REESE LIBRARY 
 
 : H K. 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
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 Accessions \o. . ^ 
 
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 Shell 
 
 
ANTONIO ROSMINI SERBATI 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 ANTONIO ROSMINI SERBATI 
 
 FOUNDER OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARITY 
 
 BY 
 
 GABRIEL STUART M.ACWALTER 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I. 
 
 EAR BO R v i T K^L 
 
 LONDON 
 
 KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, & CO., i PATERNOSTER SQUARE 
 
 1883 
 
(The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved} 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 To WRITE the Life of a truly great man is a 
 formidable undertaking. To write a suitable Preface 
 to such a Life is a task of very great difficulty. 
 The formidableness of the undertaking and the 
 difficulty of the task are, for obvious reasons, 
 rather increased than diminished if the personage 
 who is the subject of the Life be of the writer's 
 own time. Yet such is the undertaking, such 
 the task, assigned to us who are so unequal to 
 either, and whose only qualification is an earnest 
 desire to do our best to set before the public a 
 faithful picture of one, every feature of whom as 
 boy, youth, and man and every phase of whose 
 whole career we have for years studied closely. 
 
 Antonio Rosmini was not only a Priest who 
 had led a life of singular holiness, a life heartily 
 and heroically devoted to the love of God and 
 the good of his fellow-men ; but he was also a 
 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 profoundly learned writer commissioned by the 
 highest authority on earth to do battle for Christian 
 Philosophy. Herein is to be found the key to 
 his biographer's greatest difficulties ; for, generally 
 speaking, men are now as little disposed to appre- 
 ciate properly a true Philosopher who happens to 
 be their contemporary, as men of old were to 
 credit a Prophet who happened to be their country- 
 man. But the simple history of such a man's life 
 ought to establish his claims to just appreciation : 
 what if the historian's incompetency should stand 
 in the way ? This is our fear. 
 
 It has been said of St. Ignatius of Loyola that 
 ' his mission was to restore the principle of authority 
 ignored by the innovators, and to give back to 
 Christian Obedience its glory and beauty.' 1 In like 
 manner it may be justly said that the mission of 
 Antonio Rosmini was to restore the principles of 
 Truth trampled on by the innovators, and to give 
 back to Christian Philosophy its unity, harmony 
 and prestige. The story of his Life should prove 
 this claim. But what if we have failed to tell that 
 story rightly ? 
 
 A distinguished modern historian assures us 
 
 1 Meyrick's Life of St. Ignatius, preface, p. xvii. (London, Burns 
 and Gates, 1871). 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 that 'if we would discover the real rulers of man- 
 kind, we shall find them rather in their philosophers 
 and literary men than either their statesmen or their 
 generals. The only difference is that it is a posthu- 
 mous dominion in general which the author obtains : 
 his reign does not begin till he himself is moulder- 
 ing in the grave.' 1 
 
 History is so full of evidence to the truth of 
 this remark, in more than one form, that no student 
 can fail to find testimony in abundance to suit the 
 form he prefers. It may, then, be superfluous to 
 suggest any examples ; yet we venture to use a 
 student's privilege and indicate, en passant, the few 
 which first occur to us touching only one form of 
 the fact. 
 
 All the valour and all the wars of Philip of 
 Macedon or of his ' invincible son ' Alexander were 
 utterly powerless to conquer that perpetuity of sway 
 which the Philosopher's pen easily secured to Plato 
 and to Aristotle. 
 
 The ages in which the persecuted Fathers of 
 the Christian Church struggled with the mighty 
 Csesars (Pagan or Christian) are rich in a nobler 
 evidence to the same fact, but all may be summed 
 up in this : The despotic and haughty Caesars 
 
 1 Alison's History of Europe, &c., vol. i., preface. 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 and their greatest statesmen have left hardly a 
 name behind, while the despised and oppressed 
 Fathers still reign through their writings. 
 
 The rule of Genseric the Great Vandal ended 
 for ever soon after the capture of Hippo, fourteen 
 hundred and fifty years ago ; but the reign of 
 St. Augustin, the great Christian Doctor, who died 
 there during the siege, began then and still con- 
 tinues ever increasing in authority and power. 
 
 Who now cares to know anything of the 
 generals and statesmen, or even of the crowned 
 Fredericks and Conrads, in whose hands were the 
 destinies of the Western Empire during the life- 
 time of St. Thomas of Aquin, six centuries ago ? 
 Their sway perished with their bodies ; whereas 
 St. Thomas, when he lay down to die in the 
 Cistercian abbey of Fossanuova, commenced his 
 reign over the intellects of men a reign which 
 is daily putting forth fresh activity and gaining 
 brighter lustre. 
 
 Coming nearer home and to far inferior names, 
 we all know that, while Lord Bacon the statesman 
 was forgotten almost as soon as the grave closed 
 over him, Lord Bacon the author then took a 
 new lease of power, and his dominion still con- 
 tinues. We also know that, while the military 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 exploits and statesmanship of Frederick the Great 
 bore fruit that withered before it ripened, and, 
 at best or worst, affected merely a small section 
 of Europe, the Voltaire whom he used and then 
 thrust disdainfully aside holds a too-potent influence 
 to-day throughout all Europe, and far beyond it. 
 
 Thus, for good or for evil, great writers on 
 philosophical subjects have always won, over men, 
 a dominion that has long outlasted the utmost ever 
 achieved by the greatest generals or statesmen. 
 But though a great Philosopher usually begins to 
 reign when ' he is himself mouldering in the grave/ 
 his claims to dominion are seldom undisputed. It 
 is a remarkable fact that the greater the Philo- 
 sopher is, and the nearer he approaches to perfect 
 truth, the more surely and bitterly are his claims 
 resisted and his positions assailed ; more remark- 
 able still, they who oppose him with the greatest 
 insistence, and often with the greatest animosity, 
 are generally ' of his own household,' so to say 
 men who should have been his supporters from the 
 start, and who (as represented by the schools of 
 thought they leave after them) ordinarily end with 
 becoming his champions. 
 
 In what concerns the 'System of Truth' iden- 
 tified with the name of Antonio Rosmini we have 
 
x PREFACE. 
 
 a forcible illustration of all this. But, as there are 
 older and even more suggestive illustrations to be 
 found in ecclesiastical history, it may be as well to 
 note one or two of them as furnishing the best 
 explanation possible of Rosmini's true position, and 
 of the value to be set on the unseemly controversies 
 aroused by his masterly vindication and restoration 
 of Catholic Philosophy. 
 
 No less an author than St. Augustin, * the 
 Eagle of the Latin Fathers/ becomes our first illus- 
 tration. When his wonderful books on Divine 
 Grace were published no one questioned the doc- 
 trines they expounded. They opened up depths 
 of thought which had not been explored before, 
 but the learned saw nothing in them which was 
 out of harmony with the Christian Faith. However, 
 when, in the course of time, the Pelagians and 
 Semi-Pelagians attacked those doctrines as novel- 
 ties in the Church, St. Augustin was openly re- 
 proached, by prominent Catholics, with having im- 
 prudently raised questions too abstruse for ordinary 
 minds, and calculated to mislead many. 1 Even 
 such celebrated scholars as the monks of St. Lerins 
 joined in the outcry against him, and others of 
 
 1 See St. Augustine De dono perseverantia, c. xx. 
 

 PREFACE. xi 
 
 hardly less influence took up the assault, adding 
 insinuations that the works thus assailed had caused 
 
 ^V.. r v 
 
 the loss of numerous souls. These insinuations 
 have more than once since then assumed the shape 
 of distinct charges. 1 
 
 This, however, was a petty warfare compared 
 with that in which, surprising to say, St. Jerome, 
 the doctor maximus, took a part against the Saint. 
 He went so far as to formally accuse the great 
 Bishop of Hippo with having, in his comments on 
 the Psalms, gone against the interpretation of the 
 Fathers ; with having said things which the Chris- 
 tian sense could not justify ; with having sown, in 
 one of his books, heresies which competent autho- 
 rity should oblige him to retract. 2 St. Jerome, 
 though misled for a time by a false alarm, was not 
 an unreasonable opponent, unready or unwilling to 
 examine calmly for himself the matters in dispute. 
 No sooner had he done this than he discovered his 
 mistake, and acknowledged that the productions in 
 question were entirely free from error. 
 
 St. Augustin, however, was less fortunate with 
 less important and less competent opponents. He 
 
 1 A list of his opponents, especially those of last century, will be 
 found in the Vmdicia of Cardinal Noris. 
 
 3 See Epistola Ixxii. et Ixxv., in the second volume of St. 
 Augustine's works, edited by Migne. 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 wrote more than thirty short treatises to satisfy 
 these, but, for the most part, in vain. Some, indeed, 
 who had declared against him in good faith, and 
 desired only the truth, allowed their eyes to be 
 opened and their minds and hearts to embrace the 
 doctrine he explained. Others, unwilling to be con- 
 vinced of the truth, were in no way persuaded but 
 much annoyed by the clearness of his expositions. 
 In fact, the more manifest he made the truth which 
 he taught, the more exasperated they became and 
 the more virulent their hostility. His personal 
 friend St. Prosper, alluding to the work De cor- 
 reptione et gratia, says : ' The perusal of this new 
 book of your Beatitude has had the effect that 
 while those who followed the authority of your 
 apostolic doctrine have grown very much en- 
 lightened and instructed, those who, on the con- 
 trary, had their minds hindered by the darkness of 
 prejudice (persuasionis sutz impediebantur obscuro) 
 have become more hostile to you than they were 
 before.' 1 
 
 All the explanations of the holy Doctor were 
 unavailing, since they for whom he wrote them 
 were resolved to insist that he must be wrong. 
 For more than a century after his death there came 
 
 1 De corrept. et grat. cap. xxxv. 
 
PREFACE. xiii 
 
 those who kept up the assaults, and though there 
 were long periods of quiet, the antagonism was 
 renewed again and again, until the Church made 
 his triumph complete and he now reigns unchal- 
 lenged. 
 
 We find our next illustration in no less an 
 author than St. Thomas of Aquin, ' the Angelical 
 Doctor.' A few years ago Cardinal Zigliara (an 
 author whose words carry peculiar weight) published 
 an important work, in which he says : ' Many 
 persons who, with perhaps a good intention but 
 with the most wicked action (sed actione pessimd], 
 had persecuted the most meek Doctor while he 
 was yet living, opposed him with much greater 
 virulence after his death.' 1 In corroboration of 
 this his Eminence quotes the following passage 
 from Eckardt : ' Both during his life and after his 
 death St. Thomas was opposed by persons who, 
 whether from jealousy or envy, sought a paltry 
 celebrity by impugning his doctrines ; and amongst 
 them were men eminent for dignity and for talent.' 2 
 
 We all know that the Summa Theologica is now 
 the standard work of all Catholic seminaries 
 
 1 Zigliara, De Mente Concilii Viennensis in definiendo dogmata 
 unionis animcz humance cum corpore, &c., p. 155 (Rome, 1878). 
 1 Scriptorum Oramis Prcedicatorum, c., T. i. p. 436. 
 
xiv PREFACE. 
 
 that it has won the highest eulogies from Sovereign 
 Pontiffs and from theologians generally. Never- 
 theless, on its first appearance, it was fiercely 
 attacked, especially by a certain William de la 
 Mare, a noted Catholic writer of the time, who 
 criticised it in a very censorious spirit, branding 
 many of its propositions as heretical in theology and 
 absurd in philosophy. 1 He did not or would not 
 understand the author, and, misrepresenting him, 
 became without difficulty a leader of those who 
 were too ready to accept his distortions for truthful 
 representations. 
 
 But a more painful phase than this in the 
 hostility to St. Thomas is, we grieve to say, 
 associated with our own country. Still availing 
 ourselves of Cardinal Zigliara's work, 2 we find 
 that in two Provincial Synods held at Oxford 
 (the one in 1277 and the other in 1286), 'an 
 anathema was pronounced against the doctrine of 
 St. Thomas on the unity of the substantial form, 
 and against other doctrines taught by him.' The 
 first of these synods was presided over by Arch- 
 bishop Robert Kilwarby, who (strange as it may 
 
 1 About ten years after the death of St. Thomas, this De la Mare 
 wrote a work under the title of Correctorium Fratris Thomce, which 
 title, in the course of time, came to be known as Corruptorium Fralris 
 ThomcE. 
 
