 Catholics ? And why ? Because it costs them nothing 
 to cast themselves at the feet of one of your plenipo- 
 tentiaries, to cancel every iniquity. If you have been 
 at Naples, you know of whom it is that the churches 
 are full, who it is that heat their breasts before the 
 altar, who are those that weep all day at the confes- 
 sionals ! And such as Naples is, such are all the other 
 countries more or less papist. 
 
 But there is more still to observe. Who are generally 
 the most wicked persons in every locality ? (I am speak- 
 ing only of Italy, indeed only of Southern Italy — a 
 country emphatically Eoman-Catholic.) Forgive me. 
 Holy Father ; but it is a matter of fact, — priests and 
 monks; whatever iniquity, wickedness, and abomina- 
 tion has ever existed upon the earth, you will find 
 among them. Haughtiness, luxury, ambition, pride, — 
 where do they most abound ? In your temples. There 
 the excessive love of money, falsehood, fraud, duplicity, 
 cover themselves with a sacred veil, and are almost in 
 security from profane censures. And oh! how great 
 are the horrors of the cloisters {sepulchra dealbata), 
 where ignorance and superstition, laziness, indolence, 
 calumny, quarrels, immorality of every description, not 
 only live, but reign. The most abominable vices, long 
 banished from all society, have there taken refuge ; and 
 there will they continue miserably to dwell, until God, 
 outraged by them, shall rain down upon them the curse 
 of Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 
 Am I exaggerating? or do not you yourself, while 
 reading this paragraph, utter the sigh of sorro^ning con- 
 
FmST LETTER TO GEEGOEY XVI. 63 
 
 viction? Well, but who are to be blamed for such 
 evils? Mankind, you wiU tell me, evasively. But I 
 reply : Are not the immense mass of Protestants also a 
 part of mankind, who live quite differently, and who 
 are honest and respectable? Worshipping the same 
 Deity, followers of the same gospel, their temples are 
 truly the house of prayer, their Sundays the Lord's-day, 
 their ministers patterns of probity and morality. Can 
 this be denied concerning the Protestant clergy in 
 general ? But thousands of accusations can be most 
 justly made against the Roman-CathoKc clergy. Will 
 you venture to deny it ? You must first hide the epi- 
 scopal prisons of your State, and numerous other places 
 of punishment for ecclesiastics ; — you must prevent the 
 world from knowing of the Ergastolo of Corneto, full 
 to overflowing with priests and monks, whom you send 
 there yourself, when they become intolerable to you. 
 Find me anything like this in Germany or in England 
 — countries eminently Protestant. I have, I think, 
 proved to you, that your popery renders men more 
 wicked. 
 
 It follows, from what has been said, that such a 
 religion is the pest of society. And so indeed it is, as 
 that which conceals the truth, disfigures the gospel, 
 promotes error, favours ignorance and bigotry. Hence 
 comes the ruin of poor Italy, which, owing to this 
 system of belief, is in many parts desert, the country 
 uncultivated, the commerce in a deplorable condition. 
 Italy, once the queen of the world, is now the servant 
 and slave of the nations. Kings consulting with their 
 
64 FIRST LETTER TO 6KE60RT XVI. 
 
 confessors how best to oppress their people! Jesuits 
 restored to the ascendant ! Monks continually enrich- 
 ing themselves ! And, while all the rest of the world is 
 progressing, Italy alone is going back on account of 
 her popery, which degrades, debases, and renders her 
 contemptible, in the sight of God and man. 
 
 Holy Father, are you grieved by what I say ? I re- 
 joice not in. your grief, but in the hope that your grief 
 may be for your benefit. It rests with you, if you will, 
 to change the system. Be not ashamed of having erred 
 till now. You will be the man of the age, a man 
 glorious in all history ; you will be the true apostle of 
 Jesus Christ, if, renouncing the vanity of your primacy, 
 which can last to you but little longer, you lay down 
 the titles and the dignities which do not belong to you. 
 You, better than any other, can bring back to Italy the 
 religion of Christ in its purity ; taking away all that has 
 been maliciously invented, to defraud the faithful for the 
 profit of the clergy. The imposture is now thoroughly 
 understood; there are no longer persons who believe 
 in Confession, in the Mass, in the sufirages of Pur- 
 gatory, in the patronage of Saints. Your indulgences 
 have lost all their credit; your excommunications are 
 totally valueless ; your bulls and canons only raise a 
 smile. 
 
 How is the world changed in regard to you ! Once 
 all CathoUcs, even the least earnest, spoke of the pope 
 with every respect. Now your very court speaks ill of 
 you. Accusations against yourself personally, which 
 circulate through the world, and state things in the 
 
FIRST LETTER TO GREGORY XVI. 65 
 
 highest degree dishonourable, originate with Bomans. 
 You will call this the work of Satan, hut I must, 
 with more suitable language, call it the hand of God, 
 — that terrible hand which is preparing your punish- 
 ment. 
 
 It has happened to you, now, as it happened three 
 centuries since, to Pope Clement VII. Then Germany 
 and England separated from Rome under his eyes. 
 Poland and Spain are about to do the same at present 
 under yours. Hasten, Holy Father, to accept the call 
 which Heaven makes to you. Despise not the voice 
 of God, as your iU-advised predecessors despised it. 
 Your measure is now full. In the first days of your 
 pontificate you saw the most violent revolution which 
 ever happened in your States, — a sincere expression of 
 the opinion and wishes of every one. It was echoed 
 and applauded by all Italy. Italy wishes for you no 
 longer ; Italy no longer believes, respects, or loves you. 
 It was requisite, then, for the Austrians to interfere. 
 Will they interfere another time ? Or, if they do, will 
 they be able to extinguish the flame ? 
 
 Regard not who it is who gives you these sugges- 
 tions. I am less hostile to you than you imagine. Nay, 
 I protest to you that I have no hostility in my heart, 
 except towards j'our doctrine and policy ; I have none 
 towards yourself, whom I regard with religious affec- 
 tion, and for whom I desire the holy light of God, to 
 promote your repentance and that of your brethren. 
 
 CoKEu, January 15, 1843. 
 
66 SECOND LETTEE TO GREGORY XVI. 
 
 Letter II. 
 
 To Gregory XVI. Bishop and Sovereign of Rome, 
 GiACiNTO AcHiLLi, Minister of the Italian Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 It is not party spirit — it is not a craving to contend 
 with you, — but the love of truth, the interests of re- 
 ligion and of the charity of the gospel, which induce 
 me to write to you again. 
 
 In the Church of Jesus Christ it has ever been the 
 custom for the elders to treat with the bishops, upon 
 the most important matters. Thus Jerome did with 
 Damasus, and Bernard with Eugenius. I do not set 
 myself up as a judge. I only'wish to be a truthful 
 witness in a cause where there are a thousand accusers. 
 The issue lies between you and the Church — that 
 is, between the Christian people and one Bishop of 
 Christendom. No question could be more important, 
 from the subject to which it relates, the parties who 
 compose it, the period at which it is raised. The sub- 
 ject is the faith of the gospel, the only law given to 
 Christians. The parties are a multitude against a few, 
 a people against individuals, the Christian Church 
 against its pretended lords. The period is the nine- 
 teenth century. The terms of the question : whether a 
 whole world should continue to believe in you, to obey 
 you, to follow you, wherever you are pleased to lead it. 
 You support the affirmative, which others deny. I will 
 openly deliver my solemn testimony. 
 
SECOND LETa'ER TO GREGORY XVI. 67 
 
 The Christian world will no longer believe in you, 
 because you have deceived it, and because you continue 
 in your intention of deceiving it. It believed you as 
 long as you announced the truths of religion, as they 
 are written in the book of the common faith. To you, 
 more instructed than others, it gave the faculty of 
 explaining the mysteries of charity, the symbols of the 
 Divine Word, Youi; speech should have been simple 
 and pure, but you adulterated it with false doctrines, 
 with fallacious arguments, with senses extorted from 
 the philosophy of the pagans, — you explained the 
 gospel by the theories of Plato and the sophistries of 
 Aristotle. The world no longer knows what to believe. 
 Your doctors have exalted themselves above the 
 apostles; they perverted in their language the holy 
 expressions of those Epistles which men of God left for 
 the instruction of the faithful. A new Word prevailed 
 over the old — an earthly and human over the heavenly 
 and Divine. The faith, the patrimony of a free people, 
 was made over to a caste which domineered over them. 
 The property of the simple was usurped by the cun- 
 ning ; the inheritance of the poor of Jesus Christ was 
 extorted from them by the rich, who, clad in purple 
 and gold, disdained the title of brethren and friends — 
 the only appellation of Christians — and chose instead 
 to be called fathers and lords. And the people were 
 deceived by them. 
 
 Yes, the people; they who constitute the Church, 
 were deceived by the ministers of a religion which 
 knows nothing but the people, which is only given to 
 
68 SECOND LETTER TO GKEGORY XVI. 
 
 the people — hj which, whosoever aspires to be the 
 first, is condemned to be the last, — the people who, as 
 St. Peter says : — 
 
 " Laying aside all malice, and all guile, and evil 
 speaking ; as new-born babes desire the sincere milk of 
 the Word, in order to grow thereby, after having tasted 
 that the Lord is gracious : to whom coming, as to a 
 living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of 
 God and precious, they are built up as living stones, a 
 spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual 
 sacrifices acceptable unto God by Jesus Christ .... 
 a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, 
 a peculiar people, which in time past were not a people, 
 but now are the people of God ; which had not obtained 
 mercy, but now have obtained mercy.'^ 
 
 Yes, the people, deceived by you, have good reason 
 no longer to believe in you. You have deceived them 
 with your doctrines — yours, and not those of the 
 gospel; invented for your profit; alone; not for the 
 benefit of men's souls, to which you have even denied 
 consolation, when they could not give you silver and 
 gold in payment for it. You have deceived them, too, 
 with your practices, when you, so avaricious, have 
 preached disinterestedness ; you, so impure, chastity ; 
 you, so vindictive, pardon; you, so insubordinate, 
 submission; you, so turbulent, peace; you, so self- 
 indulgent, temperance; you, so indolent, industry; 
 you, sp immoral, holiness. 
 
 Thus to this day you have deceived the people ; and 
 the people have ceased to believe in you ; perceiving 
 
SECOND LETTER TO GEEGOET XVI. G9 
 
 that God did not dwell in you, that God no longer 
 spoke through your untruthful lips. 
 
 How, indeed, could they longer believe in you, when 
 your words were in open contradiction with the Word 
 of God — ^your institutions with its principles ? 
 
 God pardons him that believes — you declare none 
 absolved but by works ! God will be worshipped by 
 believers in spirit and in truth; He prohibits sculp- 
 tures and images, so that no one may ever give 
 worship and homage to another. 
 
 Oh, how many things have you taught, how many 
 divers practices have you adopted ! How have you 
 changed the temple of prayer, the mystic table of the 
 Lord's Supper, the simple hymn of the faithful, the 
 pure preaching of the word ! 
 
 Who ever saw in the ancient Churches — who could 
 have anticipated in the modern ones, the golden orna- 
 ments of your sacerdotal crowns and vestments? so 
 that, on solemn days, your whole person shines in the 
 temple, like a sun ; to which the almost-dazzled eyes of 
 a deluded multitude of disciples are turned, substi- 
 tuting, alas ! the senses for spirit, earth for heaven, 
 man for Deity. 
 
 Fatal illusion, which has caused such great evils 
 throughout Christendom ! these appearances are sup- 
 posed to be faith, and in these religion is made to con- 
 sist. Deny it if you can. What is, in fact, the faith of 
 the people, and what must it be from your practical 
 instruction ? That, of course, which they see and hear 
 with you. And what else do they see and hear, but 
 
70 SECOND LETTEE TO GBEGOET XYI. 
 
 superstitions and errors? To whom are the solemn 
 days dedicated? To the saints. Concerning whom 
 are the most glowing orations made in the churches ? 
 The saints. Who is over the altars? A saint^ at 
 full length ; with, or perhaps without, a small crucifix, 
 scarcely visible. Which way do the people turn on 
 entering the temple ? To the spot where they see an 
 image exciting to their feelings. And what follows ? 
 The people worship it. And you priests, spectators 
 of this superstition, are silent. You are consistent 
 in being so, for none but yourselves 'deserve to be 
 blamed for this abuse, — you, who place the image there 
 — you, who relate its miracles, so as to enamour the 
 simple who trust you ! You are silent also because it 
 is your interest. Oblations, gifts, offerings, follow the 
 adoration. But are not the people deluded? What 
 matters it, if only the priesthood be profited ! 
 
 The people, however, will not believe themselves 
 deluded, in doing what they see you do. AVho is there 
 among you that does not adore the saints, does not 
 adore and kiss their relics ? It is useless to urge the 
 distiuction about sorts of worship, which you make in 
 the schools. The people know it not, because they 
 have never been taught it. It is shut up in your 
 books, from whence it never comes out, except to be 
 learnt by those who have to support and defend it 
 against every attack. In short, it is the doctrine of 
 controversy, not of practice. 
 
 If you regulated the practice by the doctrine, you 
 would prohibit kneeling before images and rehcs ; but 
 
SECOND LETTER TO GEEGOEY XVI. 71 
 
 you are the first to kneel. You would not permit the 
 use of incense to relics and images, practised from 
 antiquity in honour of God alone ; but it is you who 
 offer incense to them. You would not tolerate even the 
 candles on the altar, to inspire the people with a high 
 idea of the majesty of God ; but you light them your- 
 selves. You come upon us with the distinction of the 
 school, between the worship and adoration of images. 
 
 Who are you who dare to distinguish, where the law 
 precludes all distinction ? It is God who says in the 
 Second Commandment, " Thou shalt not make unto 
 thyself any graven image, or any likeness of any thing 
 that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, 
 or that is in the water under the earth : thou shalt 
 not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." 
 (Exod. XX. ; Deut. v.) But you have purposely taken 
 this commandment out of your Decalogue, dividing 
 the last into two, in order to complete the number ten. 
 
 Need I remind you of all the other inventions by 
 which you have deceived the people, making them 
 beheve that you have found them in the Scriptures ; 
 and that they have, moreover, the suffrage of a constant 
 tradition within the Church ? The people, having now 
 learnt to read, take the Bible in their hands, and look 
 for your doctrines ia it. Where, they ask, is the 
 precept for auricular confession, of which the Church 
 of Rome makes an express command, and has declared 
 it a Sacrament ? Not a word of it can be found in the 
 gospel, nor the slightest allusion in the letters of the 
 apostles. But perhaps some Christians of the early 
 
72 SECOND LETTEE TO GREGORY XTI. 
 
 times practised it ? For four centuries they did not 
 even know it by name, and when it began to spring up, 
 it found more opponents than followers ; no one even 
 venturing to reduce it into a precept. The people seek 
 in the Bible the famous doctrine of purgatory, and 
 how great their surprise to find that our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who brought life and immortality to light, with 
 the double eternity of rewards and punishments, has 
 never mentioned purgatory, nor have His apostles. 
 
 You send them to read a sentence of the Book of the 
 Maccabees, and wish Judas Maccabeus to teach the 
 Christian people what Jesus Christ did not teach. But 
 the people, who are not wanting in sense, ask their 
 priests what is the value of that Book of Maccabees ? 
 The conscientious priest is obliged to reply that it is 
 one of the Apocryphal books ; it having never been re- 
 ceived by the Hebrews, from whom we are bound to 
 receive faithfully the books of the Old Testament j not 
 being written originally in their language ; never being 
 quoted, either by Christ, or by His apostles; conse- 
 quently, not received in the ancient CathoHc Church, 
 and only inserted among the sacred books by the 
 Council of Trent; to whom it was an object to authen- 
 ticate the doctrine of purgatory. So much for the 
 Scripture proof. Now, let us go to the tradition of the 
 ancient Catholic Church. 
 
 You will admit that, for two centuries, prayers for 
 the dead, and stiU more the doctrine of purgatory, 
 never entered men's heads. Tertullian, that imagina- 
 tive mind, which saw so many other things upside- 
 
SECOND LETTEE TO GEEGORY XVI. 73 
 
 down, was the first to recommend prayers for the 
 dead, without, however, mentioning purgatory. To- 
 wards the end of the fourth century, Augustine, 
 another African mind, spoke more decidedly both of 
 prayers, and of a sort of suffrages for the dead. 
 However others choose to act, shall we rely on the 
 authority of his discoveries ? Even the purgatory of 
 Augustine was not ^n existing fire, but one which is to 
 be lighted up at the final destruction, through which 
 then, and not previously, souls shall pass. This theory 
 is of perhaps equal value with his theory about the 
 Antipodes, whose existence that learned man denied ! 
 
 The case is similar with all the other dogmas which, 
 since the time of Gregory VII., have originated in the 
 Church of Rome. Is the Christian Church bound to 
 receive the wicked inventions of Honorius III., pro- 
 posed and sanctioned by him in the Lateran Council 
 (1315) ? Shall she adhere to his famous dogma of 
 transubstantiation, invented by. the heretic Eutychus, 
 unknown in the first ages, and ably contracted by 
 Pope Galatius? {De Duab. Christ. Natur.) Can she 
 abide by the impious doctrine that the sacrifice of 
 Christ, offered once for all, as a full satisfaction, even 
 to the end of the world, should be renewed every day by 
 hundreds, by thousands, by hundreds of thousands of 
 priests, who say that they are authorized to offer it, 
 both for the living and the dead? Most enormous 
 sacrilege, to which the whole Bible is opposed, and 
 ■which the Apostle Paul loudly condemns in his 
 Epistles ! What elder, or bishop, in the first centujies, 
 E 
 
74 SECOND LETTER. TO GREGORY XVI. 
 
 ever allowed himself to celebrate your mass, or the 
 sacrifice which you call unbloody, or to make use of 
 anything but the simple commemoration of the Supper 
 of the Lord ; very far removed from that idea with 
 which you have clothed it in the ages of error and 
 ignorance ? Is the sacrament which you now celebrate 
 the original august mystery of the Divine food, insti- 
 tuted indeed in substances of bread and wine, but 
 containing spiritually the body and blood of Christ ; 
 which are communicated to His Church, that is, to the 
 multitude of behevers, not materially and physically, 
 as you say, but in virtue of faith ? Yes ! if you will 
 but celebrate it with that simplicity with which it was 
 celebrated by the first bishops and elders of the 
 Catholic Church, we will come willingly to receive it at 
 your hands. Celebrate it in all its extent, and the 
 people will approach the eucharistic table, to eat of 
 the Divine bread, and to drink of the Divine cup. But 
 the people desire both the one and the other, and 
 "cannot yet understand the reason for which you have 
 taken the cup from them. 
 
 Is it not the precept of Christ that every believer 
 should drink of that cup as well as eat of that bread ? 
 Was not this the practice of the primitive times of 
 Christianity ? The Greek Church has always retained 
 that practice, and the Reformation immediately resumed 
 it. The people have as good a right to the cup as have 
 you priests;— even better than you, since you cannot 
 avail yourselves of it without the Church, properly so 
 called. In taking it alone, you perform an act con- 
 
SECOND LETTEll TO GREGORY XTI. 75 
 
 trary to His institutioiij which is to " communicate " 
 
 that is, to take it together, as the word itself teaches 
 you. Yes ! Only on this condition will the people 
 remain united to you, that you be faithful in the exer- 
 cise of the ministry, not altering the faith, not changing 
 the practice, not deceiving them in anything. 
 
 They are willing to confide in you as the appointed 
 servants of the Church, in the offices of religion. But 
 instead of this you think of nothing but to command. 
 The yoke of Christ, which He made easy, and His 
 burden, which He made light, you have rendered so 
 heavy and insupportable that the people refuse to 
 bear them. Something very different from indulgences 
 and benedictions is needed to satisfy the people. In 
 the present day fables please none but children, and 
 lies are no longer tolerated by any. The Christian 
 people desire from us, the ministers of its Church, 
 the Word of Life as announced by Jesus Christ, as 
 preached by the apostles, as written in the sacred books 
 of our faith. 
 
 If, instead of chaplets and Agni Dei, which are decep- 
 tions, you, the bishop of Rome, were to give the Bible 
 to the people, you would see how readily they would 
 follow you ! But it must be the Bible translated into 
 their own language, so that they may comprehend it. 
 Give them the Bible ! Bestow on them those sacred 
 books which Moses and the Prophets, the Evangelists 
 and the Apostles wrote for the people, and not for the 
 priests only ! Give the people that which is their own; 
 they have a right to it of which you cannot deprive 
 
 e2 
 
76 SECOND LETTER TO GBEGOEY XVI. 
 
 them. It is the testament of our God, who left His 
 people the heirs of His holy Word ; in reading which, 
 faith will be granted, and to the belief of which are 
 attached salvation and life. 
 
 Who gave you the power to deprive the people of 
 their privilege and highest benefit ? Fear lest God end 
 by avenging His oppressed ones, and causing a curse 
 to fall upon you. 
 
 You venture to excommunicate the people, if they 
 read the Bibles which a beneficent Christian society 
 has taken pains to print in all languages, on purpose 
 that all nations may enjoy the benefit of reading them. 
 You condemn the charity and the religion of those 
 good men, who, in their zeal for souls, undertake this 
 work with much expense to themselves ! O Pope 
 Gregory, what manner of spirit are you of? As one of 
 the bishops of Christendom, you should have a care to 
 feed your flock ; on what will you feed them, if not on 
 the pure and holy Word of God ? You ought, there- 
 fore, to be well disposed towards all who take this 
 Word from the holy originals in Hebrew, and Greek, 
 and faitl'.fully translate it into the vulgar tongue, so as 
 to enable you and other bishops to administer it to 
 your flocks. You ought yourself to accept these sacred 
 volumes from their hands, and, accompanying them 
 with the warmest expressions of paternal solicitude, re- 
 commend them to the reading and the study of your 
 children. What do I say? You ought, on your own 
 account, to print them, and not wait for others to 
 supply you with them. You would then see the 
 
SECOND LETIER TO GREGOKY XVI. 77 
 
 faitliful in your Church apply themselves eagerly to that 
 Divine book, and draw from it food and nourishment. 
 But, alas ! you do just the opposite. You do not print 
 it, and you do not choose that others should print it. 
 You never give it to the people, and you do not wish 
 that others should give it. I will add what I hear is 
 said, — you do not read, and you do not wish that 
 others should read it. And for this you allege, as your 
 sole reason, the pretext that the people are not capable 
 of understanding it. Truly, they do not understand it 
 in Latin ; but they would understand it in their own 
 language. The Germans and the English, to whom 
 their own Churches impart it, do understand it; why 
 should it not be understood by the French, the Italians, 
 and the Spaniards ? 
 
 You say, in your Encyclical of last March, that the 
 Council of Trent, in order to explain the Bible to the 
 people, provides that in each cathedral church a canon 
 should be charged to deliver, during each year, certain 
 lectures on the Scriptures. And think you that this is 
 enough? I know of this provision, and I know, too, 
 how it is practised. Would that this were done in 
 all the cathedrals, and that the number of lectures 
 amounted to twenty in a year ! But, let me ask you, 
 has every village its cathedral and its theologians autho- 
 rized to lecture on the Scripture? Away with such 
 excuses ! why abuse the inexperienced with illusive 
 words, which only mock the people? The fact is, you 
 do not wish the Scriptures to be read, still less read 
 aloud, by any one who, having no interest in flattering 
 
78 SECOND LETTEB TO GKE60RY XVI. 
 
 you, would consult them in order to investigate your 
 doctrines. Those humble souls, to whom the Lord 
 would reveal the knowledge which He denies to your 
 theologians, would find in them the falsity of your 
 system ; instead of beheving in you, they would begin 
 to believe in Jesus Christ, who announces to His people 
 salvation by faith, and not by works ; remission of sins 
 to sinners by grace, and not by penance ; satisfaction 
 by the merits of Jesus Christ, and not by those of good 
 men ; Jesus Christ the sole Mediator with God, not the 
 Virgin and the saints ; Christ the Head and Chief of 
 the Church, not Peter nor you ; Christ alone perfectly 
 holy, Christ alone infallible. 
 
 These, and other such things, the people would find 
 in the Bible, if they read it. And the consequence 
 would be, that they, being the many, finding them- 
 selves deceived by you, who are the few, would summon 
 you to judgment for having too long kept them in 
 error, to the serious injury of religion, as well as to the 
 danger of their own souls. Think you that the anti- 
 quity of dates, the traditions of canons, or the authority 
 of the Fathers would then serve to defend your cause ? 
 The people, with the Bible in their hands, after having 
 confuted your errors and those of your Councils and of 
 your Fathers, all of whom, being uninspired men, were 
 but too liable to err, as in fact they did err — the 
 people would pronounce such a sentence as would 
 oblige you and your theologians to return to the Bible, 
 that is, to the true Catholic Church of the first three 
 centuries; reforming, by this means, what has been 
 
SECOND LETTEE TO GREGOEY XVi. 79 
 
 added sincCj whether by the desire of novelty, or by 
 the spirit of ambition and interest. 
 
 Do you know what the people are? They are the 
 Church of Jesus Christ. We are the ministers, or ser- 
 vants, of this Church ; and we therefore depend upon the 
 people. This truth, announced by Jesus Christ, and 
 openly taught by His apostles, but which men have wil- 
 fully denied, begins now to revive. The people, whom 
 it has been attempted to deprive of their privileg.es, now 
 begin to reclaim them. The man who now reads in 
 his own language the Epistles of St. Peter and St. Paul, 
 discovers in them his own privileges ; he reflects on the 
 usurpation practised upon him, and claims the rights to 
 which he is entitled. The people, as constituting the 
 Church, to which the ministers are servants in the dis- 
 pensation of mysteries and in the office of preaching, 
 will then have the help of Christ, even to the end of 
 the world. On this People-Church the promises of the 
 Redeemer descended, and we only participate in them 
 as part and ministers of the people. 
 
 Bishop of Eome ! continue, if you will, as long as 
 men will allow you, to sit on the throne of the Caesars, 
 who are dead; but invade not that of Jesus Christ, 
 who lives and reigns. He is the pnly Sovereign of the 
 People-Church, nor does He allow himself to be repre- 
 sented by others. He governs it at all times by His 
 own laws, nor does He suffer others to usurp His rights, 
 by substituting their own laws for His. 
 
 And does it follow that He must be longer silent, 
 because He has borne with you in silence until now ? 
 
80 SECOND LETTEE TO GREGOEY XTI. 
 
 It is now nearly the middle of the nineteenth century. 
 Do you not see the providence of God in operation over 
 all material and earthly things ? When was there ever 
 such progi-ess in enlightenment, such knowledge of the 
 arts of industry? Remote nations approach each other 
 by the easiest means, connect themselves in the most 
 rapid manner, and form plans for a degree of union, of 
 peace, and of prosperity, such as has never before 
 existed. Nations which slept for ages, have woke up 
 full of vigour and energy; their steps are those of a 
 giant; their look is that of the eagle; they measure 
 the earth, ia its vastness, and overrun it in all its 
 extent. The people of our day differ widely from those 
 of by-gone times ; their wants are more strongly felt, 
 their language is more decided. 
 
 In former times, no Roman could have been found 
 to speak to his pope with frankness. You have now 
 found one who spares you not, who dares to present 
 himself before you ; not on his knees to adore you, but 
 erect, to speak to you with freedom, and to tell you 
 what he thinks. And with him are thousands, nay 
 millions, who partake his views. And who is this 
 man ? An Italian, a minister of an Italian Church ; — 
 a Church which assembles to pray to God in the Italian 
 language, and to listen to the reading of His holy 
 Word. And in whose name does he minister? In 
 that of God. By whom chosen and received ? By the 
 people, who are the Church ; and previously by your- 
 self, and by the Church of the priests ; if, indeed, that 
 Church of yours be really a Church, consisting, as it 
 
SECOND LETTER TO GREGORY XVI. 81 
 
 doeSj of priests only, without people. You are called 
 the Latin Church, but where is the Latin people? 
 From the time that the language of the priests has 
 ceased to he the language of the people, priests and 
 people no longer form one Church ; unless by the word 
 Church you mean a theatre, with a stage for the actors 
 and a space for the spectators. The country from the 
 Alps to the sea is Italy ; its inhabitants are called by 
 all the world, Italians ; its language is Italian, and has 
 been so for four centuries. Where is there room for 
 a Latin Church? Such did exist before God extin- 
 guished it; but God has extinguished it, and man 
 cannot maintain it in existence. 
 
 Yes, Pope Gregory, Italians we are, and Christians 
 we are resolved to be. What shall be the name of our 
 Church? Answer, or the people will answer for you, 
 " The Italian." The Italian Church we are, by the will 
 of God and in the name of Jesus Christ who presides 
 over us. Will you join us ? You, too, are an Italian. 
 You, too, are a Christian. Nay, you are a minister 
 and an elder, as St. Peter designated himself; and 
 among the elders we will recognise you as a bishop, 
 whenever you will return with us to the Christianity of 
 primitive times ; otherwise we must part. 
 
 Understand that in religion there is no compromise, 
 and we are persuaded that the religion of the first 
 three centuries is alone the pure and true Christianity. 
 Can you deny this ? You are a conscientious man ; do 
 justice, then, to your country, since the providence of 
 God has made you pope, that is to say. Bishop of 
 
 e3 
 
83 LETTEE TO PITJS IX. 
 
 Eome, in the nineteenth, century. Blame us not^ that 
 in wishing to be Christians^ we refuse to be Romanists. 
 Within the present century, heaven and earth will 
 contradict you; posterity will condemn you; and an 
 Omnipotent God will pass your sentence, dooming you 
 to be the last of a series which has existed long enough, 
 bv coming down to our own days. 
 
 JnLY, 1844. 
 
 Letteu III. 
 
 To Pros IX. Bishop and Sovereign of Rome, Giacinto 
 ACHILLT, a Minister of the Italian Catholic Church. 
 
 It is not unknown to you that I addressed two letters 
 to your exalted predecessor, Gregory XVI., making a 
 full retractation of the Romish doctrines which I had 
 professed, more or less, up to 1841, and declaring to 
 him my entire belief in Divine Scripture alone, to the 
 exclusion of every thing else. In this faith I intend to 
 live and die, so help me God and His holy Word ! 
 
 Being appointed, however, by the will of the Lord, 
 a minister and elder in His Church, I cannot abstain 
 from the exercise of that employment without entail- 
 ing upon myself God's anger, and committing a cul- 
 pable desertion of duty. My ministry is consecrated 
 to the Church of Jesus Christ, and I am deeply 
 impressed with the obligation of fulfilling my vocation. 
 " The Pastor and Bishop of souls " gives me both the 
 
LETTER TO PIUS IX. 83 
 
 command and the strengtli to discharge my duties. 
 The Church, which is the people, calls me to serve it. 
 I must be faithful to my ministry, rendering a good 
 account jaf the charge entrusted to me. 
 
 I have been bidden to keep in remembrance " that 
 true faith which is in me," and "to keep alive that 
 gift of God which is in me by the imposition of hands," 
 seeing that God " has not given us a spirit of fear," but 
 of strength, and of love, and of a sound mind. There- 
 fore, " I must not be ashamed of the testimony of our 
 Lord." " I know in whom I have believed, and I am 
 persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have 
 committed unto Him against that day." I therefore 
 " keep the form of sound words which I have heard, in 
 faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." " I keep that 
 good thing, which was committed unto me by the Holy 
 Ghost, which dwelleth in me." I profess before God 
 and the Lord Jesus Christ " to preach the "Word, to be 
 instant in season and out of season, to reprove, rebuke, 
 exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." I purpose 
 to be vigilant in everything, "to endure afflictions, to 
 do the work of an evangelist, to make full proof of my 
 ministry." 
 
 Such being my office, such my obligations, here I 
 stand before you. Holy Father, " studying to show my- 
 self approved of God, a workman not needing to be 
 ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." I know 
 that the elders who have performed well the duty of 
 ruling should be " reputed worthy of double honour ; 
 especially those who labour in the Word and in doc- 
 
84 LETTER TO HUS IX. 
 
 triue." You are the elder to whom was recently com- 
 mitted the charge of ruling over the Church of our 
 country; and this charge was committed to you by 
 other elders, who divide amongst them the various 
 offices of that Church, or who are called to preside over 
 other Churches. You, the overseer, or bishop, of the 
 Church of Rome, took upon you the heavy responsibihty 
 of feeding that portion of the flock of Christ, and of 
 strengthening your brethren with good example and 
 holy doctrine. Your brethren, who look to you for 
 counsel and direction, depend in a certain degree on 
 you, regarding you as an elder brother, whose judgment 
 and prudence may aid their timidity and weakness. 
 On you, therefore, it devolves to propose to them that 
 which is of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 which tends to the welfare of His Church. You it 
 behoves to restore the truths of religion to their primitive 
 purity ; to take away every extraneous admixture, thus 
 separating the good wheat from the tares, in order to 
 give to the Christian people the nourishment of faith 
 and of salvation. Your brethren look up to you in this 
 subject, which ought to be conducted with harmony, in 
 order to preserve the union of the Christian Churches : 
 and although each possesses over his own Church an 
 equal authority, they nevertheless hesitate to act with- 
 out you ; they expect you to set this work in motion, 
 and to be their model in the reformation of doctrine. 
 
 Yes, Holy Father, the reformation of doctrine is the 
 serious business to which you and your brethren are 
 called by the people to turn your earnest attention ; for 
 
LETTER TO PIUS IX. 85 
 
 it is well known to all Christians^ that upon the purity 
 and holiness of the doctrines of the Church depend the 
 purity and holiness of the actions of believers. Now, 
 the doctrines which proceed from man are neither pure 
 nor holy, seeing that " God hath concluded them all 
 in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all." 
 Therefore, none but the doctrines of God are the truth 
 in religion j all others are lies. 
 
 Think you, then, that those are doctiines of God, 
 which are not contained in His Book, but are opposed 
 to the sacred precepts of His holy Word ? Have you 
 ever compared the doctrines taught in primitive times 
 with those of later ages ? Have you ever compared the 
 dogmas of the Decretals with the doctrines of the 
 Bible ? I have compared them, and have shuddered at 
 the result ; in amazement that so many strange novel- 
 ties, amounting to an actual renunciation of the ancient 
 faith, the pure creed of our fathers, should ever have 
 been introduced into Christianity. 
 
 Strip yourself, then, of that fatal prepossession that 
 your predecessors were holy and infallible. Examine 
 carefully the sources of the existing belief. Observe 
 what is from God, and what proceeds from man. Man 
 has erred in presuming to legislate in the things of 
 God. Not only singly, but in the aggregate, men have 
 erred. The Divine assistance was no doubt promised, 
 but it was for preserving the ancient doctrines, not for 
 framing new ones ; the Holy Spirit is with those who 
 believe in the ancient Scriptures, but not with those 
 who tamper with the Divine Word. In the middle 
 
86 LETTER TO PIUS E. 
 
 ages the ministers of the Catholic Church revelled in 
 innovation^ and from that time the desire for change 
 has grown upon them to such a degree, that primitive 
 Cliristianity can no longer be recognised. 
 
 Think you that it was ever permitted to men to add 
 their ideas and thoughts to the ideas and thoughts of 
 God, or to take anything away from the Divine Book ? 
 Are you not rather persuaded with me that whosoever 
 does this, on him are denounced the chastisements of 
 God, as it is written in the last verse of the Divine Reve- 
 lation — " God shall take away his part out of the book of 
 life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which 
 are written in this book ? " To add to the meaning, or 
 to change it ! to overturn on certain points the entire 
 system and spirit of the Divine Legislator ! I ask you, 
 who were an elder before me, and a ruler among the 
 elders, are such things to be endured? However 
 ancient these errors may be, however concealed by 
 some or acquiesced in by others, shall prescription pre- 
 vail to this extent ? No ! no antiquity .can establish 
 the abuses of religion; and even if the whole world 
 were combined to maintain error (supposing such a 
 thing were possible), even that would not hinder its 
 destruction by any single person who had with him the 
 Word of Truth. This, then, is the point at issue ;— the 
 abuses of Rome have existed long, and obtained for a 
 long time the support of the multitude; do they for 
 that reason cease to be abuses ? Her errors have been 
 adopted, applauded, followed; do they on that account 
 cease to be errors ? And must not abuses and errors 
 
LETTER TO PIUS IX. 87 
 
 be reformed, wheresoever they may be found, or how- 
 ever long they may have existed ? 
 
 But with whom does it rest to effect a reform in mat- 
 ters of religion ? Who is to promote it, and by what 
 means ? I reply : first, the bishops ; then, the elders ; 
 afterwards, all who have a zeal for religion. The 
 instrument of reformation is most simple, viz. the Word 
 of God as it stands written in the Holy Scriptures, pure 
 as our forefathers received it, powerful in itself to 
 change the face of the whole universe. The truths of 
 that sacred book constitute the whole of Christianity ; 
 out of it there exists no truth for the Church. Be it 
 yours, then, Holy Father, with the sacred Bible in your 
 hand, to reform the doctrine corrupted by your prede- 
 cessors ! No one so well as you can do this work ; no 
 one so much as you is bound to do it by conscience and 
 by special obligation. 
 
 Let this consideration sink deep into your mind, how 
 sad is the present state of religion in Italy, that country 
 with which you are most closely connected. Where, 
 now, can be found among us that holiness of faith, 
 whence alone proceeds holiness of works ? When we 
 look for Christianity, what do we see around us? 
 Infidelity or superstition. Infidelity in all those classes 
 who call themselves enlightened ; superstition in those 
 who follow the teaching of your priests. On the one 
 hand, are men who have cast off all belief, and have 
 rejected Christianity with popery. Seeing that both 
 Gospel and Canons came to them from the same hands, 
 they have concluded that both must be lies ; that both 
 
88 LETTER TO PIUS IX. 
 
 being preached to them with the same fervour, naVj the 
 Canons sometimes exalted above the Gospel, both have 
 been contrived only to shackle consciences, to degrade 
 the spirit of man, to subjugate the people to the rule of 
 one individual who has had, in all ages, an appetite for 
 power ! Thus, not distinguishing the work of man from 
 pure Christianity, which is the work of God, they have 
 rejected everything alike, and live the life of infidels. 
 On the other hand, we behold men who receive im- 
 plicitly all that is taught them — to whom all is gold 
 which is sold by the priests — to whom all is sacred 
 which has any show of religion or piety — who, not 
 caring for faith, seek only for good works ; and, think- 
 ing little or nothing about God and Jesus Christ, 
 run after saints and the Virgin, — relics, images, and 
 indulgences ! 
 
 These two classes, generally speaking, comprised all 
 the Christianity of Italy ; and to this unsoundness is to 
 be referred the reigning immorality, the want of energy 
 of mind, the absence of virtue and of union among our 
 citizens. " The Church which divides the races within 
 our country" was the great subject of lamentation to 
 that immortal genius, who, three centuries ago, on the 
 banks of the Arno, revealed to the world the wicked- 
 ness of princes. " The Church which demoralizes the 
 people" with its doctrines even more than with its 
 practices, is the lamentation which I, a son of Italy, a 
 minister of the Itahan people, raise aloud to heaven 
 and which, with all the strength that is in me, I would 
 echo in the ears of aU good men who love our country. 
 
LEITEE TO PIUS IX. 89 
 
 Yes ! from the Church, or rather from those who call 
 themselves the Church, proceeds all that series of evils 
 which degrades our beautiful land, and lowers our 
 people in the eyes of the stranger. Nor will I ever cease 
 to utter my voice, until, in this respect more than any 
 other, our beloved Italy shall be seen reforming herself, 
 and by these means returning gloriously to holiness of 
 faith, to purity of morals, to mutual love among our 
 citizens. 
 
 And you. Holy Father; are not you, like me, an 
 Italian ? do not you, like me, feel burning within you 
 the sacred love of country — " la dolce carita del natio 
 loco?" Oh! I will not so wrong you as to suppose 
 you now destitute of a sentiment which has hitherto 
 distinguished you ; a sentiment which ought rather to 
 grow stronger in your mind, now that, as bishop of the 
 most ancient of cities, you occupy the most glorious of 
 thrones. To you the applauding people ascribe a 
 generous liberality ; from you are expected good laws, 
 and ameliorations in the difficult details of government. 
 From you they hope to receive that, in which they 
 would receive every thing ; which by one act you have 
 the power to give them — a religious reformation. 
 Whoever thinks correctly, knows, that on this point 
 depend social improvement, public prosperity, — in a 
 word, every good thing which, by the favour of Divine 
 Providence, citizens are capable of acquiring. Without 
 this, we shall always remain in wretchedness, unhappi- 
 ness, disunion. Without this, there will never be 
 contentment, nor any tranquillity among the people. 
 
90 LETTER TO PIUS IX. 
 
 The spirit of restless change will continue to agitate 
 them — to their own injury, it is true, but also to the 
 destruction of yourself and of others who are their 
 princes. 
 
 Reform, then, let us have in the Church ; but what 
 reform, and in what particulars ? Must I repeat it ? 
 Remove every thing invented by popes, decreed by 
 popes, designed for the interest of popes. All this 
 is popery, not Christianity ; and we are resolved to be 
 henceforth Christians, not papists. The reformation is 
 complete, when once the sentence is uttered, " The 
 Bible, and nothing but the Bible." 
 
 For instance, that you, Pius, should be Bishop of 
 Rome, is not contrary to the Bible. But this is con- 
 trary to it, that you should assume a bishopric over 
 those sees which have already another bishop ; for all 
 bishops are equal, each one the pastor of his own flock, 
 and each independent of the other. For my part, you 
 should have my vote to be bishop of all Italy, were all 
 the other bishops removed ; but you cannot rightfully 
 co-exist. That elders, too, should exist, is in accord- 
 ance with the Bible— and you may call them priests, if 
 you will ; but as for friars, they are contrary to the 
 Bible ; their vows are repugnant to the Gospel, what- 
 ever your theologians may say of them; and their 
 ministry useless, at least, if not hurtful, to the Church. 
 What, again, do we mean by the Church? You 
 know well that in the Word of God it means the Chris- 
 tian people. It is contrary then to the Bible for the 
 Church to mean the priests only. Let it please you, 
 
LETTER TO PIUS IX. 91 
 
 Holy Father, to consider well, for a moment, this 
 point, which is at present of the highest importance. 
 Do you believe that what has been usurped should be 
 restored? Let it, then, be by your means that the 
 people resume their ancient rights, and repossess the 
 Church according to their right. But what Church 
 will you restore to the people of Italy ? The Latin ? 
 But where is now the Latin people, or the Latin lan- 
 guage ? Do you not perceive what a scourge God sent 
 you when the priests of Rome wished to appropriate 
 the Church to themselves and to make it their private 
 property, declaring themselves princes and governors, 
 and the people subjects and slaves to the Church of 
 the priests? It was a chastisement not unlike that 
 which God sent in the valley of Shinar, when daring 
 men set themselves to build the famous tower which 
 was to reach to heaven. Audacious priests, in the 
 thirteenth century, also attempted to raise them- 
 selves into a spiritual power, intending to hold the 
 people for ever in subjection. But God sent among 
 them by degrees the spirit of confusion, rendering their 
 language unintelligible to the people, so that people 
 and priests were compelled to separate. With the 
 priests remained the ancient language, in which they 
 had dictated laws at variance with the Gospel; and, 
 sometimes in Christ's name, sometimes in the name of 
 Moses, had oppressed, burned, tortured the people ; a 
 language associated with crimes which daily mounted 
 up to the throne of the Omnipotent, provoking the 
 infliction of condign punishment, — such crimes as 
 
93 LETTER TO PIUS IX. 
 
 prayers addressed in the temple to saints instead of to 
 God; the Word of Truth exchanged for fahles; and 
 Christian teaching founded no longer on the ancient 
 doctrine of the BiblCj but on the new doctrine of the 
 Canons. The whole language of Catholicism, having 
 become exclusively Romish, had adulterated the things 
 of God, the doctrines and maxims of the religion of 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 So grievous a scandal drew down upon Rome the 
 anger of the Eternal, who seemed, as it were, to repeat 
 the ancient words, " Let us go down, and there con- 
 found their language.'' That beautiful idiom, which 
 originating in Latium among the descendants of 
 Romulus grew with the greatness of ancient Rome, the 
 language of Virgil and Tully, became confused and 
 lifeless; and Rome, the new Babel, beheld issuing 
 from her bosom and growing up at once, a generation 
 of sons who understood not the language of their 
 fathers. The Church of the priests felt the heavy blow 
 which came upon it from heaven; but, instead of 
 weeping and humbling herself before God — instead of 
 repenting, and correcting her faults, she persisted in 
 her error, and launched her anathemas against the 
 people ; declaring, like the haughty synagogue of old, 
 that it was enough for her to comprehend herself, — as 
 for the people, so much the worse for them, if they did 
 not understand her language ! 
 
 What followed ? People and priests became divided. 
 The Church and the nation became separated for ever ; 
 the Church and priests called themselves Latin, while 
 
LETTER TO PIUS IX. 93 
 
 the nation and the people called themselves Italians. 
 This is a great fact which has not hitherto heen suffi- 
 ciently regarded. The people, ever under subjection 
 to the tyranny of the priesthood, had not the spirit to 
 resist oppression, and hardly even to open their eyes to 
 look upon its chains. In the meantime the pri«sts 
 laboured to impress them with a belief that such was 
 their natural condition. Slaves by the wiU of the 
 strong, they were taught to believe themselves so by 
 fatality of nature and by the will of God. Such was 
 the consequence which naturally resulted. 
 
 But enough ! The people have opened their eyes. 
 They have beheld their chains. Like a lion they have 
 burst through them. They threaten their former op- 
 pressors with a look that may well make them tremble. 
 Their roaring was like the waking up of nature, indi- 
 cating a grand change in the face of the world. The 
 people have declared that the times are gone by when 
 they would submit to be badly governed by their pre- 
 tended masters ; and that they, the people, are arbiters 
 in their own affairs. Now, we priests are specially 
 bound to do justice to the people ; for to us, more than 
 to others, has their cause been confided. Be it ours, 
 then, to enhghten them, which is the first thing they 
 need. Be it ours to assist and protect them with that 
 holy aegis which they themselves have confided to us. 
 Let us unite with them in the true religion of our 
 forefathers. When God extinguished our Latin lan- 
 guage, he meant thereby to punish us priests, and not 
 the people. Let us submit to that punishment. The 
 
9i LETTER TO PIUS IX. 
 
 Latin language lias corrupted the truths of the catholic 
 Church, and, therefore, God has extinguished it. Let 
 our Church rise again in the Italian language, and let 
 this be the ancient Church of apostolic times. Exile, 
 Anathema, to the Church of the middle ages ! Thus, 
 alone, can we priests become again united to the 
 people ; thus, alone, can we recover the Church. For 
 — once more let it be said— the Church means the 
 people ; bishops and priests being only the ministers of 
 the people. It is not in the nature of things that the 
 language of the Church should be other than the 
 language of the people. Italian is our language, and 
 Italian must necessarily be that of our Church. 
 
 This Church it is which I desire to serve as a 
 minister. Will not you. Holy Father, serve it as 
 bishop ? Gladly would I then return to you ; and 
 with me many who are now alienated from it would 
 gladly return. Thenceforth they will have no cause to 
 separate from it, for Jesus Christ will truly reign in our 
 Church, and with Him will reign union, peace, concord, 
 charity. Oh, what a sight were this ! " How good 
 and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in 
 unity ! " Thus united in the Italian Church, we 
 shoidd remove everything which separates us from 
 other Christian Churches. Germany, England, Swit- 
 zerland — all other countries at present divided from the 
 communion of Rome, would be again united with us in 
 one faith. Nations would be drawn together in the 
 bonds of brotherhood. And you, Holy Father, would 
 be the blessed instrument by which would be realized 
 
LETTER TO PIUS IX . 95 
 
 the Divine prophecy, " There shall be one fold and one 
 Shepherd." 
 
 " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love 
 of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with 
 us all. Amen." 
 
 Malta., 1846. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE INQUISITION IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 We are now in the middle of the nineteenth century, 
 and still the Inquisition is actually and potentially in 
 existence. This disgrace to humanity, whose entire 
 history is a mass of atrocious crimes, committed by the 
 priests of the Church of Rome, in the name of God and 
 of His Christ, whose vicar and representative, the pope, 
 the head of the Inquisition, declares himself to be — 
 this abominable institution is still in existence in Rome 
 and in the Roman States. I have heard of some 
 avowed or concealed papists belonging to Great Britain, 
 who, on occasion of the public demonstrations that 
 took place in the principal cities of the kingdom, on 
 account of my liberation, had the boldness to deny that 
 I had ever been incarcerated in the Inquisition at all, 
 or that such an establishment existed in Rome at the 
 present period. I shall not take up my own time, or 
 that of my readers, in arguing with these persons, any 
 more than I should with those who might deny that it 
 was day when the sun was in its zenith. 
 
THE INQUISITION, ETC. 97 
 
 la the month of April last, during my stay in 
 Dublin, an immense number of people, of all ranks and 
 classes, attended the meetings that were held in my 
 favour, to express their joy in seeing me; and the satis- 
 faction they experienced in hearing me. The whole body 
 of papists were considerably annoyed on the occasion, 
 and not knowing in what manner to put a stop to the 
 proceedings, some of them took it into their heads to 
 spread a report through the city, affirming that I was 
 not the identical Dr. Achilli imprisoned by the Inquisi- 
 tion, but an impostor, who assumed his name. This 
 poor invention, however, was not very likely to serve 
 them, as it would have been easy for me to prove my 
 identity. In like manner, any one who should'persist 
 in defliying the present existence of the Inquisition in 
 Rome, would soon find his statement refuted and held 
 up to ridicule. And this being granted, can any one 
 attempt to justify the conduct of the Church of Rome 
 in permitting it ? 
 
 I do not know what to think of the impudence of a 
 certain writer, unquestionably not an ordinary per- 
 sonage, who, a short time ago, published an article in 
 the " Dublin Review" (July 1850), entitled " The Inqui- 
 sition," the object of which was to persuade the world 
 that, after all, this Inquisition, respecting which so 
 much unjust clamour (!) had been raised, contained 
 nothing but what might honestly be considered neces- 
 sary for the present state of society and the interests of 
 religion. Every religion, it was stated, had been intole- 
 rant. "What by us, in the present day, is denominated 
 
98 THE INQUISITION 
 
 intolerance, " entered into the very spirit of the Jewish 
 religion." (P. 423.) The learned writer, who, by the 
 way, we verily heUeve to be at this present time a car- 
 dinal, and, to his shame, an Englishman, leads the 
 reader to the conclusion that the Almighty himself, 
 the true founder of the Jewish religion, has counte- 
 nanced intolerance. He then proceeds to observe : 
 " Of the five great religions which divided the Gentile 
 world — the Greek, the Roman, the Egyptian, the Per- 
 sian, and the Indian — there is not one which can claim 
 exemption from the charge." {lb.) His inference, 
 therefore, is, that it is no wonder that Christianity also 
 is in a similar state ; and this involves the farther con- 
 clusion that Christianity itself, in this respect, is a 
 system of religion similar to these five great religious 
 systems which divided the pagan world. This is the 
 doctrine held out to us by a Cardinal Archbishop ! 
 Like the preceding rehgions, Christianity, accord- 
 ing to him, has always been more or less intolerant. 
 With respect to papacy, it is most true that in practice 
 it has always been more or less so, but in theory it has 
 been always the same. In fact, Thomas Aquinas, the 
 leading theologian and doctor of the Church of Rome, 
 lays down the following doctrine, which his Eminence 
 and others of his school seem very ready to act upon. 
 " It is," says he, " much more grievous to corrupt 
 faith, which is the source and life of the soul, than to 
 corrupt money, which but tends to the relief of the 
 body. Hence, if coiners and other malefactors are 
 justly put to death by the secular authority, much 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 99 
 
 more may heretics not only be excommunicated^ but 
 even justly put to death."* For example, if you, 
 reader, a Christian of intelligent mind, should deny 
 that the bread and the wine, in consequence of a few 
 words uttered over them, should cease to be actually 
 bread and wine — you, in that case, have corrupted 
 the faith of the Thomasine school, which is that of 
 the Church of Borne ; and the reverend Inquisitor 
 speedily lays hold of you, with suflficient argument 
 before him to condemn you to death, for the glory of 
 God. 
 
 These barbarities were formerly common in Spain 
 and Italy ; but now ! ! — Is the theory of the Church of 
 Rome, I ask, still in favour of these practices ? I ask, 
 
 whether it be possible for Cardinal W , who is an 
 
 Englishman, to renounce this doctrine, and at the 
 same time remain consistent to his principles? Is it 
 not manifestly a contradiction ? It is his duty,t then, 
 as a Roman Catholic, and an Archbishop, to condemn 
 you to death, whenever he may have the power so to 
 do, if you refuse to believe that the bread and the wine, 
 over which a priest has breathed the words, "Hoc 
 est corpus meum," have not forthwith ceased to be 
 bread and wine. Yes, his Eminence, faithful to his 
 oath, and sanctioned by the theological and legal 
 decision of the Thomasine doctors, must of necessity 
 consign you to the flames. Are flames no longer 
 resorted to, as attracting too vividly the attention of 
 
 * St. Thom. 2d. 9 ; xi. art. 3. 
 
 f The 'bishops swear to ohserre the laws of the Inquisition. 
 P 2 
 
100 THE INQUISITION 
 
 the public ? It matters not ; poison will get rid of a 
 heretic equally well, and more secretly. 
 
 The reverend Jesuits, Busemban, Sa, Escobar, and 
 others, readily give their vote to that effect. When, 
 in the year 1843, I was for the first time delivered over 
 to the Inquisition, the General of the Dominicans, the 
 oldest of the Inquisitors,* exclaimed before the council : 
 " This heretic," speaking of myself, " we had better 
 burn him alive." Such was the humanity of one who 
 had grown grey among the corruptions and evil prac- 
 tices of his profession ! His proposition, however, was 
 not seconded, it being the first time I had been accused; 
 but what might not have been my fate if this old man 
 had been living, and appointed to judge me in the year 
 1850? In fact, I heard last year, whilst I was in 
 Rome, that another of these precious theologians, less 
 fierce and furious than the Dominican, suggested a 
 more moderate proceeding, in the following terms : — 
 
 "I should advise that Achilli be so dealt with as 
 to prevent the possibility of his ever troubling us any 
 more."t This, unquestionably, evinced no intention of 
 setting me at hberty. And at a later period, after I 
 had written my letters to the Pope, and published many 
 other things in opposition to the Eomish doctrines, 
 the same monsignore, speaking of me to one of his 
 adherents, who was more my friend than his, observed : 
 
 * Father Ancaraui, an Inquisitor of forty-fire years standing. 
 
 t This most reverend personage is a man of mild temper, apparently 
 incapable of cruelty. He was at that time one of the CounseUors of the 
 Inquisition. 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 101 
 
 " I was right in the advice I gave in 1842, that 
 Achilli should be so dealt with as to prevent the possi- 
 bility of his ever troubling us any more. Had it been 
 followed, we should not have had the present annoy- 
 ance. And who knows what worse he may not have 
 in store for us?" 
 
 I am indeed much indebted to this monsignore : 
 I hope to do fa* better yet, for the true Church of 
 Christ. 
 
 What, then, is the Inquisition of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury ? The same system of intolerance which prevailed 
 in the barbarous ages. That which raised the Crusade, 
 and roused all Europe to arms at the voice of a monk,* 
 and of a hennit.t That which — in the name of a God 
 of peace, manifested on earth by Christ, who, through 
 love for sinners, gave himself to be crucified — brought 
 slaughter on the Albigenses and the Waldenses ; filled 
 France with desolation, under Domenico di Guzman; 
 raised in Spain the funeral pile and the scaffold, devas- 
 tating the fair kingdoms of Granada and Castile, 
 through the assistance of those detestable monks, Rai- 
 mond de Pennefort, Peter Arbues, and Cardinal Tor- 
 quemada. That which, to its eternal infamy, registers 
 in the annals of France the fatal 34th of August, and 
 the 5th of November in those of England. That same 
 system which at this moment flourishes in Rome, which 
 has never yet been either worn out or modified, and 
 which, at this present time, in the jargon of the priests, 
 is called " the Holy, Roman, Universal, Apostolic 
 * Bernard of Chiaravalle. f Peter the Hermit. 
 
103 THE INQUISITION 
 
 Inquisition." Holy, as the place where Christ was 
 crucified is holy ; Apostolic, because Judas Iscariot was 
 the first Inquisitor; Roman and Universal, because 
 from Rome it extends over all the world. 
 
 'It is denied by some that the Inquisition, which 
 exists in Rome, as its centre, is extended throughout 
 the world by means of the missionaries. The Roman 
 Inquisition and the Roman Propaganda are in close 
 connexion with each other. Every bishop who is sent 
 in partibus infidelium, is an Inquisitor charged to dis- 
 cover, through the means of his missionaries, whatever 
 is done or said by others in reference to Rome, with 
 the obligation to make his report secretly. The 
 apostolic nuncios are all Inquisitors, as also are the 
 apostolic vicars. 
 
 Here, then, we see the Roman Inquisition extending 
 into the most remote countries. In India, for example 
 — who would ever believe that the Inquisition was at 
 work there ? So far from Rome ! in the dominions of 
 the English ! The bare assertion would meet with 
 ridicule. " Oh ! the Inquisition in India ! No, no, 
 we cannot believe that. In name, indeed, it may be 
 there, but never in actual reality." Fortunately, how- 
 ever, I have a letter by me, which I received in this 
 country in March last. The original has been seen by 
 many persons ; among others, by Sir Culling E. Eardley, 
 through whom, indeed, I received it. It came to hand 
 very opportunely. It is written in English, and, if not 
 elegant in its phraseology, it is at least sincere, and to 
 be depended upon. It is as follows : — 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY. 103 
 
 " Deak and Eeverend Sir,— I hope you will excuse 
 me, if I, who am a stranger to you, take the liberty to 
 address you the present letter. But the s^me God who 
 delivered you from the brutal hands of your persecutors, 
 (for which I congratulate you,) has given me courage 
 to rise from my lethargy in which I was ; and, kneeling 
 before his presence, I heard a voice, saying, Write to 
 Mr. A. [Achilli] for advice, and fly again from this 
 Babylon. Therefore, full of confidence, I take the pen, 
 in order to relate to you all my story. 
 
 "I am a Roman-Catholic priest, and, as soon as 
 I was ordained, being very anxious to preach the 
 gospel to the poor Hindoos, I left Rome, on the 2d of 
 March, 1840, being then twenty-three years of age, 
 and was sent by Propaganda Fide to India ; and there, 
 being able to speak the English language, I was ap- 
 pointed, by the Roman-Catholic bishop of Bombay, as 
 military chaplain, and was sent to a military camp at 
 Belgaum, where I was a very zealous and bigoted 
 Roman-Catholic priest, till God was pleased to open 
 my eyes in the following manner : 
 
 " A Protestant clergyman of the Church of Scot- 
 landj named Taylor, celebrated the marriage ceremony 
 to two Catholics; and this hurt ray feeling very much; 
 therefore I thought it my duty to write him a letter in 
 very impolite * manner, as is the custom of all Roman- 
 Catholic priests to do, to which he answered very 
 kindly, and sent me also some Protestant books to 
 
 • As the style does not interfere with the sense, it has not heen 
 deemed necessary to correct the foreign idioms in this letter. 
 
104 THE INQUISITION 
 
 read;— of course I refused to read tliem, and I returned 
 them to him. But God put into Ms heart to call as he 
 did on me. He spoke to me a new language which 
 I had never before heard ; — it was the language of a 
 true Christian — (how sinner is justified before God). 
 This language, by the grace of God, touched my heart 
 in such a maoner that I took a Protestant book and 
 began to read. It was ' The Spirit of the Papacy/ 
 which opened my eyes, and I began to perceive the 
 errors of the Church of Eome. Then, quite another 
 man, I opened the Holy Bible, and confirmed myself 
 that the Catholic religion is in perfect contradiction to 
 the word of God, and that the Protestant Church was 
 the Church in which God called mie ; therefore I opened 
 my mind to the Rev. Mr. Jackson, who was the military 
 Protestant chaplain at Belgaum, and a great friend of 
 mine. He advised me to write to Dr. Carr, bishop of 
 Bombay, which I did ; and his lordship was pleased to 
 answer me in a very polite manner, begging me to write 
 my sentiments about the real presence of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ in the Sacrament, and a treatise on the 
 spiritual power of the Pope, which I also did ; and then 
 he wrote to me to go to Bombay, where I embraced the 
 Protestant rehgion, that is to say, the pure religion of 
 the Gospel. 
 
 " A Spanish Jesuit priest, named Francis Xavier 
 Serra, whom I never saw before, called on me, in a 
 secular dress ,- and, speaking the Italian language well, 
 he told me that he was an Italian layman, and having 
 heard that I was an Italian too, he called on me : but 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 105 
 
 he did not mention anything ahout religion^ saying he 
 did not care about it ; — and he was very kind to me. 
 He called on me four or five times ; till one day, being 
 a very agreeable evening, he begged me to take a round 
 with him, which I did. And we went near the Catholic 
 church, and, to my great surprise, I was taken by four 
 men, and forced to go to the vicar-general, where they 
 forced me to write* a letter to the Protestant minister, 
 Mr. Valentine, in whose house I lived, stating my inten- 
 tion to return to the Catholic religion ; which, I am very 
 sorry to say, I did. They then closed me in a room, 
 till Sunday, when the vicar took me by force to the 
 pulpit, and dictated to me what I was to say to the 
 congregation ; and he obliged me to declare that I left 
 the Catholic religion for worldly motives; which was 
 quite contrary to my sentiments. When night came, 
 they took me from the room in which I was closed, and 
 delivered me to a captain of a French ship, as a prisoner, 
 with the order to take care of me to Marseilles, where 
 he delivered me to the bishop, who, with a French 
 priest, sent me to Rome. From Rome I was sent, as a 
 punishment, to a convent at Perugia, where I remained 
 for five years, till I got again my liberty, and returned 
 to Rome; this was in November 1848. 
 
 " I am sure. Sir, you are not sm-prised to hear the 
 treachery made to me at Bombay by that Jesuit, and 
 by the vicar. Besides you must know that the vicar, 
 whose name is Father Michele Antonio, for his bad 
 character, had been put in gaol for six months, by the 
 British Government at Bombay. 
 
 e3 
 
106 THE INQUISITION 
 
 " Now, Sir, I live in a most miserable estate of mind, 
 being from my heart a Protestant, yet I am obliged to 
 observe tbe Eoman-Catbolic forms ; which is quite con- 
 trary to my feelings. I am very sorry that I had not 
 in India the Christian courage which you have demon- 
 strated just now in Rome : but you must know that 
 they threatened me with brutal menaces, and that 
 I was too young. 
 
 " I am at present firmly resolved to fly from this 
 Babylon, and embrace again the pure doctrine of the 
 Gospel ; to remain in the faith, by the grace of God, till 
 
 my death, and to preach it throughout the world 
 
 " I have the honour, &c. 
 
 " Your Brother in Jesus Christ, 
 
 " N. N." 
 
 " EoMB, the 26th Feb. 1850." 
 
 This adventure at Bombay proves that the Inquisition 
 is not only in existence, but sufficiently daring to carry 
 on its operations even within the British dominions : 
 and we see the manner in which it acts. In Bombay, 
 the recantation of this poor priest is all that is known 
 (as an English missionary, who was there at the time, 
 told me) : it was said, indeed, that he had since left 
 the country ; but no one knew of the treachery of the 
 Jesuit, or of the tricks of the apostolic vicar. 
 
 Similar events occur more or less frequently in 
 various parts of the world; most commonly in the 
 Levant; since the Turkish governor does not grant his 
 protection to foreigners, and the obliging consuls of 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 107 
 
 Austria, France, and Naples generally have the com- 
 plaisance to arrest whomsoever the bishops require, and 
 send them to Rome. It is notorious that in Constanti- 
 nople, in the year 1847, an Armenian priest, D. Gio- 
 vanne Keosse, although an Ottoman subject and bom 
 in Constantinople, was seized in the night by four 
 bullies from the Austrian Embassy, and hurried into a 
 steamer, to be gpnveyed as a prisoner to Marseilles, 
 and thence to Rome, to be handed over to the Inquisi- 
 tion, And all this took place by order of the Armenian 
 Catholic Bishop. 
 
 This Keosse, who was confined in a cabin on board 
 the steamer, found means to effect his escape, by slipping 
 through the window, into a boat, while the vessel was 
 disembarking a part of its passengers and goods at 
 Smyrna. He subsequently put himself under the pro- 
 tection of the American consul ; and the Austrian, find- 
 ing himself discovered, gave up the affair, and so it 
 ended. Keosse, however, did not feel at all sure of his 
 safety from the grasp of the Inquisition, so long as he 
 remained under the Ottoman Government ; and being 
 advised to go to Malta, he went there without delay, 
 and there he remains at the present period. This affair 
 of Keosse was much talked about j several journals, took 
 it up ; and some went so far as to insult the Embassy, 
 for acting in the character of Inquisitors. 
 
 I certainly think, these gentlemen must be ashamed 
 of themselves for having lent their aid to the Inqui- 
 sition of Rome; pretty much in the same manner as 
 the French have reason to blush for having lent six 
 
108 THE INQUISITION 
 
 chasseurs of Vincennes, to effect my imprisonment in 
 the same place. But such is the witchcraft of this 
 renowned harlot^ that, almost without being aware of 
 itj " all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath 
 of her fornication, and the kings of the earth hare 
 committed fornication with her." * 
 
 We have seen constitutional Austria and republican 
 France degrade themselves so far as to bombard our 
 cities, to replace upon the throne — whom ? — the head of 
 the Inquisition ! And Spain, that has shown so much 
 determination in resisting priestcraft, monkery, and 
 the dominion of the Inquisition, she also hastened to 
 Rome, — and for what purpose? To assist in the re- 
 storation of the papacy. 
 
 But let us inquire what is the Inquisition of the 
 present day in Rome ? It is the very same that was 
 instituted at the Council of Verona, to burn Arnold of 
 Brescia; the same that was estabhshed, at the third 
 Council of the Lateran, to sanction the slaughter of 
 the Albigenses and the Waldenses, the massacre of the 
 people, the destruction of the city ; the same that was 
 confirmed at the Council of Constance, to burn alive two 
 holy men, John Huss and Jerome of Prague; that 
 which at Florence, subjected Savonarola to the torture; 
 and at Rome condemned Aonio Paleario, and Pietro 
 Carnesecchi. It is the self-same Inquisition with that 
 of Pope Caraffa, and of Fr. Michele Ghistieri, who buUt 
 the palace called the Holy Office, where so many vic- 
 tims feU a sacrifice to their barbarity, and where at the 
 * Key. xviii. 3. 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CEIMTUET. 109 
 
 present moment the Eoman Inquisition still exists. 
 Its laws are always the same. The Black Book, or 
 Praxis Sacra Romance Inquisitionis, is always the model 
 for that which is to succeed it. This book is a large 
 manuscript volume, in folio, and is carefully preserved 
 by the head of the Inquisition. It is called, Libro 
 Nero, the Black Book, because it has a cover of that 
 colour; or, as an Inquisitor explained to me, Libro 
 Necro, which, in the Greek language, signifies "the 
 book of the dead." 
 
 In this book is the criminal code, with all the punish- 
 ments for every supposed crime ; also the mode of con- 
 ducting the trial, so as to elicit the guilt of the accused ; 
 and the manner of receiving the accusations. I had 
 this book in my hand on one occasion, as I have related 
 above, and read therein the proceedings relative to my 
 own case ; and I moreover saw in this same volume, 
 some very astounding particulars : for example, in the 
 list of punishments I read concerning the bit, or, as it 
 is called by us, the mordacchia, which is a very simple 
 contrivance to confine the tongue, and compress it be- 
 tween two cylinders composed of iron and wood, and 
 furnished with spikes. This horrible instrument not 
 only wounds the tongue and occasions excessive pain, 
 but also, from the swelling it produces, frequently 
 places the sufferer in danger of suflbcation. This 
 torture is generally had recourse to in cases con- 
 sidered as blasphemy against God, the Virgin, the 
 Saints, or the Pope. So that, according to the Inqui- 
 sition, it is as great a crime to speak in disparagement 
 
110 THE INQUISITION 
 
 of a pope, who may be a very detestable character, 
 as to blaspheme the holy name of God. Be that as 
 it may, this torture has been in use till the present 
 period ; and, to say nothing of the exhibitions of this 
 nature which were displayed in Romagna, in the time 
 of Gregory XVI., by the Inquisitor Ancarani — in 
 Umbria, by Stefanelli, Salva, and others, we may ad- 
 mire the inquisitorial zeal of Cardinal Feretti, the 
 cousin of his present holiness, who condescended more 
 than once to employ these means when he was Bishop 
 of Rieti and Fermo. 
 
 Every one knows how the Holy Inquisition has sur- 
 passed every other tribunal by its exquisite ingenuity 
 in torturing human nature. Must I bring examples 
 from the Inquisition of Spain ? That of Rome has had 
 her own to answer for as well. Through the mercy of 
 Heaven, the former has come to an end; but that of 
 Rome is in full vigour. 
 
 I do not propose to myself to speak of the Inqui- 
 sition of times past, but of what exists in Rome at the 
 present moment ; I shall therefore assert that the laws 
 of this institution being in no respect changed, neither 
 can the institution itself be said to have undergone any 
 alteration. The present race of priests who are now in 
 power, are too much afraid of the popular indignation 
 to let loose all their inquisitorial fury, which might 
 even occasion a revolt if they were not to restrain it; 
 the whole world, moreover, would cry out against them, 
 a crusade would be raised against the Inquisition, and, 
 for a little temporary gratification, much power would 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Ill 
 
 be endangered. This is the true reason why the seve- 
 rity of its penalties is in some degree relaxed at the 
 present time, but they stUl remain unaltered in its 
 code. 
 
 Concerning the method of conducting a process, I 
 read in the lAbro Necro as follows : " With respect to 
 the examination, and the duty of the examiners — either 
 the prisoner cowfesses, and he is proved guilty from his 
 own confession ; or he does not confess, and is equally 
 guilty on the evidence of witnesses. If a prisoner con- 
 fesses the whole of what he is accused, he is un- 
 questionably guilty of the whole ; but if he confesses 
 only a part, he ought still to be regarded as guilty of 
 the whole, since what he has confessed proves him 
 to be capable of guilt as to the other points of ac- 
 cusation. And here the precept is to be kept in view, 
 ' no one is obliged to condemn himself,' nemo tenetur 
 prodere se ipmm. Nevertheless, the judge should do 
 all in his power to induce the culprit to confess, since 
 confession tends to the glory of God. And as the 
 respect due to the glory of God requires that no one 
 particular should be omitted, not even a mere attempt ; 
 so the judge is bound to put in force, not only the 
 ordinary means which the Inquisition affords, but what- 
 ever may enter into his thoughts, as fitting to lead to 
 a confession. Bodily torture has ever been found the 
 most salutary and efiicient means of leading to spiritual 
 repentance. Therefore the choice of the most befitting 
 mode of torture is left to the Judge of the Inquisition, 
 who determines according to the age, the sex, and the 
 
112 1?HE INQUISITION 
 
 constitution of the party. He will be prudent in its 
 use, always being mindful at the same time to procure 
 what is required from it — the confession of the delin- 
 quent. Ifj notwithstanding all the means employed, 
 the unfortunate wretch still denies his guilt, he is to be 
 considered as a victim of the devil j and, as such, deserves 
 no compassion from the servants of God, nor the pity 
 or indulgence of holy mother Church : he is a son of 
 perdition. Let him perish, then, among the damned, 
 and let his place be no longer found among the living." 
 This most astounding page is followed by another, in 
 which is given the mode of obtaining a conviction. 
 Various means are pointed out to estabhsh the guilt of 
 the prisoner, and to declare him deserving the con- 
 demnation of the tribunal. For example, Titius is ac- 
 cused of having eaten meat on Friday or Saturday. 
 The Inquisition does not permit the name of the 
 accuser to appear, neither ihose of the witnesses. The 
 accusation is laid that Titius has eaten meat in the 
 house of Caius. Sempronius is the accuser, and he 
 summons the family of Caius to give evidence; but, 
 as these have been accomplices in the same affair, they 
 cannot be induced to depose against Titius; perhaps 
 other witnesses may be brought, who may be equally 
 incompetent. In which case the wary judge endea- 
 vours to draw from the prisoner himself sufacient to 
 inculpate him. He will first inquire respecting several 
 other families the points which he wishes to know 
 with regard to that of Caius. He will try to learn at 
 what other houses Titius has been accustomed to eat 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUHY. 113 
 
 in order to know concerning the house of Caius^ where 
 the meat was eaten. The accusation sets forth that on 
 such a day, at such an hour, Titius went to the house 
 of Caius, where the whole family were present, and 
 that all sat down to table, &c. &c. If Titius admits all 
 the circumstantial matters brought forward by the 
 accuser, with respect to time, place, and persons, but 
 is silent, or denigs entirely the only crime imputed to 
 him, he stands convicted : the accuser has no necessity 
 to bring forward witnesses : judgment is pronounced. 
 
 This practice is still employed by the Inquisition. 
 In the year 1843, I was accused of having spoken, in 
 a certain house, against the worship of saints. If the 
 judge had made my accusation known (as is the case 
 in all other tribunals throughout the world), saying to 
 me : You are accused of having, in such a house, 
 spoken of such and such matters, in the presence of so 
 and so, — I should have known my accuser by the part 
 he would take in the question. But instead of inter- 
 rogating me in a straightforward manner, I was made 
 to give a description of the house in question, together 
 with that of several other houses ; to describe the 
 persons belonging to it, and many other persons at the 
 same time; to discuss the real subject of accusation, 
 mixed up with other irrelevant matters, in order to 
 mislead me as much as possible, and prevent me from 
 gaining any insight whatever of the points of which 
 I was accused, or of the persons who had accused me. 
 Whether I confessed or not, I was to be declared 
 guilty, or, as they term it, reo convinto. 
 
114 THE INQUISITION 
 
 With regard to these denunciations, the Inquisition 
 declares that in matters of oiFences against religion, it 
 is the positive and bounden duty of every one to be- 
 come an accuser. Children may and ought to accuse 
 their parents, wives their husbands, and servants their 
 masters. The law is, according to the decrees of seve- 
 ral popes, that whoever becomes acquainted with any 
 offence committed against religion, whether from his 
 own knowledge, or from hearsay, is bound, within 
 fifteen days, to bring forward his accusation before an 
 inquisitor, or the vicar of the Holy Office ; or, where 
 these are not present, before a bishop. The crime, 
 whatever it may be, not only attaches to the principal 
 and the accomplices, but also to every one who knows 
 of it and does not reveal it. So that if you, for ex- 
 ample, dear reader, should unfortunately belong to the 
 Church of the Inquisition, you would be obliged to 
 accuse not only me, who address you, but all those 
 who, together with yourself, listen to me : and who- 
 ever knows that you have hstened to my discourses, 
 although he himself may never have heard me, is under 
 the obligation to denounce you to the Inquisition. The 
 punishment for non-observance of this duty is excom- 
 munication, which excludes the party subject to it 
 from the benefit of all the sacraments, and shuts him 
 out from the kingdom of heaven. Moreover, besides 
 excommunication, he is liable to be imprisoned in the 
 Inquisition, and to suffer such other punishment as 
 may be deemed necessary. Even the very Cardinals, 
 and the Inquisitors themselves, are not exempt from 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CENTTjEY. 115 
 
 this obligation; the Pope himself has followed the 
 example. My letters to Gregory XVI. were imme- 
 diately forwarded to the Inquisition, by his own hand. 
 I have reason to believe that Pius IX. did the same 
 when I wrote to him. All this we may overlook : but 
 that a wife should be obliged to accuse her own hns- 
 bandj or a mother her children, is too dreadful to 
 think of. , 
 
 I will here relate a fact which it always pains me to 
 recall to mind ; and which until the present occasion 
 I have never before spoken about. During my resi- 
 dence at Viterbo, my native town, where I was public 
 professor and teacher in the Church di Gradi, I was 
 one day applied to by a lady of prepossessing appear- 
 ance, whom I then saw for the first time. She re- 
 quested, with much eagerness, to see me in the sacristy ; 
 and as I entered the apartment where she was wait- 
 ing for me, she begged the sacristan to leave us 
 alone, and suddenly closing the door, presented a 
 moving spectacle to my eyes. Throwing ofp her bonnet, 
 and letting loose in a moment her long and beautiful 
 tresses, the lady fell upon her knees before me, and 
 gave vent to her grief in abundance of sighs and tears. 
 On my endeavouring to encourage her, and to persuade 
 her to rise and unfold her mind to me, she at length, 
 in a voice broken by sobs, thus addressed me : 
 
 " No, father, I will never rise from this posture, 
 unless you first promise to pardon me my heavy trans- 
 gression." (Although much younger than herself, she 
 addressed me as her father.) 
 
