an. And this
faith has not abandoned me ever, through years, poverty, and griefs
which God alone knows. In these few words lies all my being, all
the secret of my life. I may err in the intellect, but the heart has
always remained pure. I have never lied through fear or hope, and I
speak to you as I should speak to God beyond the sepulchre.

"I believe you good. There is no man this day, I will not say in
Italy, but in all Europe, more powerful than you; you then have, most
Holy Father, vast duties. God measures these according to the means
which he has granted to his creatures.

"Europe is in a tremendous crisis of doubts and desires. Through the
work of time, accelerated by your predecessors of the hierarchy of the
Church, faith is dead, Catholicism is lost in despotism; Protestantism
is lost in anarchy. Look around you; you will find superstitious and
hypocrites, but not believers. The intellect travels in a void. The
bad adore calculation, physical good; the good pray and hope; nobody
_believes_. Kings, governments, the ruling classes, combat for a power
usurped, illegitimate, since it does not represent the worship of
truth, nor disposition to sacrifice one's self for the good of all;
the people combat because they suffer, because they would fain take
their turn to enjoy; nobody fights for duty, nobody because the war
against evil and falsehood is a holy war, the crusade of God. We have
no more a heaven; hence we have no more a society.

"Do not deceive yourself, Most Holy Father; this is the present state
of Europe.

"But humanity cannot exist without a heaven. The idea of society is
only a consequence of the idea of religion. We shall have then, sooner
or later, religion and heaven. We shall have these not in the kings
and the privileged classes,--their very condition excludes love,
the soul of all religions,--but in the people. The spirit from God
descends on many gathered together in his name. The people have
suffered for ages on the cross, and God will bless them with a faith.

"You can, Most Holy Father, hasten that moment. I will not tell you
my individual opinions on the religious development which is to come;
these are of little importance. But I will say to you, that, whatever
be the destiny of the creeds now existing, you can put yourself at the
head of this development. If God wills that such creeds should
revive, you can make them revive; if God wills that they should be
transformed, that, leavin