 2 De M ente Concilii c., pp. 158, 206, 208. 
 
PREFACE. xv 
 
 seem) was himself a Dominican, and therefore a 
 confrere of the Angelical Doctor. The second was 
 presided over by Archbishop John Peckham, 'a 
 Franciscan, who in 1284 had confirmed the 
 sentence of his predecessor against Brother 
 Thomas ' ; but, as many learned men in England 
 as well as abroad continued to defend him 
 against the two Archbishops, it was deemed ex- 
 pedient to convene this second Synod in 1286. 
 The condemnation which it pronounced against 
 the Saint began thus : Htzreticce qu&dam opiniones 
 per Domimim Archiepiscopum Cantuariensem de- 
 claratce et damnatce in nomine Domini, Amen. 1 
 
 Not content with this severe blow, the adver- 
 saries of the holy Doctor brought against him 
 influential members of the renowned Theological 
 Faculty of the Sorbonne, and with these formu- 
 lated thirteen articles the condemnation of which 
 they demanded a condemnation designed to 
 damage seriously if not fatally the good fame of 
 St. Thomas. So successfully did these people push 
 their ^fforts, that the then Bishop of Paris, Stephen 
 Tempier, was induced to issue the condemnation 
 under his episcopal seal ! 
 
 1 See Labbd's Col lectio Conciliorum, T. xiv. col. 1533-34 (Venet. 
 
 1730- 
 
xvi PREFACE. 
 
 When this condemnation was made public a 
 learned Dominican remarked : ' Condemnationem 
 illam nequaquam mare transisse] meaning that it 
 had not been adopted by Rome the Rome of 
 the Christian world, the Apostolic See. It sig- 
 nified little what Provincial Synods and Bishops 
 decreed in matters of this sort so long as Rome 
 did not confirm their proceedings ; and Rome 
 did not approve the condemnations which had 
 been persistently hurled against St. Augustine 
 and St. Thomas. On the contrary, as in the 
 case of Rosmini similarly assailed, ' Rome at last 
 threw around them the mantle of her official pro- 
 tection/ 
 
 There is one significant passage in the work 
 from which we have been quoting a passage which 
 very properly stigmatises as ' wicked ' a custom that 
 is even more prevalent in our time than in the days 
 of St. Augustine and St. Thomas ; for Antonio 
 Rosmini (as Cardinal Zigliara was and is in a 
 position to know) has had to endure more of this 
 kind of injustice than they had. ' There prevails 
 nowadays,' says his Eminence, ' a wicked method 
 by which obsolete difficulties against a doctrine, in 
 itself worthy of respect, are reproduced again and 
 
PREFACE. xvii 
 
 again, and greatly magnified, while no notice is taken 
 of the answer-s already given and oft repeated. Thus 
 it comes to pass that simple-minded people are led 
 to regard as erroneous, opinions which are highly 
 approved of by theologians of the foremost rank.' * 
 
 Misconceptions and misrepresentations thence 
 arising, or thus fostered, generally lead to persecu- 
 tion. But persecution has ever been the lot of 
 Saints, and the greater the Saint the more violent 
 the persecution. Whether he be a great author, 
 like St. Augustine and St. Thomas, or a great 
 ' Restorer of the principle of authority,' like St. 
 Ignatius, it is all the same : persecution is his 
 portion, and alas ! this persecution in its most afflict- 
 ing form comes, as we have just seen, not from out- 
 side the Fold but from within it. 'And a man's 
 enemies shall be they of his own household.' Un- 
 fortunately it often happens that those who inherit 
 the bitterest memories of persecution so little 
 profit by its lessons of charity that they, in turn, 
 become persecutors, generally with the best inten- 
 tions. Thus it is that some few representatives of an 
 Order which has done and still does glorious work 
 in the service of the Church an Order which, from 
 its birth, drank to the dregs of persecutions spring- 
 
 1 De Mente Concilii, &c., p. 232. 
 VOL. I. a 
 
xviii PREFACE. 
 
 ing from misconception were amongst the foremost 
 to revive and continue against St. Thomas an oppo- 
 sition based on misconception. No wonder, then, 
 that some few of these should be the first, and 
 remain the chief, assailants of Rosmini, who became 
 the Restorer, Defender, and special Exponent of the 
 Angelic Doctor's teachings. 1 
 
 However, we who write his Life are not so 
 much concerned in the great Philosopher as in the 
 Saintly Man ; but, as the qualities proper to either 
 character are so interblent in Rosmini that they 
 seem to be inseparable, we could hardly have 
 avoided the few remarks we have made, especially 
 when we remembered that his opponents, like those 
 of St. Augustine and of St. Thomas, and even of 
 St. Ignatius, have striven, and still strive, to 
 separate the Man from his Mission the great 
 Catholic Priest from the great Catholic Philosopher, 
 the Founder of an Order devoted to the practice 
 of Christian Charity from the Restorer, if not the 
 
 1 See chap. xiv. pp. 224-6, vol. i. of this work. From his boyhood 
 (as the history of his life will show) up to the close of his career, 
 Rosmini was a diligent student and enthusiastic admirer of St. 
 Thomas. In the first edition of his ' Philosophical Essays,' published 
 at Milan in 1827, he took delight in declaring that he walked ' Sulle 
 orme di S. Agostino e di S. Tommaso] and he never lost an oppor- 
 tunity of recommending the study of St Thomas to all who sought a 
 sound knowledge of Catholic Theology. 
 
PREFACE. xix 
 
 Founder, of a scientific system devoted to the 
 vindication of Christian Truth. 
 
 The biographers of St. Ignatius claim that ' the 
 secret of his greatness lay in his power to discern 
 the wants of the age, and in that genius which 
 foresaw the dangers certain to accrue to the Church 
 from the rise of a heresy which was to deny the 
 very basis of her authority.' l Now, the greatness 
 of Rosmini lay in the power to discern the wants not 
 only of his own time, but of the times that were to 
 follow, and in the genius that not only foresaw the 
 dangers of the misleading philosophies that were 
 sapping the basis of Christianity itself, but provided 
 a sure method of resisting their subtle assaults on 
 the Church, and of strengthening the bulwarks of 
 Truth against aggressions that threatened to destroy 
 its very foundations. As St. Ignatius was misun- 
 derstood, slandered and persecuted for what he 
 did or attempted to do in furtherance of the Mission 
 for which such greatness as he had was given to him, 
 so was Rosmini. More fortunate, however, than 
 St. Ignatius, Rosmini was never brought before the 
 Inquisition to rebut charges of heresy and other vile 
 
 1 Life of St. Ignatitis, &c., translated by Rev. T. Meyrick, SJ. 
 M. Sainte-Foi's preface, p. i. 
 
 a 2 
 
xx PREFACE. 
 
 accusations. But, as unfortunate as the other, his 
 adversaries have sometimes been, like those of St. 
 Ignatius, excellent men, heartily devoted to the 
 interests of the Church. 
 
 It is very sad to think how much suffering good 
 and great servants of God, like St. Augustine, St. 
 Thomas, St. Ignatius and Rosmini have had to 
 endure from being misunderstood by other servants 
 of God who were also good, and, in some cases 
 even great. History is overladen with testimonies 
 to this infirmity of poor human nature. How often 
 our Saxon Saints were persecuted by other Saints ! 
 St. William of York suffered many tribulations at 
 the hands of St. Bernard and other holy men. St. 
 Wilfrid was ' misunderstood by Saints persecuted by 
 Saints, deposed by Saints as unworthy of the Ponti- 
 ficate. Truly, a very fertile theme for the shallow 
 criticisms of the children of the world : while to a 
 Christian its lesson is that earth is not our home, 
 that the balance of things is not righted till the 
 judgment, the Church militant is not the Church 
 triumphant.' l 
 
 Although the harsh treatment which St. Ignatius 
 met with from the many zealous Catholics, some of 
 
 1 Lives of the English Saints. St. Wilfrid, Bishop of York, by F. 
 W. Faber (London, Toovey, 1844). 
 
PREFACE. xxi 
 
 them in most exalted stations, who misunderstood 
 his acts, words or motives although this and the 
 misrepresentations that constantly harassed him, in 
 the work to which he was called, bear a marked 
 resemblance to the harsh treatment and misrepre- 
 sentations which Rosmini and his work have en- 
 countered, especially at the hands of those who are 
 heirs to sobering traditions of harsh treatment and 
 misrepresentations, we have no desire to lay much 
 stress on the parallel. But there is visible another 
 and much more agreeable parallel between St. Igna- 
 tius and Rosmini a parallel of character. 
 
 Considering the great difference between the 
 nature of their talents and acquirements, to say 
 nothing of the great difference between their early 
 training and their intellectual pursuits, this parallel 
 could hardly be, were it not for the one thing which 
 was with Rosmini from his childhood onward, and 
 came to St. Ignatius in his manhood that intense 
 love of God which is the soul of sanctity. M. 
 Charles Sainte-Foi has, in a few sentences, drawn 
 an admirable picture of the character of St. Ignatius. 
 So striking is the likeness to the character of 
 Rosmini that, if we had read it without knowing 
 to whom M. Sainte-Foi specially applied it, we 
 should have taken it to be the character-portrait of 
 
xxii PREFACE. 
 
 him whose life it has been our privilege to describe 
 in these volumes. 
 
 1 The idea we would represent of him,' says M. 
 Sainte-Foi, ' is that of a man who in all his life, 
 and even in his least actions, is perfectly master 
 of himself, always self-possessed, always keeping 
 nature under control and never for one moment 
 letting it loose. He does not act until he has deli- 
 berated long and maturely ; he takes no resolution 
 until he has weighed and balanced carefully the 
 reasons for and against it. You would say that he 
 is a man who counts only upon himself, and yet he 
 reckons on nothing but on God. All his delibera- 
 tions and mental labours were sanctified, assisted 
 and elevated by prayer, to which he never failed to 
 have recourse in the least difficulty, recommending 
 the matter to God and putting all his confidence 
 wholly in Him. His letters and conversation exhibit 
 the same character ; they give evidence of the same 
 ruling and sober reason, the calm wisdom which 
 knows always how to keep between the two ex- 
 tremes, and when directing others, the watchful care 
 to guide in the way most suitable to the given 
 nature, taking account of the dispositions of mind 
 and of the affections, so as to draw these out and 
 develop them to the best issue for the glory of God 
 
PREFACE. xxiii 
 
 that being the sole end which he had before him 
 in all his actions.' 1 
 
 The illustrious Father Genelli, S.J., when writing 
 the Life of St. Ignatius, took occasion to express 
 his regret that so little use had been made of the 
 Saint's letters in all the earlier biographies of him ; 
 ' for it cannot be disputed that every man is the 
 best painter of his own portrait, and this more 
 especially in his letters/ 2 Mindful of this fact we 
 have freely used the correspondence of Rosmini and 
 thus enabled himself to 'give us, in some sort, his 
 photograph.' As the class of letters which best 
 illustrate character are those called * familiar/ it is 
 this class and this alone that we have laid under 
 contribution. Considering that Rosmini's corre- 
 spondence (now preserved in the archives of the 
 College at Stresa) on all manner of subjects would 
 fill twenty volumes of printed matter, it must be 
 evident that we have not, after all, drawn heavily 
 upon it. 
 
 Had we been dealing with the Theological or 
 Literary Doctor merely, or with the Philosopher 
 
 1 Life of St. Ignatius, &c., translated from the French by Rev. T. 
 Meyrick, SJ. ; Preface by M. Charles Sainte-Foi, pp. xviii.-xix. 
 
 2 Genelli's Life of St. Ignatius, Author's Preface (translated from 
 the French edition by Father Meyrick), p. i (p. xxii. of the English 
 edition. London, 1871). 
 
xxiv PREFACE. 
 
 merely, or with any particular phase of the many 
 aspects in which his versatile genius and vast erudi- 
 tion presents to us an individuality strongly marked 
 in each and all, we should have no difficulty in 
 selecting a volume of admirable letters to illustrate 
 his greatness in that special character. But our 
 object was to show all the features of the man, to 
 show them fully and not after the manner of a 
 colourless profile. However much we might extend 
 the outlines of such a profile, it would still remain 
 a dim, partial, sectional representation ; whereas the 
 picture we attempt to draw is meant to be a full- 
 sized and life-like portrait, carefully preserving 
 every feature of the man. For this purpose his 
 every-day familiar letters were indispensable and 
 sufficient. 
 
 Familiar letters are generally unstudied com- 
 positions, written off-hand without attention to liter- 
 ary polish. Those of Rosmini are hardly an excep- 
 tion. But, though the manner often seems to be 
 deficient in elegance or to betoken hurry, the matter 
 is never wanting in point, never at fault in giving 
 adequate expression to his meaning; for, however 
 hurriedly he wrote, he always considered carefully 
 what he had to say. Graces of style had to yield 
 to the necessity of replying promptly and fully to 
 
PREFACE. xxv 
 
 so many fetters that, if he paused to frame his 
 sentences in accordance with the set classical rules 
 which purists insist on, most of his correspondence 
 and much of his ordinary work would have to be set 
 aside. The letters we have selected may be re- 
 garded as, in some sort, written echoes of his 
 habitual conversations, as colloquial rather than 
 formal ; and in translating them we have aimed 
 at retaining the form as well as the sense. 
 