116 THE INQUISITION 
 
 " Signora," replied I, " it belongs to God to pardon 
 our transgressions. If you have in any way injured 
 me, so far I can forgive you ; but I confess I have no 
 cause of complaint against you, with whom, indeed, I 
 have not even the pleasure of being acquainted." 
 
 " I have been guilty of a great sin, for which no 
 priest will grant me absolution, unless you wiU before- 
 hand remit it to me." 
 
 " You must explain yourself more fully ; as yet I 
 have no idea of what you allude to." 
 
 " It is now about a year since I last received abso- 
 lution from my confessor ; and the last few days he has 
 entirely forbid me his presence, telling me that I am 
 damned. I have tried others, and all tell me the same 
 thing. One, however, has lately informed me, that if 
 I wish to be saved and pardoned, I must apply to you, 
 who, after the Pope, are the only one who can grant 
 me absolution." 
 
 " Signora, there is some mistake here, explain your- 
 self: of what description is your sin ?" 
 
 " It is a sin against the Holy Office." * 
 
 " Well, but I have nothing to do with the Holy 
 Oface.'- 
 
 " How ? are not you Father AchiUi, the Vicar of the 
 Holy Office?" 
 
 " You have been misinformed, Signora; I am AchiUi, 
 the deputy master of the Holy Palace, not Office : you 
 may see my name, with this title, prefixed to all works 
 
 * Every oflFenoe of which the Inquisition takes cognisance, is called 
 "an offence against the Holy OflBce." 
 
IN THE NINETEENTH CSENTURY. 117 
 
 that are printed here, in lieu of that of the master him- 
 self. I assure you that neither my principal nor myself 
 have any authority in cases that regard the Inqui- 
 sition." 
 
 The good lady hereupon rose from her knees, ar- 
 ranged her hair, wiped the tears from her eyes, and 
 asked leave to relate her case to me ; and, having sat 
 down, began as follows : — 
 
 " It is not quite a year since, that I was going, 
 about the time of Easter, according to my usual custom, 
 to confess my sins to my parish priest. He being well 
 acquainted with myself and all my family, began to 
 interrogate me respecting my son, the only one I have, 
 a young man twenty-four years of age, full of patriotic 
 ardour, but with little respect for the priests. It 
 happened that I observed to the curate that notwith- 
 standing my remonstrances, my son was in the habit 
 of saying that the business of a priest was a complete 
 deception, and that the head of all the impostors was 
 the Pope himself. Would I had never told him ! The 
 curate would hear no further. ' It is your duty,' said 
 he, ' to denounce your son to the Inquisition.' Imagine 
 what I felt at this intimation ! To be the accuser of 
 my own son ! ' Such is the case,' observed he, ' there 
 is no help for it — I cannot absolve you, neither can 
 any one else until the thing is done.' And, indeed, 
 from every one else I have had the same refusal. It 
 is now twelve months since I have received absolution ; 
 and in this present year many misfortunes have befallen 
 me. Ten days ago I tried again, and promised, in 
 
118 THE INQUISITION 
 
 order that I might receive absolutioiij that I would 
 denounce my sou; but it was all in vain, until I had 
 actually done so. I inquired then to whom I ought to 
 go, to prefer the accusation. And I was told to the 
 Bishop, or the Vicar of the Holy Office, and they 
 named yourself to me. Twice already have I been 
 here, with the intention of doing what was required of 
 me, and as often have I recollected that I was a 
 mother, and was overwhelmed with horror at the idea. 
 On Sunday last I came to your church, to pray to the 
 Virgin, the mother of Christ, to aid me through this 
 difficulty; and I remember that when I had recited 
 the rosary in her honour, I turned to pray also to the 
 Son, saying : ' O Lord Jesus, thou wert also accused 
 before the chief priests, by a traitorous disciple; but 
 thou didst not permit that thy Mother should take part 
 in that accusation." Behold, then, I also am a mother, 
 and although my son is a sinner, whilst thou wert most 
 just, do not, I implore thee, require that his own 
 mother should be his accuser.' Whilst I was makins 
 this prayer the preaching began. I inquired the 
 preacher's name, and they told me yours. I feigned 
 to pay attention to the discourse, but I was wholly 
 occupied in looking at you, and reflecting, with many 
 sighs, that I was under the obligation to accuse to you 
 my own child. In the midst of my agitation a thought 
 suddenly reUeved me, I did not see the Inquisitor in 
 your countenance. Young, animated, and with marks 
 of sensibility, it seemed that you would not be too 
 harsh with my son; I thought I would entreat you 
 
IN THD NINETEENTH CENTUflY. 119 
 
 first to correct him yourself, to reprimfind, and to 
 threaten him, without inflicting actual punishment 
 upon him." 
 
 I shall not recapitulate my injunctions to this poor 
 woman, to tranquillize her mind with respect to having 
 to denounce her son. I advised her to change her 
 confessor, and to be silent with regard to him — any- 
 how she was not in fault. And if confession, I further 
 remarked, be a sacrament that pardons sins, it can 
 never be made a means of unwarrantably obtainiug in- 
 formation as to the words or deeds of another. 
 
 But had I really been Vicar of the Holy Office, what 
 was my duty in this matter ? To receive the accusation 
 of this mother against her own son. An unheard-of 
 enormity ! She naturally would have made it in grief 
 and tears, and I should have had to offer her consola- 
 tion. And since this horrible act of treason has the 
 pretence of religion about it, I should have employed 
 the aid of religion to persuade her that the sacrifice 
 she made was most acceptable to God. Perhaps, to 
 act my part better, I might have alluded to the sacri- 
 fice demanded of Abraham, or Jephtha; or cited some 
 apposite texts from Scripture, to calm and silence the 
 remorse of conscience she must have experienced on 
 account of the iniquity of bringing her child before the 
 Inquisition. 
 
 Now let us see what is done by the Inquisitors. In 
 what is called the Holy Office, everything is allowable 
 that tends to their own purposes. To gain possession of 
 a secret no means are to be disregarded ; not even those 
 
120 THE iNainsmoN, etc. 
 
 against our very nature. For a father and a mother to 
 reveal the thoughts of their own childrenj so trustingly 
 confided to thenij — a revelation which may lead to 
 their death — is so great a crime that we cannot imagine 
 one more base. And yet the Inquisition not only 
 sanctions^ tut enjoins it to be done, daily. And this 
 most infamous Inquisition, a hundred times destroyed, 
 and as often renewed, still exists in Rome, as in the 
 barbarous ages ; the only difference being, that the same 
 iniqidties are at present practised there with a little 
 more secresy and caution than formerly : and this for 
 the sake of prudence, that the Holy See may not be 
 subjected to the animadversions and censure of the 
 world at large. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 9 
 
 THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 
 
 The case of this poor woman, obliged to denounce 
 her son, is in accordance with both the old and new 
 regulations of the Inquisition; and the manner in 
 which it was endeavoured to be enforced is of common 
 occurrence. Many other means are also in use among 
 the artifices of this Holy Office, to induce persons to 
 betray their friends. A wife, however, who is called 
 upon to accuse her husband, has to encounter more 
 difficulty than a mother under the obligation to accuse 
 her children. Indeed, such a circumstance would never 
 take place, if the husband should discover that it was 
 the intention of his wife to lay open his secret thoughts 
 before so horrible a tribunal, the consequence of which 
 would be speedy arrest, torture, and condemnation ! ! 
 The difficulty of this case could not escape the observa- 
 tion of the Roman Court. Besides, if it was known 
 as a certainty, that, in even a single instance, a wife, 
 to oblige a priest, had betrayed her own husband, 
 and that the priest had made use of the confessional 
 
 G 
 
122 THE SUBTLETY OE THE INaUISITION. 
 
 to induce the woman to the commission of such an act, 
 would the husband any longer calmly see his wife going 
 to confession, and not apprehend that between her and 
 the confessor some plot might be hatching ? A single 
 doubt, a mere suspicion, would be enough to sow dis- 
 cord between a married pair ; and as in Italy it happens 
 that the physical temperament is sufficiently ardent 
 easily to fall into excesses, it might happen that, 
 through the agency of the priest, the husband might 
 beat, repudiate, or even murder his wife. 
 
 How then is it to be managed that the wife shall 
 betray her husband with the least chance of his discover- 
 ing her treachery ? The best method is, that she should 
 be instructed by her confessor to go to another to^n, 
 where she is not known, and there make her disclosure, 
 keeping it secret that she is the wife of the accused, 
 and concealing his real name, till the confessor has dis- 
 closed the affair to the Inquisition, which alone knows 
 all the intricacies of the proceedings. And since, 
 moreover, it might happen that the husband might 
 know that his wife, under a false pretence, had gone to 
 another place to see the Inquisitor, or the Bishop's 
 Vicar, the Inquisition grants to other persons the privi- 
 lege of receiving an accusation ; constituting them Sub- 
 Inquisitors for that single case, under the pledge of 
 inviolable secrecy. This arrangement is not merely 
 imaginary, but really takes place ; and in confirmation 
 of it, I will here, for the first time, relate another fact 
 which happened to myself. 
 
 In the year 1832 I was living at Viterbo, occu- 
 
THE SUBTLETY OE THE IXaUISITION. 123 
 
 pied witk many duties, which precluded me from the 
 enjoyment of a moment's leisure. In the Civio College 
 I was, during seven years, Professor of Logic, Meta- 
 physics, and Ethics; in the College di Gradi, during 
 five years, I was chief Professor of Theology ; in the 
 Bishop's Seminary, I was Professor of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, which chair was founded hy myself, and ceased 
 on my departure.after I had held it for two years. I was 
 Sub-Master of the Sacred Palace three years under 
 Cardinal Velzi, and three years under the most 
 Reverend Pather Buttaoni ; I was also yearly Preacher 
 at the Church di Gradi, and Superior of the Monastery, 
 with the title of Grand Vicar. And, lastly, I was Confes- 
 sor to the Apostolic Delegate, who is the governing Pre- 
 late of the province ; and as such I was in the habit of 
 receiving many applications from all classes of people, 
 who had recourse to me, to obtain favour or justice 
 from the delegate. 
 
 One day, when I was very busy, a lady was announced, 
 who, without sending in her name, earnestly desired to 
 see me. I imagined she only came with some request 
 concerning the delegate, and therefore sent word that 
 I was too much occupied at that moment to be able to 
 see her. The lady persisted, and I sent the same 
 excuse. At last, seeing that I Avas firm, the lady 
 handed a lettei" to the lay-brother, sealed with a large 
 seal, and directed to " The Very Reverend Father, 
 Professor G. Achilli, Gradi, Viterbo." The seal was 
 that of the Roman Inquisition, signed by the Commis- 
 sary-General. The letter was as follows : — 
 
 g2 
 
124 THE SUBTMTT OF THE INQUISITION. 
 
 " Vert Eeterend Father^— The Sacred Congrega- 
 tion of the Most Eminent and Reverend Cardinals, in 
 
 their sitting of Wednesday, the have desired me 
 
 to hand over to you the enclosed form of denunciation, 
 according to which you will have the goodness to 
 examine and interrogate the lady who is the bearer of 
 it; avoiding to ask of her her name, the place she 
 comes from, and her connexion with the party accused; 
 all which are already known to the Sacred Congrega- 
 tion. For this purpose I am authorized to invest you 
 with all necessary authority on this particular occa- 
 sion, and for this time only. I recommend to you all 
 necessary prudence, and to be mindful of the inviolable 
 secrecy due to the Holy Office, the slightest breach of 
 which is punished with ecclesiastic censure, and is 
 finally referred to the Pope. 
 
 " You will have the goodness to send back, with all 
 diligence, after the performance of this duty, not only 
 the formula of questions, with the answers to them, but 
 also the present letter, of which no copy is to be taken. 
 
 " May the Lord prosper you. 
 
 " KoME, from the Palace of the Holy Office, 
 March 1832." 
 
 When I had finished reading this letter, I felt a 
 curiosity to see this mysterious visitor. I therefore 
 descended to the apartment where she was waiting for 
 me, and I saw a lady about thirty years of age, well 
 dressed, and in a style that announced her to belong to 
 the wealthier class : her accent showed that she came 
 
THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 125 
 
 from anotter part of the country. She received me 
 with some degree of cousternation in her manner, and 
 replied to me half trembling, and with downcast eyes, 
 and evident anxiety. 
 
 " Signora, I have received a letter through you ; 
 the contents must be known to you. Will you inform 
 me in what manner you obtained it?" 
 
 " From my confessor : I do not know whether 
 directly from Rome, or through the bishop." 
 
 " Can you make it convenient to prefer your accusa- 
 tion another time ?" 
 
 " I pray you, let me do so at present, since to-morrow 
 I am obliged to return home." 
 
 I considered with myself whether I could not find 
 some excuse for not acting in this business, and so 
 avoid all trouble by sending the signora away ; or 
 whether I had not better sacrifice a little time to receive 
 the accusation, and hear what it was about. 
 
 " Well, then," said I, " let us to business. I should 
 imagine it would not occupy much time — what is your 
 opinion?" 
 
 I then sat down before a table, and unfolded the 
 formulary of questions, which were comprised in a 
 printed sheet. I looked over the paper, to ascertain its 
 tenor, and of what it treated. I thought no more of the 
 lady J my mind was entirely occupied in considering 
 how I should proceed, when a deep sigh ai'oused me, 
 and made me turn my eyes towards her. She began 
 to weep outright. 
 
 " What is the matter, Signora ? — why do you weep ? " 
 
126 THE SXJBTLETT OF THE INQUISITION. 
 
 Tears and sobs were her only *eply. I endeavoured 
 to speak comfort to her. 
 
 " Signora, do not weep; calm yourself: reveal the 
 cause of your afiliction, and you may find relief. If 
 you disclose your mind to me, I may in my turn say 
 something that will console you ; but if you do nothing 
 but shed tears, I must send some other person to 
 attend to you, for I have business which I cannot 
 postpone." 
 
 She grew calmer by degrees, and I began my task. 
 The formula was in Latin ; I had to translate it into 
 Italian : her own answers were to be written down 
 exactly. 
 
 I was displeased to see the act begin, " In the name 
 of God," &c. : I felt, also, unwilling to put my own 
 name at the head of the document, which said, " Before 
 me, A. B., a certain woman presented herself." I had, 
 nevertheless, a great desire to know the whole affair, 
 and was, in a certain degree, pleased that -the Inquisi- 
 tion had, on this occasion, reqxured my services. I had 
 always abhorred the Holy OflBce, and had intended, 
 even from my earliest youth, to expose its iniquity, as 
 far as it was possible for me to do so, whenever an 
 occasion should occur. " The present is a good oppor- 
 tunity," I said to myself, "to get at the mysteries of 
 the Inquisition. I shall doubtless learn some curious 
 matters, which may be useful to me hereafter." 
 
 " Now, Signora, you must remember that it is your 
 duty to declare the truth. I suppose it is no trifling 
 affair that has induced you to denounce a person to the 
 
THE SUBTLETY OP THE INQUISITION. 127 
 
 Inquisition; — above all, I desire to know what may 
 have been your motives?" 
 
 " To save me from a hell." 
 
 " Sometimes it happens that in seeking to avoid one 
 hell, we may fall into another ; that in endeavouring to 
 silence a scruple, we may incur remorse; and that 
 the means we take to save the soul of another may 
 endanger our own. Tell me, from what kind of hell 
 do you seek to be delivered by this act?" 
 
 " The hell that I experience in entering a church. 
 It is not every one who goes there that finds it a 
 Paradise. God is there, Jesus Christ, the most holy 
 Madonna, saints, angels, and holy water. It is there 
 we are baptized, confess, and receive the grace of God. 
 I alone participate in none of these ordinances in the 
 church; therefore it has become hateful to me, and the 
 priests are odious in my sight." 
 
 " And how does all this happen ? " 
 
 " Father, it is as I say. You will understand it all. 
 Relieve me from this load, and I shall hope to be able 
 afterwards to make peace with God and the saints, and 
 be delivered from this hell." 
 
 " Well, what is the deposition — the accusation you 
 have to make?" 
 
 " Allow me, O father, to relate my story from the 
 beginning. I cannot tell you by halves." 
 
 So saying, she remained thoughtful a few moments, 
 and then exclaimed : 
 
 " I hardly know where to begin. — I would inform 
 you — but — " 
 
128 THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 
 
 " Courage^ — relate the affair simply as it is. I wish 
 not to know either more or less than you choose to tell 
 me. For example^ I ask neither your name, your place 
 of residence, nor what connexion you have with the 
 party accused." 
 
 " Ah ! Father, these are the express conditions on 
 which I consented to disclose what I have to unfold. 
 Shame forbids me to reveal either my name, my resi- 
 dence, or my connexions ; since, were you ever to visit 
 the town where I, with my family, reside, you would 
 recollect a deed of which I am sure you cannot approve. 
 And where would be the use of concealing the place of 
 my residence, and telling you the name of the party 
 whom I am to accuse ? It is too well known that you 
 should not yourself immediately recognise it. Oh, is it 
 possible that at this price alone I am to recover my 
 peace ! — at this, and at no other, to be admitted anew 
 to the privilege of confession, and the benefit of the 
 other sacraments ! That to be a Christian, I must con- 
 sent to betray another ! — to betray the person whom in 
 all the world I best love ! — enjoined to do so, both by 
 Divine and human laws ! " 
 
 As she concluded, she arose, and I observed that with 
 the fingers of her right hand she pressed upon her 
 left, and turned round a ring that was there, on the 
 annular finger. She then resumed : 
 
 " Where then shall we in future hope to place confi- 
 dence? — how trust in the sacredness of vows pledged 
 at the altar? Can God be in contradiction to Himself? 
 Are there two sets of laws, the one natural and the 
 
THE SUBTLETY OP THE INQUISIITON. 129 
 
 other contrary to nature? and are they both obligatory? 
 Ought I, at the same time, both to love and to hate? 
 Oh ! what would he say if he knew what occupies me at 
 this moment ? And can I return joyfully to him, who 
 little suspects what I am doing, to still live with him, 
 and call him by the tenderest names, until the day 
 comes, or perhaps the night, when the officers of justice 
 shall secretly entQj: the house, apprehend, and take him 
 away — and to what place? To the dungeons of the 
 Holy Office ! And who would have placed him there ? 
 I, myself, by the very act I am going to commit. But 
 if I do not do so, I am in a state of perdition, since 
 there will be no longer pardon or absolution for me ! 
 Excommunication, from which no one can deliver me, 
 will be my fate ! And he also will be excommunicated. 
 His soul will be for ever lost, unless it be pui'ified in 
 the Inquisition ! — Both of us to lose all hope of salva- 
 tion and eternal life ! And that, because we refuse to 
 make fitting sacrifice on earth ! These, Father, are the 
 thoughts that agitate me, that divide my soul, that have 
 led me here, and that have since sealed my lips. What 
 ought I to do ? — what reveal ? I am miserable, because 
 I listen at once to the flesh and the spirit; and whichever 
 way I force myself to act, I am always divided against 
 myself. Oh ! why are not you, who are called fathers, 
 husbands as well ; then, as other men, you would have 
 wives to love ; and you would better comprehend these 
 matters, and would see the value of the text, ' Do not 
 to others what ye would not that men should do unto 
 you."' 
 
 g3 
 
130 THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 
 
 " Let us come to an endj Signora. You have 
 promised the Inquisition to make an accusation^ and 
 that as a matter of duty, or rather, from scruples of 
 conscience. When you made this promise, you no 
 doubt imagined you did what was right." 
 
 " No, Father, I do not deceive myself, I never thought 
 I was doing right. In every point of view I considered 
 I was doing wrong. Nevertheless, I judged it neces- 
 sary; as it is necessary to have an arm or a foot cut 
 off, that is in a state of gangrene. I looked upon it as 
 a castigation from the Almighty ; as if my house had 
 been burned, or a heavy beam had fallen on my shoul- 
 ders. I thought that God was angry with me on 
 account of my sins, and that to appease Him I must 
 sacrifice to Him what was most dear to me. I have 
 often felt as if I should not survive so dire an event ; 
 the mere idea of it is afflicting to me beyond expression. 
 Father, I anr here to make a sacrifice of myself upon 
 the altar, I regret to say it, of the Inquisition.-" 
 
 " And do you desire, Signora, that I should be the 
 priest on the occasion ? It is an office I have never 
 performed. My hand is more ready to be stretched 
 out for good than evil. I should feel remorse in 
 sacrificing you. I thought that you were come to 
 make your deposition voluntarily, of your own free- 
 will; and even in that case I should have had some 
 hesitation in receiving it : I repeat, I have never under- 
 taken the office of an Inquisitor. In the present case, 
 I will by no means lend my aid to an act of violence. 
 I am a minister of a God of Peace, of Christ, who died 
 
THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 131 
 
 for our sins ; and it is on condition of believing in what 
 He has done for us that we obtain pardon. I do not 
 find that any sacrifice is required of us^ to be recon- 
 ciled to God, unless it be the sacrifice of our spirit on 
 the altar of faith. ' A humble and a contrite heart/ 
 says David, ' O God, thou wilt not despise.-" I find 
 throughout the whole of the Bible a continual invitation 
 to seek God; an^ to find Him there is but one way, 
 which is Jesus Christ. He has said, ' I am the way, 
 the truth, and the life : no man cometh to the Father 
 but by me.' Moreover, He says to us, ' Come unto 
 me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will 
 give you rest.' And this is more particularly addressed 
 to sinners, whose duty it is to go to Christ, and it is 
 ours to endeavour to invite, to lead, to bring them to 
 Him. Do you understand me, Signora — to Him, and 
 to Him alone, and not to the Inquisition." 
 
 " Ah ! my Father," here exclaimed the Signora ; 
 " what balm j'^ou pour into my wounds ! Your last 
 words have restored me to life. It is to Christ then, 
 and not to the Inquisition, that I shall trust my 
 husband. Yes, my husband is he whom I am called 
 upon to accuse, because he had spoken ill of the Pope, 
 the Bishop, and the Priests; and had on one occasion 
 declared that if he could be assured that the Pope was 
 St. Peter himself, he would nevertheless spit in his face 
 if he could. I told my confessor of this, not to accuse my 
 husband, but to learn what course I had better pursue 
 with him ; adding, that at times he was so excited as 
 scarcely to know the meaning of the words he uttered. 
 
133 THE SUBTLETY OF THE INaUISITION. 
 
 But, without further inquiry, my confessor enjoined me 
 to denounce him to the Inquisition. Finally, however, 
 he proposed that I should do so to the Bishop ; but as 
 I would consent to neither proposition, he obtained 
 permission from Rome that I should come to you at 
 Viterbo, to prefer my accusation, without disclosing my 
 name, or that the party accused was my husband. 
 But you have shown me how far better it is that I 
 should recommend him to the love of Christ, than to 
 the wrath of the Inquisition. It appears that you 
 agree with me that in religion there cannot be any 
 law contrary to nature. Oh ! how often have I re- 
 peated on this occasion, what my husband so constantly 
 asserts, that the priests have a religion and a morality 
 contrary to nature ! To compel a wife to accuse her 
 husband ! Is it not a demoralization ? A bad wife 
 may do so through motives of revenge; a good one 
 would rather accuse herself. It is a base thing, in any 
 case, to accuse a person secretly, without giving him 
 any opportunity of exculpation, or allowing him to 
 know who is his accuser. It is a crime that no moral 
 duty can justify. Even the contemplation of such a 
 step has driven me to the brink of self-destruction. 
 But my confessor assured me that, in that case, both 
 ray husband and myself would be undoubtedly damned. 
 And in confirmation of this, I once read, in some old 
 work, a story of a certain woman who had refused, 
 before her death, to make one of these disclosures ; and 
 in consequence not only was her soul condemned to 
 the torments of hell, but her body also found no rest 
 
THE SUBTLETY OF THE INaUISITION. 133 
 
 in the grave, being continually forced to leave it, until, 
 being conjured with holy water to declare the cause of 
 its disquiet, it replied that it was so punished because 
 it had not obeyed the injunction it had received, to 
 accuse certain heretics to the Inquisition; but as all 
 present earnestly prayed to the Madonna, it was granted 
 to this unhappy body to return to life for the space of 
 half an hour, that it might prefer its accusation to the 
 Inquisition ; after which, it died anew." 
 
 " And do you believe this story ? " 
 
 " I was unwilling to do so, but the Priest showed 
 me that the book was printed con licenza de' sv,penori. 
 To tell the exact truth, my idea was, to obey our Holy 
 Church in this barbarous law, and then to commit 
 suicide, leaving behind me a letter to my husband, 
 explaining the motives that had led me to the act. 
 But God be praised, I shall now neither accuse him, 
 nor put an end to my own existence. You have doubly 
 saved my life, in saving my honoiu* and my conscience. 
 God will reward you for the charity you have shown 
 me. I shall return to my home and to my family. 
 But what must I say to my Confessor ? " 
 
 " Leave him altogether. He must never know what 
 has passed between us, Sigaora, I have prevented you 
 from betraying your husband, and you tell me I have 
 restored you to life. Will you then betray me ? I do 
 not think so. God be with you ; I shall immediately 
 burn these papers from the Inquisition, along with the 
 letter you have brought me ; and their contents will be 
 buried in your breast." 
 
134 THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 
 
 " Oh ! yesj there they shall remain, and with a 
 lasting recollection of yourself. Farewell." 
 
 " FareweU." 
 
 In relating this story I have not hesitated about 
 going into particulars, since no one now can injure the 
 good lady, who is gone to her eternal rest. She lived 
 a few years after this adventure, and wrote to me 
 occasionally. She died like a good Christian, loving 
 Jesus her Redeemer, and believing in his good tidings, 
 and detesting, with all her heart, the errors of the 
 Church of Rome. In one of her letters she told me 
 that her old confessor, a few months after her visit to 
 me, came to her to inquire whether she had delivered 
 the letter from the Inquisition; and that, fearing to 
 compromise me, she was puzzled to find an answer. 
 She did not so much regard her own danger, and there- 
 fore replied as follows : — " Signore, do not talk to me 
 any more of this business : Father Achilli has too much 
 good sense to troxible his head at all about the Inquisi- 
 tion. Consequently, the letter found its way into the 
 fire. What would you have me do more ? For a 
 woman I think I have done quite enough." This 
 answer, which did not involve any falsehood, left the 
 confessor in doubt, without furnishing him with the 
 means of injuring either of us. He subsequently in- 
 terrogated her again on this point, and all the reply he 
 obtained was : " I know nothing about it ; I have told 
 you not to talk to me about it any more." I was 
 myself questioned on the subject ten years afterwards, 
 at the time I was in the Inquisition; and I got out 
 
THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 135 
 
 of tlie affair by saying, as was the fact, that I had 
 never received any accusation from the lady — with 
 respect to the letter itself I was silent. 
 
 But what cruelty, what malignity does not this case 
 reveal ! To pervert the natural feelings of the heart, 
 so as to induce a wife not only to accuse her husband, 
 but to spy out his most secret thoughts, the very in- 
 most of his mind, and to disclose what might peril his 
 very life ! I have given but one instance, but I could 
 relate many more of the same character. The wife of 
 a bricklayer, whose name I never knew, about the 
 same time, came to me at Viterbo, to accuse her hus- 
 band by order of her confessor. She came from Vitor- 
 chiano, a fief of the Roman Senate. I sent her away, 
 however, telling her I had nothing to do with the 
 Inquisition. Several came to me from other parts — 
 no fewer than four or five ; and all these were wives, 
 who had come to denounce their husbands to the In- 
 quisition. I took care to give them all the same 
 answer. And if so many cases of this sort came to 
 ray own knowledge, how many more must there not 
 have beeu, who have applied to the Vicars themselves, 
 or to the Inquisitors of the Holy Ofiice ? 
 
 In my time, there was a report that in Ancona two 
 Inquisitors had seduced wives and daughters, in order 
 to induce them to accuse their respective husbands and 
 fathers. In the year 1843, in the month of September, 
 having left the Roman States, I was at Ancona, from 
 which place I embarked for Corfil. And it was during 
 my stay in the former place, that an Inquisitor endea- 
 
136 THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 
 
 voured to persuade two virtuous girls to accuse their 
 uncle of some alleged profanation, in order to have 
 a pretext for his imprisonment. The Inquisitor was 
 angry with this honest man, because he had forbidden 
 him his house; and thought by throwing him into 
 prison, to be able at all hours to visit the nieces, ima- 
 gining they were favourably disposed towards him. 
 But they were much better than he was ; they threat- 
 ened him with publishing his dishonest proposals, and 
 so the matter ended. This same Inquisitor is famous 
 for his persecution of the Jews. His edict against 
 them, published in 1843, is known to all the world. 
 In it all the Jews under his jurisdiction — that is, not 
 only those of Ancona, who are very numerous, but 
 those also of Pesaro, Osimo, Sinigaglia, Loreto, &c. — 
 are ordered, within the term of three montlis, to sell 
 all their possessions in land, houses, &c. under penalty 
 of confiscation ; within eight days to abandon all 
 their shops outside the Ghetto;* and within three 
 days to dismiss from their houses all their Christian 
 servants, both male and female, even the nurses of 
 their children. They were prohibited to sleep a single 
 night out of the Ghetto; to take a single meal, or 
 to hold any communication with a Christian. Nay, 
 to the shame and disgrace of the Inquisition be it 
 spoken, these children of Israel and of Judah were 
 even prohibited from singing the Psalms of David in 
 their service for the burial of their dead. 
 
 * The Ghetto is a part of the city, enclosed within -walls, in which the 
 Jews are confined. It exists in every city of the _Romau States. 
 
THE SUBTLETY 01? TIIE INQUISITION. 137 
 
 That so precious a document might not he lost, I 
 took care to have it reprinted at Corfti, from the 
 authentic copy that was sent to me by the Secretary of 
 the Lord High Commissioner; and, as my readers will 
 easily believe, I wrote my observations upon it pretty 
 strongly, not only as to its author, but also as to the 
 whole tribe of the Tnquisitori. I was desirous of know- 
 ing what was generally thought to be the reason of 
 the publication of this edict. A letter from Ancona on 
 the subject, stated as follows : — • 
 
 " The Father Inquisitor is a person of very licentious 
 habits, and at the same time extremely greedy of 
 money. He became offended with our women (the 
 Jewesses) because they would not listen to his propo- 
 sitions; he allured, he threatened, but could never 
 render them subservient to his desires. At length he 
 took a fresh occasion of offence against us, because we 
 refused to pay him a considerable sum of money which 
 he claimed, and not for the first time, saying that his 
 predecessor had had many such donations, and it was 
 for that reason that he had looked upon us favour- 
 ably. And that if we did not make him similar 
 acknowledgments, we need not expect any service or 
 consideration from him. After due deliberation upon 
 the matter, however, it was resolved that we should 
 not give him any thing ; and now see what has hap- 
 pened ! " 
 
 The predecessor of this personage is well known to 
 everybody, as having extorted as much money as he 
 possibly could, brought many respectable persons into 
 
138 THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 
 
 trouble^ seduced many women^ and finally fled from his 
 situation, to seek an asylum in Tuscany. 
 
 The Inquisitor of Ancona does not act differently 
 from his brethren. Any one who wished to write a 
 history, not of the Inquisition, but of the actual Inqui- 
 sitors in the Eoman States, need only take the trouble 
 to ask what is thought of them from Rome to Bologna ; 
 in Umbria, La Marcha, Romagna; in short, wherever 
 there is an Inquisitor or a Vicar of the Holy Office, 
 — and he will hear some extraordinary stories, which 
 would disgrace the most scandalous chronicle. 
 
 Rome takes no notice of these scandals, and winks, 
 as the saying is, at personal immorality, to obtain that 
 which constitutes her moral code — wealth and domi- 
 nion. For dealing in immoral acts, immoral agents 
 are necessary. Would an honest man do for an 
 Inquisitor? Would a follower of Christ, who said, 
 speaking of man and wife, "Whom God hath joined, 
 let no man put asunder," — would he sow discord be- 
 tween them, and demoralize the wife, to make her 
 betray in the basest manner her own husband ? Does 
 not an Inquisitor require to be one whose heart is 
 hardened against every gentle and social feeling, so 
 that he may not hesitate to commit barbarities which 
 are unknown among the most savage nations ? 
 
 Are the torments which are employed at the present 
 day at the Inquisition all a fiction? It requires the 
 impudence of an Inquisitor, or of the Archbishop of 
 Westminster, to deny their existence. I have myself 
 heard these evil-minded persons lament and com- 
 
THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQUISITION. 139 
 
 plain that their victims vrere treated with too much 
 lenity. 
 
 "What is it you desire?" I inquired of the Inqui- 
 sitor of Spoleto. 
 
 " That which St. Thomas Aquinas says," answered 
 he : " death to all the heretics." 
 
 Hand over then to one of these people a person, 
 however respectable j give him up to one of the Inqui- 
 sitors (he who quoted St. Thomas Aquinas to me was 
 made an Archbishop;) — give up, I say, the present 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, an amiable and pious man, 
 to one of these rabid Inquisitors : he must either deny 
 his faith or be burned alive. Is my statement false ? 
 Am I^ doting? Is not this the spirit that invariably 
 actuates the Inquisitors? And not the Inquisitors 
 only, but all those who in any way defile them- 
 selves with the Inquisition, such as Bishops and their 
 Vicars, and all those who defend it, as the Papists 
 do. There is the renowned Dr. Wiseman, the Arch- 
 bishop of Westminster according to the Pope's creation, 
 the same who has had the assurance to censure me 
 from his pulpit, and to publish an infamous article 
 in the Dublin Review, in which he has raked together, 
 as on a dunghill, every species of filth from the sons 
 of Ignatius Loyola j and there is no lie or calumny 
 that he has not made use of against me. Well, then, 
 suppose I were to be handed over to the tender mercy 
 of Dr. Wiseman, and he had full power to dispose of 
 me as he chose, without fear of losing his character 
 in the eyes of the nation to which by parentage, more 
 
140 THE SUBTLETY OF THE INQULSITION. 
 
 than by merit, he belongs, what do you imagine he 
 would do with me? Should I not have to undergo 
 some death more terrible than ordinary ? Would not 
 a council be held with the reverend fathers of the 
 Company of Loyola, the same who have suggested the 
 abominable calumnies above alluded to, in order to 
 invent some refined method of putting me out of the 
 world ? I feel persuaded that if I were condemned by 
 the Inquisition to be burned alive, my calumniator 
 would have great pleasure in building up my funeral 
 pile, and setting fire to it with his own hands; or, 
 should strangulation be preferred, that he would, with 
 equal readiness, arrange the cord around my neck : 
 and all for the honour and glory of the Inquisition, of 
 which, according to his oath, he is a true and faithful 
 servant. 
 
 And since we are on this subject, allow me to relate 
 a fact concerning myself, which strongly e^dnces the 
 subtlety of the Inquisition, according to the practice of 
 the Jesuits, in availing themselves, in foreign parts, of 
 the assistance of Bishops and dignified personages. 
 
 Every one knows how miraculously I escaped a 
 second time from the horrors of the Inquisition. And 
 all those who had any feeling rejoiced at it; and such as 
 met with me expressed their satisfaction with kindness 
 and polite attentions. In the month of January of the 
 present year I was at Paris, and was visited by a vast 
 number of persons of every class, not only Protestants, 
 but CathoUcs also, who expressed the interest they took 
 in my recovered liberty. I waited upon the govern- 
 
THE SUBTLETY OF TUB INUUISITION. 141 
 
 ment ministers, and others who had assisted me, to 
 thank them for their services ; but they interrupted me 
 hy assuring me that they had done no more than follow 
 the impulse of their own hearts and the dictates of 
 humanity; that they had merely performed a duty; 
 and were rejoiced to think that their interference had 
 so well succeeded, that instead of heing shut up in the 
 prisons of the Inquisition, I was at liberty to walk 
 about the streets of Paris as I thought proper. 
 
 In the midst of this universal pleasure, which ap- 
 peared to animate all I met, and which was responded 
 to by the public journals, I exclaimed to one of my 
 friends : 
 
 " Observe how the voice of the whole people is with 
 me; not a word is uttered on the contrary side, except 
 by the journal of the Jesuits, which, to my credit be it 
 spoken, thinks proper to abuse me in a foolish, sense- 
 less article, full of contradiction, written in the vulgar 
 language of the streets, or of their own sacristy, and 
 only worthy of contempt." 
 
 One day a friend came to tell me that it appeared 
 the Jesuits had employed some other party to vilify 
 mc. 
 
 " It is impossible," I observed, "that such an pffice 
 should be undertaken by an honest and well-bred 
 Frenchman. To insult a person who had miraculously 
 escaped from the Inquisition ! No ; a true-hearted 
 Frenchman would no more undertake such a task than 
 he would seek to persecute one who had escaped from 
 shipwreck or from fire, or who had evaded the hand of 
 
142 THE SUBTLETY OE THE INQUISITION. 
 
 an assassin. To insult one freed from tlie Inquisition 
 might be allowable in a Jesuit, but never in a French- 
 man. What a surprise it would be to him to read, in 
 the Messager de la Semaine, an abusive article against 
 me, full of falsehood and calumny ! ' But you ought to 
 reply to it,^ I have been told ; ' these are no Jesuits who 
 write, but members of the Assembly, and others who 
 call themselves gentlemen.' ' I do not answer those,' 
 I repHed, ' who lie for the pleasure of lying and 
 calumniating. Such writers may reply to themselves.' " 
 
 My friends took some trouble to discover the writer 
 of this article, and ascertained it to proceed from the 
 pen of a diplomatic, M. de Corcelles, the ex-minister 
 at Eome, who had endeavoured to negotiate the return 
 of Pius IX., but without success, and given such proofs 
 of his devotion to the Jesuits and other priests at Rome. 
 This M. de Corcelles, after having by his subtlety 
 contrived the French plot against Rome herself, and 
 tarnished the honour of his nation by a thousand false- 
 hoods, has returned thus disgracefully to Paris, and 
 has had the meanness to accept the task from the 
 Jesuits themselves, of writing a miserable article against 
 me, as mean and as black as their own garb. 
 
 It was a brilliant idea of the Inquisition to get a 
 French diplomatist, a member of the National Assembly, 
 to vouch for their lies ; and here M. de .Corcelles came 
 forward. To strengthen his assertions, it was thought 
 necessary to look out for some one in England also who 
 would corroborate them ; and after six months' diligent 
 search, as they could find no other, and were anxious 
 
THE SUBTLETY OF THE INamSITlON. 143 
 
 not to lose more time, they got the recently created 
 Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster to take up the pen 
 against me. This second production was even more 
 abusive than the first. The bishop had far less sense 
 of shame about him than the member of the National 
 Assembly, particularly when he had the cardinal's hat 
 in view. It is related of Cardinal Pallavicino, the 
 celebrated Jesuit, t]3.at being chosen by the Court of 
 Rome to write tlie history of the Council of Trent, in 
 opposition to that by Paolo Sarpi, on which occasion 
 he was promised the rank of cardinal, the poor man suf- 
 fered grievously in his mind on account of the number 
 of lies he had to invent ; and sending for a red cap, the 
 insignia of his future dignity, he shook it in his hand, 
 and placing it on his head, exclaimed with bitter sighs : 
 "Ah! how much I endure on your account!" Oh! 
 quantoper tepatior ! In like manner the good Dr.Wise- 
 nian, at the sight of the red hat, and all that pertains 
 to the cardiiialate, has judged it expedient to make a 
 sacrifice of honour and of truth, and to rake up the 
 most off'ensive matters, to present them to his co- 
 religionists in the British isles. The indecency and 
 revolting nature of this article shows to what an extent 
 the immorality of a bishop of the Church of Rome may 
 proceed. I consider myself sufficiently justified by the 
 article itself, as I had already been in Rome by the 
 documents laid before the British consul, proving the 
 falsehood of the accusations laid to my charge at 
 Viterbo (which was efieeted by my friends whilst I was 
 in prison). Besides, every one knows that I was held 
 
144 THE SUBTLETY OF THE INaUISITION. 
 
 in higli estimation by the Churcli of Rome until the 
 very day when I was handed over to the Inquisition. 
 I have never been the subject of complaint or reproof, 
 much less of punishment. I was on good terms with 
 all the bishops until that time, and appointed by them 
 to preach and to hear confessions. Indeed, I should 
 have blamed myself had they been dissatisfied. Have 
 I not many letters from them requesting my services ? 
 "Was I not appointed to preach during Lent before the 
 Court at Naples ? In good sooth, it requires the brazen 
 impudence of a Momignore, to lie so openly and so 
 basely. 
 
 See now the work of the Inquisition. It says to its 
 coadjutor. You shall have a cardinal's hat if, right or 
 wrong, you raise an outcry against the heretic Achilli. 
 But you must not call him a heretic, because that term 
 in England would not avail you ; you must assert that 
 he believes in nothing at all; above all, you must say 
 that he is an immoral man, addicted to all sorts of 
 licentious habits, (a common case, you know, in such 
 as take the oath of celibacy.) Say of him whatever evil 
 comes into your head; no matter about time or place. 
 Say a great deal, that a part at least may be believed. 
 Relate suppositions as facts, and comment on your own 
 statements. Cry out loudly, raise reports, and give 
 them publicity. Stick at nothing; hazard whatever 
 may tend to discredit your adversary. In this way you 
 will weaken his endeavours. What can he do to vin- 
 dicate himself? Does he bring you into court ? Shall 
 you have to pay a fine ? — Double the amount will be 
 
THE SUBTLETY OE THE INQUISITION. 145 
 
 raised to pay it. Are you thrown into prison? — Call 
 to mind the martyr of Turin. In short, earn a car- 
 dinal's hat ! ! 
 
 The temptation is too powerful for a bishop of the 
 Church of Rome. It is in this manner that the 
 Inquisition manages its affairs throughout the whole 
 world, and works so as to gain its ends, by promises 
 and threats, by fraud and subterfuge. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE JESUITS. 
 
 The term Jesuit has various significations. It gene- 
 rally means the followers of Ignatius Loyola^ who 
 profess the rules of the Company ; and also those 
 who are in strict friendship with them, who eat their 
 bread and are supported by them, and who are always 
 anxious to ingratiate themselves in their favour. These 
 may be considered the Acolytes of the Jesuits. More- 
 over, some are called Jesuits who are even opposed to 
 the sect of Loyola, and are averse to any connexion 
 whatever with its members ; but who stiU think and 
 act according to the principles of the Jesuits ; they are 
 equally subtle and ambitious, intriguing, time-serving, 
 deceitful, and hypocritical, in every respect, as are the 
 Jesuits themselves. The world is full of such persons, 
 and they are called Jesuits because they are in reality, 
 of the same school as the sons of Loyola, whose doc- 
 trines and maxims they follow, although they do not 
 profess to be his disciples. It would be as ridiculous 
 to see a soldier or a statesman, for example, in the 
 dress of a Jesuit, as it was to see the Emperor Charles V. 
 in that of a friar; but what would you say on hearing 
 
THE JESUITS. 147 
 
 that Jesuitism was more flourishing among society at 
 large, than even in the company itself? Would you 
 not smile to see the present members of the French 
 Assembly marching as in a procession, each with a 
 Jesuit by his side ? Father A. for example, with M. de 
 Montalembert ; Father B. and M. de Corcelles ; Father 
 C. and General Oudinot, the bombarder of Rome; 
 until wc come to the" last couple. Father Rootan, and 
 the President of the Republic, Louis Bonaparte ! This 
 sight might make you smile ; but the thought it would 
 inspire, would kindle, as it does in me, a sentiment of 
 indignation. 
 
 In this Avork I shall have occasion to speak of every 
 description of Jesuit. Meanwhile, I have a few re- 
 marks to offer with respect to these sons of Ignatius. 
 What part do they take in the Inquisition? The most 
 active and the most influential. They are its right 
 hand. Without their aid the twelve Cardinal Inqui- 
 sitors would sit in vain ; their long and secret meetings 
 every Wednesday throughout the year in the great hall 
 of the Minerva, would tend to no effect. Of what 
 service would be the weekly congregation of about 
 seventy members of the Inquisition, held in the great 
 hall of the Holy Office, at the Vatican, every Monday, 
 without the zeal and unwearied activity of the Jesuits ? 
 Apparently they are nothing; in reality, everything. 
 Among the servants of the Holy Office a Jesuit is never 
 to be found ; rarely among their coadjutors. A Jesuit 
 is never seen entering the Palace of the Holy Office, or 
 in conversation with an Inquisitor. It might even be 
 
 h3- 
 
148 THE JESUITS. 
 
 imagined that the Reverend Fathers were opposed to the 
 institution, or at least that they shunned all relation 
 and intercourse with it. And so studiously do they 
 keep up this appearance, that many persons actually 
 believe that the Jesuits have nothing whatever to do 
 with the Inquisition. Indeed, I was at one time of the 
 same opinion myself, till I was fully enlightened on the 
 subject by a Jesuit himself, a worthy Jesuit ! who had 
 been my tutor in the Belles Lettres, in the College at 
 Viterbo, and whom I met again at Tivoli, in. Septem- 
 ber, 1833. 
 
 I was there in the discharge of my duty as Visitor of 
 the Dominicans, and at the same time availing myself 
 of the salubrity of the climate, which was beneficial to 
 my health. Accordingly, I was accustomed to walk 
 every day for some hours in the country. The good 
 Jesuit was soon aware of my regularity in this habit, 
 and as the time I selected was invariably the last two 
 hours of the day, he proposed to me to become my 
 companion on these occasions. I believe it was the 
 first time that a Jesuit had been seen walking abroad 
 in company with a Dominican. My former master had 
 become my friend; and although I had never at all 
 liked the society of the sons of Loyola, yet I found this 
 one, and another or two of a similar description, to be 
 honest and worthy men, who, to their misfortune, had 
 adopted the robe of the Jesuits. I was regularly visited, 
 almost daily, by my friend, who came either alone 
 or in company with a lay brother; we walked out 
 together, and entered into familiar conversation. One 
 
THE JESUITS. 149 
 
 day we spoke about the Inquisition. We were alone, 
 in that beautiful grove of olives which crowns the plea- 
 sant hill on which the town of Tivoli stands, so well 
 known to Horace. 
 
 " How does it happen," said he to me, " that you 
 have never been embroiled with the Inquisition ? Some 
 time ago I was told that you were Vicar of the Holy 
 Office; but I have sijice, on better authority, learned 
 that you were merely Vicar of the Sacred Palace. And 
 I M'as glad that it was so, — it would have grieved me 
 much to have heard that you were an agent of the 
 Inquisition." 
 
 " Oh ! I had neither incUnation nor ability for the 
 office : treachery, deceit, and malice are the necessary 
 qualifications for its agents. An Inquisitor must be 
 suspicious, prone to judge amiss, to convert shadows 
 into substance, and to sec every thing in the darkest 
 colours. In the eyes of an Inquisitor every individual 
 is evil, and deserving of punishment. How could I be 
 led to form injurious opinions respecting my brethren, 
 when I am naturally disposed to see things in a 
 charitable point of view, and as far as possible, to make 
 excuses for others ? An Inquisitor, besides, is one who 
 is lost to all sentiments of humanity, without heart or 
 feeling, and more indifferent than a stoic. God pre- 
 serve me from the temptation of ever connecting myself 
 in the slightest degree with the Inquisition." 
 
 " As far as I see, then, it appears you have never 
 entertained the least desire for such an office. I give 
 you ]oy. The Inquisition is injurious to the Domini- 
 
150 THE JESUITS. 
 
 canSj M'ho are promj^ted by an insane ambition to 
 become Inquisitors; and this entails on them the hatred 
 of the whole world. The Franciscans are too prudent 
 to connect themselves with it. The Jesuits, more cun- 
 ning than the rest, act as the monkey did when he 
 made use of the cat's-paw to get the chestnuts." 
 
 " HovT ! do the Jesuits meddle with the Inquisi- 
 tion?" 
 
 " My dear friend, is it new to you ? What would 
 the Inquisition be without the Jesuits ? The Domi- 
 nicans may call themselves Inquisitors ; but they could 
 not even decUne the noun Inquisition, unless the Jesuits 
 taught them. In fact, what do the Inquisitors search 
 out ? They sit still to receive denunciations. The 
 Holy Office would be but badly supported if it de- 
 pended solely on the exertions and abilities of its own 
 immediate officials. 
 
 " Unquestionably, St. Dominic, with his cloudy in- 
 tellect, was an Inquisitor ; Peter of Verona, commonly 
 called Peter the Martyr, was more efficient, but his im- 
 prudence cost him his life. I marvel much that a simi- 
 lar fate did not befaU Domenico di Gusman ! He slew, 
 and caused to be slain, many more than Peter of 
 Verona ever did; of a ruddy complexion, fierce and 
 sanguinary, he was equally imprudent as his disciple. 
 Far otherwise was Ignatius Loyola ; cautious and wary 
 in all his operations, and, although a soldier, averse to 
 exposing himself to danger, he cautioned his followers 
 to use the utmost prudence in carrying out their mea- 
 sures, and by no means to expose themselves foolishly 
 
THE JESUITS. 151 
 
 to public odium or indignation. I say, foolishly, be- 
 cause what, after all, is the amount of profit to those 
 who are in the service of the Inquisition? You, who 
 are a Dominican, understand this better than I do." 
 
 " Oh ! it is next to nothing. Our Inquisitors in 
 Umbria and Romagna receive from the Holy Office in 
 Rome, under the head of ' vestment money,' the paltry 
 sum of three scudi ^{abont 13s. 6d.) a-month; which 
 they have no- means of increasing, unless they can 
 occasionally pick up a trifle by saying a few masses. 
 The monastery allows them no other advantage than 
 the ordinary diet of the friars. Besides, it not unfre- 
 quently happens that, on account of the Inquisitors 
 claiming exemption from the ordinary duties of the 
 monastery, the prior deprives them of what he grants 
 to the other members. In a visit I once made to the 
 Monasteries of Spoleto, Foligno, Perugia, and other 
 places, I found that the Priors and the Inquisitors were 
 in open dispute with each other. The former com- 
 plained that the latter refused to sing iu the choirj and 
 they, on the other hand, were indignant that they had 
 not sufficient to eat, nor any wood to burn dm-ing the 
 winter." 
 
 " They were not denied what was wanted for an 
 auto-da-fe, I suppose ; but continue your recital." 
 
 " Well, these disputes were settled by the Provincial 
 and by myself, and it was arranged that the Inquisitors 
 should thenceforth sing in the choir, and be subject to 
 the Prior, as to all the duties of the monastery; the 
 Prior, on the other hand, was to be considered under the 
 
153 THE JESUITS. 
 
 obligation of treating the Inquisitors with civility^ and 
 allowing them the same advantages as were enjoyed by 
 the rest of the brotherhood. At Spoleto, the Inquisitor 
 was not inclined to take his dinner at the usual hour 
 with the rest of the community, and the Prior fre- 
 quently obhged him to go without any dinner at all. 
 The Inquisitor complained to the General of the 
 Order at Rome, and he wrote me word to accommodate 
 the matter between the parties. It was proposed that 
 a certain sum should be allowed by the Prior, for the 
 dinner and supper of the Inquisitor. Fifteen baiocchi 
 (serenpence halfpenny) were all that was offered by the 
 liberal-minded Prior for the daily expenses of the 
 Inquisitor, and it was not without infinite trouble that 
 I got the sum raised to seventeen baiocchi and a half. 
 I mention this matter to show how little profit accrues 
 to an Inquisitor, if the duties of his office are honestly 
 discharged. An Inquisitor once told me in confidence, 
 that he found it necessar}^, in order to live, to abstract 
 a little money occasionally from the office, by augment- 
 ing, in his accounts- with it, the amount of his expenses. 
 Another lost his situation at Perugia, because it was 
 discovered that he had regularly charged double for the 
 maintenance of the prisoners under his care. And at 
 Faenza, a certain Inquisitor seized upon a poor shoe- 
 maker, and imprisoned him, that he might be obliged 
 to work for him ; and when he Avanted his clothes to 
 be mended, he laid hold of some tailor, whom he shut 
 up on the pretence that he indulged in a habit of pro- 
 fane swearing." 
 
THE JESUITS. 153 
 
 " What a scandal ! How base they become ! How 
 degraded is that faith which requires the support of 
 such a race of Inquisitors ! The office itself is too 
 degrading to be exercised by any person of probity or 
 honour. At one time the Inquisition was greatly 
 enriched by fines and confiscations; and many spon- 
 taneous offerings were made to it by the rich, who 
 freely opened their pTjfrses to get out of trouble. Money 
 also came in from numerous patents : in short, the 
 Inquisition was enabled to allow a good salary even to 
 its clerks. But the times are altered ; the Holy Office 
 has lost its credit, and consequently its officials are 
 bankrupts." 
 
 " But how," I suggested, " have the Jesuits become 
 connected with the Inquisition? "We have departed 
 from our original question." 
 
 " Doubtless you imagine that the Holy Office is 
 engaged in taking notice of crimes or offences against 
 religion. It is true, when such cases occur, they pro- 
 ceed according to rule. But you are not to conclude 
 that such is the sole occupation on which above seventy 
 counsellors, and twelve cardinals, with the pope at their 
 head, are engaged in the weekly meetings. If it be 
 necessary to punish, as they say, all who deserve it, they 
 ought to begin with unbeUevers, and they would find 
 many among the cardinals themselves, who in points of 
 religion have no belief whatever; and the same infi- 
 delity descends throughout every class of society. But 
 it never happens that any of these unbelievers are sub- 
 jected to punishment ; on the contrary, those heretics 
 
 h3 
 
134." THE JESUITS. 
 
 alone are the objects of attack, who are unbelievers 
 merely as to some of the doctrines of Eome, although 
 firm in their faith as regards the doctrines of Christ 
 and of His apostles. But of these, few allow them- 
 selves to be seized by the Inquisition. An Italian who 
 changes his creed generally contrives, before the fact 
 gets known, to make a pilgrimage to Geneva,* and the 
 Holy Office has to delay its vengeance till its ^dctim 
 can be arrested. Were the Inquisition to have no 
 other care than to look after heretics, it would be the 
 same as if the Jesuits were to have nothing else to do 
 than to attend to their schools for young boys; in 
 which case two-thirds of the Order might v/ell be dis- 
 pensed with. It is well known that at Kome every 
 thing opposed to clerical government is considered as 
 heresy, and excommunicated accordingly; but real 
 heresy is the last subject to be thought of or at- 
 tended to. The principal object of the Inquisition is 
 to possess themselves, by every means in their power, 
 of the secrets of every class of society. Consequently, 
 its agents enter the domestic circle, observe every 
 action, listen to every conversation, and would, if 
 possible, become acquainted with the most hidden 
 thoughts. It is, in fact, the police not only of Rome, 
 but of aU Italy ; indeed it may be said of the whole 
 world. Now the Dominicans, even with the assistance 
 of the priests, would be altogether unequal to this task, 
 were not the Jesuits themselves the secret officials of 
 
 * A common expression in Italy to denote that a person lias become 
 Protestant. 
 
THE JESUITS. 155 
 
 this police. The mere government spy seldom is 
 enabled to arrive at the exact truth : it is difiScult for 
 him to get at the secrets of a family ; he is met with 
 counter operations; schemes are laid expressly to deceive 
 him, and he is frequently put to considerable trouble 
 and inconvenience to ferret out an affair, without 
 obtaining any final success. For a long time the 
 Italians, and more especially the Romans, have learned 
 the art of playing upon the credulity of the spies, and 
 making them believe things quite contrary to truth. 
 But nothing of this sort takes place with the Jesuits, to 
 whom no door is closed, no curtain drawn, no veil or 
 shadow cast over secret or mystery. What they cannot 
 learn from the men, they ascertain from the women; 
 what the father will not disclose, the son will reveal ; 
 and what the master of the house may be desirous to 
 hide, the servant may bring to light. The spy has 
 need of frequent and lengthened research, whereas the 
 Jesuit arrives at the fact at once. As has been before 
 observed, the spy is deceived by false statements, which 
 is not the case with the Jesuit. The confessional leads 
 to many interesting discoveries; and where this is insuf- 
 ficient, much is learned even from the children in the 
 schools. The police daily sends forth its numerous 
 spies, who disperse themselves throughout the whole 
 of Rome, and pursue their investigations not only by 
 day, but by night also. Frequently, overcome with the 
 fatigue that the incessant labour of one day has pro- 
 duced, they are obliged to devote the whole of the 
 succeeding one to a complete state of rest. It is 
 
156 THE JESUITS.- 
 
 different with us. You know the chiu'cli of the 
 Gesu. Every morning at break of day, as the doors 
 are opened, twelve Reverend Fathers ascend the steps 
 of the sacred edificBj dressed in their robes and sur- 
 plices, and seat themselves in their chairs of confes- 
 sion. At that early hour, who are they who present 
 themselves to give an account of their sins? Servants 
 of both sexes, and all the old men and women who are 
 stirring betimes in the morning, shopkeepers and work- 
 people ; in short, all those who are better acquainted 
 with other people^s business than with their own. So 
 that in less than an hour all the transactions and gossip 
 of the city are related at these twelve confessionals; 
 from whence, at the termination of the audience, they 
 are taken home, as you may imagine, to be examined, 
 discussed, and, with due caution, registered as cases of 
 conscience, &c. 
 
 *' What is done in the church of the Gesu, is also 
 done in those of St. Ignatius, of St. Andrew on the 
 Monte Cavallo, of St. Vitale, and others belonging to 
 the Fathers of the Company. Frequently a fact, or a 
 conversation, that is half ascertained in one place, is 
 fully disclosed and confirmed in another. The cleverest 
 among our body have the office of confronting those 
 they desire to examine; and every day they go from 
 house to house collecting whatever intelligence of 
 interest may present itself. In this manner we become 
 acquainted with the most minute and secret affairs of 
 the city. But our exertions do not end here. We have 
 our nocturnal oratories, as that of the Caravita in 
 
THE JESUITS. 157 
 
 Rome, whither the 4liie of good society generally resort. 
 We have besides, as you know, our courses of spiritual 
 exercises, which are always well attended ; the confer- 
 ences for the scrupulous, where they worm every thing 
 out of them; friendly visitations, which are never 
 deficient in supplying information; and of these latter, 
 there are always a vast abundance over the whole 
 country. Every one who is desirous of place or office, 
 applies to us; and it is impossible to be more courteous 
 or zealous than we are in proffering our services. And 
 what we ask of the government for our friends, we 
 naturally succeed in obtaining. We supply families 
 with servants, and change them when required. Con- 
 sequently, every one is obliged by us, and entirely 
 devoted to us. 
 
 " What I have told you respecting Rome is equally 
 true with regard to all other places wherever we are to 
 be found ; in Naples, Turin, Genoa, Modena, Verona, or 
 anywhere else. Look, for instance, at this little town 
 of Tivoli. No one stirs a foot but we are aware of it ; 
 and we have no occasion to go out of our houses for 
 information. I myself have been here seven years; 
 I have never ascended the staircase of any house in 
 the place, and yet I am well acquainted with the 
 affairs of every family that resides here : what they are 
 doing, what they are talking about, what their inten- 
 tions are, even to the most minute matters; in proof 
 of which, the next time we are walking out together, 
 ask any question of me respecting any person we may 
 chance to meet, and you shall have copious information." 
 
158 THE JESUITS. 
 
 We were here interrupted in our conversation by- 
 two other Jesuits, who were returning from their walk, 
 and. who accompanied us home. 
 
 The next day we met again. My companion was 
 accompanied by a youth, who had, I beheve, the charge 
 of a school. He was also a Jesuit, and on terms of 
 strict intimacy with my friend. We passed through 
 the town with but little conversation : the two Jesuits, 
 with their eyes bent to the ground, appeared to take no 
 notice of the passers-by, yet I observed they never 
 failed to see when they were saluted, nor did they ever 
 omit to return the salutation. As soon as we were 
 fairly out of the town, we began to enter into familiar 
 conversation. 
 
 " Well," observed my friend, " what do you think of 
 our discourse of yesterday ? " 
 
 " To tell you the truth, I was greatly surprised at 
 what you told me." 
 
 " You would perhaps be pleased if I made the expe- 
 riment I talked of." 
 
 " Oh, I am fully persuaded of the accuracy of your 
 assertions. Besides, I am but little interested in the 
 concerns of this place. Nevertheless, I will not refuse 
 your offer. But tell me, in the meanwhile, how is it 
 that the Jesuits, who perform such services for the 
 Church, are never raised to places of dignity or profit 
 in it?" 
 
 " You must understand, that if we had any desire 
 that way, we should soon obtain what we wished for. 
 We who have the power of disposing of these situations 
 
THE JESUITS. 159 
 
 to others might easily choose for om'selves. If any 
 other person than yourself had put this question to me, 
 I should have given him the answer which our Institu- 
 tion puts into our mouths — ' A Jesuit is sworn to aspire 
 to no ecclesiastical dignity; nor can he accept any, 
 without a special dispensation from the pope/ But 
 this reply will not he sufficient for you, to whom I have 
 disclosed so many of our secrets. I tell you, then, that 
 we should never succeed in our undertaking of sup- 
 porting the Church of Rome, unless we kept oui'selves 
 aloof from all her honours and dignities. A man 
 once placed high in the Church has finished his career. 
 A bishop and a cardinal serve very well to make a 
 splendid appearance : in the human body, the head 
 governs the members ; but in the moral body of the 
 Church, the case is reversed, and the more active and 
 influential members govern the head. Thus the bishop 
 is not the moving power in his diocese, it is his vicar or 
 his confessor. In like manner, it is his theologians, 
 and not the cardinal, who sway the congregation; he 
 says Yes, or No, as they direct him. The theologians 
 and the confessors, then, are really at the head of affairs, 
 and not the cardinal or the bishop. The pope himself 
 is subject to the same regulation. I smile when I hear 
 of the pope's holding a secret consistory. The Romans 
 believe that he is then actually himself engaged with 
 his cardinals in the discussion of important matters ; 
 whereas the true secret consistory is held by the 
 General of the Jesuits and his counsellors ; and it is by 
 them that everything is discussed and decided. Now, 
 
IGO TliE JESUITS. 
 
 all this could not be done were we not simple monks, and 
 oijen to no ambition but that of serving the Holy See." 
 
 At this moment some ladies passed us, whom the 
 Jesuits were the first to salute by taking off their hats ; 
 but from the coolness with which the civility was 
 acknowledged, I saw there was but little friendship 
 between the parties. 
 
 " Can you tell me," said I to my friend, " who these 
 ladies are?" 
 
 " O yes, I can tell you not only their names, but 
 their ages too, if you desire it." 
 
 " Have you ever been in company with them?" 
 
 " Never ; but that does not prevent me from being 
 able to furnish you with every minute particular in 
 their biography." 
 
 Whereupon he entered into so many details con- 
 cerning the history of these ladies, that I was asto- 
 nished at the extent of his information; but I was still 
 more surprised to hear the younger Jesuit contribute 
 his share as well, and even correct some points which 
 the other had advanced. I had the curiosity to inquire 
 how long this youth had been in Tivoli, and discovered 
 that he was a Pole, and had only been six months in 
 the place. 
 
 A priest came by next, and respecting him also we 
 had a full and minute account. Afterwards the Princess 
 Santacroce passed in her carriage; my two Jesuits 
 made her a profound reverence, and the elder of them 
 entertained me with the history of the lady till we 
 reached home. 
 
THE JESUITS. 161 
 
 The following day I thought I would engage my 
 chronicler on some other interesting matters^ and I led 
 the subject to Rome and the cardinals. 
 
 " You are acquainted," I said to him, " with the 
 major part of the Roman cardinals, especially, I sup- 
 pose, with such as are friendly to the Holy Office." 
 
 " I know them all, both friends and enemies, if not 
 personally, at least, by reputation; and of every one 
 of them I could, if you wished it, give all the circum- 
 stances of their lives, from their birth to the present 
 day. You may rest assured that a Jesuit, after ten 
 years' experience, unless he chance to be a stupid 
 fellow, in which case he is soon expelled from the 
 Society, ought to know far more than the most expert 
 and practised officer of police. For my own part, I am 
 conscious that I possess a certain dexterity in these 
 matters; ajid it is on this account that I have been 
 sent into various places, and entrusted with so many 
 commissions. I cannot, however, imagine why they 
 have kept me seven years in Tivoli, doing nothing but 
 what my office as professor of moral theology requires, 
 to settle cases of conscience. Still, they have given 
 me my degree ijl grado),* and I imagine I shall shortly 
 be called to Rome, to attend to other matters." 
 
 " To be one of the twelve who every morning at an 
 early hour occupy the confessionals at the Gesu ! .'" 
 
 * An expression among the Jesuits to denote that the party is 
 admitted to the last profession ; that is, that he has taken the solemn 
 vow, in virtue of which he can never in future be expelled from the 
 Society. 
 
163 THE JESUITS. 
 
 The Jesuit smiled significantlj^, as much as to say^ 
 " I believe so." 
 
 " But tell mCj my dear master," I rejoined, " would 
 you not be more useful in other matters ? How well 
 you could impart instruction in Greek and Roman litera- 
 ture ; not only my testimony, but that of all your other 
 pupils, might be brought forward. You direct the 
 studies of youth with so much judgment ! Besides, it 
 is an occupation, as I understand it, worthy of a Jesuit. 
 But to go about spying into other people's affairs, to 
 serve the Inquisition and the Court of Rome, is an 
 employment that God may perhaps pardon you for 
 exercising, but society never will." 
 
 " My dear friend," replied he, " such is the price 
 at which we are admitted into the Society of Jesuits. 
 It is necessary to do many things to which we may be 
 naturally averse, to do many contrary to our nature 
 and even to our conscience." (And here a sigh be- 
 trayed the anxiety he felt.) " You will perhaps ask, 
 why I remained among the Jesuits, before I had 
 received my degree ? I can understand the question. 
 But you, who are now a theologian and a preacher, turn 
 to the 7th chapter of the Epistle of St. Paul to the 
 Romans, where the apostle laments his own state, 
 speaking of himself : 'For the good that I would, I do 
 not; but the evil which I would not, that I do;' 
 and concludes with that memorable exclamation, 'O 
 wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from 
 the body of this death?' I can assure you that more 
 than once I have proposed to myself to quit the Society 
 
THE JESUITS. 163 
 
 while I had yet power to do so ; and then a thousand 
 thoughts came into my mind : — "What will they say of 
 me if I leave the Society which hitherto has been as a 
 mother to me? I shall have to endure the remorse of 
 one who, as it is written, 'has put his hand to the 
 plough, and has looked back j' and on account of my 
 dereliction I shall be adjudged unworthy of the king- 
 dom of heaven. I, desired so much to become a Jesuit, 
 that I abandoned, as you know, my chair at the 
 Sapienza, and gave up my inheritance to my brothers ; 
 I bade adieu to all the world, and buried myself in this 
 cloak, which I have now worn for fifteen years. How 
 is it possible to retrace my steps, to disclaim my own 
 words, to give the lie to myself? Ah, my friend, 
 I pray you may never repent having assumed your 
 present habit, that you may never experience the 
 regret I have endured ! But all this has passed away. 
 I am now a Jesuit, fixed in my vocation. In taking 
 my last vows, I have sworn to die in my Order. 
 Nothing can now alter my determination." 
 
 After tliis conversation several days passed without 
 my friend's making his appearance; and I dared not 
 inquire after him, fearing he might possibly have re- 
 pented of the confidence he had reposed in me, and 
 be desirous of breaking off our intimacy at once. But 
 I was mistaken. He still retained his regard for me ; 
 but that which would have been commendable in any 
 one else, was, it appears, in a Jesuit a fault, a weak- 
 ness, and contrary to the rules of the Order. The old 
 spiritual director of the establishment had found the 
 
164 TUE JESUITS. 
 
 conduct of my Mend to be very repreliensible. This 
 old man was not himself the Superior, but the superin- 
 tendent ; he was one of the assistants of the General 
 of the Order, and usually resided at Tivoli, where he 
 was well known as the celebrated Father Sineo. lie 
 was the oracle of the Society, and was consulted in all 
 matters of importance. He generally inhabited an 
 apartment secluded from the rest, like those idols of 
 the Church of Rome which are withdrawn from the 
 light of day, and shut up in obscure places, to inspire 
 more veneration ; or if placed in a niche, they are 
 covered with a curtain to guard them from the profane 
 eyes of the multitude, who would go crazy in their 
 senseless adoration, if they saw them always before 
 their eyes. In like manner, this Father Sineo lived at 
 Tivoli, like the cuckoo in the fable, who delivered his 
 oracular sayings from his hole in the rock, to those who 
 went to consult him. 
 
 Now, this Reverend Father, seeing the intimacy that 
 subsisted between my friend and myself, and fearing 
 that some secrets of the Company might be disclosed 
 to me, summoned him into his presence, and told him 
 that it was not befitting that a Jesuit should be seen 
 more than once in public company with a stranger to 
 the Order ; that our friendship might degenerate into 
 familiarity, and so on into mutual confidence, to the 
 danger of the betrayal of the secrets of the Institution. 
 That, in fact, the General of the Order had learned 
 that we were every day walking out together; and 
 although this might not in itself be objectionable, still 
 
THE JESUITS. 165 
 
 his Reverence advised liim to break off sucli a public 
 display. My good Jesuit had consequently to make 
 a further sacrifice, and deprive himself of this little 
 solace ; he wrote to me on the occasion, assuring me 
 that it was not from any diminution of friendship on 
 his part if he could not meet me as usual." 
 
 I understood all this perfectly ^yell, and continued my 
 accustomed walks alone. Still my Jesuit was not for- 
 bidden to talk with me in private, and it was not long 
 before he came to pay me a visit ; when I expressed to 
 him my satisfaction that our conversation had not been 
 overheard. 
 
 " Oh ! " replied he, " Father Sineo would not in 
 that case have let me oiF so easily. Without doubt, 
 I should have been immediately sent away." 
 
 " I trust they would have done you no further in- 
 jury," I observed. 
 
 " The Jesuits are not like the friars and the ntms, 
 among whom those who transgress have to submit 
 to a public penance ; for instance, a Capuchin who 
 cuts off his beard is obliged to eat with the cats,* 
 until it grows again. But with the Jesuit it fre- 
 quently happens that no one knows that he is un- 
 dergoing punishment ; and he himself only perceives 
 that he has incurred the displeasure of his Superior, 
 by finding that he is constantly and most ingeniously 
 
 * To eat with the cats, mangiare co' gatti. This curious punishment 
 is literally put into practice in the Capuchin monasteries. The culprit 
 sits on the ground in common with the cats, of which there are always 
 plenty in these houses, and is not even allowed to defend his plate 
 against any attacks his feline companions may venture to make upon it. 
 
166 THE JESUITS. 
 
 thwarted in all his inclinations and wishes. In some 
 cases the offender is made to change his residence, to 
 leave his country, and to travel into Asia or America. 
 Moreover, if any Jesuit commits any great crime, his 
 offence is concealed, that no scandal may attach to the 
 Company; for it desires, more than any other body, to 
 be esteemed irreprehensible ; as if its members were 
 gifted with the privilege of impeccability. It is more- 
 over always expected that a Jesuit thus protected by 
 his Company, should consider himself bound to expiate 
 his crime by the greatest possible show of repentance ; 
 after which he is again taken into favour. Generally, 
 those who are sent into foreign countries are not allowed 
 to return until they have signalized themselves in some 
 praiseworthy manner. It is considered a great favour 
 to be called to Rome : as it is also a heavy punishment 
 to be banished from it. For my own part, I have 
 many times requested to be sent to some foreign 
 country, but I never could obtain my wish. To tell 
 the truth, I should much prefer a mission to England. 
 I differ from my brethren in that respect ; although a 
 Roman, the air of Rome, and more particularly of the 
 Vatican, is too heavy for my liking." 
 
 " But tell me," I asked, " what do the Jesuits do 
 out of Italy ; in France for example, or in England ? 
 I do not suppose they employ themselves in the duties 
 of education, the principal object of their foundation. 
 For my part, I never could understand what business 
 they could have either in England or in the United 
 States." 
 
TKR JESUITS. 167 
 
 " Still," replied he, " tliere are many in both those 
 countries, and many more will follow. It is our 
 desire and our hope, to obtain the same influence in 
 England that we have in Italy. Protestantism in that 
 country already inclines greatly towards Catholicism, 
 and will do so still more, in proportion as the Jesuits 
 gain ground there. 
 
 " Our success is nyicli impeded by other priests and 
 monks, who, in their ignorant fanaticism, imprudently 
 attack the Protestants, and thus only strengthen their 
 opposition to the Church of Rome. We, on the other 
 hand, have the art of introducing ourselves among 
 them without exciting attention; consequently, with- 
 out creating suspicion or alarm. Apparently occupied 
 with our own affairs, we appear to take no notice of 
 those of other people. "We readily associate with them, 
 sit at their tables, and converse on general topics ; we 
 never oppose or contradict what they may advance. 
 Do they talk of the Bible ? we are ready to talk on 
 the same subject. We always, however, have some 
 strong arguments in reserve, for which most of them 
 are not prepared ; scholastic doctrines, which the Bible 
 does not disavow, and which are received with great 
 willingness. So that while, on one hand, we lament 
 that there should be an Episcopacy separate from Rome, 
 we talk largely, on the other, on the important doctrine 
 that the Bishops are the successors of the Apostles; 
 and thus prepare the way for the conclusion, that the 
 Pope is the successor of St. Peter. In fact, you will 
 find, that in consequence of this doctrine of Apostolic 
 
1G8 THE JESUITS. 
 
 succession, the Episcopalians generally entertain a 
 respect for the Chair of St. Peter, in which the chief 
 of the bishops is seated. 
 
 " The principle being admitted, the consequence 
 naturally follows. And it is to be noted, that if any 
 one speaks slightingly of the Roman Episcopacy, the 
 Bishop of London is the first person to reprove him ; 
 and moreover, the English Episcopacy calls that of 
 Rome her sister. It is not so, however, with the Pres- 
 byterians and other sects. The Church of England 
 retains the two Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy 
 Supper ; both of which, according to their belief, and 
 according to ours also, confer sanctifying grace, [gra- 
 tiam sanctificantem,) not only ex opere operate, but also 
 ex opere operantis, and thus the minister becomes an 
 advocate, sine quo non, for justification in Baptism, 
 and for the real presence in the Eucharist. Should a 
 doubt be expressed as to the sacred character of the 
 minister, or as to the efficacy of the consecration of a 
 bishop, as practised in their Church ; should their white 
 robes, or their Book of Prayer be criticised, the same 
 outcry is raised by them, as would be raised by the 
 sandalled friar, if you ridiculed his tunic, or his legends 
 of St. Francis. 
 
