A TUSCAN VILLAGE PROPHET.*
In these days of analytic criticism, no manifestation of the human mind escapes the observation of the modern philosopher, no longer a mere metaphysician, but also an experimentalist and a man of science. Hence has arisen the tendency, which we must be careful not to push too far, to regard every manifestation of the human mind which in any manner departs from the established track, as of a more or less pronounced alienistic character. And especially have religions phenomena engaged the attention of these men, leading Renan to write, half in jest, but also half in earnest, in his Vie de Atrus,—" Medicine can tell us the name of the malady that made the fortune of Mahomet." In the search for "human documents," inaugurated by the contem- porary French school of thinkers, more and more the explana- tion of religious phenomena is sought in the sphere of pyschology. The Italian Professor Barzellotti, a student of our own Spencer, has distinguished himself in the field of what he has happily termed the "embryology of religions phenomena ;" and from his pen there lies before us a new book, in which is subjected to critical analysis the story of the poor deluded carter, who a few short years ago paid with his blood for his misplaced and antiquated enthusiasm, being shot down by the Royal Carabineers of his native land, as he was about to lead his followers to glory, and inaugurate the Republic of God upon earth. It is a pathetic tale, told with skill and picturesque power; for Professor Barzellotti writes as no mere cold observer, but as one who has lived through the whole move- ment, for the prophet arose in his native place, which lies at the spurs of those volcanic hills which flatten amid the marshy Maremma lands of Grossetto. It is a tract left outside all modern communications,—one of those districts not rare to find in Italy, where, as far as concerns the mental attitude of the people, little difference can be discerned between Catholicism and the Paganism on which it was astutely engrafted. The people are well-to-do, living under the mezzadria system, unagitated by either social or agrarian speculations, existing in a climate that makes mere living a delight, and hence able to cultivate and keep alive poetical and literary traditions that have made the Tuscan peasant famous at all times—in brief, just such a popu- lation among whom could spring up an improvised eruption of living faith, of fanaticism such as recalls ancient times, rather than those of our sceptical dissecting nineteenth century.
It was in 1835 that there was born at Arcidosso, in the Tuscan Maremma, a lad of that dark, fiery beauty, which we somewhat mistakenly regard as the invariable Italian type. He was an imaginative child, who even as a boy saw visions and dreamed dreams, but as he grew up his poetry concentrated itself upon learning by heart the verses of his great countrymen, Tasso and Dante, and his imagination upon inventing the most novel oaths, so that it became an amusement amid the country-folks around to listen to David's cursings. He became a carter by trade, and appears to have led a life anything but saintly. It was not till he was past thirty that a vision telling him that he was a chosen vessel, a man that should recall the nations to God, converted him from his loose ways, and after disappearing for a while from among his countrymen to meditate in a lonely spot, David reappeared as a prophet and a priest, his face showing signs of vigils, his words breathing inspiration, his
• David Lazzaretti. By Giacomo Barzellotti. Bologna : Nicola Zmiohelli. London: Nutt. 1885.
forehead marked with the stigma of a cross amid two C's placed there, according to him, by St. Peter. in person. Alas ! cruel science in post-mortem examination pronounced this stigma no more than a common tattoo, which David must doubtless have given to himself. But here we touch upon the peculiar character of the man and the features that make him interesting to the psychological student. It is evident throughout David's career that, while believing entirely in his mission, he yet never lost his hold upon common-sense and reality, so that whenever it was need- ful to practise a pions fraud that should further his aim, he did so without a moment's hesitation, his peasant astuteness strangely blending with his genuine prophetic ardour. His was no ingenuous nature. The foundation of his character was a mixture of ignorance and natural refinement, of superstitious credulity, of exaltation and practical scepticism, such as it is not rare to find coupled together amid the common people of Italy, and especially of its Tuscan province. What he preached henceforth to the peoples was that the times were ripe, that God desired their moral and civil regeneration; and since in his early days he taught nothing contrary to the prevailing faith,— indeed, sought to revive the true Catholic spirit, which, owing to the apathy of the local clergy, had sunk to mere letter-worship, —the priests rather encouraged his mission, and regarded him
as a useful coadjutor. Soon he established himself upon the cone-shaped mountain of Monte Labbro, and here in a tower built for him by his disciples, and whence he could overlook the Maremma plains, the blue Tyreneau Sea, the Isle of Elba, he lived, preached, and prayed, founding a communistic and co- operative "Society of Christian Families," where religions and moral education was aimed at as well as industrial well-being. This Society was joined by more than eighty families, many of whom lived on the mountain-brow near to the prophet, when not engaged in cultivating their soil. David himself set them the ex- ample of man ual labour ;but from time to time he disappeared from their midst to write out his rules and visions, to retire awhile from the world to think and pray, or to visit distant lands in order to learn how God was fulfilling himself in these also. For this end he retired to the island of Monte Cristo; he several times visited France, staying now in the Grand Chartreuse, now inhabiting Lyons, mingling with its socialistic workmen and imbibing not a few of their ideas. He even went as far afield as London, where he would seem to have attended some revivalist meetings. Nor did his ardour falter before a journey to Rome, where he nought an interview with the Holy Father, hoping that the Pope would support his mission. But in this hope he was disap- pointed. The times were grave. Pins IX. mistrusted enthu- siasts, and with a reprimand he dismissed the refractory son who ventured to give counsels to his spiritual superiors. For a brief moment David obeyed the Papal authority; but it was indeed a moment. Another visit to France confirmed his con- viction that revolt was now his only alternative, and, arming himself with strange banners, fantastic robes and insignia, he returned to Monte Labbro, telling the people that the time so long foretold had come at last, when the reign of God should be inaugurated on earth.