 We are so sure that we possess none of the 
 many gifts necessary for a successful historian that 
 we should never have undertaken this work had 
 not the task been imposed upon us as a duty. 
 Circumstances, not of our own seeking, brought us 
 in contact with most of the scenes and many of the 
 persons intimately associated with Rosmini in his 
 lifetime. A fondness for that kind of research 
 called ' biographical ' led us to make many special 
 inquiries touching his life and its incidents, and to 
 note carefully all we heard, read, or saw that had 
 any connection with him. An earnest attachment 
 to the very name of one who had done so much, 
 and been so much traduced, gave a zest to our 
 investigations, which were brought to a close when 
 the Life of Rosndui, by Don Francesco Paoli, 
 
xxvi PREFACE. 
 
 appeared in Italy, and its translation into English 
 was proposed. 
 
 Now, Don Paoli, who had served for more than 
 twenty years as private secretary to Rosmini, and 
 had been constituted his executor, possessed excep- 
 tional facilities, with the requisite talent, for writing 
 a complete history of his life. The elaborate 
 memoir which he published will always bear witness 
 to the good use he has made of his opportunities. 1 
 The proposal to translate it was, however, aban- 
 doned, mainly because the work had been com- 
 posed with special reference to affairs in Italy. It 
 was, therefore, in its actual form, not well adapted 
 to English readers, who know little or nothing of 
 the controversies and local circumstances that led 
 to the course Don Paoli felt bound to take. But, 
 as the work teems with authentic information essen- 
 tial to any Life of Rosmini, Don Paoli's memoir 
 must continue to be the thesaurus from which every 
 biographer of that illustrious man will have to 
 draw. We have drawn from it so fully and freely 
 that, to avoid constant references to the fact in 
 the text, we make this general acknowledgment 
 here. 
 
 1 Delia vita di Antonio Rosmini- Serbati, Memorie di Francesco 
 Paoli pubblicate daW Accademia di Rovereto (Rome, Paravia & Co., 
 1880). 
 
PREFACE. xxvii 
 
 The other authors, such as Niccolo Tommaseo, 
 whom we have had occasion to consult, will be 
 found duly credited wherever we have used the 
 information got from them. Besides the material 
 obtained from these principal sources there were 
 many little details which neither Don Paoli, nor 
 Tommaseo, nor any of the many Italian writers 
 who have discussed the Life of Rosmini, saw fit to 
 note, but which seemed to us worth gathering 1 up 
 from the recollections and memoranda of humble 
 people who had well known Rosmini at his original 
 home in Rovereto, or during his residence in 
 Padua, Milan, Domodossola, and Stresa. Such * un- 
 considered trifles ' can add nothing, perhaps, to the 
 substantial value of any narrative ; but they help 
 to tint the picture and give it those indefinable little 
 lights and shades which go so far to finish a like- 
 ness and make it more and more natural. 
 
 G. S. M, 
 
 ST. ETHELDREDA'S, LONDON, 
 October, 1882. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 ROVERETO AND THE ROSMINIS. 
 (A.D. 1442-1797.) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Olden and modern days of Rovereto Its chief attractions How 
 the Rosmini family carne to be connected with Rovereto 
 Genealogy of the Rosminis of Rovereto, with a brief account 
 of the heads of the family for three centuries How the 
 Rosminis took the name of Serbati Short sketch of Antonio 
 Rosmini's uncle, parents, and only sister . . i 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 (A.D. 1797-1813.) 
 
 An eventful epoch and a portent-bearing birthday His baptism, 
 precocious infancy, and studious childhood The Bible his 
 first reading book Is sent to a public elementary school 
 His juvenile charities His singular and suggestive amuse- 
 ments Is sent to the Roveretan High School His great 
 meekness, industry, and humility Why his teachers thought 
 him wanting in talent How he eluded his mother's efforts to 
 moderate his ardour for study His popularity with other 
 children the result of respect for his goodness He prays and 
 studies while his companions play What he thought of 
 theatrical amusements 22 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ROSMINl'S EARLIEST COLLEGE DAYS. 
 (A.D. 1813-1815.) 
 
 His personal appearance at sixteen His dislike of novelties in 
 dress His conversations His first scholastic thesis How 
 
xxx CONTENTS OF 
 
 PAGE 
 
 he bore his college triumphs Elected member of the 
 Rovereto Academy, its first and only boy- Associate His first 
 essay, and how he took the applause it won Why he estab- 
 lished a domestic Academy The ' dignity of the Priesthood' 
 the subject of his first public discourse Sage counsels of his 
 earliest letters Virtue the only reward worth having His 
 country retreat His love of solitude His first important 
 literary production His desire to be a Saint Correspond- 
 ence of a boy with veterans How he valued Christian 
 friendship Dedicates himself to Religion Leaves Rovereto 
 College .......... 41 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ROSMINl'S CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 
 (A.D. 1815-1816.) 
 
 His first affliction The whole family opposed to his choice of 
 the Ecclesiastical State How he met the opposition and dis- 
 posed of all objections The call unmistakably from God 
 His motives for embracing that state Yet another affliction 
 
 Selects humility as the safest road to Heaven Continues 
 his home studies Typical character of this period of his life 
 
 Contempt for worldly pleasures Yearning of his heart for 
 a perfect state Living up to a religious rule and nursing the 
 inspiration of a religious Order His friendships, wishes, and 
 designs all for God Art and sciences nothing without God 
 
 One drop of morality and religion worth an ocean of human 
 learning His undesigned noviciate for the Religious State . 60 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ROSMINl'S EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 
 (A.D. l8l6.) 
 
 Why a private Lyceum, under Don Orsi, was established for 
 Antonio Rosmini The student soon outstrips his master 
 How the professor bore the superiority of his pupil, and how 
 the pupil tried to conceal it The humility of both protects their 
 intercourse, and makes their friendship life-long What each 
 thought and said of the other Rosmini's ascetic and literary 
 studies go hand in hand His correspondence on scientific 
 subjects with experienced critics Wonderful extent of his 
 philosophical knowledge and wide range of his general reading 
 at this time His desire to be a Saint Suffering and sanctity 
 inseparable Warns a friend of the dangers surrounding 
 
THE FIRST VOLUME. xxxi 
 
 University life His enquiries as to the moral and scholastic 
 character of Padua Exhorts his brother to be studious and 
 virtuous When and how the grand principle of Ideal Being 
 took possession of his mind Religion the groundwork and 
 shield, and God the object of all his studies .... 76 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ROSMINI ENTERS THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA AS A 
 
 THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 
 
 (A.D. 1816-1817.) 
 
 St. Francis of Sales and Antonio of Rovereto Similarity of 
 their University life What the students and professors 
 thought of Rosmini, and what he thought of them His special 
 companions and their special qualities Tommaseo How to 
 live in the University with the regularity of cloistered monks 
 He tells his mother how religion assuages grief Takes the 
 Bachelor's degree and returns home for his first vacation 
 Resumes his course at Padua with permission to wear the 
 dress of an ecclesiastical student With what solemn 
 earnestness he took the clerical habit Intense love of purity 
 and distrust of { the world ' 92 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ROSMINI CLOSES HIS SECOND SEASON AT THE UNIVERSITY, 
 AND RECEIVES MINOR ORDERS. 
 (A.D. I8l7-l8l8.) 
 
 His one extravagance Childish eagerness to purchase a valuable 
 library How earnestly he entreats his parents to grant his 
 request His gratitude for their compliance Fraternal ad- 
 vice on the practice of Christian virtues His great faith 
 and humility His brother's visit to Padua How his studies 
 progress Preparing for Minor Orders and testing his voca- 
 tion Receives Minor Orders Returns to Rovereto Death 
 of his uncle Ambrogio How he bears affliction . . .106 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ROSMINl'S EVERY-DAY LIFE AT THE UNIVERSITY. 
 (A.D. 1818-1819.) 
 
 How he met sympathy in sorrow Religious instruction pervad- 
 ing all his conversations How his recreation was spent 
 A collegiate society of charity : His poetry and his ' spare 
 
xxxii CONTENTS OF 
 
 time' His correspondence always conveying a lesson How 
 he blent pious advice and interesting news Visit of the 
 Emperor Francis I. of Austria to Padua Rosmini's share in 
 the public rejoicings He prepares for Holy Orders Asks 
 permission to receive the Subdiaconate The wish of the 
 Acolyte Rosmini in 1818 like that of Pope Pius IX. in 1848 
 Stimulates his brother and sister to zeal in piety and study 
 Fosters his sister's religious vocation Why he would not 
 take the degree of Doctor when ready for it, and why he put 
 off the time for receiving the Subdiaconate His own account 
 of his daily life in Padua 123 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ROSMINI LEAVES THE UNIVERSITY AND RECEIVES 
 THE SUBDIACONATE. 
 
 (A.D. 1819.) 
 
 Completion of his University course What the Paduans thought 
 of him How the good and the poor missed him His first 
 duty on returning home His gratitude State in which he 
 found his Rovereto Academies The instability of human 
 things How he took disappointments What he deemed a 
 * great service ' He establishes a school for poor ecclesias- 
 tical students His own preparation for Holy Orders He 
 receives the Subdiaconate and makes a short excursion into 
 Venezia How he bore himself while travelling Sees God 
 in everything Returns home His guests . . . .139 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ROSMINI AN HEIR AND A DEACON. 
 (A.D. 1819-1821.) 
 
 Death of his father Finds himself to be heir general Why he 
 does not expect this and why he accepts it How he meets 
 his new responsibilities He prepares for the Diaconate 
 Arrival of the Bishop of Chioggia in Rovereto Receives 
 Deacon's orders Declines to receive the Priesthood before 
 he is of canonical age Goes into a long special preparation 
 for the Priesthood Establishes a class of sacred eloquence ; 
 its advantages to himself and others His ordinary mode 
 of life in those days His eager desire to remedy the evils 
 produced by the false philosophy then popular . . .148 
 
THE FIRST VOLUME. xxxiii 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ROSMINI A PRIEST. 
 (A.D. 1821.) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The feast of his canonical majority He draws near to the 
 Priesthood with fear and trembling Goes to Chioggia for 
 Ordination How he received the sacred dignity A retreat 
 of thankspiving at Venice, where he celebrates his first Mass 
 Returns to Rovereto unperceived in order to escape a pub- 
 lic reception Thanks the Bishop who ordained him His 
 energy and aspirations shown by a letter to Prince Alexander 
 von Hohenlohe Celebrates his first public Mass The day 
 one of popular rejoicings in Rovereto His mother gives a 
 grand banquet How all this affects him The ovations over, 
 he goes into retreat on the Mount Leaves absolute solitude 
 for the commencement of a five years' home retirement The 
 principle of Passivity as he knew and practised it Key to the 
 consistency of his course How he distributed the ordinary 
 duties of the day Every hour for God Love of gravity and 
 of order The best qualities of his childhood and youth grown 
 perfect in his manhood . . . . . . . .158 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ROSMINI'S 'PASSIVITY' AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE FIRST 
 YEAR OF HIS PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 (A.D. 1821.) 
 
 He endeavours to establish a Society of Friends Why the 
 attempt fails Love of solitude and of association He com- 
 bines both His views on co-operative action for good ends 
 A society for the publication of wholesome literature Doing 
 for God and truth what the irreligious do for the devil and 
 error Prefers the Latin to the vulgar tongue for ecclesiastical 
 purposes Is invited to join the Turinese society for publish- 
 ing good books What he says on the subject Rebukes a 
 friend for having praised him How beautiful a thing it is 
 to please God His efforts to popularise serious subjects 
 Charity calls him to active parochial work How he ministers 
 to the dying pastor of a sorrowing flock Why he refuses to 
 take permanent charge of a parish His funeral oration on 
 the death of Don Scrinzi ....... 174 
 
 VOL. I. b 
 
xxxiv CONTENTS OF 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ROSMINI'S CALL TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 
 (A.D. I82I-I822.) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The saintly Mme. Canossa visits Rovereto Resemblance 
 between Madeline de Canossa and Margherita de Rosmini 
 How Madeline conquered Napoleon I., and how Mar- 
 gherita conquered her father Mme. Canossa urges Rosmini 
 to found a Religious Order How this message of inspiration 
 affects him He shrinks from the thought of being a Founder 
 though ready to be a Monk Mme. Canossa is persuaded 
 that God calls him to the dignity of Founder She returns 
 to Verona, sketches the plan of an Institute and sends it to 
 him What he thinks of it Difficulties in the way of carry- 
 ing out the plan Mme. Canossa perseveres, deeming herself 
 the agent of God in this 'call' He is once more invited to 
 co-operate with the Turinese Publishing Society How he 
 would have all Christians form a universal social brother- 
 hood The Household of the Faith 1 88 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 ROSMINI'S STUDIES DURING HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 
 
 (A.D. 1822.) 
 