 " The state of the case is this : Missionaries in general 
 are imprudent, and begin by depreciating points which 
 their opponents most especially hold in reverence. We, 
 on the contrary, take care to inform them that these 
 matters, inasmuch as they are traditions of greater or 
 less antiquity, are deserving of consideration; and 
 
THE JESUITS. 169 
 
 the more so, as they come near the traditions of the 
 Apostolic Church of Rome. 
 
 " Do you think the Episcopalian clergy would ever 
 consent to change their book of prayer? We might 
 as soon be expected to give up our mass-book and 
 breviary. They cannot, therefore, blame us if we are 
 tenacious in keeping to our ritual, liturgy, and other 
 ecclesiastical observances. 
 
 " In the Church of Home there are canons, whose 
 office we ourselves deem objectionable ; those, for in- 
 stance, who, for a sum of money, often of considerable 
 amount, make it their business to pray for other people, 
 (heaven knows what sort of prayers are those they 
 mutter in the choir.) Well, in the English Church, 
 every bishop has his canons, who have the negotium in 
 otio, and otium in negotio, to go every day into the 
 choir, to repeat twice a day the same service ; and for 
 this easy task they are well paid in good English 
 pounds. Suppose now, a canon from St. Peter's at 
 Rome should present himself at the Cathedral of St. 
 Paul's, or at Westminster Abbey, you would find that 
 the reverend canons there would receive him with more 
 courtesy than they would show to either Luther or 
 Calvin. 
 
 " Observe now," he continued, " our method of pro- 
 ceeding in England. We get acquainted with the 
 Episcopalians ; our time would be lost with others ; and 
 while we praise their doctrines, we endeavour to show 
 how near they are to our own. We compare the respec- 
 tive Churches, their bishops with ours, the canons with 
 
 I 
 
170 THE JESUITS. 
 
 the laws of discipline, the Mass-book with the Prayer- 
 book, the robe with the surplice, and so on. The only 
 point on which we cannot assimilate, is our celibacy 
 and their matrimony. And here we argue that as it is 
 a matter of discipline, the Church might alter it, should 
 it be deemed expedient to do so, the pope having the 
 power to dispense with the observance. 
 
 " If any one complains that with us the cup is not 
 given to the laity, we observe that this too might easily 
 be arranged if there were no other difficulty. But the 
 clergy of the Reformed Church of the present day, 
 both ministers and bishops, have for the most part an 
 idea that the Reformation has taken away much which 
 might have been retained. They begin to be sensible 
 of a certain dryness in their worship, without either an 
 image, or the cross ; no one knows why the mitre 
 has been taken from the bishop and the gown from 
 the priest. We observe to them, that it would not be 
 amiss to restore those customs which are harmless. 
 And thus by degrees in some churches we see images 
 set up over the communion table, which give it the 
 appearance of an altar. And if an image is not allowed, 
 at least a handsome cross may be painted and gilded, 
 before which the minister as he passes may make his 
 obeisance. The mitre which the bishops no longer 
 wear on their heads, in sign of jurisdiction, is trans- 
 ferred to their coat of arms, their carriages, and their 
 plate; and seeing it thus painted and engraved, the 
 desire naturally arises in the breast of some of them to 
 wear it also. 
 
TUB JESUITS. 17X 
 
 " Our priests are wedded to their collar, the English 
 ministers to their white cravat. If we had the courage 
 to show ourselves iu London in our gowns, I would 
 wager that they also would wish to be clothed in the 
 long black garb, close to the throat, with a single row 
 of buttons." * 
 
 " It appears then that your mission to the British 
 Isles is exclusively to»convert their Episcopalian mini- 
 sters to the Church of Rome ? " 
 
 " Not them exclusively, but principally, as being the 
 most accessible. We do not however altogether lose 
 our time whilst looking after the sectarians also. In 
 fact, some of us take the Presbyterians, and those 
 who are called Dissenters, under our especial care. 
 In ingratiating ourselves with the Episcopalians, they 
 become sufficiently friendly to evince no great displea- 
 sure against us, if we now and then succeed in leading 
 away one or two of them from their faith. In short, 
 we have nothing to fear from them either in England 
 or in Scotland ; so long as we handle them gently, they 
 never turn against us. But it is very difierent with 
 the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Methodists, the 
 Independents, and others of a similar class ; we cannot 
 deceive them into a belief that their opinions ap- 
 proximate to ours ; everything regarding papacy they 
 hold in such abhorrence, that, as they express it, they 
 would rather enter into a league with the arch-fiend 
 himself than with us. How then do we proceed with 
 them ? I have already said it is in vain to think of 
 * This prophecy has come to pass. 
 i2 
 
172 THE JESUITS. 
 
 overcoming them by argument. Our efforts are directed 
 to sow enmity between them and the Episcopahans. 
 And from this we derive a double advantage; they 
 cease to trouble themselves respecting us, and endea- 
 vour to annoy their adversaries. The result of the 
 whole is, that the Episcopalians (I speak more particu- 
 larly of the most zealous) end by preferring us to the 
 Dissenters, and will one day or other bestow on us 
 privileges that will be denied to the latter.* Thus from 
 their mutual discord we gain an increase of power." 
 
 " The plan is worthy of the Jesuits," I replied ; " but 
 do you think it wiU succeed ? Will they not ultimately 
 become aware of your intentions ? And may it not 
 happen that all parties. Episcopalians, Presbyterians, 
 Baptists, Dissenters and others may unite, and direct 
 their hostilities against yourselves ? " 
 
 " In that case our mission would terminate, and it 
 would no longer be possible for our Church to maintain 
 its establishments in that country. We must, to use 
 the common phrase, shut up shop. But such a union 
 is impossible. You might sooner expect the dog to be 
 in friendship with the cat, the wolf and the lamb to 
 feed together, or the fox and the goose to share the 
 same repast, than that these different sects should har- 
 monize together. I do not speak so much of the people 
 as of their different ministers. They are always dis- 
 puting among themselves, frequently on very trivial 
 matters; and we gain ground from their dissensions. 
 It is our business then to add fuel to the flame of their 
 • Here likewise the Jesuit has proved himself a true prophet. 
 
THE JESUITS. 173 
 
 controversy. Should they relax ever so little, we en- 
 deavour to invent some new cause for debate, and to 
 engage in it the most influential and wealthy indivi- 
 duals. It would be a sad aflFair for us were a religious 
 alliance to take place in England — if the bishop of the 
 Established Church gave the hand of fellowship to the 
 Scotch Presbyterian and the Dissenter — the reproach 
 of Protestantism, on account of its division, would then 
 be taken away, and the cause would present a new 
 aspect to the Catholic world ! 
 
 " I can tell you, moreover, that the desire to become 
 protestant would then extend even into Italy, which at 
 present smiles at the disputes between the ministers 
 of various denominations in England, similar to the 
 quarrels which once prevailed in Italy between the 
 different orders of monks, as to whether the robes of 
 the minister should be white or black, and as to their 
 specific form — for an Episcopalian would never preach 
 his sermon in a Geneva cloak, neither Avould a Pres- 
 byterian pray to God from the liturgy of the Church 
 of England; — whether the sermon should be written 
 or extempore ; whether tl.e prayers should be offered 
 up standing or kneeling; whether the organ should 
 accompany the choir or not ; and other points not 
 worth enumerating, but which not unfrequently become 
 state questions. 
 
 " You know the great political axiom, ' Divide and 
 rule.' As long as we can keep the Reformation divided, 
 it will never be strong enough to attack us. In its early 
 period, being united, it could do so. And those were 
 
174 THE JESUITS. 
 
 terrible times for the Church of Eome ! All her means 
 and all her soldiers were then put in requisition. Paul 
 the Third, in this very town of Tivoli, in the year 1540, 
 observed that another Order was necessary to save the 
 bark of St. Peter from shipwreck; another body of 
 soldiers, who should receive secret instructions how to 
 combat against Protestantism ; by dividing, and putting 
 it in opposition to itself. And for this especial object 
 the Jesuits were instituted. Think how much it must 
 have cost to accomplish their purpose without dis- 
 covery ! The disclosure of their proceedings would 
 involve some frightful particulars. 
 
 " If the Protestants could be persuaded that their 
 weakness is occasioned by their dissensions, and that 
 the best mode they could adopt would be to unite and 
 make common cause against us, they most certainly 
 might, with the means they possess, combat the Roman 
 Catholic faith so effectually, that it would fall even in 
 Rome itself. It is on this account that we are so 
 vigilant with respect to England. The people there 
 are capable of every thing when once aroused. Woe 
 to us if they take it into their heads to recommence 
 a religious war ! I dread lest it should take place. It 
 is one of my especial precautions that no imprudence 
 on the part of Rome should compel the people to such 
 a necessity. Rome has united the throne and the 
 altar, the royal sceptre with the crosier of the bishop. 
 Nothing is spoken of but the divine rights of religion 
 and of the state. And in the meanwhile the patience of 
 the people, who are oppressed, tormented and rendered 
 
THE JESUITS. 175 
 
 miserable, is worn out. This most insupportable 
 yoke is imposed on them in the name of God, of 
 Christ. What might not be expected to take place 
 were the people to become aware of the treachery of 
 the priests ? Who could be expected to restrain them 
 from open rebellion, from bursting their bonds, from 
 throwing off their yoke ? 
 
 " The present moment is favourable for Protestantism 
 to gain proselytes, should it be so inclined, which 
 however certainly will not be the case ; not that every 
 protestant does not desire to see all the world reformed, 
 beginning with Rome herself; but because when the 
 period arrives, when political discord shall smooth the 
 way for Protestantism in Italy, and when a helping 
 hand would be suf&cient to effect the change which the 
 Italians themselves would assist in procuring ; yes, in 
 that very moment, the most fatal for Rome, the English 
 and Scotch Protestants would lose their object, in per- 
 plexing the Italians with the question whether their 
 new Church should be episcopalian or presbyterian. 
 It is well for us that such is the character of that 
 people, and there is no question that we should do all 
 in our power to preserve it. Woe to Rome if she does 
 not watch over England, and woe to Catholifism if the 
 Jesuits give up their important mission." 
 
 " My dear master, you have greatly enlightened my 
 mind on these matters. I should never have imagined 
 such a mode of proceeding. Have you ever yourself 
 been in England, and become acquainted with these 
 Protestants?" 
 
176 THE JESUITS. 
 
 " No, I have never visited England ; but we Jesuits 
 know every tting concerning a country without having 
 ourselves been in it, since all we possess is common to 
 the whole Company, from the clothes we wear even to 
 our very knowledge and ideas. Whatever we know, 
 we are obliged mutually to communicate to each other. 
 Thus we put into circulation the capital of thought and 
 information which each individual brings to the common 
 stock, taking care not to let it get abroad." 
 
 " Are you of opinion, then, that England will make 
 an advance towards the Church of Rome ? " 
 
 " It depends entirely on the industry of the Jesuits. 
 If Rome confides the task exclusively to us, you may 
 rest assured some bold stroke will be effected ere 
 long; and that without England being aware of our 
 manoeuvres. England, you know, is an exceedingly rich 
 country, and consequently strong and powerful. Now 
 it is natural that those who are conscious of strength 
 should fear no danger ; so England ia consequence of 
 her wealth is liable to no fear, and takes no measures 
 of prevention for the future. We already enjoy a 
 considerable degree of liberty there, and shall have 
 still more in a short time. 
 
 " The bishops rolling in their riches, and proud of 
 a numerous clergy dependent upon them, imagine 
 themselves sufficiently strong and secure; they sleep 
 iu their imaginary safety, and amuse themselves by 
 looking at us, who every now and then are raising some 
 church or other in their own immediate vicinity. One 
 of these prelates, I believe the Bishop of Manchester, 
 
THE JESUITS. 177 
 
 a little while ago went about saying, * Ah, these poor 
 Jesuits ! they go about trying and trying, and they 
 eflfect nothing.' Let his Lordship wait a little longer, 
 and then he will be able to judge more correctly, not 
 only as to what we have been doing, but what we 
 intend to do." 
 
 " But where are the funds for all these expenses ? " 
 
 " Where ? Every country in which we carry on 
 our operations, is made to furnish us with the necessary 
 expenses. And if it sometimes happens that we incur, 
 in any particular place, an expense before we have 
 collected the money, we consider it as a loan to be 
 repaid to us, with usury. Now what we spend in 
 England, is all English money ; we have the art 
 of obtaining it even from the Protestants themselves. 
 Instigated by curiosity, they come to our churches, to 
 witness our ceremonies, and do not go away without 
 leaving behind them more than we gain from the 
 Catholics themselves." 
 
 " How fearful is the power exercised by your Com- 
 pany ! How formidable to society ; and the more so 
 from its secresy. Take care that you be not dis- 
 covered." 
 
 " Discovered ! and suppose we were ? How many 
 times have we not been driven out of France, and 
 have we not always re-entered it ? In England, indeed, 
 we have never been proscribed, in consequence of the 
 principle which we ourselves preach there, political 
 and religious toleration. For my own part, I fear for 
 our situation in Italy, since we are on the side of the 
 
 I 3 
 
178 TIIE JESUITS. 
 
 -sovereigns; if anything should ever endanger their 
 stability, we should be the first to fall ; and our ruin 
 would precede that of the sovereigns. Should it occur 
 in our time that the Jesuits are banished from Rome, 
 bear in mind, that whoever the pope may be, he too 
 will find it necessary before long to fly.* But in 
 England we shall never incur the risk of being banished, 
 therefore it is that we increase and multiply there so 
 abundantly. We have establishments, schools, and all 
 that we desire to have; and these good Protestants 
 themselves furnish us the means. If it should please 
 Providence that we should live long enough to meet 
 again at some future period, you will recollect what 
 I have foretold ; at any rate, let it be according to the 
 will of God. Adieu, my good friend. I must return 
 to our convent, where Father Sineo is expecting me." 
 
 • The Jesuit was again correct in his prediction. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DOMINICANS, AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 
 
 Whoever speaks of the Inquisition, immediately 
 recalls to mind the race of monks who appear to be, 
 even from their origin, the primary agents of this 
 terrible institution. 
 
 These monks are called Dominicans, from the name 
 of their founder; and it was by the advice of Pope 
 Innocent III. that their order was instituted. They 
 called themselves Preachers, because they went to dif- 
 ferent cities preaching; not however, the Gospel of 
 Christ, but the rosary of the Virgin Mary, the most 
 absurd system of prayer that the Christian world has 
 ever yet had ; a system, indeed, diametrically opposed 
 to the doctrine of Christ, who says : " But when ye 
 pray, use not vain repetitions . . . after this manner, 
 therefore, pray ye : Our Father, &c." Now the rosary is 
 a repetition of fifteen Pater Nosters, with one hundred 
 and fifty Ave Marias, and it is said that the Virgin 
 herself taught this stupid form of devotion to Domenico 
 di Gusman. The fact, however, is certain that he was- 
 
180 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 the promoter of it, leaving it as an heritage to his 
 followers. 
 
 The rosary was the Marsellaise hymn of the Cru- 
 saders, when; headed by St. Dominic, they ravaged the 
 provinces of Languedoc, Narbonne, and Dauphiny, to 
 exterminate the heretics, as they called those true 
 Christians, who would not subject themselves to the 
 dominion of the pope. 
 
 The Order of the Dominicans can boast of many 
 men of great talent ; yet they allowed themselves to be 
 seduced from the primitive mode of worship, and to 
 become in their turn seducers, to perpetuate this ab- 
 surd system. It is from them that every thing most 
 foolish and malignant in the barbarous ages, both in 
 Spain and Italy, has been continued down to our own 
 times. A multitude of fanatics started up on the same 
 field, who, at first, called themselves monies, or her- 
 mits ; then friars or brothers ; afterwards, regular 
 clergy ; in order to distinguish themselves from those 
 who call themselves priests, after the Gveek presbiteros, 
 or elders. 
 
 In every age there has been a rivalry and emulation 
 between all these parties, to serve the papal cause; 
 always, however, first taking good care of themselves. 
 It therefore happens, that those in whom the love of 
 that system has prevailed over the love of themselves, 
 have advanced to the highest distinctions in the 
 Bomish Church; while, on the contrary, those in 
 whom the love of themselves has been the dominant 
 passion, have remained behind, and are held in little 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 181 
 
 consideration, like the Monks of San Francesco 
 d'Assisi. 
 
 Among aU these various parties, I think the Domini- 
 cans hold a middle rank ; though not the most active, 
 they are by no means the most idle and selfish of the 
 ecclesiastical orders ; they are zealous in things belong- 
 ing to the Church, and have many theologians and 
 preceptors among th^m, some of whom are ambitious 
 of appearing eloquent in set sermons, studied for the 
 purpose. 
 
 The Inquisitors also occupy themselves in preaching, 
 not that they wish to instruct the Christian world, but 
 because it is the only means of procuring them money ; 
 of which they are perpetually in want, not so much 
 for their personal necessities, as for their personal 
 vices. 
 
 The Dominicans are known to be rich, and to lead 
 an easy life. Their dress is the most becoming, or, 
 I should say, the least unbecoming of all the tunics, 
 capes, hoods, cowls, gowns, and scarfs, thait form the 
 monkish garb ; and certainly, their mode of life is less 
 irrational than that of the other orders : still they are 
 full of hypocrisy and deceit. They have a code of laws, 
 but although they swear to obey them all, they do not 
 observe half of them. The Superior of the monastery 
 has power to dispense with the observance of any 
 of them, on the slightest pretext. According to their 
 rules, they ought all to dress in woollen only, restrict 
 themselves to meagre diet, rise in the night to pray, 
 and so forth. They do nothing of the kind, however. 
 
183 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 and so far, I do not blame them ; but they are wrong 
 in practising so many deceptions. They profess never 
 to eat meat in the refectory, or room for their common 
 meals ; and it is true, that in the refectory itself they 
 do not eat it ; but there is another room near it, which 
 they call by another name, where they eat meat con- 
 stantly. On Good Friday they are commanded by 
 their rules to eat bread and drink water. At the dinner 
 hour they all go together into the refectory, to eat 
 bread and drink water : but having done so, for 
 the sake of appearance, they go one after the other 
 into another room, where a good dinner is prepared 
 for them all. I do not blame them for enjoying it, 
 but I blame them for first feigning an abstinence, 
 which none of them intend to keep. When I made 
 a profession of these rules, at the age of seventeen, 
 I was totally unacquainted with such pharisaical decep- 
 tions. I looked upon the Dominicans as a noble 
 order, where propriety of life was observed ; and, above 
 all, I v/as pleased that the sciences and literature were 
 studied among them, and that professors and preachers 
 came to teach them. 
 
 The first year, called the year of noviciate, which is 
 the time given for deliberation, passed away without 
 my seeing what was going on, for I was kept apart 
 from all the other monks. Nevertheless, I was twice 
 strongly tempted to renounce my career, but some 
 friends I had in the monastery prevailed upon me 
 to remain. But the eye becomes accustomed to see 
 deformities, the ear to hear follies, and the mind to 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 183 
 
 stupefy itself by the habits it contracts ; thus, after 
 some time I became a monk, and attached to the 
 system ; for as I believed Domenico di Gusman to be a 
 great saint, so also I believed his Order to be a useful 
 and respectable institution. 
 
 Being by nature frank and sincere, I could not 
 endure false and lying practices ; but it may easily be 
 imagined that these people can readily find distinctions 
 and subtleties to render their professions in plausible 
 accordance with their deeds. Besides, evil example 
 goes a great way. There were persons in the monastery 
 whom I much esteemed ; and seeing them live in ease 
 and apparent sanctity, I tranquillized my mind in order 
 to associate myself to the same system. Besides, I led 
 a life of study : at the age of sixteen I had completed 
 not only the courses of natural philosophy, mathematics, 
 natural history, and experimental philosophy, but also 
 those of civil and criminal law. All this was before 
 I entered the monastery of the Dominicans ; they were 
 therefore rather proud of me, partly because I was the 
 only one who was thus distinguished, and partly because 
 they hoped by my example to attract others to recruit 
 their fraternity. 
 
 I professed the institution of the Dominicans mth 
 the view of being freed from every distraction, and 
 enabled first to perfect myself in the sciences, and 
 afterwards to teach them to others. I preferred this 
 task to every other, and it was a passion with me to 
 learn all that was worthy of being learnt. The hours 
 of the day were insufficient for this desire, and during 
 
184 THE DOMINICANS^ 
 
 several years I accustomed myself to pass two whole 
 nights every week in reading and writing. 
 
 My most delightfal study was that of the classics, 
 both ancient and modern; but I felt it necessary to 
 apply myself to the sciences, especially to logic, for 
 which I had much taste. I studied the philosophy of 
 the Peripatetics, in order to become acquainted with it, 
 though I did not teach it; also the theology of the 
 Schoolmen, to purify it from the dross by which it is 
 defiled. All that I acquired of these sciences was by 
 studying books, as I learned nothing from the teaching 
 of preceptors, which was at that time inconsiderable 
 among the Dominicans. 
 
 I must confess that I was at this time well contented 
 with my condition, and would not have changed it for 
 any other, because it enabled me to satisfy my desire 
 of learning. I had all the comforts of life necessary 
 for a student, and amply sufficient leisure, uninter- 
 rupted by any thing either to trouble me or distract 
 my attention. I had, in short, retirement, quietude, 
 and an abundance of books. I thought also that 
 I should have had learned conversation, but in this 
 I was mistaken. 
 
 The life of the Dominicans is intended for the cul- 
 tivation of the sciences ; and the design, not only of 
 Domenico di Gusman himself, but of the succeeding 
 heads of the Order, appears to have been to form an 
 institution of learned men devoted to the service of the 
 Romish Church. 
 
 The privileges accorded by the laws of the Order to 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 185 
 
 any individual who cultivates the study of the sciences, 
 and, moreover, the privileges and honours granted to this 
 Order by the popes, corroborate this design. The doc- 
 tor, or Master of Theology, as he is called, enjoys many 
 distinctions and advantages : his degree is equal to 
 that of the principal universities, and the same as that of 
 the Sorbonne and of Salamanca. With the Dominicans 
 the road which leads, to this academical rank is long 
 and difficult, while in the other Orders, and from the 
 class of priests, the path is easy and short. A doctor 
 of Theology, among the Dominicans, is chosen from the 
 class of professors after many rigid examinations, and 
 after a course of lectures which last twelve years ; but 
 once elected, he is free from aU the inconveniences of 
 a monastic life, and enjoys every comfort and honour. 
 Happy, then, is he who can attain to this high 
 rank ! The number, however, is very Hmited ; hence 
 arise disputes and intrigues to obtain admittance 
 into it. 
 
 II Maestro Donienicano is generally considered as a 
 personage of much importance, and he would not 
 abandon this way of living for any other employment j 
 or if he accepted one, he would consider himself 
 unhappy in having given up his cherished idleness. 
 
 It is related of Friar Orsini, a Dominican who in his 
 youth was made cardinal and bishop of Benevento, and 
 in his old age was elected pope under the title of Bene- 
 dict XIII., that one day being with his fellow-monks 
 in the monastery of the Minerva, he said : " If I had 
 not been removed from my office of lecturer to my 
 
186 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 Order, I should now have been a Padre Maestro;'" 
 thus manifesting that his elevation to the papal chair 
 was regarded by him as a loss. 
 
 At the age of thirty I was a Maestro, to which high 
 rank no one had ever before attained so early. My 
 having taught many different things at the same time 
 was of use to me, as during the seven years of my 
 lecturing I occupied three chairs at once, viz. those of 
 theology, Holy Scripture, and philosophy. The head of 
 the Order was anxious to advance me to this degree, as 
 he wished to promote me to the post of Rector, or Prin- 
 cipal of the Minerva, which is the highest of all that 
 the Order has to bestow. 
 
 They endeavoured still more studiously to make me 
 a devotee to the Romish system, as they perceived I was 
 departing from it more and more every day; and 
 they thought the best means for accompUshing their 
 ends would be to appoint me to offices of importance, 
 at the same time holding out delusive promises of even 
 higher dignities. This is the net by which they entrap 
 many, but I was one of the few who did not allow 
 themselves to be ensnared ; on the contrary, I several 
 times entreated the General of the Order to allow me to 
 remain in peace with my occupations at Viterbo, in the 
 exercise of which I desired to live and die; but he 
 obstinately refused to comply with my request, and 
 ordered me to renounce my professorships and repair 
 to Rome. The Bishop of Viterbo interested himself 
 for me, in order that I might not be compelled to leave 
 the place against my will; and he adopted every 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 187 
 
 method, both of persuasion and entreaty, on the occa- 
 sion. But the General was no friend to the bishop, whose 
 mediation therefore only served to strengthen him the 
 more in his determination to withdraw me from Vi- 
 terbo, and bring me to Rome. At last I could resist no 
 longer, and was obliged to surrender my two professor- 
 ships into the hands of the bishop, who reluctantly 
 accepted my resignation, at the same time muttering 
 strong expressions of resentment against the General 
 of the Dominicans. 
 
 It was thus that I was forced, at the close of 1833, to 
 quit Viterbo, having first received a thousand proofs of 
 friendship from the bishop, the Prelato Governatore, and 
 from all classes of the inhabitants. 
 
 There was one crafty man, however, who, whilst he 
 caressed me openly, used to calumniate and injure me 
 behind my back, of which I in my own unsuspecting 
 nature was not for some time aware. This man, a 
 certain M. Spalletti, noted for his villainous character, 
 was vicar to the bishop; by much intrigue he after- 
 wards succeeded in getting himself made Bishop of 
 Sutri and Nessi, but he finished his career by being 
 driven away by the inhabitants, loaded with crime. This 
 man hated me because I was a friend of the delegate's, 
 who for many good reasons was opposed to him. After 
 my departure, Spalletti began to raise various reports 
 against me by means of his acolytes. He also made 
 use of some Dominican monks, who, through jealousy, 
 were displeased with my advancement ; as well as of 
 some persons whom I had reproved whilst residing in 
 
188 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 Viterbo. All these were unfriendly to me, and con- 
 spired with Spalletti against me. But the good Mon- 
 signor Sisti, governor of the province, discovered this 
 secret conspiracy, and he one day called Spalletti to 
 him, and gave him to understand that he was able to 
 frustrate all his designs. Spalletti, finding himself 
 discovered, denied having entertained any, and declared 
 himself to be one of my best friends. 
 
 I was told of these evil reports, but I took no more 
 notice of them than as if they had been concerning a 
 stranger, as I endeavour not to glory in applause, nor 
 to suffer any kind of depression from false and inju- 
 rious accusations. I feel as acutely as any one the force 
 of injustice; but having made a solemn vow not to 
 revenge it, I leave it to the Almighty, and the only 
 relief to my feelings is the consciousness of my inno- 
 cence ; and I have generally had the gratification of 
 seeing some friend, almost as if inspired by Providence, 
 take up my cause, to the confusion of my adversary. 
 In the affair with Spalletti, I had for my defenders, not 
 only the Prelato Governatore, but also the most respect- 
 able persons in Viterbo. The Cardinal Gamberini, to 
 whom I made some complaint about the conduct of the 
 vicar of Viterbo, said to me, " Leave that unhappy man 
 who calumniates you to himself; he is in such discredit 
 with all good people, that being slandered by him is 
 rather an honour than otherwise." 
 
 I went to Eome, in obedience to the General of the 
 Order, and when he saw me he said : 
 
 " I am very glad you are about to begin a new 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 189 
 
 career ; for it will confer great honours upon you, whilst 
 it will also be of the highest utility to the Order." 
 
 In the course of a few days, he presented me to some 
 Cardinals, by whom T was received with the most 
 friendly welcome. The Cardinal de Gregorio predicted 
 that I should become Master of the Sacred Palace, and 
 afterwards a cardinal. Cardinal Polidori, also, said to 
 me, " I wish this new charge may give you the oppor- 
 tunity of acquiring much knowledge, and that the Lord 
 may grant you, at the same time, much humility." 
 Some days after, the General said to me, — 
 
 " The pope wishes to see you, and has ordered me 
 to conduct you to him to-morrow.'" 
 
 I had known Pope Gregory well, from the time when 
 he was Abbot of St. Romualdo. I had gone several 
 times to see him, and he always used to give me a 
 good reception, presenting me with chocolate and 
 books, as the monks are in the habit of doing. I had 
 also visited him when he was created Cardinal; and, 
 finally, I had waited upon him when he was Pope, 
 being presented to him by Padre Velzi, Master of the 
 Sacred Palace, as Vicario del Magistero. Behold me 
 now again before him : the pope granted us a private 
 audience, and was in a very good humour. 
 
 " Holy Father," said the General Jabalot, " I present 
 to you the sxew Eector of the College of the Minerva." 
 
 " Oh ! my dear Achilli," said the pope. " I re- 
 joice, Padre Generate, that you have made so young a 
 Rector." 
 
 And here he said some very flattering things of me ; 
 
190 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 that he had known me ever since 1825, and had always 
 esteemed me ; with many other compliments of the 
 like nature. He then recommended me to the Gene- 
 ral, and turning to me said, — 
 
 " Now that you are in Rome, I shall have the plea- 
 sure of seeing you again ; come whenever you like, and 
 on Thursday mornings especially, you wiU find me 
 more at liberty : go to my cameriere, and he will intro- 
 duce you at once, without taking you the round of the 
 ante-chambers." 
 
 The General was quite pleased with this reception, 
 and said to me confidentially, — 
 
 " The pope wished me to call you to Rome, and 
 from what he has told me, it appears that he has mach 
 good- will towards you; indeed, he certainly has a great 
 partiality for you." 
 
 Soon after he said, — 
 
 " The pope speaks of you with much interest, and 
 has great hopes of you. I therefore feel more and 
 more delighted that I have brought you to Rome, 
 and I hope you also will be well pleased at my having 
 done so. I have been wishing for the last two years to 
 have you at the Minerva; recollect when you came 
 here, at the beginning of 1831, to graduate,* how I 
 then said to you that I required you in Rome, and 
 I offered you some employments ; but you declined my 
 proposals, and preferred returning to Viterbo. You 
 know that whoever seeks for preferment, must reside 
 
 * L'Esame ad gradus. The Dominicans so call the examination for 
 the degree of Doctor of Theology, 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 191 
 
 principally ia Rome ; and your spirit, your talents, the 
 many friends you have among the most illustrious per- 
 sonages, as well as the interest the pope takes in your 
 welfare, guarantee to you the highest honours and 
 dignities in the Church." 
 
 " Padre Generale," I repHed, " if this ambition to 
 attain to high rank and dignity existed in my mind, 
 I should then feel the necessity of remaining in Rome ; 
 but if I desire to attend to the service of my ministry, 
 then it appears to me that I can be useful anywhere. 
 Besides, as most talented men crowd into Rome, it is 
 well, I think, that some like myself, assuming for 
 argument's sake that I possess the quahfications you 
 are pleased to attribute to me, should be dispersed here 
 and there in different parts of the country. I assure 
 you. Padre Generale, that if I had not been compelled 
 by you, I should not have left Viterbo, where I think 
 I was very useful ; at any rate, I should have preferred 
 going elsewhere, instead of coming to Rome. I do not 
 know why this climate feels so heavy to me, and why 
 it depresses my spirits, but so it is. I will, moreover, 
 tell you frankly that the monastery of the Minerva has 
 for me something repulsive ; and from the time I left it 
 in 18.26, I never had any desire to return." 
 
 " Then you do not like Rome ?" 
 
 " Oh, on the contrary. Padre Generale, I like Rome 
 very much ; you know that I am a Roman, although 
 born in Viterbo, and God knows how I love this un- 
 happy city ! But it is precisely because I love it, that 
 I cannot live in it : something that I cannot describe 
 
193 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 makes me suffer wtile I remain in Rome, but I feel it 
 less when I am anywhere else." 
 
 " I do not understand what you mean." 
 
 " Well, then, Padre Generale, I must explain. Do 
 not you see the corrupt state of this city ? Does it not 
 appear as if you were in Babylon, when you go to the 
 Court of the Pope and Cardinals ? And of what does 
 the clergy of Rome consist ? Is it not of a number of 
 ambitious men, who serve in the Church, only through 
 their avidity to acquire a higher grade, and who en- 
 deavour by every species of intrigue to frustrate the 
 designs of each other ? You may see this in every class, 
 and in every order, from the College of the Cardinals 
 to the Capuchin monastery. What is the monastery of 
 the Minerva, to which you have now so eagerly called 
 me, thinking to ensure my happiness? An asylum for 
 discontented persons, each one of whom is trying to rise 
 above the other : every lecturer wishes to be maestro, 
 and every monk longs to be the Superior. From this 
 ambition arise discord and artifice, murmurings and 
 scandal, often generating the blackest calumnies. The 
 monastery of the Minerva is odious to me, because here 
 more than elsewhere, the monks quarrel with each 
 other ; and the scandal of their disagreements has 
 spread throughout the monasteries of the provinces, 
 and causes the greatest disorders." 
 
 " From what I hear you are not contented with your 
 present situation ; you are like the Israelites who sighed 
 after the leeks and onions of Egypt." 
 
 " I confess to you. Padre Generale, that with your 
 
AND MY LITE AMONG THEM, 193 
 
 permission, and that of the pope, I should he most 
 delighted either to return to Viterbo, or to leave Rome, 
 and go to any other city, to do all you wish." 
 
 " Well ! this is curious ! What a miserable figure 
 I should make, undoing all that I have done ! What 
 would the pope say ? What would the cardinals whom 
 we have visited say? Even the monks would find 
 something to say, if, you were no longer the Rector 
 whom I have appointed." 
 
 " As to the monks, you need not trouble yourself 
 about them : they have already murmured enough that 
 I am placed here. Accustomed as they have been to see 
 only aged men called to the office, they do not like my 
 being where I am ; they would indeed be very glad 
 if I remained no longer. I could easily, through the 
 aid of the pope or the cardinals, find means to resign 
 without any blame accruing to your reverence." 
 
 At this moment we were interrupted. Several days 
 passed before I again saw the Superior, who then 
 received me with great coldness. This man had, as is 
 well known, a remarkable talent for preaching, so that 
 he passed for the finest orator of his time. The Jesuit 
 Finetti and the Franciscan Pacifico of Brescia were 
 certainly inferior to him. Proud of the applause he 
 continually received, this Father Jabalot daily expected 
 to be elevated to the dignity of cardinal, so much so 
 that amongst his friends he himself spoke of his cardi- 
 nalship as certain and near at hand. Father Velzi, 
 another Dominican, the Maestro of the Sacred Palace, 
 had been created a cardinal a short time before ; every 
 
 K 
 
194 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 thing, therefore, encouraged our General in the belief 
 that he too was a cardinal " in fieri," for so in Rome are 
 those called who are about to be made cardinals, or who 
 so flatter themselves. Consequently, he immediately- 
 assumed an air of dignity and patronage. Such was 
 this Father Jabalot; bulky in person, gentle in his 
 manners, he was already prepared for the cardinal's 
 hat. To those who congratulated him he mildly an- 
 swered with downcast eyes, and a modest smile of 
 internal approbation ; and when any one spoke of his 
 high attainments, of his claims to the office, of the 
 ornament he would be to the sacred purple, " Stavasi 
 tutto umile in tanta gloria" — ^he was humble amid so 
 great glory. 
 
 The good friar was well aware that I was not one of 
 those who pay court to cardinals, real or expectant. 
 He knew very well that he could not make a tool of me 
 to advance his ambition ; that on the contrary, eschew- 
 ing all ambitious views myself, I should have been a 
 continual thorn in his side; in fact, he saw he had 
 gained nothing by having brought me to Eome ; and 
 I think he repented having done so. However that 
 might be, he was determined to try a last expedient. 
 " Perhaps," said he, " you do not like to be the princi- 
 pal of a college, since the office is one of very great 
 responsibility ; and accustomed as you are to have your 
 time at your own disposal, you may perhaps find it too 
 great a confinement. If this be aU yx)ur difficulty, I 
 can easily rectify that point ; T have other posts to offer 
 you which perhaps you may like better; for instance. 
 
AND MT LIFE AMONG THEM. 195 
 
 the office of librarian at the Casanatense is vacantj and 
 I can offer it you, if you would like it ; in fact, the pope, 
 only the other day, speaking of you, told me that he 
 should be pleased to see you in that post. I am 
 persuaded he would be delighted if I mentioned to him 
 that you had made the exchange. You shall have three 
 days to turn it over in your mind, and then you can 
 give me your answer." 
 
 " My answer," I replied, " is ready this moment, if 
 you will permit me to give it ; I have no need of rumi- 
 nating on the matter to come to a decision. It is not 
 the office of Principal that is the difficulty with me j on 
 the contrary, that is the very one in which I feel I could 
 do some good. . -But I find it impossible to live in this 
 Roman monastery, where there is nothing but opposition, 
 contrariety, and dissension. Suppose for a moment I 
 should wish to reform any abuses that might exist in 
 the college, I should be sure to encounter a war of per- 
 secution, as has ever been the case. My predecessor 
 has not yet recovered from the effects of his attempt in 
 that way. Above all, there is one thing in which I feel 
 the great necessity of alteration, and that is, in the 
 course of study. "We are barbarians with our scholastic 
 theology ; it is that of the middle ages ; it is horrible ! 
 Aristotle is taken as the expositor of the Bible; his 
 works, with those of Pietro Lombardo, are the two text 
 books of Thomas Aquinas. In Christian schools the 
 apostle should explain the philosopher. The famous 
 motto of the Platonists, ' Ipse dixit,' has its counterpart 
 in the motto of the Thomasines, ' Ut ait pMlosophus et 
 
 K 3 
 
196 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 Magister senteniiarum.' Now, Father General, does 
 this appear to you to be the proper way to explain 
 theology, which is the science of reasoning upon, and 
 drawing conclusions from, the principles of Divine Reve- 
 lation, — that is to say, from the Holy Scriptures ? since 
 there is no other revelation than what they set forth." 
 
 " But our Order has always held this system of 
 instruction ; our theology has always been that of St. 
 Thomas Aquinas, which is authorized by the Church ; 
 and whoso has ever deviated from his doctrine, said 
 Pope John XXII., has always been suspected as to his 
 faith {fuit semper de fide suspectus) . How would you 
 think of introducing any reform in such- "matters? 
 Most certainly, all the lecturers and masters would to 
 a man rise against it. 
 
 " For my part, I cannot see why the system hitherto 
 adopted should not be still pursued; our Order has 
 been always distinguished for its theologians, and this 
 distinction they derive from the study of the ' Summa 
 Theologise' of St. Thomas Aquinas. Take this from 
 them, and it would be like taking the sun from the 
 universe ; all would be darkness." 
 
 " Father General, I knew that this was a sore sub- 
 ject; and though I could sustain some weight of 
 odium, if I thought I could do any good, I see I should 
 not be seconded, and therefore I should labour in vain. 
 For this reason have I deemed it unadvisable to open 
 my mouth on the subject ; for it is written : Non effundas 
 sermonem ubi non est auditus. My voice would be as 
 f the voice of one crying in the wilderness.'' Perhaps the 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 197 
 
 time is not yet come ; perhaps I am not the instrument 
 destined for such a work ; or perhaps it is to be brought 
 about in some other way. I feel that the monastery of 
 the Minerva is no longer the abode for me, and that 
 Rome itself is no longer the place in which I can dwell. 
 I hope that you will, for my own justification, make 
 these reasons known. Let it be clearly understood that 
 my not remaining at the Minerva, or in Rome at all, 
 has depended on myself alone." 
 
 "And the pope?" 
 
 " I will undertake to excuse myself to him. And he 
 is so good a man that I am sure he will not find the 
 arguments I shall lay before him unreasonable." 
 
 " Of course you will speak to him of the theology of 
 St. Thomas Aquinas ! " 
 
 " Oh ! as to that, we have often talked together on 
 the subject, when he was simple Padre Abate Cappellari 
 of St. Romualdo ; and perhaps he was really the first 
 who made me take this view of the subject. Believe 
 me, Father General, I am no innovator; nor is this a 
 novelty; it is a thing that has been long desired, 
 according to the exigencies of times and persons. The 
 sentiments I have expressed are those which the 
 favourers of scholastic theology have often endeavoured 
 to smother, but which they have never been able to 
 extinguish ; and now it seems to me they are ready to 
 break forth anew. Theology, such as it is at present 
 among us, can no longer stand ; and the reason, Father 
 General, is, because it is not so ancient as it ought to be. 
 In matters of religion, there are neither discoveries nor 
 
198 THE DOMINICANSj 
 
 novelties; that which was estahlished in the beginning, 
 that same should remain for ever. Can the Bible ever 
 become old or obsolete ? To me it appears that it can- 
 not ; and yet, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, 
 an attempt was made to remodel and modernise it in 
 some particulars. This work of the dark ages must be 
 destroyed, and the original system renewed. And what 
 I call reform, is not a novelty, as some imagine, but 
 simply a return to the ancient religion." 
 
 " Let this discourse go no further ; for I fear if others 
 should hear it, they may conceive a bad opinion of you. 
 This, you very well know, is the constant cry of here- 
 tics ; they want a reform in the Church, but it is not 
 their office to effect it ; it is that of the pope alone, 
 as sole head of the Church. It is always dangerous 
 to speak of reform, for it invariably savours of heresy : 
 and at any rate I would not advise you to give utterance 
 to such sentiments, especially in Rome." 
 
 Father Jabalot was one of those blind followers of 
 the doctrines of Rome, who, between Christ and the 
 Pope, would rather have decided for the latter than the 
 former. Leo XII., speaking of him, used to say, that 
 he thought Father Jabalot one of the most ambitious 
 men ia the world; that is to say, most ambitious to 
 serve the papal chair. He could not, then, well agree 
 with me, who saw in the past, nothing but a system of 
 corrupted faith and relaxed Christian morahty. In his 
 eyes the pope was infallible ; a dogma which, in our 
 age, every Roman theologian, who is not an actual 
 fanatic, is ashamed of sustaining. It was impossible to 
 
AND MY LITE AMONG THEM. 199 
 
 reason with such a man upon theology, because he 
 always preferred believing whatever was most pre- 
 posterousj foolish, and least credible. His was a weak 
 mind in a robust body. Such a man being the head 
 of the Order, was one of my principal reasons for 
 not wishing to reside in Rome ; especially in an office 
 which would have brought me into perpetual collision 
 with him. On the eontrary, from that moment, I was 
 incessantly contriving how I might withdraw from the 
 whole race of friars, who had now become odious to me. 
 Their superstitions, on the one hand, and their irregu- 
 larities, on the other, every day diminished my esteem 
 and attachment to the Order. Truly, it required much 
 to make me dislike those whom before I had sincerely 
 loved ; and yet this work, by Divine mercy, was perfect- 
 ing in my soul. 
 
 I had long dissented from the Romish doctrines, but 
 was still bound by certain ties of friendship — perhaps 
 the force of long habit, and the prejudices of education, 
 had much to do in the matter — so that it appeared 
 very difficult to take the resolute step which should 
 entirely separate me from all and every thing with 
 which I had so long been closely connected. And 
 yet that Providence which governeth all things, at 
 length effected even this. 
 
 Rome did all she could to attach me to her side ; but 
 in this point, I, who at any other time should have been 
 most docile, now remained inflexible. 
 
 " It appears to me incredible," said a friend of mine, 
 " that neither pope, cardinals, nor generals of orders. 
 
200 THE DOMINICANS^ 
 
 have eloquence enough to persuade you to stay in 
 Romej to be loaded with honours and dignities." 
 
 Father Velzi; the Maestro of the Sacred Palace, having 
 some little time before been created cardinal, and sent 
 as bishop to Monte Fiascone, it was my office, as his 
 vicar, in the discharge of my duty, to be in the midst 
 of all the festivities which are customary on these occa- 
 sions; and, moreover, to accompany the new cardinal 
 to his diocese, and to attend upon him. Viterbo being 
 in the immediate vicinity of Monte Fiascone, I often 
 divided my time between the two; and was but too 
 happy to render every service to my excellent friend, 
 who frequently asked me to pass some days with him. 
 
 I had a great regard for this man on account of his 
 excellent qualities; with all he was obliging; for me 
 he evinced a particular friendship. I was entirely in 
 his confidence, and he occasionally in mine. Our 
 conversations were very interesting, and the most 
 perfect familiarity existed between us when we were 
 together. Though a cardinal, he assumed no supe- 
 riority over me, but, as is customary with the Italians, 
 as with the French, in cases of intimacy, addressed 
 me in the second person singular. 
 
 Cardinal Velzi was by no means a friend of the 
 Father General Jabalot; consequently these two friars 
 divided the Order into two parties. As may be ima- 
 gined, I was on Velzi's side, without, however, making 
 enemies on the other, for some of whom I had a great 
 friendship, and especially for the good old Father 
 Brochetti, who was then the Provincial. But, as 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 201 
 
 happens in all party matterSj and above all among 
 monks, I was frequently reproved by both. 
 
 " What says your Brochetti ? " Velzi would ask, 
 smiling. 
 
 " Well, what is your cardinal doing ? " Brocchetti 
 and Jabalot would inquire, ironically. I had more 
 than once endeavoured to unite these conflicting spirits, 
 but always in vain.' I could never induce Brochetti 
 to dine with the cardinal, or the cardinal to write a 
 friendly letter to the provincial. These dissensions 
 were chiefly fomented by Buttaoni, the Maestro of the 
 Sacred Palace, and Degola, secretary of the Congrega- 
 tion of the Index, who, holding every thing from Velzi, 
 were opposed to Jabalot; and on the other side, by 
 some foolish monks, who, aspiring to certain pettj 
 appointments in the gift of the general, paid exclusive 
 court to him. 
 
 It appeared as if Father Jabalot wished to gain me 
 over by ofl'ering me the rectorship of the Minerva. 
 He now prevented me, as much as he could, from visit- 
 ing Cardinal Velzi as often as I could have wished ; the 
 distance I was from him, and the nature of my employ- 
 ment, which kept me occupied every day in the week, 
 rendered my opportunities of seeing him comparatively 
 rare. 
 
 " You have not much time now to pay your visits to 
 Cardinal Velzi," said my good old friend, Brochetti, to 
 me one day. I could not thereupon forbear reflecting 
 with regret, how two men of talent were, so to say, 
 lost ! Here were two most excellent individuals, hating 
 
 k3 
 
202 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 and carping at each other, without any reason. And so 
 it often happens, that for the slightest causes, invete- 
 rate hatreds are nourished, whence the most deplorable 
 consequences frequently spring. What a proof of the 
 weakness of human nature ! Surely man is the best 
 and the worst of all created beings. 
 
 The fact is, that I had now given my decided opinion, 
 not only against the ofB.ce of principal, but against any 
 other which would require me to reside in Rome, and 
 especially in that Pandemonium, the Minerva, with the 
 Father General Jabalot. 
 
 There were, likewise, other motives which urged me 
 to leave Rome; and those were, my aversion to the 
 government of Pope Gregory and his Cardinal Lam- 
 bruschini. The prisons were full of honest citizens, 
 who had sacrificed their best interests for the love of 
 their country ; hundreds of good men were in exile, 
 and their children and wives were pining in misery, 
 exposed to every insult and derision. These and 
 similar atrocities moved my indignation, and fre- 
 quently made me speak against the government. It 
 was a miserable sight at that time in Rome, to behold 
 the acts of tyranny and oppression that were daily 
 exercised ; and it was beyond endurance to hear the 
 insulting answers which the pope and certain cardinals 
 gave to those who craved grace or justice. We see at 
 the present moment what the Gregorian school of domi- 
 nation is capable of. 
 
 Though reared among monks, I still felt myself a 
 citizen, and hated the government as much as the most 
 
AND MY LITE AMONG THEM. 203 
 
 zealous lover of his country could do. Hence, it would 
 have been impossible for me to remain in Rome 
 without exposing myself to the persecutions of the 
 pohce, by the animadversions I should continually have 
 been tempted to make. 
 
 One day I was summoned into the presence of Car- 
 dinal GaleflS, chancellor of the Eoman university, who 
 offered me a chair' at the Sapienza. Here was a 
 new difficulty for me ! Still the same question of 
 staying in Rome, and residing in the monastery of the 
 Miuerva; every hope and comfort vanished, at the 
 thought of these two evils. I was also offered the 
 choice of two professorships in the university of Mace- 
 rata, namely, that of Holy Scripture, vacant by the 
 resignation of Professor Matteucci, or that of theology, 
 which Professor Borgetti would have ceded to me. 
 
 Macerata is a pretty city, the capital of La Marca, 
 in the province of Ancona. I preferred this locality to 
 that of Rome, and was just upon the point of making 
 arrangements accordingly, and of dechning the offers 
 of the general of the Dominicans, and of Cardinal 
 Galeffi j but, can any one with impunity renounce even 
 the honours of the Church of Rome ? The renunciation 
 is always suspected. I had before me the example of 
 Father Giovanni da Cupistrano, ex-general of the Fran- 
 ciscans, a highly respectable character, whether as 
 regarded his learning or his holy life. He had more 
 than any one served the Church of Rome, but had twice 
 refused to be made a bishop, and had shown himself 
 indifferent as to the honour of a cardinal's hat, which 
 
304 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 the pope seemed willing to confer upon him. Aged, 
 and worn out by fatigue and study, he wished to leave 
 the turmoil of Rome, and pass the remainder of his hfe 
 in retirement. He refused certain offices proposed to 
 him by Cardinal Galefii, saying, " I have served your 
 Eminences long enough ; I have need to think a little 
 of myself; pray leave me in peace, and I wiJl pray for 
 you." The cardinal insisted, and the good old man (as 
 he himself says in his apology) began to lose patience, 
 and finally gave an answer that seemed somewhat 
 abrupt to the cardinal, who pronounced it offensive to 
 the Roman Church, viz. to the pope and cardinals. 
 This was sufficient — poor Cupistrano, in spite of his 
 grey hairs, was cast into the prison of the Inquisition, 
 and after three years' hard treatment in the " Holy 
 Office" in Rome, was condemned to perpetual incar- 
 ceration in a monastery. This event made me deter- 
 mine to extricate myself from this web of obliging 
 offers, which were as so many snares and fetters to 
 my feet. 
 
 The thought of Cupistrano being in the Inquisition 
 made me tremble, and Cardinal Galeffi alarmed me. I 
 saw no other means of escape than by quitting Rome ; 
 and yet this was to be done with judgment j my plan, 
 therefore, was not to accept any appointment, and at 
 the same time to find something which might justify 
 my absence. 
 
 Cardinal Velzi sent for me about this time to Monte 
 Fiascone, to stay a few months in order to assist him in 
 putting his seminary in order. This occupation was 
 
AND MY LITE AMONG THEM. 205 
 
 agreeable to me, because I myself had proposed a new 
 plan of instruction, whicb in less time than had hitherto 
 been required would have produced better scholars, in 
 various branches of learning. I omit other offers I had 
 from several bishops, who were my friends ; but I may 
 observe that Cardinal Micara wanted me at Frascati, 
 and Cardinal di Gregorio wished to have me for Peni- 
 tentiary at Santa Maria Maggiore. 
 
 About this time the Father General Jabalot died 
 suddenly, and Padre Olivieri, commissary-general of 
 the Inquisition, was appointed to the office. This man 
 formed a third party in the Order, being little friendly 
 towards Jabalot, and a decided enemy to Velzi. Olivieri 
 was a man of singular character, an example of what a 
 man of little talent, but of laborious habits, can accom- 
 plish. He was slow and dull of comprehension, but yet, 
 by dint of application to books, he had made himself 
 master of the Hebrew, Syriac, Greek, and Arabic lan- 
 guages ; he understood German, and read the English 
 newspapers daily, and all this without masters, by inde- 
 fatigable study day and night. Of the Hebrew and 
 Chaldee languages he had been for some years professor 
 in the Sapienza at Rome, and of the Greek elsewhere. 
 Indeed, I never saw his equal for tenacity of purpose in 
 anything he undertook ; he was capable of sitting day 
 and night over a single volume. On one occasion, 
 having returned on foot from Turin to Rome, in 1815, 
 as soon as he came to the Minerva, tired, hungry, and 
 covered with dust, the first thing he asked for was the 
 Timseus of Plato, in Greek, to examine certain passages 
 
206 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 which he had recollected as he was walking. Such was 
 the singular character now elected Father General of 
 the Dominicans. The storm lowered more and more : 
 the gorernment of the Order was bound up with that of 
 the Inquisition, and whoever was not friendly to that 
 institution was sure to be persecuted. 
 
 These changes happened between Easter and Pente- 
 cost, 1834. I had preached the Lent sermons at 
 Monte Fiascone, whither the worthy Cardinal Velzi had 
 invited me. 
 
 " O my good Achilli," said he to me one day, " I per- 
 ceive that this Order of ours will become a real disorder. 
 The Father General Jabalot was a weak man ; he has 
 allowed a world of abuses to be introduced. The Father 
 General Olivieri is an austere and obstinate man, and 
 one who knows nothing of the government of a fra- 
 ternity, however small; besides which, accustomed for 
 years only to the cells and dungeons of the Inquisi- 
 tion, a heartless being such as he is will, I foresee, 
 destroy every good regulation, and finish by ruining 
 everything. I advise you by all the friendship I 
 entertain for you, not to remain in Rome, nor to 
 accept any appointment which obliges you to reside ia 
 the Minerva. Keep aloof till we see how things are 
 likely to go on ; if you like to come here, my house, 
 my seminary, and everything you may desire, shall be 
 at your disposal.^' 
 
 A letter from the Father General Olivieri now called 
 me to Eome. On my arrival he saluted me as rector 
 of the Minerva, and spoke to me of certain arrange- 
 
AND MY LlfB AMONG THEM. 207 
 
 ments he had made ■with regard to the collegians and 
 professors. Prudence forhade my showing any opposi- 
 tion at that moment; and suggested the expediency of 
 my letting him say and do whatever he thought fitj till 
 an opportunity should present itself of getting quit of 
 my emharrassing situation, and leaving Eome alto- 
 gether. Meanwhile he charged me with several occu- 
 pations, in proof of his particular esteem ; making me 
 privy to certain important secrets, and submitting to me 
 the decision of some of the affairs of the Order. One 
 of the most important of these was in the monastery of 
 Santa Sabina, upon the Aventine Hill in Rome, in which 
 at that time was the general noviciate of two provinces, 
 the Roman and the Lombard. This monastery was 
 immediately under the general, and he elected me as 
 visitor in his place. This was an appointment I could 
 not refuse ; and since I had accepted it, it became me 
 to fulfil it with all due care and exactitude. 
 
 The superior of the monastery of Santa Sabina was 
 one of the most extraordinary men I had ever seen 
 among the Dominicans, one Pra Savoldello, a Venetian. 
 This man had under him two other strange beings, little 
 inferior to himself in eccentricity j and these were as 
 his arms wherewith to work the machine which was to 
 transform innocent, docile, good young men, apt and 
 easy to be trained in all that is right, into malicious, 
 headstrong, ill-educated monks, capable of no one thing 
 that is ^seful to themselves or to society. Such was 
 the spirit of that noviciate as ordered by the late 
 Father General Jabalot. 
 
208 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 As soon as these monks saw me, they agreed, as they 
 knew me well, to hide as much as possible from me, 
 and whispered in the ears of the young men that they 
 must not reveal anything to me relative to the esta- 
 blishment. But I, seeing the embarrassment of the 
 heads of the monastery, easily imagined their malice, 
 and therefore gave orders that the novices should 
 be brought before me immediately, one by one in 
 succession, and not in a body, as the prior had pro- 
 posed. I also requested both the prior and the novice 
 master to leave the room. The first of these poor 
 creatures who was introduced began first to weep, and 
 then said : 
 
 " I thought that the life of a monk was a very dif- 
 ferent thing to what I have found it. I thought I was 
 to serve God, and to prepare myself for the ministry of 
 the holy Church; I imagined I should have to study 
 useful things, to instruct my mind ; and above all, I 
 fancied that the life of the cloister was one of peace 
 and tranquilhty; that the brethren respected and 
 loved one another. I entered these walls with no 
 other feelings or sentiments, and for my part, I have 
 always endeavoured to practise the duties they incul- 
 cate : but I am sorry to say that this is not the 
 system which I find here ; the laws are good, but they 
 are not put in practice; everything is governed by 
 the caprice of the superior, who often gives contrary 
 orders, and makes us lose our time in things of no 
 value. Instead of useful books to form the mind and 
 make men of us, they put into our hands none but 
 
AND MT LIFE AMONG THEM. 209 
 
 ascetic works, calculated to make us bigots. The lives 
 of the saints, abounding with the greatest absurdities, 
 are what they perpetually give us to read, and their con- 
 versation is only on austerities and miracles. I there- 
 fore come to say that this life will not do for me ; and 
 I beg my parents may be informed of it, that they may 
 come and fetch me away. I wish to get out of this 
 place as soon as possible, for it is worse than a prison — 
 it is a perfect hell." 
 
 " My good child," said I, " there is no difficulty in 
 your leaving immediately, as you are not professed. I 
 myself will take care that your relations are made ac- 
 quainted with yoiir wish, in order that they may send 
 you a change of clothes, and take you home. But tell 
 me, why are you so troubled as to weep ? Perhaps 
 you are afraid of me, or have some other occasion for 
 fear." 
 
 " Oh no, I am not afraid of you ; you have not A 
 surly threatening face ; and besides, I know now that 
 all the youths like you. If you were our superior, 
 I should not take this step; since I am not so much 
 discontented with the Order, or with a monastic life ; 
 but I feel I cannot live with such a race of beings as 
 there is here. I love religion, not bigotry; good 
 people, not fanatics." 
 
 " Then you have something to say against the local 
 superiors ! Speak out." 
 
 " Oh no, I wiU not say anything, because weU I 
 cannot, and ill I will not speak of them.'^ 
 
 I endeavoured to persuade him to try his vocation a 
 
210 
 
 THE DOMINICANS^ 
 
 little longer. I told him all superiors were not like 
 Savoldello and his agents ; thatj once out, he would find 
 better people, and more liberty as his years increased; 
 but nevertheless, if such were his feelings, if he did not 
 feel the same vocation in him, he had better retirrn to 
 his former way of life. Which he did accordingly. 
 
 The second had been trained by Savoldello, and 
 replied to my questions in a manner which led me to 
 suppose that every thing was well conducted ; others 
 were in the same story ; but one was so witty, and so 
 well exposed the whole by-play of these wretched friars, 
 that I must quote some of his conversation with me. 
 Upon being asked if he had anything to say, he 
 replied, — 
 
 " I have plenty to say ; but I cannot speak." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Because my mouth is shut, like that of a newly- 
 made cardinal." * 
 
 " And who has shut your mouth?" 
 
 " Our pope, the novice master." 
 
 " Oh ! if that be all, I am superior to him, and can 
 open it again : so I command you to speak." 
 
 " There is a difficulty in doing so, nevertheless ; in 
 obeying you, and not him, I shall expose myself to 
 persecution from him, which would be terrible; and 
 you could not remove the penance he would enjoin." 
 
 " I promise you, in the name of the Father General, 
 to protect you against any persecution from him. You 
 
 * Alluding to the ceremony in the creation of a cardinal, in which 
 the pope first shuts the cardinal's mouth and then opens it. 
 
AND MY LIPB AMONG THEM. 211 
 
 know that the General can change the master; and I 
 can tell you thus much, that it is very probable he wUl 
 change him, unless he does his duty/' 
 
 " In that case I will speak. You must know the 
 prior, the novice master, and the Procuratore all joia in 
 persecuting us. Nevertheless, we frequently hear them 
 quarrelling among themselves ; and only the other day 
 I thought they would Jiave come to blows : when, how- 
 ever, there is a question of some new rigour, — or ob- 
 servance, as they term it, — that is to say, some fresh 
 torment or vexation for us, then they are in perfect 
 harmony with each other. "We are tired of this system, 
 which forms neither the Christian nor the man, but the 
 hypocrite and the animal. All politeness, all decency 
 among them is banished. They are filthy in their 
 persons, and would wish us to be the same. Cleanli- 
 ness and neatness, they call worldly-minded foppery. 
 For my part, I never thought that to be a monk it was 
 necessary to be a dirty sloven. And then both prior 
 and master do nothing but send us to hell. On every 
 little disobedience they cry out, ' You'll go to hell.' If 
 we speak a word in the hours of sUence, if we raise our 
 hoods, if we look about us in the least, if ever we laugh, 
 — ' to hell with us ;' I say nothing about singing — there 
 is then no hell bad enough." 
 
 " Tell me, what do your masters teach you ? what 
 do they point out to you as the way of salvation ? and 
 in what, according to them, does the Christian life 
 consist ?" 
 
 " The master says that to be saved we have only to 
 
212 THE DOMINICANS^ 
 
 imitate the patriarcli St. Dominic, be devout to tlie 
 Madonna, and observe the rules of the Order; and 
 then we shall be the best Christians in the world, be- 
 cause these lead to perfection." 
 
 " Does he ever speak of Christ?" 
 
 " Scarcely ever ; he gives us the lives of the saints 
 of the Order to read ; and recounts to us the miracles 
 done by them." 
 
 My visit to the monastery of Santa Sabina had the 
 effect of making some quit the habit, and others open 
 their eyes to a better mode of life. The general made 
 some changes in the plans, but not such as I pointed 
 out to him. In short, the same system was practised 
 everywhere by monastic bigotry ; and what the fol- 
 lowers of it desired least of all was to reform them- 
 selves. 
 
 The institution of monastic fraternities was a bad 
 thing from the very commencement : they were devised 
 about the beginning of the thirteenth century, by that 
 knave. Innocent III., who commissioned the wild fana- 
 tics, Domenico di Gusman and Francesco di Assisi, to 
 establish, as to them seemed best, a body of idle fellows 
 especially calculated to maintain the cause of popery, 
 principally in Italy, and from thence to propagate their 
 doctrines over all the world. Hence these two orders 
 have ever been rivals. If one had a saint in a particu- 
 cular branch, the other wanted one directly. For 
 example : the Dominicans lauded to the skies the doc- 
 trines of their dear Thomas Aquinas, whom they call 
 the angehc doctor ; and behold, the Franciscans imme- 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 213 
 
 diately cry up their Bonaventura da Bagnorea, whom 
 they dub the seraphic : so the Franciscan order chose 
 to have a thaumaturgus (a grand miracle worker), in 
 the friar Antonio da Lisbona, or da Padova ; and the 
 Dominicans, not to be behind-hand with their rival 
 brethren, immediately exalted Fra Vincenzo Ferreri to 
 the same dignity. 
 
 Whoever wants to see how far the art of publishing 
 fables as things divine has gone, let him read the lives 
 of these two, let him compare one with the other, and 
 see which could draw the longest bow. 
 
 As the Franciscans preach up their Antonio as the 
 greatest saint in heaven, so do the Dominicans exalt 
 their Vincenzo as having the power of Omnipotence 
 itself in his hands, so as to work prodigies and miracles 
 at the beck and call of any one, as a conjuror plays his 
 tricks at the pleasure of the company. St. Anthony, 
 we are told, preached to the fishes when men would not 
 listen to his discourses : St. Vincent, in order to convert 
 an impenitent sinner, wrote a letter to the Holy Trinity, 
 and received an answer. St, Anthony, to prove tran- 
 substantiation, made a hungry mxile kneel before the 
 Host, regardless of the food offered by its master : 
 St. Vincent had only to ring the bell for any miracle 
 that was called for. What Franciscan would not swear 
 by the miracles of his St. Anthony ? and what Domini- 
 can would not be filled with wonder and faith at the 
 recounting of the miracles of his St. Vincent ? whom 
 they adore, under the figure of a youthful friar, with a 
 flame on his head (as represented of the apostles at 
 
314 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 Pentecost), an open book in Ms left hand, two wings on 
 his back, and his feet in the act of rising, or dancing ; 
 by which they intend to represent the angel who is 
 spoken of in the tenth chapter of the Revelation. In 
 fact, these imposters assert, that one day he flew from 
 his pulpit round the church, and then, having ordered 
 a corpse to be brought to him, he restored it to life, 
 and asked it who he, St. Vincent, was ; upon which, the 
 resuscitated body replied, " Thou art the angel of the 
 Apocalypse ;" and, so saying, he died once more.* 
 
 Now such follies (which I know not that I ever had 
 believed, and which I certainly had then rejected) form 
 the food of aU the devout. Could I live among such ? 
 Every day I felt my soul further alienated from them 
 and their system. In fact I remained a friar solely to 
 combat against friars. They were already aware that 
 I was no longer one of them, and they feared in me a 
 potent adversary. 
 
 The Father General Olivieri called me one day, to 
 communicate to me, as he said, an important measure. 
 Brochetti, the provincial, was with him. 
 
 " When I sent you to Santa Sabina," he said, " it 
 was not only the wants of that monastery which 
 I had in my mind, but those of several others, which 
 I and the provincial had thought of sending you to 
 visit. They are the monasteries of the Roman province 
 along the line that terminates with Terracina on the 
 one side, and Lucca on the other. It will be a journey 
 of some months, which the Father Provincial can hardly 
 
 ' Teoli : Life of Vincenzo Ferreri. Kome, 1825 ; Naples, 1837. 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEM. 215 
 
 undertate, on account of his health and infirmities. 
 He is willing to be represented by you^ and I give my 
 assent and approbation to the measure. This journey 
 is very pleasant in fine weather. The Father Trovincial 
 will accompany you a part of the way, and the rest you 
 will go alone." 
 
 I received this announcement with pleasure; not 
 because I had again to, be mixed up with monks, their 
 intrigues, and their immoralities, but because it held 
 out the prospect of my getting out of Rome, in which 
 I could no longer bear to reside. As soon as Brochetti 
 had gone out of the room, Father Olivieri added : 
 
 " You know Brochetti is old, and his head does not 
 serve him so well now, so that he is not capable of con- 
 ducting the business of the provinces. I have begged 
 of him to let you have the management, not only of the 
 visitations, but also of the direction of the monasteries, 
 and the government of the province. He wiU remain in 
 o&ce pro formd, and you will in reality act as provincial. 
 So you will learn what may be your own office in future." 
 
 " I accept, wilHngly, this new charge," I replied, 
 " to serve the Order, and to do what is agreeable to you. 
 Father General, and to my good friend, the provincial, 
 Brochetti, whom I revere as a father. With him 
 I am certain I shall perfectly agree, and I hope I shall 
 meet your wishes also. Such a charge is fraught with 
 difficulties, but I am not of a nature to be daunted by 
 them. On principle, I hate evil ; I have pity on those 
 who commit it, and I do aU I can to lead them back to 
 good. I am a sworn enemy to hypocrisy, and I would 
 
216 THE DOMINICANS^ 
 
 it were banished from society. I could never agree 
 with that axiom of St. Bernard's : ' Would that my 
 brethren were hypocrites ! ' Utinam fr aires met hypocrita 
 essent ! No ; rather would I there was not a hypocrite 
 on the face of the earth j for hypocrites are liars who 
 falsify the things of Christ, under the cloak of religion. 
 We have many who pursue this system, and I assure 
 you, Father General, that I shall make it my especial 
 care to mortify and expose them : certainly, I will per- 
 secute these Jesuits." 
 
 At these words, the Father General laughed heartily. 
 " You are right," said he ; " persecute as many Jesuits 
 as you find among the Dominicans." 
 
 Our visit began with the monasteries of the " Campagna 
 Romana ; " thence we went into Umbria and Tuscany : 
 returning, we visited those of Patrimonto and S. Pietro. 
 To some of them the good Brochetti accompanied me ; 
 but this he only did for a little relaxation, for he did not 
 mix himself up in any business whatsoever ; and, with the 
 exception of making a short discourse at the opening 
 and closing of each visit, he did nothing. The rest was 
 left to me. I acted as visitor, with full authority; so 
 much so, that many things I did not even think it 
 necessary to mention to him. The good old man was 
 daily at his prayers. Oh, what a holy man he would 
 have been if his head had not been full of popish 
 errors ! He prayed even during the night ; but instead 
 of praying to God, he was praying to the saints, and 
 lavishing his affections upon the mother of Christ, 
 instead of turning them to Christ himself. Whenever 
 
AND MY LIFE AMONG THEJI. 217 
 
 I found him in his room, he was always repeating his 
 rosary and the office of the Blessed Virgin. Once 
 there arose an argument between us about fasting, for 
 which he was a great advocate. 
 
 " I think you do not much like fasting," said he. 
 
 " No ; to say the truth, I do not. A moderate fast 
 may be very well as a sanitary measure, but I do not 
 think it equally good as a moral system; especially 
 as those who practise it, generally attach so much 
 importance to it. Is it not true, my good Father, that 
 you, for instance, every time you fast, indulge yourself 
 in the belief that you thereby merit the grace of God? 
 and yet you teach me the doctrine of St. Paul, which 
 says, grace is such, precisely because it has no merit 
 of works. Grace is a gratuitous gift. If, then, our 
 justification be by grace, it cannot be by works. What 
 will render you justified before God ? certainly not 
 your own works, but the works of Christ, the Just One, 
 imputed to us, the unjust, by faith in Him alone. This 
 is my doctrine, and I know it to be yours also. But 
 yet you trouble yourself about works, and attach merit 
 to the exercise of them. I do that which my faith 
 suggests, and I attach no importance thereto. Pre- 
 cisely as a servant who does his duty ; he obeys his 
 master, and does his will, without pretending that the 
 master is therefore his debtor. Who dare say to the 
 Lord : ' Here are my works, now give me thy gracious 
 gifts ? ' 1 should be ashamed to offer to the Lord my 
 fast, as a thing acceptable to him. When the Scrip- 
 ture tells that all the works of our righeousness are 
 
 L 
 
218 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 before tte Lord as filthy rags, I endeavour to do what 
 faith inspires, and to do it for duty's sake, and from no 
 other motive." 
 
 Father Brochetti was a great admirer of the Tho- 
 masine school, and inclining a little to Jansenism. 
 He was a firm upholder of the doctrine of St. Paul to 
 the Eomans, and the Galatians, that we are justified 
 by grace through faith. Often, when we have been 
 preaching together on religion, has he repeated these 
 words to me : — 
 
 " Remember that grand maxim, which our school 
 has always maintained against the Jesuits, ' We are 
 justified by grace, through faith.' This is what does 
 honour to the Dominicans, who follow the doctrine of 
 St. Augustine and St. Thomas." 
 
 I observed to him that the force of this truth came 
 from St. Paul, and that, if we had it not through 
 Divine revelation, we should not have been bound to 
 believe it. 
 
 " I am not obliged to believe Thomas, or Augustine," 
 I added, " but I am obliged to believe Paul." 
 
 The good old man was silent at these observations, 
 and seemed to receive them with approbation. He 
 often read the Bible, but never allowed himself any 
 other than the Vulgate, with the notes. He disHked 
 the Italian version ; but one day he found me reading 
 the New Testament, translated by Martini : he took 
 it from me, smiling, and said, " Let us make an ex- 
 change," at the same time giving me a Latiu version 
 of the ^"ulgate. As he read the Bible himself, so he 
 
AND MY LITE AMONG THEM. 219 
 
 recommended others to read it, but always with the 
 notes of the Holy Fathers. 
 
 This visitation kept me employed from the summer 
 of 1834, tni February in the next year. My old friend 
 accompanied me as long as the fine weather continued ; 
 when it began to break up, he returned to winter 
 quarters, to take care of his health. 
 
 I had now all tl^e burden on my own shoulders; 
 I had to provide for the wants of several monasteries, 
 and to hear the complaints of the monks. I had to 
 reconcile spiritual with worldly interests; external 
 strictness with interior comfort; to reconcile contending 
 minds ; to settle differences, and harmonize discord ; 
 to rouse the slothful; to excite emulation in spiritual 
 things ; to inculcate a love of study, and an observance 
 of the rules ; and to correct the vicious with mildness. 
 
 Every one will remember the name of Domenico 
 Abbo, who was condemned, ten years after the period 
 I am speaking of, for enormous crimes, to be be- 
 headed in the Castle of St. Angelo, at Rome. He was 
 at this time a Dominican friar, Superior and Reader 
 at the little monastery of Nepi, near Rome. I had had 
 several reports against him, and I went to verify the 
 matter. I found him culpable in many things, and 
 I advised him to renounce his present offices, and to 
 retire to another monastery, repent of his evil ways, and 
 lead a better life; he denied the whole, and turned 
 against me, uttering the bitterest threats. I then sus- 
 pended him from his ministry, removed him from office, 
 and ordered him to leave in a few days. He appealed 
 
 L 2 
 
220 THE DOMINICANS, 
 
 to the bishop, the provincial, the general, and got up 
 a certificate from certain persons in the neighbourhood, 
 to prove his good conduct ; he sent some of his friends 
 to intercede with me for pardon, but I could not relax 
 my decree towards one so incorrigibly bad, and I insisted 
 upon his quitting the monastery. He accordingly went 
 to Rome, quitted the Dominican Order, was ordained 
 priest, and was on the point of being made a prelate, 
 through the protection of Cardinal Lambruschini, and 
 the favour of Pope Gregory; but the Divine justice had 
 prepared to make an example of him. He committed 
 the most enormous crimes. The facts became public — 
 the people took part against him, and the government 
 was obliged to act promptly in order to calm the popular 
 tumult. One tribunal condemned him to death; another 
 confirmed the sentence; Cardinal Lambruschini was 
 afraid for his own safety ; the Pope was obliged to con- 
 sent, and the wretched man's head rolled on the scaffold. 
 He on that occasion had moved a strong party against 
 me, saying I had persecuted him because he was not 
 of my way of thinking. He excited hatred in many 
 towards me, but I thought no more of him, and the 
 affair passed away. 
 
 The visitation made me acquainted vdth many things 
 of which I was before ignorant, but which certainly 
 were not virtues either in a Christian, or a citizen, 
 and on my return to Rome, I made known to several 
 persons the effect my visit to the monasteries had pro- 
 duced upon my mind. 
 
 Meanwhile, I had been sent for by the Cardinal 
 
AND MY LIEE AMONG THEM. 221 
 
 Arctbishop of Capua, as preacher of the Lent Ser- 
 mons in his cathedral. The Father General allowed 
 me to accept the invitation, on condition that I should 
 return immediately, and enter upon my new office. 
 Accordingly, I left for Naples in February 1835, but 
 certainly not with the intention of returning to Rome, 
 but, on the contrary, with that of speedUy eman- 
 cipating myself from monkish thraldom. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MX CONVERSION. 
 
