WRIGHTSON'S HISTORY OF MODERN ITALY. * INDEPENDENTLY of scattered notices of
facts and opinions in books of travel, the original histories of modern Italy, from the down- fall of Napoleon, and even from an earlier period, are numerous, and readily accessible to English readers. The memoirs of Car- dinal Pacca throw a strong- light on the Papal reign of Pins the Seventh, during the domination of the French Emperor. Fa- rinits elaborate Roman history from the Congress of Vienna gives a summary of the other states, though Rome as the immediate subject is much more fully treated. The autobiographical works of General Pepe enter fully into the affairs of Naples as well as of himself during the revolutions of 1820 and 1848; and in the work on the last period there are notices of the other states, espe- cially Venice. Mariotti, under the title of Italy in 1848, has published a very philosophical and striking history of the war in Lombardy, with incidental notices of its conduct elsewhere ; and although he apes not profess to write a personal narrative, the re- sults- of personal observation are continually present. Emilio Dandolo's story of the Italian Volunteers or free corps is a va- luable work, from the conclusions contained in its facts and its ving particulars. A Swiss officer in the service of Austria pub- 'Washed a military history of Charles Albert's campaigns, which Lord Ellesmere translated : an Englishman, who accompanied Ba- detzky's army on its invasion of. Piedmont, apparently as a news- paper correspondent, gave to the publics an account of what he saw and gathered. There is besides Botta's History of Italy, of which an English translation appeared a good many years ago • while several Italian works exist in the form or with the substance of history, that still remain in their original tongue. There is therefore no lack of materials for acquiring a know- ledge of modern Italy, to those who have inclination and leisure to peruse the works and ability to digest them ; for digested some of them must be. Except Botta, and Farini in a less degree, the narratives are limited to a particular' period, event, or state: the more valuable they are for original observation, the more re- stricted they, necessarily become ; there is a patriotic or party Has continually to be guarded against. The attempt to compress into a single volume the history of Italy from the French Revolu- tion is a good idea; respectably executed. Mr. Wrightson wants historical grasp • to seize the essential form of a series of compli- • A History of 'Italy from the first French Revolution to the year 1850. By' Richard Heber Wrightson. Published by Bentley, sated actions ; so that his easy narrative often obtains its quality by omissions—by the author taking only certain salient points and leaving out the rest —he gets on by skipping. He is deficient in philosophical acumen ; for although his book is not devoid of opinions, they are either obvious or taken from his authorities ; so that they seldom reach the principle when looked at by the histo- rian of more than two generations, though they may be just enough from a contemporary point of view. Mr. Wrightson is also too much of a partisan. His party is probably the best in Italy, that of moderate Liberal Conservatism; but in feeling and expression he goes too far, perhaps from adopting the tone of his authorities. The whole book might be improved by greater, vigour of style. Though the history belongs to the lower olass of compilation; it is a useful and workmanlike compendium, cleverly compressing into a small compass the leading facts of modern Italy, and clearly exhibiting Italian opinions. The arrangement is well managed, by which the simultaneous story of many different states is presented without' confusion ; though the account of the late abortive revolution would have been improved by un- brokenly carrying on each affair to its actual termination, classing the different wars according to their importance. It is very doubtful whether it was possible for Italy in the actual con- dition of parties and opinions to have obtained her freedom with- out a French and English alliance, and perhaps an European war. There is to us no doubt that her beat if not her only chance was in, the success of Charles Albert. In an artistic sense, the wars in Lombardy and Piedmont were the most prominent subject, with Venice as a closely-connoted though subordinate episode. The pseudo-liberal movements of Rome under the Pope and'of Naples were very inferior matters ; the help, if honest, turned out useless. Republican Rome rises to considerable though hopeless interest in her struggle against foreign intrigue and French force, possessing something of a tragic character in her courageous resistance and dignified fall. She was worthy of a•fuller narrative and of greater sympathy than Mr. Wrightson bestows upon her Whatever his religion may be, he has a strong leaning towards the Popedom. HO is inclined to ascribe the loss of such' chance as the Ita- lian cause had to the unwillingness of Charles Albert to ne- gotiate a national league with the Pope as its head. This leaning does not, however, affect his judgment of individual Popes, .or of churchmen in general. The following-extract exhibits- the charac- ter of Pius the. Ninth immediately on his election.
" Attached by the ties of birth and residence to the people of whom he unexpectedly became the ruler, he had witnessed with his own .eyes the lamentable evils of their misgovernment. His youth had not been spent under the influence of that seclusion and peculiar training which often gives an irretrievable bias to the minds of Roman ecclesiastics. Being elevated to the throne at a less advanced period of life than most of his predecessors, he was not old enough to be swayed by a blind attachment to the ancient re- gime; and the known family leanings, as well as the personal qualities of.. the new Pontiff, suggested a hope, that under his auspices the Papacy might once on more become, what it was during the middle ages, an instrument of civilization and progress, and a means of restoring to peace and harmony, the disordered elements of society. " These sanguine anticipations rested on an imaginary basis. Though sprung from a family of enlightened and patriotic principles, and endowed with a good and generous disposition, Pio Nono was deeply imbued with the sentiments of his caste. With the exterior and accomplishments of an Its-. Han gentleman, he was, above all other things, a devoted churchman. On the attainment of unsought dignity and power, he did.not indeed forget or disregard the wants and aspirations of his countrymen, but ecclesiastical in-' terests formed the paramount object of his solicitude. To elevate the Ita- lian race from its fallen condition through the mediation and agency of the Papacy, and so to regain for the Holy See a portion of its lost popularity and importance, was the task which he longed to accomplish, and of which he did not suspect the difficulty."
Here is the same person in exile at Gaeta.