 He cultivates human sciences as useful to the Science of the 
 Saints His domestic library His studies Vast extent of his 
 reading His estimate of philosophical learning How he 
 worked to make Philosophy subserve Truth Solidity of his 
 acquired knowledge The works he wrote and planned in his 
 home retirement What specially kept him in this retirement 
 The Divine Will regulates all his acts His passivity is 
 activity for God's glory . . . . . . . .201 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ROSMINI'S CONTACT WITH THE OUTER WORLD DURING 
 HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 
 
 (A.D. 1822-1823.) 
 
 The duties of hospitality How he made 'social intercourse' 
 contribute to his main object He is recognised as the cham- 
 pion of Catholic Truth against the upholders of dechristian- 
 ising error How to write books to confound unbelievers 
 What he thinks of institutions for gathering together the 
 children of the poor on Sundays and Holy-days Charity 
 
THE FIRST VOLUME. xxxv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 always striving to do more and more good He goes to 
 Padua and receives the doctorate Is made a member of the 
 Accademia of the Catholic Religion Entertains the Bishop 
 of Treviso at Rovereto Becomes the preceptor of a Bishop 
 as well as of Priests Why he declines to accept some 
 benefice in his native diocese, and why he accepts the office 
 of Synodical Examiner His Academy of St. Thomas and 
 his love for the Angelic Doctor A lost manuscript Reproves 
 the Italians for not appreciating the great Aquinas Italy 
 and Europe holding St. Thomasin little esteem, Rosmini 
 endeavours to win for him the homage that has since been 
 decreed to him 214 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ROSMINl'S FIRST VISIT TO ROME. 
 (A.D. 1823.) 
 
 He is invited to accompany Mons. Crasser to Treviso Quits his 
 retirement for the third time It proves to be the first serious 
 departure from the monastic seclusion of home Meets the 
 Patriarch of Venice, who takes him to Rome His first short 
 but fruitful visit to the Eternal City Becomes the friend of 
 Mauro Cappellari (afterwards Pope Gregory XVI.) Interview 
 with Pius VII. The Pope counsels him to persevere in phi- 
 losophical studies for the good of the Church Is offered an 
 important office at the Papal Court How this perplexes him, 
 and why he declines it The burden of exalted friendships 
 Informs his mother how the time has been spent Returns 
 home How news of the Pope's dangerous illness is received 
 in Rovereto News of the Holy Father's death Rosmini 
 leads the people to honour his memory Is appointed to 
 preach the funeral oration Effect of his discourse on those 
 who heard it 227 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ROSMINl'S PANEGYRIC OK PIUS VII. THE BEGINNING 
 
 OF TRIBULATIONS. 
 
 (A.D. 1824.) 
 
 Why this panegyric calls for a special chapter How it marks 
 the close of calm life and the opening of storms The greater 
 the Saints, and the more they do for the glory of God, the 
 greater and more their trials Synopsis of the panegyric- 
 He is entreated to publish it immediately as an offset to 
 current attacks on the Holy See Why Austrian politicians 
 
xxxvi CONTENTS OF 
 
 PAGE 
 
 opposed its publication They fear Rosmini as an i Ultra- 
 montane' What he says of their course He publishes a 
 portrait of the Pope, and is opposed even in this He fore - 
 stes the evils which certa ; n political factions in Catholic 
 countries are to bring on the Church and on nations . . 236 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 RO3MIN1'S DEVOTION TO THE HOLY SEE AND CATHOLIC 
 UNION. 
 
 (A.D. 1824-1825.) 
 
 He practically illustrates the holy influence of the Papacy while 
 not allowed to openly vindicate its honour His great devo- 
 tion to the Holy See Distrust of secular life, and confidence 
 in the Religious State The cloister a harbour of refuge 
 The political censors will not be conciliated Why the reli- 
 gious reaction following the French Revolution waned 
 Dangers of the future Proposal to honour solemnly the 
 martyrs of the Revolution What God intended him to pro- 
 mote Mme. Canossa reminds him of her 'message of inspi- 
 ration ' He wishes to found a Congregation for securing the 
 perfect observance of the public services of the Church She 
 urges him to quit his home retirement His efforts for the 
 Daughters of Charity in Trent Advises his sister to found a 
 house of this Order in Rovereto, at her own expense Pro- 
 ceeds to Modena for special studies Advantages of union 
 amongst the good 249 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 LAST YEAR OF ROSMINl's HOME RETIREMENT. 
 (A.D. 1825-1826.) 
 
 His fellow Academicians, though far apart, cling to him for 
 advice and aid Spiritual above temporal interests Our true 
 grandeur unseen to mortal eye Conditions requisite for the 
 Priesthood Stern warnings to an aspirant whose motives are 
 doubtful Describes how the Divine Office is arranged 
 Rescues and provides for street waifs Returns to Mme. 
 Canossa's 'message of inspiration' Submits a rough sketch 
 of what he thinks the Congregation should be Its four leading 
 features The germ of the Institute deep-rooted in his soul 
 It grows into shape, as did that planted in St. Dominic's heart 
 ages before 265 
 
Th'E FJRST VOLUME. xxxvii 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ROS.MINI BEGINS THE 'ACTIVE LIFE.' 
 (A.D. 1826.) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The spirit of association for holy objects strong in him Diffi- 
 culty of finding suitable companions Abundance of weeds, 
 scarcity of flowers Providence beckons him to Milan 
 What hastens his departure How he smooths down a do- 
 mestic trouble Piepares for the journey How it affects his 
 mother and the rest of the family The leave-taking The 
 departure Stops at Verona to consult with Mine. Ca- 
 nossa and his sister The ' message of inspiration ' once 
 more Mme. Canossa predicts that Providence will clearly 
 manifest Its will to him in Milan His arrival in Milan His 
 spiritual charges and his new friends How Manzoni be- 
 comes one of these How the sensist philosophers and how 
 the friends of religion receive him What he does to promote 
 the cause of Truth Becomes again the guide of young eccle- 
 siastics How he combines contemplative and active life 
 His extensive correspondence Still encourages the study of 
 St. Thomas The 'message of inspiration' now continually 
 before him He cannot resist the call to found an Order 
 Drafts a plan and sends it to Mme. Canossa through Don 
 Bertoni , 280 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ROSMINl'S FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 
 
 (A.D. 1826.) 
 
 A significant coincidence He congratulates the Abate Cappellari 
 on receiving the Cardinalate Solicits the new Cardinal's opi- 
 nion as to the plan of the new Order How he and his house- 
 hold apply the principle of ' passivity ' What he thinks of 
 poetry and social entertainments for the relief of sadness 
 4 Highly wrought religious fervour' no impediment to cheerful- 
 ness, as his own daily life demonstrates What he thinks of the 
 Milanese The sensist blotch on the prevailing piety Vin- 
 cenzo Monti a representative blotch Rosmini seeks to save 
 the dying poet's soul Gains a victory elsewhere that pro- 
 mises well for the saving of souls Works for the daughters 
 of Charity His description of that Order Mme. Canossa 
 questions the wisdom of admitting the Pastoral Office in the 
 Order she wishes him to found He answers her objections, 
 laying much stress on living in solitude with the heart rather 
 than the body Danger of gloom in solitude, and of levity in 
 
xxxviii CONTENTS OF 
 
 society Religion the mother to shield us from both All his 
 affections centered in the Church No genuine happiness 
 except in close union with the Church True patriotism can 
 belong only to the subjects of Christ's Kingdom He would 
 have all men fellow-subjects in this Kingdom, bound together 
 by the sweet bonds of charity 295 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 ROSMINI, AWAITING 'THE MANIFESTATION' OF PROVI- 
 DENCE, ACTIVELY WORKS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND 
 THE VINDICATION OF TRUTH. 
 
 (A.D. 1826-1827.) 
 
 His Milan household an illustration of the instability of mere 
 human arrangements Strength of institutions designed for 
 God's glory He goes to Rovereto with the Chevalier Carlo 
 Rosmini and Maurizio Moschini Calls at Brescia and 
 Verona Is urged to join the Jesuits Once more at the 'old 
 Homestead ' His mother still seeks to keep him in his 
 native diocese What he thinks of taking the Pastoral 
 Ministry Indifferent to all but God's Will Returns to 
 Milan with Don Fenner as Secretary Mellerio and Manzoni 
 meet him His share in Manzoni's Promessi Sposi How he 
 awaits the manifestation of Providence -His estimate of 
 human power in the salvation of souls Why he prefers a 
 good heart to great talent His efforts to restore Christian 
 Philosophy Progress of the Nuovo Sa%gio Literary war 
 with the dechristianising sensists His philosophical pro- 
 ductions of this time Depends on Prayer more than on 
 Reason Lives on earth as being always in the visible 
 presence of God ' His conversation is in Heaven ' Phi- 
 losophy and Reason would be traitors without Prayer and 
 Piety 318 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 ROSMINI CONTINUES THE WARFARE AGAINST THE FOES 
 
 OF REVELATION. 
 
 (A.D. 1827.) 
 
 He refuses to be a Jesuit, but urges others to join that Order 
 Beauty of the Religious State What he says of the ' livery 
 of St. Ignatius ' How delicately he avoids influencing any- 
 one to join the Order he is himself founding What he thinks 
 of surrendering one's own judgment to that of Superiors 
 
THE FIRST VOLUME. xxxix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Two possible exceptions to the rule What he deems the 
 surest means of bringing hearts into close union with God 
 The Science of the Saints applicable to all states of life, but 
 not alike safely or easily practised in all Religious Life the 
 port of refuge from worldly storms Necessity of mastering 
 human affections to reach this port Himself as an example 
 of triumph in this Shows his sister that true union of hearts 
 cannot be, except in God Explains the principle of obedience 
 as laid down in the Jesuit Rule Agrees with St. Thomas as 
 to the mode of choosing a Religious Order Commends a 
 compendium of meditation by a Jesuit Sorrow for the death 
 of Carlo Rosmini, the historian Patience in affliction The 
 war against the propagators of anti-Christian philosophy 
 Teaches the leaders of irreligion how to conduct controversies 
 The world, as it is, must needs have evils Opposes god- 
 less education and foreshows its dangers Men led by sensist 
 philosophy are most intolerant Virtue and truth, being a 
 check to human passions, are detested by the champions of 
 irreligion He is evidently ' called ' to resist the inroads of 
 sensistic error All philosophy mere vanity without religion 
 The Gospel shines above all human systems Revelation 
 and true philosophy perfectly harmonious A great and pious 
 historian's prayer to God answered in the person of Rosmini 334 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 ROSMINI RECEIVES THE EXPECTED MANIFESTATION OF 
 PROVIDENCE. 
 
 (A.D. 1827.) 
 
 His health at this time How he came to know the Abbe Lowen- 
 briick Attractive qualities of the Abbe" Contrast between 
 him and Rosmini Gospel prudence and human enthusiasm 
 Hopes and aims Lowenbriick's first lesson in religious 
 Passivity He is given 'the models of all charity ' The indi- 
 cations of Providence at length plainly visible How Monte 
 Calvario, Domodossola, was found to be chosen by our Lord 
 for the new Society Lowenbriick is sent to Domodossola 
 His report satisfies all Why the plan of the new Institute 
 was not shown to the Abbe* until he was at Calvario 
 Rosmini foresees what awaits him as Founder and Phi- 
 losopher Lowenbriick's objections to the plan fully answered 
 Testing the spirit of the Abbe" Rosmini seeks to have no 
 associates but those manifestly sent by Providence Lowen- 
 briick's restless spirit checked by Rosmini's wonderful 
 calmness 355 
 
xl CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 ROSMINl'S FIRST VISIT TO MONTE CALVARIO, DOMODOSSOLA. 
 (A.D. 1827.) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Receives a ' permit' to pass into northern Piedmont Travels in 
 sight of scenes sacred to St. Charles Borromeo Muses on 
 that Saint's birth and life Stops at Stresa in front of the 
 Borromean Isles Grieves that no memorial of the Saint 
 there embodies practically the great lessons of his life How 
 he is himself destined to supply the want in that very place 
 Passes on to the foot of the Simplon Sketch of Domo- 
 dossola The Sanctuary of Monte Calvario His first vibitto 
 the Sacred Mount What he saw and thought on the way 
 The Via Crucis and its chapels The Ruins on the hill 
 The magnificent valley of the Ossola How what he beheld 
 affected him 373 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 
 
 (AD. 1827.) 
 
 He returns to Milan An invitation to Rome Why he does not 
 accept it Lowenbriick's phantasies How Rosmini rebukes 
 them Man's nothingness The first thing to be done on the 
 Mount Count Padulli to represent Rosmini in Rome Visit 
 to Verona Mme. Canossa's gratitude to God for granting 
 her petitions In Rovereto once more Moschini's illness 
 The means for preserving the spirit of the Institute Pro- 
 sperity should make men humble The Exercises of St. 
 Ignatius his special study Bad health no hindrance to his 
 twofold vocation 394 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 
 
 (A.D. 1827.) 
 