In estimating the success which David met with among his peasant followers, the local conditions must be taken into account. There stands on the one side the fact that in times like ours, when ecclesiastical traditions lose their hold, the natural and spontaneous impulses of the people strive after reviving the religious conscience. In such periods old faiths revive and new ones spring up both among the educated and the ignorant. Witness, for example, sixteenth-century Siena, when beside the two Socini and Ochino, the popular prophet, the beato Brandano, a rude Savonarola, preached his doctrines and led his followers to battle. On the other side stands the fact that David arose in a moment of great excite- ment, when Italy swayed between the disappointments and hopes that lay for it 'twixt Novara, Mentana, and the breach of the Porta Pia ; when, further, the fabulous news that France,—that France which the peasantry held invincible, which it regarded as the best, aye, only true support of the Papacy in Europe,—had been overpowered by an heretical people, had shaken to its foundations the peasant mind. What was meant by a new Italy they did not compre- hend; what was meant by the fall of the Papacy was but too vividly conceived by them. Surely such things would not be suffered long, they deemed ; and it is little wonder, therefore, that when David Lazzaretti preached that in his person these things should he overthrown, the people flocked around him,
listening to, and believing in, the political and religious Utopia he preached. In 1876, he penned a manifesto which was a species of ultimatum to the Christian Powers, in which he called on them for aid to reform the world, and woe unto them if they refused. He incited his followers with the words,—" Let us go into Latium, into the land of the great,"—interesting words, revealing how deep a fund of Greek and Roman classi- cal reminiscences continue rooted in the Italian people, so as still to find a place in the dreams of their prophets and the tales of their old men. Expectation, as we all know, is one of the most potent motive factors in religions passion, and David, consciously or unconsciously, largely utilised this power. But an end had to come at last, and in August, 1878, the fifth act of the tragedy of his life took place. He solemnly and with much pomp pro- claimed the inauguration of the Republic of God, of which he had been elected the leader; he led his people in fantastic pro- cession, chanting and praying, from the heights of the Monte Labbro to the plains of Arcidosso, to go forth to preach his mission. At the portals of the village they were met and stopped by nine soldiers. David explained his pacific mission in vain ; he was shot down by his own countrymen, and with him fell innocent women, men, and children. His murder, for it was nothing else, was a mistake committed by the timorous Government then in power. They had been warned that David meditated this step ; they refused to check it while yet there was time, fearing to sacrifice their popularity; they shot him down in coward fashion when be dared to do that he had not hidden; and in the end a lawsuit proclaimed them guilty of having violated their subjects' freedom. It was a melancholy end, and yet perhaps for the visionary the happiest. He died true to his faith, to his belief in his mission which he had prophesied would be sealed by his blood. His followers still survive in the Tuscan Maremma, they still look for his reappearance, they still—a faithful little sect—cherish his memory and search his writings. To speak of these, space is lacking. They are by no means commonplace, being a curious mixture of media3val mysticism, inspiration drawn from Dante, and modern French socialistic theories.
Such a man in the early Christian ages would have been an ardent heresiarch, the head of some religions faction, ready to die for his Gnosis. In the dark Middle Ages he would have been a Flagellant, a Millenninmist ; or bort in Germany, a brother of the Holy Ghost, a fiery disciple of Master Eckart or Jacob Boehme. Born into the full nineteenth century, he was what our century alone produces,—an eclectic, a strange medley of many things ; but on that account no less interesting a figure to study and to regard. The thanks of all students of humanity, of all psychologists, all religious searchers, are due to Professor Barzeflotti for his graphic, able, and unbiassed monograph. Above all, we are grateful for the latter quality—so rare in the religions historian, so absolutely requisite, if his work is to have any value outside the narrow limits of a sect.
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