of men who I will only leave them when the tomb separates us. And why, madame, should I abandon my country, in order to go to Paris to seek a reputation in letters, in order to run after a little renown, a little glory, without ever being able to attain the object of my ambition? What good can I do for humanity outside of my own country? What influence can I exert in favor of my unhappy brethren, among strangers and exiles, in a country where selfishness occupies all of the principal social positions? What do they accomplish at Paris, all that crowd of foreigners whom misfortunes or inclinations have carried far away from their native land? Who among them is rendered really useful to his kind? Who among them has been able to make a great career, to win an influence in society? Not one. Those who would be great in the land that nourished them vegetate obscurely in the midst of the vortex of Parisian life. The poor The political troubles which have desolated Italy have forced achievements her noblest sons to flee from her. The most distinguished men have left Italy of my country have left it, and most of these noble exiles have gone to Paris. Not one of them has realized the brilliant hopes which he had conceived. All those whom I have known personally have been grieved to the depths of their hearts by the spectacle of great talents left sterile and powerless. A single Italian has made a name in Paris, and gained a position there: this is the criminal lawyer, Rossi. But such a place! such a position! The cleverest man in Italy, the most versatile genius of the period, the most practical spirit in the world, perhaps, has succeeded in obtaining a chair in the Sorbonne and another at the Academy, the highest goal to which his ambition was able to attain in France. This man, who has abjured his country, who will never again be anything to us, would have been able in a more or less distant future to play a tremendous rôle in shaping the destinies of his country, and would have aspired to guide his compatriots along the new paths which civilization opens every day, in place of having to teach intractable pupils. Italy is to No, no, it is not in escaping one's country because it is have Cavour's wretched that one attains a glorious end. Woe to him who abandons with scorn the land that has given him birth, who life disowns his brothers as unworthy of him!. As for me, I am determined never to separate my fate from that of the Piedmontese. Happy or unhappy, my country shall have my whole life; I will never be disloyal, even though I were certain to find elsewhere a brilliant future. Cavour not attracted by letters or But leaving aside the question of duty, forgetting my qualities of a citizen and a son, let us see what I should gain by leaving Italy for a future in France. What would I do in science France? How should I find a reputation and fame? The only means within reach would be literature. Now, madame, I confess to you frankly that I do not feel any literary genius; my head is practical and not imaginative. I would seek in vain to develop in myself the faculty of imagination; I possess no germ of it. I have never in my life succeeded in inventing the most trifling tale, the slightest story, to amuse a child. In spite of all the efforts I might make, I should never be more than a mediocre littérateur,- a man of letters of the third rank. Now, madame, here is a prospect which does not fascinate me. In point of art I can conceive of but one tenable position, namely, the first order. But if literature could not be my refuge, would there not be for me all the vast domain of science? It is true, I could become a savant, a profound mathematician, a great physician, indeed even a distinguished chemist. I could make a name in the academies of Europe and win a reputation in the world of scholars. One way of obtaining glory is as good as another; only there is little attraction in it for the Italian with a rosy complexion and the smile of a child. The Revolution of 1848 at last afforded Cavour the opportunity he had so ardently desired; it gave to Sardinia a constitutional government and offered him a career as political leader. In 1852 he became head of the ministry and set about the work which he had long pondered upon. He knew that Italy could not be united until Austria was driven out, and that the aid of some foreign power was necessary to the accomplishment of 239. Napoleon III this design. Accordingly he brought Sardinia prominently to the front in European affairs by joining England and France in the war against Russia, and at the conference at Paris in 1856, which closed the Crimean War, Cavour brought the condition of Italy vividly to the attention of Napoleon III. The French emperor was not averse to winning fame by a successful conflict, and in 1859 he joined Sardinia in a war against Austria, announcing his motives in the following proclamation of May 3, 1859. Frenchmen, Austria in ordering her army to invade the territory of the king of Sardinia, our ally, has declared war justifies his intervention upon us. She has thus violated treaties and justice and in Italy threatens our frontiers. All the great powers have protested against this aggression. Piedmont having accepted conditions which should have maintained