 His mother's new effort to keep him at home The Cross his 
 only love He sustains others against the assaults he has him- 
 self to meet Provides for the work on Calvario Lowenbriick 
 and the water supply on the Mount External circumstances 
 indications of God's Will The poverty and mortification 
 proper to the new Institute The ornamental and the 
 necessary Meilerio's visit to Monte Calvario Two Bishops 
 visit Rosmini at home Moschini's illness The Cross our 
 only treasure How to win it Golden rule of humility 
 Man's nothingness Death of Maurizio Moschini Rosmini 
 
 of it preternaturally His eulogy on Moschini . . 413 
 
UNIVERSIT 
 
 LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 ANTONIO ROSMINI 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 ROVERETO AND THE ROSMINIS. 
 
 (A.D. 1442-1797.) 
 
 Olden and modern days of Rovereto Its chief attractions How the 
 Rosmini family came to be connected with Rovereto Genealogy of 
 the Rosminis of Rovereto, with a brief account of the heads of the 
 family for three centuries How the Rosminis took the name of 
 Serbati Short sketch of Antonio Rosmini's uncle, parents, and 
 only sister. 
 
 IN olden days, when the favourite highway from 
 Germany to Italy led through the Tyrol, along the 
 picturesque valley of the Adige, there was a little 
 village, some sixteen miles south of Trent, which 
 became a popular resting-place on the road. This 
 village had grown around a fortified castle that stood 
 in the midst of an oak forest, from which it took 
 the name of Rovereto, or ' oak plantation.' Tra- 
 vellers tarried there, partly because of the protection 
 the castle gave, but mainly because, in those days, 
 
 VOL. I. i- B 
 
2 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 even ordinary wayfarers liked to have more than a 
 passing glance at the ' disparted hills ' and ' frowning 
 rocks ' immortalised by Dante as 
 
 .... That ruin which Adice's stream 
 
 On this side Trento struck, should'ring the wave, 
 
 Or loos'd by earthquake or for lack of prop ; 
 
 For from the mountain's summit, whence it moved 
 
 To the low level, so the headlong rock 
 
 Is shiver'd, that some passage it might give 
 
 To him who from above would pass. . . . ! 
 
 In modern days, the fine old coach road through 
 that mountain gorge is merely a well-preserved 
 memorial of the slower past, and travellers care less 
 to loiter amid magnificent scenery than to ' outstrip 
 the wind ' and dispense with wayside resting- 
 places. The route, however, is much the same as 
 in olden times, for the railroad which connects the 
 Tyrol with Italy closely follows the ancient track 
 by the left bank of the Adige, touching at Rovereto 
 (now a considerable town), in the charming vale of 
 Lagarina. There a smiling prosperity wrung from 
 nature's ruins by ages of patient culture has come 
 to soften the rugged grandeur and awful chasms 
 that were without any such relief in Dante's time. 
 Then the attractions of the village were, as for ages 
 they had been, exclusively associated with the wild 
 majesty of the surrounding scenery, and with the 
 strategical importance of the castle as the most 
 southern and not least formidable of Tyrolese 
 frontier posts. Now, the village has become a 
 town, stripped of military pretensions and vested in 
 
 1 Dante's Inferno, c. xii. 4-10 (Gary). 
 
ROVERETO AND THE ROSMINIS. 3 
 
 the more palmy garb of thrift and industry. Those 
 add constantly increasing charms to the encircling 
 Alps the Trentine at the base of which a steady 
 extension of the town goes on, just near enough to 
 the famous Adige to enjoy its benefits, but far enough 
 away to escape its dangers. The gushing waters of 
 the Leno, flowing through the centre of the mu- 
 nicipality, supply the Roveretans so abundantly 
 with * fluvial blessings ' that they can afford to forget 
 how nigh they are to the mightier river. 
 
 Long busy with the production of silk and wine, 
 Rovereto is fitly embowered in mulberry groves and 
 vineyards, as in the natural emblems of its commer- 
 cial life ; while on every side, beyond the munici- 
 pality as well as in it, are visible other emblems 
 sacred to the faith which has never once, ' through 
 weal or woe,' been separated from the place or people. 
 Amongst those ' other emblems ' English tourists 
 may see such significant memorials of the far past as 
 the ruins of a church, built on the Leno in 1250, to 
 the honour of God, through St. Thomas of Canter- 
 bury ; there also they will find the memory of St. 
 Oswald 1 more honoured than in his beloved Worcester 
 or York, and the fame of St. George more reveren- 
 tially preserved than in the land which emblazons 
 his glory on heraldic shields and standards. 
 
 But it is not of its natural beauties or business 
 attractions, not of its marble mansions or quaint 
 
 1 The pretty little church of St. Oswald (erected in 1791 by 
 Ambrogio Rosmini) is close to the site on which the church of St. 
 Thomas once stood. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 streets, not even of its churches and chapels, whether 
 of the past or the present, that we have now occasion 
 to speak, unless in so far as they say something 
 special of a name which sheds a bright halo over 
 them all a name that has lifted Rovereto from 
 the obscurity of a simple wayside town to a lofty 
 and abiding dignity which makes it already more 
 famous, and far more revered, than many an opulent 
 and pretentious city in that part of the world. This 
 name is Rosmini ; for ages it has been most inti- 
 mately and honourably blent with the well-being of 
 Rovereto. A Rosmini was of those who bravely 
 defended the castle and its dependent village in 
 1487, when 'bombs ' were for the first time used in 
 war, and the Archduke Sigismund satisfied himself 
 that, without this new projectile, he could not have 
 soon vanquished that gallant little outpost of the 
 Venetians. The walls of the battered old castle can 
 still speak of its Rosmini commandants. The 
 courts of justice preserve traditions of the Rosmini 
 magistrates, whose decisions and virtues are held up 
 to the veneration of modern judges. Many of the 
 singular old edifices which dot the valley beyond 
 the town, or adorn its streets, still bear witness to 
 the business enterprise or the architectural skill of 
 some Rosmini. So, too, all the religious shrines 
 have much to say for Rosmini generosity, taste, and 
 piety ; while schools and charitable institutions bear 
 living witness to the enlightened munificence which 
 at all times distinguished this most faithful Catholic 
 family. 
 
ROVERETO AND THE ROSMINIS. 5 
 
 All these, however, have less interest for us 
 than a certain monument which stands at the top 
 of a noble avenue that was opened, not many years 
 ago, through the Rosmini gardens down to the rail- 
 way station. 1 It is a magnificent statue in white 
 marble, erected close to the Rosmini mansion, over- 
 looking the Rosmini Infant Asylum, and bearing 
 ' mute but eloquent ' testimony to a goodness and 
 greatness far surpassing all that had ever before 
 been associated with the name of Rosmini or 
 Rovereto. It represents the homage of the munici- 
 pality to its grandest, most gifted and saintly son, 
 ANTONIO ROSMINI-SERBATI. Of him, and him only, 
 have we any desire to speak here; but, as we 
 sympathise with that propensity of our race which 
 craves to know something as to the pedigree of 
 eminent men, we shall attempt to satisfy this natural 
 inquisitiveness by briefly setting forth the lineage of 
 the great Priest, Founder, and Philosopher, whose 
 holy life we are about to sketch. 
 
 Long before the Tyrol became a dependency of 
 Austria the Rosminis held an honourable place 
 among the patrician families of northern Italy. 
 That branch of the stock from which the subject 
 of our memoir sprang became connected with the 
 Tyrol while the Venetians held sway there, and 
 before Austria had recovered the domestic quiet so 
 rudely disturbed by the noxious principles of Huss. 
 It was in those tempestuous days, when false philo- 
 
 1 See note Chap, i, pp. 30-32 of this volume. 
 
6 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 sophy was furiously struggling to overthrow the 
 order of Christian society, that one of the Lom- 
 bardian Rosminis founded a home in Rovereto 
 which became the nursery of a distinct line. From 
 the Monografia of Don F. Paoli, the Araldico 
 Geneologico, and other trustworthy sources, we learn 
 how this nursery answered its purpose, and how 
 the descent of the children reared in it passed on 
 from generation to generation. 1 The record, though 
 scanty and in itself dry, as genealogies usually are, 
 derives much interest and importance from the sub- 
 ject to which it directly leads and the lessons to 
 which it indirectly points. 
 
 ARESMINO, who had been Lord High Constable 
 of Verona in 1456, was the founder of the Rovereto 
 Rosminis. In 1464 he left Verona to establish a 
 family residence in Rovereto. Some twenty-five 
 years before, while serving in a military capacity at 
 Rovereto Castle, he was required to act as magis- 
 trate of the Lagarina district a circumstance which 
 probably led him to choose Rovereto for a perma- 
 nent abode when he decided on retiring from public 
 life in Verona. At all events, there is reason to 
 believe that during his official stay in Rovereto he 
 bought a house (sometime in 1442), which remained 
 his property while he filled the elevated post to 
 which the. Veronese had elected him. On leaving 
 that post - he returned to this Rovereto home, and, 
 re-invested with judicial authority, spent the rest of 
 
 1 Antonio Rosmini e la sua Prosapia, Rovereto 1880. 
 
ROVERETO AND THE ROSMINIS. 7 
 
 his days there, ' universally loved and esteemed as 
 the noblest of its citizens/ 
 
 Aresmino was a man remarkable for probity and 
 prowess at a period when both these qualities seldom 
 met together in the same person. In 1469 he died, 
 leaving to his heirs high patrician rank, with such a 
 good name as brightened afresh the family escutcheon. 
 Of his four sons, the second (Picenino) founded the 
 family of Rosmini di Volano, and the two youngest 
 (Pamfilo and Carlo) served God and their country 
 as exemplary Priests. One of these (Pamfilo) was 
 so popular that, in spite of his efforts to escape 
 all such honours, he was elected Podesta of Rovereto, 
 a dignity which he declined as inconsistent wjth his 
 priestly duties. He then became Vicar-General of 
 Verona and afterwards of Mantua (under Cardinal 
 Gonzaga), where he died in 1543. His brother 
 Carlo was a learned canon and Rector of St. Mary's, 
 Verona. 
 
 GUSMERO L, eldest son of Aresmino, succeeded 
 to that public confidence which soon secured for 
 him, as it had for his father, the elevated post of 
 High Constable of Verona. This, however, did not 
 interfere with his family establishment at Rovereto, 
 where he and his kindred gallantly battled against 
 the Teutonic invaders during the war of 1487. He 
 was married to Anna, daughter of the noble Mattia 
 de' Seni, of Verona, and their union was blessed 
 with three sons Gusmero, Rosmino, and Pietro. 
 
 The second of these (Rosmino de Rosmini) was 
 destined, as we shall see, to continue the regular 
 
8 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 succession of the family in Rovereto. Rosmino 
 espoused Cristina Pilati, a highly-gifted Roveretan 
 lady, who practically seconded his efforts to pro- 
 mote the moral and commercial welfare of their 
 native town. They had four sons Antonio, Alberto, 
 Zaccaria, and Cristoforo. Through Antonio was 
 preserved the lineal descent of the Rovereto Ros- 
 minis. Alberto and Cristoforo became eminent 
 citizens and founders of two other branches of the 
 Rosmini family ; while Zaccaria, who had been given 
 to God's service, ministered for many years as the 
 zealous Rector of St. Mark's, Rovereto. 
 
 The youngest of Gusmero's sons (Pietro) lived 
 permanently in Verona, where he filled with credit 
 responsible municipal offices, and earned the right 
 of honourable mention in Torresani's Elogi Storici 
 of noble Veronese. 
 
 GUSMERO II., eldest son of Gusmero I., served 
 
 with distinction under Charles V. of Germany at a 
 
 time when he probably had for a near companion 
 
 in arms the chivalrous Ignatius of Loyola, then also 
 
 in the military service of the same monarch. This 
 
 Gusmero took for wife a daughter of the Dolfini, a 
 
 Venetian family of considerable note in those days. 
 
 The alliance resulted in five sons : Francesco, 
 
 Pietro, Pamfilo, Giorgio, and Carlo. The eldest 
 
 son (Francesco) chose the Church for his spouse, and 
 
 became Rector of St. Mark's in 1566; he died in 
 
 1575. The second son (Pietro) embraced a military 
 
 life, and won some of its brightest honours under 
 
 Philip of Spain against the Mussulman Amurat in 
 
ROVERETO AND THE ROSMINIS. g 
 
 1576. During the following year he accompanied 
 Cardinal Andrea of Austria to the court of Rome, 
 on a special mission to Pope Gregory XI 1 1., and 
 returned to die at home in 1578, 'leaving a noble 
 memory' but no children. His younger brother 
 (Pamfilo) devoted himself to commerce in Bergamo 
 and Verona, as well as in Rovereto, leaving in all 
 these places ' memorials of his piety and charity.' In 
 Verona he took a foremost place amongst the patri- 
 cians eulogised in Torresani's ' Veronese Nobility/ 
 His descendants came to be known as Rosmini- 
 Pamfili. Giorgio, the fourth son of Gusmero II., 
 made Verona his home, where he died ' full of years 
 and honours.' Carlo, the youngest, like his eldest 
 brother, embraced the ecclesiastical state. 
 
