piritual supremacy now claimed, but as destitute of temporal power as
the bishops of any other city. And the custom which rendered
concurrent the temporal rule--or admitted of extraordinary pomp--has
never been deemed more than a concurrence--never a necessity. And it
is a fact that when the invasion of a foreign power has stripped the
Pope of his territories, and made even Rome the home of invaders,
attention has been at once turned to the separation of spiritualities
from temporalities, and means adopted to drop the machinery of secular
government, and keep active and useful that of the church alone.

It is, we believe, an admitted fact, that among the papers of the
Cardinal Prime Minister of Pius VII., who was carried away and kept a
prisoner in France by Napoleon, were found plans for carrying on the
spiritual offices of the Pope without the least connection with
temporal power; and Rome was to be to its bishop no more than
Philadelphia to either of the bishops who reside therein, and
administer the dioceses committed to their care.

We mention these things, and dwell upon them, because speculation is,
and has been, active with regard to the effect of the revolution in
Italy, some movements of which evidently looked to the transfer of all
temporal power to laymen; and extraordinary effects were supposed to
be the necessary results of such a change. The change seems to us very
probable, and not very remote; but it does not appear to us that the
spiritual functions (proper) of the Pope will be essentially disturbed
by any such movement.

We dwell longer on Italy than its geographical dimensions would
warrant, but that peninsula is deeply interesting to the world, not
only on account of the religious relations to which we have referred,
but from the fact that for centuries a foreign arm has held it down;
and while half of the world beside was rising into consequence, by the
science and scientific men that Italy sent forth, Italy alone of all
the geographical divisions of the earth seemed to be without profit
from her own great men. Because she _did_ decay, men believed that the
elements of her prosperity were exhausted; because she ceased to hold
the preeminence which she once possessed, it was deemed that the seal
of ruin was set upon her. These suppositions are wrong; and the new
movements in that peninsula show that the spirit of man is yet
active, and _now_ active to man's great good. What Italy needed was
conce