"The proceedings of the Republicans had in fact rendered an interven- tion not only probable, but, humanly speaking, certain. Nor was it diffi- cult for those by whom the Pontiff was surrounded to win his consent The idea that Catholic nations must at all times be ready to march in defence of the Holy See was one on which he seems to have dwelt with complacency, and one which had repeatedly transpired in his proclamations and addresses. As early as the 10th of February 1848, we find allusions to the innumere- voli figliuoli, who would sustain the centre of Catholic unity as the house of their common father.' Transparent as were the professions of Austria and of King Ferdinand, and dictated as they evidently were by the calculations of self-interest, they were accepted and believed because they fell in with a dominant idea and flattered a cherished delusion. The dream of a Pontifi- cate rendered glorious by a revival of Italian greatness, to be achieved under the auspices of the Papacy, had once soothed and enchanted the imagination of Pio Nono. When the hope of reigning in the hearts of twenty-four mil- lions of Italians was doomed to disappointment, his sanguine mind found solace in the vision of a confederate Christendom arming to vindicate the rights of the Roman Church. His impressionable judgment was as liable to' be misled by the arts of diplomacy as it had previously been by the incense of popular applause. In adversity, as in prosperity, he clung to the belief that the Papacy was still regarded by the • orbe cattolic,o ' with undiminish- ed veneration, and that the offers he received were dictated by no lower mo- tive than zeal to protect his sacred person and office."
Although nominally the book treats only of Italian history since' the first French Revolution, it goes bank on nearly the same scale. to the early part of the eighteenth century, and yet further in mere outline. This is an advantage. Perusing the half-century that preceded the revolution and the quarter of a century &ring- which its principles were dominant, the reader obtains a ftilLview of the ruling families of Italy, and is shown the evident decay ofr the Papal power over the minds of men during the period that preceded the revolution. The ease with which the revolutionists; overthrew it wherever they came, and the equal ease with which. Bonaparte-moulded it to his purposes when only matters of faith and discipline were ooneerned, are a000unted for. The charac-
teristics of the priestly mind surviving the priestly power, ex- asperated princes who had no longer occasion to care for the prejn- dices of the people in favour of the Church. The expulsion of the Jesuits even from Spain, the manner in which Pombal dealt with the Church in Portugal, the " reforms" of Joseph the Second, and the movements by Florence and even.Naples, against the Popedom and the Church, indicate the tendency of the secular mind in the eighteenth century, and show that, except with the lowest vulgar in certain places, the inflames of the priesthood had vanished.
"Cardinal Braschi, who assumed the title of Pius VI., was selected by the Sacred College as a prelate whose prepossessing exterior, dignified address, and love of splendour, might revive the waning influence of the Papacy. His election was not in accordance with the wishes of the Neapolitan Court; and on the occasion of a vacancy which soon occurred in the archbishopric of the metropolis, the Ring claimed an absolute right to the appointment; forbidding the form per grazia della sede Apostolica' to be used. The Pope refused to an Archbishop of Naples thus constituted the compliment of a Cardinal's hat, which for ages had been conceded to his predecessors. Soon afterwards, the bishopric of Potenza was in like manner conferred upon Serao, a learned ecclesiastic, whose Jansenist principles were well known, and who had written in defence of lay jurisdictions. The Pope refused to consecrate Serao till warned by the King that according to the ancient disci- pline of the Church the Neapolitan bishops were competent to perform that ceremony. "Shortly afterwards, an opportunity was taken of discontinuing the annual tribute of a white palfrey and 7000 ducats, which had long been rendered as an act of vassalage to the Roman See. These demonstrations of open revolt against the Papacy were in harmony with the proceedings of the Queen's brothers, the Emperor Joseph and the Grand Duke. Pala was so much alarmed at the tone assumed by the former, that he undertook, in 1782, a journey to the Austrian capital, in order to try the effect' of a personal re- monstrance. He was received with hospitable civility; but his imposing presence produced no effect on the Emperor, or upon his Minister, Prince Kannitz, who committed the not unintentional solecism of cordially shaking the hand of his Holiness, when held out to be kissed."
At the instance of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, an assembly was called; and resolutions were adopted which had they been eventu- ally carried out would have been a heavier blow against the Papacy • than any mere secular attack could inflict.
"In conformity with the instructions given by the Grand Duke to the Bishops of the Tuscan States, he convoked a synod at Pistoia in 1786, in which important questions of doctrine and discipline were mooted and discussed. This assembly declared that bishops were vicars of Christ, and not of the Pope, and that their authority was derived immediately from the Divine Head of the Church, and not from the Roman Pontiff; that there should be but one altar in the churches; that the liturgy should be read distinctly and in the vernacular tongue; that paintings representing the Holy Trinity, and such images as were distinguished from others by peculiar veneration, should be disallowed ; that the church has no power to introduce new dog- mas ; that its decrees are not infallible, except when in conformity with Holy Scripture and authentic traditions that every Christian should read the Scriptures ; that an indulgence only relieves from ecclesiastical penances. These, and other important conclusions of a like tendency, were in the course of seven sessions deliberately adopted by the synod, which also declared its adhesion to the four propositions of the Gallican Church."
Mr. Wrightson conceives that the "prostration of spirit" which accompanied and followed the wars and tyrannies of the French Revolution was favourable to the " vigilant perseverance of Rome," and we suppose to its seeming revival. This may be doubted, either as to cause or effect. People in this country are more reli- gious than they were during the last century or the beginning of the present; and the British Romanists partake of the general movement. Some of the ignorant German peoples may be as superstitious as ever. It is questionable whether the people of France, Spain, Portugal, or even Italy, are not much more irreli- gious than they were eighty years ago. The present support of the Papal power rests chiefly with the Continental Governments.
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