peace, one cannot but inquire what can be the reason for this sudden invasion on Austria's part. It is because Austria has brought matters to such a pass that either she must dominate as far as the Cottian Alps, or Italy must be freed to the Adriatic; for every corner of territory which remains independent in that whole region is a menace to her authority. Hitherto moderation has been the rule of my conduct; now an aggressive policy becomes my duty. Let France arm herself and say to Europe with determination: "We do not wish for conquest, but we are resolved to maintain without flinching our national and traditional policy; we observe treaties on condition that they shall not be violated to our disadvantage; we respect the territory and the rights of neutral powers, but openly avow our sympathy for a people whose history is bound up with ours, and who groan under foreign oppression." France has shown her hatred of anarchy; she has been pleased to give me an authority strong enough to render powerless the abettors of disorder and the incorrigible members of former factions who have not hesitated to form alliances with our enemies; but she has not, on that account, abandoned her function as a civilizing power. Her natural allies have always been those who desire the improvement of humanity, and when she draws her sword it is not in order to domineer, but to liberate. The purpose of this war is, then, to restore Italy to herself, not simply to change her master; and we shall have upon our frontiers a friendly people who will owe their independence to us. We are not going into Italy to foment disorder, nor to disturb the authority of the Holy Father, whom we have replaced upon his throne, but to protect him against that foreign oppression which weighs upon the whole peninsula, and to participate in establishing order there which shall satisfy all legitimate interests. We are, in short, about to enter that classic land rendered illustrious by so many victories. We shall find there traces of our forefathers, of whom God grant we may prove ourselves worthy. . . NAPOLEON PALACE OF THE TUILERIES, May 3, 1859 Tuscan Victor Although Napoleon III abruptly withdrew from the 240. The war and left Austria in the possession of Venetia, he had proclamati given an impetus to Italian movement toward unity which declaring could not be checked. Modena, Parma, and the Romagna Emmanuel - a portion of the Papal States-voted to join Sardinia king and accept the Sardinian king as their common sovereign. On the outbreak of the war the people of Tuscany had forced their grand duke to leave his realm, and a provisional government had been formed. A representative assembly was convoked, and in September, 1859, the final acceptance of the sovereignty of Victor Emmanuel was announced as follows: Tuscans: FLORENCE, September 29, 1859 The Assembly of your lawful representatives has declared it to be the firm desire of Tuscany to form a part of a strong constitutional kingdom under the scepter of King Victor The people act for themselves The Tuscans have fought for national Emmanuel of the House of Savoy. The Assemblies of Modena, Parma, and the Romagna have unanimously issued similar declarations. The king-elect has accepted the free act of subjection on the part of the people of Tuscany, Modena, Parma, and the Romagna, and has declared that the first act of his sovereignty should be formally to sanction the rights which had been conferred on him by those peoples. These acts of the several peoples and of the king-elect constitute the strongest and most legitimate bond that can unite the ruler and the subject. This bond has been formed by justice, for it is not by force that thrones are established, but by the just national will, — and the peoples who were abandoned by the bad governments of foreigners, or of those friendly to foreigners, have therefore felt the necessity and the right of providing for themselves by securing the independence of the nation. The war undertaken by Napoleon and Victor Emmanuel was a solemn recognition of that right, since it was undertaken emancipation to liberate Italy from Austrian dominion and to constitute Italian nationality. All Italians were called on to profit by the great occasion, and the people of central Italy flew to arms. The Tuscans had the double honor of fighting under the glorious Italian banner and under the invincible eagles of the French empire. This coöperation in a war not of conquest but of national emancipation authorized the formation of a new kingdom of Italy, which the other European States may recognize, but to which they cannot give legitimacy. The latter is the result of the spontaneous consent of the peoples electing and of the king-elect. For them the compact is complete and irrevocable; a strong kingdom is a thing established; the king-elect is their king. But if the present government is to govern for his Majesty until the king-elect assumes personal rule over the Tuscans, it should also glory in and strengthen itself under his august name. In this way the new settlement of the Italian nation will proceed with security, every obstacle will gradually disappear, and Europe will be indebted for its tranquillity and its true equilibrium to the union and firmness of the Italians. |