FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50  
51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   >>   >|  
at last have reached the Chambers, proposing, _first_, the better distribution of the revenues of the Church, equal to a fourth of the kingdom; and, _second_, the suppression of those "houses," the rules of which bind over their members to sheer, downright idleness, leaving only those who have some show of public duty to perform. The priests denounce the bill as "spoliation and robbery" of course, and prophesy all manner of things against so wicked a kingdom. Doubtless it is daring impiety in the eyes of Rome to forbid a man with a shaven crown and a brown cloak to play the idler and vagabond. We are only surprised that the people of Piedmont have so long suffered their labours to be eaten up by an order of men useless, and worse than useless. Another grand difficulty in Piedmont was the absence of a middle class,--wealthy, intelligent, and independent. No one felt that he had rights, and you never heard people saying there, as you may do in Britain, "this is my right, and I will have it." A feeling of individual right, and of responsibility,--for the two go together,--was then just beginning to dawn upon the popular mind. This was accompanied by a certain amount of disorganizing influence; not that of Socialism,--which, happily, scarce existed in Piedmont,--but that of self-action. Every one was feeling his own way. The priests, of course, were exceedingly wroth, and loudly accused Protestantism as the cause of all this commotion in men's minds. Alas! there was no Protestantism in Piedmont, for it had been one of the most bigoted kingdoms in Italy. It was their own handiwork; for a tyranny always produces a democracy. As if by a miracle, a powerful and popular press started up in Turin. The writers in the _Opinione_ and the _Gazetta del Popolo_, acting, I suspect, on a hint given by some Vaudois that there was an old book, now little known, that would help them in the war they were now waging, went to the Bible, and, finding that it made against the priests, were liberal in their quotations from it. Their most telling hits were the extracts from Scripture; and finding it so, they quoted yet more largely. The priests were much concerned to see Holy Scripture so far profaned as to be quoted in newspapers, and exposed freely to the gaze of the vulgar. But what could they do? Their own literary qualifications did not warrant them to enter the lists with these writers: they had forgot the way to preach, unless at Lent; th
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50  
51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Piedmont

 

priests

 

people

 

useless

 

writers

 

finding

 

quoted

 

Scripture

 
Protestantism
 
popular

feeling

 
kingdom
 

revenues

 

miracle

 

Opinione

 
powerful
 

started

 
Popolo
 

Vaudois

 

distribution


acting

 
suspect
 

Gazetta

 
democracy
 

commotion

 

accused

 
fourth
 

exceedingly

 

loudly

 

tyranny


produces
 

handiwork

 
Church
 

bigoted

 

kingdoms

 

vulgar

 

freely

 

profaned

 

newspapers

 

exposed


literary

 

qualifications

 
preach
 
forgot
 

warrant

 

proposing

 

liberal

 

waging

 

quotations

 

Chambers