 The aversion which from that time I conceived for 
 everything savouring of Romanism^ pope, cardinals, 
 bishops, priests, and friars, proceeded, no doubt, from 
 the change which for several years had been working in 
 my mind. I already was no longer a papist, because 
 I had long ceased to believe in many doctrines which 
 are matters of faith in the Romish Church. I will now 
 state how this was brought about. While holding the 
 head professorship of theology, in the college of Santa 
 Maria di Gradi, at Viterbo, and with great zeal advo- 
 cating and teaching the Romish doctrine, a very 
 flourishing school, not only of Dominican students, of 
 which the college consisted, but likewise of other friars 
 and priests, used daily to attend my lectures, and be 
 present at our circolo, or "circle," as we call our 
 meeting for scholastic exercise; when a theological 
 proposition is given, and defended by a professor and 
 a student, while other professors and students raise 
 objections. The exercise is in Latin, and in the logical 
 form of reasoning as held by Aristotle. I had ordered 
 
MY CONVERSION. 223 
 
 that this exercise should take place three times a-week, 
 while the theological lectures were five in number 
 during that period. At the " circle," it sometimes fell 
 to my turn to defend, while the others objected. One 
 day I was defending the doctrine of transubstantiation ; 
 one of the best disciples in the school was with me, 
 whose name I feel a pleasure in mentioning — Father 
 Baldassare Conti, a Roman, who afterwards filled the 
 professor's chair of theology in the Minerva, at Rome, 
 with so much honour. The question was, " Whether 
 the bread and wine in the sacrament of the Eucharist 
 are, in virtue of the words of consecration, actually and 
 substantially changed into the body and blood of Christ, 
 together with His soul and His divinity." We main- 
 tained the aflSrmative, and three or four others, with 
 fictitious earnestness, denied the proposition; advancing 
 arguments which they took care beforehand to assure 
 us were all borrowed from the heretics. The game 
 went off, as it invariably did ; we were, of course, right, 
 and our opponents wrong. The reasoning of my good 
 and clever Conti, and especially what I contributed 
 myself, were the ne plus ultra for the school, and 
 even elicited uproarious applause. The heretics were 
 discomfited, the Roman Catholics triumphant. We 
 were the two heroes who had gained the battle, the 
 laurel crown alone was wanting. Who after our argu- 
 ments could possibly have doubted a doctrine so boldly 
 asserted, so powerfully demonstrated? Who would 
 have dared to have sided with the heretics, viz. with 
 those who denied transubstantiation? I believe a 
 
224 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 shadow of doubt did not enter the mind of any one 
 excepting myself. In the midst of this universal satis- 
 factionj I alone remained unconvinced. To me, the 
 answers to the objections appeared feeble and inade- 
 quate. I was disquieted within me. I asked the 
 young Conti how he was pleased with the "circle?^' 
 whether any answers seemed to him to want weight ? 
 
 " I am pleased with the arguments I brought for- 
 ward/' he replied, " and still more so with what you 
 yourself advanced. Indeed, I am not aware that more 
 could possibly have been said. But after all, the 
 matter is a mystery which cannot be explained by 
 reasoning; faith must come to our aid. Henry Moore, 
 a celebrated Englishman, has well observed, as Erasmus 
 relates, Crede quod habes, et habes, — ' Believe you 
 receive, and you do receive.' " 
 
 Of course, it was not proper for me to communicate 
 my doubts to the young student ; he was better pleased 
 in having discovered, as he fancied, the mystery of 
 that religious impossibility than an alchymist would 
 have been in finding the philosopher's stone. 
 
 I had none in whom I could confide. My colleague 
 and friend. Professor Borg, was a man who would 
 rather have renounced his reason, or doubted of his 
 very existence, than have denied a dogma of faith; 
 besides which, he was of opinion that such points ought 
 not to be too freely discussed. 
 
 "What did you think of our controversy ?" said I. 
 
 " All went ofi' well," he replied ; "he is an exceUent 
 young man, that Conti. What he said pleased me very 
 
MY CONVERSION. 225 
 
 much ; and very true is that famous verse of Dante 
 with which he concluded ; 
 
 Tedi che in fronte ha scritto : adora e taci." 
 
 It would evidently have been useless to enter upon 
 any discussion with such a man as my good friend 
 Borg ; I therefore came to the conclusion that I had 
 better study the thing by myself, and endeavour to 
 ascertain the real truth. 
 
 It is this important question which so many have 
 racked their brains to understand in the Romisb sense. 
 The matter resolves itself simply into this : Are the 
 words, " This is my body/' " This is my blood," to be 
 understood in a literal sense ? Every one must see the 
 absurdity of it. The least consideration will show that 
 Christ said these words in the same sense as he said 
 on another occasion, " I am the bread that came down 
 from heaven," and no one ever supposed that He 
 was actually bread, and subsequently changed, or 
 transubstantiated. A little examination was sufiBcient 
 to shake my belief in that doctrine which I had hitherto 
 professed. Would Jesus Christ have told us things 
 that were impossible to be? Now it is impossible, 
 absolutely impossible, that what is bread should at one 
 and the same time be His body ; and that what is wine 
 should be contemporaneously His blood. This cannot 
 be, either simultaneously or successively. The Church 
 of Rome saw the first to be an absurdity, and therefore 
 held to the second. But how can the body of Christ 
 become bread, and His blood wine, if such change be 
 not in accordance with the laws of nature ? Could 
 
 L 3 
 
226 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 Christ deceive us ? Now, it is not true that bread and 
 wine, according to nature, have ceased to exist in the 
 sacrament; for we see they do exist; that which 
 we see, touch, and taste, are natural hread and wine. 
 Can there be faith against nature ? And yet that is 
 against nature, which neither is nor can be : whatever 
 is, must be according to nature's laws. There may be 
 substances of a higher nature, and subject to superior 
 laws than those with which we are acquainted; but 
 they can never exist in contradiction to them, since 
 nature herself, in that case, would be destroyed. 
 Therefore, what is bread and wine cannot not be bread 
 and wine; God, omnipotent as he is, cannot order it 
 otherwise. But the sacrament, after consecration, is 
 always natural bread and wine ; therefore it is not the 
 substance of the body and blood of Christ. 
 
 And what, I should like to know, would be the use 
 of this pretended transubstantiation ? Would it merely 
 be, that the faithful might materially eat the body and 
 drink the blood of Christ? Now, who does not see 
 that this so-called eating and drinking of Christ is 
 entirely metaphorical ? " The kingdom of God is not 
 meat and drink,"* said St. Paul; "It is the Spirit 
 that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing : the words 
 that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are 
 life,"t said Christ. The expressions, to eat and drink, 
 signify to believe, to identify oneself with, as also to 
 accept any thing with pleasure. " Kill, and eat,"| said 
 the Spirit to Peter in the vision at Joppa, figuring 
 
 * Rom. xiv. 17. f St. John vi. 63. J Acts x. 13. 
 
MY CONTERSION. 227 
 
 under the unclean animals, the Gentiles. Now, all this 
 Peter -well understood, and never imagined he was to 
 eat those animals, much less the Gentiles that he might 
 fall in with, but to convert and receive them into the 
 communion of the Christian faith. 
 
 Why, then, should we eat Christ? To believe in 
 Him — to unite ourselves to Him ? But this is entirely 
 the work of the Spirit, and has nothing whatever to do 
 with matter; on the contrary, everything material is 
 repugnant to this union of faith. Corporeal substance 
 may be a type, a figure of the spiritual, but nothing 
 more. Baptismal water is the outward and visible sign 
 of the spiritual and purifying grace, because, as the 
 former cleanses the body from impurity, so does the latter 
 wash away the stain of sin from the soul. In the same 
 manner as bread and wine are the common daily food 
 of the body, and as through them we receive nourish- 
 ment and strength; so the body and blood of Christ, 
 immolated and shed for us, are the continual aliment of 
 our faith, which give vigour to our souls, and are the 
 substance of our spiritual life and salvation. The words 
 of Christ are truly divine, full of truth and wisdom. The 
 interpretation of the Romanists is a grovelhng human 
 conception, full of error, falsehood, and absurdity. Christ 
 could not better symbolise the effect of his passion and 
 death. And we cannot more grossly abuse it, than by 
 attributing to a sinful priest the virtue and power of the 
 Saviour ; with the additional enormity, that what Christ 
 has been able to do once, a wretched priest can repeat 
 as often as he chooses. The doctrine of transubstan- 
 
228 IIY CONVERSION. 
 
 tiation, considered in relation to Christ himself, is a 
 falsity and an absurdity; considered as regards so 
 many thousands of wicked priests, is an impiety and an 
 abomination. 
 
 Thus did I reason with myself, and became fully 
 convinced that such was not the meaning of Christ's 
 words, that such was not the Christian faith, that such 
 was not the belief of our fathers ; that thousands of 
 Christian doctors in all ages have refuted the doctrine 
 of transubstantiation, the author of which was Eutichus, 
 a heretic, and whose dogma was presented to the Church 
 by Pope Innocent III. who had it confirmed by the 
 Council of Lateran (1215). 
 
 In consequence of this reasoning, I already disbe- 
 lieved in the virtue of the Mass, which can only be 
 a propitiatory sacrifice, so far as it presents a true 
 and hving Christ, to be immolated each time it is cele- 
 brated. Take away the doctrine of transubstantiation, 
 and the mass, in its grand essential, is nothing but a 
 lie; a solemn imposture, an actual sacrilegious assault 
 against Christ; who being now glorious, according to 
 our faith, is also impassible ; and as such, can neither 
 be "broken" nor eaten by us. To eat Christ ! the bare 
 mention of such a thing is blasphemy. Far less was the 
 crime of those who crucified the Lord ; indeed, they 
 knew not that he was Christ. What should we have 
 said to those, who knowing Christ, who having heard 
 the words which we read in St. John vi. 53, " Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you. Except ye eat the flesh of the 
 Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in 
 
MY CONVERSION. 229 
 
 you," had straightway from devotion begun actually to 
 eat the body and drink the blood of Christ ? Which of 
 His disciples would not have exclaimed against a similar 
 act of barbarity ? And yet they would not have been 
 more guilty than the theologians of the Romish Churchy 
 who take the words of Christ literally. 
 
 After this period, in saying mass I was no longer a 
 Christophagos ;* I, had ceased to believe in what I did. 
 And what in reality was the act that I performed? 
 I know not. I was like Luther, and so many others, 
 who no longer believed the mass, who had rejected its 
 doctrine, and learnedly refuted its errors, but still con- 
 tinued to celebrate it. I said it, indeed, as seldom as 
 possible; always with a bad grace, as if under com- 
 pulsion, and frequently I could not restrain my sighs. 
 I was, moreover, ashamed of saying it in the presence 
 of sensible and intelhgent persons, as if afraid of their 
 censure for performing an act, in the efficacy or virtue 
 of which I no longer believed. I contrived, too, to say 
 it at those hours when there were the fewest persons in 
 the church, and at the most secluded altars. I always 
 refused solemn masses. In short, the mass, which for 
 others was a delightful service, had become for me a 
 very painful one. I endeavoured sometimes to regard 
 it as a simple prayer, leaving out the idea of a sacrifice 
 or sacrament; but this was impossible when what is 
 termed the offertory was to take place, and still more 
 so at the time of the consecration and elevation of the 
 host and the chalice. Although I myself was no 
 * Christ-eater, 
 
230 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 longer an adorer of the bread and wine, yet at my mass 
 there never failed to he some who adored my bread and 
 wine, believing it transubstantiated, and so I was the 
 occasion of that idolatry. 
 
 Thus, I consider that the dogma which constitutes 
 the mass, with its double element of transubstantiation 
 and propitiatory sacrifice, is the most fatal of Romish 
 doctrines, the most detestable of all heresies, and the 
 most abominable of all practices. Around this, as their 
 sun, revolves all the rest of the papal system. The 
 power which, according to this doctrine, the priest has 
 of fabricating in an hour, not one, but as many Christs 
 as he pleases, and of offering them to God as victims 
 of a sacrifice which in itself is enough to atone for the 
 sins of all, and to take out of purgatory as many souls 
 as he pleases; — this pretended power, I say, is the 
 occasion of so much pride in the priests, as to make 
 them think themselves privileged persons, sacred and 
 unapproachable ; and to consider their head, the pope, 
 holy, infallible, and having all authority in heaven and 
 in earth. 
 
 In disbelieving the doctrine, I denied the power. To 
 me friars, priests, and prelates all savoured of imposture ; 
 and the more I advanced, the more I felt myself adverse 
 to such hypocrisy. The pope daily became more abo- 
 minable in my eyes. In him, i.e. in his ambition, 
 I saw a Lucifer, who, after having seduced himself, has 
 had power to seduce others, thus causing the fall of 
 so many shining stars, from heaven to hell. 
 
 Now many say, " I believe so, because the pope so 
 
MY CONVERSION. 231 
 
 believes ; if the pope errs, I must err with, him ; if he 
 were to call virtue vice, and vice virtue, I must be his 
 echo, and in all and through all foUow him." Such 
 is the language of the Jesuits, from Bellarmine to 
 Father Perrone. " O ye foolish ones, who hath be- 
 witched you ? " 
 
 As my creed changed, so did my conversation. 
 Lenient to the laity, I was severe towards ecclesiastics ; 
 for the former I was full of compassion, for the latter I 
 had only reproof; their vices were become insufferable 
 to me; with their example continually before me, I 
 endeavoured to be as opposite to them as possible. It 
 was my ambition to be unlike others of my class ; they 
 for the most part were unoccupied and idle ; I made it 
 a rule to keep myself constantly employed ; they were 
 generally given to gluttony, I was habitually temperate ; 
 they were heedless spendthrifts, imprudent, dissipated, 
 curious after other people's business, and intriguers 
 in private houses ; I never interfered in what did not 
 concern me, and was an enemy to the intrigues and 
 cabals in wliich they took so much satisfaction. 
 
 "Why do you scarcely ever go to hear confessions?" 
 asked one of those friars who delight in hearing them 
 continually. 
 
 " Because you and all your fraternity, not knowing 
 how better to employ your time, pass the whole day 
 in listening to the business of others," answered I. 
 " There is no reason that I should follow your ex- 
 ample ; on the contrary, I do what you do not, I study 
 to learn, that I may be able to teach others ; in short. 
 
232 HY CONVERSION. 
 
 I endeavour in every way to be useful to my fellow- 
 creatures." 
 
 " Why do you so seldom attend choir?" was the 
 inquiry of one of those Epicurean friars, who, had he 
 not had the fatigue of choir, i. e. of singing at the top 
 of his voice, and chanting psalms, would probably have 
 had no means of digesting his dinner, and preparing 
 his stomach for supper. 
 
 " Because," said I, " I have so many other corporeal 
 exercises, that I am in no need of this.^' 
 
 " But the prayer, which is a duty we all owe to the 
 Almighty?" 
 
 " No doubt pleases me when made in spirit and in 
 truth. But prayer, to be in spirit should be free, not 
 necessarily attached to the Psalms of David. What 
 have you said or done, by reciting three, sis, nine, or 
 a dozen psalms in Latin ? What have you achieved ? 
 I am sure you do not know yourself. If you go to 
 ask something from the superior of the convent, your 
 first care is that your petition should be intelligible, 
 and have a meaning. When you were in your own 
 family, and had any favour to request of your father, 
 I presume you asked simply for what you wanted. 
 You certainly did not begin by reciting poetry, or sing- 
 ing in Latin, And is not God, our first, our true, 
 real, and heavenly Father ? Why then do we pray to 
 him in psalms ? The most we can do is to sing psalms 
 in his honour and praise; but prayer, real prayer, 
 should be in our mother tongue, clear, expressive, 
 and simple. My good brother, he who doth other- 
 
MY CONVERSION. 233 
 
 ■wise erreth, following false traditions, and transgressing 
 the commandments of the Lord, Remember what 
 Christ says, Matt. vi. 7 : ' But when ye pray, use 
 not vain repetitions, as the heathen do : for they think 
 that they shall be heard for their much speaking.' 
 And observe the preceding verses. ' And when thou 
 prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are : for 
 they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in 
 the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of 
 men. Verily I say unto you. They have their reward. 
 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, 
 and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
 which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret 
 shall reward thee openly.' 
 
 " These are the reasons why I come to choir so 
 seldom. I prefer offering my prayers unto the Lord, 
 in the seclusion of my chamber. I fear that reproof of 
 Jesus Christ, Matt. xv. 7 — 9 : 
 
 " ' Ye hypocrites, weU did Esaias prophesy of you, 
 saying. This people draweth nigh unto me with their 
 mouth, and honoureth me with their lips : but their 
 heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship 
 me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of 
 men.' " 
 
 These, and similar lessons, did I give to my com- 
 panions in profession, and as I perceived truths myself, 
 so did I endeavour to impart them to others. 
 
 Towards the end of my residence at Viterbo, I was 
 made superior of the monastery di Gradi, and also of 
 two convents of Dominican Nuns. I had for some 
 
234 MT CONVERSION. 
 
 time seen things in a new light, with a view to 
 reform; I saw not much, or clearly, as yet, but 
 sufficient, nevertheless, to place me far out of the 
 common sphere. In Lent 1833, certain friars came 
 to me to ask permission to eat meat, on account 
 of slight indisposition ; and I was very lenient with 
 them. The nuns came with the same request, and 
 I willingly granted them all they required. The 
 rumour got abroad that I allowed e^^erybody to eat 
 meat. Amongst the monks was a good old man, the 
 Padre maestro Linares, who moreover was the confessor 
 to the nuns. One evening he came to my rooms, and 
 said, that he ought to address me •with every respect ; 
 but that, as the oldest of the house, a master of* 
 theology, and not to fail in his duty, he felt compelled 
 to represent to me the complaints of certain religious 
 monks and nuns, subject to my jurisdiction, which 
 complaints were chiefly touching the numerous dis- 
 pensations I had granted for eating meat that Lent. 
 " At this rate," said the worthy father, " the precept of 
 fasting would be rendered null and void, were liberty 
 accorded to every one not to observe it," (which was 
 true enough.) "I think," added he, "that many of 
 those to whom you have granted the dispensation to 
 eat meat, might have abstained without much incon- 
 venience." 
 
 " I think so too," I replied, " but I wished to save 
 them even this little inconvenience. In short, they 
 asked for what they wanted, and I granted it to them : 
 I did not feel their pulse, or look at their tongue, like 
 
MY CONVERSION. 235 
 
 a physician ; I supposed they wanted to eat meat, and 
 I gave the permission precisely in the same manner 
 as I should have wished it to be granted to me, had 
 I asked it of my superiors." 
 
 " Ah ! you must not be so indulgent. This is a 
 question of an observance of a divine institution — 
 Lent ! " 
 
 " I think, on the contrary, I ought to be as indulgent 
 on this point as possible, calling to mind the words of 
 our Lord, Matt. xv. 10, 11, where it is written : ' And 
 he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and 
 understand : not that which goeth into the mouth 
 defileth a man ; but that which cometh out of the 
 mouth, this defileth a man.' Strive as you can, my 
 good Father, to prove that Lent is of divine institu- 
 tion, with all due deference, I cannot agree with you. 
 I find no ordinance of the kind instituted by the Lord; 
 of Him indeed it is written, that He fasted 'forty 
 days and forty nights ;' and it appears that He took 
 nothing during that time ; but He has not taught us 
 to do it noiv. Our Lent is not therefore an imitation 
 of Christ's fasting; with us it principally consists in 
 abstaining from certain meats, and eating less of 
 others. Both one and the other are human institu- 
 tions in Christianity ; they are precepts of the Church, 
 and articles of tradition. To eat somewhat less at 
 certain times, for us, who generally live quite well 
 enough, I consider a very good sanitary principle, and 
 as such I recommend it occasionally ; but not so the 
 abstaining from meat altogether; which is often pre- 
 
236 MY CONtEUSION. 
 
 judicial to health, and, moreover, what is substituted 
 for it by the Roman regime is unwholesome." 
 
 " But we are commanded to keep Lent." 
 
 " Well, and I am authorized to dispense with the 
 observance in those who require it of me ; and I do so 
 with pleasure, and without much importunity." 
 
 In this manner I was frequently led into a dis- 
 cussion upon the various doctrines of the Church of 
 Rome, which one by one glided from my belief in an 
 incomprehensible manner; insomuch that my very dis* 
 belief seemed to be the effect of inspiration. 
 
 Frequently the decisions of my understanding were 
 the promptings of my heart. I was called by an in- 
 ternal voice in my soul to that which I did contrary to 
 the teaching of the Church. For instance, I was dis- 
 pleased with myself latterly whenever I went to confes- 
 sion. I as yet knew nothing of the contrary doctrine, 
 and yet I felt within me a conviction that the prac- 
 tice of confessing one's sins to a fellow-man, was not, 
 neither ever could be, enough to form a positive com- 
 mand upon ; particularly one of such rigour j I felt all 
 this before I was well persuaded of its truth. It is 
 not possible, said I to myself, that this command 
 should be of apostolic date. I had not yet fully ex- 
 amined the question, but had already decided it in my 
 own breast. On this point, however, I dared not to 
 speak to others. In fact, I altogether left off con- 
 fessing. I remember the last time that I related my 
 offences to a priest, I felt as much repugnance in doing 
 so as the most timid child could have experienced. 
 
MY CONVERSION, 237 
 
 My penitentiary was a certain Doctor Semeria, formerly 
 a Dominican, but then living in Viterbo, as a simple 
 priest; a man learned in many sciencesj and one who 
 had been professor of theology; but that which re- 
 dounded to his credit in my eyes, was his goodness 
 of character; his Christian simplicity, and his gravity 
 of demeanour; which obtained for him universal love 
 and esteem. My friend, while I was yet a child, was 
 my confidant; he knew all my secrets when I chose him 
 for confessor; I did nothing without consulting him. 
 To such an one I had no difficulty in opening my 
 heart, and disclosing all the operations of my mind; 
 but I found I could not do it truly and fully, unless in 
 familiar conversation. The confidence I had in him 
 vanished in the formality of confession. More than 
 once, in the course of it, I have been obliged to inter- 
 rupt myself, and rise from my knees, because in that 
 attitude I lost confidence in my friend, who perceiving 
 my embarrassment, would often kindly forestall me, 
 and say, " Let us converse without restraint." 
 
 Confession had at length become so odious to me, 
 that I could no longer bear it myself, nor endure the 
 practice in others. People were continually wanting to 
 confess to me, and I always found some pretext for not 
 hearing them. From the earliest period of my ministry 
 I was obliged to apply myself to this branch of duty. 
 I was not yet twenty-four, when I was sent, by the 
 Bishop of Viterbo, to confess even nuns. In 1830 
 I was appointed by Cardinal Gazola, Bishop of Monte 
 Fiascone, to officiate for a month as confessor and 
 
238 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 preacher in two of his monasteries. The good' old 
 man chose me for his own confessor likewise, (I shall 
 have occasion to speak of him again;) Cardinal Gam- 
 berini would have me afterwards at Orvieto. This 
 man, reputed a first-rate lawyer, was made prelate, 
 then Bishop of Orvieto, afterwards cardinal, and lastly, 
 Minister of the Interior in Rome. He had never been 
 a theologian himself, nor was he much their friend, 
 but a sworn enemy of the Casuists. The priests in the 
 neighbourhood were all ignorant men ; his own Theo- 
 logian, for every bishop has to appoint one, was any- 
 thing but what his title and office required. 
 
 " I wish to confess myself to you," the Cardinal said 
 to me, one day ; " I trust you will not deny me this 
 favour." 
 
 " To say the truth, your Eminence, I do not like to 
 confess any one who has nothing but his sins to com- 
 municate to me ; I have so many of my own, that 
 really I hardly like to be burdened with those of other 
 people. A confession of sins makes me melancholy, 
 and I feel that I am not performing my proper duty 
 in receiving them. Excuse the comparison, but I 
 really feel like an actor reciting his pai't, and this is 
 a part I know but imperfectly. If sometimes I am 
 forced to play it, I do so as well as I can, but it is 
 painful to me to listen to a catalogue of the sins of 
 other people." 
 
 " But I know that you do confess the common 
 people, and even nuns ; why will you not confess the 
 bishop ? " 
 
MY CONVDKSION. 239 
 
 " It is true, I am more ready to confess the common 
 people, and I Lave great patience also with the nuns ; 
 although I am so little interested about their sins, 
 that when they recount them to me I never speak, 
 letting them go on without interruption; and when 
 they have finished, I make but few observations, direct- 
 ing them to ask pardon of God, who alone can absolve 
 and pardon. I then dwell a little on the incidents of 
 their life, good or bad as they may be, and especially 
 on their peculiar habits ; taking occasion to instil into 
 them the moral precepts of the Gospel, correcting 
 their defects, and exhorting them to walk in the way 
 of virtue. Now, such schooling as this, of which both 
 the people and nuns stand in need, and which I 
 adopt in the confessional, your Eminence does not 
 require." 
 
 " If everybody thought like you, we poor cardinals 
 and bishops should find no one to shrive us." 
 
 " So much the better; you would then confess to 
 God, who alone is able to remit sins. Does your 
 Eminence imagine that the holy fathers ever dreamt 
 of confessing? Bishop Fenelon says that he sought 
 throughout the whole of their biography, and examined 
 the minutest detail of their lives, and their pious and 
 religious practices, and found not one single word 
 about confession. ' We must therefore conclude,' he 
 adds, ' that confession was not in use at that epoch.' " 
 
 " But those fathers were saints, and therefore did 
 not require confession." 
 
 " Saints, I agree, far more so than we are; but 
 
240 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 your Eminence, I suppose, would not infer that they 
 were without sin ; for it is written, ' If we say that we 
 have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not 
 in us. If we confess our sins. He is faithful and just 
 to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- 
 righteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we 
 make him a liar, and his word is not in us.' " * 
 
 " Well, St. John here says that we ought to confess 
 our sins ; and this is precisely what I wish to do." 
 
 " I consider that the Evangelist here speaks of con- 
 fessing to God those sins committed against God ; in 
 the same manner as St. James speaks of confessing to 
 men those sins especially committed against men, 
 when he says, ' Confess your faults one to another,'^ 
 (v. 16.) Thus, for instance, if I should offend your 
 Eminence, I know I am in duty bound to come and 
 acknowledge my offence, and implore forgiveness, and 
 your Eminence knows what is written : ' If thy brother 
 trespass against thee . . . and if he repent, forgive him ; 
 and if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, 
 and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, 
 I repent, thou shalt forgive him.'t Such is the law 
 of confession according to the Gospel, clear, and suffi- 
 ciently easy for the comprehension of the meanest 
 capacity. Now, we must not confound these laws 
 with those of the Council of Lateran under Iimo- 
 cent III., and of the last Council of Trent. Accord- 
 ing to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are only ohhged 
 to confess our sins to God; according to the Canons 
 * 1 John i. 8, 9, 10. t Luke xvii. 8. 
 
MT CONVEESION. 341 
 
 and the Decretals we ouglit to reveal them also to a 
 priest called a confessor." 
 
 This conversation entered deeply into the mind of the 
 Cardinal, and I believe produced a good effect, since, 
 some years after, vchen I met with him in Rome, " I 
 remember weU,^' said he to me, " our conference at 
 Orvieto, touching Confession, and the more I have 
 reflected upon it, the more true I have found it." 
 Certain it is, that from that time such were my senti- 
 ments ; for which reason I desisted from Confession, 
 and counselled others to do the same, so far as their 
 sins alone were concerned. The case was widely dif- 
 ferent when I had to exercise my ministry, not as 
 regarded authority, with which I did not consider my- 
 self invested, but for the sake of charity and friendship 
 — then I fulfilled it most willingly. I was the friend 
 of all those who came to confide to me their secrets and 
 to receive from me counsel and advice ; and I exercised 
 this duty with the greater pleasure the more I saw 
 they were in want of it, As to bigots, I drove them 
 from my confessional. I was more particularly attentive 
 to the duty of instructing the young men. 
 
 During the time of my ministry in the Romish 
 Church, I have confessed a vast number of persons— 
 I should think many thousands, and of all classes. At 
 first I did so, in the firm belief that in virtue of the 
 power conferred upon me by the bishop, I really had au- 
 thority to pardon sins ; but subsequently, my persuasion 
 was that Confession, made to a priest, as a sacrament 
 had the efficacy of obtaining pardon from God, and 
 
 M 
 
243 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 that the words of the Absolution were a declaration to 
 that effect. In the first case, I acted, if not according 
 to the doctrine of the Bible, at least in accordance with 
 the tenets of the Roman Church. But in the second, 
 I acted neither in agreement with the Bible, nor with 
 the Church of Rome. Under this conviction, then, it 
 was that I omitted the form of Absolution, as being 
 unquestionably anti-scriptural, and limited myself to 
 a prayer, muttered between the teeth, according to 
 the usual mode of giving absolution; and in which 
 I asked God to regard the faith of those penitent 
 people, granting to them pardon of their sins through 
 the merits of Jesus Christ. But even then I found 
 occasion to accuse myself, siace those that had made 
 their confession to me, believed that they went away 
 absolved through the efBcacy of my ministry. They 
 were deceived, therefore, in consequence of my silence; 
 whereas, on the other hand, if I had spoken out, and 
 explained my sentiments, they would have been scan- 
 dalized and offended at my not conforming to the usual 
 custom. I found, therefore, that the better way was 
 to give up the so-called Confessional, wherein, as the 
 people imagine, the priest becomes invested with the 
 authority of a forgiver of sins ; and to any one who 
 asked me to listen to their sins, I proposed any place 
 excepting the confessional, where we could both sit 
 down, and have our conversation without any show of 
 hypocrisy. This system I began in Rome, and followed 
 also in Naples, confessing many persons, and even 
 nuns, at the grating of the parlours ; i.e. I held a con- 
 
MY CONVERSION. 243 
 
 fercnce with ttem on their moral and religious wants, 
 terminating with a prayer to God, that He would pardon 
 their sins, through the blood of our Lord. But this 
 system could not be continued without my coming 
 under the notice of the Inquisition. In fact, when 
 I was called to answer to this and other charges, I was 
 accused of having acted with contempt towards religion 
 — in spretum religifinis — since I had not observed the 
 laws and ordinances of the Church. At last I was 
 tired of living in the midst of opposition. My con- 
 science daily alienated me more and more from the 
 practices of popery, whilst my soul expanded to the 
 convictions of pure Christianity. I had taken an aver- 
 sion to image worship, to the adoration of relics, and 
 the patronage of saints, and their whole catalogue of 
 miracles. In Viterbo, I had often ridiculed the history 
 of the monastery di Gradi, in which it is asserted, that 
 in or about the year 1220, while St. Domenico di Gus- 
 maa was on his way through those parts, staying in the 
 house of Cardinal Capoccio, bishop of that city, Mary 
 the Mother of Jesus one night appeared to both the 
 cardinal and the saint, and conducted them in spirit 
 to the site of the present church of the monastery di 
 Gradi, where at that time stood a forest; and here, 
 addressing the two holy men, she said, " It is my desire 
 to have a convent established in this place for my dear 
 brethren the Predicators [Preachers], where I shall be 
 honoured, and my rosary preached up by them." 
 So saying, she burnt a circle in the wood with a hghted 
 torch, marking out the boundary of the future building. 
 M 2 
 
244 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 Now, as the vision appeared to eacL. of them, in the 
 morning they compared notes, and setting out together 
 to the wood, found there a circle actually marked out 
 by fire. This history, which is entered in the chronicles 
 of the monastery, is believed by the monks as a fifth 
 gospel. Was it possible that I should longer believe 
 such a story ? 
 
 There is also, in Viterbo, another monastery of 
 Dominican monks, called La Madonna delta Querela; 
 the history of which is, that an image painted on a 
 tUe, and placed in an oak-tree, in the midst of a wood, 
 began performing miracles about the commencement 
 of the fifteenth century. Devout supplicants thronged 
 from all parts, and the graces that were bestowed, and 
 the miracles that were performed, surpassed the most 
 sanguine expectations. Thousands were healed of 
 various infirmities ; thousands, in various ways, received 
 assistance from Providence, in dangers, in persecutions, 
 in recovering lost property, and in retrieving their 
 honour. But the greatest and most astounding miracles 
 of all were those performed on persons who had been 
 blind from their birth, and recovered their sight by the 
 virtue of that picture ; and on others who eight days 
 after death had returned to life. 
 
 These fables, for a time, I had believed in as true. 
 Blind, like the rest, because born in the land of dark- 
 ness, I at one time used to go and pray to the image 
 delta Querela (of the oak). One miracle, however, is 
 certain, and that, too, the work of no other than the so- 
 called " Madonna " (a horrible figure of a woman with 
 
MY CONVERSION. 2-15 
 
 a child in her arms), namely, the enormous riches 
 which rained down upon the Frati for more than three 
 centuries in consequence of it. 
 
 The monastery is very large, with a magnificent church, 
 in the Bramante style, surrounded hy houses inhabited 
 by the families of the servants and husbandmen who 
 cultivate the immense extent of land belonging to the 
 fraternity, and whieh brings in every year a considerable 
 revenue. 
 
 There is a book upon these pretended miracles, 
 printed more than a hundred years ago, which relates 
 them with the utmost minuteness of detail. This book 
 is sold to the devotees who are continually going there 
 to pour their money into the treasury; and after I began 
 to disbelieve those miracles, and the influence of that 
 Madonna, I named it the Book of Industry. It is 
 written in the worst possible style, and is full of gram- 
 matical errors. 
 
 " Why do you not correct it?" said Father Pastori, 
 who was at that time the Superior of the monastery ; 
 " why do you not revise it, and render it more read- 
 able? If yon were to arrange the stories in proper 
 order, and dress them up in flowery language, it 
 would be perused with pleasure, and would tend to 
 increase the number of devout worshippers of our 
 Madonna." 
 
 " Oh, I should like very much to correct it as it 
 ought to be, but then I am afraid it would be much 
 less readable than at present." 
 
 " How so ? " 
 
346 MY CONVIJRSION. 
 
 " Because out of three hundred pages there would 
 not remain one." 
 
 Upon this the old fellow began to grow angry. I 
 win not here repeat how many threats he thundered 
 out against me for incurring, as he said, the displeasure 
 of the Madonna della Querela. Little evil, however, 
 has as yet befallen me, that I can trace to this cause. 
 
 One day this same old man, who, to say the truth, 
 after all had really a partiality for me, was holding a 
 conversation with myself and some others, among whom 
 was Cardinal Velzi, who, as well as myself, belonged to 
 that monastery, at least, to that section or family, 
 though neither of us resided there. 
 
 " I have been thinking," said Father Pastori, " of 
 some way of reviving the worship of our holy Madonna ; 
 it is very much on the decline ; what do you think we 
 should do to awaken the dormant devotion of the people 
 in the neighbourhood ? I remember when I was a 
 young man, that all the province of Patrimonio and 
 Umbria, as far as La Marca, used to send pilgrims, 
 votive offerings, wax candles, money for masses, and 
 quantities of other offerings. Now, there is scarcely 
 anything brought even at the two fairs, and all the 
 rest of the year we receive nothing at all. It is evident 
 that the people no longer think of us, and that their 
 piety is becoming lukewarm. I wish, therefore, to 
 rekindle their devotion to the Madonna, and I think 
 that the best way of doing so would be, to have sent 
 about through all the neighboui-hood, the large picture 
 of the Virgin, with all the miracles inscribed around it ; 
 
MY CONYEESION. 247 
 
 but as the engraving is not a very good one, I have 
 thought of ordering another upon the same plan. 
 What do you say to my idea ? " 
 
 The cardinal shrugged his shoulders, and neither said 
 yes nor no. I was silent also. 
 
 " Well, I say, what do you think of it ? The present 
 engraving was executed more than two hundred years 
 ago, and was retouched about one hundred years since . 
 It is now high time to have a new one, for it seems to 
 have lost its efiBcacy." 
 
 " I know very well," said Cardinal Velzi, " that these 
 things pass current among the people, as matters of 
 pious belief; but the fact is, there are too many of them 
 in Southern Italy. I proscribed many similar obser- 
 vances within my own jurisdiction, when I was master 
 of the sacred palace ; besides, these miracles are not 
 sufficiently attested." 
 
 " Your Eminence will doubtless recollect," added I, 
 " how both of us two years ago prohibited the image 
 of the Madonna of the Augustines of Viterbo, which 
 was surrounded with a legion of devils, crying out, ' To 
 heU with Viterbo.' This story is said to have originated 
 at the beginning of the fifteenth century, when one 
 day a letter issued forth from the sacred image, com- 
 manding the devils to quit the precincts of the city, 
 and to follow the said letter as far as it should go. Oif 
 went the letter, and away went the devils ; the former 
 fell to the ground about a mile distant, and the latter 
 all sank into the earth ; in perpetual memory of which 
 event, even to this day bubbles up a well of boiling 
 
348 Mi: CONYERSION. 
 
 sulphureous water, which is said to take its rise from 
 hell.* This Madonna has ever since enjoyed the title 
 of lAberatrix, or Deliverer. I had frequent disputes 
 with the Prior of the Augustines on this head, and 
 threatened to seize all his pictures, if he made a trade 
 of selling them. The only defence he could make was, 
 that the engraving was ancient, of the same epoch as 
 that of the Madonna delta Querela ; and I recollect 
 answering that I did not approve of the image delta 
 Querela either, and that, for my part, I should do 
 everything 1 could to prevent its circulation also : what 
 then do you think I should do if I saw the image 
 delta Querela, with all its pretended miracles around it, 
 restored ? Oh ! do not entertain any such idea, my 
 dear Father Pastori. I shall be obliged to oppose it, 
 and I am glad too to see that our friend the cardinal is 
 of the same opinion with myself. And now, since we are 
 upon this topic, let me, as a son of the monastery, give 
 you another piece of advice. This church of ours has 
 latterly become so filthy and disgusting, on account of 
 its wooden and papier mache statues, its exhibition of 
 heads, arms, legs, and every other part of the body, 
 presented as votive offerings for all kinds of pretended 
 cures, that, what with these, and the miserably painted 
 tablets, broken blunderbusses, rusty daggers, and other 
 objects, which disfigure the walls from top to bottom, 
 any person of good sense would be ready to rush out of 
 
 * This is the famous Bullicame of Viterbo, a thermal spring, which 
 existed many years before this famous Madonna. Dante makes men- 
 tion of it. 
 
MT CONTEasiON. 249 
 
 the place at the mere sight of them. I should propose, 
 therefore, to take down all these things, whitewash 
 the walls, which is very much wanted, and put all 
 these votive ofl'erings, or monuments of brigandism and 
 superstition, into two or three large rooms adjoining 
 the Church, so as to form a kind of museum of 
 curiosities, for such as may feel inclined to inspect it." 
 
 The good old man could no longer contain himself, 
 but broke out into violent indignation, exclaiming that 
 I was an innovator, a man whose opinions were of the 
 most dangerous description, &c. The cardinal, how- 
 ever, interposed between us, and so the matter ended. 
 
 By this time the change in my manner of thinking 
 began to be publicly talked about. I was represented 
 as not being one of those bigoted Frati who give 
 credence to every religious lie, under the cloak of " holy 
 faith ;" that I was no great votary of saints and relics, 
 and disbelieved all their miracles. Many other cii-cum- 
 stances concurred to establish this opinion of me, one 
 or two of which I wiU briefly relate. 
 
 I was requested to write the religious life of Santa 
 Rosa, the patron saint of Viterbo.* This, however, I 
 declined, on the plea that Santa Rosa would not be 
 over- well pleased with my work ; upon which the task 
 was separately undertaken by my friend Dr. Selli and 
 my uncle Dr. Mencarini. The former produced a small 
 treatise, of little or no importance, and I allowed it to 
 circulate ; the latter set to work in good earnest, and 
 
 * Every town in Italy has its patron saint, besides several subordinate 
 ones. Naples has its St. Januarius, and about fifty subalterns. 
 
 M 3 
 
250 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 forwarded to the "censor" a large volume. Now^ this 
 uncle of mine had been a second father to me, and was 
 a man whom, of all others, I loved and respected. He 
 was versed in many sciences, a man of refined learning, 
 and a professor of natural philosophy ; he was, more- 
 over, a man who shone in society, a sincere friend, a 
 benefactor to his country, and was universally esteemed 
 and beloved. 
 
 I was surprised to see so large a volume on so trivial 
 a subject as was afforded by the life of a poor baker's 
 daughter ; certainly, she showed a great deal of talent in 
 the part she took in the political disputes between the 
 Guelfs and Ghibellines, which occurred in her time ; and 
 as she was on the pope's side, that is, for the Hberty of 
 the " commune," (for popes were liberals in those days,) 
 she joined in the cry against the Emperor Frederic II. 
 She was consequently persecuted by the imperialists, 
 and ran through aU the country, declaiming against 
 them. She died at the early age of eighteen, poor but 
 honoured, and highly eulogized by her fellow-citizens. 
 The ignorance of the times attributed to her the power 
 of working miracles, and superstition " dubbed" her a 
 saint. There is no doubt she was a very excellent 
 young woman, and as such, and on no other account, 
 do I honour her memory. I dare say my uncle thought 
 much as I did on the matter; but he got so bewildered 
 with the mass of materials which so many earlier bio- 
 graphers had collected together, that he did little more 
 than copy what he found in their works, without giving 
 himself the trouble of investigating their authenticity. 
 
MY CONVEESION. 251 
 
 There are not in the whole world such bond fide liars 
 as the writers of the lives of saints^ who, for the glory 
 of God,* allow themselves every species of invention 
 and exaggeration. Can a lie ever tend to promote the 
 glory of God ? It is a principle I have never acted 
 upon with regard to any one. My uncle was deceived 
 by a parcel of old impostors, and it was for me to 
 undeceive him. • 
 
 " Now," said I to him one day, " do you believe all 
 you have written ? " 
 
 " No," he replied; " I was disgusted with a great many 
 things ; but I thought it my duty to write, or rather 
 to repeat them, because, having been asserted so long 
 ago, they are now known and believed by every body." 
 
 " Now, my dear uncle, do not say by every body, 
 for there are ourselves in this very place, who believe 
 nothing about them ; and who knows how many others 
 may not have the same good sense ? Why should we, 
 then, seek to deceive the ingenuous and simple-minded, 
 particularly the young, who would no longer read the 
 old trash about this said St. Rosa, unless it were 
 dressed up in the pleasing garb of a good style, and 
 written with a show of historical erudition ? Is it not a 
 pity — a sin?" 
 
 " But if I were not to relate what has been already 
 written and handed down, what would there be to 
 make a life of?" 
 
 " Little, my friend; little, but good. I should give 
 the simple truth. This same Rosa was a very good 
 * Ad majorem Dei gloriam is the motto of the Jesuits. 
 
252 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 creature, and a woman of spirit for the age in which 
 she lived; full of couragCj and loved her country as 
 much as any one. The priests represent her as devoted 
 to the pope ; but I, on the contrary, maintain that she 
 was devoted chiefly to pohtics, and only in a secondary 
 degree to matters of religion. In fact, the people of 
 Viterbo were almost all Patareni;* and yet, between 
 the pope and the emperor, they held most to the former, 
 because he did not, like the latter, threaten the liberty 
 of the commune, by imposing upon them any par- 
 ticular code of la,ws, but allowed the people to govern 
 themselves by their own institutions. In short, to me 
 the actions of St. Rosa appear so entirely mixed up with 
 the political events of her time, that if I were writing 
 her life, I should connect it with the history of that 
 period, merely as an episode." 
 
 " And who would you get to read it ? " 
 " Everybody, except a few bigots. Perhaps you are 
 writing for them ? " 
 
 These remarks appeared so far to influence my uncle, 
 that he began to correct his great volume, which soon 
 became reduced to half its size, but gained double in 
 value. Still, I regret to say, that some stories were 
 left which would have been far better away. The truth 
 of the matter is, that although I no longer believed in 
 the miracles of Eome's catalogued saints, yet I had not 
 as yet acquired sufficient courage to wage a war of exter- 
 mination against them. I was more severe with another 
 relation of mine. Dr. Nicola Grispini, who had written 
 * A class of heretics so called. 
 
MY CONVEESION. 253 
 
 the life of Lucia di Narni, a bigot^ beatified by Rome. 
 He was at that time Professor of Rhetoric in the college 
 at Viterbo, and is now Bishop of Poggio MirtetOj in 
 Sabina. He too had followed the old biographies, and 
 without any selection, had dressed up their worn-out 
 falsehoods in elegant modern phraseology. The manu- 
 script was sent to Rome and duly approved, with the 
 nihil obstat from' two theological censors, and the 
 imprimatur from the master of the sacred palace ; and 
 as a matter of course was about to be printed, when 
 by chance it fell under my notice. Never in my 
 whole life had I seen such a tissue of gross falsehoods. 
 I immediately stopped the printing of it, and referred 
 it again to the master of the palace, and received his 
 authority to make all the corrections I might think 
 necessary previous to its publication. 
 
 " My dear Dr. Nicola," said I to him, "where on 
 earth did you find all the nonsense that you have put 
 together in this volume ? " 
 
 " In the biographies of the Beatified * Lucia, and 
 especially in that written by a very reverend Domini- 
 can, under the approbation of the master of the sacred 
 palace." 
 
 " I am delighted to hear it, but these relations are 
 all evidently untrue, and some of them are absolutely 
 immoral. Such, for instance, is that which states that 
 a wife, in consequence of some vow, refused the con- 
 jugal duty to her husband, — a thing quite at variance 
 with sound morality. Here now is a story invented 
 * Beata is a degree below Saint, like Bachelor of Arts to Master. 
 
254 MY CONVERSION. 
 
 by some one in the first instance, repeated by others, 
 and now related again by yourself, and which, having 
 once more escaped the eyes of the censor, would have 
 been in print in a very short time. Had I not happened 
 to have seen it, the religious world would again have 
 been regaled with the same lies and the same imposture! 
 And what is all this story about angels descending from 
 heaven to minister to your Beata ! and all the saints, 
 and the Madonna, the mother of Jesus, coming down 
 to hold conversation with her ! Away with all these 
 fables; we have already too many of them ; they disgust 
 even the most simple-minded. Religion holds such 
 falsehoods in abhorrence ; they are called pious, whereas 
 they ought rather to be termed impious behefs. For 
 it is highly impious to mix falsehood with truth in 
 order to mislead the understanding and deprave the 
 heart. You surely are not so simple as to believe 
 everything that is printed con licenza del Superiori, 
 under which authority you have admitted all these foohsh 
 stories about Beata Lucia. But I cannot allow the 
 reprinting of them. Revise your book, purge it of such 
 ridiculous matter, and I will then give it my approval." 
 My friend was easily guided, and having left out 
 what he considered the most difficult to swallow, the 
 work was finished ; but I was still too indulgent, and 
 allowed much to remain which ought to have been 
 expunged ; but the fact is, as I said before, although I 
 saw what my duty was, I had not then the moral 
 courage to act entirely up to it, a courage which is 
 particularly the gift of God's grace. 
 
MY CONVERSIOX. 255 
 
 My reformation must have been the immediate work 
 of God, and therefore from Him I felt myself destined 
 to receive the perception and knowledge of the truth. 
 St, Paul gloried in having received the Gospel not from 
 men, but from God, through whose command he also 
 received authority to preach it. His reform was 
 instantaneous, as was his conversion, and they are 
 wonderful in our eyes. A gradual conversion and a 
 progressive reformation are not so astonishing. The 
 lightning flash amid the darkness of night afiects the 
 senses in a far greater degree than the opening dawn 
 that gradually brightens into day. I imagined I had 
 already received the full day -light of truth, whereas it 
 was only that of the morning star, the sweet harbinger 
 of a brighter day. What shall I say then of my entire 
 conversion ? God alone knoweth. My understanding 
 unquestionably began to be illuminated about that time, 
 but the conversion of my heart took place at a much 
 later period. I began to be aware that we are not 
 saved by our own merits, but by the merits of Christ ; 
 I knew, moreover, that those merits are not imputed 
 to us by the efficacy of the sacraments, but by virtue 
 of faith. This, the only true system of salvation, I 
 already taught in the schools, I preached it in the 
 pulpit, and sustained it in public, as well as in private 
 conversation. And therefore I had incurred the hati-ed 
 of the priesthood, and of the Jesuits of the Romish 
 Church. But for all this I was not as yet converted at 
 heart. So true it was, that I did not at that time even 
 understand the difference between these two conversions. 
 
256 MY CONVERSIOir. 
 
 I was already a Protestant, but not yet sufficiently a 
 Christian. My life had not undergone a formal and 
 complete change, but only a partial amendment. My 
 virtue arose from self-love, and not from faith. I had 
 acquired some practice in the habit of well-doing, but 
 was not yet guided by Divine inspiration. My heart 
 had desires, but not affections. I spoke of Divine love, 
 but did not yet experience it in ray soul. Oh! what 
 joy possessed me when I first began to feel its influ- 
 ence. Oh ! how delightful is the life of a believer. 
 He lives by faith. He may vacillate for a moment, 
 but he soon returns to the principle that forms the 
 system of his life. The believer, far from considering 
 himself infallible or sinless, feels, on the contrary, the 
 weakness of his nature, trembles for himself, and in- 
 cessantly humbles himself before God. True faith 
 does not attribute to man strength that he does not 
 possess. Peter was weak when he believed himself to 
 be strong. Jesus Christ said to the Apostles, " All ye 
 shall be offended, because of me this night." * And 
 what was Peter's reply? " Although all shall be offended, 
 yet will not I." And lo ! Peter the believer, who 
 esteemed himself stronger than all his brethren, and 
 vaunted himself accordingly, met with the severest 
 humiliation. Who could say with Cephas, " If I should 
 die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise?" To 
 such a one the reply is ready: "Verily I say unto 
 thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt 
 deny me thrice." f 
 
 • Mark xiv. 27. f Matt. xxri. 34. 
 
MY CONVEESION. 257 
 
 So true it is that conversion is the work of faith, and 
 this comes by grace. In me faith has been awakened 
 after much experience, accompanied by conviction in 
 the understanding, and affection in the heart. I thank 
 the Lord, who has made me a believer through His 
 grace ; and so much the more do I thank Him as He 
 has given me this grace for the conversion of others. I 
 felt the necessity o£my giving up a system which I had 
 found defective in so many points, and experienced a 
 strong desire to assist others in getting out of the same 
 mire. I could no longer hide the truths I had dis- 
 covered. I seemed a traitor to myself, to my duty, 
 and to the will of God, in concealing my enlighten- 
 ment ; while on the other hand, I saw the danger of 
 publicly acknowledging it. The only way was, to com- 
 municate my principles in secret. But the Inquisition 
 is a tremendous power, it possesses every possible 
 means of discovering the most hidden secrets ; and in 
 that part of Italy where its laws are in vigour, nothing 
 is concealed from its penetration. 
 
 I began my mission in the manner I have related, 
 and the Inquisition soon commenced its proceedings 
 against me. More than once did its officers try to 
 circumvent me, and arrest my progress ; but the bene- 
 ficent hand of Providence was over me, and guided and 
 protected mej so that I never feared anything. No 
 one knew better than I did the artifices of that diabo- 
 lical tribunal, and the means it employed to hunt out 
 its object. And yet I was not afraid; I felt a certain 
 secret assurance in my mind of my final success. I 
 
358 MT CONVEESION. 
 
 accordingly quietly pursued the path that Providence and 
 the hand of the Lord had opened out to me, knowing 
 not where my steps might lead me. I was like a man 
 bhndfolded, but led hy a faithful friend ; sure of His 
 care and love, I willingly abandoned myself to His 
 direction. 
 
 I will now state what happened to me on leaving 
 Rome in 1835, as well as what took place after my 
 departure from Italy, in 1843. All which will fully 
 explain the complete history of my conversion ; which, 
 while it has been to me the most fortunate event of my 
 whole life, will also, I hope, prove the commencement 
 of an era in the history of Italy, which my fellow- 
 countrymen have been expecting and looking for during 
 the last 300 years. I look upon this circumstance as 
 the first link of a long chain, that is one day to be 
 completed. My individual conversion and reformation 
 will be the means of effecting that of many others; 
 how or in what manner, I am unable to j adge ; cer- 
 tainly not as calculated upon in the popish sanhedrim, 
 but according to the secret arrangements of the Most 
 High. I read in this conversion of mine a most extra- 
 ordinary event : Rome did all she could to retain me as 
 her defender, as a theologian, qualified in every respect 
 to serve her purposes ,• and I, on the contrary, against 
 the inclination of the natural man, did aU in my power 
 to show how much I despised her service, and her 
 flattering offers, — indifferent alike to her honours 
 and her gifts ; drawing down upon myself her eter- 
 nal odium and vengeance. Still I must acknowledge, 
 
MY CONVERSION. 259 
 
 that it was not myself, but a secret spirit within 
 me, that resisted, overruling my natural inclinations, 
 and preventing my being led away by the proffered 
 allurements of ambition and wealth. I began to 
 look without apprehension on my position with re- 
 spect to the Church, and my duties connected with 
 it. The dormant idea of Hierarchy had faded from 
 my mind, and that, of Community occupied its place. 
 I required not the assistance of the pope to understand 
 the Bible ; I looked to the Saviour alone to elevate my 
 soul towards God. It had now become impossible for 
 me to remain any longer under so vile a subjection. 
 Higher inspirations came over me ; I was led into other 
 paths, through the adorable dispositions of that Provi- 
 dence by whom the destinies of all men are ordained ; 
 the same which, after having permitted for all-wise 
 ends the abomination of popery to dominate during so 
 many ages in Italy, seems now to will its destruction. 
 So may it be. Amen. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 MY FAKE"WELL TO ROME. 
 
 In the month of February, 1835, I had so arranged 
 my affairs that nothing stood in the way of my pro- 
 jected departure from the Eternal City. I hesitated 
 some time, between two separate modes of accomplish- 
 ing my purpose ; a sudden flight, or the more regular 
 way of setting out in due form and with the permission 
 of the appointed authorities. The first would put an 
 immediate end to all my embarrassment, and give me 
 my complete liberty at once. I was at first disposed to 
 adopt this method, but subsequently abandoned it, on 
 reflecting that I should thereby give occasion to a great 
 deal of discussion with respect to my reasons for so 
 suddenly leaving Rome ; more especially as I had never 
 yet publicly given any idea that I was at all dissatisfied 
 with her doctrines, or that I differed in opinion with 
 the monks, or had quitted that faith which I had 
 hitherto advocated to the world with so much applause. 
 It only remained to me, therefore, to adopt the latter 
 plan J which in a quieter and more convenient way, 
 would suit my purpose, and excite no troublesome 
 
MY FAREWELL TO ROME. 261 
 
 inquiries. Accordingly, after due deliberation, I ar- 
 ranged all my plans, and left the result to Providence. 
 
 Cardinal Serra di Cassano had requested me to 
 preach diu-ing Lent, in his archiepiscopal church at 
 Capua. I accepted the duty, and forwarded to the 
 good Father General Olivieri, my resignation of the 
 post he had conferred on me ; which he was pleased to 
 accept, on condition that I should return to Rome as 
 soon as my duties at Capua were over, where, he gave 
 me to understand, fresh promotion awaited me. I 
 made him no promise, merely hinting that it was pos- 
 sible I might return, unless God should think fit to 
 order my steps elsewhere. He did not appear to com- 
 prehend my meaning, and my projects were confined to 
 my own keeping. 
 
 " I hope," said he to me, " you will present yourself 
 to the pope. Cardinal Polidori told me that he wished 
 to see you. I think it would be as well for you to keep 
 up the etiquette in these matters." 
 
 " As you wish me to do so, reverend father, I will go 
 to the pope; but, to tell you the truth, I thought I 
 might dispense with the ceremony." 
 
 "Why, you know the pope has a regard for you; 
 he frequently inquires after you ; and it was only the 
 other day he was talking of a dinner given by Cardinal 
 Velzi at the Villa Salara, where he said he met you 
 and Cardinal Castiglioni, before he became Pius VIII." 
 
 " I certainly reinember that dinner, and the con- 
 versation I then held with Cardinal Cappellari, now 
 Pope Gregory. He spoke very forcibly concerning 
 
262 MY FAUEWELL TO HOME. 
 
 truth, and his words will ever remain engraven on my 
 memory; he extolled it as superior to every thing, 
 declared that it was God himself, that all truth pro- 
 ceeded from Him, and that all who obeyed the truth 
 were the sons of God. He spoke of Jesus, the Christ, 
 as the visible form of Truth, who, being fully imbued 
 with it, as St. John says, showed to the world that in 
 Him, the Word, the Logos, the Divine Wisdom, was 
 incarnate. He reminded me, that in His death, Christ 
 bore witness to the truth ; and we cannot better follow 
 Him, and become like unto Him, than by a veneration 
 for, and a strict obedience to the truth. And here, 
 placing his hand on my shoulder, he added, 'My dear 
 friend, ever advocate the truth ; live for it, combat for 
 it, even die for it, and God will be your reward.' This 
 holy advice I listened to as if it came from an angel ; 
 at that moment I really believed him to be inspired. 
 I remember also another remark he made. Cardinal 
 Castiglioni had exhorted me to read Pallavicino's 
 History of the Council of Trent ; to which I replied, 
 that I had already given it a perusal, as well as that 
 by Friar Sarpi. ' Well, then,' exclaimed the good old 
 man, ' read Pallavicino again,' — and he thundered his 
 words out so loudly, that some present thought he was 
 angry with me. ' What's the matter with Castiglioni ?' 
 asked Cappellari. 'He wishes me,' I replied, 'to read 
 over and over again the History of the Council of Trent 
 by Pallavicino.' ' He is so passionately fond of that 
 history, that he advises every body to read it,' observed 
 Cappellari ; ' for my own part, I should like to see a 
 
MY TAREWULL TO ROME. 263 
 
 third writer on the subject, who would give us the true 
 account of that Council. But this work, which ought 
 to be written in Rome, and from the archives of the 
 Vatican, could never be published there.' ' Then,' 
 observed I, ' the truth must not be spoken in Rome ! ' 
 to which Cardinal Cappellari replied with a smile and 
 a sigh." 
 
 Olivieri listened to me with profound attention, then 
 wrung my hand, and recommended me anew to pay my 
 respects to the pope. 
 
 There was at this time living in Rome a very respect- 
 able man, a certain Father Parchetti. He was well 
 known to a great many people, but had few friends. 
 His universal talent in all kinds of literature had gained 
 him considerable reputation ; he was of a liberal and 
 kindly disposition, a keen investigator in all matters of 
 science, and was more worthy of honours than he was 
 ambitious in looking after them ; he had, in fact, never 
 received any promotion, simply because he despised it. 
 Strict in his own habits of life, he was indulgent towards 
 others ; kind and charitable to the poor, and easy of 
 access to all who were not themselves proud or over- 
 bearing. He was a great talker, and was sometimes 
 sarcastic and even satirical in his speech, which arose 
 from a naturally ardent temperament. 
 
 To the monk Cappellari he had been a friend, but to 
 Pope Gregory he was an enemy. We had been ac- 
 quainted vrith each other from our earliest youth ; 
 I never, however, talked about our friendship before 
 other people, as he was in disgrace with the Court, and 
 
364 MY FAREWELL TO E,OME. 
 
 consequently his associates would have shared in the 
 contempt bestowed upon him by their party. I had 
 not at that time sufficient firmness to go against the 
 tide, and boldly declare my opinion in his favour ; but 
 still I had a great regard for him, on account of his 
 sincerity and truth ; and I discovered in him so many 
 estimable qualities, that I overlooked his trifling defects. 
 He had frequently given me his counsel and advice. 
 I had consulted him with respect to my scruples of 
 conscience ; I had laid before him my new theological 
 views, and he had considerably enlightened me on the 
 subject, and confirmed me more and more in my new 
 opinions. I had recourse to him whenever I required 
 advice. He first taught me what Rome really was — 
 Rome, as influenced by priests and monks, by prelates 
 and cardinals. Whoever wanted information respecting 
 the papal court, applied to Father Parchetti, who knew 
 the secret history of every one connected with it, and 
 was perfectly well informed in the history of the Romish 
 Church ; his experience was of seventy years' standing, 
 in the course of which time he had become well ac- 
 quainted with every thing that had happened in Rome, 
 and every exact detail as to place, time, and person. 
 
 " Well," said I to him one day, " I am going to 
 leave Rome. I thank you for your good advice as to 
 keeping clear from the snares of ofiice, and becoming 
 ambitious in my views. See how well I have eschewed 
 every thing of the kind ! I am going to Naples, on the 
 plea of having to preach at Capua during the ensuing 
 Lent. I shall be heartily glad to leave this place; 
 
MT FAREWELL TO ROME. 265 
 
 I most thoroughly detest it, or, rather, the people who 
 govern in it, and sincerely hope never to return to it. 
 I shall find some good reason or other to remain in 
 Naples when Lent is over ; at any rate, I can petition 
 for my secularization ;* and I shall then be at liberty ; 
 and in the quiet of private hfe, occupied entirely with 
 my studies, I may hope to obtain tranquillity and 
 peace." 
 
 " No, my friend," replied Parchetti, " do not hope 
 for peace in Italy, under any circumstances. It is not 
 enough that you keep quiet. You know full well, that 
 among other evils to which those gentry who call them- 
 selves our masters are subject, is that of envy. Do you 
 imagine they would let you rest ? And, suppose you 
 quit the brotherhood of the monks, you would still be 
 among the priests. Well, then, there is the bishop, 
 and his vicars, and others of their set, who would load 
 you with calumnies, and persecute you in a far greater 
 degree than you have had to endure hitherto, and which 
 your present strength would by no means enable you 
 to support. Here there is no middle path; we must 
 be either bigots or hypocrites, as they are, or become 
 subject to their hatred and their malediction, and 
 exposed to every danger and every evD, through their 
 instrumentality. They have adopted as their motto, 
 ' He who is not with us is against us ;' and, conse- 
 quently, they reckon every one as their enemy who 
 removes himself ever so little from their prejudices, 
 
 * The relinquishing of the religious habit and office, for that of the 
 secular clergy. 
 
 N 
 
266 MY FAHEWELL TO ROME. 
 
 their customs^ and their society. He, moreover, who 
 refuses to bend the knee before the idol of the Vatican, 
 is, as you very well know, looked upon as a heretic : 
 here, it is not God in whom we are to believe, but 
 
 the pope. C and T are a couple of atheists ; 
 
 nevertheless, they were both made cardinals. But if 
 you and I were to declare that we believed in the 
 Bible, and in the Bible alone, we should be speedily 
 handed over to the Inquisition, and there condemned 
 as heretics — if, indeed, they would do us so much 
 honour; for they begin to be sensible that the term 
 heretic is no longer one of so great reproach as for- 
 merly J but still, not to allow us to escape, they would 
 give out that we were condemned for some offence or 
 other against the civil laws, such as theft, adultery, 
 and the like. There is poor Capestrano condemned to 
 perpetual imprisonment in the dungeons of the Inquisi- 
 tion ; I once asked one of the officials of the Holy Ofilce 
 what he had to say against such a respectable old man ; 
 ' He is a great scoundrel,' was the reply ; and on my 
 inquiring why he bestowed on him that epithet, ' Why V 
 rejoined he, 'because he is guilty of a great many 
 crimes.' ' How ! ' I exclaimed ; ' has he then robbed, 
 borne false witness, or committed murder ? But what 
 an abominable thing it is to attribute crimes to so good 
 a man as Capestrano ! I wiU tell you what crimes you 
 yourselves are guilty of, and for which he has justly 
 reproved you — the crime of Herod, who condemned 
 John to death ! ' Now, listen to me, my dear friend : 
 as long as you remain among either friars or priests. 
 
MY FAKEWELL TO ROME. 267 
 
 you will never enjoy a moment's tranquillity; but you 
 cannot get out of their way so long as you stay in Italy. 
 The first conclusion therefore is, that in this country 
 you will never be at peace, since both friars and priests 
 will unite to persecute you." 
 
 " And what, I pray you, is the second conclusion?" 
 " The second is, that as long as you continue in the 
 priestly office yourself, you never can hope for rest. It 
 is not enough that you cease to be a friar, you must 
 also cease to be a priest : both are equally bad; there is 
 no choice between them ; they uphold the same system, 
 and the system itself is bad. You must renounce it 
 altogether, if you would be at peace. But a great diffi- 
 culty stands in the way ; a great obstacle is to be over- 
 come before this can be done; and it is this very 
 obstacle that has hitherto prevented me, also, from 
 shaking off this terrible slavery, which I have a hundred 
 times desired to do. The difficulty I allude to is one 
 which deprives an Italian of all courage ; it is, that of 
 being obliged to quit one's native country, and for 
 evermore to lose the idea of returning to it. Geneva, 
 they say, is a fine city; and I have heard that in 
 London, too, one may hope to find the means of sub- 
 sistence. But another Italy we can never hope to see ; 
 and nothing, I fear, could compensate for its loss. 
 I speak in a worldly point of view. Certainly, such a 
 step requires courage. I can easily conceive that the 
 first step is the grand difficulty ; and, after all, a great 
 deal is in our own imagination : and we Italians, like 
 all southern nations, are swayed more by our imagina- 
 
 N 2 
 
268 MY FAREWELL TO ROME. 
 
 tion than by our senses; our understanding, indeed, 
 may be said to feed upon it. Now, if you have more 
 courage than, I confess, I possess, and can decide on 
 taking the grand leap that will place you beyond Italy, 
 T feel assured you will at length find peace, and become 
 happy." 
 
 " This project of yours," I replied, " is the true, the 
 only one ; I have frequently entertained the same idea. 
 But, as you observe, it presents a dif&culty that appears 
 insurmountable ; to quit one's native country, to leave 
 one's relatives behind us, to lose all one's property and 
 one's means of subsistence, to reduce oneself to indi- 
 gence, and undergo privations always more or less 
 humiliating, is a sacrifice, my dear Parchetti, that a 
 man is not prepared or willing to make. There must 
 be some great motive, or, to speak more correctly, some 
 sudden impulse from above, similar to that which 
 arrested Saul on his way to Damascus, to impel a man 
 to do that concerning which he was before uncertain 
 and irresolute. Perhaps the day will come when I may 
 myself be thus influenced ; but at present I must pro- 
 ceed gradually, till I acquire greater experience ; and 
 I shall always submit to the will of God. As we are on 
 this subject, however, tell me. Father Parchetti, and tell 
 me sincerely for our old friendship's sake, what is your 
 opinion of the Protestants ? I speak of those of Geneva 
 and London." 
 
 " You have chosen rather a dangerous subject to 
 discuss in Eome; but, however, as we are alone, and 
 no one can overhear us, I will speak out ; and may it be 
 
MY FABEWELL TO HOME. 269 
 
 for the glory of God and the advancement of truth ! 
 This is not exactly the first time I have touched upon 
 the argument between Protestantism and Romanism ; 
 and you know how excited I get on these interesting 
 topics, and how apt I am to forget the place I am in, and 
 to whom I address myself. It has happened more than 
 once that I have inveighed against the Holy Office in 
 the presence of some of its officials, and have, in various 
 public places, spoken pretty freely about Rome, liken- 
 ing her to Babylon, and Geneva to a second Jerusalem. 
 It was fortunate for me that the Inquisition did not get 
 hold of it. Since, however, I have up to the present 
 day escaped being burnt alive, and since the ears of the 
 public have become accustomed to my remarks, I do 
 not imagine they will molest me, now that I am old. 
 In fact, they content themselves with vilifying me in 
 their own way ; they call me a madman, a foul-mouthed 
 fellow, who speaks ill of every body, and so on. And 
 in this manner they repay me for the attacks I make 
 upon them, which I do not cease from doing in the 
 cause of the truth. 
 
 " But to return to our subject. Protestantism is 
 early Christianity revived, which protests against and 
 denounces later Christianity, that is to say, Romanism, 
 or, more properly, Popery. Having given this definition, 
 the truth of which it is impossible to deny, I proceed to 
 observe that I consider the Protestants are right de jure, 
 but that the Romanists arrogate that right to themselves 
 de facto. I will explain myself more clearly. The Pro- 
 testants have the Bible on their side, their doctrine is 
 
270 MT FABEWELL TO ROME. 
 
 founded on its truths, and, fortified witli ttem, they 
 boldly challenge the Romanists to enter the field of 
 controversy. And against these truths papistical argu- 
 ments cannot stand. For this reason I maintain that 
 the Protestants are right de jure. On the other hand, 
 the E-omanists boast of their traditions, a series of 
 alleged facts more or less ancient, altogether irrecon- 
 cUeable with Scripture, but received on the authen- 
 ticity of respectable men, whom their own Church 
 has dubbed as saints and doctors. These traditions 
 have given rise to various decisions in councUs, and 
 these again have occasioned the celebrated decretals 
 of the popes, bulls, and pontifical constitutions, which 
 serve as so many dogmas of faith with all the upholders 
 of Romanism. And this is how they possess their right 
 de facto. 
 
 "Now, these two parties are similar to two armies, 
 which have been opposed to each other for the last 
 three hundred years; but they are by no means of 
 equal strength : I speak of human strength. The Pro- 
 testants have gained over to their side many men of 
 learning and sense, yet they have hitherto failed in 
 their attempts to overthrow the papacy; they have, 
 however, humbled it, and prevented it from domineer- 
 ing over the whole of the Christian world. 
 
 " Romanism is nevertheless content with its de facto 
 power, which it upholds through the authority of its 
 doctrines and the activity of its Propaganda. It has 
 proclaimed to the vulgar herd that the holy men who 
 have worked miracles were all of them of its own 
 
MT EAKEWELL TO EOJIE. 271 
 
 Church ; and this assurance is sufficient for those who 
 have no better principle to guide them than the criterion 
 of authority. It has, moreover, found means to send 
 its missionaries to all parts of the world. The great 
 secret of Rome is this — money to send out missionaries, 
 and missionaries to send back money. Whoever sees 
 the expenditure of the Propaganda ' Fidei,' praises the 
 zeal of Rome, and imagines that the pope makes an 
 immense sacrifice every year to supply the wants of 
 such an institution. How many bishops, vicars-apo- 
 stolic, friars, and missionary priests, derive incomes 
 from the Propaganda ! And who supphes all this money? 
 Is it Rome ? and where does it come from ? Again, 
 who maintains the Court of Rome, with all its crimes 
 and all its caprices ? who, if it is not the Propaganda ? 
 Look at the fraternities of Rome — the Dateria, the 
 chancery, the office for briefs, the council, the bishops 
 and regulars, the rites and indulgences, sacred relics, 
 and the like ; whence do all these derive support ? 
 Evidently from foreign parts. And what, in return for 
 all this money and protection, does Rome send abroad ? _ 
 Indulgences and quackeries. Who are they who 
 sustain the Court of Rome, and the papacy, in all 
 its ambition — I will not say its honour, because it 
 never had any — if they be not the Romanists abroad ? 
 and not only they, but even Protestants themselves, 
 now, contribute to the coffers of the Romish Church. 
 How willing are the English to pay at our festivals ; 
 and Rome wants nothing else, desires nothing else, 
 but money. She thinks herself the first power in the 
 
272 My EAUEWELL TO ROME. 
 
 world, and has gone so far as to insult and hold in 
 derision the Protestants. They must be good people, 
 indeed, to submit to it, for they have it in their power 
 to make Rome tremble, and reduce her to dust. 
 
 " But to return to the subject of religion. The 
 Protestants have only one defect, that of being divided 
 among themselves, and often waging war upon each 
 other. And now I will tell you a secret, that you 
 cannot know as yet; but I do. It is one of the arti- 
 fices of Catholic missionaries (especially of the Jesuits) 
 to sow discord as much as possible among the Pro- 
 testants ; because they can afterwards profit by it, by 
 fishing in troubled water, according to the common 
 saying. So long as the Protestants will moot the 
 question, whether their Church should be Episcopalian 
 or Presbyterian, and go on excommunicating each 
 other, Roman priests and friars will make proselytes 
 from each party. Now, these good Protestants do not 
 see how this very question is settled de facto, without 
 noise, or rumour, or division, by the Romanists. They 
 have their priests and friars ; the former governed by 
 bishops, and consequently episcopalian ; the latter (and 
 in these I include monks and regular clergy, &c.) sub- 
 ject to their superiors, who are nothing more nor less 
 than presbyters. Consequently, this set, which exceeds 
 that of priests in numbers, is, in fact, Presbyterian. 
 Priests and friars have also their disputes; and it is 
 impossible there should not be disputes amongst any 
 body of men whatsoever ; but they are soon settled : 
 for both parties have the Church between them in 
 
.MY FABEWELL TO ROME. 273 
 
 common, as well as the pulpit and the confessional. 
 There is no difficulty in passing from one Order to 
 another, as you well know; and when they do, they 
 change not only their habits, but their rites, forms of 
 prayer, and every branch of discipline. I do not see 
 why it should not be permitted to Protestants to do 
 so likewise. But, above all, what I blame is, that the 
 Episcopalians, for example, shut their churches against 
 the Presbyterians. I here speak of the ministers ; 
 because the people themselves would care little about 
 mere forms, provided they find in their pastors (whether 
 Episcopalian or Presbyterian) that spirit, and kno^\- 
 ledge, and zeal, that is according to faith in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 " My dear friend,'' I replied, " what you say is excel- 
 lent. It never struck me before, and certainly books 
 would never have imparted it to me. I thank you for 
 the lesson, and again repeat, that though I quit with 
 sorrow the one Rome I so much love, I do so execrating 
 from my soul the other that I so much hate ; and who 
 can say whether you do not hate it even more than I 
 do, and did not hate it long before I did ; because you 
 have known it longer and better than I have ! But tell 
 me another thing, (and may the blessing of God be 
 with you!) — Do you think this wicked Rome — this 
 Babylon, as you caU it, and which St. John the 
 Evangelist calls ' the great whore,' ' with whom the 
 kings of the earth have committed fornication,'* — do 
 you think it will always remain in such transgressions, 
 * Eev. xvii. 2. 
 N 3 
 
274 MY FABEWELL TO ROME. 
 
 or do you believe a day will come in whicli popish 
 Rome will be reformed, and that we shall unite with 
 the Protestants to form one only Church ; that is, one 
 and the same body of believers in the pure doctrine of 
 ancient Christianity? Tell me truly your opinion — 
 do you prophesy that it will be so ? " 
 
 " I will tell you what I think ; but first I wiU say 
 that which I believe. I believe that popish Rome will 
 be destroyed. The eighteenth chapter of the Apocalypse 
 strengthens me in this belief. I also think that papal 
 Rome can in no way reform itself. Popes are bound 
 hand and foot, so that they cannot move. Popery is 
 become immovable — a petrifaction. Can she alter her 
 creed to any thing diiferent from that composed by 
 Pius IV. ? She must first destroy the Council of Trent. 
 Can the Latin Church return to the faith of the Greek 
 Church, in all in which the latter is right ? She must 
 first destroy the Council of Florence. Can she, in 
 short, be brought to approve the doctrine that the Re- 
 formers profess? and that, too, after having burnt as 
 many of the Reformers themselves as she could get into 
 her clutches ? This scandal was first committed by the 
 Council of Constance, in which those two holy men, 
 John Huss and Jerome of Prague, were sentenced to 
 be burnt alive ! Would Rome, then, condemn the 
 Council of Constance ? The French, in one of their Gallic 
 propositions,* (which, by-the-bye, is not prohibited, f) 
 
 * A cerfcain declaration of the clergy of France in relation to the 
 infallibility of the pope, 
 t That is to say, not by the Holy Office in Eome. 
 
MY FAHEWELL TO ROME. 375 
 
 would come forward and say that the council is 
 superior to the pope, and cannot he destroyed by 
 him. So you see that Rome has deprived herself of 
 every means of extrication, and shut the door upon 
 the possibility of return. 
 
 " Papal Rome must therefore necessarily remain 
 as she is, or cease to live. But she will never die by 
 her own hand, and ^e wiU make every possible struggle 
 against any other that may be lifted up to give her 
 her death-stroke ; unless it be the hand of God, 
 which, let us hope, will strike her so surely that she 
 shall never raise her head again. So be it. Amen. 
 And this may be the case even in our time. Do you 
 not think, indeed, that she herself is hastening the 
 moment, and that, as David says, she hath fallen into 
 the pit she dug for others ? 
 
 " Yes, yes ; the Lord blindeth those whom He wills 
 to destroy. Rome is committing the greatest blunders 
 every day, and does not know how to correct them. 
 And the day wiU come when she will make a last and 
 fatal one. Can you guess what it will be?" 
 
 " Certainly not ; but I should like to hear it from 
 you." 
 
 " Listen, then, and remember it, because I shall not 
 live to see it, but you may. I am already old, and 
 the Lord will, most likely, soon take me to himself, 
 before my eyes have seen the salvation of Italy. 
 