 In 1574 the Emperor Maximilian II. conferred 
 the privileges of imperial nobility on all Gusmero's 
 sons, as a special mark of consideration for their gallant 
 father, and the patent extended the rank to all their 
 descendants direct and collateral. As all the imme- 
 diate heirs of Gusmero II. soon died away without 
 direct descendants, the headship of the Rovereto 
 Rosminis regularly passed to the heirs of his younger 
 brother Rosmino de Rosmini. 
 
 The succession thus derived came down in this 
 order: Antonio I., nephew of Gusmero II. and eldest 
 son of Rosmino, continued the Rovereto line through 
 his only son Francesco Antonio, who in turn was suc- 
 ceeded by his only son Cristoforo Antonio, born in 
 1573. To this Cristoforo were given two sons, 
 Nicolo and Antonio. On the former devolved all 
 
io INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 the rights of succession vested in the Rovereto 
 descendants of Gusmero II. 
 
 NicoL6 I., great-grand-nephew of Gusmero II., 
 on succeeding to the family heritage, obtained from 
 the Emperor Leopold I. a formal confirmation of 
 the rank and privileges hitherto conceded to the 
 Rosminis of Rovereto. The concession, ' in perpe- 
 tuity to the descendants of both sexes,' was given in 
 1672 by a patent which mentions the services and 
 virtues of the Rosmini family in the highest terms 
 of praise. Count Nicolo added much to the family 
 wealth and importance by taking an active part in 
 extending and perfecting the silk culture, which for 
 a long time afterwards was to contribute so largely 
 to the prosperity of the Tyrol. As he was not 
 blessed with children, he took the necessary steps to 
 secure the right of succession to Cristoforo, the third 
 of his brother Antonio's sons, the others acquiescing 
 in the arrangement. 
 
 CRISTOFORO, the favourite nephew of Nicolo I., 
 duly succeeded his uncle. He married a Turinese 
 lady of the Perretti family. As they had seven sons 
 and one daughter, it was not thought likely that the 
 transference made by Nicolo I., giving the right 
 of succession to a younger son, would fail for want 
 of heirs. Two of the seven sons (Ferdinando and 
 Francesco) were dedicated to the service of the Sanc- 
 tuary, where they well represented the intellectual 
 vigour and religious zeal of a family which never 
 failed to acknowledge that its glory and greatness 
 came from God. The other sons of Cristoforo having 
 
ROVERETO AND THE ROSM1NIS. n 
 
 left Rovereto in quest of military glory some honour- 
 ably battling for the Venetians and some for the 
 Emperor made themselves homes elsewhere ; and 
 so it came to pass that the succession, after all, re- 
 verted to Nicolo the heir of Antonio's eldest son and 
 the direct representative of Rosmino de Rosmini. 
 
 NICOLO II., nephew of Cristoforo, was born in 
 1656 and married in 1678 to Cristina, only child and 
 heiress of Count Ambrogio di Pietro Parolini. By 
 this marriage the other most noble and ancient family 
 of Rovereto was merged in the house of Rosmini, and 
 thus the palatial residence of the Parolini came to be 
 the Rovereto home of Aresmino's heirs. The offspring 
 of this happy alliance two sons, Nicolo Francesco 
 and Arnbrogio were greatly esteemed for wisdom, 
 benevolence, energy of character, mental culture, and 
 sterling piety. Nicolo II. was an active citizen, who 
 applied himself energetically to the commercial in- 
 terests of the town, in which he was repeatedly called 
 on to hold high offices. He died wealthy, but, what 
 was far more to him, universally honoured as one who 
 had faithfully discharged all his public and private 
 duties and never neglected those he owed to God. 
 
 NicoL6 FRANCESCO, eldest son of Nicolo II., was 
 a man of considerable ability and high culture, the 
 author of some learned disquisitions published in 
 1689. He also published in 1733 a collection of 
 Latin and Italian poems, supplied, at his request, by 
 the most popular contemporary poets in Rome, Flo- 
 rence, Bologna, and other literary centres. The 
 volume was intended to honour the first Mass of his 
 
12 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 nephew, Nicolo Ferdinando, who had just been or- 
 dained Priest, at Trent. Not the least valuable com- 
 position in the book is a sonnet by the compiler him- 
 self. Nicolo Francesco resolved that he and his only 
 brother should continue their noble line in Rovereto 
 somewhat after a patriarchal plan. He, as the elder, 
 had the heir's right to the Parolini mansion, but, being 
 wealthier than his brother, he affectionately surren- 
 dered it to him, with other property which of right 
 belonged to the headship of the family, as though he 
 would anticipate what Providence decreed in making 
 Ambrogio the real stem of the Rovereto trunk. Mean- 
 while, he built for himself, at a convenient distance 
 from the old mansions, a new palace, which is said to 
 have been 'splendid.' He was chosen to fill many 
 responsible ofHces ; such as governor of Rovereto 
 Castle, controller of the city, and chief magistrate 
 of the Lagarina, with its dependent districts. In 1 702 
 he wed Egeldina de' Baroni Pizzini. They had seven 
 children. The eldest son (Ambrogio) gave himself 
 to the special service of God. The fourth-born (Angel- 
 antonio) also dedicated himself to religion, and be- 
 came a distinguished divine, Vicar-General of Trent, 
 and in 1762 the Capitular of the diocese. The second 
 son (Francesco) was known as the 'learned.' He 
 was the bosom friend of the famous Girolamo Tar- 
 tarotti, and stood high amongst contemporary men of 
 letters. His love of books was so great that he spent 
 a fortune in collecting a large and very select library 
 then a rare and princely private possession. In 
 connection with Tartarotti and others he started, in 
 
ROVERETO AND THE ROSMINIS. 13 
 
 1733, the Accademia degli Agiati, which was not, 
 however, definitely founded until 1 750. The other 
 sons of Nicolo Francesco were no less worthy ; and 
 so of their children's children intellectual superiority ,. 
 religious merit, and state dignities seemed to have 
 been their natural portion. 1 
 
 AMBROGIO I., younger brother of Nicolo Fran- 
 cesco, more immediately interests us, because to 
 him was confided the headship of the family in 
 Rovereto, and from him sprang the greatest of all 
 the Rosminis. This Ambrogio was born in i68c, 
 and at twenty-four years of age espoused Cecilia 
 Teresa, daughter of the illustrious Dr. Orefici of 
 Rovereto. Charles Philip, Duke of Bavaria and 
 Prince Palatine of the kingdom, conferred many 
 privileges on Ambrogio by patent, dated Innsbruck, 
 April 6, 1710. The dignities of nobility inherited 
 under the patents of the Emperors Maximilian and 
 Leopold were also recognised as *' belonging to him 
 and his descendants.' Greater dignities than human 
 sovereigns could bestow on him were given by the 
 King of kings, who favoured him with the virtues 
 that distinguish the faithful servant of the Most 
 High. Besides blessing him with the personal quali- 
 
 1 Some of them were advocates and some authors, who won a 
 fame that passed far beyond the borders of the Tyrol, or even of 
 North Italy. Not the least of these was the learned Chevalier Carlo 
 Rosmini, whose numerous works embracing many fields in the broad 
 domain of literature were very popular at the beginning of this 
 century, and whose ' History of Milan ' is still a standard work. This 
 gifted author was distinguished not merely for deep and comprehen- 
 sive learning, but also for the earnest piety which marked the whole 
 course of his life. (See Chap, xxiii. of this volume.) 
 
14 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 ties that endeared him to his fellow-citizens, God 
 gave him six excellent children three sons and 
 three daughters. The daughters chose to live and 
 die virgins. Of the sons, the eldest (Ferdinando) 
 devoted himself to religion and learning. He is 
 known as ' the annalist of the family.' He became 
 a Franciscan, and died ' the death of the righteous ' 
 on August 26, 1753, in the convent of his Order at 
 Trent, where he was secretary to the Provincial. 
 It was in honour of his first Mass that Nicolo Fran- 
 cesco compiled the volume of poems mentioned in 
 connection with his name. The youngest of Am- 
 brogio's sons (Felice) went to God while his baptis- 
 mal robes were still unspotted. For the other son 
 (Gianantonio) was reserved the privilege of con- 
 tinuing the noble line it was God's will to termi- 
 nate in his saintly grandson. 
 
 GIANANTONIO, who was born in 1714, applied 
 himself very successfully to revive, by commercial 
 enterprise, the drooping prosperity of his native 
 country, and at the same time to keep up the 
 literary spirit which his father, uncle, and brother 
 had done so much to foster in the Tyrol. He was 
 a man of earnest piety, an upright magistrate, and 
 an open-handed friend to the poor. He married 
 Margherita, daughter of Count Bossi-Fedrigotti- 
 that being the second time in which these noble 
 families were thus allied. Two sons (Ambrogio and 
 Pier Modesto) and two daughters were born of this 
 marriage. The two sons call for separate mention 
 in this genealogical record, and of the daughters it 
 
ROVERETO AND THE ROSMINIS. 15 
 
 will be sufficient to say that, like their aunts, they 
 lived and died virgins. 
 
 Gianantonio was the first of his family to use 
 the added surname of Serbati, derived from his 
 mother, and assumed in compliance with the express 
 terms of a ' deed of trust.' By this legal instru- 
 ment the estates, etc., of the Serbatis (failing male 
 heirs) were passed to the female line, on condition 
 that the name of Serbati be added to the surname 
 of the family in which this female line should prove 
 to be directly represented. It came to be thus 
 represented in the house of Rosmini through 
 Cecilia de Orefici, the mother of Gianantonio, and 
 thenceforth the family adopted the name of Rosmini- 
 Serbati. 
 
 AMBROGIO II. the artist and architect elder 
 son of Gianantonio, never married, but from an 
 early age attached himself to intellectual and art 
 pursuits with an ardour which, for a long time, 
 refused attention to aught else his religious duties 
 excepted. Having studied philosophy under the 
 Jesuit Fathers at Innsbruck and Bologna, he turned 
 to jurisprudence at Urbino, where the spirit of 
 Raphael so completely swayed his thoughts that 
 thenceforth he directed his attention to the fine arts 
 and architecture. He travelled through Italy in 
 quest of all that could improve his taste and 
 knowledge in a profession he practised for love 
 and without any expectation of pecuniary returns. 
 During these journeys he collected, at great ex- 
 pense, the finest specimens of engraving, represent- 
 
1 6 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 ing every style known : the samples number twenty 
 thousand, and are still preserved in the Rosmini 
 house at Rovereto. The best of his own paintings 
 are sacred subjects. Some were presented to 
 churches and some to friends ; but the family man- 
 sion retains most of his productions; the walls of 
 many spacious rooms, of several large inner courts 
 and corridors, as well as of all the principal stair- 
 ways, are covered with admirable paintings by him- 
 self, or by those Old Masters whose works he used for 
 the purpose of study, or by young aspirants to art 
 honours whose talents his purse nourished. As an 
 architect he held an honourable position in the 
 estimation of his cotemporaries, and has left some 
 admirably-planned and well-executed edifices, eccle- 
 siastic and other, to attest his skill in that pro- 
 fession. More than once his fellow-citizens chose 
 him to preside over the Municipal Council, and 
 during his long life he merited a fame far better 
 than all which the utmost triumph in any human 
 science or art could bestow an unblemished fame, 
 which tells us how he, learned and rich as he was, 
 led the life of a self-sacrificing Christian, practising 
 chanty, purity, humility, and patience to a degree 
 rarely met with in secular society. Mantled in this 
 bright fame, he passed to God in 1818, having lived 
 here below for seventy-nine years. 
 
 To meet the wishes of the Tyrolese generally, 
 Giuseppe Telani wrote a life of the good Ambrogio, 
 which was published soon after his death. From it 
 we gather that this illustrious and accomplished man 
 
ROVERETO AND THE ROSMINIS. 17 
 
 was, in a special sense, the tutor of his nephew 
 Antonio's delicate appreciation of the beautiful ; 
 and to his cultured taste in other respects ' no 
 little was due by that young mind which, even in 
 the uncle's lifetime, gave many signal evidences 
 of its giant powers.' 
 
