Rule of the Monk; Or, Rome in the Nineteenth Century
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CHAPTER XLI. THE RECLUSE
IN the Italian Archipelago, which may be said to begin in the south atSicily, and to extend northward to Corsica, there may be found a nearlydeserted island, composed of pure granite crags, down which deliciousstreams of pure water flow, that never quite fail even in summer. It isrich in vegetation of low but pretty growth, for the tempestuous windswhich rush over it prevent the trees from attaining any great height.This, however, is compensated by the healthiness of this little island,in which one may always enjoy fresh and pure air. The plants that growout of the crevices in the rocks are chiefly aromatic, and when a fireis made of the leaves and twigs, they send forth a fragrance whichperfumes the whole vicinity.
The wandering cattle that graze over the promontories of the island, aresmall in size but very robust. So are, also, the few inhabitants, wholive not in affluence but sufficient comfort upon the produce of theirtillage, fishing, and shooting, while, moreover, they are supplied withother necessaries from the continent by the generosity or commerce oftheir friends.
The inhabitants being scanty, police and government are superfluous, andthe absence of priests is one of the especial blessings of this littlespot. There God is worshipped, as he should be, in purity of spirit,without formalism, fee, or mockery, under the canopy of the blueheavens, with the planets for lamps, the sea-winds for music, and thegreensward of the island for altars.
The head of the principal family on this little island is, like othermen, one who has experienced both prosperity and misfortune. Like othermen he has his faults, but he has enjoyed the honor of serving the causeof the people. Cosmopolitan, he loves all countries more or less; butItaly and Rome he loves to adoration.
He hates the priesthood as a lying and mischievous institution, butis ready, so soon as they divest themselves of their malignity andbuffoonery, to welcome them with open arms to a nobler vocation, a newbut honest profession, and to urge men to pardon their past offenses,conforming in this, as in other acts, to a spirit of universaltolerance. Though not suffering them as priests, he pities and yearnstowards them as men; for priests he regards as the assassins of thesoul, and in that light esteems them more culpable than those who slaythe body. He has passed his life in the hope of seeing the populationsennobled, and to the extent of his power, has championed always andeverywhere their rights, but sadly confesses that he has lived partly ina false hope; for more than one nation, raised to freedom and lightby Providence, has paltered again with despotism, whose rulers becomeperhaps even more unjust and arbitrary than the patrician.
Still, this man never despairs of the ultimate amelioration of mankind,albeit he is deeply grieved at the slowness of its coming. He regardsas the worst enemies of the liberty of the people those democratic_doctrinnaires_ who have preached and still preach revolution, not asa terrible remedy, a stern Nemesis, but as a trade carried on for theirown advancement He believes that these same mercenaries of liberty haveruined many republics, and brought dishonor upon the republican system.Of this there is a striking example in the great and glorious FrenchRepublic of 1789, which is held up at the present day as a scarecrow bydespots and their crew against those who maintain the excellence ofthe popular system. He defines a perfect republic to be a government ofhonest and virtuous people by honesty and virtue, and illustrates hisdefinition by pointing to the downfall of all republics when people haveeschewed virtue and turned away towards vice. But he does not believe ina republican government composed of five hundred governors.
He considers that the liberty of a nation consists in the peoplechoosing their own government, and that this government should bedictatorial or presidential; that is to say, directed by one man alone.To such an institution the greatest people in the world owed theirgreatness. But woe be to those who, instead of a Cincinnatus, electa Caesar! The Dictatorship should be limited to a fixed period, andprolonged only in extraordinary cases, like that in the authority ofAbraham Lincoln in the late war of the United States. It must be guardedby popular rights and public opinion from becoming either excessive orhereditary.
The islander whom we are describing, however, is not a dogmatist, andholds that form of government desired or adopted by the majority ofthe people most beneficial to each nation; and he gives, by way ofillustration, the English constitution. He regards the existing Europeansystem as utterly immoral, and the governments guilty of the crimes andsuffering of the Continent; since, instead of seeking the welfare andprosperity of their peoples, they intrigue only to secure theirown despotic positions. Hence that legion of armies, politicalfunctionaries, and hangers-on, who devour in idleness the productionsof industry; pampering their vicious appetites, and spreading universalcorruption. These drones of the hive, not content with what suffices forone man, conspire to appropriate to each of themselves the portion offifty to maintain their pomp and supply their luxuries.