 " But now mark what I foretell. The war between 
 Catholicism and Protestantism will be renewed. How- 
 ever improbable a religious war may appear, in these 
 
276 MY FAREWELL TO EOME. 
 
 times of liberalism, it is nevertlieless inevitable, and 
 cannot be far distant. And Rome berself will be the 
 exciting cause, inasmucb as the missionaries of the 
 Propaganda, ignorant and blind as they are, and liars 
 by profession, industriously circulate the report that 
 through their labours all the world is about to be con- 
 verted to papacy; that the Madonna and the saints 
 are working miracles on every side. And so they 
 will instigate Rome to commit some act of imprudence. 
 " Remember the case of Leo XII. who in 1824 
 created an Archbishopric of Grand Cairo ; and, without 
 any consultation with the Viceroy, appointed as arch- 
 bishop that inefficient youth Cashiur, and gave him for 
 vicar such a knave as Father Canestrari ; sending th^n 
 both to Alexandria, to make converts of all the Mussul- 
 mans, beginning with Mahomet Ali himself. The end 
 of the affair was ridiculous enough, excepting for the 
 condemnation of the poor Archbishop. But who can 
 tell what was the real intention of Pope Leo and his 
 advisers ? Now what I foresee is this : the influence of 
 Rome in the British Isles must produce its effect, which 
 is that of converting the Protestants to our faith. If 
 to the English and Irish missionaries which Rome has 
 hitherto employed, those of Italy, and more especially 
 the Jesuits, are united, proselytes cannot fail. In fact, 
 they will be so numerous, and will excite so much in- 
 terest, that Rome will be led to imagine that the time 
 has arrived for her to take England by assault. Ac- 
 xjordingly, the Pope will create Bishops and Archbishops, 
 declaring the Protestant hierarchy completely null and 
 
m FAREWELL TO ROME. 277 
 
 abolished. England, not being prepared for this master- 
 stroke of policyj ■will for the moment be too astonished 
 to testify her sense of its audacity; but soon recol- 
 lecting her former history, and conscious of her power, 
 she will shake off the lethargy that has so long op- 
 pressed her, and permitted an enemy to enter into her 
 house, and perceiving that not only is her substance 
 wasted, but her rights usurped, and her Church out- 
 raged, she will do that which every person of sense 
 would do when conscious of having erred, of having 
 been incautious, ill-advised, and imprudent : she will 
 correct her vain indulgence, and withdraw the hand of 
 friendship from the Church of Rome, — she will institute 
 new laws to prevent usurpation, and she will drive 
 away the aggressors, forcing them to yield what they 
 have stolen : in short, she will destroy the nests of 
 these crows, — the only method of preventing their in- 
 crease, — and once more put them to flight and banish 
 .them beyond her seas. England will do this the very 
 day that Rome gives her sufficient provocation; and 
 that day will be fatal in its results. Italy, wearied out 
 with popery, will profit by the opportunity; all her 
 strength will be exerted to break her old chains, and 
 break them she will ! The papacy will be destroyed in 
 Italy by the Italians themselves ; and the idol of the 
 Vatican, before which the pagans of modern times have 
 for so many ages bent the knee, will be driven into 
 exUe, an object of mockery and derision. Yes, 'the 
 man of sin, the son of perdition,' who has seduced the 
 world by his lies, wiU have the finger of scorn pointed 
 
378 
 
 MY FAEEWELL TO ROME. 
 
 at him by the whole world. This, my friend, is what 
 I prophesy : when it comes to pass, recollect what my 
 words have been.'' 
 
 These sentiments, delivered by the good old man in 
 the year 1835, now appear as if they had been dictated 
 by inspiration. 
 
 One evening, Cardinal PoHdori conducted me to the 
 pope, who was in a very jovial humour. A Venetian 
 priest, a friend of his Holiness, was present. The car- 
 dinal conversed with the priest, whilst the pope led me 
 aside and addressed me as follows : — 
 
 " What is the purport of this nocturnal visit ? You 
 foUow the example of Nicodemus, who visited the Lord 
 at night." 
 
 " His Eminence the cardinal chose this time to pre- 
 sent me. I am come to ask the blessing of your Holiness, 
 before I set out for Capua, where I am summoned by 
 the cardinal-archbishop to preach during Lent. The 
 papal benediction will, I trust, be followed by the bless- 
 ing of God." 
 
 " May the Lord bless you ! After Easter I hope you 
 wiU return to Rome : is not that your intention?" 
 
 " I cannot promise. After so many years of fatigue, 
 I need a little repose. I may perhaps visit Naples for 
 a short period." 
 
 " Naples is a dangerous place to go to : its luxurious 
 climate, its numerous attractions of every description, 
 so powerfully enchant the mind that it is difficult to 
 get away from their seductive influence. I hope you 
 will not become a Neapolitan. But tell me, is there 
 
MY FAREWELL TO fiOME. 279 
 
 any particular reason why you are desirous to quit 
 Rome ? It appears to me that you are not quite satis- 
 fied -witli your situation here? Perhaps matters are 
 not according to your mind at the Minerva. But the 
 monks are not better at Naples than they are at Rome : 
 I am of opinion that if you complain of them here, you 
 would equally do so there." 
 
 " In that case, Holy Father, I should find means to 
 separate myself from them altogether. Your Holiness 
 would not withhold from me your permission to secu- 
 larize,* as many others do." 
 
 " And if that should not be sufficient ? " 
 
 " God will provide for the rest." 
 
 I now began to be persuaded that my getting rid of 
 my employments at Rome, of quitting the city, and 
 even of abandoning the monks, would not be sufficient. 
 Father Parchetti had foretold it all; the pope too 
 seemed to be fully aware of my discontent, and to have 
 a pretty good idea of what was to foUow. Nevertheless, 
 I had not yet learned to go boldly forward ; I advanced 
 in my onward path step by step, and passed through 
 many states of sorrow and temptation. For example, 
 though I already abhorred papacy, I still continued to 
 visit the pope, and even felt a veneration towards his 
 person, which no doubt was the result of habit and 
 early education. I detested the cardinals as a body, 
 yet I was on friendly terms with several of them : 
 there was no great harm in that. But with respect to 
 
 * To quit the mouastic life, and to lire as a simple priest. See note 
 to p. 265. 
 
280 HY FAREWELL TO EOME. 
 
 the mass, although I was thoroughly persuaded of its 
 imposture, and of the two great heresies in its doctrine, 
 I still continued to perform it, certainly without devo- 
 tion, but with a show of earnestness ; I very seldom 
 celebrated it, but had not the courage to abandon it 
 altogether. I became anxious and worn out, and felt 
 a strong necessity to throw myself into the arms of a 
 better faith, since my present one, so far from satis- 
 fying me, every day rendered me more and more 
 wretched. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, the importance I attached to 
 this departure from Eome. I seemed to be leaving 
 it never more to return. On every former occasion of 
 absence I had never thought it necessary to make part- 
 ing visits to my friends ; but now I raked up all my 
 acquaintance to bid them farewell. Many days were 
 consumed in parting and complimentary visits, which I 
 had never before been accustomed to make. One day 
 I was dining with Monsignore Cioja, the governor of 
 St. Spirito, and two of that order of canons (which, I 
 believe, is now abolished) were there. The discourse 
 turned on Germany and England. One of these canons 
 was a man of learning ; not so the other ; both of 
 them, however, joined in the co^iversation. 
 
 " Do you not think Luther was in the wrong," said 
 one of them to me, " in making himself the head of a 
 Church? And in England, what a farce it is to see 
 the king placed at the head of religion !" 
 
 " You do not understand what you are talking 
 about," replied I; "Luther never made himself the 
 
MY FAREWELL TO BOME. 281 
 
 head of the Church ; neither are the kings of England 
 at the head of religion. Both the Lutherans and the 
 Anglicans acknowledge no other head than Jesus Christ. 
 He, as St. Paul asserts, is the sole Head of the Church. 
 And for this reason, my dear canon, that a Church 
 does not mean a body of priests or bishops, but a 
 people and congregation of believers. It is very well 
 that the bishops should have authority over the priests, 
 and among all the bishops one must be the chief : in 
 the Latin Church, the first, the head of the other 
 bishops, is the patriarch of Rome ; in the Greek Church 
 it is the patriarch of Constantinople ; in the Anglican 
 Church there are two primates, who for the government 
 of the Church, as regards worship, depend altogether on 
 the king and the parliament. What do you consider 
 objectionable in this ?" 
 
 " That the king and the parliament," replied the 
 other canon, " can understand nothing at all about 
 ecclesiastical matters, as the bishops do ; that the king 
 of England and the parliament have never been ad- 
 dressed in the character or person of Peter, in the 
 words. Teed my sheep;' that the king and the parlia- 
 ment have no apostolic succession — they do not belong 
 to the hierarchy — consequently are not invested with 
 any spiritual authority whatever." 
 
 " Allow me," I rejoined, " to make a few comments 
 on your observations. You say, the kings of England 
 and the parliament do not understand ecclesiastical 
 matters. You imagine that the Protestant sovereigns 
 are as uninformed in Church affairs, as the rulers of 
 
282 MY FASEWELL TO EOMB. 
 
 Roman Catholic countrieSj who require to consult their 
 theologians on such points, (and these are now-a-days 
 invariably Jesuits). The sovereigns of England, of 
 Prussia, of Hanover, of Wittemburgh, and other Pro- 
 testant dominions in Germany, understand quite as 
 much about religion as the pope and his cardinals.* 
 The fii'st study of Protestants, is the study of their 
 Bible, in which they are all weU read. In the British 
 parHament there are men learned in every department 
 of science ; there are even bishops and their primates. 
 The parliament then in cases of dif&culty resolves itself 
 into a council, in which religious questions are wisely 
 argued and brought to a settlement. No one among 
 them pretends to infallibility; if the question before 
 them is not made sufficiently clear in a first sitting, it 
 is argued in a second, or in a third, until they are 
 agreed upon it. There are no oracles in England, or 
 in Germany ; these are for the benefit of Rome only : 
 there are only believers ; who, however, are possessed of 
 true Christian knowledge, and are under the guidance 
 of the Lord. Now, it was to the believers that the 
 words of Christ were spoken : ' Feed my sheep.' ' Peter' 
 is not intended to denominate the person (his true 
 name indeed was Simon), but it is an appellative ; as 
 when, for instance, I call you ' canon.' By Peter is to 
 be understood every one who is a man of firmness and 
 stabiHty ; in short, a behever. And for this reason it is 
 that St. Augustine, alluding to these words of Christ to 
 Peter, says more than once, ' What was addressed to 
 * It were devoutly to be wished tlie latter knew as much. 
 
MY FAREWELL TO ROME. 283 
 
 Peter was addressed to all;' that is to say, to all 
 believers. Quod dictum est Petro, dictum est omnibus. 
 Therefore, to you and to me, who are neither the 
 Apostle Peter, nor his privileged successors ; to us two 
 who are not even bishops, but simply believers, are the 
 words of Christ spoken: 'Peed my sheep.' Do you 
 see any difficulty now in this matter ? If the sovereigns 
 of England and the members of the parliament are in 
 the true faith, have they not also the office of feeding 
 the people committed to their charge ? 
 
 " Can you define to me what is the nature of this 
 apostolic succession, which is so much talked of in 
 Rome ? Is it a peculiar right of heirship which the 
 apostles bequeathed you ? And what, I ask, would be 
 the nature of the bequest ? The apostles were rich in 
 faith, and consequently were full of the Holy Spirit 
 and celestial gifts. As they had faith, they also pos- 
 sessed an understanding of the holy Word, and they had 
 that Spirit which rendered their teaching infallible. 
 Being full of faith they accomplished prodigies. But 
 can you really believe that faith is transmitted by suc- 
 cession, and granted as a privilege to a particular class 
 of men ? According to your view, then, who would be 
 the true successors of the apostles ? The pope and his 
 bishops ? But are they grounded in faith, as the 
 apostles were ? If so, then truly are they their suc- 
 cessors. But if, on the other hand, they are wanting 
 in this faith, to which of the apostles would they 
 succeed ? To that only one who was -without faith ; to 
 Judas Iscariot. 
 
 " I can very weU understand how apostolic succes- 
 
28-1 
 
 MY FAEEWELL TO ROME. 
 
 sion may take place among the true servants of the 
 Lord — among those who live conformably to the Divine 
 laws. Without doubt, this succession, is bestowed on 
 those zealous ministers of religion^ who, in the midst of 
 danger, difficulty, and privation, warm with holy charity 
 for the salvation of others, bear to distant regions the 
 name of Jesus Christ. Would you equally bestow the 
 title on those fat priests, clothed in their rich gala 
 dresses of various colours, who rise from their luxurious 
 tables, glutted with the choicest viands, to repose on soft 
 couches, or to seat themselves in their gilded coaches, 
 and endeavour therein to digest their sumptuous meal? 
 
 " The apostolic succession through the laying-on of 
 hands, is an idle dream, invented by priests, in order 
 that the laity may not look at their vices, but at their 
 dignity : and on account of that quality, at least, hold 
 them in some sort of respect ! Now I should propose, 
 that if these persons are to be objects of public 
 veneration, Judas Iscariot also, who was one of the 
 chosen twelve, should be held in the same estimation 
 by Rome. 
 
 " But let us return to the sovereign and parliament 
 of England, who, according to your doctrine, ought to 
 have no ecclesiastical jurisdiction, since they are not in 
 the ecclesiastical hierarchy. That is to say, they are 
 not of those for whom their mother requested of the 
 Lord the highest offices in the church, saying, ' Grant 
 that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right 
 hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom.'* At 
 that time it was that the first idea of a hierarchy arose 
 * Matt. XX. 21. 
 
MY PAEEWELL TO ROME. 285 
 
 among tlie followers of Christ. Concerning which 
 project, however, I find no other approval on the part 
 of our Lord than that contained in his subsequent 
 words spoken to the apostles and to their successors : 
 ' Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise 
 dominion over them, and they that are great exercise 
 authority upon them. But it shall not be so among 
 you : but whosoever wjiU be great among you, let him 
 be your minister ; and whosoever will be chief among 
 you, let him be your servant.'* Might not this, now, 
 be the beginning of the ecclesiastical hierarchy ? " 
 
 " St. Paul tells us that Jesus Christ himself ' gave 
 some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evan- 
 gelists ; and some, pastors and teachers.'t Now here 
 is sufficient gradation to form a hierarchy. And the 
 apostle says, in another place, that there are in the 
 Church of Christ ' diversities of gifts .... differences of 
 administrations .... diversities of operations .... to 
 one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to 
 another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 
 to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the 
 gifts of healing by the same Spirit; .... to another 
 prophecy ; to another discerning of spirits ; to another 
 divers kinds of tongues ; to another the interpretation 
 of tongues;' J &c. Now all this being of ordination, 
 implies an office and a ministry derived from another. 
 And we call this a hierarchy." 
 
 " On the contrary, I find that all this is operated in 
 the Church ' by the same Spirit,' and ' by the same 
 * Matt. XX. 25-27. t Ephes. iv. 11. I 1 Cor. xii. 
 
286 MY FAREWELL TO ROME. 
 
 Lord.' ' There are/ says St. Paul, ' diversities of opera- 
 tions, but it is tlie same God that worketh all in all.^* 
 Do you find a hierarchy in the human body ? You are 
 aware that the apostle has likened the Church to the 
 human body. Listen to, and consider his words. ' For 
 as the body is one, and hath many members, and all 
 the members of that one body, being many, are one 
 body ; so also is Christ. 't And so it also is with the 
 Church of Christ.^' 
 
 " But is there not a hierarchy belonging to the Church 
 in heaven ? Equally, then, there must be one in the 
 Church upon earth.^' 
 
 " Nego consequentiam et paritatem. It is no reason 
 that because it is so in heaven, it must be so upon 
 earth. Besides, I know nothing concerning the 
 hierarchy in the Church in heaven. If by Church 
 you mean the assembling together of human spirits, 
 who are blessed in the Lord, in my opinion, they are 
 equal among themselves, and God himself is over them 
 all. They have neither rank nor office; nor have 
 I ever been able to suppose who was the greatest 
 among them." 
 
 " Was not St. Michael the Archangel called the chief 
 of the heavenly hierarchy?" 
 
 " In that case, he would belong to the hierarchy 
 of the angels ; not to that of men. But the Romish 
 Church finds a hierarchy everywhere. I assure you, 
 I know of none ; there is none mentioned in the Bible. 
 How is it, then, revealed to us ?" " ' 
 
 * 1 Cor. xii. f Ibid. 
 
MY FAREWELL TO EOME. 287 
 
 This argument was long and interesting. On quit- 
 ting the house, we crossed the Piazza, and all three 
 (the two canons and myself) went into the church of 
 St. Peter. Before leaving Eome, I appeared to myself 
 to be under the necessity of paying a visit to this 
 church, which every time I entered it inspired me with 
 different sensations. I had never been so devout as to 
 worship at what is called the tomb of St. Peter and 
 St. Paul, because (I believe, the first time I entered the 
 place) I overheard a priest say, speaking of this tomb, 
 " I, for my part, have no faith in the authenticity of 
 this ; and I have good reasons for doubting it : if, how- 
 ever, it were not credited, who would come here to visit 
 and to pray to the holy reliques, and fulfil their vows of 
 gifts and thanksgiving?" Ever after this, I looked 
 upon the place where so many lamps are burning and 
 so many people praying, with great indifference. 
 I never either knelt or prayed there, but always turned 
 another way. On the present occasion, my two priests 
 knelt down to offer a short prayer to St. Peter j* 
 I, without taking notice of them, occupied myself with 
 looldng up into the cupola, till they should have 
 finished. 
 
 " What a prodigy of art ! " exclaimed one of my 
 companions. " This truly may be called a church ! 
 In the whole world there is not another like it. 
 I should call it the temple, per antonomasia, like that 
 
 * Many persons believe that the body of St. Paul lies under the 
 church, in the Via Ostia ; others are of opinion that it is buried by tha 
 side of St. Peter. The Komish Church favours both these beliefs. 
 
288 JiY FAREWELL TO ROME. 
 
 of the Jews. What say you? It must have cost its 
 weight in gold." 
 
 " I should rather call it ' Aceldama' or the field of 
 blood,* since the price of it was not so much gold as it 
 was blood." 
 
 " Truly/' rejoined the other canon, "your remark is 
 just : the field that the high priests purchased with the 
 money of Judas, was so called. And St. Peter's was 
 built with that derived from the sale of indulgences, 
 sent into Germany by Leo X." 
 
 " Since we are on this subject," said the elder of my 
 companions, turning himself towards me, " explain to 
 me a little about these same indulgences. Is it true, as 
 they say, that a plenary indulgence immediately intro- 
 duces one into paradise?" 
 
 " No doctrine whatever," I replied, " is so com- 
 pletely incomprehensible to me as that of indulgences. 
 According to what is stated concerning them, it would 
 appear that the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, and of 
 the saints, and of the Virgin Mary, are, by authority of 
 the pope, bestowed on such individuals as perform cer- 
 tain prescribed works; one among which is the pay- 
 ment of a sum of money. Much has been written on 
 the subject, as to the origin, nature, and efPect of these 
 indulgences ; and all agree that there is in the Church 
 a treasury, or bank, of these merits, and that the pope 
 has the power to draw upon it, and dispose of it as he 
 chooses. This is what is taught : it is of very little 
 
 * Matt. xxTii. 8. 
 
MY FAREWELL TO ROME. 289 
 
 consequence whether theologians beheve it or not, so 
 long as the people do." 
 
 " You believe; then, that the theologians have no 
 faith in indulgences 1" 
 
 " I am certain they have not. Whoever attentively 
 examines this doctrine finds it to be new, extravagant, 
 and anti-sciiptural. The early Christians knew nothing 
 about it : there is no vestige of it in the writings of the 
 fathers. How, indeed, can it be supposed that the 
 pope has the power to apply the merits of Jesus Christ 
 to a person who pays him a sum of money, who makes 
 a pilgrimage, or who prays before a particular image ; 
 or to one who persecutes the heretics, who delivers 
 them up to the Inqviisition, and does his utmost to 
 have them burned alive? The Scripture teaches us 
 that the merits of the passion and death of Christ are 
 applicable to us through faith ; not through the opera- 
 tion of any man, but from Jesus Christ himself, who 
 is the only Head of the invisible Church, the only 
 High Priest; as it is written of Him, He, 'because 
 he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 
 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost 
 that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth 
 to make intercession for them. For such an high 
 priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, sepa- 
 rate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens ; 
 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up 
 sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's : 
 for this he did once, when he offered up himself.'* 
 * Hebrews vii. 24 — 27. 
 
 
290 MY FAREWELL TO EOME. 
 
 Such is the doctrine of St. Paul concerning the merits 
 of Christj and their application. As to the merits 
 of the Virgin Mary and other saints, I conceive 
 the inventors of indulgences are altogether mistaken, 
 since no human being whatsoever has any merit due 
 to him for his good works, as it is written, ' So likewise 
 ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are 
 commanded you, say. We are unprofitable servants.'* 
 Certainly, no one of them has any overplus to bestow 
 as a legacy to the Church of Rome." 
 
 " What doings are these ! " exclaimed the canon, 
 turning to his companion. " Who, after hearing these 
 few revelations, can believe any longer in the virtue of 
 indulgences ? " 
 
 " My dear friends," continued I, " there are many 
 other things I could tell you, should I have the pleasure 
 of meeting you again. It is useful to discuss these 
 topics, in order to elucidate the truth; if you cannot 
 do so with me, at least do so among yourselves. Do 
 not be afraid of reading books that are called heretical. 
 You know very well that in this country, whatever is 
 not in accordance with their own doctriaes the priests 
 condemn as heretical ; and it frequently happens that 
 these doctrines are nothing else but what regards the 
 mitre and the belly, as Erasmus said." 
 
 This conversation was not without its good effects. 
 
 My two canons began to open their eyes. Some years 
 
 afterwards I met one of them at Naples, who told me 
 
 of a work on the Bible which they had undertaken 
 
 * Luke xvii. 10. 
 
MY FAEEWELL TO ROME. 291 
 
 conjointly. Their views were truly Christian. May it 
 be the will of God that through faith they may be 
 regenerated into newness of life. 
 
 I continued to pay my parting visits, letting all my 
 friends know that I was about to leave Borne. 
 
 " You intend/' observed some of them, " to return to 
 us, we hope." 
 
 "1 cannot say," J replied; "I do not think my 
 return probable." 
 
 " Oh ! but you will though," said Monsignore Ubal- 
 dini, " a canon of St. Peter's assured me that you would 
 return to Rome to be consecrated bishop. The pope 
 told Monsignore Acton so, the other day, when he was 
 speaking about you." 
 
 " May Heaven preserve me from such a misfortune ! 
 If I could have foreseen such an intention on the part 
 of the pope, I should have done all in my power to 
 have got out of the way of such a chastisement from 
 God." 
 
 " How ! do you call a bishopric a chastisement from 
 God?" 
 
 " And can you esteem it otherwise ? The office of a 
 bishop, such as it is at present in the Romish Church, 
 is altogether uuscriptural. Read the Epistles of St. Paul 
 to Timothy and to Titus, and compare what a bishop 
 ought to be, with what he really is." 
 
 " Well, if you were to be made bishop, you might 
 begin by giving a better example." 
 
 " Yes, and that would serve to send me more speedily 
 to the Inquisition." 
 
 2 
 
292 MY FAREWELL TO ROME. 
 
 " How ! a bishop, for doing his duty, would be sent 
 to the Inquisition ? " 
 
 " Unquestionably. The first duty of a bishop is to 
 preach a ' sound doctrine ;' and that would be sufficient 
 to condemn him at once. The doctrine at present 
 taught by the bishops is no longer that of the evan- 
 gelists or the apostleSj but that of decretals and 
 canons. Do you imagine, my dear monsignore, that I 
 could be brought to tamper with my conscience, so 
 far as to preach diiferently to what I thought ? Do 
 you recollect what I said to you, when Monsignore 
 Acton and yourself used to come to me of an evening 
 to study theology : that the foundation of this science 
 could be found in no other place than in the Holy 
 Scriptures ? "We ought, therefore, as soon as ever we 
 perceive that any doctrine which may be offered to us 
 is in opposition to the Scriptures, immediately to reject 
 it. This you admitted as a principle. We had none 
 of us at that time made application of it, but we were 
 quite resolved to do so when necessity required it. 
 Well, this necessity presented itself to me the moment 
 I became aware that certain doctrines in the Romish 
 Church are opposed to Holy Scripture. You, too, may 
 arrive at the same conclusion, if you will take the 
 trouble to examine these matters for yourself.'' 
 
 " Oh ! that is not very likely to happen. My prac- 
 tice is, to rely entirely on the authority of the Church 
 of Rome, and so I am spared the trouble of any 
 investigation." 
 
 This maxim of Monsignore Ubaldini's, I am sorry to 
 
UY FAREWELL TO ROME. 293 
 
 Say, is generally adopted by men of mere worldly 
 wisdom in the Romish Church. They allege that they 
 are themselves not competent to judge in questions 
 between the Church and the Bible, which of the two 
 has reason on their side, and that it is consequently 
 better to avoid discussion, lest their conscience should 
 be disturbed. " We have no business," say they, " to 
 call the Church to account for any of its acts; we 
 are bound, on the contrary, to give an account if we 
 have not obeyed her." This is their argument, which 
 is full of sophistry and deceit. 
 
 Two opposite feelings at that time influenced my 
 mind with respect to my leaving Rome. I was con- 
 vinced of the necessity of separating myself from a class 
 of persons whom I held in such aversion ; I longed to 
 escape altogether from the city that I considered was 
 polluted by their presence ; and I must frankly confess 
 that I could not help condemning to the utmost the 
 whole race of priests, and invoking the vengeance of 
 Heaven upon the Vatican, hoping that I should myself 
 one day see the people, blessed with the light of 
 truth, and, aware of their own rights, rise up against 
 their oppressors. All this made me desirous to hasten 
 my departure from Rome. On the other hand, I was 
 about to quit the land of my afi^ection : a Roman by 
 birth,* I loved my native country, as I love it now, and 
 as I ever shall love it while life remains. How then 
 could I tear myself away without grief of heart ? In 
 
 * My family ia one of the oldest in Eome, and celebrated for its 
 hostility to the popes, and the persecutions it has endured. 
 
294 MY PAEEWELL TO BOMB. 
 
 the midst of my desire to depart, I was OYervrhelmed 
 witli affliction; at one time I expressed my satisfac- 
 tion, at another my grief, at the thought of going. 
 
 In walking through the streets, I met on every side, 
 lordly priests, who seemed to be the masters of Eome ; 
 cardinals in their gilded coaches, whose looks denoted 
 their desire to be saluted by the passers-by. But I 
 turned aside from theu" path, and looked on the people ; 
 that beloved people, who are not made to be the slaves 
 of priests ; an intelligent people, full of genius and good 
 sense, exceedingly amiable in conversation, uniting wit 
 and elegance of diction with judgment and discern- 
 ment in their mode of thinking; a people proud of 
 their traditionary history, with a natural superiority 
 about them which the priests have never been able 
 to overrule. 
 
 How frequently have I heard one of the laity 
 disputing with a priest, and sometimes having the 
 best of the argument ! I have often stopped to admire 
 their various costumes, especially on festivals; and 
 I took pleasure in witnessing their gaiety. 
 
 One day, passing along the Lungara, in the Traste- 
 vere, I observed a number of persons, ehiefly women, 
 collected together around one of those mendicant friars 
 who go about relating visions and miracles to the 
 people, to induce them to bestow more liberal gifts and 
 offerings to their saints and their Madonnas. He had 
 a box iu his hand, like those in which church money is 
 generally collected, and was just then begging baiocchi 
 for one of his saints. I had the curiosity to stop to 
 
MT FAREWELL TO KOME. 295 
 
 hear what was going on between him and the people, 
 who were joking and laughing around him. 
 
 " Uncle Friar,"* said one of the women, "what a 
 glorious life you lead ! We poor creatures must work 
 hard to get through the dayj oui- husbands have 
 to sweat to gain a morsel of bread ; and we are desti- 
 tute of almost every comfort j but you, through the 
 favour of St. Francis, can live in plenty, without a single 
 care ;' you have nothing upon earth to do, but to come 
 and tell your miracles to us, in the hope of drawing a 
 little money out of our pockets, for you are never satis- 
 fied. Come, work us a miracle, if you can ; persuade 
 St. Francis, who has such wonderful power, to cause us 
 to find a good purse of money when we return home : 
 I promise to share it with you." 
 
 " It is a good joke," observed another woman, "for 
 the friar to seek money of us poor folks. Let him go 
 to the pope ; he has got plenty." 
 
 " Would it not be better," said a fellow who was 
 standing by, " for the friar to make our fortunes, by 
 giving us the lucky numbers in the lottery ? We could 
 give him rare contributions then." 
 
 " Well!" said the friar, "let me goj I see it is of 
 no use my staying here." 
 
 " No, no ! " exclaimed several voices j " you shall not 
 go without giving us the numbers." 
 
 " These friars," observed an old woman, " have deal- 
 
 * A popular mode of addressing the friars at Eome and Naples ; 
 Zifrate, which is similar to zii (uncle). 
 
396 MY FAREWELL TO EOME. 
 
 ings with the devil ; they are sure to know what num- 
 bers will turn up prizes." * 
 
 " I think/' said a boy, " that we had better take the 
 old friar home, and keep him without victuals, till he 
 tells us." 
 
 Another proposed that he should be taken to the 
 osteria, and well plied with wine, in order to get the 
 secret out of him. 
 
 The friar consented to this latter proposition, on the 
 understanding that the wine was good. Accordingly, 
 off they set in a pretty strong body ; and no doubt they 
 got merry enough. 
 
 This little incident led me to reflect on the cause of 
 the idleness and immorality of the common people; 
 and I saw clearly that it had its origin from the ex- 
 ample of this odious class of society, which shuns all 
 manner of employment, detesting industry, and every 
 thing tending to produce ; while, on the other hand, it 
 is greedy to consume : a parasitical race, hving entirely 
 at the expense of others, and on the fat of the land too, 
 without ever troubling their heads about its cultivation. 
 Oh ! how I should like to root out these impostors, 
 scandalous alike for their slothfulness, their ignorance, 
 and their vices ! 
 
 These idle drones are the real cause why, in the 
 southern parts of Italy, we find our population so 
 generally inert and sluggish. They see these friars, 
 
 * The prevalent idea throughout Italy is that priests and monks can 
 name the numbers in the lottery that will come up prizes. 
 
MT FAREWELL TO ROME. 297 
 
 who, like the ravens in the parable, " sow not, neither 
 reap," enjoy all the necessaries of hfe. Is it not very 
 natural that they should look with an envious eye on 
 such an easy lot, and endeavour as much as possible to 
 make their own like it ? Let us hope, for the welfare of 
 my dear country, that this worthless race may be wholly 
 extirpated; and that in future, if any one be deter- 
 mined to turn monk, or hermit, he may do so in the 
 best manner he can ; without coming to disturb others, 
 who in the holy bands of matrimony obey the Divine 
 laws — let him, I say, separate himself entirely from 
 the world, and live in a wilderness at once ; and re- 
 nounce, in good earnest, and not in deceitful words, 
 the comforts and the pleasures of society. 
 
 I was on the point of departure from Rome, when 
 I received a summons from Cardinal Falsacappa. 
 I had never been particularly friendly with him, and 
 did not know that he interested himself about me. 
 I thanked him for having, as he said, spoken favourably 
 of me to the pope, and also for his courteous expres- 
 sions. But the principal object of his desiring to see 
 me was to keep me at Rome, or at least to obtain a 
 promise from me that I would return, as soon as my 
 business at Capua was terminated. 
 
 " No," said I, " I cannot promise what I do not 
 intend to perform. Indeed, to teU your Eminence the 
 plain truth, I do not mean ever to return to Rome 
 again, unless a wonderful miracle should take place." 
 
 " And what would that be?" 
 
 I was silent, to give him to understand that what 
 03 
 
398 MY FABEWELL TO ROME. 
 
 I had in my mind was not to be spoken in the ear of 
 a cardinal, without danger. And in fact his Eminence 
 appeared to take my meaning perfectly well. 
 
 " I understand," said he ; " it is not always pru- 
 dent to speak out : confidence can only exist between 
 friends. A cardinal is frequently to be pitied, since 
 he inspires no confidence, and never enjoys the delights 
 of friendship." 
 
 " And what more than you. already possess, do your 
 Eminences desire?" 
 
 " I ask of you, what is it that we really possess, that 
 is so valuable ? You who are intimate with so many 
 cardinals, know what their life is. Are there in the 
 whole world men more sacrificed than we are ? Loved 
 by no one, not even by our nearest relatives, we are 
 frequently hated by our own brethren; and are cer- 
 tain to incur the odium of all those who desire our 
 favour, protection, or interest, and fail in their hopes. 
 Our very servants are often our enemies : they spy out 
 our faidts and make them known to the public. Every 
 one praises us to our face, even to adulation; behind 
 our backs their censures amount to calumny. Does 
 this appear to you an enviable life ? I think a cardinal 
 is more an object of compassion than of envy. Our 
 only advantage is in the opportunity we occasionally 
 have of doing good to others. And if we always 
 availed ourselves of it, it would be well for us ; other- 
 wise, even that is a misfortune. I mention these 
 things to give you my own idea of a life which many 
 esteem as so fortunate and happy. I cannot, therefore. 
 
MY FAREWELL TO HOME. 299 
 
 ■wish you may ever wear a cardinal's hat. Far better 
 is a private life." 
 
 " I am glad to hear this from your Eminence. You 
 are not the first cardinal who has made these com- 
 plaints. Cardinal Velzi, among others, frequently 
 exhorted me never to desire a dignity like his own, 
 observing that he himself vrould gladly relinquish it. 
 For my part, I make my bow to their Eminences, and 
 do not trouble my head with their aifairs." 
 
 " I understand — you have but little veneration for 
 them. But I do not wish to assume the Cardinal over 
 you. Consider me as a friend, and speak to me as 
 such." 
 
 " Well, then, to a friend I should in all confidence 
 say, that I leave Rome grieved at heart, on account of 
 the abominable acts of the government, and the false 
 and anti- scriptural character of the Church. I would 
 say to a friend, that, having no longer any hope of 
 seeing things mend, in so corrupted a system, my 
 prayer was, that all that was incapable of being 
 reformed might be cut off. All this I should say to a 
 friend, though not to a cardinal. It would need no 
 explanation, since the political and religious state of 
 Rome is sufficiently notorious." 
 
 The good cardinal sighed; he sought, however, to 
 persuade me that imder such circumstances one ought 
 not to abandon one's country, but rather remain in it, 
 and endeavour to be of use. But I convinced him that 
 the idea was altogether hopeless ; that neither he nor 
 I, even with the assistance of some few others, whom 
 
300 MY FAEEWBLL TO ROME. 
 
 we miglit be able to rely upon, could do anything to- 
 wards the reforming of that which was old and callous. 
 It had been tried before, and without success, and the 
 lives of those who made the attempt were sacrificed. 
 And here I remember that the poor cardinal threw his 
 arms round my neck, almost weepiag. 
 
 " All honest men, then," he exclaimed, " aU real 
 lovers of their country, mil abandon us ! Surely the 
 
 wrath of God hangs over us May I be taken 
 
 hence before I see the punishment that is preparing for 
 this unhappy country ! " 
 
 Such were the parting words of the good man, as he 
 dismissed me from his presence. It is well known how 
 he subsequently was the victim of his own philan- 
 thropy.* 
 
 I next visited Cardinal Micara, an old friend of mine, 
 long before he found out that I was also intimate with 
 Lugi da Bagnaja, his enemy and rival, but whom I 
 esteemed for his many good qualities. I esteemed 
 Micara also for his talents and his HberaHty, and above 
 all things, I liked to hear him declaim against the 
 Court of Rome. No cardinal was ever so severe as he 
 was, against the vices and the luxury of this court. He 
 always himself, on gala days, appeared in his old 
 shabby dark-coloured coach, drawn by very ordinary 
 
 * He died of grief, in consequence of the treatment he experienced 
 from Gregory XVI., who when the Cardinal was pleading before his 
 Holiness the cause of some poor liberals who were sacrificed by the 
 cruelty of Cardinal Lambruschini, the Pope harshly reproached him, 
 saying, " Your Eminence must look to your own acts." 
 
MY FAREWELL TO ROME. 301 
 
 horses, and with servants in the plainest livery. He 
 generally resided in the Capuchin monastery, where 
 he dined with the monks, on the common fare. Being 
 made Bishop of Prascati, he inhahited an apartment in 
 the Seminary, and accustomed himself to the same 
 table as the Professors. He would have been accounted 
 an excellent man, in every respect, had he not retained 
 too much of his early education in the cloister, which 
 rendered him jealous, invidious, and censorious ; faults 
 too generally the result of an intercourse with the 
 brotherhood. 
 
 The cardinal was not much liked by his colleagues. 
 I have frequently heard them openly abuse him. This, 
 however, was by no means to his disadvantage ; indeed, 
 the common people, who instinctively hate the whole 
 race of cardinals, liked him all the better on that 
 account. Many of his sayings were ia great repute 
 among them, as well as many passages in his dis- 
 courses before the pope and cardinals, in which he 
 boldly denounced the manner of living among these 
 " princes of the Church." 
 
 At length, having paid and received all my visits, I 
 quitted Rome with a lacerated heart. I had never 
 before experienced so much reluctance to absent my- 
 self, as I felt on the present occasion. I seemed to 
 have given up so many things ! I could not express 
 my sensations : I was like one who is obliged to leave 
 his family at the very moment when they most require 
 his assistance ! I was separated from them in body, 
 but present in spirit. My aflfections were divided 
 
302 MY FAEEWELL TO EOME. 
 
 between love for the people, and hatred for the priests. 
 Yetj although I was overcome with grief, I did not 
 despair. I remembered our Redeemer, who wept over 
 Jerusalem ; and my trust in the providence of the 
 Almighty was a balm to my soul. A voice appeared 
 to sound in my ears, with words of comfort to my 
 heart — " Weep not, endure yet for a season, and you 
 will witness the salvation of your country !" 
 
 " Farewell, Rome \" I exclaimed; "the land of my 
 fathers, the country of my predilection. Thou hast 
 had a glorious page in the annals of the world; thou 
 hast enjoyed a state that no other land can boast, the 
 memory of which will endure to all generations. But 
 what now remains of all thy former grandeur ? A me- 
 lancholy recollection! On every side we behold the 
 remains of thine opulence, thy beauty, and thy prospe- 
 rity. Such was Rome ! Her name only now remains ; 
 her existence is gone : but the name hves, and will 
 long be preserved. Let us, however, hope she may yet 
 revive ; not the Rome of the Caesars, but of the people ; 
 not the haunt of superstition, but the abode of truth. 
 Alas ! at the present moment, where is the boasted 
 wisdom of the senate, the majesty of the people? A 
 foolish government dishonours, an evil one persecutes 
 us, and renders the descendants of heroes imbecile and 
 depraved. Farewell, then, Rome of the priesthood! 
 The mists from the Tiber are thickening around thee, 
 and shutting out from thy sight the Vatican which 
 has enslaved thee with its sorceries. Oh, my beloved 
 Rome ! a sun is arising in the east which shall gladden 
 
MY FAEEWELL TO KOME. 303 
 
 all around, and dispel the darkness of the horizon : a sun 
 which shall not again he obscured." 
 
 Thus did I hid adieu to Rome. And what was to 
 be my future destiny? I knew not. My going to 
 Naples was a mere pretext, to enable me to get away. 
 I felt a strong impulse to extend my journey to a far 
 greater distance. The idea of a more spiritual sepa- 
 ration from Rome was also busy in my brain ; a sepa- 
 ration more complete than could be effected by any 
 distance of sea or land ; and for this, unconsciously to 
 myself, everything was preparing. The ways of the 
 Lord are different from our ways, they are the dispo- 
 sitions of that adorable Providence which regulates the 
 most important actions of our lives. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 On quitting Rome I no longer thought of its mate- 
 rial objects, its churches, and its palaces; but of its 
 unworthy government, and its degraded race of priests 
 and friars. As yet I had never visited Naples; I 
 fancied to myself that in most respects it was less 
 objectionable than Rome. I passed over the Pontine 
 Marshes, that famous Maremma, on which Pope Pius 
 VI. expended so large a sum, in order to drain it, and 
 render it free from the malaria that infested it, but 
 which still continues the same. I arrived at Capua, 
 which town I was soon to revisit, to preach the Lent 
 sermons ; a vast number of priests were here mixed 
 up with a few townspeople and soldiers. At length 
 I reached the city of Naples, where, as every one 
 knows, the eye wandering among the busy throngs 
 that are perpetually hurrying through the streets, 
 discovers, on every side, innumerable hats of priests 
 and cowls of monks ; and, what at first sight excites so 
 much surprise, friars of every colour, order, and de- 
 nomination ; who pursue each other through the crowd. 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 305 
 
 as regardless of the tumult, as if they were in the seclu- 
 sion of their own cloisters. " "Well 1 " thought I to 
 myself, "Rome is not the only place that is over- 
 stocked with these gentry ; Naples has its full share of 
 them as well." 
 
 Naples is an exceedingly fine city, abundantly en- 
 riched by nature, and endowed with every gift calculated 
 to ameliorate the condition of man, and to improve 
 society. In casting our eyes over this delightful country, 
 where variety and harmony, beyond the reach of art, 
 prevail on every side; where nature, often in other 
 countries sparing of her bounty, here lavishes her 
 utmost, to produce the beautiful, the lovely, and the 
 enchanting, we are called upon to acknowledge that it 
 is a land especially gifted by Providence. As I then saw 
 and enjoyed it, I blamed myself for not having visited 
 it sooner, and 1 made a resolution to remain in it, until 
 some weighty reason should determine me to the con- 
 trary. 
 
 As it wanted but a few days to Lent, I chose to 
 remain incognito during that time, busying myself in 
 studying the genius of the people, and the manners 
 and habits of the various classes. The tumult of the 
 city, at all hours, and in all parts, was equally novel 
 and strange to me ; as was likewise the great contrast 
 I observed between those who were in authority, and 
 those whose duty it was to obey: the first, full of 
 importance, and proud of their privileges, assumed not 
 merely an air of superiority, but of disdain and con- 
 tempt for the lower classes ; who, in their turn, aware 
 
306 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS." 
 
 of their necessities, and humiliated by their lot, be- 
 trayed in their countenances a sense of their utter 
 degradation, and seemed themselves to authorize the 
 slavery that debased them. 
 
 This moral deformity presented a strange contrast to 
 the physical beauty that reigned on every side : the one 
 inspiring satisfaction and delight, the other abhorrence 
 and disgust. Naples itself is a paradise ; but the 
 Neapolitans, to what are they to be likened ? What- 
 ever they are, it is the government which has made 
 them so. The people — and by the people I do not 
 merely understand the lower orders, but even those 
 who inhabit the court — ^have not a single fault that is 
 not to be attributed to their rulers : the better they are 
 by nature, the worse they become by their education. 
 This evil is more apparent in the capital than in the 
 provinces ; an evident proof that the government and 
 the court occasion the evil, and the consequent demo- 
 ralization ; in fact, it is with the king himself, who sets 
 the example, that the whole mischief originates. 
 
 Suppose a lazzaroni steals a handkerchief out of your 
 pocket; might he not plead in excuse that others 
 commit far greater robberies with impunity? Does 
 not theft pervade every rank of society, even to royalty 
 itself? What barefaced depredations are not made 
 on the public purse, under the title of salaries and 
 stipends, for duties which do not exist ! Whatever 
 vices prevail in the lower classes, are invariably to be 
 found in a greater degree in the higher, and more 
 especially in the court circle. Lying, which is so 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 307 
 
 common a vice among the lower ordersj is elevated to 
 a science in the middle class, while among the nobility 
 it is regarded as a grace and a sort of gallantry, and 
 with the king and his ministers it is esteemed as an 
 essential principle in the art of governing. 
 
 The wife who lies to her husband, and the children 
 who do the same to their parents, encourage by their 
 example the servants, who consequently lie to their 
 masters ; and all these persons are encouraged to do so 
 by the priest, who, in his confessional, pardons, without 
 any sort of hesitation, every species of falsehood of 
 which they accuse themselves. Lying and thieving, 
 which in all civilized countries are held in detestation, 
 are in this unhappy land almost regarded as virtues. 
 Blame is only attached to the practice when it is 
 unskilfully performed, so as to bring disgrace upon 
 the order of liars and thieves, en masse. 
 
 I reflected much on the lamentable condition of a 
 people destined by nature to be virtuous rather than 
 vicious ; and I was moved at the consideration of the 
 real cause of their misery. The immorality of the 
 people is entirely owing to its government ; that is to 
 say, to its unjust laws and its corrupt magistrates. 
 The police protects every description of iniquity, and 
 leagues itself with malefactors. Money, the source of 
 all evil, changes the face of everything. Both witness 
 and judge are notoriously sold to the highest bidder; 
 it is money, therefore, and not right, which decides a 
 cause. For money, the police is either alert or other- 
 wise ; it either invents crimes, or conceals them. For 
 
308 NAPLES ANB THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 money, the king grants pardons, and out of the sums so 
 applied a large portion finds its way into the pockets of 
 the confessor, and the servants about court. What 
 wonder can there be then that the example of the mini- 
 sters of religion, whose ofiB.ce it is to govern and to 
 instruct, should be so generally followed ? Money is, in 
 reality, the god that is worshipped in Italy. Naples 
 is the kingdom of the Church j Rome is the state. It 
 is in Naples that the papistry of Home is in the fullest 
 vigour, and the poor Neapolitans furnish abundant 
 proof of the iniquity of the system : they are the 
 rowers of the pope's grand bark, and the king is at 
 their head. The priests rule in every direction ; they 
 insinuate themselves in a thousand ways into every 
 body's concerns, and, directly or indirectly, possess an 
 influence over all. Through confession they obtain 
 dominion over the very minds of men, and discover 
 their most secret thoughts and intentions. Whoever 
 would ascertain what priestcraft really is, and the 
 mischief it occasions in Italy, let him go to Naples. 
 
 It was during Lent, in the year 1835, that I went to 
 Capua, and was the guest of Cardinal Serra Cassani. 
 The cardinal was an exceedingly polite man, but to 
 myself his attention was more than ordinary. His 
 attendants remarked to me that they had never known 
 him so much at home with any one before, and that 
 he addressed me as his dearest friend. 
 
 Every day I preached, both morning and evening, 
 and I had also other duties assigned to me by the 
 cardinal : to draw up rules for monastic bodies, to lay 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 309 
 
 doMQ a plan of study for the seminary, to suggest 
 measures of reform with respect to the clergy, &c. were 
 what I had to attend to. Besides which, he was in the 
 habit of frequently consulting me on other matters. 
 Our conversation was unrestrained : and I frequently 
 had the satisfaction of declaring the truth to one whose 
 ears had hitherto been accustomed only to the voice of 
 adulation, as he was exceedingly wealthy, and held a 
 sort of court, in which his will was absolute. Did it 
 happen that any one contradicted or offended him, even 
 in a single instance, he was sure to visit the culprit with 
 his indignation ; and if he were in his service, he ran 
 the risk of being immediately discharged. All his 
 dependents, therefore, trembled before him, and watched 
 with anxiety the expression of his eye. However much 
 he might be in the wrong, his servile followers were 
 obliged to say : " Your Eminence is in the right." He 
 was like one of the feudal barons of the middle ages, 
 with respect to the ^tate and tyranny of his conduct. 
 I was greatly amused at his extravagances ; and as I did 
 not fear him, I sacrificed nothing of my own indepen- 
 dence in my demeanour towards him. No argument of 
 any consequence took place between us, although I 
 often endeavoured to lead the conversation to serious 
 topics; the cardinal, in fact, had not much head for 
 subjects of high importance. All that I could do was, 
 to present a few words of truth to him, in the simplest 
 form, since he was incompetent to enter into any grave 
 discussion. He dishked to talk of religion, but de- 
 lighted to expatiate on the Church j on the dignity 
 
310 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 of bishops and cardinals; of the privileges of the 
 clergy, of their immunity^ &c. He was frequently at 
 issue, nevertheless, with his clergy, and had many 
 important lawsuits with the heads of the cathedral and 
 the collegiate church. Consequently, he was generally 
 disliked : it may, indeed, he averred that he was beloved 
 by no one at Naples, not even by his own relations, 
 
 I relate these circumstances, which are well known 
 to all his acquaintance, in order that the true character 
 of these sons of the Church of Rome, in her last days, 
 may be known. The cardinal, who was a man of 
 very slender ability, had already occupied the post of 
 Apostolic Nuncio, at the Court of Bavaria, and had 
 performed good service in that capacity for the Holy 
 See ; having obtained, as he himself told me, from that 
 country large sums of money, by the sale of indulgences 
 and papal dispensations. He had, moreover, executed 
 many important commissions on the part of the Propa- 
 ganda and the Inquisition ; and even, on one occasion, 
 had successfully resisted the power of the king, in his 
 attempt to interfere in some ecclesiastical matters. 
 " Your Majesty must recollect," said he, " that you are 
 the subject of the Church." These few words, the 
 cardinal observed, were sufficient to stop the proceed- 
 ings of his majesty. 
 
 In these matters he was adroit enough. His alter- 
 cations with the King of Naples were perfectly amusing, 
 and no one was more frank than he was in expressing 
 his sentiments. But the worst of it was, that all his 
 courageous efforts were directed either to matters of no 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 311 
 
 importance whatever, or to support things decidedly 
 wrong and bad. Never, in a single instance, that ever 
 came to my knowledge at least, was there any subject 
 discussed between the king and him, of a noble or 
 useful nature; though he was continually perplexing 
 his brains with government affairs, and censuriug the 
 ministers, or giving them his advice. 
 
 He took great deligiit in all private gossip, and 
 Neapolitan jokes, which are often none of the most 
 decent ; and encouraged all dealers in satire, provided 
 it was directed against classes he deemed fitting sub- 
 jects for it ; more especially against the monks, for 
 whom he professed very little regard. With the pope 
 or the cardinals, however, it was different : no one 
 was permitted to censure them in his presence. Never- 
 theless, I often took the liberty of doing so myself, on 
 which occasions I never failed to receive a gentle reproof. 
 
 " Ah ! you are no friend to cardinals," said he to 
 me one day. 
 
 " On the contrary," I replied, " I am so much their 
 friend, that nothing would give me more pleasure than 
 to introduce a good reform among them, and give them 
 an opportunity of becoming estimable characters. The 
 good Bishop Bartholomew, the primate of Hungary, 
 was of the same opinion when he exclaimed before the 
 CouncU. of Trent : Illustrissimi et Reverendissimi Car- 
 dinali indigent illustrissima et reverendissima reforma- 
 tione.* Three ages have elapsed since this exclamation 
 
 * " The Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Cardinals require a 
 most illustrious aud a moat reverend reformation." 
 
313 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLWANS. 
 
 was made, but notLing as yet has resulted from it. 
 Who, indeed, can ever reform them, so long as they 
 alone possess the privilege of doing so ?" 
 
 " The pope, who is their superior, may reform 
 them." 
 
 " And the pope himself, who is to reform him ? " 
 
 " The Almighty." 
 
 " May it be so." 
 
 On my leaving Eome, Olivieri, the Father- General 
 of the Dominicans, and head commissioner of the In- 
 quisition, had deputed me to go to Mugnano, in. the 
 diocese of Nola, where the celebrated new saint, Philo- 
 mena, the pretended worker of so many recent miracles, 
 is held in great veneration. The Inquisition was not 
 quite satisfied with the manner in which the priest 
 Don Francesco di Lucia had exhibited these miracles 
 to the public. This priest, it seems, was in possession 
 of certain reliques, fragments of bones, which he had 
 brought away from Rome in the year 1803, and sub- 
 sequently enclosed within a httle image of papier macM, 
 originally a figure of Christ, such as are sold at Naples, 
 to which he added a female mask and suitable gar- 
 ments, disposing the image iua sleeping attitude. Thus 
 metamorphosed into a female, the worthy priest soon 
 found a name for his saint, although no one could tell 
 whether the bones had belonged to a male or a female.* 
 Be that as it may, he was the first to celebrate their 
 
 * In the cemetery near to these bones, a broken stone was found, on 
 which was to be read the following inscription : — Lumena in Faceff 
 Fi . . . Don Francesco, on the authority of the sacristan, had no doubt 
 the word Filumena was signified by the Fi. . , , 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 313 
 
 fame, and set up a sanctuary, in wMch such astonishing 
 prodigies were soon said to be performed, that ignorant 
 peasants came in crowds from all the neighbouring 
 parts, to worship the new idol, bringing their offerings 
 with them, and inducing other devout idolaters to do 
 the same. 
 
 I was therefore authorized by the commissioner to 
 reprove the priest, on account of the numerous tales 
 he had spread abroad, respecting the life, death, and 
 miracles of his wonderful saint. I was directed to 
 inform him that not one of his boasted prodigies could 
 be believed, since there was no evidence whatever of 
 their having actually occurred ; and that the Roman 
 Inquisition entirely disapproved of his conduct, and 
 was on the point of condemning all the books he had 
 published on the subject of his saint. 
 
 I undertook this office with considerable satisfaction, 
 as I had for a long time been disgusted with all the 
 fabulous stories of saints and miracles that inundated 
 Italy, and Europe, and were even introduced into the 
 sermons of the missionaries of the Propaganda. Accord- 
 ingly, during the Holy week, when I had no duty to 
 perform, I took upon me to go to Mugnano, accom- 
 panied by Monsignor Angostini, a preacher in the 
 collegiate church of Santa Maria. Our arrival was 
 hailed with great pleasure by Don Francesco, who, at 
 the sight of us, flattered himself that two preachers 
 from Capua had actually become followers of his saint. 
 He accordingly began in his usual style to vaunt her 
 perfections, and the wonders she had performed. 
 
 P 
 
314 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 " See," said he to me, pointing to the image, '' this 
 samt is different from all other saints in existence. 
 She knows beforehand the favours her devotees come 
 to ask of her, and she shows in a decided manner 
 whether she intends to grant their suit or not. A 
 few days ago a bishop, I shall not tell his name, came 
 to pay his respects to Saint Philomena; I saw at once 
 that she was displeased at his visit, as she visibly 
 changed countenance, and assumed a pale and sad 
 aspect : whereas, on the very same day, when the 
 Marchioness of E-iso, from Naples, came here, her 
 aspect was altogether different. I wish you could have 
 seen how handsome she looked ! The marchioness told 
 me that she had come to ask a favour, but that she 
 found it was granted, even before she had arrived at 
 Mugnano." 
 
 " I hope our visit will be acceptable to your saiat," 
 said I ; " and that she will look favourably upon us 
 when you make us acquainted with her. I do not 
 know whether my friend here has any boon to ask of 
 her. For my own part, I require nothing at all from 
 her saintship." 
 
 Before withdrawing the curtain that concealed his 
 oracle from the common gaze, the priest showed us a 
 piece of marble upon the altar, which, he said, having 
 been accidentally broken in two pieces, the saint 
 miraculously joined them together, and made it as 
 perfect as before. I however begged leave to point 
 out to him that there were pretty evident marks of its 
 having been joiaed together in the ordinary way, by 
 
NAPLES AND TEE NEAPOLITANS. 315 
 
 mastic. He also showed me a little shrine, from 
 which, as he assured me, the reliques of the saint, 
 after having been carefully placed there by his own 
 hands, suddenly disappeared; because the owner of it 
 was not sufficiently devout. As I could allege nothing 
 to the contrary, I made no remark upon this, but 
 merely smiled at his absurdity. Don Francesco now 
 rang the great bell o£ the church, lighted the candles 
 upon the altar, and assembled the people. Among 
 them I particularly noticed twenty or thirty young 
 girls, who were maintained at the expense of the 
 priest, out of the money given to Saint PhUomena; 
 their office was to pray to the saint in behalf of those 
 persons who presented gifts to her. 
 
 Now these girls, with loud shrill voices, frequently 
 raised to their extremest pitch, chanted their customary 
 prayers, in the same style of excitement as the poor 
 old women at Naples, in the chapel of St. Januarius, 
 invoke the saint to perform his annual miracle of hque- 
 fying his own blood. Other young girls sounded the 
 various bells belonging to the church, while Don Fran- 
 cesco, devoutly kneeling, exposed the sacred reliques. 
 We, for our part, were lost in admiration, at beholding 
 such solemn ceremonies on so ridicidous an occasion as 
 the appearance of a painted doll, dressed in female 
 attire, with a few bones withinside, and which was 
 called Saint Philomena. 
 
 " Oh ! how beautiful she is," exclaimed Don Fran- 
 cesco, turning towards us. "Observe the charming 
 colour of her cheeks ; she is like a rose of Paradise ! " 
 
 p3 
 
316 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 " Which is a good sign, I suppose, is it not ?" I 
 replied. " She must be greatly pleased with our visit." 
 
 " Undoubtedly she is," he returned, " and quite 
 disposed to grant whatever you may ask of her." 
 
 " Is she then omnipotent ? " 
 
 " Why, as to that, she is the daughter of the 
 Omnipotent God, and dispenses all his favours; she 
 keeps the treasury of the Divine grace, and to her 
 friends she denies nothing; what she receives in heaven, 
 she freely bestows upon earth ; she takes from the hand 
 of God, and gives to us." 
 
 " Don Francesco," said I to him, " all this appears 
 to me an idle dream, it agrees with no doctrine in 
 theology. Christianity is not based on these super- 
 stitions, but on real facts. Who has told you that 
 your saint is such as you report her to be ? Besides, 
 what you affirm concerning her, is also affirmed of 
 hundreds, nay, thousands of other saints, who are said 
 to be equally powerful ; all have access to the Divine 
 treasury, all deal in miracles, prodigies, and conjura- 
 tions alike. Now, with so many saints to intercede 
 for us, what becomes of the office of Jesus Christ, of 
 whom it is said by John, that he is our only advocate 
 with the Father, that he intercedes for us ? Moreover, 
 He himself says, ' Come unto me, all ye that labour, 
 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' * ' No 
 man cometh unto the Father but by me.' t Now, it is 
 clear that you, Don Francesco, have recourse to others 
 than the Lord Jesus Christ, to gain admission to the 
 * Matt. xi. 28. f John xIt. 6. 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 317 
 
 Father. Take care you do not altogether mistake the 
 way, and teach what is not true. For it is written, 
 ' If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the 
 ditch.' " * 
 
 Don Francesco appeared greatly disconcerted by so 
 public a rebuke as this : it was what he so little expected. 
 He concealed his embarrassment, however, as well as 
 he could, and continued, but with less assurance, his 
 account of Saint Philomena. 
 
 " See here," said he, " one cannot deny that her 
 hair grows, or that she has moved her feet, they are more 
 stretched out and curved than they were. She even 
 changed her position a little time ago," 
 
 " She, do you say? tell me, do you mean the saint 
 herself, or the pasteboard image ? for I do not suppose 
 you have operated the change, or transubstantiation, of 
 the saint into papier mache, and vice versd! What 
 does it signify if the paper doll has become a little 
 twisted by the changes in the temperature of the 
 atmosphere ? Why, the ropes of the church bells are 
 affected in the same way ; they become longer when the 
 weather is damp, and shorter when it is dry. These 
 miracles of yours all arise from natural causes. Even 
 suppose it otherwise, what benefit would it be to the 
 Church if the image really moved itself about ? Divine 
 miracles always have an important object, never being 
 wrought but for purposes of exceeding utility. Do 
 you ever read in the Bible about miracles, performed as 
 it were in sport, or to satisfy vain curiosity, such as these 
 * Matt. xy. 14. 
 
318 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 of your saint? Religion has no need of such, and 
 they do her no honour. I wish to heaven that we had 
 never talked of the miracles of Saint Anthony, of Saint 
 Vincent, and others, which are only derogatory to the 
 excellence and the truth of those operated by the 
 Saviour and his apostles. In those early days of 
 Christianity there was a necessity for miracles, in order, 
 as one of the Fathers expresses it, to water the new 
 plants of the religion of Christ. Those plants are now 
 strong and healthy, and have no need to be watered as 
 they formerly were." 
 
 At these words I saw the priest evince great signs of 
 dissatisfaction. He eyed me askance, his lip quivered 
 with a sort of convulsive movement. It appeared that 
 he had a reply ready for me, which he had probably 
 been concocting all the time I had been lecturing him. 
 I paused therefore to give him an opportunity of 
 speaking. 
 
 " Then you have no faith in the miracles of St. 
 Philomena?" 
 
 " What miracles do you mean ? Those you have 
 spoken of are no miracles at all. The operations of 
 natxire, even when most extraordinary, are not miracles. 
 Miracles are above the power of nature, and contrary 
 to her laws. AH that you have brought forward is 
 child's play, mere nonsense. As to the other marvels 
 you tell me of — the instantaneous cures that have been 
 effected, of gifts and visions from heaven, of angels 
 appearing, and of devils being put to flight — I hold 
 them all to be pure inventions. You seem angry with 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 319 
 
 me for discrediting your account ; 1 hope you will be 
 less so with the cardinals of the Inquisition, who, I can 
 assure you, as well as myself, highly disapprove of your 
 wonderful relations, and hold them all as fables. And, 
 moreover, I have to inform you, which I do in the 
 presence of Monsignor Angostini, brother of the Pope's 
 Sacristan, that the rebuke I have given you is at the 
 special direction of th,e Commissioner-General of the 
 Holy Office." 
 
 At these words the priest hung down his head, as 
 one who already hears the judge pronouncing his 
 sentence. I saw that he was effectually humbled, and 
 therefore did not carry my reproof any further. 
 
 " My dear Don Francesco," I said, " the religion of 
 Jesus Christ, which we both profess, is truth in its 
 most luminous aspect ; but it is as a mirror, which 
 becomes sullied by human breath. If it be entirely 
 from God, man can add nothing to it. It is our duty 
 to receive it such as it is, without seeking to embellish 
 it with our own inventions, however holy or spiritual 
 they may appear to be. Grievous superstitions have in 
 this manner been introduced into Christianity. If our 
 holy fathers of the early ages could return to this 
 world, they would find so many abuses and falsehoods 
 among us, that they would no longer recognise the 
 holy spouse of Christ. Give up, therefore, Don Fran- 
 cesco, these idle stories about St. Philomena, which cause 
 great injury to the simple-minded, in leading them 
 to worship, instead of the Lord Jesus Christ, a created 
 being, nay, even dead bones and a senseless image. 
 
320 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 May God pardon you the oifence you have already 
 committed." 
 
 In carrying out the orders of the Commissary General 
 Olivieri, I certainly rather exceeded the limits of my 
 authority^ since I gave the priest reason to apprehend 
 more than was actually intended; but I wished, if 
 possible, to put a stop to his proceedings. My com- 
 panion shrugged his shoulders, and though he would 
 not himself have willingly gone so far, still, seeing the 
 air with which I carried it off, he made no objection, 
 but on the contrary, nodded several times in token of 
 approbation. 
 
 And what, it may be asked, was really the effect of 
 my lecture on the mind of Don Francesco? I verily 
 believe it had none whatsoever; since, as I afterwards 
 understood, he continued his practices exactly in the 
 same style, and I never heard that the Inquisition took 
 any steps towards interfering with them. Perhaps Don 
 Francesco may have learned to accommodate his lies on 
 the subject, according to the prescribed rules of the 
 Holy Congregation of Rites, and consequently is no 
 longer at variance with Rome. The miracles attri- 
 buted to this saint have been trumpeted forth to all 
 the world, and her worship, or rather idolatry, extends 
 everywhere. The King of Naples, his whole family, 
 itnd the members of his court, are among her most 
 zealous supporters, and Don Alfonzo d'Avalos, the Court 
 Grand-master of the ceremonies, has the honour of 
 being her treasurer ! 
 
 " What is your opinion with respect to this Saint 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 331 
 
 Philomena ? " inquired the cardinal one day, as we 
 were discoursing together. 
 
 " I think it is a gross piece of idolatry to worship 
 her," I replied. " I reproved Don Francesco for his 
 fanaticism pretty severely. But how is it possible to 
 convince a priest? One might as well argue with a 
 block of stone. To what a pass has religion come in 
 this country of ours ^ to the worship of images and 
 reliquesj to the adoration of the Madonna and the 
 saints. And God, or Jesus Christ, serve only as names 
 to cover or sanction this species of idolatry, under the 
 title of the Christian religion. No, your Eminence, 
 this is not Christianity, it has been corrupted by the 
 priests altogether. And what are our bishops about '< 
 They shut their eyes to what is going on, regardless of 
 their responsibility in these matters. Every shepherd 
 is bound to take care of his flock ; he who neglects 
 this duty is a hireling, and unworthy of his charge. 
 Now, what is the Bishop of Nola about, while these 
 impostures are being carried on in his diocese ? " 
 
 " Why, they say they pull together in that respect ; 
 but I do not believe it," replied the cardinal. 
 
 It is notorious how the worship of saints increases, 
 as well as the fame of their miracles. The priests and 
 the bishops favour the practice alike. The cardinal, 
 although he appeared to disapprove of this affair of 
 Saint Philomena, was only instigated by his desire to 
 pay greater homage to other saints, whose repute he 
 was more interested in advocating. But what can be 
 advanced in favour of these proceedings, when it is 
 
 P 3 
 
323 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 seen that the greatest saint in the Eomish Church is 
 that of whom the greatest lies have been invented? 
 They only are true saints, who, without any of these pre- 
 tensions, died, according to the old Latin phrase, nel bacio 
 del Siffnore ; they alone are those whom God acknow- 
 ledges as such, and whom we trust to meet in heaven. 
 
 During my stay at Capua, before the terminatioJi of 
 Lent, a certain Monsignor Lasteria, Bishop of Zante 
 and Cephalonia, came on a visit to Cardinal Serra. He 
 was a native of Capua, and had formerly been the 
 cardinal's secretary. The object of his visit vras, 
 apparently, to solicit the good oiSces of the cardinal 
 with the Propaganda, to obtain leave for him to resign 
 the bishopric he held, possibly with a view of obtaining 
 a translation to some see in the dominions of the King 
 of Naples. The cardinal had broached the matter to 
 the Propaganda some time before, but the grand diffi- 
 culty appeared to be the providing another bishop for 
 Zante and Cephalonia. I was applied to on the occa- 
 sion, and asked if I knew of any fit person whom I could 
 recommend to this bishopric, which was a difficult post 
 to fill, as the Romish Church was there placed between 
 the Anglican and the Greek Church. His Eminence 
 repeatedly urged me to name some one of my acquaint- 
 ance, to present to the Propaganda, instead of Mon- 
 signor Lasteria. 
 
 I was wearied by these frequent applications, and 
 one day briefly told the cardinal that I had neither a 
 Titus, nor a Timothy to propose, hoping that after 
 such an observation I should be no more troubled on 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 323 
 
 the subject. But not many days after he came to seek 
 me with a very satisfied and condescending air. 
 
 " I hope," said he, " that you will acknowledge the 
 will of God in the proposition I am about to make you. 
 The holy Father, on the recommendation of the secre- 
 tary of the Propaganda, has signified his approval of 
 your succeeding Monsignor Lasteria yourself, in the 
 bishopric of these two Ionian Islands; and besides 
 which he invests you with the charge of the bishopric 
 of Corfu. He observed, however, after having spoken 
 very favourably of you, that he could not oblige you to 
 accept this office in a foreign country, but at any rate, 
 if it did not please you, it need only be for a short 
 time, as he should himself be better satisfied to have 
 you in Rome." 
 
 " Many thanks to your Eminence, as well as to the 
 Pope, and to the secretary of the Propaganda. This 
 office, which in the time of the apostles was very de- 
 sirable, according to the words of St. Paul to Timothy,* 
 is now no longer so; at least, not in my eyes. Indeed, 
 such as the episcopacy is in our day, I would counsel 
 no man to accept it : far less would I accept it myself. 
 My objection does not apply alone to the see of the 
 Ionian Islands, but to every bishopric whatsoever, be- 
 longing to the Church of Rome. The laws and general 
 usages connected with them are such that I could never 
 conform myself to them, either as regards practice or 
 precept. I wish it therefore to be understood that I do 
 not refuse a poor bishopric, in the hope of obtaining a 
 * 1 Tim. ui. 1. 
 
324 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 rich one, but it is the dignity itself, the prelacy that I 
 object to; what I consider therefore as a dangerous 
 acquisition, I am by no means disposed to possess." 
 
 " Come, take three days to consider of it. Your 
 refusal is too hasty, you ought to reflect before you 
 decide. Offer up your prayers these three days to the 
 Lord and the most holy Madonna, that they may 
 enHghten you." 
 
 " Well, I will wait three days, and offer up my 
 prayers to the Lord, and at the end of that time will 
 communicate the result to your Eminence." 
 
 A few hours after the expiration of the allotted period, 
 the cardinal came to me again to know my decision. 
 
 " Every thing," observed I, " strengthens me in the 
 resolution I have already expressed to your Eminence, 
 of declining to accept the bishopric. I look at what is 
 true in the office, and at what is false. The duty of a 
 bishop is essentially that of a shepherd; as the one 
 leads his flock to pasture, so the other conducts his 
 people into the way of truth. But the shepherd has 
 become the doctor. He has, and very inappropriately, 
 assumed a command, an authority, a jurisdiction, a 
 power which usurps dominion : yet He who said to 
 Peter, ' Feed my sheep, feed my lambs,' also said to 
 him, and to all the apostles, ' Ye know that the princes 
 of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they 
 that are great exercise authority upon them. But it 
 shall not be so among you.'* Now the office of a 
 bishop at the present day is totally opposite to what it 
 » Matt. XX. 25, 26. 
 
NAPLES AND THJS NEAPOLITANS. 325 
 
 ought to be. By a bishop, we understand an ecclesi- 
 astic who, in consequence of possessing a dominion, 
 has authority and a right to command, which right it is 
 pretended he receives from Christ, through the apostles. 
 But it is evident that the apostles themselves never had 
 such right. And what are our present bishops ? Shep- 
 herds? Would to God they led their flocks to the 
 pastures of truth, to the holy Word ! If any one in 
 the present day were to fulfil his duty as bishop, accord- 
 ing to the original signification of the office, he would 
 soon be at issue with Rome, from whence all the scan- 
 dal proceeds, and which stigmatizes as innovations any 
 return to the customs and observances of the early 
 times of Christianity." 
 
 " I have no more to say then. If you refuse, I will 
 write and tell them they must choose another. Have 
 you any one to propose ? " 
 
 " There is at Rome, among the Dominicans, a mis- 
 sionary, one Father Hynes, an Irishman, who has 
 lately come over from the United States, in the hope of 
 obtaining promotion. He would be very fit for the 
 Ionian Islands." 
 
 The next day the cardinal came again with a letter 
 in his hand. " I am going to send," said he, " your 
 answer to Rome. I have stated that, for certain private 
 reasons, you cannot accept the ofi'er that has been made 
 you. Am I right? Shall I send the letter? or do 
 you think better of it ?" 
 
 " I request yo\ir Eminence will forward the letter at 
 once. And since you have already shown me so much 
 
326 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 kindness, I am encouraged to open my mind still fur- 
 ther to you. I wish to send these two other letters to 
 Rome J one to Cardinal Polidoro, Prefect of the Con- 
 gregation of Discipline, and the other to Monsignor 
 Acton, the secretary, to request from the pope my secu- 
 larization. I wish to quit the Order to which I belong: 
 it brings me too much before the public. I have no 
 ambitious desires, and would rather lead a quiet hfe, as 
 a simple priest, without any office whatsoever in the 
 Church. I feel myself called by God to preach accord- 
 ing to his "Word ; and in the performance of that duty 
 I would willingly spend the remainder of my existence. 
 I should also resume the delivery of my scientific lec- 
 tures. I have another strong reason for relinquishing 
 this Order, in which I can never hope to enjoy any 
 tranquillity, since with my own eyes I have witnessed 
 the irregularities that are practised in the different 
 monasteries I have visited. It has, moreover, the addi- 
 tional dishonour of having provoked the pope to dismiss 
 the Father General Olivieri.* At Rome, in that most 
 abominable monastery of the Minerva, all who have 
 any good about them are sure to be persecuted, as was 
 the case with my friend Bronchetti. I can no longer 
 live among such people. I shall request my passport, 
 and leave them." 
 
 " And where will you go ? " 
 
 * For six hundred years it had never happened that the General of 
 the Order had been dismissed by the Pope. It was the contrivance of 
 a few ambitious friars, among whom Monsignor O'Finan, Bishop of 
 Killala, in Ireland, was the most active. 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 327 
 
 " I cannot tell : probably I shall remain some time 
 in Naples, if they will leave me alone. I foresee a 
 secret persecution hatching up against me. I shall live 
 entirely to myself, if I am allowed to do so, and shall 
 attend solely to study and preaching." 
 
 The cardinal did all in his power to dissuade me. 
 He averred I was tempted by the devil, that I was 
 relinquishing a very desirable position, that I should 
 give great offence at Rome, and only bring ruin on my- 
 self. He added, that he should immediately set about 
 writing letters in opposition to mine, to throw all pos- 
 sible impediments in my way ; and said many other 
 things, just as they came into his head. I let him talk 
 on, and pursued my own measures. 
 
 In this state of affairs I left Capua, with abundance 
 of courteous expressions on the part of the cardinal, 
 which it is needless to repeat. But, in a letter that 
 he wrote to Cardinal Caracciolo, Archbishop of Naples, 
 he reiterated all the personal compliments he had paid 
 to me ; of which letter the archbishop kindly sent me 
 a copy; and I still preserve it among other papers. 
 Cardinal Serra, moreover, on my taking leave of him, 
 made me some presents, and favoured me with two 
 appointments — one to preach during Lent in 1847, in 
 another of his churches; and the other to confess, in 
 perpetuo, in the whole of his vast diocese, which he told 
 me was a distinguished privilege that he never before 
 granted to any one. 
 
 This authority to pardon sins, which the bishops take 
 upon themselves to grant, is a great abuse in the Church 
 
328 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 of Home. It is a gross imposition, a monopoly, a very 
 usurpation. I do not here enter into the question of 
 auricular confession ; I confine my remarks, for the 
 present, to the privilege of granting absolution for sins, 
 which the bishops confer on their friends. To myself 
 it was given in its utmost latitude, for an unlimited 
 period, and for every species of crime. In general, the 
 power is not granted for any length of time. In Rome, 
 it is seldom for more than six months, in Naples, three 
 only. When it is granted for a year, it may be annually 
 renewed, on application to the bishop. It is seldom 
 conceded without the party^s being examined on the 
 doctrine of casuistry at least, and never for every 
 description of sin. Every bishop has his own list of 
 reserved cases, that is to say, some particular sins, not 
 comprised in the general list of pardonable offences; 
 and for these the confessor is obliged to seek the assist- 
 ance of the bishop. There are some indeed which the 
 bishops themselves cannot absolve, the pope always 
 reserving to himself, in these graver matters, the power 
 of absolution; and the confessor is obliged on such 
 occasions to apply to his holiness himself, who, in his 
 turn, refers him to the grand penitentiary, since 
 neither the pope nor any of the bishops receive a confes- 
 sion ; which office is always confided to their inferiors, 
 being considered one of far less dignity than that of 
 consecrating a church, blessing a cemetery, or baptizing 
 the bells. 
 