 PIER MODESTO, brother of Ambrogio II. and 
 younger son of Gianantonio, had reserved for him a 
 more abiding distinction than any which can be 
 claimed for the most renowned of his ancestors ; 
 for he was chosen to be the father of the saintly 
 philosopher whose genius should carry the name 
 of Rosmini beyond the confines not only of the 
 Tyrol but of Italy and Europe. 
 
 Pier Modesto was born in 1745, and lived so 
 long unmarried that people began to think ' the 
 grand family was about to end ' without leaving a 
 representative who should let its name and merits 
 be known to distant nations and ages a result con- 
 trary to Alpine folk-lore, which taught that every 
 'noble house ' that had been founded in goodness 
 combined with glory, and had maintained for cen- 
 turies unbroken loyalty to Faith and Fatherland, 
 was destined to have, as a reward, some child whose 
 greatness and goodness might reflect ' far and wide 
 and for aye' the lustre of the house, when the 
 family should cease to have heirs. There were, 
 indeed, many illustrious sons of the Rosmini race 
 certain to be remembered for ages in their own 
 country, but none of a fame great enough to meet 
 the folk-lore conditions. 
 VOL. i. c 
 
i8 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 However, without regard to rural superstitions, 
 Pier Modesto, before passing away from middle age, 
 gave hope to legendary prophets, for he resolved 
 to share his domestic happiness with the Countess 
 Giovanna Formenti de Riva, a lady of vigorous in- 
 tellect and considerable acquirements, who, like her 
 spouse, was full of genuine piety, and partial to the 
 quiet charms of home life. This marriage, in all 
 respects happy, was blessed with four children 
 Margherita, Antonio, Giuseppe, and Felice all 
 brought up to specially honour God, but one above 
 all specially called to bear the standard of truth 
 and justice as firmly, as bravely, as faithfully, and 
 as perseveringly, as ever it was borne by servant of 
 God * He will take equity for an invincible shield' 
 (Wis. v. 20). Of him we have much to say, and 
 shall proceed to say it presently ; but of the others, 
 meanwhile, let us make a passing mention. 
 
 The youngest son of Pier Modesto, like the 
 youngest of Ambrogio I. (another Felice), left the 
 world while an infant. The second son, Giuseppe, 
 whose health had never been good, married the 
 amiable Baroness Christina de Rallo, and in 1863 
 closed an honourable life, leaving no children to con- 
 tinue a name which had then, in another and far 
 nobler way, secured a perpetuity and pre-eminence 
 such as no mere family succession could have ever 
 given it. 
 
 Margherita, the only daughter of Pier Modesto, 
 was the feminine counterpart of her great brother 
 Antonio. Like him, from the first dawning of 
 
ROVE RE TO AND THE ROSMINIS. 19 
 
 reason to the last moment of her mortal existence, 
 
 . " 
 
 she devoted her mind and heart to God. Through 
 love of Jesus Christ she directed all her energies Nb] 
 the caring of ' the little ones for whom is the kingdom 
 of Heaven.' She was one of the first to co-operate 
 with the venerable Marchioness of Canossa in ex- 
 tending the great work that holy lady had begun 
 in North Italy by means of her Daughters of 
 Charity. 
 
 But long before the pious Margherita Rosmini per- 
 manently joined this admirable Order she had distin- 
 guished herself by kindred labours in Rovereto, where 
 she had for many years zealously applied her time 
 and means to the education of little orphans. On 
 taking the vows as a Daughter of Charity, she 
 founded, at her own expense, a convent of the Order 
 in Trent, where its services were urgently needed. 
 There she toiled so indefatigably and unselfishly in 
 the cause of Christian charity, that her health gave 
 way under the weight of incessant labours fondly 
 endured for the love of God and the benefit of His 
 little poor. It was thought that a change to Verona 
 and some repose might restore her physical strength ; 
 but all in vain. God took her to Himself on June 
 20, 1833 * Being made perfect in a short space, she 
 fulfilled a long time.' 
 
 Her accomplishments, even in the social sense, 
 were very numerous, and included such a familiarity 
 with modern and ancient languages as entitled her to 
 be deemed a linguist. In short, so good and gifted 
 was she in all respects, that Italian poets, as well 
 
 C 2 
 
20 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 as Tyrolese, have made her the theme of song. 
 Her great brother, whom she venerated most pro- 
 foundly, summed up her whole history in these few 
 words: * The faith of Jesus Christ, which she 
 deeply studied and on which she constantly medi- 
 tated, lifted her high above the prejudices of the 
 world, and made her impervious to its vanities and 
 its wickedness. Her mind intently fixed on God, 
 she became all through life, to those who knew her, 
 a mirror of heroic virtue, by the continual perform- 
 ance of the most humble and toilsome works of 
 charity. To these labours her life at last suc- 
 cumbed a victim not so much to be mourned as 
 envied and blessed.' 
 
 Pier Modesto, the father of these saintly children, 
 lived to know the choice of life they had solemnly 
 made, but not long enough to see them fully vested 
 in it. He died in 1820, at the age of 75, soon after 
 Antonio had taken Minor Orders and the Sub- 
 deaconate, but before he was ordained Priest, and 
 before Margherita had formally associated herself 
 with the Daughters of Charity. The young ecclesi- 
 astic, much to his own surprise, was made ' the heir 
 general.' 
 
 The Countess Rosmini, who died in her 84th 
 year, survived her husband twenty-two years, and 
 so was spared to see her son more than fulfil 
 the highest expectations of her heart a happiness 
 which, alas ! like all human joy, had its bitter mix- 
 ture, of sorrows in the clouds of persecution she 
 could notice gathering around him, and some of 
 
ROVERETO AND THE ROSM1NIS. 21 
 
 which showered their assaults upon him even while 
 she lived. But she well understood the consolation 
 contained in the words, ' The Apostle is not greater 
 than He that sent him.' 
 
22 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 (A.D. 1797-1813.) 
 
 An eventful epoch and a portent-bearing birthday His baptism, pre- 
 cocious infancy, and studious childhood The Bible his first 
 reading-book Is sent to a public elementary school His juvenile 
 charities His singular and suggestive amusements Is sent to the 
 Roveretan High School His great meekness, industry, and 
 humility Why his teachers thought him wanting in talent How 
 he eluded his mother's efforts to moderate his ardour for study 
 His popularity with other children the result of respect for his 
 goodness He prays and studies while his companions play What 
 he thought of theatrical amusements. 
 
 ANTONIO ROSMINI-SERBATI was born in the palace of 
 his ancestors at Rovereto early on the morning of 
 March 25, 1797. 
 
 What stirring memories that date calls up ! It 
 was a terrible epoch. All Europe was just then 
 convulsed by the horrible triumphs of a pernicious 
 philosophy, which found its practical embodiment 
 in the frightful atrocities of the French Revolution. 
 The Tyrolese Alps had hardly ceased to re-echo the 
 thunder of Bonaparte's artillery, so recently trium- 
 phant at Lonato, Castiglione, Arcola, and Rivoli ; 
 while the wonted quiet of Rovereto had not yet re- 
 covered from the shock of battle at its own gates. 
 Mantua had fallen on the feast of the Purification, in 
 
HIS BIRTH. 23 
 
 the previous month, and from there to Trent the 
 revolutionary invaders commanded every post. But 
 it so happened that on the Feast of the Annuncia- 
 tion when the future apostle of a saving, godly 
 philosophy was born these armed champions of 
 a godless, destroying philosophy were resting from 
 the work of slaughter, during the short-lived lull 
 following the treaty of Tolentino. That treaty, 
 which dealt so shamefully with the Pontifical States, 
 had just been signed, as though to give the modern 
 Sennacherib time to readjust his military tactics to 
 the anti-Christian philosophy of the day, that he 
 might the better recommence the march of carnage 
 and spoliation which enabled him to practically 
 apply the hideous principles of such philosophy. 
 
 To our thinking, there was a something very 
 portentous in the circumstances which thus sur- 
 sounded the birth of the last heir born to the house 
 of Rosmini-Serbati on that eventful March 25, 1797. 
 This something does not lose in significance when 
 we remember how it was amidst the turmoils pro- 
 duced by the false philosophy which gave revolu- 
 tionary champions to the tenets of Huss, three cen- 
 turies before, that Rovereto itself was chosen to be 
 the cradle of this child's race. 1 So there, amidst the 
 terrors and abominations generated once more by 
 false philosophy, was he born who was to be the last 
 of that race, but nevertheless destined to leave behind 
 him a numerous family and a priceless legacy that 
 should make his name imperishable. That family 
 
 1 See Introductory Chapter, p. 5. 
 
24 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 was to be a Religious Order, and that legacy a 
 Philosophy at all points fitted to be a lasting and 
 effective barrier between Christian civilisation and 
 revolutionary barbarism between the Church of 
 God and the Synagogue of Satan. 
 
 Was it not meet that he should have been thus 
 born amid the din of a furious war waged against 
 religion in the name of human progress and philo- 
 sophical enlightenment ? Was it not meet, since 
 he was chosen to be the teacher of a philosophy 
 that should weld together all the armour of God's 
 Truth, so as to make it proof against every weapon 
 modern science or sensism might invent on be- 
 half of human error ? The Providence which 
 had so arranged the time and circumstances of his 
 birth had, as it were, built around his infancy and 
 boyhood a school of startling events that passed 
 into history before his eyes, and filled his young 
 mind with facts and lessons that were in some way 
 to fertilise all the studies of his riper years. 
 
 But, whether seen from these or other points of 
 view, that was a memorable 25th of March on which 
 Antonio Rosmini was born. It was his double 
 birthday, and often, while he lived the life his 
 first birth gave, did the return of this Feast announce 
 to him some new favour of Heaven or mark an 
 event in fulfilment of the promises of his second 
 birth. 1 The second birth took place within a few 
 
 1 Tommaseo notes how many of the important events in Rosmini's 
 life were associated with the Feast of the Annunciation : * It was on 
 that Feast he began the special retreat for the Priesthood ; on that 
 Feast he first entered Rome; on that Feast he commenced his 
 
HIS CHILDHOOD. 25 
 
 hours of the first ; for on the same day he was 
 baptised in the parish church of St. Mark, where in 
 after-years he was to do so much as Rector. Teresa 
 Tachelli, the nurse who bore him to the baptismal 
 font, often declared that 'something about the babe 
 made her feel he was to be a great and holy man.' 
 
 Nurses are, indeed, prone to indulge in flatter- 
 ing predictions as to the future of the little ones 
 intrusted to them ; but their vaticinations are almost 
 invariably uttered for the ears of fond parents, and 
 seldom, like those of nurse Tachelli, kept silently 
 ' treasured in heart/ or merely whispered in solemn 
 confidences to the Parish Priest. While Teresa 
 watched the marvellous calm of the child's face, 
 as he was born again of the Holy Ghost, she 
 wondered much why there was no wincing when 
 the regenerating water fell on his little head ; she 
 wondered more why this unruffled solemnity gave 
 way to a sweet angelic smile when the ceremony 
 was over ; she wondered still more why little An- 
 tonio smiled not again for months, but, like his 
 sister Margherita, 'preserved an extraordinary 
 gravity and quiet for half a year or so, as if in 
 mute thanksgiving all the time.' 
 
 This affectionate nurse, who tenderly watched 
 over him during the years of his infancy, felt so sure 
 
 greatest philosophical work ; on that Feast he founded the Order of 
 Charity ; on that Feast he began to write out formally the Constitu- 
 tions ; on that Feast he and his first associates took their solemn vows 
 as members of the Order/ &c., &c. ' We/ says Don Paoli, ' often 
 witnessed the sublime sentiments of religious piety with which 
 Antonio Rosmini commemorated that anniversary of the Incarnation 
 of the Word and of his own regeneration.' 
 
26 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 that he would become ' a great and holy man/ that 
 she carefully put away in her own trunk all his 
 disused playthings, as relics 'to be prized in other 
 days.' The trifles thus religiously preserved bear 
 no traces of the rude treatment children are wont 
 to bestow on such articles, and so far confirm 
 the nurse's description of him as ' the most careful 
 child that could be.' 
 
 Teresa Tachelli spent a long life in the service 
 of the Rosminis, having survived for many years 
 the child and benefactor whom she was never weary 
 of calling ' the little angel ' ' always so gentle,' 
 she used to say, ' always so thoughtful, always 
 so generous : even as an infant his charity was 
 extraordinary, and he cared to keep nothing for 
 himself if he fancied another wanted it. It was 
 delightful to see him at his prayers, which he said 
 voluntarily and with great feeling.' 1 
 
 His mind set itself to study almost as soon as 
 his little limbs were trained to walk. A fact which 
 he himself in after-years mentioned to his life-long 
 friend, Don Paoli, shows that his intellectual facul- 
 ties must have begun to work at an astonishingly 
 
 1 Nurse Tachelli had such a love and veneration for the child that 
 she preserved not only the playthings associated with his infancy, but 
 several articles of dress, her fixed notion being that he was 'going to 
 be a great saint or something else wonderful.' In 1862 she disclosed 
 the secret to Don Paoli, and at the same time delivered to him, with 
 much ceremony, the various relics as ' sacred treasures.' These in- 
 teresting little memorials are now kept at the Rosmini mansion, in a 
 glass case, with sundry other objects of 'personal contact' belonging 
 to his maturer years. All are sorted and classed according to the 
 different periods of his life, beginning with the gorgeous baptismal 
 robes of the babe, and ending with the sombre cassock of the Priest. 
 