This is just why the working portion of the populace are loaded withtaxes, and deprived of the manliest of their sons, who are torn fromthe plough and the workshop to swell the ranks of the armies, underthe pretext that they are necessary to their country's safety, but inreality to sustain a monstrous and fatal form of government. The peopleare consequently discontented, starving, and wretched.
The continual state of warfare in which Europe is kept, too clearlyshows how ill-governed it is. Were each nation naturally and noblygoverned, war would cease, and the people would learn to understandand to respect one another's rights without a passionate or suicidalrecourse to arms.
A Federation of European nations must be cemented by the medium ofrepresentatives for each country, whose fundamental proclamation shouldbe--"War is declared impossible" and their second basis the law that, "Alldisputes which may arise between nations shall henceforth be settled bythe International Congress."
Thus war--that scourge and disgrace of humanity--would be exterminatedforever, and with its extermination, the necessity for maintaining apaid army would obviously cease, and the children of the peoples, nowled out to slaughter under the fictitious names of patriotism and glory,would be restored to their families, to the field, and to the workshop,once more to contribute to the fruitfulness and general improvement oftheir native countries.
Such, then, are the sentiments upon these topics of the recluse, and wefrankly confess them to be also our own.
To this island, the abode of the recluse, Julia had arranged to take herfriends; but when it became impracticable for Silvia and Clelia to jointhem, on account of the storm, and the consequent injury to the yacht,she changed her plans, feeling that they would have altered their own,and resolved to touch there only for advice, and then to return to theContinent to gain, if possible, some news of Manlio's family.
Picture, courteous reader, one of those Mediterranean daybreaks which,by its glorious beauty of gold and color, makes the watchers forget themiseries of life and ponder only those marvellous marks of the Creator'slove with which he has embellished the earth.
Dawn is slowly breaking over the horizon, and tinting with all thecolors of the rainbow the fleecy clouds. The stars insensibly pale anddisappear before the radiance of the rising sun; and the voyager standsenchanted at the sight, as the gentle breath of morning streams from theeast, slightly ruffling the blue waters, and fanning his cheek.
The small ash-colored island appears in the bright light above thewaves, as the _Seagull_, wafted slowly by a slight wind from theeastward, nears its coast. The yacht had sailed from Porto Lon-gone theday before, and had experienced a quick and smooth passage. Her Romanpassengers were soon hailed by the inhabitants of the island, as sheapproached the northern point on this delicious April morning.
The sight of the beautiful yacht was always a welcome one to thesedwellers in solitude, for she was well known to them, having previouslypaid them many visits. They hastened to meet their welcome guest, andran down to the beach, followed slowly by the head of the family, whosestep age and other troubles had slackened, making him no longer able tokeep pace with his nimble
household.
Julia, upon landing, was welcomed affectionately by all. She introducedher Roman friends, who met a warm reception, and were conducted by theirhost to his dwelling. After they had rested some little time, therecluse asked anxiously of Julia, "Well, what news from Rome? Is theforeigner gone yet? Do the priests let the unhappy populace, whom theyhave tormented so many centuries, breathe free at last?"
"Their miseries are not yet ended," answered the lovely Englishwoman;"and who can tell when they will cease? The foreigner is withdrawn,it is true, but others worse than the first are enlisting, and yourGovernment is shamefully preparing to bribe Italian substitutes toenable it to retain the unhappy city in the power of the priests.Moreover I, English by birth, but Italian in heart, am ashamed oftelling you that Rome is not to be the capital of Italy. Governmentrenounces it, and Parliament basely sanctions the heinous act, tosatisfy the exacting and infamous demands of a Bonaparte. Oh, thesadnesses of modern times! Italy, once the seat of glory, is to-day thesink of all that is base. Italy, the garden of the world, has become adunghill!"
"Oh Julia! a people dishonored is a dead people; I--even I--almostdespair of the future of such a nation." Thus exclaimed the chieftain ofmany patriotic battles, as a tear rolled down his cheek.