 It is a sure sign that a priest, who is appointed con- 
 fessor to a diocese, is a particular friend of the bishop. 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 329 
 
 sincBj on the slightest disagreement between them, or 
 the least feeling of ill will, he is forthwith suspended 
 from his office. I must here observe that I always 
 enjoyed the friendship of those prelates who from time 
 to time granted me this great privilege in their several 
 jurisdictions; since not a single one of them ever sus- 
 pended me in the execution of my office, even at a time 
 when I began to be suspected of entertaining heretical 
 opinions. It was also an honourable distinction in my 
 favour, that none of the bishops by whom I was ap- 
 pointed ever thought it necessary to subject me to the 
 usual examination. Neither did I ever solicit the office, 
 it having been invariably bestowed on me as a mark of 
 their individual good will. I have a whole bundle of 
 these diplomas, many bearing the signature of cardinals, 
 and one from the chaplain of the King of Naples, for all 
 the royal churches in the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. 
 Some were presented to me out of compliment ; as, for 
 instance, by the Bishop of Nocera, on the occasion of his 
 returning my visit to him, in the year 1836, when his 
 first act was to present me with the office of confessor. 
 The same also took place with the Archbishop of Sor- 
 rento, the first time I was in his company, which was 
 at dinner in his own house. It is astonishing to see 
 the exceeding pohteness and courtesy with which these 
 worthies bestow on their subordinates the power to 
 pardon the most grievous offences against the Majesty 
 of Heaven. Would they, with equal grace and conde- 
 scension, have granted it for offences committed against 
 themselves ? A circumstance that took place between 
 
330 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 one of these dignitaries and myself, will throw a little 
 light on the subject. 
 
 I went one day to Sorrento, to endeavour to promote 
 a reconciliation between the archbishop and a poor 
 priest of Meta, whom the archbishop had, for a number 
 of years, hated and persecuted to such an extent as 
 to create a great scandaT through the whole diocese. 
 The chief cause of offence complained of by the arch- 
 bishop was, that the priest had written some satirical 
 lines upon him, and had also spoken of him with little 
 reverence. The priest had subsequently heartily re- 
 pented of the act, and had in every possible manner 
 implored forgiveness for the offence : he had written 
 many letters in the humblest style, and had frequently 
 got persons of character and respectability to intercede 
 for him. It was, however, all in vain. The archbishop 
 was obstinate, and persisted in holding the priest in sus- 
 pension from the performance of all ecclesiastical duty 
 within his diocese. The last hope remained with me, 
 and out of compassion for the poor fellow, I undertook 
 the task, as well as for regard towards the Archbishop, 
 who, before being acquainted with me, had spoken of 
 me with kindness ; in return, therefore, I was equally 
 anxious to be useful to him. My visit to him took 
 place after we had exchanged two or three polite notes, 
 and was apparently the result of a desire for greater 
 mutual acquaintance, but, for ray own part, my prin- 
 cipal object was this affair of the priest. As the 
 Archbishop had no idea of the kind, I waited for a 
 favourable opportunity to introduce the subject, which 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 331 
 
 soon presented itself on his Grace's bestowing on me 
 the diploma of a Confessor. 
 
 " Then I am authorized, in virtue of this, to receive 
 confessions of all offences committed against God, 
 and to grant pardon and absolution to whoever 
 repents?" 
 
 " Unquestionably ; and, moreover, I invest you witli 
 power to do so, in 'all reserved cases, for the term of 
 a year." 
 
 " This is certainly a very desirable power, and one 
 for which I have for some time been particularly 
 anxious. I can then absolve in those cases reserved 
 for your Grace ?" 
 
 " Yes ; and for those referred to the Synod of the 
 diocese." 
 
 " It is well ; I shall then absolve whoever truly con- 
 fesses, however great his sin may be." 
 
 " To be sure ; it is to the greatest sinners that God 
 extends the chiefest mercy, and we, as his ministers, 
 should receive them with open arms," observed the 
 Archbishop. 
 
 " How gracious the Lord is to pardon so freely," I 
 continued ; " I am lost in admiration whenever I reflect 
 on the manner in which Jesus Christ pardoned the 
 poor woman, and also the publican in the parable, im- 
 mediately on his asking it. And how difficult we find 
 it to foUow his blessed example ! how reluctant we are 
 to pardon those who have offended ourselves ! notwith- 
 standing Jesus Christ has told us, 'If ye forgive not 
 men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive 
 
332 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 your trespasses." * And it avails us little if we do 
 so once or twice, or even ten times ; for Christ com- 
 manded Peter to forgive seventy times seven; which 
 signifies to forgive without limitation ; as it is written, 
 " If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him ; 
 and if he repent forgive him. And if he trespass 
 against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in 
 a day turn to thee, saying, I repent ; thou shalt for- 
 give him." t 
 
 At these words I fancied I perceived in the coim- 
 tenance of the Archbishop an acknowledgement of the 
 sacred nature of this duty, and accordingly I thought 
 it best to seize the opportunity without further prepa- 
 ration. " Monsignore," I exclaimed, " these divine 
 assurances encourage the poor priest Lasteria to ask 
 anew of your Grace pardon for the offence he acknow- 
 ledges he has committed, and of which he now 
 thoroughly repents." 
 
 "No," loudly roared out the Archbishop, "it is not 
 true that he repents, he only feigns to do so, that I 
 may be induced to pardon him. To all others I am 
 willing, but to this person I can never extend that 
 favour." 
 
 " Monsignore, the poor man came to me yesterday 
 with tears in his eyes. ' I hope,' said he, ' that my 
 Archbishop will at length consent to pardon me, for 
 the love of God, and that the blessed God may also 
 pardon him his sins. Oh ! what comfort shall I expe- 
 rience if he restores me to his favour ! and if you 
 * Matt. vi. 14. f Luke xvii. 3, 4. 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 333 
 
 obtain permission for me to go and make my peace 
 with him, I shall then be content to die.' " 
 
 " I cannot receive him ; neither will I pardon him, 
 till I am thoroughly convinced of his repentance and 
 humiliation." 
 
 " What then must he do ?" 
 
 " Go into a monastery, and remain there till I recall 
 him." 
 
 " And for what purpose ?" 
 
 " To undergo penance." 
 
 " God makes no such condition to us. We should 
 be badly off, if for every offence we had to undergo a 
 suitable penance ! Now, if God pardons, on the sole 
 consideration that Jesus Christ has made satisfaction 
 for us, as faith teaches us, can we find any excuse for 
 not pardoning those for whom Christ has suffered? 
 On what condition does Christ pardon our sins ? What 
 penance has he enjoined ?" 
 
 " What ! do you deny then that the Church has a 
 right to impose penance ?" 
 
 " I find that the custom is very much lessened. The 
 question however at present, has nothing to do with the 
 Church. It is altogether a personal offence, and you 
 have yourself full power to remit " 
 
 " No, no, I cannot remit, the offence has been too 
 public." 
 
 "All the better. Your Eminence will grant the 
 more public and solemn forgiveness." 
 
 " It appears to me that you are come here to preach 
 me a sermon, rather than to pay me a visit." 
 
334 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 " Exactly, it is the visit of a Preacher. Ought I to 
 waste my time in vain speeches or idle compliments ? 
 I avail myself of the present opportunity to discuss an 
 affair of equal importance to your Eminence and to the 
 priest ; and I declare it is for the regard I entertain 
 for both parties that I interest myself in it. If the 
 priest, on his part, has need of your pardon, it cannot 
 be denied that it would be equally advantageous for 
 your Eminence to grant it him, to put a stop to this 
 scandal, and aU the idle talk of the neighbourhood, as 
 well as to the imprecations of the numerous relatives 
 and friends of the priest, who form a large party in 
 Meta and Sorrento." 
 
 " What a capital advocate you are !" 
 
 " Have I then gained my cause V 
 
 " TeU your client to do as I have said — let him go 
 into a monastery, and then he may send to me again, 
 and I may perhaps take his petition into consideration. 
 Now let us talk of something else." 
 
 In this way it was that the Archbishop closed the 
 door upon all hope of reconciliation : he refused his 
 brother the forgiveness which he asked of him for the 
 love of God. A year after, the cholera put an end to 
 his Hfe. . . . How fearfal are thy judgments, O Lord ! 
 Here was a man who willingly pardoned all sins com- 
 mitted against God, but who knew not how to pardon 
 a single fault against himself. Such is the character 
 of the higher Clergy in the Romish Church; indulgent 
 in the extreme to all those who do not stand in the 
 way of their interests or their ambition, they are 
 
NAPLES AND THii NEAPOLITANS. 335 
 
 implacable in their hatred, and cruel and fierce in their 
 vengeance. 
 
 No sooner had I taken up my abode in Naples, after 
 the termination of my preaching at Capua, than I was 
 exceedingly courted by the Bishops and the Superiors 
 of the Order. I had the offer of a pulpit in their 
 churches on every side. I chose before all others the 
 Lent discourses fo»1836, in the principal Church of the 
 Dominicans, as a testimony of my good will towards 
 them. In 1837 I was again engaged by the Cardinal 
 of Capua. In 1838 I officiated for the Cardinal of 
 Naples ; and in 1839 I preached for the Papal Nuncio, 
 in his church of St. James. 
 
 In this manner passed over the six years that I 
 remained in Naples ; my occupation was not confined 
 to the city, it extended to the neighbouring parts. 
 Besides the duty during Lent, every Sunday and Fes- 
 tival, throughout the year, I preached in various 
 churches, and occasionally on other days of the week. 
 Frequently I have delivered two or three sermons in 
 the course of the same day. A part only of these dis- 
 courses was prepared beforehand, as it was impossible 
 for me to write even one half of what I preached ; and 
 in general I found no difficulty in getting through my 
 task, as I had accustomed myself from an early period 
 to extempore dehvery, which had now become easy and 
 famUiar to me ; sometimes however, not being exactly 
 in the mood, I could not express myself with equal 
 fluency as at others. Still I think it is the preferable 
 mode for evangelical preaching, as notwithstanding a 
 
356 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 few trifling inconveniences arising from occasional re- 
 petition and inexactitude, its simplicity presents a great 
 advantage ; since, with regard to expression, the less it 
 is studied, the more it is true, persuasive, and touching. 
 Moreover, he who is completely master of his subject 
 need not fear that he will want words or proper 
 arrangement, according to the opinion of Horace — 
 " Cui lecta potenter erit res, 
 
 Nee facundia deseret hunc, nee lucidus ordo." 
 
 But my preaching was originally commenced, as is 
 
 customary with all students in religion, with the study 
 
 of rhetoric, and was limited by certain rules which 
 
 teach the manner of arranging the various parts of an 
 
 oration; hence I at first experienced a sort of vain 
 
 glory in my pursuit, and panted to acquire the fame of 
 
 an eloquent orator ; but I afterwards changed my style, 
 
 when I became convinced that a sacred speaker ought 
 
 to be governed rather by the influence of the Holy 
 
 Spirit than by rules of art ; I therefore applied myself 
 
 more to prayer than to studj^, and my discourses 
 
 became less brilliant, but more efiicacious. Any one 
 
 who had heard me preach at these different epochs 
 
 would readily have perceived the change I speak of, 
 
 though he might not have understood the reason of 
 
 it- My first attempts aimed at great elegance of style, 
 
 and I was ambitious to be thought an able writer. My 
 
 sermons at the Court of Lucca were of this character : 
 
 I was then about twenty years of age, and had not yet 
 
 been ordained priest. Persons of high distinction were 
 
 among my auditors, among whom I may reckon Lazaro 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 337 
 
 Papij the Marquess Cesare Lucchesini, Professor 
 Gigliotti, and the famous personages, Teresa Bandet- 
 tini and Costanza Moscheni. I was honoured with 
 their friendship, and they approved of my pulpit- 
 labours. Alas for me ! How little at that time had 
 I been educated in the school of the Redeemer ! The 
 favour of men was all I sought after. By degrees, 
 however, I began to perceive that aU this was vanity. 
 
 From Lucca I proceeded to Rome, and from thence 
 to Viterbo. My preaching had much improved ; it had 
 less display, and was more suitable to its design. I re- 
 served my flowers of eloquence for panegyric orations, 
 (which in my then darkened state greatly occupied me), 
 and began to be more grave and sedate in my style. 
 On my removal to Naples, these feelings increased, as 
 I thought more deeply on matters of true religion, and 
 my sermons assumed an evangelical tone, which was 
 agreeable to persons of talent ; and I was perfectly in- 
 different as to the opinion of those who disliked it. 
 
 The last of my Lent duties, that at the church of St. 
 Giacomo, at Naples, was the actual commencement of 
 my new style. I gave a series of thirty-seven discourses, 
 in which I not only avoided all papistic doctrines, but 
 set forth those contained in the Scriptures themselves ; 
 such as justification by faith, the sole mediation o f 
 Christ, his only priesthood, and single sacrifice, &c. 
 These were entirely new views in a country where 
 nothing else was taught than the ef&cacy of works of 
 merit, the intercession of saints, the pretended dignity 
 of the priests, the great value of the mass applied to 
 
 Q 
 
338 NAPLES ANT) TKE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 souls in purgatory, and the necessity of worshipping 
 the Madonna. 
 
 I saw very clearly that my advocating anew the prac- 
 tice enjoined in the ancient and holy teaching of our 
 forefathers, would excite the fiercest animosity against 
 me. I began to hear it rumoured about that my ser- 
 mons were more Protestant than Catholic ; I received 
 several anonymous letters on the subject ; and as at 
 that time I preached every Sunday in the church of 
 St. Peter the Martyr, I saw many priests among my 
 congregation, who had very much the look of spies. Not- 
 withstanding all this I stuck to my argument, and 
 continvied to preach in the same style the doctrine of 
 early Christianity, bringing texts from Scripture alone, 
 in support of my propositions, rarely citing the Fathers, 
 and never the Theologians of the Romish Church. 
 
 The altered character of my discourses soon gave rise 
 to many conferences among the bigots of the Neapolitan 
 clergy, and to many letters from Rome. The Cardinal 
 Archbishop asked me one day if it was true that these 
 conferences and letters had reference to the new doc- 
 trines I was advocating. 
 
 " They are new," I replied, " in the same manner 
 that the moon every fresh month is called new, though 
 she is nevertheless as old as the world." 
 
 " But they assert that you no longer preach the ne- 
 cessity of good works, faith alone being sufficient." 
 
 " That is not exactly the case ; I stated that works 
 are not good, unless they are the fruits of faith, and 
 that others are of no avail ; as St. Paul says, ' What- 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 339 
 
 soever is not of faith is sin/ * which signifies all disorder 
 and deviation from the right road." 
 
 On another occasion the good cardinal reproved me 
 because I had asserted in one of my sermons, that the 
 most beneficial mode of confession was that which was 
 made to God, and the best penitence a sincere renewal 
 of the heart, and a humble return to Him. 
 
 " It is very true," was my reply, " and if your Emi- 
 nence calls upon me to prove it, I am ready to do so 
 from the Holy Scriptures." 
 
 " There is no necessity : your proposition may be 
 true, abstractedly considered — that is to say, viewed 
 theoretically ; but in practice you would not find it so 
 useful." 
 
 " I understand, it would not be so useful to the 
 priests and the confessors, but greatly more so to the 
 people. If every body was in the habit of confessing 
 to God alone, what necessity would there be for such a 
 host of priestly confessors? But the question is, not 
 what we ourselves prefer, but what we ought to teach 
 the people. I wish to God that every one would confess 
 to his priest less, and to his God more, as our fathers 
 had the grace to do in former times." 
 
 I paused, but the cardinal, not having a reply ready, 
 remained silent. I therefore continued : " Your Emi- 
 nence has already shown me so much kindness, that 
 I am encouraged to lay open my mind more fully. Is 
 it not a fact, that in no other place is there so great a 
 herd of confessors as at Naples ? What now is their real 
 * Eom. xiv. 23. 
 
 a2 
 
340 NAPUiS AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 object ? Your Eminence will tell me that it is to listen 
 to a recital of sins, and to give absolution for them ; but 
 I maintain that their real object is to get money ; and 
 it is more notoriously the case in Naples than elsewhere. 
 The predecessor of your Eminence, Cardinal Ruffo, 
 when he conferred the office of Confessor on any one, 
 used to say, ' There, my dear fellow, there^s a good 
 fifteen ducats a month for you, if you know how to go 
 to work ! ' 
 
 " Now I happen to know that his hint was not 
 thrown away : the least industrious among them get 
 their fifteen ducats, and as to the others ! — ask the 
 confessors of the nuns what they gain by their busi- 
 ness. I do not mean to say that they require pay- 
 ment for an absolution, that would be too barefaced. 
 They do not sell, but they accept gifts ; if not for 
 themselves, for the souls in purgatory, or for some 
 miraculous image, for which they require masses and 
 other oblations. Is it not true that they impose, 
 as a penance, the obligation to cause a number of 
 masses to be celebrated? And to whose pecuniary 
 benefit, if not the confessor's ? And in cases of death- 
 beds, how vast is the speculation of these gentry ! Let 
 your Eminence look to the operations of the Jesuits, in 
 this Hne of business ; to the Missionaries, to the liiguo- 
 rini, to the Theatines, the Franciscans, the Domini- 
 cans, and other worthies of the same class, who despoil 
 houses, impoverish famihes, and frequently turn mother 
 and children out-of-doors, destitute and forlorn. These 
 evils, as your Eminence knows far better than I do, 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 341 
 
 are the results of the practice of confession. I would 
 that your heart were equally pained as mine is by the 
 reflection. Although I have not the authority of a 
 bishop in this place, still, if I were silent on the occa- 
 sion, I should consider myself as guilty of favouring the 
 practice. Much more is required of him who is in 
 reality the pastor of this flock, who has assumed the 
 office of watching over it, and to whom are addressed 
 the words that were spoken to Timothy : ' I charge, 
 thee .... preach the Word ; be instant in season, out 
 of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long- 
 suffering and doctrine.' " * 
 
 Cardinal Caracciolo wrung my hand, and exclaimed' 
 with a sigh : " Oh ! what a hard trial it is to be a 
 bishop ! What a burthen on one's shoulders ! I see 
 many evils in the Church, and would fain apply a 
 remedy to them, but I know not how." 
 
 Naples, in point of religion, is an extraordinary 
 country ; the people generally believe that they have 
 more than the whole world besides ; and such in- 
 deed would be the fact, if superstition were synony- 
 mous with religion. No people upon the whole earth 
 are more superstitious. All the old superstitions of 
 Greece and Kome have taken refuge among them. 
 Idolatry is the foundation of their faith ; they have no 
 idea of worship without some statue or picture to bow 
 down to. A God that is not visible to the eye is alto- 
 gether unknown to them, or exists as a king whom no 
 one is alloAved to approach. The God of the Neapolitans 
 * 2 Tim. iv. 1, 2. 
 
342 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 lias consequently a vast number of ministers, to whom 
 supplication is made. At the time I am speaking of, 
 they had no less than fifty Patron Saints, and I have 
 no doubt the number is now greatly augmented. Every 
 one of these saints has his own state ministers. At the 
 head of them all is St. Januarius, who acts as their 
 president. But this does not exclude St. Gaetano to 
 be prayed to, as a sort of Minister of Finance, who is 
 Considered to be in the department of the Divine Pro- 
 vidence. The ministry of Grace and Justice appear to 
 be divided between St. Anthony, St. Vincent, and St. 
 Andrew Avelliuo. The Jesuits endeavoured to foist 
 St. Francis Xavier and St. Louis Gonzaga into this 
 office as well ; but it appears they are not considered to 
 have succeeded. 
 
 St. Januarius, who, like John Bull, may be looked 
 upon as the prototype of his countrymen, both with 
 respect to their good and bad qualities, has a sort of 
 jealous feeling towards others, and more particularly 
 towards the Jesuits, since it appears he considers them 
 as likely to interfere with his dignity. He is some- 
 times thought to be a little vindictive, choleric, and 
 presumptuous, on which account the Neapolitans occa- 
 sionally reprove him, and not over gently, in their 
 devotions. I scarcely think a pure and spiritual religion 
 would be possible in this country, at this time, where 
 all is so material and so sensual. I have often con- 
 sidered the problem, and am inclined to doubt its prac- 
 ticability, at least with respect to the present generation. 
 They are a people perpetually on the look-out for 
 
NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 343 
 
 miracles, and consequently flock around their saints 
 and their madonnas, since the priests assure them that 
 they perform wonders in that way. In their belief, a 
 religion without its daily stock of miracles is no religion 
 at all. 
 
 I have sometimes heard the Neapolitans discoursing 
 together respecting the Protestant religion, and they 
 have declared that they could not see how there could be 
 a religion without saints to work their miracles. They 
 are a people who do not readily believe anything but 
 what is incredible, and repugnant to common sense ; so 
 that the more improbable the miracle is, the more wil- 
 lingly it is credited. Ilprodigioo e grosso o & niente, 
 is a common saying with them ; small doings are not 
 worthy of great saints. 
 
 In the midst of this ignorant race, born and educated 
 in the grossest errors and prejudices, there exists a class 
 of persons who do not believe in the superstitions of 
 the vulgar, as they call these pretended miracles of St. 
 Januarius and other saints; neither in the inventions 
 of purgatory and similar stories, having read in some 
 book, or heard some one affirm, that they are no better 
 than fables ; but, unhappily, they also extend their 
 unbelief to all that is related of Christ and of his 
 Apostles, and in fact assert that all these writings might 
 be tied together, and thrown into the fire, as old and 
 worthless. 
 
 These are the learned, people of genius, who go to 
 church merely to gratify the sight, or to delight the 
 ear with harmony; and who kneel before the reliques 
 
344 NAPLES AND THE NEAPOLITANS. 
 
 and the images in a procession, for the sake of ap- 
 pearance, as they term it. They go to confession 
 at Easter, to deceive the priest into a behef of their 
 piety, and receive the communion that they may escape 
 censure. As lying and hypocritical as they are un- 
 believing and immoral, they form a very extensive class, 
 most injurious to society in a thousand different ways ; 
 chiefly because being, as they are, without faith in 
 religious matters, they are equally so in social affairs : 
 and being weak-minded, through continual falsehood, 
 they are mean in all their undertakings; timid and 
 pusillanimous, with a mixture of irritability and bold- 
 ness. In morality they are monsters of depravity, and 
 this miserable land abounds with such people more 
 at this present time than ever ; in the face of its glori- 
 ous sun it is covered with the thickest darkness. 
 
 Between these two extremes of the direst superstition 
 and utter unbelief, is there for these people no middle 
 path of religion, of pure early Christianity ? God alone 
 knows. I have sometimes persuaded myself that there 
 must be such ; I have again doubted, and again I have 
 returned to my former hope — at any rate I will not 
 despair of it. Christian charity, and trust in God's 
 mercy and providence, alike forbid me so to do. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TEE MONKS OF NAPLES. 
 
 Separated from human ties, apart from the laws of 
 nature, there is no race of beings, in my estimation, so 
 useless to society, so immoral, and so absurd, in a 
 religious point of view, as they who caU themselves 
 monks. The Jesuits are monks, as well as those in- 
 stituted by St. Francis of Assisi; both have the same 
 degree of worth, and the same defects. I used to 
 believe that the monks reckoned among their virtues 
 kindness, gentleness, humility, and moderation; I 
 imagined that they were full of charity towards their 
 neighbour ; and believing nothing of them but what was 
 good, I thought when I entered into their society 
 I should be living among saints. Who would have 
 supposed that all their imaginary virtues should fade 
 before my eyes, from the time I became bound to them 
 by vows which prevented my return ? Every day the 
 pleasant delusion became less and less, and bitter expe- 
 rience continually operated to undeceive me, at various 
 periods of my sojourn among them. 
 
 I had paid strict attention to the proceedings of the 
 Dominicans, both in Rome and Tuscany; and from 
 
 q3 
 
346 THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 
 
 what I had observed I was led to form a resolution to 
 escape from them^ and to renounce their society for ever. 
 The request I had made to the Court of Rome from 
 Capua with respect to my secularization had at first been 
 received with dissatisfaction^ but finally, on my reiterated 
 applications, backed by a letter from Cardinal Polidori, 
 the Pope granted my petition in the terms in which it 
 was made, and for the reason I had stated, which was 
 that the Order had become odious and insufferable to me. 
 
 Monsignor Acton informed me that the permission 
 was made out, and at my disposal. He besought me, 
 however, on the score of our old friendship, not to put 
 it in execution, but to wait and see whether I could 
 not find in the city of Naples a better race of monks, 
 with whom I might associate happily, and pass my 
 future days in tranquillity. I also received letters to 
 the same purpose, first from Cardinal Polidori, and 
 afterwards from Cardinal Gamberini, both friends of 
 mine ; in which they urged me to delay my projected 
 secularization, until I had assured myself that my 
 repugnance to remain in the Order could not be 
 overcome. Cardinal Polidori informed me that such- 
 appeared to be the wish of the Pope, who seemed 
 anxious, he said, that I should not act upon the per- 
 mission he had granted me, till I found myself abso- 
 lutely obliged to do so. 
 
 The good Acton took a great interest in my behalf on 
 this occasion, writing to the Cardnial Archbishop of 
 Naples and to others, and also several times to the 
 Apostohc Nuncio, now Cardinal Feretti, who was 
 
THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 347 
 
 equally kind in endeavouring to persuade me to seek 
 an asylum among the monks of Naples, after leaving 
 those of Rome. 
 
 " Are you not of opinion, Monsignore," said I to 
 him, " that these monks of Naples are birbanti, (vaga- 
 bonds,) as well as those of Rome ? " 
 
 " Nay, I think they are worse," replied he. " But it 
 is precisely on that, account that you ought to stay 
 among them. If we did not do all we could to keep a 
 few good persons among this class of gentry, we should 
 have a community of a character qualified to inspire us 
 with fear, and to compromise us utterly. I believe the 
 monks of Naples are more ignorant and more turbulent 
 than any others ; and I repeat, it is for that very reason 
 I request you to place yourself among them, where you 
 will be most useful, both through your example and 
 your teaching." 
 
 " But they will drive me to despair." 
 
 " In that case, then, you must leave them." 
 
 " But why, in the mean time, should I be made to 
 endure such a tribulation ? " 
 
 " To do good ; to be useful to your brethren, for the 
 glory of God " 
 
 " Well, be it so. I will consent to make the experi- 
 ment, commending myself to Him." 
 
 In the meanwhile, the Dominican monks had had 
 recourse to all their powers of persuasion to induce me 
 to take up my abode among them. SoHcited on one 
 side to enter the monastery of St. Dominic, and on the 
 other that of St. Peter the Martyr, I chose the latter. 
 
348 THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 
 
 The monks could hardly show me civility enough in 
 their demonstrations of friendship and regard. They 
 even declared me figlio di quel convento,* and though I 
 declared I had no desire for any situation beyond that of 
 Preacher or Professor among them, they forced upon me 
 the oflBce of Vice-Prior, and subsequently that of Prior 
 itself; and if I had not vigorously opposed the measure, 
 they would even have elected me their Provincial. f 
 
 Behold me then once more domiciled among the 
 monks ; not, however, as one of their society, nor with 
 the intention of remaining permanently among them. 
 They were not aware that I had the Pope's rescritto % 
 in my pocket, in virtue of which I could turn my back 
 upon them whenever I chose ; and I must acknowledge, 
 the idea that I could do so was a source of great satis- 
 faction to me ; it rendered me more tolerant, and at 
 the same time gave me courage to do my duty: 
 indeed, I accepted the Priorate for no other reason than 
 to be better enabled to be of service to the community, 
 I began with looking into the state of their finances, 
 and with augmenting their income. But my principal 
 endeavour was to benefit their moral and religious con- 
 dition, as far as I could hope to do so among a set of 
 people who had been educated in principles diametri- 
 cally opposed both to sound morality, and pure and 
 true religion. Nevertheless, the ascendancy I acquired 
 
 * " An adopted son of the monasteiy." A great mark of esteem and 
 favour among the Dominicans, including many separate privileges. 
 
 t The head of all the religious houses of the same order in the 
 province. 
 
 X An answer to a petition. 
 
THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 349 
 
 over their minds, and the friendship they felt for me, 
 greatly seconded my views ; and to say the truth, they 
 were far more docile than I had anticipated ; and if I 
 had been at liberty to carry out my system as I could 
 have wished, I do not doubt that I should have formed 
 them into a good and regular community. 
 
 But there were in other monasteries, belonging to 
 the same Order, many despicable monks, Avho united 
 in their own persons every vice that can be found in 
 human nature. These appeared to hate the faintest 
 trace of honesty or virtue, and were always ready to 
 plot, to calumniate, and to stick at nothing to promote 
 their own interest. I frequently took occasion to re- 
 prove them, and threatened, more than once, to make 
 public their infamous proceedings, unless they thought 
 proper to desist from their practices. But all my re- 
 monstrances were in vain. And at length I lost all 
 patience : I fought manfully against them for a long 
 time, but the General of the Order, Ancarini, was on 
 their side, and lent them his powerful protection : I 
 therefore felt that I had nothing more to do but to hold 
 out, to the end of my year of Priorate, and then to 
 give in my rescritto to the proper officer ; which I ac- 
 cordingly did, in the month of August, 1839, and finally 
 separated myself from the Order. 
 
 A new epoch in my life now commenced. I haci 
 never really been a monk, although I had lived so long 
 among them. I therefore gladly threw off my monk's 
 dress, and relinqiushed all the titles it had conferred on 
 me, except that of Doctor of Theology, which, as one 
 
350 THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 
 
 not belonging to the Order, I considered I had a perfect 
 right to retain ; it being granted to persons who had 
 acted as Professor in certain sciences, for a determinate 
 ■ period, and subsequently gone through an examination ; 
 both of which I had satisfactorily done. 
 
 This degree is equally open to the laity as the clergy, 
 on the fulfilment of the necessary stipulations ; and 
 once conferred can never be taken away, not even on 
 account of heresy, since it is a title not granted for a 
 man's belief, but for his ability. The obligation to teach 
 is not made a preliminary condition, it is a subsequent 
 duty, and the doctrine of the Roman Church is, 
 that even if the Doctors themselves go into perdition, 
 they still retain their degrees. I do not feel proud of 
 the title as it was when I received it ; but I confess I 
 do as it has been since my embracing the reformed 
 religion. In the first instance, all my labour was in 
 favour of Rome; now my most strenuous endeavours 
 are in opposition to her doctrines. But even up to that 
 time I had always regarded myself as a Doctor of the 
 Holy Scriptures, and they, and they only, have occa- 
 sioned the change in the aspect of my degree. 
 
 But how, it may here be asked, did I, on my secu- 
 larization, get over the monastic vows which, it has been 
 alleged, I took ? I must inform my readers, that it is 
 the custom of the Dominicans, contrary to the practice 
 of all other monastic bodies, in their religious profession 
 to make but one single vow, which is that of obedience. 
 My profession, therefore, was nothing more than a 
 promise to be obedient to the Superior of the Order, and 
 
THE MONKS OP NAPLES. 351 
 
 was couched in the following terms : " I, brother Gio- 
 vanni Griacinto Achilli, promise obedience to God, to the 
 most blessed Virgin Mary, to the Patriarch St. Dominic, 
 and to you, most reverend Father General of the Order 
 of Preachers, according to the rules of St. Augustine, 
 and the constitution of the Order of Preachers." 
 
 Now it cannot be urged against me that I promised 
 more than I expressed. Had I belonged to any other 
 Order I must have vowed three things: obedience, chas- 
 tity, and poverty. The Dominicans require obedience 
 only. Some theologians pretend that in this obe- 
 dience everything else is included; but this is neither 
 legal nor philosophical. No one is obliged to do more 
 than he has promised, even when the promise is valid 
 and pleasing to God ; which I do not consider to be 
 the case with respect to the vows of the cloister. 
 
 But when I obtained my secularization, the Pope, 
 who can do everything, dispensed with my vow ; and 
 consequently released me from obedience to the Order 
 of Dominicans. The only condition was that I, as 
 priest, should continue subject to the bishop of the 
 place I inhabited. I do not mention this because T 
 desire to justify myself in the sight of Rome, for I con- 
 sider that the vows of the Monastic Orders are impious 
 in themselves, as being contrary to the laws of nature, 
 and in opposition to the eternal decree of God : I only 
 wish to state what at that time were my relations and 
 my ties to that Church which I have now abandoned. 
 
 My relinquishing the Dominican Order was the 
 signal for numerous desertions. Many of my friends 
 
353 THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 
 
 were not slow to follow my e^jimple ; among them 
 I may mention two celebrated men, the Rev. Father 
 Talia and the Rev. Father Borghetti ; equally respected 
 on account of their years and their learning, as well as 
 for their personal probity. Neither will I conceal the 
 name of another, for whom I had the sincerest regard ; 
 the Rev. Giovanni Martucci, who at that period, 
 although very young, was Professor of Natural Philo- 
 sophy. These persons, disgusted, equally with myself, 
 at the falsehood with which they were surrounded, no 
 sooner saw me throw off the cloistral habit, than they 
 likewise demanded their rescript, and quitted the Nea- 
 politan brotherhood. The worthy old men wept for 
 joy, that the Lord had graciously, before their death, 
 liberated them from the society of the prevaricators. 
 
 I remember Father Talia, who was exceedingly 
 esteemed among the clergy of Naples, expressed himself 
 in the following terms before the Cardinal Archbishop : — 
 
 " I do not believe that your Eminence will suppose 
 that I am actuated by an overweening desire for 
 liberty, in emancipating myself from the Order of these 
 monks ; I would rather persuade you that my doing so 
 has been occasioned by the pure love of truth and 
 virtue, which the monks altogether refuse either to 
 acknowledge or to practise. Your Eminence may say 
 that I am an old man, and as such might have been 
 contented to finish the remainder of my days in the 
 cloister; but I would observe that my spirit is not 
 affected by age, and that before I terminate my earthly 
 career, I, a man though old in body not in mind. 
 
THE MONKS OP NAPLES. 353 
 
 would leave behind me to the youth of the present 
 generation, an example of Christian courage j showing 
 that when an institution becomes corrupt, it is one's 
 duty to abandon it, early or late, as it may be ; for as the 
 homely proverb expresses it, ' Better late than never.' " 
 
 To this the Cardinal replied, that he was wilUng to 
 admit that the good Father had his own reasons for 
 quitting the Dominican habit ; that he could not 
 suspect a man like him to be actuated by light-minded- 
 ness; and that his friendship towards him would 
 always remain the same. And the good old man felt 
 himself not a little comforted with these kind assurances . 
 
 The monks, however, and more particularly those to 
 whom our desertion from the Order was a bitter re- 
 proof, were by no means humbled; on the contrary, 
 they were exceedingly irritated at our proceedings, and 
 set themselves to consider how they could most perse- 
 cute and injure us ; in which intent they were greatly 
 encouraged by the assistance they derived from Rome ; 
 I mean from the head of the Order, which unfortu- 
 nately was at that time represented by the Monk 
 Angelo Ancarini, a man of the most dark and gloomy 
 character that ever disgraced humanity. His history 
 might all be told in these few words : he was, during 
 forty-five years, an Inquisitor of the Holy Office. 
 
 We, meanwhile, united ourselves in stricter bonds of 
 friendship ; mutually aiding each other, and defending 
 ourselves, as well as we could, from the continual 
 attacks of our mahcious adversaries; who never let a 
 single day pass without some efPort to annoy us, by 
 
354 THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 
 
 their false and calumnious reports. We exhorted each 
 other to patience and endurance. Nevertheless our dear 
 friend Martucci, although of a pacific disposition, and 
 always ready to forgive, could not forbear exclaiming : 
 " Oh, these wretched monks ! never was there seen a race 
 so perverse and evil-minded as they are ! " And I like- 
 wise, who had proposed to myself to endure everything 
 with fortitude and resignation, could not at all times 
 bridle the indignation I felt at their mahcious attacks. 
 
 The most infamous slanders were preferred against 
 the two good old men, and the excellent Martucci ; for 
 my own part I had less to complain of. It appeared 
 that they had a dread of my numerous friends, who 
 always stood forward in my defence. StUl, in a crafty 
 and insidious manner, as is customary with the Jesuits, 
 they endeavoured to ensnare me to my ruin. Indeed 
 I was informed that such was their intention. But 
 as I am naturally averse to think evil of any one, I 
 could not persuade myself of the truth of the allegation. 
 I held the monks and the priests in so little esteem, 
 that I fancied as I never troubled my head about them, 
 they also were very ready to forget me, altogether. 
 
 I occupied a handsome house in the Toledo ; had 
 two good servants, plenty of books, such as were neces- 
 sary in my general studies, and a small circle of most 
 excellent friends, who were ia the habit of visiting me : 
 I had in other places been annoyed by idle visits from 
 people I cared nothing about; I determined, therefore, 
 to make myself a more rigid monk now in my own 
 house, than I had ever been in the monastery. In 
 
THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 355' 
 
 the midst of my favourite ptirsuits, enwrapt in the 
 most delightful contemplations, undisturbed by the 
 continuous roar of the city* without, while within an 
 unbroken silence prevailed — feeling that I was iu 
 the midst of the busy world, but enjoying a pleasing 
 solitude — I was tranquil and happy : as a man who 
 rests after a wearisome labour, or a tired warrior, who 
 tastes the blessing of^peace. I sought after, I wished for 
 nothing more than peace, and tranquillity of conscience. 
 And I may truly say I possessed it, since God gave it 
 to me ; but my invidious enemies sought to deprive me 
 of it. Oh, evil minded men ! cease to persecute him 
 who is protected by the providence of God. 
 
 Affairs were in this state when I received a kind 
 visit from my uncle. Dr. Moncarini, of Viterbo ; who, 
 as he had a great regard for me, was desirous to assure 
 himself of my well-being, after my secession from the 
 monks. He proposed to me that I should return with 
 him and settle at Viterbo, where he assured me every 
 one, from the bishop down to the humblest labourer, 
 would be glad to see me. But I had left Rome with the 
 resolution to remove myself as far as possible from its 
 walls; even Naples was not sufficiently distant to 
 ensure my deliverance from the machinations of the 
 city that I abhorred, and which had become my most 
 bitter enemy. 
 
 I had often revolved in my mind the idea of aban- 
 doning Naples, and even of quitting Italy altogether if 
 
 ' Every one who has been at Naples knows how incessant is the 
 noise and bustle of the Toledo. 
 
356 THE MONKS 01' NAPLES, 
 
 an occasion should present itself. But how could I 
 hope to bring myself to such a determination, without 
 the severest shock to my feelings ? It appeared as if 
 nothing short of absolute necessity could impel me to 
 desert my native country. As yet, however, this neces- 
 sity had not become evident to my judgment. I 
 imagined I could continue to enjoy my newly awakened 
 Uberty of conscience, in the secresy of my own breast ; 
 whereas of this very liberty the natural consequences 
 were my emancipation from the cloister, my separation 
 from Rome, and my withdrawal from all that had 
 hitherto formed the duties of my ecclesiastical office ! 
 
 Wlio was there that did not know that I had alto- 
 gether given up the practice of confessing, while the 
 bishops still continued to send me their diplomas, for 
 the performance of that ceremony? As to the mass, I 
 scarcely ever celebrated it; and after several months' 
 neglect I remember I said it once, from the weak and 
 unworthy motive, I blush to acknowledge, that it 
 might not be supposed the bishop had forbidden me to 
 do so. My preaching, too, afforded the most convincing 
 proof that I was no longer in agreement with Rome. 
 How then could I continue such a system in the 
 Roman States or at Naples ? How could I hope to 
 remain unobserved, when so many eyes of monks aad 
 of priests were upon me ? 
 
 I began to see how utterly impossible it was that my 
 reformation might, as I had fancied, take place with- 
 out its being publicly known, and consequently without 
 its drawing down upon my head all the hatred and 
 
THE MONKS Or NAPLES. 357 
 
 the persecution of Rome. I have since bitterly con- 
 demned this weakness in myself, as being contrary to 
 the Spirit that had enlightened me. To a frank and 
 open character, deceit is detestable ; and I might have 
 known that without deceit, without disguising the 
 truth, neither by the Church nor by the government 
 should I have been permitted to continue in the 
 country. . 
 
 Perhaps the idea of this reconciling of adverse prin- 
 ciples, or in other words, of serving "two masters," 
 arose in my mind from seeing that many persons with- 
 out any belief whatever, without observing any of the 
 forms of religion, were permitted to live free and unmo- 
 lested, not only in Naples, but even in Rome itself. 
 In Naples there are priests whose conversation is that 
 of infidels, but who nevertheless celebrate the mass, 
 and hear confessions; and many others who, having 
 abandoned the mass and every ecclesiastical rite, live 
 with other men's wives, and openly declare their unr 
 belief. Nobody, however, takes any notice of them ; 
 the bishop does not consider it to be his duty, since 
 having left the work of the ministry, they are in a 
 certain degree independent of him; and the govern- 
 ment makes it a rule not to interfere with priests, 
 unless they are charged with civil offences ; taking no 
 cognizance of their morality, stUl less of their faith. 
 I therefore naturally concluded that I too should be 
 allowed to live quietly at Naples, provided I conducted 
 myself as a good citizen and professed the faith of 
 a Christian. The fact is, that if I had believed in 
 
358 THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 
 
 nothing at all, I should have given oifeace to no one ; 
 if I had even adopted the language of Voltaire, I should 
 have merely raised a laugh ; but in speaking the lan- 
 guage of the Bible, I attacked the priesthood, and 
 incurred its hatred and its persecution. 
 
 The case, I may say, is precisely the same at Rome ; 
 where for heretics, that is to say Protestants, there is 
 the Inquisition always ready ; but as for unbelievers 
 and atheists, so long as they are obedient to the pope, 
 and outwardly reverential towards the Church, they 
 are rather favourites than otherwise, and nothing stands 
 in their way of receiving a cardinal's hat. Well 
 may Rome be called by St. John, "the mother of 
 abominations ! " 
 
 It was a providential circumstance that I had occa- 
 sion to leave Naples, for a short time only, as I thought, 
 on account of some important business which called 
 me to Rome in the year 1841. I set off with the in- 
 dention of returning at the end of a fortnight ; but He 
 who is my Master and my Guide ordered otherwise : 
 it was according to his good pleasure that whilst I was 
 on the point of leaving Rome to return to Naples, 
 I was arrested by an invisible enemy, and that enemy 
 was the Inquisition. I look upon that event as one 
 of the most fortunate of my life ; if it had not befallen 
 me, I should certainly have returned to Naples, to the 
 quiet comfort of a private Ufe and a peaceful home ; 
 enjoying a little world of my own, in the middle of 
 a great city, and living solely for myself. 
 
 But this was too mean and limited a sphere to 
 
THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 359 
 
 satisfy me; I felt that I was not destined to live 
 alone, intent only on my own advantage ; but to be 
 useful to others, to contribute to the wants of a people, 
 and to lend my aid towards the salvation of a nation. 
 I had an important mission to accomplish; I con- 
 sidered it was given to me by God. Was it in the 
 power of man to take it away ? 
 
 The poor monks, for so I call them now, also had 
 their mission ; but it was one evidently opposed to the 
 designs of Providence, and without doubt was confided 
 to them by the source of all evil. I had, however, the 
 satisfaction of counteracting their malice, not through 
 my own strength, but through the grace and goodness 
 of God. 
 
 On hearing that the Inquisition had laid hold of me, 
 these wretched monks of Naples began to chant their 
 hymn of victory : " He who made war against us," said 
 they, " is fallen ; he who branded us with dishonour 
 is fallen, to rise no more. The Inquisition wiU root 
 out from the earth the very memory of his name." 
 
 Thus they rejoiced over my apprehension. Two or 
 three of them were in correspondence with the Holy 
 Office, through the General, Ancarini, and communicated 
 whatever malice came into their heads concerning me. 
 But their accusations were so palpably gross and untrue, 
 that Ancarini himself, skilled as he was in the art of 
 fabricating a charge for the Inquisition, could not 
 make use of them : one of his letters relating to this 
 business fell into the hands of a friend of mine; it 
 was to a certain Father Avezzana, a Dominican, 
 
3G0 THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 
 
 belonging to the Monastery del Vomero, at Naples. 
 Among other passages were the following : — " I fully 
 believe -all you say, but it must be related in a dif- 
 ferent manner for the cardinals to believe it ... . 
 You should endeavour, in stating a fact, to state it so 
 as to make it tell ; to have effect : another time consult 
 with Father de Luca and Father Trevalini." 
 
 In May, 1848, when I came through Naples, on my 
 way from Malta to London, and stopped there a few 
 days, another friend showed me a letter from the same 
 Ancarini, directed to a lady, evidently one of his 
 devotees, since the letter began, " Carissima Figlia in 
 Gesu Cristo," in which he prayed her to use her 
 influence with the Marquess Andrea, Minister del 
 Culto, to compel certain persons to depose against me ; 
 especially as to what occurred at the time of Lent, in 
 the church of St.Giacomo, where the Marquess himself, 
 and others of the ministry, frequently came to hear me. 
 It appeared, however, that Andrea did not trouble 
 himself about the matter, if indeed the lady ever 
 solicited him on the occasion. This letter my friend 
 found between the leaves of a book which belonged to 
 an ex- Dominican nun of the Montfort family. 
 
 I relate all this to show what kind of men these 
 monks are, and how they act in concert with the 
 Inquisition. In the conducting of my process, among 
 the various documents relating to my cause that I was 
 enabled to get a sight of, I saw many papers in their 
 handwriting, and some in that of Ancarini's secretary. 
 Father Spada, a Sicilian; who, although I do not 
 
THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 361 
 
 believe him to be naturally a bad man, was capable of 
 going to any extreme in the way of. his business, even 
 to the burning of heretics, if required by his patriarch, 
 St. Dominic, or by any one who might be considered 
 his representative. 
 
 Among other papers produced by the monks, I saw 
 a letter from my uncle, Mencarini, written at Naples, 
 while he was staying, in my house, addressed to the 
 Bishop Scerra, at Rome. In this letter, which was 
 couched in the most friendly terms, he spoke of the base 
 and unworthy conduct of Ancarani, and several others 
 among the brotherhood; all of whom he designated 
 as instruments of the Inquisition : and he advised the 
 Bishop, as Secretary to the Congregation of Discipline, 
 to put a stop to such proceedings, lest I should be so 
 far irritated by them as to malce disclosures that might 
 cover them with confusion. It appears that this letter 
 had been intercepted at the office, and so had fallen 
 into the hands of Ancarani, who had it copied by his 
 secretary ; for I cannot suppose that the bishop, who 
 was so friendly towards my uncle and myself, would 
 have had the weakness to send it — being strictly con- 
 fidential — to be copied for the use of the Inquisition. 
 If that were the case I should be obliged to class him 
 with Ancarani himself, and with others, who, for right 
 or wrong, have sold themselves to the Inquisition. 
 
 Another circumstance is worth relating. The two 
 principal agents in my accusation were Ancarani and 
 Cardinal Lambruschini. 
 
 " We ought to bum this heretic alive," said Ancarani, 
 B, 
 
362 THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 
 
 at one of the sittings of the Inquisition ; at another he 
 was a little more moderate, and only suggested my 
 being sent to the galleys for life. The cardinal asserted 
 that I was not only a heretic, but a conspirator as well. 
 In a meeting of cardinals at the Holy Offtce, this dreamer 
 assured their eminences and the pope, that he could 
 bring proof t^iat I was a heretic in religion, a Free- 
 mason, a Carbonari, a member of a secret society, and 
 I know not what besides. 
 
 Several of the cardinals who were personally ac- 
 quainted with me, opposed his remarks ; but he was 
 obstinate in his assertions, declaring that he had papers 
 in his possession, and expected others from Naples, 
 which would prove the truth of what he advanced. It 
 appears, he was furnished with the fabricated docu- 
 ments of the monks, instigated by Ancarani, and 
 expected to receive more of the same description. But 
 above all he hoped to gain possession of my private 
 papers, for which object he had directed the papal 
 nuncio at Naples to make a diligent search in my own 
 house, and to forward all that he could lay his hands 
 upon to Rome. 
 
 The nuncio could not refuse the Secretary of State's 
 order, but he was obliged to act through the agency of 
 the poUce, which was refused when it was understood 
 I was in the hands of the Inquisition ; for the Neapo- 
 litans have the greatest horror of that establishment, 
 and, to their honour, would never allow of it among 
 themselves; rising up in open revolt every time the 
 pope or the bishops endeavoured to introduce it. It is 
 
THE MONKS OF NAPLES. 363 
 
 an interesting fact, that the minister of police refused 
 the pope's nuncio permission to break into my private 
 dwelling, and possess himself of my papers. I have 
 been assured that he said to the nuncio, " I have no 
 charge to prefer against Signer Achilli ; he has lived in 
 Naples quietly, and in obedience to the laws, and has 
 gained great credit as a preacher. The police has had 
 no reason to suspect him of belonging to any secret 
 society." 
 
 Cardinal Lambruschini made but a sorry figure before 
 the Inquisition after this event; I fancy he was not 
 very ready to come forward any more with his papers 
 and precious documents. 
 
 I have frequently had occasion to observe how 
 remarkably all those who at that juncture sought to 
 oppress and calumniate me, have come to shame and con- 
 fusion, without any eflPort on my part towards hostility or 
 revenge. God himself has defeated and humbled them, 
 and covered them with infamy in the sight of mankind. 
 Ancarani died loaded with execrations. Lambruschini 
 is still, for his greater punishment, among the living. 
 Many others from Naples, and other parts, who per- 
 secuted me, have been signally visited with the chastise- 
 ment of the Almighty. To Him be all honour, glory, 
 and praise. Amen. 
 
 r2 
 
CHAPTER XIIT. 
 
 MT EXILE. 
 
 It was in the month of September, 1842, that I 
 found myself beyond the walls of Rome, in the pro- 
 vince of Sabina, in a fine country, near Nazzano, iu the 
 neighbourhood of Mount Soracte. I had chosen this 
 situation as a commodious one, and suf&ciently distant 
 from the capital, to allow me to arrange and settle my 
 affairs, previous to my final departure from Italy. 
 
 And how bitter was the thought that I was about to 
 leave my native country ! Nevertheless, I saw that it 
 was necessary for my spiritual good I should do so, in 
 order to foUow with more advantage the path which 
 had been assigned to me by the will of the Lord. In 
 no part of Italy had I as yet been able to find a secure 
 asylum, where I could hope to be safe from the attacks 
 of the pope, his monks, and his Inquisition. Though 
 I was set free from the prison of the Holy Office, for 
 want of any definite charge being established against 
 me, I was still under its strict surveillance. All my 
 proceedings were watched, all my words noted ; and I 
 was committed to the especial care of spies, bishops. 
 
MY EXILE. 365 
 
 and similar agents of the government. I could not 
 therefore be considered as at liberty, although no 
 longer within the walls of a prison. 
 
 In the meantime, regardless of these annoyances, I 
 continued to speak without any disguise, about my 
 departure, of my separation from Rome, of my re- 
 nouncing the Church, and of my voluntary exile. In- 
 deed, before being released from the Holy Office, I had 
 altogether given up my connexion with the Church of 
 Rome ; I had abdicated all right and privilege of serving 
 it, and consequently was exonerated from all its obli- 
 gations. I was desirous to avoid all future imputation 
 as to retaining any of its honours, its dignities, or its 
 gifts ; and therefore I renounced them altogether. I 
 knew that according to the faith of the Church, it 
 might be imagined I must retain the effect of the 
 unction imparted to the priesthood, by the imposition 
 of hands, I revolved in my mind how I could best 
 free myself from this as well; and I saw no better 
 method than by altogether renouncing the doctrine, 
 and publicly protesting against it. 
 
 Before leaving this part of the country, I judged it 
 expedient to apply to Rome for my passport ; not indeed 
 so much out of absolute necessity, as from motives of 
 convenience. My letter was addressed to one of the 
 officials of the Inquisition, who called himself my friend. 
 I received in reply an intimation that the cardinals 
 were not aware of the necessity of my request ; which 
 was as much as to say, that being clear from all impu- 
 tation, and entirely set at liberty, I was unquestionably 
 
366 MY EXILE. 
 
 free to go wherever I pleased. Some of the cardinals, 
 indeed, suggested that I had better return to Rome, in 
 order to make my peace with the Holy See. I re- 
 ceived other letters, at the same time, full of dangerous 
 flattery and enticing offers, — the more dangerous as 
 they were made by my dearest friends, to whom it is 
 always extremely difficult to reply in the negative. 
 
 " Well," I exclaimed to myself, " I must be firm in 
 my resolution ; the more I am pressed and solicited to 
 remain, the more speedily shall my departure take place. 
 As long as I am met with reproaches and annoyances, 
 I have nothing to fear ; but when the opposite measure 
 of kindness and entreaty is adopted, I am too weak to 
 resist ; and I cannot look for a miracle in my favour, if 
 I needlessly expose myself to danger. Onward, then, 
 and let me depart, in the name of God." 
 
 But where? In what part of the world should I 
 seek an asylum ? At Geneva ? or at Malta ? I at 
 length determined for the Ionian Islands. Previous 
 to my departure, I called upon all my friends in the 
 neighbourhood, and I wrote farewell letters to others 
 who were beyond- my reach. I did not neglect to visit 
 my relations ; and, having provided myself with a 
 servant, I set off for Ancona, stopping on the road 
 occasionally in those towns where I chanced to find 
 any of my acquaintance. 
 
 The Governor of Ancona, Monsignor Orfei, (now 
 Bishop of Cesena,) was an old friend of mine, conse- 
 quently I did not hide from him the reason of my 
 leaving Italy, or the place I had chosen for my retreat^ 
 
MY EXILE. 367 
 
 which I had frequent occasion to discuss with him during 
 the fortnight I remained in the place. I mention all 
 this as a proof that I neither fled from my country, nor 
 sought in any way to conceal myself; and that my 
 going into exUe was a matter of free choice, dictated by 
 conscientious motives, and nothing else. 
 
 I left Ancona on the 4th of October, and two days 
 afterwards reached Gorfu, I was fortunate enough to 
 get included in the passport of a family with which I 
 travelled, without any separate mention being made of 
 my name ; this was a necessary precaution, to ensure 
 me from molestation on the road. But at Corfu I was 
 on free ground, protected by the laws, and under 
 colours that owe no obedience to the pope. 
 
 Here, then, I blessed the Lord, and offered up my 
 thanksgiving to Him, for having, thus far preserved me 
 from the jaws of the lion, and from the hands of those 
 who sought to ensnare my soul. For the first time in 
 my life I breathed the fresh air of true liberty — of that 
 precious liberty of spirit which is granted to the chil- 
 dren of God. I sought for a minister of the holy 
 Evangelists ; and soon became acquainted with the 
 Reverend John Lowndes, an independent minister, and 
 Secretary to the Bible Society. I ran to him as a 
 famished man would to obtain bread ; I opened my 
 whole mind to him ; I chose him for my spiritual di- 
 rector ; and he has always proved himself to be one of 
 my best and most esteemed friends. 
 
 My stay at Corfu was marked by many events. The 
 first was a persecution emanating from Rome, clumsily 
 
368 MY EXILE. 
 
 enough conducted by two emissaries of the Inquisition — 
 the papal cousulj and the curate of the Romish Church. 
 The first of these had the boldness to present himself 
 before the Lord High Commissioner of her Britarmic 
 Majesty, with a despatch from Cardinal Lambruschini, 
 demanding my expulsion, as having been guilty of enor- 
 mous crimes. Being asked, however, by the consul, to 
 state the nature of one at least of these pretended crimes, 
 he could not find in his pocket-dictionary any term suit- 
 able for his purpose. I was subsequently assured that 
 the secretary of the Lord High Commissioner reproved 
 him for his assurance. The second of these worthies 
 contented himself with speaking all manner of evil of 
 me, whom he hardly knew by sight. It appears that both 
 of them had a miserable pittance allowed them, for which 
 they amused themselves in inventing and promulgating 
 their abominable falsehoods. I know that the director- 
 general of the police, Captain Laurence, twice sum- 
 moned before him one of these detractors, a NeapoHtan 
 tailor, and severely reprimanded him ; and I also know 
 that this tailor confessed he had been paid for his 
 slanders. 
 
 Several of the Maltese, who constitute the most 
 vile and wretched part of the population of Corfu, 
 had, at one time, taken it into their heads to follow me 
 in the streets, with insulting and threatening words ; and 
 when some of my friends, who were more disgusted with 
 it than I was myself, inquired as to the reason of their 
 doing so, they replied that the curate had desired them. 
 I might have called the curate to account for this, had 
 
MY EXILE. 369 
 
 I been vindictively disposed j but the case was other- 
 wise. 
 
 I must now say a few words upon a subject which 
 perhaps may by some be deemed foreign to " my deal- 
 ings with Rome ;" but still it is in some degree con- 
 nected with the principal facts of my history. And at 
 any rate, it will be a page devoted to the memory of 
 two dear friends, whose loss I have not yet ceased to 
 lament, — to AttiHo and EmiUo Bandiera, universally 
 honoured and deplored by aU good men, for the sacri- 
 fice they made for their country. 
 
 These two noble, pure, generous, and high-minded 
 youths, were compelled, in consequence of being be- 
 trayed, to resign their commissions in the ItaUan- 
 Austrian navy. They repaired to Corfu, at separate 
 times ; and, as I was already on friendly terms with 
 both of them, they requested me to allow them to 
 remain in my house, and partake of my table. For 
 four months I had the pleasure of the society of Emilio, 
 the youngest of the brothers ; and two months, that of 
 Attilio. It is not my intention in this place to relate 
 their history, since it is already well known, how at 
 the head of a few Italians, they embarked from Corfu, 
 and landed on the shores of Calabria, where, in a skir- 
 mish with the troops of the Bourbon king, they were 
 taken prisoners ; and, under I know not what bar- 
 barous laws, were, with seven others, put to death ; their 
 only crime being a devoted love for their country. 
 
 Who among the virtuous and the brave has not 
 mourned their loss ? And who among them would not 
 
 e3 
 
370 MT EXILE. 
 
 have considered himself honoured in their friendship ? 
 None valued it more than myself, who was regarded by 
 them as a brother, to whom they confided their parting 
 injunctions, and who was a minister of the church of 
 which they had become members, the Italian Church, 
 opened in Corfu, in March, 1844, with Emilio Bandiera 
 at my side. 
 
 I have hitherto been silent before the public respect- 
 ing these young men, whilst others have spoken and 
 written the history of their fate. But my silence was 
 solely occasioned by knowing that the Jesuits and 
 their followers, availing themselves of the well-known 
 fact of our intimacy, had spread abroad the report that 
 I was only interested in the success of religious reform 
 so far as it might lead to a political one; that for 
 religion itself I had no respect whatever, and only 
 assumed the appearance of it to ingratiate myself with 
 the English, whose money and protection I coveted; 
 and in proof of all this they brought forward my 
 friendship and intimacy with the brothers Bandiera. 
 
 And here observe how far malice will lead men astray. 
 The Dublin Review, in July, 1850, stigmatises me to 
 the religious world, as a mere political adventurer, 
 while to the political world it represents me as a 
 religious enthusiast, changeable, inconsiderate, and in- 
 experienced, and an immoral person, and a hypocrite 
 to boot. 
 
 As to the Jesuits themselves I care little about them 
 or their opinions, except as they influence the minds of 
 other people. Certain it is that, in consequence of 
 
MY EXILE. 371 
 
 their calumnious insinuations, the religious cause which 
 I advocate, in the face of my country and before the 
 whole world, has in some degree been impeded. 
 
 Before I was known, and had gained the con- 
 fidence of my good brethren in the faith, it was no 
 doubt an unfavourable circumstance in their eyes, 
 that I was so closely associated with persons who 
 appeared to have no other object in view than political 
 alterations. I confess I had not, at that time, suffi- 
 cient Christian fortitude to meet these insidious 
 attacks, and, therefore, felt it prudent to be silent with 
 respect to my beloved friends, the Bandiera, until I 
 should have established my religious reputation on a 
 firm basis, and have acquired the confidence of the 
 public with respect to my Mission. Now, however, 
 God be praised, I am so far advanced in the general 
 estimation of the Christian world, that I may speak 
 out, and reply, as is incumbent on me, to the calumnies 
 with which I have been assailed. 
 
 If I was so united, so closely united with the 
 brothers Bandiera, it was because religious reform was 
 the most noble, the most sublime idea in their minds ; 
 and because they felt the necessity of destroying the 
 abhorred Papacy, and restoring to their beloved country 
 the ancient pure Christianity of our fathers. On this 
 head their language and their ideas, as well as their 
 faith, were similar to my own. The only difference 
 between us was, that they had not themselves as yet 
 put their hands to the work, beyond confidiag in Him 
 who knows how to bring it about by ways of His own. 
 
373 MY EXILE. 
 
 A reform in the Chiirch is not to be effected by 
 force of arms, nor by clamour and sarcasms. Tem- 
 perate argument, and mild persuasion, and virtuous 
 example, are the proper means, and such as the 
 Reformers of the sixteenth century employed. The 
 arguments, moreover, require to be based upon the 
 written Word, which among all religious sects is 
 preserved as a touchstone of truth. Now, my young 
 friends had not the boldness to consider themselves 
 sufficiently weU instructed in the Holy Word to enter 
 into a theological discussion with the people, or a 
 controversy with the priests of Rome. They were 
 desirous of reform, and in the furtherance of it they 
 were content that I should lead the way, declaring 
 themselves my followers. They had the hope that, in 
 various parts of Italy, conscientious priests might be 
 found capable of being reformed themselves, and after- 
 wards of conducing to the reformation of others. They 
 had a great desire to see the Bible circulated; we 
 sent several copies of the Diodate Edition, to friends at 
 Venice, Trieste, Ancona, and other places, and they 
 themselves always carried about with them one which 
 I had formerly given them ; we had frequent conversa- 
 tions together respecting the meaning of different pas- 
 sages ; and Attilio, especially, carefully wrote out any 
 particular view which might arise in our minds on our 
 perusal of them. 
 
 Emilio Bandiera, speaking to an Italian, who pro- 
 fessed that, for his own part, he cared nothing about 
 religion, thus expressed himself in my hearing : — 
 
MY EXILE. 373 
 
 " It is every man's duty to care about religion. He 
 who makes a boast that he has none at all is to be held 
 in abhorrence. I would never choose such a one as my 
 friend — much less would I have a wife of such a 
 character, or children, or even servants. Do you 
 imagine that any society could possibly hold together, 
 in the proper discharge of its mutual duties, without 
 religion ? What would a political reform avail you 
 without it ?" 
 
 On another occasion, when one of his countrymen 
 asserted that, good or bad, he would never change 
 his religion, Emiho observed : — 
 
 " Your words are devoid of sense. If the religion you 
 profess be, in your estimation, good — keep it; watch 
 over and defend it ; if, on the other hand, it be not so 
 good as you first thought, by all means change it forth- 
 with ; that is to say, get rid of your present false notions, 
 and take up those better opinions which hitherto you 
 have not had. It was so that our ancestors did, whether 
 Gentiles or Jews ; as soon as they perceived that their 
 religion was no longer good, in obedience to the 
 dictates of their conscience they adopted Christianity, 
 which appeared to them the only true one." 
 
 Both the brothers had a high regard for truth, 
 in its pure and simple form. I will here quote a 
 passage from the note-book of Attilio : — " The most 
 important truth must, of necessity, be religious truth : 
 it is present with us at aU periods of our life, and is 
 connected with all our necessities. The influence of 
 religion is universal, and I believe that, whoever has 
 
374 
 
 MY EXILE. 
 
 the folly to endeavour to escape it, is nevertheless 
 pursued by it, in spite of himself. Every individual in 
 society -who is irreligious, has to endure a greater 
 struggle than he is aware of, and the more obstinate he 
 tries to be the more he has to endure." 
 
 O blessed spirits ! without doubt you were visited 
 with heavenly consolation at the extreme moment of 
 your separation from this miserable life. You believed 
 in the words of our glorious Eedeemer ; you confessed 
 yourselves sinners before Him, since every living soul is 
 such in His sight. But in the eyes of men ye were 
 justified. It was neither interest nor ambition that led 
 you into the midst of danger, but a disinterested love 
 for your country and your fellow-men. He who judges 
 of the merit of an enterprise by its success, may say 
 that your prudence was at fault in undertaking it ; but 
 I am of a different opinion. I assert that you were in 
 political matters what John Huss and Jerome of 
 Prague were in those of religion, the precursors and 
 the first martyrs. May the Lord bestow His blessing 
 on your labours, by blessing also the labours of those 
 who may follow in your steps ! 
 
 The two brothers left Corfu with twenty followers. 
 Above a hundred Italians remained in the Ionian 
 Islands, all equally acquainted with what was going on, 
 and in which all were interested. No opposition was 
 made to their project of forming armed bands upon the 
 mountains which traverse Italy, the chain of the Appe- 
 nines beginning in Calabria, in order to strengthen the 
 revolution which had become necessary for the country. 
 
MT EXILE. 375 
 
 The two Bandiera, Marro, Ricciotti, and Nardi, with a 
 few othersj were the first who offered themselves for 
 the enterprise ; and accordingly they set out to join the 
 forces that were already on the mountains, expecting 
 their arrival. A single night would have heen sufficient 
 to take them there, as the mountains extended to the 
 sea-shore. But, unfortunately, three days were lost 
 among the inhabited parts, and this delay was fatal to 
 them. 
 
 Thus it was that they fell into the hands of the 
 enemy; not by private treachery, as has been falsely 
 and malignantly represented. What treachery could 
 there be where there was no secrecy ? Their intentions 
 and their expedition were known from the first to every 
 body, and twice they had an encounter with the King's 
 troops. Yet, would it be believed that the desire to 
 calumniate and injure me has pushed the writer of the 
 article I have already alluded to, in the Dublin Review, 
 so far as to make him dare to assert that I, their 
 friend, their counsellor, their bosom-refuge in their 
 hour of trouble — I it was, who tempted these valorous 
 brothers into the battle field, and procured their cap- 
 ture and their death, in order that I might possess 
 myself of their efl^ects ! 
 
 Had I been capable of harbouring the thought of 
 such an enormous crime towards any one, towards them 
 I could have no motive for doing so ; since they arrived 
 at Corfu in so destitute a condition, that they were 
 actually obliged to part with the few articles of dress 
 they could spare, in order to supply themselves with 
 
376 MY EXILE. 
 
 the requisites for their expedition ; this they stated in 
 a letter to Mazzini, shortly before they left Corfu, which 
 letter he published in his memoirs of them. 
 
 When my friends set out for Calabria, I also took 
 my departure from Corfu to settle at Zante. It was 
 understood between us that I should undertake in that 
 place, where I could be free from interruption, a 
 work connected with the religious reform of Italy, 
 and it was settled that I should there receive commu- 
 nications and instructions from them as to my future 
 proceedings. 
 
 My exile was not similar to that of other emigrants 
 who were left in peace by all parties. I had never 
 given cause of offence to my government in political 
 matters, but I had done so with respect to its religion. 
 I had not designated the King as a knave, but I had 
 stigmatized the Pope as an impostor; it would have 
 been a small matter for me to unmask the character of 
 a man who has always been a slave to ambition and 
 self interest. I rather chose the task of disclosing to 
 the world the presumptuous iniquity of one who calls 
 himself holy and infallible, as God Himself; the 
 Spiritual Father of all men; the Lord over all be- 
 lievers ; placed above all ; with the power to save and 
 to destroy ; to open heaven, and to close the gates of 
 hell. Such a centre of blasphemy, such an exalted 
 idol, I resolved to combat and overthrow; I felt an 
 enmity towards this enemy of God, this falsifier of 
 holy truth, this opposer of every moral and civil im- 
 provement : I determined to wage such an incessant 
 
Mr EXILE. 377 
 
 warfare against him that he should finally he obliged 
 to succumb, and while Ufe remains to me I will 
 continue so to do. Let the Jesuits, the Inquisition, 
 the priests and all their spies combine their efforts 
 against me. I heed them not, neither do I fear them, 
 however numerous they may be. The power of hell 
 has no influence over those who are commissioned to 
 preach the kingdom of, heaven. Against them, as it is 
 written, " the gates of hell shall not prevail." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE ITALIAN CHTJECH. 
 
 When I left Eome, and threw myself as an exile 
 into the Ionian islands, I confess I had not at first a 
 clear idea of the task that Providence had assigned 
 me. Still I felt as if I was destined for some high 
 purpose. I acknowledged the hand that was guiding 
 me through new ways and unknown paths, and in my 
 humble prayers to the Lord I repeated the words of 
 the prophet : " Speak, Lord ; for thy servant heareth."* 
 
 Often did I meditate on the designs of Providence. 
 But how can man comprehend the ways of God? It 
 was with me as with the great German Reformer 
 Luther ; he felt that he was in the hands of the Lord ; 
 he felt the necessity of obeying the voice which called 
 on him to reform the Church; and he was obedient, 
 without knowing what he performed. I, too, obeyed a 
 divine call when I separated myself from Rome, and, 
 renouncing her honours and her dignities, quitted 
 Italy for a foreign land, where I knew not what 
 awaited me from the hand of the Lord : I only knew 
 that I was ready to execute His will. 
 
 And it was His wiU, I doubt not, that a work should 
 
 * 1 Sam iii. 9. 
 
THE ITALIAN CHUflCH. 379 
 
 be commenced, which will be the most important, the 
 most illastrious of all the events of the present age — 
 the religious reformation of Italy, the establishment of 
 a new church, to be called the Italian Church, founded 
 on the ancient doctrines of Christianity, with its 
 original form of worship, and with no other novelty than 
 the adoption of the language common to the country. 
 For three centuries has there been a struggle for reli- 
 gious reform in Italy, which has occasioned the sacrifice 
 of so many noble victims, burned by the Inquisition of 
 Rome, drowned in the Lagoons of Venice, and hun- 
 gered, poisoned, or strangled in the prisons of Naples, 
 of Tuscany, of Piedmont, and of Lombardy.* 
 
 The popes, the true tyrants of their country, have 
 uniformly endeavoured with all their might to arrest 
 its progress ; and they had the power so far to destroy 
 it as to cut the tree down to the earth, leaving only 
 the trunk and its green roots under the soil. This 
 reform so necessary for the people, and so desired by 
 all good men, now appears as the dawn of a brighter 
 day than has ever yet arisen upon my beloved country. 
 It derives not its name from men, but from the Divine 
 Founder of our belief, and is consequently only known 
 under the denomination of Christian Reform ; and as 
 being more particularly connected with Italy, and as the 
 language of worship ought to be exclusively that of the 
 country, so the Church which is to be the result, has 
 received the title of the Italian Church. 
 
 * Vide M'Crie'B "History of the Eeformation in Italy;" Bird's 
 " Sketch," &c. 
 
380 THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 
 
 The reformation that we advocate and preachj is 
 not founded on novelty. We profess no other behef 
 than what the Holy Scriptures distinctly and directly 
 authorize ; and we repudiate all that in later ages has 
 been added by men. Our worship, thereforej goes back 
 to the practice of primitive Christianity, pure, simple, 
 and spiritual; adapted to the requirements and the 
 devotion of the faithful; not bound by laws to any 
 particular form, but varying according to the neces- 
 sities of times, places, and persons. Our doctrine is in 
 agreement with the Bible, and our forms are similar to 
 those of the Reformed Evangelical Church. The shght 
 difference that may exist between ourselves and the 
 members of other reformed churches, does not prevent 
 us from hailing them as brethren. Moreover, as we 
 profess to derive our origin from no one principal 
 founder, and render thanks to God for having through 
 His grace enabled us to reform ourselves, we are 
 willing to extend our sympathy towards all our 
 Christian brethren, whatever may be their denomi- 
 nation. We even hope that our Church will be distin- 
 guished by a greater spirit of conciliation, than is 
 perhaps to be found in others. Each of us will be 
 enrolled in the Evangehcal Alliance, and will preach 
 the doctrines of union, sftid concord ; faith, charity, 
 and good works. 
 
 Whether we shall adopt the Episcopalian or the 
 Presbyterian form of government, I cannot as yet 
 say. To tell the truth, I am not at present greatly 
 interested about the question, since I consider it alto- 
 
THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 381 
 
 gether a secondary one. It will greatly depend on the 
 Bishops of the Latin Church in Italy. If they receive 
 and promote our views, it is probable that they may, 
 like the Bishops of England, be received by the general 
 body of the Reformers ; otherwise they will be done 
 away with, as is the case in Scotland, Switzerland, 
 and other countries ; we shall have pastors in their 
 stead, and among thejn some will be appointed, as 
 presidents, to offices of greater authority. I am inclined 
 to believe that the change of name will be sufficient to 
 induce the reform. The word bishop is of Greek 
 origin, and would be better rendered by the word 
 moderator, inspector, or superintendent ; which would 
 at once get rid of the idle notion of the reformed 
 bishops, respecting the Apostolic Succession, and all 
 its presumed rights and privileges. I maintain the 
 absolute necessity of a complete and thorough reform 
 of what is degraded and abused. As to anything 
 further I am for my own part indifferent about it. 
 
 The Italian Church must be built on the ruins of the 
 Latin Church, which is already an anachronism. The 
 Church of Christ must arise from the destruction of 
 the Church of the Popes, which has become a blas- 
 phemy and an impiety. I do not believe it possible 
 for the Church of the Priests to be reformed; it must 
 be destroyed, as it is written in the 18th chapter of 
 the Revelations. It is the people of this Church that 
 wUl be reformed; and it is precisely the object that I 
 myself and a few others are endeavouring to effect. 
 
 The Religious Reformation of Italy, at the time I 
 
382 THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 
 
 am now writing, in the month of December^ 1850, 
 has already made no inconsiderable progress; and, 
 except for the interference of an Inquisition, similar 
 to that which existed in the time of Pius IV. and 
 Pius v., it is impossible, humanly speaking, for it to 
 be cheeked or destroyed. 
 
 Undoubtedly, in some parts of Italy, it is yet con- 
 cealed, inasmuch as it is denounced by the present 
 government, and may be said to exist, as was the case 
 with the Church herself, in early times, among the 
 catacombs. 
 
 We have seen, with our own eyes, the Bible itself 
 persecuted not only in Rome, but in Tuscany also. A 
 scandalous process was instituted against a printer for 
 having published the New Testament, according to the 
 faithful version of Diodate ; at a period, too, when the 
 liberty of the press was pretended to be unrestrained. 
 In Piedmont and Genoa, the people are more fortunate, 
 since the Bible is allowed to circulate in those parts ; 
 and our brethren the Waldenses, since they have 
 obtained their civil freedom, have also had their reli- 
 gious liberty granted them. But in aU other parts of 
 Italy the Jews are better off than we are. They are 
 allowed to assemble together and to open their temples 
 to the public ; they can educate their children in their 
 own faith, and they are not subject to the pains and 
 penalties of the Romish Church. The Jews are, at 
 least, tolerated in Rome ; but we are not. Still we 
 have our secret meetings, even in Rome, with a prison 
 staring us in the face ; we read our Bibles, and meditate 
 
TUE ITALIAN CHURCH. 383 
 
 on their contents, and we converse witli each other on 
 the essentials of salvation, through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and of the true faith, as revealed in His Holy- 
 Word ; and to these vital points we adjoin all that is 
 necessary for Christian doctrine ; at the same time 
 confuting the errors of the Church of the middle ages. 
 And what our brethren are personally engaged upon in 
 Italy, we, who are banished on that very same account, 
 are carrying on in other countries. The day will 
 assuredly come when we shall be re-united, and pub- 
 licly return thanks to God, for having associated us 
 in the same faith, and saved us through the same 
 hopes. And this day we trust is not far distant. 
 
 Eight years have now passed away since I first put 
 my hand to this great work, and it has never, during 
 all that time, ceased to go forward. As a minister of 
 the Gospel, a servant of the Church, I called on my 
 brethren to arise from their slumbers, and witness the 
 brilliant light that was visible in the horizon. I called 
 upon them to break the bonds with which they had 
 hitherto been fettered; and, with the Bible in my 
 hand, I endeavoured to enlighten their eyes, and 
 convert their souls. 
 
 Could I hope the day would arrive when I might 
 Tuyself behold the salvation of my country, I would ask 
 of the Lord that I might then depart in peace from 
 this life, singing the song of Simeon,* and hoping for 
 the benediction of the Almighty, 
 
 I have been accused as a man of extravagant desires, 
 * Luke ii. 29. 
 
384 THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 
 
 of overweening ambition. I do not deny it. My 
 desire is that the people of Italy should be no longer 
 the slaves of the priesthood, at once the prey and 
 the laughing-stock of the Jesuit; that they should 
 worship God, and not bow down before a wafer, a 
 painted canvas, sculptured brass, or wood, or stone; 
 that this beloved people should be taught to beUeve 
 in the revelation of God, and not in the false inven- 
 tions of the priests. These and similar desires have 
 possessed my mind, and led me to implore their fulfil- 
 ment from the Lord. And as to my ambition, it is to 
 be foremost in this good work, and to teach others to 
 labour effectively, through the grace of God, in the 
 same holy cause. 
 
 My preaching in the Italian church, as I have already 
 stated, began about eight years ago, and I have been 
 continually occupied in carrying it forward. Prom Corfu 
 to Zante, and from thence to Malta, where, in the midst 
 of opposition, not only from my enemies, bat also from 
 my weaker brethren, I established my church. 
 
 It was contrary to the opinion and advice of many 
 that I went to this latter place. 
 
 " Reflect," they wrote to me, " on the ignorance and 
 barbarity of the people ; consider that they are much 
 more subject to their priests and their monks, than 
 they are to their English rulers, and that they will 
 wage an incessant warfare against you. You will en- 
 danger your own safety, and run the risk of injuring 
 your cause; you will also endanger us, who are power- 
 less to afford you assistance." 
 
THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 385 
 
 I received this letter in Cepbalonia, at the moment 
 I was setting out for Malta, and it came from one 
 whom above all others I had expected to labour with 
 me in the vineyard of the Lord. The letter was dis- 
 pleasing to me ; and in the panic fear with which the 
 writer appeared to be possessed, I clearly saw the 
 suggestions and instigations of that evil one, of that 
 adversary the devil, vriio, as St. Peter says, " as a 
 roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may 
 devour," * and who now sought to devour my works. 
 
 At this time, too, in order to impede my progress, 
 a Maltese journal, notorious for its bad and abusive 
 character, thought fit to publish several articles against 
 me. In one of them, written by a Portuguese, pro- 
 bably connected with some foreign policy, after stating 
 that I was come among the Maltese to convert them 
 to Protestantism, it was proposed to the people to wel- 
 come me with a chiarivari of cudgels, stones, and other 
 offensive missiles. This man had previously met me at 
 Zante, when he told me he was himself a Protestant, 
 and wished me all manner of success. 
 
 Another writer, who I believe had been an English 
 clergyman, but who, on account of his misdeeds, had 
 lost his situation, asserted that I was well paid for 
 what I was doing by the Bishop of Gibraltar, and that 
 I was nothing more than an agent, if not a zealot, for 
 my own private interest. I had met him a short time 
 before in Cephalonia, where he inhabited the same 
 
 • 1 Pet. V. 8. 
 
 s 
 
386 THE ITAIUN CHURCH. 
 
 house with myself, and he also, with many friendly 
 protestations, encouraged me in my views. 
 
 In a third article I was roundly accused of political 
 intentions ; of having led on the two brothers, Bandiera, 
 to their destruction, and of being an impostor and a 
 hypocrite ; and the public was accordingly called upon 
 to treat me as I deserved. The writer of this third 
 tirade was a miserable Itahan, of whose character the 
 less that is said, the better ; I congratulate myself on 
 never having exchanged a word with him. 
 
 These three articles appeared either the day before 
 or the very same day that I arrived at Malta, and 
 instead of being discouraged or alarmed at their 
 threats, I boldly advanced before my enemies, defied 
 their malice, and provoked their indignation still 
 further, by pubUshing my writings, and opening the 
 Italian church. These proceedings silenced the reports 
 against me ; the fears that were entertained of me 
 gradually faded away; there was no longer any occa- 
 sion to dread a pubUc disturbance on account of the 
 Itahan church ; on the contrary, it began to meet with 
 encouragement, when it was seen that it was frequented 
 by some of the most respectable inhabitants of the 
 place. Our congregation began to assume to air of 
 stability. Others were associated with myself in the 
 ministry, and it was my intention to consult them on 
 all matters of importance. In this way I proceeded 
 to compose the liturgy,* prepare a collection of 
 
 * "Form of Divine Service in the Italian Church in Malta." Malta : 
 1847. Printed by A^assali. 
 
TUE ITALIAN CHOKCH. 387 
 
 hymns,* and make other arrangements, so that in the 
 event of my absence, the work of God might still go on. 
 
 The Rev. M. A. CamUleri, a Maltese arid a Roman- 
 catholic priest, a worthy and excellent person, was the 
 first to associate himself with me. He invited me to his 
 own house, and set about making preparation for the 
 establishment of our chapel. He conducted a religious 
 journal, entitled " The Indicator," which subsequently 
 became the organ of the Italian Church. It was not long 
 before we were joined by a young bare-foot Carmelite 
 friar, called Father Antonio, but whose real name was 
 Pietro Leonini Pignotti, a Roman. He had been for some 
 years at Malta, among thp friars of his order, and used 
 frequently to engage in conversation with us on spiritual 
 matters. I admired him for the sincerity and open- 
 ness of his character, and expected much from the zeal 
 and affection he displayed for the religious reformation 
 of our country. Leonini was followed by Saccares, who 
 was sent to me from the Bishop of Gibraltar. He also 
 was a young friar, of the Capuchin order, from the 
 Roman States, and renounced his obedience to the 
 Church of Rome in order to join us. 
 
 In this manner our small family increased in number, 
 and I foresaw that it would continue to do so. My 
 letters from Italy spoke of many persons who were 
 desirous to associate themselves with us ; among others, 
 my old pupil in theology, whom I had always esteemed, 
 and augured well of his future destiny, Father Luigi 
 
 * "Psalms and Hymns for the Italian Church in Malta." 1^8. 
 Printed by Vaasali. 
 
 s2 
 
388 THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 
 
 de SantiSj a Roman by births and curate at the 
 Maddalena in Rome. He wrote to me in the most 
 affectionate style, and it was with great pleasure I com- 
 municated the contents of his letter to my friends, 
 who, together with myself, could not but admire how 
 the Lord chose out of Rome herself, the men that were 
 to combat against her. 
 
 AU this confirmed me more and more in the opinion 
 that the very " set time " was come, when a religious 
 reaction was about to take place in Italy, against the 
 Church of the priests, and that it was conformable 
 to the will of God. Another idea now entered my 
 mind, to connect a college of missionaries with our 
 Italian Church in Malta, from which we might send 
 forth our new preachers throughout Italy. This, how- 
 ever, did not take effect, for it is written, " My ways 
 are not your ways, neither are your ways my ways." 
 
 I had already communicated my project to several 
 of my friends; I now spoke of it to Dr. Gobat, the 
 Bishop of Jerusalem, who was passing through Malta, 
 and several meetings were held on the occasion. It 
 was settled that my plan should be proposed to the 
 Malta College Committee in London. Accordingly, 
 in the month of May, 1847, I set out for this capital, 
 in order to arrange as to the best mode of carrying the 
 plan into execution. 
 
 The Committee appeared to be pleased with my idea, 
 and to be willing to follow it out. It was proposed 
 to unite my college to their own, and to call it the 
 Theological Branch of the College of St. Julian, at 
 
THE ITALIAN CHUIICH. 389 
 
 Malta; which was to be placed under my direction, 
 with the understanding that in all important matters 
 I should communicate with the principal. 
 
 I have no doubt that the Committee of the Malta 
 College were sincere in their offer to grant me this 
 support. The readiness with which they entered into 
 my views, their approbation, and the promises they 
 made me, were , sufficient to make me believe that 
 the hand of Providence was in the affair. I was not, 
 indeed, acquainted with all the members of the Com- 
 mittee — some of them were not present— but the few 
 objections that were raised, were overruled by a ma- 
 jority of votes in my favour. 
 
 Everything was well arranged ; one thing alone was 
 wanted, and that was money, which some people deem 
 the most essential of all things; for my own part, I 
 have never given it the first place in my consideration, 
 having always hitherto found it supplied by the good 
 providence of God when it was most needed. 
 
 In the present instance, however, this very neces- 
 sary article was required, not only for my theological 
 branch, but also for the college itself, or rather for the 
 school for the youths. The mode of procuring it was 
 to be by calling meetings ; and for this purpose I made 
 a tour, accompanied by a Secretary belonging to the 
 Committee, through the principal towns in England; 
 holding these meetings at various places, which afforded 
 a large amount in donations and subscriptions. 
 
 It is almost incredible, the sympathy which many 
 persons evinced for this Missionary College. My 
 
390 THE ITALIAN CHUECH. 
 
 namej the story of my conversion, my protest in my 
 letters to the Pope, the Italian Church, all afforded 
 abundant interest to those who saw that a reformation 
 had already commenced in Italy, through a religious 
 movement at Rome, 
 
 My brethren in the cause were immediately sum- 
 moned to the spot destined for the Theological College. 
 To Leonini and Saccares were added De Santis, and 
 also Cerioni, of Tesi, in the Roman States, who had 
 lately come from Alexandria, where he had been Secre- 
 tary to the Bishop of Cairo. A fifth came from 
 Smyrna, an Armenian priest named Giovanni Keosse, 
 who stated that he had escaped through the assistance 
 of a bishop, and under the protection of the Austrian 
 Ambassador, from the clutches of the Roman Inqui- 
 sition, which had laid hold of him at Constantinople. I 
 cannot tell how it happened that this Keosse, on his 
 arrival at Malta, was placed by the Principal of the 
 College among my people. I should have been willing 
 enough to have received him, if he had brought any 
 recommendations with him. But he came in a furtive 
 sort of manner, and the reports I received concerning 
 him were by no means to his advantage ; so that I 
 began to suspect some evil design on his part ; and in 
 fact he soon showed himself in his proper colours. 
 
 A bundle of papers arrived at Malta one day, directed 
 to the Committee; they were anonymous, and con- 
 tained vile, and at the same time ridiculous charges 
 against Leonini and Saccares. I was informed that 
 Keosse was the author of these slanders; the Armenian, 
 
TKE ITALIAN CHURCH. 391 
 
 received from motives of kindness^ was already a 
 traitor, who stabbed in the dark. I needed no further 
 proofs of his baseness to give him to understand that 
 he must forthwith take his departure : he then thought 
 fit to throw off the mask ; he was an agent for the 
 opposite party. 
 
 " I think," said one of my friends to him, " you 
 need not wait the coming of Dr. Achillij he has 
 declared that if you cannot prove the truth of your 
 accusations, he will without ceremony turn you out of 
 the house." 
 
 In fact, finding himself discovered, the Armenian 
 did not think proper to wait my return ; he departed, 
 saying, he could live no longer where such disorder was 
 going on. 
 
 I arrived at Malta in December of the same year. 
 The accusations against the two priests were proved to 
 be false, and Keosse was declared to be a calumniator ; 
 I therefore caused a sitting to be held before the two 
 authorities of the College, the Principal and the Vice- 
 Principal, Keosse being present ; and at this sitting he 
 was prohibited from all interference with my theological 
 branch. I imagined that he would also be expelled 
 from the other departments, but he had more favour 
 and protection than I anticipated ; he received money 
 to sustain his charges, and to endeavour to substantiate 
 them J and at the same time, through the interest of 
 some of the officials, he obtained the situation of Pro- 
 fessor of the Turkish language. So that, although I 
 dismissed him, another brought him back ; I closed 
 
393 THE ITALIAN CHUKCH. 
 
 one door against him, the Principal opened another, 
 for his re-admittance. 
 
 Five months of yexation, opposition, and annoyance 
 succeeded. It was in vain that I complained and pro- 
 tested. This Keosse was employed as a tool, to 
 separate me from the Malta College, to make me 
 close the missionary department, and to lose all the 
 ground I had previously gained. Nay, what was the 
 worst of all, he had the art to induce some English 
 clergymen, and others who called themselves Pro- 
 testants, to oppose themselves to my proceedings. 
 
 I have heen rather diffuse on this head, as it relates 
 to the history of the Italian Church. Keosse himself, 
 after having accomplished his mission, — the college 
 being destroyed, and myself compromised in the esti- 
 mation of tliose who were not acquainted with the 
 business, — after having awakened discord, inseminated 
 scandal, turned Protestantism into derision, and elated 
 the Jesuits with their victory, now turned his back on 
 the Malta Protestant College, and repaired to Rome, 
 to receive the reward of his labours : doubtless -he will 
 be made a Bishop. 
 
 We see, then, that the Italian Church can already 
 boast of persecution, in the treatment of her promoters, 
 who have been oppressed and calumniated, and be- 
 trayed by false brethren. And this very circumstance 
 may be adduced as evidence of its divine origin, since 
 the early Christian Church was equally afflicted and 
 unfortunate. Indeed, such trials are promised to all 
 the followers of Christ. Let us thank God that 
 
THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 393 
 
 we have been accounted worthy to suffer for the 
 truth. 
 
 And yet the Italian Church of Malta was beautiful 
 in promise ! The College was her seminary ; but she 
 herself was free and independent. My first agreement 
 with the Committee was couched in the following 
 terms : — 
 
 "If the College and the Theological Branch are 
 under the patronage of the Bishop of Gibraltar, do not 
 on that account imagine that my Church will also be 
 subject to him. I shall consider it my duty to be 
 equally courteous to him as to yourselves ; but neither 
 in one nor the other do I recognise the head or ruler of 
 our Church. Furthermore I declare, that my com- 
 panions, as well as myself, not being members of the 
 Anglican Church, we purpose to be in communion with 
 all Christian reformed churches whatever, beginning 
 with your own." 
 
 These were my very words on accepting my office, 
 and uniting myself to their body. And in accordance 
 with these sentiments I may add, that we have occa- 
 sionally enjoyed communion with the Episcopal 
 Anglican Church, and also with the Scotch Presby- 
 terians ; and at our own church, on the Thursday 
 before Easter in 1848, we had the satisfaction of par- 
 taking of the holy communion with Christian ministers 
 and members of many denominations. 
 
 The Italian Church disclaims the spirit of sectarianism, 
 and fraternizes with every other church that lives in 
 the purity of the Christian Faith ; she abhors the spirit 
 
 S3 
 
3D4 THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 
 
 of intolerance and exclusiveness. She desires to be 
 Catholic, in the true and original sense of the word. 
 
 The Italian Church I had established at Malta 
 augured well, not only for the place itself, but for the 
 whole continent of Italy, and for the island of Sicily 
 also. I do not think it possible for the AngHcan 
 Church to prosper in Malta. All the efforts that have 
 been made to that effect, for the last forty-eight years, 
 have proved to the contrary. The English language is 
 not adapted for a people who have received the language 
 of Italy through tradition, from the Knights of Malta, 
 and from its commercial relation with Sicily and the 
 Levant, whose merchants carry on their traffic ia 
 Italian. Besides it is to be noted that the people have 
 no sympathy with the religion of their rulers, especially 
 in these times, when they are on bad terms with their 
 governors. Ireland is a speaking example of the truth 
 of this remark. If reform be at all possible in Malta, 
 it must be of Italian origin, and the Italian language 
 must be employed, both for teaching and for worship. 
 
 My esteemed friend Camilleri, who exclusively 
 devotes himself to the service of his native place, is at 
 length convinced of this fact; and joins me in the 
 work I am undertaking. 
 
 It may be urged that the Maltese have a language 
 of their own, but it is neither studied nor cultivated, 
 and is httle esteemed; it is entirely confined to the 
 lower orders, and is a spoken not a written language : 
 the Italian, on the other hand, is the language of the 
 educated classes. I have always advanced these argu- 
 
THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 395 
 
 ments to those who sought to ameliorate the religious 
 condition of this people. I have discountenanced the 
 translating into the Maltese language either the New 
 Testament or the English liturgy ; as has been done by 
 the Bishop of Gibraltar : since whoever in that country 
 desires to read, chooses the Italian language, which is 
 preferred to all others. And it is on this account that 
 none but an Italian Church can hope to supersede the 
 Latin one ; and that only after a long laborious effort. 
 Provided the Italian Church were established in Malta, 
 it would greatly tend to its extension in Sicily, since 
 the place is much resorted to by the Sicilians, both for 
 business and pleasure ; and lately indeed by unfortunate 
 refugees. During the whole time that our church was 
 open, many worthy Sicilians frequented it in preference 
 to any other, and each of these, on returning home, 
 carried with him at least his Bible, with the Christian 
 Catechism, which we gave away on the occasion. 
 
 All is now over, through a jealousy the most 
 foolish, the most incoherent I ever heard of. Weak 
 men suffered themselves to be deceived and overcome, 
 and after having made their first false step, had the 
 folly to persist in and vindicate their error. I witnessed 
 the fall of a Church, which yet was "built on the 
 foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets, Jesus 
 Christ himself being the chief corner-stone."* I had 
 to lament over the destruction of the little work we 
 effected in the Lord's vineyard, and the dispersion of 
 the labourers. Oh, how many tears have I shed over 
 * Ephes. ii. 20. 
 
396 THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 
 
 the destruction of our infant Church ! God alone knows 
 what I have done to raise and preserve it. Those who, 
 to their eternal disgrace, have occasioned this evil will 
 doubtless meet with due punishment. At any rate, I 
 have the consolation of being free from remorse. 
 
 These reverses, nevertheless, served to instruct us 
 with respect to the future. 1, in particular, had occa- 
 sion to acc[uaint myself with many things that I had 
 not known before, and to undeceive myself with respect 
 to many others. I had it in contemplation to com- 
 mence my work with an appeal to the priests of the 
 Romish Church. Their conversion would naturally 
 have led to that of the laity. I argued with myself 
 that if I could gain over to the Gospel of Christ the 
 present ministers of the Romish Church, and separate 
 them from the Pope's bulls, the people would assuredly 
 follow their example; that the conversion of the 
 ministers could not be a very difficult matter, since as 
 they are all more or less read in the Holy Scriptures I 
 could call their attention to them, and make it evident 
 how widely Papistry is separated from early Chris- 
 tianity. "The Bible will be the touchstone," I said, 
 " to which I can refer the two doctrines. Christian and 
 Papist. The Bible itself will decide the question." 
 
 My reasoning was just, and I have found by expe- 
 rience that whenever a priest has consented to undergo 
 the trial, he has finally been obliged to yield, and has 
 acknowledged me to be the victor. The same success has 
 attended my writings ; Cerioni has frequently assured 
 me that some articles of mine in the " Indicator" led 
 
THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 397 
 
 him to examine the question, and that the consequence 
 was his abandoning the E-omish Church ; and the same 
 was asserted by two other members of the Theological 
 CoUegR, besides many others. The same success more 
 particularly occurred in Rome. Many declared them- 
 selves willing to abide by the testimony of the Bible, 
 but as sure as they came to argue the matter, so sure 
 was I to gain the .victory. I shall not relate here how 
 many of the priests, seeing that from the authority of 
 the Scriptures the falsity of the Romish doctrines was 
 made manifest, ended by concluding that the Bible was 
 no better authority than the bulls of the Popes, or the 
 decrees of the Councils. I wish to confine myself 
 more particularly to the mention of those who, impressed 
 with the authenticity of the Holy Word, and convinced 
 that the principles of Christianity cannot disagree with 
 its teaching, drew the natural consequence, in sincerity 
 and good faith, that Popery is not Christianity. 
 
 It may be asked. What advantage do I gain in con- 
 verting a priest from the Church of Rome ? I answer, 
 I gain a friend, an associate, who, if I desired it, would 
 be ready, for his own part, to nominate me his bishop. 
 If I was an ambitious man, I could assume an authority 
 over most of these whom I have thus won over to the 
 truth, — I could become their head, and establish a 
 Church which should be called after my name ; and so 
 add another to the numerous sects which already divide 
 the Christian world. But there is no danger that this 
 will take place; I have invariably rejected the idea, 
 whenever it has been suggested to me, as unworthy of 
 
398 THE ITALIAN CHUUCH. 
 
 a minister of the Grospel. Priests above all people are 
 naturally inclined to sectarianism ; they are accustomed 
 to regard the Church as of higher importance than the 
 Bible; according to them, Religion is not the work of 
 God alone, but of God and man together. Hence it is 
 that the Priesthood, in every Christian sect, is that 
 which divides, opposes, denounces, and excommunicates. 
 It is through the Priesthood that we have schisms, and 
 we shall continue to have them so long as in the 
 Church of Christ the believer is not placed before the 
 minister, the spirit before the form, grace and faith 
 before outward rites and observances. 
 
 The Roman priests, more than any others, naturally 
 fall into this error ; being desirous, even in their reform, 
 to preserve their old customs. But there is another 
 obstacle of no less importance — the priest has been 
 accustomed to live, as they term it, by the Altar. We 
 know it is written, " The labourer is worthy of his hire ;" 
 and Jesus Christ himself quotes the old saying, " Thou 
 shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." It , 
 therefore is clear, that every minister, of whatever 
 sect he may be, who duly works, has a right to be 
 provided for. But this, which is a sound doctrine, 
 becomes nevertheless objectionable, when it is made a 
 dominant principle, the axle on which the wheel turns. 
 The minister who serves the Gospel is maintained by 
 those to whom he dispenses its truths ; but he is not 
 equally to be so maintained, on the sole ground of his 
 priestly office, when he is unemployed. 
 
 It is a difficult matter to drive this idea from the 
 
THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 399 
 
 heads of the priests and monks of the Romish Church, 
 the major part of whom are accustomed to an idle life, 
 setting aside the laborious duty of saying Mass ; so that 
 even when they leave their ancient creed, from motives 
 of conscience and clear conviction, their first inquiry 
 is, how they are to live. Hence it follows that many of 
 them are kept in their allegiance to Rome, because they 
 fear they shall die of hunger if they desert her. Others, 
 on the contrary, deceived by false statements, forsake 
 the Church of Rome, and throw themselves boldly into 
 any reform whatever, under the vain hope of finding 
 the means of becoming rich in so doing. The first 
 err through too great timidity, and the second through 
 too great rashness. Both the one and the other are 
 very little serviceable to the cause. I have had expe- 
 rience with both kinds — with those who before joining 
 me looked for an agreement on my part that I should 
 always be at the expense of their maintenance, and 
 with others who unreservedly associated themselves 
 with me, under the idea that I should, with a liberal 
 hand, supply them with all the money they wanted. 
 
 On the contrary, I have been poor ever since I left 
 the Church of Rome ; stUl I never solicited aid from 
 any other than God alone. I admit, however, that His 
 goodness never failed me. I have laboured hard to 
 gain my living, but have never eaten the bread of 
 idleness ; and I have sometimes, through my own exer- 
 tions, been able to provide for the necessities of my 
 brethren. I have never regretted the privations I have 
 had to undergo ; I have even frequently concealed them, 
 
400 THE ITALIAN CHURCH. 
 
 in order not to be burthensome to others. My coni- 
 panions have seen all this, and can bear witness how I 
 have confided my necessities to the care of the Divine 
 Providence, and how often it has happened that some 
 one has spontaneously come forward to our relief, at 
 the moment we most required it; and through the 
 agency of man we have been fed by the hand of God. 
 
 But the priest who leaves the Church of Rome, 
 persuaded of the truth, but not converted by it, is 
 always in search of " what he shall eat, what he shall 
 drink, and wherewithal he shall be clothed," and is 
 unhappy and desponding if he be not supplied accord- 
 ing to what he thinks necessary. 
 
 The idea of providing for these priests, and the great 
 dififi-culty of finding the means of doing so, has, in fact, 
 hitherto prevented me from calling them to me. I had 
 had a sad experience on the subject, when I associated 
 myself with those at Malta. As long as they were well 
 fed, peace and harmony prevailed; but the very day 
 our means failed, they rebelled against me, with the 
 exception of one or two, and turned out ungrateful, 
 unthankful, and altogether unworthy. 
 
 This lesson, amongst others, has taught me that in 
 my work of reform I must not seek the aid of priests. 
 They would be nothing but a burthen and a trouble to 
 me. It is not they who constitute a reform, but the 
 believers ; and among the believers I have always 
 observed that the priests do not hold the first place ; if 
 by the word believer is to be understood a man endued 
 with faith and religious zeal. I hope our Italian Church 
 
THE ITALIAN CHTTECH. 401 
 
 will institute good laws with respect to its ministers; in 
 the meantime, I shall get my operations forward, 
 without again associating myself too closely with any 
 of the priests who may be converted. I shall exhort 
 them to work as I do, and gain their own bread. 
 
 St. Paul " laboured with his own hands ; " and why 
 should not a priest who has not much to do in his 
 ministry employ Ijis leisure time in some civil or 
 literary employment? I even indulge the hope that 
 we may at last return to the old practice in this matter, 
 when the priests did not form a caste, but were merely 
 the heads of the families that were the most respected, 
 and chosen by the people, on account of their wisdom 
 or piety, to the office of minister or elder. 
 
 The inconveniences to which we are now subject in 
 Italy, through the priests, warn us in time, as to what 
 arrangements we ought to make respecting them. It 
 is certain that as to exalt Christ we must abase the 
 Pope, so to raise the spirit of Christianity we must 
 combat the idolatry of mere forms ; and that to purify 
 Religion, which has become corrupted by priests, we 
 must in every possible way make war against every 
 thing that comes under the head of priestcraft. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MY MISSION. 
 
 Meditating on the events that had taken place at 
 Malta, I was compelled to acknowledge that the method 
 which I had deemed the best to evangelize Italy, viz, 
 a Missionary College, was not the way that Providence 
 had appointed. In fact, instead of proving an advan- 
 tage, it turned out to be a complete obstacle to my 
 success, and gave occasion to so much scandal that at 
 length I began thoroughly to be disgusted with it. 
 
 I moreover felt a conviction that the Mission which 
 I had confided to others would be carried out better 
 by one person alone ; at least, that I ought at all 
 events to begin it by myself. Having entertained this 
 idea, and becoming more and more satisfied of its 
 propriety, the next consideration was, where and in 
 what manner my Mission should take place. 
 
 It was about the end of the year 1848, whilst I was 
 still in London, doubtful whether or not I should 
 return to Italy, when another thought came into my 
 mind, as to the expediency of my first making a voyage 
 to the United States. In the midst of this uncertainty 
 
MY MISSION. 403 
 
 the news arrived that Pope Pius IX. had fled from 
 Rome. This intelligence^ which to some occasioned so 
 much affliction and grief, and to others equal joy and 
 satisfaction, particularly struck me, not so much as a 
 matter of surprise and wonder, but as involving in it 
 the most important consequences. 
 
 " So," I exclairhed within myself, " the Pope has 
 fled fi'om Rome — has abandoned the government of his 
 States ! The Constitutional Pope has lost his kingdom, 
 he has fallen from his assumed eminence. He is no 
 longer popular, the Romans have ceased to love or to 
 esteem himl he has given them frequent cause of 
 offence, and, on the sixteenth of November, he com- 
 pleted his work of provocation. The Romans are not 
 to be despised — their anger is terrible : in the same 
 degree that they formerly loved, they now abhor the 
 Pontiff ! I see him dethroned ! He has fled, only to 
 work greater evil ; his flight is to betray his people ! 
 But he will never return ! Woe to him if he should 
 attempt it ! " 
 
 These ideas continued to haunt my mind ; I carefully 
 examined and weighed them over, and discerned a con- 
 nexion between a political event which was known to 
 everybody, and a religious one which was apparent to 
 myself alone. The times were serious ; they occasioned 
 me to fall into a profound meditation, and led me to 
 ofl^er up more fervent prayers to the Lord. 
 
 I went about consulting my friends, and amongst 
 others, one that I hold in the highest esteem and regard. 
 Sir Culling Eardley Eardley. I passed a day with him 
 
404 MY MISSION. 
 
 at his seat, Belvedere, near Erith. We were both silent 
 some minutes, considering whether it -(vould be prudent 
 for me to go to Rome. 
 
 " Oh ! yes," I exclaimed at last, " the present is the 
 very moment when it would be best for me to go among 
 my brethren, in my native land, to speak of Him who is 
 ' the first-born among many brethren.' (Romans viii. 
 29.) The hour is propitious, and I hope not to lose it ; 
 the utmost of my desire is that the door should be 
 opened for me to enter." 
 
 "But do you not think," suggested Sir Culling, 
 "that your life might be endangered? You know how 
 incensed those priests are against you ! If they lay 
 hold of you ! " 
 
 " Oh ! fear them not, I do not believe that they have 
 now any longer the means to injure me. The Pope has 
 already lost all moral power in Rome, and he wiU soon 
 lose his physical power also. Whatever happens, I believe 
 I shall be protected by the Almighty ; He has protected 
 me hitherto, and will doubtless continue to do so, more 
 especially when I am exposed to danger in His service." 
 
 "Are you of opinion that your presence in Rome 
 will be useful to the cause of the Gospel ? and that 
 the Romans, in the midst of their present poUtical 
 struggle, will find time to turn their attention to 
 matters of Religion ? Do you suppose that now, when 
 every one is vociferating for civil hberty, they would 
 listen with complacency to a person who should talk to 
 them of religious liberty, of spiritual liberty, of the 
 liberty of the children of God ?" 
 
MY MISSION. 405 
 
 " Without a doubt I do ; I understand the Roman 
 
 character better than any one, and I feel confident that 
 
 even in the midst of their poUtical agitation, they would 
 
 be interested in religious concerns ; - and the more so 
 
 when they were made to understand that the religion 
 
 which their priests had taught them was a false one. 
 
 Among the numerous doctrines that their Church 
 
 professes, several a^e not believed by many persons ; 
 
 but it is through instinct and natural good sense that 
 
 they refuse to accept them, and not from having 
 
 proved them to be false. No one has hitherto been 
 
 allowed to instruct the people, or to give them any 
 
 books that treat of religious subjects in their proper 
 
 point of view ; and more especially is it forbidden to 
 
 put the Bible into their hands. Now, what would 
 
 happen if the Romans heard one of their fellow-citizens 
 
 speaking to them the language of truth, in opposition 
 
 to the teaching of the priests ? — speaking it with the 
 
 Bible in his hand; and that Bible, moreover, in their 
 
 mother tongue ; and handed over to them, that they 
 
 might read it themselves, and teach their children to 
 
 do so, and by it to reform both their faith and morals ? 
 
 Yes ! my Romans would be delighted at the present 
 
 juncture, to listen to what they have so often desired to 
 
 hear, and what no one has hitherto been allowed to 
 
 explain to them. I am perfectly aware that zeal ought 
 
 to be guided by prudence ; I shall therefore not go and 
 
 declaim abroad, in the piazzas, but shall rather endeavour 
 
 to find my way into the houses ; and before I hold forth 
 
 in public, I shall commune with individuals in private. 
 
406 MY msyoN. 
 
 I shall, in fact, make what is called a personal appeal. 
 It was so that the primitive Church was formed by its 
 Divine Head. The Lord, then, shall be my guide in all 
 that I do." 
 
 " Well, then," observed my friend after a pause, " in 
 order to obtain that guidance, it must be the subject of 
 prayer." Upon which we both knelt dowUj and as the 
 Spirit dictated I besought the Lord to guide us in our 
 proposed work, according as seemed best to His gracious 
 pleasure. My friend also preferred his supplication, 
 that the desire which influenced our minds, and the 
 love which inspired our hearts to convey the truths of 
 the Gospel to our brethren, might be graciously 
 strengthened by His Divine assistance ; that the doors 
 might be opened, and the paths prepared to facilitate 
 our undertaking. 
 
 We both derived comfort from our prayers ; and we 
 felt it to be the will of Heaven that I should go to 
 Rome. I made some further remarks on the subject; 
 and particularly that I considered it to be a providential 
 circumstance that I was not impeded by any engage- 
 ment with the Malta College, but was free in every 
 respect. I remarked too that my mission was not from 
 men but from God alone, and consequently, that I 
 depended solely on Him, to whom all obedience and 
 glory is due. 
 
 These were not, however, the only supplications that 
 were at that time offered up in behalf of my success. 
 I requested of my brethren of the Evangelical Alliance 
 the benefit of their prayers also, that I might be 
 
MY MISSION. 407 
 
 directed by the Lord in my difficult task ; and I know 
 they were fervently made, so that I felt myself suffi- 
 ciently encouraged, and was fuE of ardour to commence 
 my work. 
 
 In the meanwhile the news from Rome became 
 more and more important ; since after the flight of the 
 Pope, and after he had refused to receive the embassy 
 from the Senate and the People, who solicited his return, 
 the public feeling against the Papal Court every day 
 continued to increase, as well as their dislike to what- 
 ever savoured of the priesthood. Every one delivered 
 his free opinion on passing events ; the Roman journals 
 were loud in their denunciations : everything prog- 
 nosticated the destruction of the Papal Government, 
 and with it that the Church, that hypocritical Church, 
 would cease to torment the people, and thus the 
 greatest obstacle to their liberty would be removed. 
 
 I set out from London on the 8th of January, 1849. I 
 passed through France, recommending the true welfare 
 of Italy to the prayers of our brethren. I took the 
 road through Genoa and Tuscany. The defeat of 
 Charles Albert had thrown a gloom over men's minds ; 
 they deplored the sacrifice of so many noble youths in 
 the plains of Lombardy, without any advantage to their 
 country. Nevertheless, the grief they experienced in 
 nowise diminished their courage, or lessened their 
 ardour to engage afresh in their glorious attempt to 
 drive the Austrian out of the land, and liberate the 
 country from a foreign yoke. 
 
 I, as a good citizen, felt a lively interest in everything 
 
408 MY MISSION. 
 
 that was going on, and participated in the hopes and 
 fears of these good people. I often entered into 
 political discussions with them, but it was always with 
 the purpose of introduciag religious remarks, which 
 gradually gave a tone to our whole conversation without 
 their being themselves aware of it. I had some pocket 
 Bibles and Testaments with me^ and occasionally 
 produced one, to give a text in the original words ; 
 it generally happened that others also were desirous of 
 looking into the book, and it ended in presenting them 
 with a copy. 
 
 At Leghorn I supplied myself with a large quantity 
 of Italian Bibles, which I carried with me to Rome. 
 As at the time of my landing at Civita Vecchia the 
 Pontifical Government still nominally existed, the 
 oflB.cers of the Custom-House, before they allowed me 
 to set off for the capital, were desirous to inspect my 
 books. 
 
 " Two cases of books ! " exclaimed they. 
 
 "Well," said I to them, "I will tell you what the 
 cases contain. They are all copies of one single book, 
 and which book I maintain it is not necessary to subject 
 to inspection. To whom, pray, would you submit it 
 for that purpose? To the head of the Inquisition? 
 Understand then that the book which I take to Rome 
 is the Bible, the true Bible. Do you suppose that the 
 Bible would be objected to by the Inquisition 1" 
 
 " If it be actually the true Bible," returned one of 
 the officers, " I should say it would not." 
 
 " But if it be not the true one ? " suggested another. 
 
MY MISSION. 409 
 
 "I can assure you it is/' I rejoined, "'you may, 
 indeed, yourselves readily imagine, that an ardent lover 
 of his country, as I am, would never introduce a false 
 Bible into Eome." 
 
 " Can we see this Bible ?" asked a third. 
 
 " Without doubt," I replied, and opening one of the 
 cases, I handed four Bibles to them, which was one 
 apiece; "will you allow me, gentlemen, to present 
 each of you with a copy? it will serve as a remem- 
 brance." 
 
 Great was the satisfaction of the whole party on the 
 unexpected acquisition. They could not sufficiently 
 admire the present, and thank me for it. I had myself 
 already inwardly returned thanks to God, who had 
 granted me to enter into my native country under such 
 favourable auspices. 
 
 I arrived at Rome on the evening of the 2d of 
 February. The coach stopped as usual at the Porta 
 Cavalleggeri, under the lofty walls of the Inquisition.* 
 I raised my eyes to survey the massive boundary that 
 was erected to shut out the Holy Office from the 
 profane gaze of the passer-by. Alas, what horrors 
 have been enacted within its circuit ! What direful 
 prisons exist around the grand hall of the tribunal! 
 some immediately under the roof of the building, 
 exposed to the suffocating heat of summer, which 
 renders them almost as close and unendurable as a 
 furnace ; others, which are excessively cold in the 
 
 * These walla were thrown down during the Eepublic, so that at 
 present the Inquisition can be seen on every side. 
 
 T 
 
410 MY MISSION. 
 
 ■winter, are on the basement, and into them the water 
 filters from the adjacent grounds, and occasions a 
 perpetual humidity. The dungeons are deep under- 
 ground, like hurial vaults, and in the middle of them is 
 a cemetery for the hodies of such as have been put to 
 death ■within the ■walls. These "wretched places have 
 only been discovered recently, and were laid open to 
 the inspection of the people during the time of the 
 Kepublic. 
 
 In the midst of the court-yard rises the vast edifice 
 where the cardinals meet at stated periods, (besides 
 their weekly sittings at the Minerva,) and the councillors 
 every Monday prepare the decisions. In the same 
 building are the grand Archive Chamber, over the door 
 of which is written " Scommunicato e chi entra," the 
 Chancery, the Secretary's Office, and the secret 
 Printing Ofiice : the various apartments for the dif- 
 ferent of&ces attached to the establishment, as well as 
 for the servants, the officials, and the gaolers : the 
 places of punishment also, where in former times the 
 unfortunates under accusation were tortured in various 
 ways, by the cord, by fire, by boiling water, and other 
 atrocious inventions, which it would be too painful 
 to describe. 
 
 These places now present a different aspect, and appear 
 to be appropriated to other purposes, so that it might 
 hardly be discovered that they had originally served for 
 chambers of torture, were it not that here and there an 
 iron ring affixed to the waU, and other indications of that 
 sort, afford too sure evidence as to their former uses. 
 
MY MISSION. 411 
 
 This little description has arisen ia my mind on 
 having occasion to speak of the locality: as I have 
 before said, all was concealed at that time behind lofty 
 walls, but I was well acquainted with the precincts. I 
 remembered my own imprisonment, when, more than 
 for myself, I grieved for so many other victims 
 sacrificed in that abode by superstition, by fanaticism, 
 and not unfrequently.by private vengeance. 
 
 In the midst of these melancholy recollections, I 
 felt grateful that I was permitted to revisit my beloved 
 country, to which I was returning, not from any motives 
 of earthly interest, but from a sincere love for higher 
 and heavenly considerations. I was not the bearer of 
 gold or of other worldly treasure, but of a treasure 
 infinitely more valuable. I felt a pride in entering into 
 Rome laden with Bibles ; and it appeared to me as 
 a dream, that I was permitted to do so, without any- 
 one presuming to interfere with me. I subsequently 
 ordered another package to be forwarded, not only to 
 myself, but also to other brethren, who were associated 
 with me in the same good work. In the meanwhile, an 
 extensive edition of Diodati's New Testament was 
 published at Rome. The Bible, therefore, it might 
 now be said, had entered and taken peaceable possession 
 of the city, and was distributed among the people. 
 
 I had always admired the Roman people, so ready to 
 receive the truth when it was pointed out to them. 
 Whoever asserts that they are a prejudiced race, does 
 not sufficiently reflect on their shackled condition ; it is 
 to their teachers we must look. 
 
 t3 
 
412 MT MISSION. 
 
 The Romans are papists through necessity, since they 
 are never permitted to listen to any others than their 
 popish priests, or to open a book which is not of papistic 
 tendency. To be judged candidly, they should first 
 receive, as other nations do, a liberal education. I am 
 convinced that their natural good sense is such, that 
 if the truths of Christianity were once fairly laid before 
 them, they would accept them readily. Still it is not 
 the work of a moment, and a fit time is required to 
 unfold them.. 
 
 It is not to be questioned that the first half of the 
 year 1849 was for Rome a time of liberty, but it was 
 also a time of agitation. A new order of things 
 engaged the attention of all classes ; and the minds of all 
 ranks of persons were in a state of commotion, and 
 divided between hope and fear. The subject of all their 
 conversation, the primary object of all their thoughts 
 were public affairs, political measures, and the ex- 
 istence of civil rights. Threatened on all sides from 
 the earliest period, they knew that without a special 
 Providence their Republic could not continue to exist ; 
 in such a precarious state of afiairs, then, the majority 
 dared not compromise themselves with the priests; 
 certain of a reaction from the papal government, on 
 the first opportunity. They were aware that of all the 
 dangers they had to dread, the most fatal one was to 
 be suspected of heretical tendencies. 
 
 In Rome, the Bible itself is heresy, as the priests 
 assert it is from it that aU heresy proceeds. Therefore, 
 a man who studies it, is suspected of doing so, in order 
 
MY MISSION. 413 
 
 to find a pretext to separate himself from the Romish 
 Church ; so general is the idea that the sacred Scrip- 
 tures and the papal Church are not in agreement. 
 The suspicion is increased, if the version consulted 
 be one of those that are prohibited in Rome. Among 
 all the Italian translations, the most odious, and most 
 proscribed, is the famous one of Diodati, which that 
 learned and holy man brought out in Geneva, about 
 the end of the sixteenth century. Admirable as it is, 
 and the most correct according to the Hebrew and 
 the Greek, its text might serve as a standard for 
 others. A few years ago this Bible was scarcely known 
 in Italy, even by name, and in order to obtain a copy, 
 it was necessary to apply to some Englishman, who 
 could himself only introduce it secretly; and woe to 
 him in whose possession it was afterwards found ! 
 
 What now were the grand fears respecting this book? 
 That whoever read it was certain to have his mind 
 alienated from the Church of Rome. A higher eulogium 
 could scarcely be bestowed upon it. Its extraordinary 
 fidelity and extreme perspicuity, notwithstanding the 
 difficulty of rendering perfectly one language into 
 another, will always render it a work of the greatest use. 
 
 In distributing this Bible I was accustomed to dwell 
 on its value, to those who were not already acquainted 
 with it, and also to explain the mode of reading so as 
 to understand it. The chief rule is that the Bible can 
 never contradict itself: obscure passages should be 
 explained by others more clear. " The Bible explains 
 the Bible," is the canon of St. Augustine. It is not 
 
414 MY MISSION. 
 
 true that the Fathers are necessary to interpret it; 
 they may sometimes be useful, but more frequently 
 they do harm, since every one has a different system. 
 
 The Church of Rome orders the study of the 
 Fathers in preference to that of the Scriptures; and 
 this she does because in the diversity of their opinions 
 the reader becomes bewildered, and is obliged to have 
 recourse to her for explanation. The grand maxim of 
 the Church, that no private man can be a judge of the 
 Holy Scriptures, is true in one sense ; no private indi- 
 vidual can impose his own understanding of the Holy 
 Word upon another person ; it being revealed to every 
 one for his own especial good. He may, for the edifi- 
 cation of others, reveal the fruits of his own experience; 
 but no man can be the spiritual master over another. 
 We have one only spiritual master, and that is our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. This observation applies to all 
 persons, even to the Pope himself, who if he be a 
 sincere believer, and au intellectual man, may com- 
 prehend the Word of God, as any other sincere 
 believer and iatellectual man, whether priest or lay- 
 man, may comprehend it : if, on the contrary, he is 
 ignorant and stupid, he is not better than any other 
 person of the same description. The privileges- of the 
 Popes are as unfounded as their pretensions. 
 
 Among intelhgent people— and there are such in the 
 Chui'ch of Rome — one of the chief objections against 
 studying the Scriptures is an idea of their wanting 
 perspicuity. I was asked by one person how it was 
 possible for him to understand so obscure a work. 
 
MT MISSION. 415 
 
 " Why not ? " I asked him ; " are not you as good a 
 judge as the Pope ? Nay, if you are a believer, and he 
 is not, you are in that case a better judge than he 
 can be." 
 
 " But to understand the Scriptures in a proper man- 
 ner, it is necessary to read the Fathers ! " 
 
 " And who has told you so? Doubtless persons who 
 wish to discourage you ; since it requires no little reso- 
 lution to undertake the reading of the Fathers, — 
 a series of more than forty volumes in folio ! ! No, no, 
 read your Bible, and never trouble your head about the 
 Fathers." 
 
 Every day I was thus occupied in conversing about 
 the Scriptures. At first I sought out for persons to 
 introduce the subject to : in a little time I was myself 
 sought out by them. My house became a general 
 rendezvous, and it frequently happened that from 
 morning till night I had not a moment to myself; so 
 many persons were calling on me, either to ask for 
 Bibles, or to discourse with me on what they had al- 
 ready been reading. Many whom I had never seen 
 before came and introduced themselves to me, request- 
 ing a Bible, and several repeated to me the very topics 
 I had argued with others; which showed me how 
 widely the truth might be spread through mutual com- 
 munication. I had at that time but few of the female 
 sex among my converts; but I have since been informed 
 that many have received the truth through their 
 husbands, their fathers, or their brothers. 
 
 Besides the Bible I circulated a few tracts which I 
 
416 MY MISSION. 
 
 nad written expressly for the purpose ; and I also 
 availed myself of those I had published at Malta, and 
 in Tuscany, through the medium of friends. The most 
 acceptable of all these was that " On the benefit 
 resulting from the death of Christ," by Aonio Palearioj 
 published at Sienna, in 1543. This valuable little book, 
 which treats expressly on our justification by faith, 
 and is, in my opinion, the best explanation of the two 
 Epistles of Paul to the Romans and the Galatians that 
 I have yet seen, was so vigorously sought out and 
 destroyed by the Romish Church, that of fifty thousand 
 copies that were printed during the Author's lifetime, 
 it would scarcely be possible at the present moment to 
 find even a single copy in existence ; and I myself owe 
 the restoration of it to accidentally discovering an old 
 translation of it in English, in my first visit to London 
 in 1847, which I retranslated into the original ItaUan. 
 The Author was burnt by the Inquisition, on account 
 of this work, along with the renowned Pietro Carne- 
 secchi, a most learned and pious prelate; and Cardinal 
 Moroni, after a wearisome imprisonment, narrowly 
 escaped a similar fate. His offence, as well as Car- 
 nesecchi's, was having put this little treatise of Paleario's 
 into circulation. 
 
 Two extensive editions of my translation were pub- 
 lished in Florence, and of these I distributed many 
 copies among my friends in Rome. 
 
 The experience I had gained in these matters taught 
 me that the present moment was a favourable one to 
 sow, to plant, and to graft ; and we had to hope that 
 
MY MISSION. 417 
 
 our labours would be visited and nourished by the sun 
 and the rain from heaven. We are, indeed, assured 
 that when the seed is thrown into good ground, in the 
 vineyard of Christ, it not only takes root and flourishes, 
 but also bears fruit. It is true that the wild boar of 
 the forest has since entered in, and with his savage 
 tusks rooted up, wasted, and destroyed ; but a portion of 
 the seed yet remains, in the ground, and in due time, 
 with the blessing of heaven, will not fail to bring forth 
 good fruit. 
 
 It was my constant endeavour to avail myself of 
 every opportunity to lead the conversation to religious 
 subjects : not a day passed without making some pro- 
 gress, and in all places I kept my object in view. 
 Sometimes a discussion took place in a friend's house, 
 and frequently in shops and other places of business ; 
 and as it is customary with us, for the most respectable 
 people to frequent Cafis, both morning and evening, 
 I did not neglect to visit them likewise, in the hope of 
 meeting in them some to whom my discourse might be 
 acceptable. Neither was I alone in this idea j the few 
 good and faithful friends who laboured in the same 
 cause acted as I did, and gave a tone to the conversa- 
 tion in these places, as well as in the clubs and other 
 places of public resort. 
 
 Sometimes when we had got a few persons together, 
 we repaired to one of the halls of the Campidogho, or 
 to the ruins of the Coliseum. In the latter place, we 
 had on one occasion a very interesting meeting. It was 
 on a fine afternoon in May, and the French army, 
 
 t3 
 
418 MY MISSION. 
 
 outside the ■walls, were carrying on their barbarous and 
 most unjust siege. I had many friends in Rome at the 
 time, who had come up from the provinces, and were 
 desirous to hear about our Reform; I therefore ap- 
 pointed them to meet me at the Coliseum; several 
 Romans also were of the party, and altogether we 
 formed a numerous body. I opened the Bible, and 
 began to read to them the first verse of the fifth 
 chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, explaining to 
 them the signification of the expression, of being justi- 
 fied through faith. I then -proceeded to read the first 
 verse of the eighth chapter of the same Epistle, and 
 commented on the meaning of the words, " to be in 
 Christ Jesus." I next inquired of a boy who was pre- 
 sent, if he could repeat to me the Ten Commandments^ 
 which when he did as he had learned them from his 
 priest, I took occasion to show, that according to the 
 Church of Rome, instead of ten commandments there 
 were only nine, since the second, as it is given in 
 the twentieth chapter of Exodus, and the fifth of 
 Deuteronomy, was wanting. It is impossible to de- 
 scribe the amazement of my hearers on discovering this 
 deceit on the part of their Church, against which they 
 did not faU to exclaim in no very measured terms. It 
 was towards evening, and we were seated among these 
 celebrated ruins; the moon was rising and began to 
 shed her yellow rays upon the broken arches around ; 
 the scene was picturesque and impressive, and while 
 our breasts were saddened by the contemplation of 
 these remains of Roman grandeur, our souls were still 
 
MY MISSION. 419 
 
 more oppressed by the thought of the desolation that 
 had fallen on Christianity itself. 
 
 One of my favourite resorts was the Circolo Popolare. 
 Those persons who take it into their heads to calum- 
 niate the Romans on every occasion, designate this 
 assembly as a democratic club, expressly organized, not 
 merely to uphold the Roman Revolution, but to sow 
 discord and disorder ia society, anarchy in the govern- 
 ment, and to effect the complete demoralization of- the 
 people ; and in support of their assertion they cite the 
 evil that was effected by the popular clubs in France. 
 I, who was in Rome all this time, and took no part in 
 the Government, nor held any office under it j I, who am 
 also a Roman, and one who holds in the highest esteem 
 principles of order, moderation and justice, — I can 
 declare what the Circolo Popolare really was. It was a 
 club where citizens of every rauk and condition met 
 together, to promote by their united counsel and opera- 
 tion the liberty and national independence of their 
 country. It was founded in the time when moderation 
 prevailed, and Pio Nono favoured the cause of liberalism, 
 and put himself at the head of the people ; and he was 
 supported by intelligent and just men, actuated by sin- 
 cere patriotism, and free from self-interested motives. 
 I was myself a member, as was the Count Mamiani, the 
 Abbd Gioberti, the Marquess Savorelli and many more, 
 whose characters were sufficient to stamp respectability 
 upon any place they frequented. The rooms were 
 open every evening, and there were always a number 
 of persons present to read the journals, to talk over 
 
420 MT MISSION. 
 
 the news, and not unfrequently to discuss political 
 affairs, either legislative or financial. 
 
 In war time, the conversation turned on the position 
 of the enemy, on our own fortifications and means of 
 defence. In the midst of these discussions there arose 
 the cheering thought of the protection of the Almighty, 
 the acknowledgment of His good providence in our 
 prosperity, and a sense of His justice in times of adver- 
 sity. The consideration of these points was more par- 
 ticularly assigned to myself. I was the messenger of 
 " good tidings from Zion ;" always good to such as are 
 willing to receive them. My ministry took a new form, 
 a new character : I was a Christian citizen, and under 
 that title I was acceptahle to all classes, and the more 
 so, as I was not suspected of looking out for proselytes; 
 my style of conversation having nothing dogmatical in 
 it. Indeed, I entered the more readily into pohtical 
 matters, since I rendered them subservient to the cause 
 of religion. Pio Nono was my type of popery; the be- 
 trayer of his people, the bombarder of Rome, of 
 Bologna, and of Ancona, as he was, he yet was not in 
 my estimation the worst of Popes : from every one of 
 them, I asserted, the same treatment must have been 
 expected in similar circumstances. It was not so much 
 the Pope, as the system that was to be abhorred, 
 accursed, and sent back to the infernal world, from 
 which it originally came. 
 
 The city of Rome owes its present state of deso- 
 lation to the Popes : it is they who have made it what 
 it is. The desert between the Coliseum and the church 
 
MY MISSION. 421 
 
 of St. John Lateran is a record of Gregory VII., the 
 paramour of the Countess Matilda : the ruins of the 
 Borgo, sometimes called the city Leonia, recalls the 
 treachery of Clement VII. , the bastard of Medici, who, 
 from recent investigations, has been suspected of 
 himself bringing in the army of Bourbon, and author- 
 izing the sacking of Rome, with all the horrors related 
 in the history of thg,t period. The Popes, to raise 
 palaces for their so-called nephews, and to erect their 
 churches, have destroyed the finest and most interesting 
 monuments. And to what cause is to be attributed the 
 scarcity of inhabitants in this city, which at one time 
 in itself alone contained double the munber of the 
 present inhabitants of the whole of the Papal States ? 
 To the policy of the Popes, who to shine the more con- 
 spicuously in insulated stillness, like a wUl-o^-the-wisp 
 in a fog, have always desired a city of the dead, sur- 
 rounded by a desert campagna. The system therefore 
 is to be attacked, and not so much those who are at the 
 head of it. They die, but the system is always living : and 
 consequently men fitting for its service are never want- 
 ing. If I had been Pope, it is probable I should have 
 been no better than Gregory VII., or Clement VII., or 
 Pio Nono. I know that if some of the Italians had Pio 
 Nono in their power, they would handle him very 
 roughly : I, on the contrary, would not harm a hair of 
 his head. I would however take care to place him where 
 he should no more have it in his power to injure 
 society. But what others would do to him personally, 
 I would do to the ofiice ; to his pretended spiritual 
 
422 MY MISSION. 
 
 authority-j and to his ostentatious^ nay blasphemous 
 dignity. I would have the Papacy itself judged hy the 
 rational and religious in civilized society, and by them 
 condemned to the ignominious death it deserves. 
 
 In this manner I was accustomed to deliver my 
 sentiments on such topics as were presented by the 
 occurrences of the day. Generally our political dis- 
 cussions terminated in religious reflections, as it was 
 natural they should do. At that time all classes of 
 the people felt what an insult, what an outrage it was 
 on humanity, to have their city besieged in the manner it 
 was, by a base enemy, and still more base bombardment. 
 
 One day as I was walking along the Corso, a bomb- 
 shell fell in the Piazza Colonna : " Ha !" exclaimed a 
 Roman, "here is a gift from Pio Nono." "Yes," I 
 observed, " it is a Bull that he sends us from Gaeta." 
 This remark was mightily approved of, and the idea was 
 so generally taken up, that the bombshell, for a whole 
 fortnight, was kicked about the streets of Rome under 
 the title of the Pope's Bull. Afterwards, drawings and 
 engravings were handed about, representing the bomb- 
 shells that were showered upon Rome, with the following 
 words inscribed upon them : Pio Nono to his beloved 
 children, health and apostolic benediction. Pope Pius 
 the Ninth, in lasting memorial of the event, Pius the 
 bishop, the servant of the servants of God. 
 
 Unquestionably, the Pope could not have succeeded 
 better than he has done, had he studied the means 
 ever so deeply, in removing from the minds of the 
 people all respect for the Papacy, and in exposing more 
 
MY MISSION. 423 
 
 completely its imposture, than by besieging and bom- 
 barding Rome, and tbe other two principal cities of his 
 dominions. He never reflected that the altered state of 
 the times would occasion a result exactly opposite to 
 that which he anticipated. In fact, he has absolutely 
 lost all that he intended to regain. The mere de- 
 privation of his temporal dignity would have been a 
 far less misfortune tp him; he would then have pre- 
 served his spiritual power. Now, however, he has 
 forfeited them both. How much longer, we may ask, 
 will he, or any one in his place, retain possession of 
 the goverment of the Roman States, now that all trust 
 and all veneration for the Papal dignity is for ever 
 done away with ? 
 
 These reflections often came into my mind, the short 
 time that Rome was a RepubUc ; and they were 
 strengthened when I afterwards saw the city taken 
 possession of by French soldiers, and the old abhorred 
 government once more imposed upon the citizens. 
 It would be a difficult matter to render any people so 
 subservient, and most of all the Romans, as to submit 
 long to a government merely efiected by force ; it can 
 only be upheld by Prance and Austria so long as their 
 bayonets are at hand to support it : and these bayonets 
 are wielded by Catholics ! Is not this the last proof that 
 was wanting to show that Romanism is opposed to 
 Christanity, which never has recourse to weapons of 
 destruction. Who can love a religion that is obliged 
 to seek the aid of arms ? — that to return to the place 
 from which it has been driven, calls in foreign troops, 
 
434 MY MISSION. 
 
 selects deadly artillery, lays siege, batters down the 
 walls, and showers into the town shells, grenades, 
 rockets, and other projectiles, to slaughter, and to 
 destroy, and to commit every ravage in order to re- 
 plant a standard which at once displays and disgraces 
 the sign of the cross ? 
 
 At our Circolo, religion and pohtics were brought 
 side by side ; the throne of the Popes by the Cross of 
 Christ. One evening a member arose and addressed 
 the assembly as follows : — 
 
 " I think we are wrong in continuing any outward 
 show of respect for the religion our priests lay down to 
 us, which is, in fact, no religion at all ; though they 
 seem to think that, like Midas in the fable, who had 
 the power of turning everything he touched into gold, 
 so whatever they lay their hands upon must of neces- 
 sity become holy, sacred, and divine. Until just now 
 we had the Apostolic custom-house, and the Apostolic 
 coat-of-arms ! Did the Apostles then collect customs 
 in their kingdom ? or had they their coats-of-arms, 
 their sumptuous carriages, and their richly-caparisoned 
 horses ?" 
 
 " St. Peter," observed another, " made it his boast 
 that ' silver or gold had he none.' " 
 
 " But what," said I, " has the Pope to do with 
 St. Peter ? I maintain that he never was in Rome at 
 all. Even if he had been, there is no reason why the 
 Pope should call himself his successor. 
 
 " What," inquired another, " have you good argu- 
 ment to show that St. Peter never was in Rome ?" 
 
Mi MISSION. 425 
 
 Hereupon I brought forward the strong reasons that 
 exist against the supposition^ and the still greater ab- 
 surdity of the assertion that he occupied the Pontifical 
 throne for twenty-five years. 
 
 " At any rate," I added, " even granting that he 
 had been here, that circumstance could not possibly 
 have invested the Komish bishops with any right or 
 privilege, since they themselves have never ventured 
 any attempt to prove that he bequeathed to them the 
 right of succession at his death." 
 
 Another evening we had a long conversation on the 
 subject of the Saviour and His Gospel ; when one of 
 our number, who had been listening with much atten- 
 tion, demanding a hearing : — 
 
 " Let it not surprise you, brother citizens," said he, 
 " that I who am as deeply interested in public matters 
 as yourselves, now make a proposition which may seem 
 to be altogether a private matter, an afi'air between God 
 and man. Is not this hall sacred to the rights of the 
 citizens ? and have we not these rights from God ? 
 Every time that we meet here in the service of our 
 country, this hall becomes a Temple in which the Deity 
 presides. In destroying the government of the priests, 
 and in depriving the Pope of his authority, we have 
 most certainly no intention to ofier any offence, either 
 to religion or to God ; we assert unequivocally that the 
 religion we are desirous to profess is not one of human 
 councils, or of vain traditions, and we are not disposed 
 to admit that the Pope is God. Nay, so far are we 
 from imagining that we have outraged the Deity in 
 
426 MT MISSION. 
 
 deposing the Pope, that, to undeceive all those who 
 may have entertained such a notion, I propose that our 
 Circolo Popolare, instead of remaining under the auspices 
 of Pio Nono, should be placed under the immediate 
 protection of God. To which end, I move that Jesus 
 Christ, the Son of God, who died for our salvation, 
 should be declared the only Head and Lord of the Cir- 
 colo Popolare, and that his statue should be placed 
 here accordingly." 
 
 " Let it be so," exclaimed several voices ; " we agree 
 to it." 
 
 It was necessary before the proposition could be 
 carried, that it should have a certain number of signa- 
 tures, and I gladly affixed my name to it. Oh ! who 
 can express the satisfaction I experienced at so signal a 
 manifestation of a sincere religious feeling. I saw in it 
 the operation and fruit of the Bible. It is needless to 
 add that it was carried amid general acclamations, and 
 these excellent young men thronged round me after- 
 wards, rejoicing and exclaiming: — "We have done 
 right, we have exalted Christ and abased the Pope. 
 Glory and honour to the Lord Jesus Christ: to the 
 Pope confusion and disgrace. He has dared to excom- 
 municate us, we in our turn will excommunicate him. 
 It is the Church which has the right to excommunicate, 
 and the people constitute the Church." 
 
 Yet this noble outburst of pure religious feeling has 
 been basely misrepresented, by the enemies of civil 
 and spiritual reform, as the language of profanity. 
 France — traitorous and degraded France — ^joined in the 
 
MT MISSION. 427 
 
 senseless outcry, with the hypocrisy that has marked 
 all her proceedings under her present most unworthy 
 president, though she must well know how universal, in 
 Catholic countries, it is to put all places of public resort 
 irader some saintly protection or other. If in this in- 
 stance the Romans wisely chose to range themselves 
 under the banner of their Saviour, rather than under 
 that of any one who might be impiously exalted by the 
 priests to share in the honour and worship due to Him 
 alone, they had, at any rate, the example before them 
 of the Florentines, who did the same thing in the time 
 of Savonarola, that unhappy monk, who yielded up, 
 amidst the flames lighted by the Inquisition, the life 
 that he had devoted to unmasking the enormities of the 
 Papal Church, and her instruments the priests. 
 
 With equal disingenuousness was it pretended to be 
 understood by the same enemies of truth, whether 
 moral or religious, that the motto of the Roman Re- 
 public, Dio e il Popolo, God and the People, signified 
 The People is God, Dio e il Popolo. Thus wickedly 
 did they bear false witness against their neighbour, 
 and seek to confound right and wrong in the minds of 
 those who would otherwise willingly have been led to 
 form their opinions according to the rules of candour 
 and justice. 
 
 At this juncture, when the Pope was struggling with 
 the people for the possession of power, the Romans 
 displayed great courage and enthusiasm. It was not 
 imagined that a people sold to the Church would have 
 possessed such a spirit of independence. The priests 
 
428 MY MISSION. 
 
 had declared that the Romans would not know how to 
 go on without the Pope and the Cardinals : whereas, 
 any one who was present in Rome in the year 1849, 
 can bear testimony, that they never were so full of 
 contentment as when they had shaken their intolerable 
 priestly yoke from their necks. Of all the misfortunes, 
 of all the evils that befell them on their defeat, the 
 most insupportable was the sight of the Cardinals and 
 the Pope once more parading iu the streets of their 
 city. In the provinces the feehng against the crimson 
 dignity was even stronger still. The Legations were 
 ready to call for the usurpation of the Austrian, rather 
 than be again subjected to the Priests. 
 
 The short time that it was allowed me to enjoy my 
 liberty in Rome, I had no time to occupy myself with 
 looking after the neighbouring towns, except so far 
 as writing letters to them, sending them Bibles, and 
 deputing some of my friends in those quarters, to speak 
 to the people the words of truth. It was my intention 
 if the Republic had lasted, to take a circuit in the 
 country, in order to extend my mission. But every body 
 knows how soon we were surrounded by hostile troops, 
 so that it was impossible for me to go beyond the walls 
 of the city. 
 
 I was frequently advised to betake myself to some 
 other place, but I doubted the sincerity of these coim- 
 cUs, and suspected some treachery; for the bigoted 
 priests, and the Jesuit party, as they were termed, 
 regarded my being in Rome with an evil eye, and I 
 have reason to believe that they hated to see me among 
 
MY MISSION. 429 
 
 the living, and were most anxious to number me with 
 the dead. My friends continually cautioned me to be- 
 ware of them, and above all, not to eat or drink in the 
 company of priests, friars, or their partisans ; and I 
 was so far influenced by their apprehensions, that I have 
 not unfrequently refused invitations from persons of 
 whom I had cause to be distrustful. 
 
 Before I received these cautions, however, soon after 
 my arrival in Rome, I paid a visit to the Dominicans 
 belonging to the Minerva, to see after my friends there. 
 The general of the Order, Father Ajello, was my princi- 
 pal inducement ; he was a worthy old man, whom I had 
 known in Naples, and highly esteemed. I was received 
 by him with every possible kindness ; he brought old 
 times to ray remembrance, and spoke gratefully of the 
 attentions I had shown him in my office of Prior ; with 
 him I willingly took a cup of chocolate, which is the 
 usual compliment the friars ofi'er their guests. 
 
 Apropos of these friars, I may observe that some of 
 them are at present exactly in a similar state of mind 
 to what I was myself while among them ; that is to 
 say, greatly desirous to be acquainted with the truth, 
 as was the case with the blind man in the Gospel, when 
 he exclaimed : "Lord, that I might receive my sight."* 
 The opportunity only is wanted, or some impulse to. 
 occasion them to open their eyes to the light. Should 
 any one ask them why they remain as they are, they 
 might probably reply as the cripple at the pool of 
 Bethesda, " Sir, I have no man to put me into the 
 * Mark x, 51. 
 
430 MY MISSION. 
 
 pool."* I have myself, on various occasions, seen so 
 many persons who have evinced their desire for the 
 truth which leads to the putting on of the new man, 
 that I feel confident if the Lord would grant us to 
 breathe the air of liberty once more in our much-loved 
 country, we should see, even from the very monasteries, 
 men come forth as preachers of the Gospel, Apostles of 
 the Truth. 
 
 A very small number as yet have had the courage 
 actually to issue from their dens of corruption and 
 death ; and in those who have attempted it the step is 
 not altogether complete. Either from the want of suffi- 
 cient means, or that the period which Providence has 
 assigned for these great changes has not yet arrived, 
 these brethren, that might make themselves so useful, 
 are for the present content to remove themselves a short 
 distance from Rome, and to take no further measures. 
 
 I have had the same experience with others. Three 
 years since a dear friend of mine in Rome, struggling 
 between hght and darkness, hfe and death, called upon 
 by the Spirit to come forth, and retained by the flesh 
 in bonds, wrote to me at Malta such moving letters as 
 almost brought tears into my eyes. " Pray for me," 
 he exclaimed, " pray that the Lord may enable me to 
 overcome in this conflict j pray that the Spirit may 
 triumph over the flesh." 
 
 I showed his letter to my friends, and besought them 
 to add their prayers to mine for the rehef of our brother 
 who was undergoing the same struggle that I had 
 * John V. 7. 
 
MY MISSION. 431 
 
 myself endured, and the severity of which I knew fall 
 well. Soon after, I left Malta to visit England, which 
 I then did for the first time. My route lay through 
 Switzerland and France, and wherever I met any of 
 our brethren in these countries, I did not fail to ask 
 their prayers also, that our friend in Rome might have 
 the strength to break asunder the bonds in which he 
 was held, and to vanquish his spiritual adversaries. It 
 appeared that our united prayers in his behalf were not 
 without success, since before I returned from London 
 to Malta, our convert was already there, expecting my 
 arrival. He is now a diligent labourer in the Lord's 
 vineyard, and it is to be hoped that our earnest suppli- 
 cations may be beneficial also to many others who are 
 now undecided and wavering. We are indeed often 
 disappointed in our most sanguine expectations, and 
 deceived in our most flattering prospects ; but all we 
 have to do is to commit ourselves to the care of the 
 Divine providence, after having done our utmost, as 
 faithful ministers in Christ. 
 
 In my last visit to Rome, I entertained the idea that 
 among the various monasteries with which the city 
 abounds, many would be found who would hsten to the 
 word of God with enthusiasm, and that a considerable 
 portion of the monks would unite with me in the good 
 cause. Accordingly, on my arrival I made a circtdt 
 among the monasteries, declaring the necessity of sepa- 
 rating Christianity from Popery, as utterly incompatible 
 with each oth'er. I entered into the discussion of various 
 particulars, and although I met with considerable oppo- 
 
432 MY MISSION. 
 
 sitioiij the major part of my hearers listened to me ■with 
 docility, and evidently derived advantage from my 
 arguments. But when on the very point of conviction, 
 of declaring their disbelief of the Romish faith, and of 
 professing their adherence to the true principles of 
 Christianity — when they were jast prepared to abandon 
 the Mass — it was then, even at the decisive moment, 
 that I saw them doubtfal, apprehensive, and vacillating 
 in their resolution ; and it ended with some of them 
 avoiding me from that time, as if the very sight of me 
 reproached them with their weakness. 
 
 I had an interesting meeting, in the church of Santa 
 Maria Maggiore, with my old friend and companion. 
 Father Borg, a Dominican, and one of the Penitentiaries 
 belonging to that Basilica ; a good man and a sincere 
 one; a papist from conviction, and thoroughly con- 
 scientious. He had been a Professor at the same time 
 with myself in the monastery Di Gradi at Viterbo. 
 He was acquainted with every particular of my life ; 
 but I had not at that time let him into the secret of 
 what was going on in my mind with respect to my reh- 
 gious belief, as I deemed him unfit to give the matter 
 impartial consideration. He had seen with the utmost 
 surprise and consternation the events that had befallen 
 me, and ignorant of what was passing in my mind, he 
 could not in any way satisfy himself as to the great 
 change I had experienced. From the time I had left 
 Viterbo we had never met, but I felt assured of his 
 regard. I could not now remain in Rome without 
 paying him a visit, and as nothing at the present 
 
MY MISSION. 433 
 
 moment forbade my doing so, revealing my senti- 
 ments. 
 
 Accordingly, I set off one morning for the church of 
 Santa Maria Maggiore. The canons were chanting 
 their regular service in the choir, and my friend was 
 seated in his confessional, waiting for sinners to come 
 before him to receive their pardon, and holding in his 
 hand his long rod,* wiih which to touch the heads of 
 those who should kneel before him. He did not expect 
 to see me j I passed before him smiling, and saluted 
 him; then turned back again, and did the same; at 
 last he recognised me, and stretched out his hand to 
 me, scarcely crediting the evidence of his senses. 
 
 "What, Achilli?" 
 
 " Yes, at your service. How do you find yourself?" 
 
 "You here?" 
 
 " Yes, I am come on purpose to pay you a visit." 
 
 " But tell me, are you not a Protestant?" 
 
 " My dear Borg, what does your question imply ? I 
 have nothing to protest against yourself." . 
 
 " But against the pope?" 
 
 " I assure you I have nothing whatever to do with 
 him." 
 
 " You are, then, a heretic ! " 
 
 " Oh, no, my friend, I am a Christian ; I believe in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and in His Gospel." 
 
 " And in nothing else ? " 
 
 * The Penitentiaries of the four principal Basilicas of Eome hold a 
 long rod or wand, in sign of their extended power to absolre eyen the 
 most enormous crimes. 
 
 V 
 
434 MY MISSION. 
 
 " Is it necessary to my salvation to do so ? Is it 
 not written, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 thou shalt be saved, and thy house ' ? " * 
 
 " Everybody here has declared that you have become 
 a Protestant." 
 
 " I repeat to you that 1 am a Christian — hear the 
 profession of my faith — a Christian according to the 
 Bible ; all that is written in that holy book I believe, 
 and nothing that is not to be found therein." 
 
 " Then you do not believe in tradition ? " 
 
 " Certainly not in that of the Decretals and of the 
 Canons, which are exclusively of the Church of Borne, 
 and in support of which she can produce neither autho- 
 rity nor reason ; I believe in the traditions of the Church 
 Universal, which includes not merely the Romish Church, 
 but the Greek also, and aU the reformed Churches in 
 Christendom. For example, it is a true tradition that 
 certain books are the true writings which compose the 
 canon of the Holy Scriptures." 
 
 " Well, but do you not believe that there are seven 
 Sacraments ; that the Church has the power to absolve 
 sius ; that in the sacrament of the Holy Supper there 
 is present the real body and blood of Christ ? " 
 
 " My dear friend, what a world of questions all in a 
 breath ! Had we not better discuss them separately ? 
 Every one of them requires a long dissertation. But 
 I can tell you I do not believe that you have ever had 
 power to pardon the sins of any cue, notwithstanding 
 
 * Acts xvi. 31. 
 
MY MISSION. 435 
 
 your office of Penitentiary, unless they were offences 
 committed against yourself." 
 
 My friendj upon this observation, hastily quitted his 
 confessional, in his eagerness to cope with the argu- 
 ment, and invited me to follow him to his own room 
 in the College of the Penitentiaries adjoining the church. 
 I found there two other old Penitentiaries, whom I had 
 formerly esteemed as my masters, Father Galleani and 
 Father Chiappa. They were both glad to see me, and 
 hearing that Father Borg had engaged me in discussion, 
 they lent an attentive ear to it, in order to aid their 
 colleague, if it should prove necessary. Thus I found 
 myself alone against three stout adversaries. 
 
 " You do not believe, then," rejoined my friend, 
 " that our confessors, approved by the Church, have 
 the power of absolution ? " 
 
 " I believe they may have, if the Church alone is 
 sinned against." 
 
 " And if it be against God ? " 
 
 " In that case God alone can pardon, or one who has 
 received power from Him to do so. We read that Jesus 
 Christ alone has that power, and this furnishes a con- 
 vincing proof of His divinity. His enemies were wiser 
 than they were aware of, when they said, ' Who can 
 forgive sins, but God only ? ' " 
 
 " But the Church has received the power through 
 St. Peter, along with the keys." 
 
 " Keys signify, in the spiritual sense, no other power 
 than that of intelligence. We say, the key of the 
 mystery, the key of the business, the key to an enigma, 
 u2 
 
436 MY MISSION. 
 
 or a cipher, or characters. Therefore Christ, when he 
 speaks of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, means us 
 to understand, knowledge and intelligence in heavenly 
 things, or in the essentials of the Church. By the 
 words, ' Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be 
 bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on 
 earth shall be loosed in heaven,' (Matt. xvi. 19,) you 
 understand binding and loosing, pardoning and_ the 
 reverse. Well then, if such be the sense of the passage, 
 the sins that are to be pardoned are those which we 
 commit against each other ; and it was with reference 
 to our duty on such occasions that Peter asked of Christ, 
 ' Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and 
 I forgive him? till seven times?' (Matt, xviii. 31.) 
 If therefore I offend you. Father Borg, (which I would 
 not willingly do, if conscious of it,) and confess the evil 
 I have committed, it is your duty to forgive me." 
 
 " Your interpretation respecting ' the kingdom of 
 heaven ' is altogether new to me. Why should it be 
 called the kingdom of heaven?" 
 
 " My good friend, it is the kingdom of heaven for 
 which we supplicate the Lord, in the prayer which He 
 has Himself given us, ' Thy kingdom come ;' were it 
 otherwise, we ought to say, — May we come into thy 
 kingdom. And it is the same kingdom of which Christ 
 speaks to His disciples, when He says to them : ' Be- 
 cause it is given unto you to know the mysteries of 
 the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.' 
 (Matt. xiii. 11.) Now here are the keys of the king- 
 dom of heaven given to aU the disciples, that is^ to all 
 
MY MISSION. 437 
 
 believers. In fact, the privilege granted to Peter, was 
 also granted to all the faithful alike. Christ says, 
 ' Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on 
 earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye 
 shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' (Matt, 
 xviii. 18.) But to put the matter beyond doubt, the 
 very same power of pardoning sins is given to all the 
 disciples ; ' Receive ye;, the Holy Ghost : whosesoever 
 sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ; and whose- 
 soever sins ye retain, they are retained.' (John xx. 22,23.) 
 Do you imagine now that Jesus Christ at that time 
 made so many penitentiaries of His disciples, or that He 
 granted them the reserved cases in Bulla Coense?" 
 
 " But St. Thomas Aquinas does not understand it in 
 that way," observed Chiappa ; " read his work." 
 
 " My dear master, it is better to read the Holy 
 Scriptures," replied I ; "in them only should we be- 
 lieve. I know quite enough of Thomas Aquinas ; you 
 yourself may remember how much time I wasted over 
 his works ! I am sorry I did. I feel myself now called 
 on to make up for it by giving my whole attention to 
 the Holy Word ; not only to counteract the impressions 
 I formerly received, but what I have also taught to 
 others, when I myself was blind and leading the blind. 
 You refer me to Thomas Aquinas, and I refer you to 
 the Bible." 
 
 " How ! you reject the authority of the Angehc "Doctor, 
 he to whom the celebrated Crucifix spoke, saying: 
 ' Thou hast written well of me, Thomas :' you dare to 
 contradict him and make your appeal to the Bible ! 
 
438 MY MISSION. 
 
 None studied it more than lie did, none understood it 
 so fully. Do you pretend to say that you know it 
 better?" 
 
 " But," said I to him, " you are now going upon 
 another question. I think it would be as well to settle 
 the original one first." 
 
 " I cannot argue," replied he, " with one who doubts 
 such authority. You know what Pope John XX. said 
 of Thomas Aquinas : that whoever departed from his 
 doctrine, semper fuit de veritate suspectus." So saying, 
 up rose Father Chiappa, and abruptly left the room. 
 
 Father Galleani was a more quiet disputant. From 
 the subject of Confession, we passed to that of Transub- 
 stantiation, and to the propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass. 
 When I found myself engaged in this argument, I con- 
 fess, that losing sight of moderation, I assailed the 
 Popish system with great warmth, and inveighed against 
 the impiety of its doctrines, so injurious to the sacred 
 mystery of the passion and love of Christ. 
 
 " I cannot conceive, my dear master," I observed, 
 " of an idea more degrading to Christianity — a bread 
 god ! I say bread, since what the Church of Rome calls 
 the Body of Christ is actually neither more nor less than 
 bread. It was bread in the hands of Christ Himself, 
 when He said, ' This is my body,^ and it is as bread that 
 it forms the mystery of the Eucharist. Christ brake no 
 other substance than the bread, nor ate any other Him- 
 self, nor gave any other to the Apostles. Unquestion- 
 ably it is a figurative sign, a representation of the Body 
 of Christ, which having suffered upon the cross has 
 
MY MISSION. 439 
 
 become spiritual food, a vital nutriment, for all true 
 believers. Bread itself can only be eaten in a natural 
 way; Christ living in the body, could not be eaten 
 without occasioning His death. But you will tell me 
 that it is a miracle. I answer that God can unques- 
 tionably work miracles, but He cannot act against 
 Himself — Christ living and conversing as a human 
 being, could not be eaten without ceasing to converse 
 and to live. Tell me, moreover, how could Christ 
 substantially eat Himself? This monstrous belief was 
 never that of our fathers, who always considered, when 
 they met together to eat this bread, that it was a 
 symbol of the natural body of Christ, and of His mystical 
 body, the Church. And this is the true signification of 
 the Sacrament. Neither in one view nor in the other 
 can the words be taken in their literal sense." 
 
 " But you are aware that the Angelic Doctor, St. 
 Thomas, asserts that the whole of Christ is in the Sacra- 
 ment in actual substance, under the form of bread and 
 wine; and that it is not circumscribed, as water in a 
 basin ; nor definitive, as the soul within the body ; but 
 sacramentally, spiritually, and substantially present at 
 the same time." 
 
 " But if it be one, it cannot be the other : the sub- 
 stance of the body of Christ is physical and not spiri- 
 tual; if it be substantial it cannot be spiritual, and vice 
 versa." 
 
 Here we were interrupted by Father Borg, who, 
 finding I gave up no one point, and that the argument 
 was pushed on to contradiction — I with the Bible in 
 
440 MY MISSION. 
 
 my hand, and my opponent with his Thomas Aquinas — 
 thought best to put an end to it by changing the dis- 
 course. God grant that what I then advanced may 
 be like seed thrown into good ground, which in due 
 time produces its fruit of life eternal ! 
 
 After my first few visits to the monasteries^ I began 
 to perceive that I was looked upon with suspicion, and 
 had to encounter many sour glances. I thought it 
 better, therefore, to give up my mission among these 
 people for a while, unless they themselves should come 
 in search of me. In fact several, of various orders, did 
 come, more especially towards evening, wearing a 
 secular dress, and requesting me to keep their visit 
 secret. 
 
 At no time did I feel more impressed with the im- 
 portance of the mission which the Lord had confided to 
 me than in the latter days of the Republic. It was 
 then that I witnessed prodigies of conversion, not 
 among the priests or friars, for they, seeing the pro- 
 bable restoration of the papal government at hand, 
 quickly relapsed into their accustomed notions, and were 
 ready once more to submit their necks quietly to the 
 bonds that held them captive alike in mind and body; 
 — ^it was among the laity, the professional men, and 
 men of science, the tradespeople and artists, that the 
 greatest progress was made. Some few were of mature 
 age, but the greater part were young men, who were 
 enabled, through the blessing of the Almighty, to open 
 their eyes to the light, and to rejoice their hearts with 
 the love of truth. Many whom I had never before 
 
MY MISSION. 441 
 
 seen came to tell me that they had heard of my 
 ministry, and had become acquainted with the doc- 
 trines I taught, and desired to open their minds to 
 me, and to co-operate with me in the establishment 
 of a Church, in which Christ should be supreme, and 
 His Holy Word recognised. 
 
 Some of the best informed among them could give 
 me very sufficient reasons for their belief; others were 
 anxious to correct their ideas, and to get rid of their 
 errors : I assisted as m.any as I could with my own in- 
 structions, and supplied others with useful books for 
 their perusal. But as much as possible I showed 
 them from the Bible itself the arguments connected 
 with our subject, and I endeavoured to avoid all ap- 
 pearance of undue authority, and to unfold my views 
 in a familiar and friendly tone, as one brother with 
 another, and occasionally we engaged together in 
 prayer. In this, however, I took care to avoid any 
 approach to a set form or rite, leaving that to be 
 adopted upon mature dehberation, when our Church 
 could openly assemble without danger. 
 
 During the first month or two I had prayer-meet- 
 ings at my own house, every Sunday and Friday ; at 
 which, as Christians before God, we all assembled. 
 But these it was soon found necessary to discontinue, 
 as they were looked upon with a jealous eye by the 
 priests, evidently with the intention of revenging 
 themselves, at some future time, when the old order 
 of things should be restored, against such of us as 
 might then remain in Rome. 
 
 u3 
 
442 WC MISSION; 
 
 I thought it best therefore not to compromise any of 
 my converts^ and gave them to understand that I could 
 no longer receive them at that time as a congregation. 
 Nevertheless, on Sundays I admitted a few to private 
 worship ; and sometimes we met at each other's houses, 
 or in some artist's studio, where it was our custom to 
 read a portion of the Bible, and offer up our prayers. 
 And I am assured that many still continue to do so in 
 such a manner as to evade the search that is made for 
 them by the government, the despotic and uncharitable 
 government of the Priests. May the Lord continue 
 in all those who have thus far received the truth, that 
 fervent spirit which shall enable them to hold fast 
 together, until it shall please Him to reunite us, free 
 citizens, under liberal laws, such as His gracious pro- 
 vidence has bestowed on other nations. 
 
 On the 2d of July the French troops entered Rome. 
 An army of forty thousand men, with all the resources 
 of military art, had laid siege to the city, and for three 
 months remained under its walls, one-third of which 
 time was passed in hard fighting, with heavy loss on 
 both sides, but chiefly on theirs. After a continual 
 thundering of artillery, a bombardment in fact of fifteen 
 days, a breach was effected and mounted : but never- 
 theless the city was not entered until the enemy learned 
 that no further resistance could be maintained ; when 
 the wearied, half-famished troops, covered with dust 
 and scorched by the sun, made their inglorious entry 
 into Rome, with a tremendous park of artillery, and 
 every hostile demonstration, to receive from the entire 
 
MY MISSION. 443 
 
 populace unequivocal marks of scorn and derision, even 
 from the women and children. 
 
 In those unhappy days I did not leave the house. 
 Grieved to see the overthrow of a government which 
 the majority of the peopTe had ardently longed for, the 
 only one fitting for our country, in the estimation of 
 every one who is no longer content to endure the deaden- 
 ing influence of the Pap/il yoke, — indignant at beholding 
 a foreign power so disgracefully violate its own honour, 
 its own laws, in order to invade and oppress us, I pre- 
 ferred, as many others did, to remain at home, that 
 I might neither see nor hear what was going on. I 
 was sufficiently rewarded for doing so, in a series of 
 agreeable visits ; from morning till night I had people 
 ■with me conversing on religious matters, and I had 
 frequent opportunities of distributing the Bible among 
 them, and through them to others. 
 
 On the 24th of June I had entered into the married 
 state. During the seven years that I had been eman- 
 cipated from Rome, I might at any time have done 
 so. And at first I had seriously thought of it, seeing 
 that I was at the head of a small establishment, and 
 imagining that a wife would greatly lighten the biu-then 
 of it ; besides the advantage it would have afforded 
 in a more free and confidential intercourse with the sex. 
 But I objected to it, for two reasons : first, because 
 having engaged in so difficult an undertaking as that 
 of a religious reform in Italy, I foresaw it would be 
 incumbent on me to journey about to different places, 
 
444 MY MISSION. 
 
 and that therefore I must be alone, in order to do so 
 without hindrance or impediment ; and, secondly^ that 
 my enemies might not, with their accustomed calumny, 
 assert that my dc'Sertion of the Romish Church was 
 solely prompted by my desire to renounce my celibacy. 
 For although that in itself might have been accounted 
 a suflBcient reason to abandon the faithless Church, so 
 prophetically described by St. Paul as " forbidding 
 to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats," 
 (1 Tim. iv. 3,) yet I should not have wished it to be 
 said that I had been actuated by that motive only, and 
 not by higher and more spiritual ones. But I after- 
 wards saw the necessity and even the duty of such 
 a step, since by taking it I should place myself in a 
 state of equality with other men. The words of St. 
 Paul to Timothy, " A bishop must be the husband of 
 one wife," I consider to be something more than mere 
 advice that Christian pastors should marry. Por my 
 own part I have always inveighed against the law of 
 celibacy, and invariably have advised my friends to 
 marry. Why should not I then, whilst yet in the 
 prime of life, set them the example ? 
 
 " What a scandal to the Church," I observed one 
 day to some Romish priests, " is this vow of ceUbacy 
 among the clergy. And after all,* if considered syno- 
 nymous with that of chastity, where is it kept sacred ? 
 Very rarely by either bishop, cardinal, or pope. As to 
 the lower order of priests, what with temptation from 
 within and example from without, the vow is continually 
 
MT MISSION. 445 
 
 violated ; and if the observance of it be alike injurious 
 to nature and to society, as it unquestionably is, can it 
 be good in itself, or proper to be enforced ? " 
 
 " Well, then," said they, " show us how we can 
 release ourselves from this vow, and engage in matri- 
 mony." 
 
 " The Republican Government," I answered, " have 
 made a law which declares that these vows shall be no 
 longer binding, and that every citizen shall enjoy equal 
 rights. This law, which was issued in the month of 
 May last, authorized all of us to marry, since the sole 
 legal impediment was the pretext of a binding vow of 
 celibacy." 
 
 " It is very true," observed one of the priests, " we 
 are now at liberty to get married in Rome ; but no one 
 as yet has had the courage to set the example." 
 
 " Then I will," I exclaimed ; " I promise you that 
 before this Government is at an end, I shall be married, 
 and so set the example of a holy action to Rome." 
 
 Shortly after this conversation I offered my hand to 
 Miss Josephine Hely, the youngest daughter of Captain 
 Hely, an amiable young lady, carefully and virtuously 
 brought up, and happily for herself, as for me, imbued 
 with Protestant principles, by a dear friend of hers, 
 Mrs. Tennant, the wife of the Rev. Mr. Tennant, the 
 minister of the English Church at Florence. This 
 lady had always manifested a mother's tenderness for 
 her, and it is in grateful acknowledgment of it, on the 
 part of my wife, and equally on my own, that I pay 
 this testimony to her worth. We were publicly and 
 
446 MY MISSION. 
 
 solemnly joined in holy matrimony on the 24th of 
 June, 1849, according to the rites of our Italian 
 Church J but as the government which authorized that 
 act has since fallen, or rather has become suspended, 
 we took care on arriving in England, to have our 
 marriage registered at the Parish Church of St. Martin 
 in the Fields. 
 
 I was convinced, in the very commencement of my 
 conjugal life, that I had not been too sanguine in my 
 hopes of finding a congenial companion and valuable 
 helpmate, in my destined and beloved partner. The 
 similarity of our religious views, and the facility with 
 which she expressed herself in my native language, 
 which was indeed hers also, and her ardent desire to 
 co-operate with me in my designs, all made me look' 
 upon my union with her as another of the precious 
 favours for which I had to be grateful to the Lord, 
 equally likely to increase my own happiness, and to 
 extend the sphere of my usefulness to others. 
 
 My wife loved me as a minister of the Gospel. She 
 was aware what the followers of Christ had to expect. 
 I had myself forewarned her that if she anticipated 
 comfort in my affection and delight in my society, she 
 would also have to experience much trouble. * On our 
 very wedding day I told her that the lot she would 
 have to share with me would in all probability be more 
 " marked by tribulation than by joy, and that in this 
 world we might be called on to suffer in the flesh— for 
 the spirit cannot be injured — to endure persecution even 
 unto death. My dear wife bowed her head in resig- 
 
MY MISSION. 447 
 
 nation to the will of Heaven, and assured me that she 
 also was desirous to become a handmaid of the Lord, 
 and was ready to do His will. 
 
 It was ordained that we should soon be put to the 
 proof. Scarcely a month had passed over our heads, 
 when a sudden stroke divided us. Was this misfortune 
 foreseen by me ? Had I no indication of its approach ? 
 It would be follj in me to say that I did not expect it. 
 But so it was, I had no help for it. The hand of Him 
 who is mighty to save kept me in Rome in the midst of 
 danger and alarm. Even my wife, who is naturally 
 timid, seemed at that time endued with a courage that 
 rendered her insensible to the imminent peril that 
 awaited me. We talked together much concerning the 
 difficulties of my position, without being able to come 
 to any positive decision. In short, we saw the storm ap- 
 proaching, but knew not how to avoid it. Some advised 
 me to be circumspect ; others spoke out plainly of the 
 probability of my being put into prison. But I laughed 
 at them. 
 
 " Why do you not get away ?" asked one of my best 
 friends. "Do you not know that already arrests are 
 made on every side ? Do you think it likely that 
 they will* spare you, who have rendered yourself so 
 obnoxious to the priests ? " 
 
 " My dear friend," I replied, " the present govern- 
 ment have but one fault to charge me with, that of 
 haVing abandoned the Church and reformed my creed, 
 and as a natural consequence, if you will, entered into 
 matrimony. Now for this pretended crime I am only 
 
448 MT MISSION. 
 
 responsible to the Inquisition. The civil tribunals have 
 nothing against me ; I am no pohtical offender. It is 
 well known that I have lived as a private citizen, and 
 never held any office under the Republic, so that I am 
 easy on that score. As to the criminal courts, thank 
 Heaven, I have no cause to fear. them; nor in that of 
 the Vicar- General" can any charge be laid against me 
 for immorality. Do you think that the Tribunal of the 
 Inquisition can ever be re-established ? under the pro- 
 tection of France too ? It is not to be thought of. 
 At any rate, without the Pope and the Cardinals there 
 can be no Inquisition in Rome, and they ai-e not Hkely 
 to return just yet. Indeed, I shall not wait for them ; 
 I shall be far away before they come." 
 
 "■ Your reasoning is very good ; but do you imagine 
 justice will be done to you ? have you never heard the 
 logic of priests ? Stat pro ratione voluntas : they have 
 only to desire it, and your ruin is certain." 
 
 " My dear friend, prudence is very desirable, but not 
 so that restless apprehension which takes possession of 
 the mind to the exclusion of all other feeling, and leads 
 us to imagine danger where none exists. Our Lord au- 
 thorized His disciples, when they should be persecuted 
 in one city, to flee unto another ; but who, aS yet, has 
 persecuted me ? If I fly without such persecution, what 
 answer shall I give to the Lord when He shall say to 
 me : ' Shepherd, I had entrusted a flock to your care, I 
 had even given you my lambs to feed, and to guide unto 
 the paths of salvation; you were their guardian; and 
 behold, you saw the wolf approach, and you fled. You 
 
MY MISSION. 449 
 
 are not their true shepierd, but a hireling who careth 
 not for the sheep. Leave it to Pio Nono, who is no 
 true shepherd, to desert his flock ; but you — ' Ah ! 
 my friend, above all I should dread so terrible and so 
 just a reproof. I will only fly when the Lord, who has 
 placed me here, enjoins me to do so. Until He declares 
 His will, I shall remain where I am." 
 
 At this my friend shook his head, and added, " Since 
 you are resolved, may the Lord keep and protect you. 
 
 He wUl either remove the danger from you, or but 
 
 whatever be His pleasure, may His gracious will be done." 
 
 " Amen," I answered. 
 
 Towards the end of July, I was informed that another 
 case of Bibles had arrived, directed to me, and was lying 
 at the Custom-house. 
 
 "Alas!" I exclaimed, "my poor Bibles have come 
 too late !" The Custom-house had returned to its old 
 system ; the inspector of books was again upon the 
 alert on the part of the master of the Sacred Palace ; 
 it would be impossible to get them out of his hands. 
 Still I would make the attempt, not indeed personally, 
 but through the mediation of others ; and the attempt 
 was fatal to me. My Bibles were confiscated, and were 
 turned into an evidence sufficient to condemn me. The 
 endeavour to introduce the Bible into Rome is a crime 
 not to be pardoned, " neither in this world nor in the 
 next ;" — it is reckoned as the real sin against the Holy 
 Roman Church, a more direful one, in their estimation, 
 than that against the Holy Ghost. 
 
 " Now, indeed," my friends observed, " there is cause 
 
450 MY MISSION. 
 
 for fear. This case of Bibles is a body of crime : hasten 
 out of Rome ; depart without loss of time." 
 
 I confess I did indeed feel a cold shudder, even to 
 my very bones, as I thought of it. I saw that my fate 
 would be the same as that of the books. If they were 
 shut up, could I hope to remain at liberty? This 
 occurred on the 36th of July ; I might have got away, 
 but I had always accustomed myself, especially in times 
 of trouble, not to rely on my own judgment, or act 
 from my own will. As a believer in the Divine provi- 
 dence, I desired in all things to be governed by the will 
 of God, and accordingly I sought in prayer His guid- 
 ance, determined to act as His influence should direct 
 me. He appeared to require a sacrifice of me ; my 
 testimony to Himself and to our Blessed Saviour. My 
 flight would have characterised me as an apostate, a 
 deserter from my duty. Could I terminate my mission 
 so unworthily ? Should I by a single act lose all that 
 I had obtained with so much exertion ? I remembered 
 the prayer I had offered up on entering Rome, " O Lord, 
 as iu this same city Thou didst send thine Apostle Paul 
 to overthrow idolatry, and to announce the glad tidings 
 of salvation ; and didst ordain that he should remain 
 for the space of two years within these walls, so grant 
 to me, thy servant, that being also sent here in thy 
 service, I may remain here at least for the term of one 
 year, in the continual exercise of my mission, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord." This prayer which I then 
 offered up in faith could not but be granted ; and Divine 
 favour is not given by halves. I therefore considered 
 
MY MISSION. 451 
 
 that as I had yet only heen six months in Rome, there 
 were six more that I had to remain to do the Lord's 
 will — it mattered not under what circumstances I should 
 be placed, I had still my work to do. The Apostles 
 even in prison continued their labours. Whatever it 
 pleases God to appoint for the future, it is my duty at 
 present to remain in Rome. 
 
 These reflectiqps imparted so much comfort and 
 satisfaction to my mind, that I look back upon these 
 days as the happiest of my life. I regarded my dear 
 companion with confidence and holy joy, and more than 
 ouce asked her if she too were not willing to do the 
 will of the Lord, and whether He sent us joy or tribula- 
 tion, to bless His holy name. 
 
 "Ah! yes," she replied, "have we not frequently 
 promised it to each other ? Was it not our prayer when 
 we were first betrothed, and was it not renewed on the 
 day of our marriage ? I am r^ady to submit to the will 
 of the Lord." 
 
 This also was an inexpressible satisfaction to me. 
 To see a beloved wife, whom only one short month 
 before I had received as a precious gift from heaven, so 
 well disposed to make the greatest sacrifices for the love 
 of God ! Everything tended to confirm me iu the 
 thought that it was my duty to wait with resignation 
 the fate that should be allotted to me. 
 
 From the 36th to the 29th I remained at home, 
 distributing the Bible and speaking of the Gospel of 
 Christ to all who came to visit me. From an early 
 hour in the morning until late in the evening I had a 
 
452 MY MISSION. 
 
 perpetual throng of visitors. On the evening of the 
 29th I felt more than usually tired, having been engaged 
 in speaking the whole of the day. My wife was not 
 very well, and at about eleven o'clock we retired to rest. 
 At twelve I heard a violent knocking at the front door. 
 It was the Inspector of the Police, with three officials 
 from the Inquisition, escorted by six of the chasseurs de 
 Vincennes. Yes, the soldiers of the French Republic, 
 after having destroyed a government as legitimate as 
 their own, now lent their assistance to the tools of the 
 Pope to execute the orders of the Inquisition ! 
 
 These nocturnal visitants evidently came for the pur- 
 pose of arresting me. I asked by whose authority they 
 acted. The Inspector, Signer Volpone, replied, " By 
 authority of the Prefect of Police," (at that time an 
 officer of the French Republic.) We exchanged but 
 few words. I commended my wife to the care of the 
 Lord, leaving her with her brother Henry and her 
 sister Elizabeth, who at that time were living with us, 
 and allowed myself to be taken away to the palace of 
 the Governor. 
 
 The next morning the chief bailiff came to recon- 
 noitre me ; and after some deceitful words and lying 
 promises, on the part of the Prefect of Police, sent me 
 off, under an escort, to the Inquisition, where I was 
 placed in a cell wherein two priests were already con- 
 fined, on the charge of having taken part in the affairs 
 of the RepubHc. They knew me by sight, it appeared, 
 though I did not myself recollect having ever seen 
 them before. 
 
MY MISSION. 453 
 
 There were altogether in the prisons of the Holy 
 Office, at that time, ahout fifteen priests ; not one of 
 them was accused of any pretended heresy, but all of 
 having written as well as spoken against the temporal 
 power of the Pope. 
 
 My two fellow-prisoners soon became on friendly 
 terms with me. Their desire to hear me deliver my 
 sentiments on religious matters made them forget 
 everything else ; they were famishing after the doc- 
 trines of the Truth, of the word of God. I had not a 
 Bible with me ; I had not been allowed to bring one ; 
 but I cited passages from memory, and as I was well 
 acquainted with the Vulgate edition, I quoted the 
 Latin text; and I frequently heard such remarks as, 
 " Oh ! I was not aware of it !" — " Indeed ! I never re- 
 flected on that before ! " — " You are quite right ; your 
 argument is undeniable." 
 
 The authority of the Church was the grand topic ; we 
 continually returned to it ; the Primacy of the Pope, 
 as derived from the Apostle Peter. What a surprise it 
 was for them to hear themselves contradicted in this 
 belief, which they regarded as an absolute axiom; to 
 be told that among the Apostles no one was head or 
 chief; that Jesus Christ never gave any distinct diploma 
 to St. Peter ; and that on the contrary. He expressly 
 declared that no one should be lord or master over the 
 others, since they were all brethren. 
 
 "But Peter," said they, "was always foremost in 
 speaking ; he answered for the rest, without being called 
 upon to do so, as one having authority." 
 
454 MY MISSION. 
 
 " St. Peter," I replied, " was characterised by his 
 great boldness, which indeed often amounted to pre- 
 sumption ; his words to our Lord were : ' Though all 
 men should be offended because of thee, yet will I never 
 be offended / * and, again, ' Though I should die with 
 thee, yet will I not deny thee ! ' f You know how this 
 proud boasting ended. He was also bold when he re- 
 quested Jesus to enable him to walk upon the water ; 
 but this daring soon gave place to fear, and he began to 
 sink. His presumption even went so far as to ' rebuke ' 
 his Lord and Master, when He told His disciples ' that 
 he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things 
 . . . and be killed.' { And did not Peter well deserve 
 the reproof he received : ' Get thee behind me, Satan : 
 thou art an offence unto me : for thou savourest not the 
 things that be of God, but those that be of man ' ? § 
 So much for the authority of this Prince of Apostles, 
 as he is called, and his claim to supremacy, dignity, 
 and infallibility in the Church ! St. Paul, at any rate, 
 does not seem to admit it, when he says, 'But when 
 Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, 
 because he was to be blamed.' || It is to be noted that 
 this took place at Antioch, where, according to the 
 Church of Rome, St. Peter established the first ponti- 
 fical chair, and, consequently, where he may be sup- 
 posed to have spoken ex cathedra." 
 
 My poor friends had no more to say. One of them 
 was extremely docile, and from the first was disposed 
 
 * Matt. xxTi. 33. f Matt xxvi. 35. % Matt. xvi. 21. 
 
 § Matt. XTi. 23. |1 Galat. ii. 11. 
 
MY MISSION. 455 
 
 to admit the authority of the Bible. The other was 
 equally desirous to understand the truth, but he could 
 not divest his mind of its old prejudices : he was pained 
 to see the idols of his temple destroyed. We discussed 
 these subjects every hour of the day, and during part 
 of the night. An oppressive, suffocating heat prevented 
 our sleeping; what little breath we had we employed 
 in these discourses and in occasional prayers. The 
 second day after my arrival, the least docile of my new 
 friends yielded to my arguments ; both were now con- 
 verted to my opinions. Towards evening we were 
 engaged on the important question, as to the sole 
 mediation of Jesus Christ, to the exclusion of that of 
 the Virgin Mary and of the saints, when suddenly the 
 door of my prison opened, and I was laid hold of by 
 two of the ofiScials of the Inquisition, and by them 
 taken out and delivered over to a party of carbineers, 
 to be conducted to the Castle of St. Angelo. 
 
 My two friends were in despair at seeing me re- 
 moved; one of them could scarcely refrain from tears. 
 I shared in their emotion, and invoked the blessing of 
 Heaven in their behalf. 
 
 Arrived at the castle, I was confided to the guidance 
 of a single carbineer, who took me within side, and led 
 the way to the upper part of the fortress, where the 
 secret prisons are situated.* 
 
 " Can you tell me, my friend," inquired I of the 
 
 * There are also dungeons underground, so horrible that no one has 
 been known to survive in them more than a few days ; they are like 
 wells, completely dark, and wet. But these are no longer made use of. 
 
456 MT MISSION. 
 
 carbineer, who seemed a good sort of man, " why I am 
 removed from the Inquisition to this castle? Is it 
 better or worse, with respect to accommodation ? " 
 
 " Pretty much the same," he replied. " As far as 
 I can learn, it appears that you have been removed 
 from the Inquisition, because the great wall that lately 
 surrounded it is now destroyed, and the prison is not 
 considered sufficiently secure. I beheve too, that it 
 has been deemed expedient to place you out of the way 
 of the priests who are confined there. You are looked 
 upon with great mistrust in consequence of your deal- 
 ings about the Bible. You know it is prohibited in 
 Rome." 
 
 I was now locked up in the remotest part of the 
 fortress, la Gemella Seconda. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 Conducted into this cellj in whicli from some unseen 
 cause there was a most offensive odour, I was shown in 
 one corner a mattress that seemed to have served as a 
 bed for dogs. 
 
 " There/' said my gaoler^ " you can take your rest 
 when you like. We cannot leave you any light, for it 
 is altogether prohibited in your case. It is a new 
 regulation, which is not in force with respect to pri- 
 soners for political offences. We do not know, at 
 present, on what charge you are brought here." 
 
 So saying the gaoler retired, closing the first and 
 second doors ; and I remained in darkness in the 
 middle of my dirty cell, oppressed by the heated un- 
 wholesome air which I could scarcely breathe. I was 
 abandoned by man, but my God was with me. Hence, 
 though deprived of every thing, I felt I was not utterly 
 forsaken. Fatigued and exhausted, I needed repose, 
 but without food, which for three days I had scarcely 
 tasted, I could not sleep. I passed the night in prayer 
 to my God, and found comfort in the remembrance of 
 my Saviour's sufferings. 
 
 Sometimes my thoughts reverted to my Christian 
 X 
 
45^ THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 brettreiij and particularly to those wlio, as I well knew, 
 continued to love me. 
 
 " Oh ! " said I to myself, " if they could know of my 
 imprisonment, I am certain they would put up their 
 most fervent prayers to the Almighty : my dear friends 
 in England — brethren of the Evangelical Alliance — 
 friends in France and in Geneva ! O God, thou wilt 
 listen to the supplications of thy children, and grant 
 their prayers ! " 
 
 The following day, by the little light which glimmered 
 through a high narrow window, I could better examine 
 my habitation, and found the bad smell proceeded from 
 the pavement, the bed, and stUl more from a wooden 
 box, placed at the outside of the window, as if to obstruct 
 both the air and the light, and which contained a 
 quantity of filth and rubbish, which there were no means 
 of removing, as the box was fastened down at the out- 
 side, and had on the inner side an iron grating, which 
 together with the bars of my window, prevented any 
 access to it. My inviting mattress was to serve the 
 double purpose of bed and chair. The walls, on which 
 my eyes must necessarily rest as soon as I opened them, 
 were scrawled over with monstrous figures and dolorous 
 inscriptions in charcoal, by those who had been con- 
 fined there. I thus learnt that this cell had contained 
 thieves, assassins, and amongst others the notorious 
 Abate Abbo, of whose horrible crimes and cruelties I 
 have already made mention. 
 
 At a certain hour of the day I was visited by the 
 gaoler, who said to ine courteously : 
 
THE CASTLE OE ST. ANGELO. 459 
 
 " I am sorry you should be treated in this manner. 
 I know who you are, and I know what you are accused 
 of; you have cause to rejoice in your alleged offencBj 
 but at present it is expedient that you should resign 
 yourself to this most hard treatment ; perhaps I may be 
 able in some measure to soften the rigour of it. Suffer 
 patiently, and put in practice what you teach others." 
 
 "My kind friend," I replied, "you have a heart formed 
 for compassion. The exhortations and professions that 
 I hear from your lips show me you intend to do all 
 you can to cheer my imprisonment, and even though 
 you should not be permitted to offer me any other 
 charity, I shall always be grateful for this — that I 
 receive your sympathy. Oh ! beheve me it will be 
 requited to you by Him who has said through Jesus 
 Christ, 'Whosoever shall give to drink a cup of cold 
 water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto 
 you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.^ " * 
 
 " And where is it that Jesus Christ says these words ? " 
 " In the Gospel written by St. Matthew." 
 " I would wUlingly read it if I understood Latin." 
 " It is to be had in Italian — good Italian ; I will tell 
 you where you can procure it, by asking for it in my 
 name." 
 
 This man in a very short time became my friend, I 
 can now speak of him without fear of doing him any 
 injury by my disclosures, because I have heard that he 
 has given up his employment, and is no longer in the 
 Roman States. 
 
 • Matt. X. 42. 
 
 X 2 
 
460 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 He was not the only gaoler, but lie was one of the 
 chief amongst them : he was nevertheless always in fear 
 of his subalterns, who watched him very closely, and 
 informed against him whenever they had any excuse for 
 so doing ; insomuch that however cautious he might 
 be, he was frequently reproved by the superior for being 
 too indulgent. 
 
 These prisons were all filled with people thrown in 
 for various imputations, and consequently subject to 
 various courts. 
 
 Eighteen different tribunals, some lay and some 
 ecclesiastical, were re-established in Rome on the return 
 of the priests; besides these there were the Inquisition 
 and the French court martial. The greater part of 
 the prisoners did not know under what judges they 
 would come, or what crime was to be imputed to them. 
 Thus passed away six months, and none of them yet 
 knew by whom or for what offence they were going to 
 be tried. As to myself I was very soon told on whose 
 accusation I was placed there, without, however, being 
 informed upon what charge. 
 
 Captain Gennari, who had the custody of those de- 
 tained in the fort, came, after a few days, to tell me 
 that 1 was under the tribunal of the Inquisition ; — that 
 the Commissary of the Holy Ofi&ce, Signor CipoUetti, 
 had sent for him, to teU him I was to be watched with 
 the utmost vigilance, and treated with the greatest 
 rigour, without seeing any one, or communicating with 
 a single individual, either verbally or in writing; in 
 short, without light in the evening, or any thing what- 
 
THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 461 
 
 ever beyond what was absolutely necessary to prolong 
 my existence. This official communication was suffi- 
 cient to prevent my flattering myself that I should meet 
 with gentle treatment, or even with common humanity, 
 unless I obtained some inilulgence from the good na- 
 ture of the gaoler. 
 
 Captain Gennari, when he spoke to any one of his 
 mode of acquitting himself in his office, used to say 
 — "I do my duty as a soldier, and if my own father 
 were imprisoned here, from whatever cause it might 
 be, I should not treat him any better than the rest." 
 Nevertheless, this impartial man knew how to relax his 
 severity towards those who could afford to be generous. 
 
 My imprisonment continued with unabated rigour, 
 and all the consolation I found was in the comfort of 
 the Holy Spirit, and the kindness of the good gaoler. 
 He redoubled his visits, and often came twice during 
 the day to condole with me. 
 
 " Tell me," said he, one day, " what I can do for you, 
 to render your confinement less irksome." 
 
 "You can do me one favour, which would be the 
 greatest of all under this heavy tribulation. You know 
 my residence, where my wife now is ; go, and inquire 
 for a book for me, the book that I constantly read, and 
 the not having it with me now is my greatest trouble — 
 that is, my Bible. In this way you may render me a 
 double service. Tell that dear creature that I am in 
 good health and perfect tranquillity of mind." 
 
 " Yes," said he, " I can serve you so far, and I pro- 
 mise you I will." 
 
463 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 On the morrow, he cams back in high glee. 
 
 " Your wife and all the rest salute youj and she sends 
 you the book." 
 
 "God be thanked!" 
 
 My good gaoler offered to take care of my Bible for 
 me, and asked me to make him acquainted with its con- 
 tents. No one can imagine how I enjoyed the first 
 time I read it to him; and he continually contrived 
 opportunities for availing himself of my instructions. 
 I spoke to him one day of the gaoler at Philippi, and how 
 he was called by God, and taught by the holy apostles. 
 Another time I read to him the parable of the Prodigal 
 Son, which touched him so much, that he would read it 
 again himself. 
 
 " Oh, what a noble book is this Bible ! " he exclaimed ; 
 "but do the priests believe that it contains the word 
 of God?" 
 
 "They say they believe it," I replied, "but their 
 actions contradict their assertion ; in fact, they neither 
 read it themselves nor let others read it." 
 
 " I understand why — this book does not approve all 
 that they say. If we were to read it attentively, could 
 we afterwards believe in their childish stories ? " 
 
 Whenever I expounded the Scriptures to him,, he 
 seemed as if he could not look at the pure doctrines 
 of Christianity, without confronting them with the 
 practices of popery. 
 
 One time he did not visit me as usual, but another 
 came in his place. 
 
 " Is it true," said my new gaoler to me, " what they 
 
TttE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 463 
 
 say of you, that you are put into prison for reading the 
 Bible ? But how is that ? — ^is it prohibited ? Is not it 
 the book of God?" 
 
 " Yes, certainly it is the book of God ; this the pope 
 confesses ; nevertheless, he does not wish it to be read, 
 because he says that no man but himself can understand 
 what God says." 
 
 "Would God, then, have spoken not to be under- 
 stood ? Is it likely that God would speak only to the 
 pope, and a few others, like the kings of the earth ? I 
 believe that God has spoken for all, and that what is 
 written, is written for all." 
 
 • " My good friend, you show more intellect than the 
 pope, and more good sense than all his priests. Do 
 not let them impose upon you. Eead the Bible, you 
 will obtain one .... ask for it in my name, and it 
 will be given to you." 
 
 Three or four other gaolers came to me ; all spoke, 
 more or less, the same language ; these were all soldiers. 
 Were they not more worthy than cardinals ? But of 
 all the men the first was the one to whom I was the 
 most attached, and he, by the mercy of God, was the 
 most attached to me. I was his counsellor in his diffi- 
 culties, his consolation in his afflictions. I was, he said, 
 a friend and a father to him : and he was of great 
 benefit to me, for he frequently was able to temper the 
 severity of my imprisonment. 
 
 " I know," said he, one day, " why they do not wish 
 you to hold any communication with others. It is that 
 you may not speak to them of the Bible, of the Gospel, 
 
464 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO- 
 
 t)f Jesus Christ. I will uot be the means, however, of 
 depriving those who would derive profit from it of this 
 opportunity. I will open the door that communicates 
 with some other cells, where several have already begged 
 me to allow them to speak to you ; M. Gazola has often 
 made the request. I know that you will always do 
 good, and never harm to any one ; now I will willingly 
 give you an opportunity to do this good, and I trust 
 that God will protect us both from the power of our 
 enemies." 
 
 " Oh ! my dear friend," said I to him, " it is surely 
 the Lord who has inspired you ; do not doubt that He 
 will be with us, if we faithfully serve Him." 
 
 After this time, the door of my prison was occasionally 
 left unfastened, so that I might communicate with those 
 who were confined in the same part with myself. Several 
 that could not visit me in the day-time came at night. 
 I am sorry that I cannot at present enter into more 
 particular details, since, at the time I am writing, the 
 major part of my fellow-prisoners are still in confine- 
 ment, and the remainder are either in Rome or in the 
 Papal states, and consequently under the jurisdiction of 
 the Inquisition. I could otherwise relate many things 
 which our good brethren would be delighted to hear ; I 
 may however make the general remark, that whenever 
 I communicated with my fellow-prisoners, our conver- 
 sation invariably turned on religious matters ; it was a 
 subject of rejoicing for us when our prison doors were 
 opened, which each day the gaoler was requested to do 
 at as early an hour as possible. I continued my lectures 
 
Mb castle of ST. angelo. 465 
 
 for the space of a month, and during that time my Bible 
 was in frequent circulation among them. 
 
 The treatment experienced in this prison is certainly 
 not so bad in most cases as it is in every other within 
 the waUs of Rome. The Castle of St. Angelo is chiefly 
 set apart for prisoners of distinction. Cardinals and 
 prelates who fall into disgrace with the pope are con- 
 fined in it. For this purpose there are a variety of 
 apartments ; in one of them are shown the iron rings 
 that had the honour of securing the cord with which 
 the celebrated Cardinals Carafifa, Coscia, and others were 
 hung. Pope Clement VII. was likewise a prisoner 
 in this fortress, at the time of its occupation by the 
 Imperial forces, which he himself had called into Rome. 
 The records of this edifice, which, as everybody knows, 
 was originally the mausoleum of the Emperor Adrian, 
 would throw considerable light on the history of the 
 papacy, and unfold many of the evil deeds of the popes. 
 It has been the scene of the most unheard-of cruelties, as 
 well as of the most shameless and revolting obscenities. 
 The well-known orgies of Pope Alexander VI., which 
 were celebrated partly in the gardens of the Vatican, 
 and partly in the Castle of St. Angelo, have left a 
 stain upon its walls which can never be efi^aced. Like 
 the Pope's bulls, it serves " ad perpetuam rei memo- 
 riam."^ In one of the haUs are the notorious pictures 
 by Julio Romano, of which it would be difficult to 
 decide whether the artistical skill they display be more 
 
 * Every Papal bull commences with these words. 
 X 3 
 
466 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 admirable, or the subjects they represent more grossly 
 indecent and detestable. Colonel Calandrelli, one of the 
 most valiant defenders of the republic, and a triumvi- 
 rate after Mazzini — a gentleman equally learned in the 
 history of his country as he has shown himself brave in 
 her service, has assured me that he has a work ready 
 for publication, in which the whole history of this cele- 
 brated castle is unfolded from authentic documents. 
 
 My imprisonment was a source of much trouble and 
 uneasiness to the three cardinals whom the pope had 
 commissioned to take the reins of government. They 
 frequently sent for Captain Gennari to inquire concern- 
 ing me, and to give fresh orders respecting my safe 
 incarceration. I remember on one occasion the good 
 gaoler having kindly opened for me the door of com- 
 munication, hastily returned, and with his hand made 
 signs to me to re-enter my cell with all speed, that he 
 might again close the door. Another time, very early 
 in the morning, while I was yet lying on my before- 
 described mattress, the outer door was opened in a very 
 unusual manner, and I heard the voice of Captain 
 Grennari, who loudly called out : " Here he is; come in, 
 Sir, and certify for yourself that Signor AchilH is here ;" 
 then opening the door of my ceU, he called to me by 
 name, and on my replying to him, observed to his 
 companion, " You hear the voice of Signor AchiUi, do 
 you not ? Be assured the cardinal's orders will be duly 
 attended to." Then putting his head into my cell, he 
 whispered to me, " He comes from the Cardinal- Vicar, 
 with fresh orders as to your more close confinement." 
 
THE CASTLE OP ST. ANGELO. 467 
 
 After this my poor gaoler began to take fright^ and 
 could no longer allow me to have my door opened as 
 usual ; he assured me that he was afraid for me, as well 
 as for himself, as the first thing that would be done, 
 in case his indulgence was discovered, would be his own 
 removal, and the appointment of another in his place, 
 who would have orders to treat me with greater severity. 
 I afterwards learned that a new prisoner, who had been 
 placed in a cell near to my own for some misconduct 
 two or three days before, had informed his father con- 
 fessor that he had seen me go out and converse with 
 other prisoners ; and from what he heard, it appeared 
 that I had preached Protestant doctrines to them, and 
 that they had become my followers. The confessor 
 told all this to the cardinals, but, fortunately for me, 
 he had the reputation of being so great a liar that he 
 obtained no credit with them for his statement, however 
 true it might be ; and I heard no more of it. 
 
 In the midst of these apprehensions, and with the 
 possibility of finding myself put into irons, my courage 
 never gave way, neither did my zeal diminish in the 
 cause of my friends. I continued, as often as I could, 
 my accustomed discourses, as if I were at liberty and 
 in a land of freedom. I took no precaution as to whom 
 I addressed myself; my sole care was to render my 
 subject intelhgible, and to impress on the mind of my 
 hearers a lasting idea of its importance : with the 
 learned my arguments were more scientific ; with the 
 uninstructed, more simple and familiar. 
 
 In this way my mission continued to progress even 
 
468 THE CASTLE OF ST. AN6ELO, 
 
 %yitliin the walls of a prison. The cardinals, in ordering 
 my incarceration, imagined they had put a stop to my 
 operations, whereas they only accelerated them. We 
 laughed, inside the castle, at the wise precaution of 
 sending me where many of the hravest and the best of 
 the Roman citizens were at that time confined. The 
 city itself was a desert in comparison with the prisons, 
 which were full to overflowing. If I had been allowed 
 to remain at liberty in my own house I could not have 
 obtained half the success I met with among my fellow- 
 prisoners. Unquestionably I suffered very much in 
 my confinement, separated from my dearest friends, 
 and tormented by the thought of the grief they must 
 feel ; but in the midst of these sorrows, I derived con- 
 solation from the idea, that the grand work on which 
 I was engaged was, through the grace of God, and the 
 blessing of his Divine providence, steadily advancing. 
 I rejoiced, too, that it was carrying on in Rome, and 
 at a time when, through foreign compulsion, everything 
 was returning to papacy, and to Pio Nono, who had not 
 only destroyed his own work of liberty, but even the 
 small remains of it that had existed under his prede- 
 cessors. 
 
 At a period when the most horrible slavery was im- 
 posed on us through the generosity and consistency of 
 the French nation, I alone remained free ; I, the most 
 hated of all, the most detested by the pope and the 
 cardinals, even more so than Mazzini — I had the privi- 
 lege granted me by the representatives of the two 
 governments, to make war against the pope and the 
 
THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 469 
 
 papacy, with undiminished advantage and success. And 
 this was all they gained in shutting me up in the for- 
 tress of St. Angelo, 
 
 Every time they renewed their persecution of me, I 
 think my power increased. I am not a man to be easily 
 put down. In considering myself as a servant of the 
 Lord, I feel myself as a rock, on which the tempestuous 
 ocean spends its utmost fury in vain. 
 
 The severity of my imprisonment denied me the 
 gratification of seeing any of my friends who were at 
 liberty, neither was it in the power of my kind-hearted 
 gaoler to be of any service to me in the matter. There 
 were too many doors to pass through, and each of them 
 had its own separate turnkey, and it was hopeless to 
 think of conciliating them all. The only person who 
 had hitherto been allowed to visit me was the English 
 consul, Mr. Freeborn, who had, when I was first taken, 
 obtained permission to do so from the French general ; 
 but the cardinals interfered, and gave orders that no 
 permission should be valid except what came from the 
 Inquisition or the pope, so that an end was soon put 
 to his visits. 
 
 A deputation from the Evangelical Alliance, com- 
 posed of my two good friends, Mr, Tonna and M. Mey- 
 rueis, the one an English and the other a French 
 gentleman, who were sent to intercede in my behalf, 
 were also, on application to the cardinals, refused 
 admittance. On referring their petition to the pope 
 they were again denied, and I found that I was more 
 rigorously treated after it ; more closely confined to 
 my cell, and threatened with even greater severities. 
 
470 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 NeverthelesSj through the blessing of God, I never 
 before enjoyed such perfect tranquillity of mind; never 
 in society had I been conscious of more cheerfulness, 
 and when I was drawn into conversation I inspired 
 others with the same feeling. I bade them trust in the 
 providence of God, who would restore to his people their 
 rightful liberty. Hence arose a long discussion on this 
 divine attribute. I let every one propose his objec- 
 tions, which it was a pleasure to me to answer. Another 
 time I was consoling one of my companions for the 
 injustice of the tribunal that judged him. " Oh, my 
 friend," said I, " you look for justice from men. Can 
 you expect it from those who do not fear God ? Is not 
 justice an attribute of the Deity ? No man can be just 
 who departs from God. How then can justice be 
 restored amongst us? By regaining the knowledge 
 and faith, the fear and love of God. And what we say 
 of justice may equally be said of truth. There can be 
 no truth among a people, where the pope is exalted 
 into the place of God. From the earliest times he has 
 been a liar, and his lies obtain credence even in other 
 countries because they emanate from Rome. If we, then, 
 no longer admit them, let us be the first to denounce 
 that popery by which Rome is oppressed and dis- 
 honoured." 
 
 These discussions could not fail to produce their 
 efTect, which was gradually to withdraw those who 
 listened to them from popery, and to lead them unto 
 God through Christ. The blessing of God is with those 
 who honour Him, and I hope myself to reap the fruits 
 of what I have sown. I relate these things, not to take 
 
THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 471 
 
 pride iu them as my own work, but as proceeding from 
 the bounty of the Lord. I should not have come to 
 prison by my own choice, but for wise ends it was so 
 decreed by Divine providence. 
 
 Whoever views my imprisonment merely as the work 
 of man, sees in it only injustice and cruelty; but those 
 who regard it as the permission of God, discern in it 
 abundant proofs of, his wisdom and love. Many a time 
 have I blessed God for the favour he showed me in 
 choosing me to commence the great work which will be 
 redemption to the Romans, and regeneration to all the 
 world. It has commenced, and is now in progress. 
 To carry it on, God has chosen persons who would not 
 have been thought of by us, any more than we should 
 have thought of Galilean fishermen becoming the 
 apostles and promulgators of a doctrine which was to 
 revolutionize the whole world. 
 
 The reformation of Rome is entrusted to Romans. 
 On the reformation of Rome depends that of Roman 
 Catholicism. Those who would concur and co-operate 
 in this work must do it by succouring the Romans. 
 
 " What do you think," said one of my companions 
 in prison one day, " will our reform go on ? Will 
 Rome ever be reformed? Will Italy ever become 
 protestant ? " 
 
 " I believe," replied I, " that Rome will be reformed 
 one day, like London, Berlin, Ediaburgh and Ge- 
 neva. The question whether Italy will ever become 
 protestant was discussed by me one evening with 
 the Abate Gioberti at Paris in December 1847. He 
 
472 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 referred me to some pages of his ' Modern Jesuit/ in 
 which it is maintained that Italy never will be protest- 
 ant : 1, on the other hand, referred him to history, to 
 the true history of our country, which shows how great 
 has been the tendency towards protestantism in Italy, 
 and what efforts have been made to promote it. I 
 agreed with the learned Abate that the title of Pro- 
 testant, as expressive of a division, or religious sect, 
 should be avoided. The Italians, and amongst them 
 the Romans, profiting as they ought to do by three 
 centuries' experience of other nations who have aban- 
 doned popery, could not properly denominate them- 
 selves anything but Christians. Were they once to 
 renounce the pope, none else could impose upon them 
 either doctrine, form, or name. The questions which 
 to this time have agitated protestantism, and which 
 now divide England into various parties — episcopalian 
 and presbyterian — baptist, methodist, &c. &c., would 
 never disturb the peace of Italy. On right principles 
 the Italian church would be organized with great 
 simplicity, and every one be left at full liberty to wor- 
 ship God in the manner best suited to his own spiritual 
 views. What I now call the Italian church does not 
 assume to be a national church, with exclusively pri- 
 vileged forms of government ; no, it presents itself to 
 Italy as its ancient church in the unity of faith and 
 spirit ; but in diversity of form, government, and modes 
 of worship. Being thus associated with all the Chris- 
 tian churches throughout the world, it would have 
 nothing exclusively Italian but the language. 
 
THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 473 
 
 In these conversations with my friends, I had the 
 satisfaction to think that what was said to few would be 
 repeated to many. What I uttered within the walls of 
 the castle in a secret cell, was quickly circulated through- 
 out Kome, and spread abroad, making an impression 
 that could not be effaced. Tn this manner five months 
 of my imprisonment had already passed away, and I 
 was yet left in ignorance of the crime by which it had 
 been incurred. 
 
 I had forwarded my protest to the French govern- 
 ment, and the strongest remonstrances had been sent to 
 Paris by my dear brethren of the Evangelical Alliance^ 
 yet there appeared to be no prospect of my release ; but 
 I may, however, say with sincerity, that since I have 
 consecrated my life to the Christian ministry, so long as 
 I am engaged in its service I am satisfied. I was now 
 in the full exercise of this ministry during my imprison- 
 ment, and no one who has heard my narrative can doubt 
 the satisfaction it gave me. Thus far, therefore, I was 
 contented with my situation ; and if I could have sup- 
 posed that the Roman government would not alter it, 
 but that I might continue to pursue the same course, I 
 should in truth have besought both God and men to 
 leave me in it, because I might have been as useful, 
 imprisoned in Rome, as at full liberty elsewhere. 
 
 Bat the priests were tired of enduring my boldness 
 and audacity. It was like an insult to them, that I con- 
 tinued in prison to repeat the very same ofifences for 
 which I had been incarcerated. All my friends declared 
 to me, that I must either be released and sent out of 
 
474! THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 Rome, by the contrivance of foreigners, or that I should 
 be put out of the way altogether, by the priests them- 
 selves. 
 
 Reflecting on this idea, I began to think whether it 
 was the will of God my life should be sacrificed ; but a 
 voice within seemed to tell me — no. I had done too 
 little, as yet, to see my work so soon crowned with 
 success. 
 
 It was the 24th of December — a solemn day in Rome, 
 full of kindly feelings as well as of superstitious obser- 
 vances. On this day good wishes are exchanged and 
 presents made amongst friends ; favours are granted, 
 and the boon that should then be asked it would be a 
 sin to deny. We prisoners wished happiness to those 
 who opened our doors, and they cheerfully returned our 
 salutations. My good gaoler, full of kindness, came to 
 me before I had risen. • 
 
 " Good morning," said he, " and better luck ; I bring 
 you good news." ' 
 
 "What news?" said I. 
 
 " An order is come from the French general Baraguai 
 d'Hilliers, to let two gentlemen speak with you — un- 
 doubtedly two of your friends ; and what is still more 
 satisfactory, it is with the consent of the cardinals." 
 
 " Do you know the names of these friends of mine ?" 
 
 " Only one of them, 'Monsignor Bambozzi and com- 
 panion,^ so it is written." 
 
 " My dear fellow, do you really believe these can be 
 my friends ? If they were so, do you think the cardi- 
 nals would let them speak to me ? They did not give 
 
THE CASTLE OP ST. ANGELO. . 475 
 
 this permission to those two who posted all the way 
 from England and France to obtain it. I do not know 
 who Signer Bambozzi is^ and I cannot imagine what he 
 can want with me." 
 
 " But if they be not friends, what can they be ?" 
 
 " Enemies, assuredly. No person sent by the cardi- 
 nals can have any occasion for an order from a French 
 general." 
 
 " It may be a trick — one of those tricks so frequently 
 played oif in priestly Rome. Baraguai d'Hilliers does 
 not know the priests; they may be plotting together 
 something to compromise him." 
 
 This visit, announced with so much ceremony on 
 Christmas eve, did not take place till the last day of the 
 year. The supposed friends were the Fiscal Judge of 
 the Inquisition, Monsignor Bambozzi, and his Secretary, 
 a Dominican advocate. 
 
 Monsignor Bambozzi is one of the most courteous of 
 men. Those who, hearing of the Fiscal Judge of the 
 Inquisition, might picture to themselves an austere man, 
 with a crafty sinister air, would find they were quite 
 mistaken in their idea. No, he is a very polite little man, 
 a sacristan priest, paying compliments to everybody, 
 always smiling, with his snuff-box in his hand ever ready 
 to offer a pinch. The other was a poor needy-looking 
 personage, with nothing unfavourable in his aspect, and 
 evidently following this occupation to earn his bread. 
 
 I was first desired to give an exact description of 
 myself. The prelate then made a sign to the other to 
 write, and began to dictate to him in Latin. 
 
476 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 " A certain man (liomo quidam) appeared before me 
 declaring himself to be — What is your name ?" 
 
 I told him my name^ my age, &c. He went on : — 
 
 " Giacinto Achilli, son of born at aged 
 
 &c., dressed/' (here followed the description of 
 
 my dress from head to foot) — " confined in this prison, 
 &c. ; being asked if he knows why he is detained in 
 prison, answers Answer this question. 
 
 " ' It is what I wish to know. I have been six months 
 confined here, and have never yet been told, nor do I 
 know the cause of my imprisonment.' 
 
 " Interrogated whether he knows under what tribunal 
 he is now examined, answers — 
 
 '*' ' It is what I wish to know.' 
 
 " And being told that he is examined by the magis- 
 trates of the Holy Roman Universal Apostolical Inqui- 
 sition, answers Speak frankly: 
 
 " ' I am glad of it.' 
 
 " Admonished to tell the truth, and to recognise in 
 this fact the justice of God and not the vengeance of 
 man, he replied to the first part — 
 
 " '1 promise to tell the truth :' on the second he was 
 silent." 
 
 At this juncture, Monsignor Bambozzi drew out a 
 quire of paper, covered with writing, and began to read 
 the first page, from which I perceived it was the minute 
 taken down the second day of my imprisonment, by a 
 judge of the cardinal- vicar ; consisting of a general 
 interrogatory on the whole of my life — that is to say, 
 my ediication, my studies, my public functions, my 
 
THE CASTLE OF ST, ANGELO. 477 
 
 occupations, my journeys, and especially that to the 
 Ionian Islands, Malta, England, &c., till my return to 
 Rome ; what I had done during the Eoman Republic, 
 and finishing with my imprisonment. All this con- 
 fronted anew with numerous questions, formed the sub- 
 ject of my first interview with Monsignor Bambozzi 
 and his companion. 
 
 In a moment the news resounded through St. 
 Angelo, that the judges of the Inquisition were come, 
 with the special permission of the French authorities, 
 to take possession of me. The indignation this intelli- 
 gence excited was great ; and was expressed in no very 
 measured terms, against both the priests and the French. 
 I smiled amidst the universal excitement; but I may 
 safely say <I was the only one who did so. 
 
 Four days afterwards the judge and his companion 
 were again announced ; and I had to submit to a fresh 
 and very long interrogatory, carried on like the former 
 one in Latin. 
 
 First, as to why I had abandoned the Order of the 
 Dominicans, from which I had received, even up to the 
 latest moment that I was connected with it, the greatest 
 proofs of esteem and good- will ; insomuch, that I had 
 been promoted, whilst yet in my youth, to posts so 
 high and important that they were difficult to be 
 obtained even by the aged. 
 
 Secondly, why I had afterwards abandoned the 
 ministry of the Roman Church, my theological .func- 
 tions, the mass, and other religious duties ; thus show- 
 ing myself thankless and ungrateful for the education 
 
478 THE CASTLE OE ST. ANGELO. 
 
 I had received, and for the interest taken in me at 
 Eome? 
 
 Thirdly, what complaint I had to make, if any, of the 
 lenient correction I received on my being summoned 
 before the Inquisition in 1842, the sole object of which 
 was to recall me to the right path ? 
 
 Fourthly, and lastly, why I had left Rome, and 
 quitted Italy altogether, to take refuge in Protestant 
 countries, thus making myself a public subject of con- 
 versation, to the scandal of my best friends, and the 
 fearful injury of my own soul ? 
 
 To these questions I calmly and briefly replied — 
 
 First, that with regard to leaving the Dominicans I 
 had been induced to do so from motives of conscience, 
 though I still retained a grateful remembrance of all 
 the kindnesses I had received from them ; and that what 
 I had done was with the full permission and licence of 
 Pope Gregory XVI. 
 
 Secondly, that it was equally from motives of con- 
 science I had left the ministry of the Roman Church. 
 
 Thirdly, that far from bringing any complaint against 
 the Inquisition, I had quietly resigned to it all the 
 charges of the ministry, testifying thereby to every one 
 who might be willing to understand me, that from that 
 time I intended no longer to be connected with the 
 Church of Rome in anyway whatsoever, regarding myself 
 as subject to no one, in matters of faith, save God 
 alone. 
 
 Fourthly, that my leaving Rome, and Italy altogether, 
 was the natural result of the steps I had previously 
 
THE CASTLE OP ST. ANGELO. 479 
 
 taken ; that whether I went to the English or Spanish 
 dominions, or any other, could be a matter of conse- 
 quence to no one, provided I lived an upright life, 
 wherever I might be ; and as I felt conscious that this 
 had been the case hitherto, I did not consider myself 
 called upon to render an account of my actions to any 
 man. 
 
 I had reserved to myself a more lengthened and 
 argumentative conversation, when Monsignor Bambozzi 
 should enter upon the question of matters of faith; but 
 he not only left that subject untouched upon, but even 
 turned it aside when I endeavoured to lead his atten- 
 tion towards it : nay, he went so far as to order the 
 gaoler to let me take the air every day, for about a 
 quarter of an hour, on the terrace of the castle, saying 
 that he was quite satisfied with me, and that we were 
 perfectly agreed. But how he could imagine we were 
 so, when my opinions had been diametrically opposed 
 to his, and all my answers a direct rebuff to his ques- 
 tions, I cannot understand. The fact is, that the In- 
 quisition has always been about as anxious after truth, 
 for its own sake, as Pontius Pilate was, in the presence 
 of the Lord. 
 
 Both my judge and his companion, however, upon 
 taking leave of me this second time, shook hands with 
 me, saying, that I should see them again shortly. 
 
 Eight days elapsed, when I was once more asked for. 
 " It is Bambozzi," cried my fellow-prisoners ; and 
 I went down stairs laughing, in the expectation of 
 seeing him again ; but in his place I beheld a priest of 
 
480 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 tlie Oratory, alone. He was full of compliments and 
 civilities, on our meeting ; and I asked him at once his 
 name, and the cause of his visit; for as soon as he 
 opened his mouth, I perceived by his accent that he 
 was not an Italian. He replied that he had come to see 
 me purely out of good-wiU ; and showed me his name 
 in the title-page of a book : " Dr. Augustine Theiner, 
 of Prussian Silesia, Professor of Ecclesiastical History 
 in the College of the Propaganda in Eome." He went 
 on to say that he was grieved to find me in such a situ- 
 ation, but that still all might turn out for the best, 
 if I would only be teachable towards God, and the 
 Holy Mother of the Roman Catholic church. This at 
 once brought us to the question, whether the Roman 
 church alone had a right to be called Catholic? I 
 maintained that it was a church, but not the church, 
 and by logical consequence could not be called universal, 
 for the simple reason that Rome is not the whole world : 
 — that the Pope was Bishop of the Roman church 
 alone, and not of the Catholic church ; the proof being 
 that many hundreds of bishops exist in the church, 
 some dependent upon, and others independent of 
 Rome ; without reckoning all those Christian churches 
 which pride themselves on having no other bishop than 
 Him mentioned by Peter : " For ye were as sheep going 
 astray, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and 
 Bishop of your souls." * 
 
 He asked me, smiling, what my church was ? I 
 told him it was that of which St. Paul speaks : f "The 
 
 * 1 Pet. ii. 23. t Heb. xli. 23. 
 
THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGEI.O. 481 
 
 general assembly and church of the First-born, which are 
 written in heaven." To a few other questions I replied 
 to the same purport. He exhorted me to read his 
 book, printed by the Propaganda, in which he had 
 shown me his name ; and thereupon we took leave. 
 
 This book is a " History of the Reformation in 
 Sweden," written, it would appear, on purpose to 
 blacken the fame of those Reformers, the good King 
 Gustavus and the excellent Oloif Peterson; and to 
 have the opportunity of using every description of 
 epithets the most offensive against Luther. It has had 
 the honour, as the author told me, of being translated 
 into French by M. de Montalembert, and into English 
 by Dr. Newman, who is also become a priest of the 
 Oratory. A second and third visit from Dr. Theiner, 
 who came to me with other books of his own writing, 
 which be earnestly requested me to read, were occupied 
 with continual questions on the Roman church, he 
 resting upon certain passages of the holy Fathers, to 
 prove that it is the Catholic church; and I upon 
 passages from the Fathers also, to show that what they 
 called Catholic, was the Roman church, together with 
 all others; those only excepted which deviated from 
 the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, and from the faith 
 of Christ, — the Roman church being so different in our 
 days, especially since the Council of Trent, from what 
 it was in those of the holy Fathers, that if they were 
 now living they would be the first to protest against it, 
 and to separate from it ; that hefore the present Roman 
 church could be called Christian, a reformation in it 
 
 Y 
 
483 THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 was indispensable ; the Jewisli and the Pagan elements 
 being so mixed up with both its doctrines and worship, 
 that there hardly remains a shade of primitive Chris- 
 tianity ; that let but the pope undertake this reforma- 
 tion, we would be with him, otherwise we must remain 
 separated ; nor should his threats, terrify us, nor his 
 Inquisition rob the Christians of Italy of their faith or 
 their union ; that I had shown an example to the 
 brethren how to propagate in this country the pure and 
 simple doctrine of Christ; that the Bible, and the 
 Bible alone, was sufiS.cient to destroy the whole edifice 
 of the pope ; and that on the day when I saw reprinted 
 in Rome the New Testament in Italian, and moreover 
 beheld the avidity with which the Romans received 
 it, I exclaimed, " The death-knell of the papacy is 
 sounded." 
 
 My heart almost leaped out of my breast with joy, 
 at having been able, in the prisons of the Roman 
 Inquisition, to render this testimony to the truth and 
 to the religion of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " I am as happy as possible now," I said to several 
 of those good friends who were with me in prison, and 
 who asked me every time they saw me how I got on 
 with the papal theologian. " I am only afraid that, 
 feeling how firm I am. Padre Theiner may discontinue 
 his visits, and tell the cardinals and the pope that 
 every attempt to bring me back to the Roman church 
 is useless." 
 
 He had in fact, at his second visit, shown me a 
 letter of the cardinal-vicar, in which he appointed him, 
 
THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 483 
 
 by the pope's desire, to come to me under the guise of 
 a visitor, to hold conferences with me, and to discover 
 some way of recovering me to their faith. 
 
 At the end of each visit, however, I had always 
 requested him to report everything I had said to him ; 
 adding, that every day I felt more and more firm and 
 fixed in my purpose; and that if it should please 
 God that I should be released from prison, I should, 
 with the aid of his Holy Spirit, continue my mission 
 with all the more vigour, from perceiving by His 
 having conferred on me the grace of being tillowed to 
 suffer six months' incarceration for His name's sake, 
 that it could not be otherwise than acceptable in His 
 sight. 
 
 At the same time I bade him, and the pope and 
 cardinals likewise, to remember, that the persecution to 
 which I had been subjected could not be approved or 
 justified even by Roman Catholics themselves ; and 
 that if it had no other effect, it would at least have the 
 most desirable one of ultimately working the abolition 
 of the Roman Inquisition, never more to be restored. 
 
 Padre Theiner and I were, on this third visit, 
 in the full fervour of our controversial arguments, 
 when the captain of the castle came to inform me that 
 two chasseurs de Vincennes were arrived to take me to 
 the French Council of War, to give evidence in the 
 trial of Signor Cernuschi, Deputy of the people under 
 the Republic. 
 
 How I, separated as I was, and had been for six 
 months, from the rest of the world, by a decree 
 
484 THE CASTLE OP ST. ANGELO. 
 
 emanating from the Inquisition, could be summoned 
 by a foreign authority to appear before a military 
 tribunal, was what I could not comprehend; and my 
 theologian was still more astonished at it than I was. 
 The captain added that there was the permission of 
 the cardinal-vicar. " Let us go, in the name of the 
 Lord," was my thought. Padre Theiner accompanied 
 me to the carriage, I got in, and two soldiers, armed 
 with carbines, took their places by me, one on each 
 side. The tribunal was held at the Ecclesiastical 
 Academy in the Piazza Minerva, the great institution 
 of the Dominicans, who were, as I have already stated, 
 the founders of the Inquisition ; and I have often 
 reflected since upon the retributive justice of Pro- 
 vidence, in appointing that very place for the sitting 
 of the tribunal which was to break down the power of 
 that villanous establishment by setting one of its 
 victims free, to disclose its iniquities to the world. 
 
 The Capitaine Rapporteur was alone j he put a few 
 questions to me concerning Cernuschi ; and said certain 
 things to me which I forbear to mention, as well as 
 some other things of little import to any one but my- 
 self, for fear of causing trouble to parties still remaining 
 in Rome, subjected to the treacheries and basenesses of 
 a government at this present moment one of the most 
 tyrannical, and at the same time the most degraded, in 
 Europe. I was then remanded to the castle. 
 
 The next day, the 19th of January, Dr. Theiner again 
 called upon me, and we recommenced our discussions 
 with more animation than ever. Our subject was the 
 
THE CASTLB 01' ST. ANGELO. 485 
 
 bishopric of St. Peter at Rome, and the privilege of suc- 
 cession bequeathed by him to the pope ; he intent on de- 
 monstrating, I on confuting it. Our arguments lasted till 
 nearly dark, and no doubt would have lasted longer still, 
 as we were neither of us inclined to cut the matter short, 
 had they not been suddenly interrupted by the entrance 
 of the gaoler, with the information that the two chasseurs 
 were come again to take me to the Military Commission. 
 I held out my hand to my disputant. " Farewell !" 
 said I to him, " farewell, Padre Theiner ; offer my 
 respects to the cardinal-vicar, and thank him from me 
 for your visits ; I assure you they have given me real 
 pleasure. I hope we may both of us derive profit from 
 them, and be confirmed by them more and more in the 
 word of God." 
 
 I again pressed his hand, and then got into the car- 
 riage, and seated myself between the two soldiers. 
 
 This time my vehicle was an open one, and as it 
 traversed the long street from the Castle of St. Angelo 
 to the Piazza Minerva, I saw and was seen by many 
 persons. I was regarded with curiosity. It was, in- 
 deed, a singular spectacle to see a prisoner of the 
 Inquisition under the guard of the French Republic, 
 
 I found the Capitaine Rapporteur even more concilia- 
 tory in his deportment towards me than he was before, 
 and I felt persuaded that he entertained a personal 
 sympathy towards me. I will not, however, repeat our 
 conversation. I will only say that it cheered me greatly, 
 and made me feel so thoroughly as if I were my own 
 master, that I determined to try if it was really the case. 
 
 Y 2 
 
486 THE CASTLE OF ST. AN6EL0. 
 
 I walked into an ante-chamber, where I saw several 
 sets of military garbs and accoutrements. In a moment 
 I found myself in the uniform of a French soldier. I 
 proceeded towards the doors on the landing ; they were 
 open ; not a single individual anywhere to be seen, to 
 oppose my egress. It was half after five in the evening, 
 consequently dusk. I did what any one else, I suppose, 
 in my situation would have done, and I did it with a 
 smile of confidence and joy. I descended into the 
 Piazza Minerva, passed through the Strada Pie di 
 Marmo, the Piazza del Collegio Romano, and walked 
 down the Corso, in my military garb. Unrecognised, 
 uninterrupted, I arrived at a place where I changed my 
 dress. Here I found money prepared for me ; a pass- 
 port and a carriage with post-horses were soon ready, 
 and at seven in the evening I found myself beyond the 
 walls of Rome. 
 
 I offered up my thanksgiving to the Lord, and im- 
 plored his blessing upon my country, my brethren, and 
 the infant church, which will one day shine forth in 
 the lustre of truth, so that it may again be said of the 
 Romans, that " their faith is spoken of throughout the 
 whole world." 
 
 In six hours after leaving Rome I arrived at Civita 
 Vecchia, where I rested till morning. I then delivered 
 several letters, and afterwards went on board a French 
 steamer of war. The whole of that day I passed in port, 
 engaged, the greatest portion of it, in returning my 
 grateful thanks to my Almighty Father, and praying to 
 Him to provide for me in all respects, I hkewise, find- 
 
THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 487 
 
 ing I had an opportunity of getting it posted, wrote a 
 farewell letter to my brethren in Rome. 
 
 The next day we sailed for Toulon, whence I pro- 
 ceeded to Marseilles, and thence to Lyons, where 
 I stopped a day, to embrace my excellent friend, 
 Mr. Fisch, and other brethren, who felt as if they 
 could not bless and thank the Lord enough for my un- 
 expected liberation. • In Paris I was greeted with the 
 same rejoicings. Oh, what enjoyments has the Chris- 
 tian life, even in this world ! In my own case all that 
 I have suffered now seems sweet and delightful to me. 
 It is indeed to my body like a dream ; but to my spirit 
 it is a precious and enduring reality. Never, I hope, 
 shall I forget the gratitude which, under God, I owe to 
 the brethren of the Evangelical Alliance, who have 
 indeed set an example with regard to myself, of the 
 most edifying Christian charity. 
 
 At Paris I laid aside my incognito, which in fact was 
 of no use to me after I. embarked at Civita Vecchia ; 
 but the French government, through whose assistance 
 I had escaped, stipulated that I should not resume my 
 own name before I reached Paris. It was consequently 
 my duty to obey. Several among the old ministry 
 assured me that they would have gladly lent me their 
 services, had they been in power ; but as that was not 
 the case, they rejoiced in seeing it done by others, and 
 they seemed to be of opinion that the way in which my 
 liberation had been effected, was the only one that could 
 have been adopted to avoid a dispute with the Pontifical 
 government ; and that, on the other hand, had I been 
 
488 THE CASTLE OF ST. AKGELO. 
 
 suffered to remain in prison, it would have been a 
 lasting disgrace to Prance, to have it said that the 
 power of the Inquisition was restored and upheld 
 through her medium ; and that if assistance had not 
 been afforded me at an earlier period, it was only be- 
 cause it had been given out that I was confined on 
 account of moral delinquencies, and not for my religious 
 tenets. 
 
 " And I," sa-,d the ex-minister, " was one of the first 
 to be misled by these charges ; but when they were all 
 proved to be malignant inventions, brought forward 
 only to injure you, there was but one wish on the sub- 
 ject, and that was to see you set at liberty." 
 
 Notwithstanding this flattering testimony of the ex- 
 minister, I have no doubt there were many, even among 
 the French, who would much rather I had remained 
 in the power of the Inquisition ; the Jesuit party espe- 
 cially, among whom were several members of the 
 National Assembly, were loud in their outcries against 
 me, and renewed in their journals their old calumnies, 
 which had so often been answered before, and to which, 
 indeed, the act of the government itself in liberating me 
 was more than a sufiicient reply. 
 
 I shall not here relate all the kindness and affection 
 I experienced on the part of my friends at again seeing 
 me among them. One of the first visits I made was to 
 our dear brother in the Lord, the Pastor Frederic 
 ]\Ionod. I had scarcely sent in my name, when the 
 whole of his numerous family came out to welcome me, 
 and fervent were the praises and thanksgivings that 
 
THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 were offered up to the Giver of all goodj who had 
 delivered me from the hand of my enemies, and from 
 them that sought to destroy my soul. 
 
 " Comfe," said my good friend, " let us go to my 
 brother Adolph's ; our friends are met together there on 
 your account ; they have not yet heard of your libera- 
 tion, and are at this very time consulting together on 
 the best means to adopt, in order to influence the 
 government in your behalf," 
 
 We accordingly proceeded together to the house. 
 Frederic entered first, while I remained at the door. 
 " Brethren," he exclaimed, " before you proceed any 
 further in your deliberations, you will rejoice to learn 
 what a signal favour it has pleased Heaven to grant. 
 Our brother Achilli has, through the mercy of God, 
 without any assistance of ours, been released from his 
 imprisonment. He is now in France ; he has arrived 
 in Paris, and is actually at the door of this very house ; 
 he is come to salute you, and to offer up conjointly with 
 yourselves his thanksgivings to the Lord." 
 
 At this moment I entered, and great was the joy with 
 which I was received by these dear brethren. After 
 we had returned thanks for the signal mercies we had 
 experienced, I, following the example of St. Peter, 
 " beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their 
 peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought 
 me out of the prison." 
 
 I had now only one thing wanting to complete my 
 contentment, which was the restoration to me of my 
 dear partner, the sweet solace of my troubles, and the 
 
490 TKE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO. 
 
 sharer of my hopes. And this additional blessing was 
 soon granted to me. At the time of my leaving Rome, 
 my wife was at Florence. As soon as she heard of my 
 arrival at Paris, she set off to rejoin me, under the 
 protection of some friends. 
 
 About the middle of February we returned together, 
 after a most eventful year's absence, to England, where 
 ever since my arrival I have received the same, and 
 even increased tokens of regard and interest in my 
 welfare, that I had done before, and of which I shall ever 
 retain the most grateful remembrance. Nevertheless 
 I view my mission as inseparably connected with my 
 native country ; to resume my labours there, sooner or 
 later, in the establishment of a reformed Italian Church, 
 is the holy ambition of my heart, the unceasing object 
 of my prayers. Meanwhile I endeavour to preserve 
 the germ of it alive, by celebrating Divine worship, 
 " pure and undefiled before God," and imparting reli- 
 gious instruction on the Sabbath, and at fit seasons, 
 to as many of my unfortunate fellow-refugees, and 
 others of my countrymen, as show themselves desirous 
 of it ; trusting that " what is sown in tears may be 
 reaped in joy," and that the great " Lord of the har- 
 vest " may be pleased to send his labourers therein, 
 and to bless their efforts and their hopes. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 K. OLAY, PETNTEK, BKEAD STKEBT HILL. 
 
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 MATTHEW POOLE'S DIALOGUE 
 
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 The House of Andrew Marvel. 
 
 The Tomb of John Stow. 
 
 The Heart of Sir Nicholas Crispe. 
 
 The Printing Office of William Caxton. 
 
 Shaftesbury House. 
 
 The Dwelling of James Barry. 
 
 The Eesidence of Dr. Isaac Watts. 
 
 The Prison of Lady Mary Grey. 
 
 The Town of John Kyrle (the Man of Eoss). 
 
 The Tomb of William Hogarth. 
 
 The Studio of Thomas Gainsborough, E.A. 
 
 ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE & CO. 26, PATERNOSTER ROW