HIS CHILDHOOD. 27 
 
 early age : while lying in his cradle at night, being 
 then only two years old, he used to reflect and 
 wonder why the nurse regularly placed the light in 
 a position which prevented him seeing it, and why, 
 when he chanced to see it, his eyes were pained 
 and his imagination affected in a peculiar manner. 1 
 
 He was, in fact, as Don Paoli puts it, a reflecting 
 child at two years of age, an almsgiving boy at five, 
 a most studious youth at seven, a practical ascetic at 
 twelve, a brilliant moral essayist at sixteen, and such 
 a proficient in philosophy at eighteen that his pro- 
 fessor became his disciple : marvellously gifted all 
 his days, from the cradle to the grave. 
 
 He commenced his elementary studies under a 
 private tutor named Runck, who thought so highly 
 of his little pupil's capacity, or ( tone of mind/ that 
 he gave him the Bible for a reading-book. So well 
 did the experiment answer M. Runck's expecta- 
 tions that before Antonio Rosmini was five years 
 old, he knew more Holy Scripture than boys of 
 fifteen in the grammar schools of a land which 
 claims Biblical knowledge as ' the leading feature 
 of its Christian enlightenment.' 
 
 1 The cradle, a heavy wooden rustic cot, with other equally simple 
 furniture of the nursery, still occupies its place in the room wherein he 
 was born, and the room itself (a plainly-furnished chamber facing 
 the gardens) is said to be much as it was when he first vacantly gazed 
 on the homely objects around him. On a marble tablet in the wall is 
 the following inscription : 
 
 IN HOC CUBICULO 
 NATUS EST 
 
 ANTONIUS ROSMINI-SERBATI 
 
 VIII KAL. APRILIS 
 A. MDCCXCVII. 
 
28 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 In his sixth year he was sent to a public primary 
 school, as his illustrious family were desirous of 
 supporting and encouraging by example those useful 
 institutions which, through their influence, had just 
 then been established, in a greatly improved form, 
 at Rovereto. The motive met with the reward it 
 merited ; for the presence of the patrician child 
 attracted many boys who would else have stayed 
 or been kept away, while his charming manners 
 and angelic character not only won their hearts, 
 but swayed their conduct in a marked degree. 
 
 Even at that tender age, when the natural 
 generosity of childhood is so capricious and impul- 
 sive as to be often a kind of churlishness, and at 
 best a fitful, disorderly, thoughtless liberality 
 even at that age he gave remarkable evidences of 
 the settled, thoughtful, orderly spirit of charity 
 which possessed his soul and became the shining 
 characteristic of his whole life. When setting out 
 for school in the morning, he made it a point to be 
 always provided with some pocket money, as well 
 as a lunch, with the fixed purpose of applying 
 neither to his own use, but to the wants of the poor 
 people he was sure to meet on the way. In distri- 
 buting the alms, he took care to select the objects 
 so prudently that the neediest and most deserving 
 were almost invariably chosen. 
 
 We all know how children delight in anything 
 new, and how tenaciously even those of them 
 who have the most generous nature cling to the 
 least article of dress while it is, or seems to be, 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 29 
 
 new. Little Antonio Rosmini was an exception to 
 this rule ; for his great delight was to share with the 
 poor the best he had, and he was always ready to 
 part with his newest garment if he found anyone 
 in need of it. When warned that it was an ex- 
 travagance to give to poor children costly articles 
 of dress that they would rather sell than wear, he 
 confined his gifts to things free from such an ob- 
 jection. 
 
 One chilly morning, on seeing from his room a 
 poor woman with a little boy whose sockless feet 
 looked very cold, he threw to her from the window 
 a new pair of warm stockings, which his mother 
 had just left for his own use, contenting himself 
 with an older and less comfortable pair. As the 
 shivering child instantly put them on, that fact was 
 his defence against a suggestion of extravagance 
 ' they are not too good for a little one dear to our 
 Lord/ 
 
 The very amusements of his boyhood bore the 
 impress, deeply marked, of that earnest yearning 
 for ' doing good ' which produced such beneficial 
 fruit through all the years of his manhood. For 
 example : A popular pastime among the Tyrolese 
 children in his juvenile days was * playing at police- 
 man/ He liked the sport, since he always contrived 
 to secure a post not that of captain, nor of director, 
 but of magistrate which gave him an opportunity 
 of conveying some good moral lesson through the 
 sentence he might have to pronounce. He was 
 partial to any games which tended to benefit the 
 
3 o LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 mind as well as the body, or enabled him to give or 
 receive some instruction. 
 
 On the other hand, he had no liking for re- 
 creations that were of less apparent advantage, 
 or that did not afford distinct means of edification. 
 Hence, he had no relish for the ' accomplishment 
 of dancing/ although when he went, with his 
 brother, to acquire ' the personal polish ' it is sup- 
 posed to impart, his dancing master, judging by the 
 youth's graceful bearing, thought he had a most 
 promising disciple. The hopeful professor, how- 
 ever, found him an unwilling pupil, who very soon 
 withdrew from ' social exercises ' that clashed with 
 the strong bent of his mind. 1 
 
 This strong bent was made unmistakably clear 
 in his favourite amusements playing at monk and 
 studying the Lives of the Saints. To ordinary 
 children either would seem less entertaining than 
 irksome, rather more of a drudgery than a relaxa- 
 tion. But for him there was no pastime so pre- 
 cious. The extensive gardens attached to the 
 family mansion afforded ample space for playing 
 at hermit or monk, his sister Margherita and their 
 cousin Leonardo being his only partners in the 
 game. 2 The sister, who was three years older than 
 
 1 This personage, who bore the apt name of Angelico Festi, was 
 so greatly disappointed that Count Ambrogio felt bound to console 
 him by painting his portrait a compliment that soothed him for the 
 rest of his life. The picture is now in the Rosmini mansion, where 
 good old Festi still smiles on every visitor ascending the grand 
 stairway. 
 
 2 The Rosmini gardens are now comparatively small, but still fairly 
 kept and well stocked with fruit, flowers and vegetables. Originally 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 3I 
 
 Antonio, having pious sentiments closely resembling 
 his, entered heartily into the spirit of the recrea- 
 tion ; but Leonardo enjoyed it less, though he 
 willingly conformed to the rules. These rules suited 
 the circumstances of the juvenile recluses, who car- 
 ried them out in cells constructed, after an approved 
 model, at distant parts of the garden. The ' play ' 
 
 they were very extensive, and at the rear of the mansion (formerly 
 known as the Palazzo Parolini), which then faced the town, walled off 
 from the streets within a fine court-yard, having a noble arched stone 
 gateway with the family arms boldly carved on the outside. As the 
 town spread around the gardens, municipal improvements called for 
 the surrender now of one portion, and now of another, until at length, 
 the grounds dwindled down to the dimensions of one of the larger 
 London squares. This process of contraction was materially assisted 
 by cessions of land for the use of two charitable institutions, one being 
 the Rosmini Infant Asylum, erected on the spot where Margherita 
 used to have her cell when playing at monk with her brother. Near 
 this asylum, on a stone tablet in one of two handsome little sheds at 
 opposite corners of the present garden bounds, along the new street, 
 there is this inscription : 
 
 IN HOC HORTO 
 
 AMBROSIUS ROSMINI 
 
 JAM SENEX ARCHITECTABATUR 
 EIUSQUE EX FRATRE NEPOS 
 
 ANTONIUS 
 
 ADHUC ADOLESCENS 
 
 DE ORIGINE ET NATURA IDEARUM DISPUTABAT 
 HOC NE POSTERIS PEREAT 
 
 FRANCISCUS PAOLI 
 A.D. MDCCCLXXV. P.C. 
 
 Although the frequent grants of ground seriously diminished the 
 size of the gardens, this did not, for a long time, impair their seques- 
 tered character as delightful appendages of a secluded mansion. A 
 few years ago, however, a public avenue, the noblest in Rovereto, was 
 opened through them close to the rear of the palazzo and straight 
 down to the railway station. This changed all. The rear of the man- 
 sion became forthwith its front, and the gardens took the character of 
 a public square cut off from the palazzo, a tunnel beneath the road now 
 connecting the house with its once beautiful grounds. The old main 
 entrance through the baronial court-yard remains still in use, but the 
 
32 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 consisted in holding conferences on sacred subjects 
 and relating anecdotes of Saints, now at one cell, 
 and then at another ; the rule obliged each little 
 ' monk ' to read alone the life of the Saint of the 
 day, to meditate on it, and connect it with our 
 Lord's life and teachings, and after that to meet 
 at a given place and time to interchange thoughts 
 on the subject; they then, prayed together, and 
 separated to pray apart in their different cells ; the 
 whole 'entertainment' often taking up about two hours 
 
 true grand entrance to the palazzo is now through either of two massive 
 iron gates, some fifty feet asunder, forming part of an ornamental metal 
 railing which separates the new front of the house from the new street. 
 These gates open on a floral plot having a paved carriage way into two 
 enarched halls one at either end of the facade, beneath the dining 
 and ball rooms (now picture galleries) and passing on to the old court- 
 yard. On a marble slab in one of these passages is the following 
 inscription : 
 
 HASCE ^EDES 
 IN QUIBUS 
 
 ANTONIUS ROSMINI-SERBATI 
 
 NATUS EST ANNO MDCCLXXXXVII 
 RESTAURATIONEM PHILOSOPHISE 
 
 AGRESSUS EST A. MDCCCXVI 
 SOCIETATEM A CARITATE NUNCUPATAM 
 PRIMUM MENTE CONCEPIT A. MDCCCXXI 
 
 FILII SPIRITUALES ET DISCIPULI 
 
 IN ANGLIA ATQUE IN ITALIA LEGATIONEM PRO CHRISTO FUNGENTES 
 RENOVARUNT 
 
 AC 
 
 NE ULLA UNQUAM ^TAS 
 
 DE TANTI VIRI LAUDIBUS CONTICESCAT 
 
 P.C. A. MDCCCLXXX. 
 
 Although the palazzo has no longer its old aspect of baronial 
 seclusion it retains much of its ancient stateliness. The style of 
 architecture is simple and unattractive ; but Don F. Paoli (as executor 
 of Rosmini's will) has done much to make it elegant. It is very large, 
 containing more than a hundred rooms, most of them very spacious 
 and all of them lofty. 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 33 
 
 in the morning and two in the evening. Tommaseo, 
 speaking of these saintly amusements, tells us how 
 little Antonio, only seven years old at the time, 
 1 used to be moved to tears of admiration and ten- 
 derness while reading or listening to the Acts of the 
 Martyrs.' l 
 
 Thus, ' like true young Saints,' these pious chil- 
 dren whiled away the time of recreation in a manner 
 most agreeable to themselves, but little likely to win 
 others of the same age. We quote the phrase ' like 
 true young ' Saints as a stereotyped expression ; for 
 when we read the memoirs of great warriors, or 
 navigators, or statesmen, or despots, or even 
 criminals, they are usually described as having 
 been, during boyhood, ' like true young ' soldiers, 
 or sailors, or politicians, or tyrants, or rascals ; 
 prone to sports that mirrored, more or less clearly, 
 their course in manhood. It is certain that the 
 favourite pastime of the Rosmini children fore- 
 showed their future, as both afterwards solemnly 
 adopted and nobly adorned the Religious Life they 
 loved to practise as a juvenile solace. 
 
 The other strong bent of Antonio's mind was 
 study ; but this too, like his amusements and chari- 
 ties, had God for its object. To please 'Our Father 
 Who art in Heaven,' and to carry out all the promises 
 of the Lord's Prayer which he said fervently not 
 only every night and morning, but frequently during 
 the day was the set purpose of his young soul in all 
 he did. What he preferred to study, even as a boy, 
 
 1 Rivista Cotemp. di Torino, 1855, No. xxxv., art. 'Rosmini.' 
 VOL. T. D 
 
34 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 had reference to God, and to whatever might give 
 glory to God. 
 
 The good example for which he had been sent to 
 the public school having been most effectively given 
 in a far higher and wider sense than his parents 
 thought of when sending him there he was with- 
 drawn to enter a classical seminary, or ginnasio, 
 similar to our grammar schools. At the same time, 
 his home studies were entrusted to Don Guareschi, 
 a pious Priest retained in the family mansion some- 
 what in the quality of a domestic chaplain. None 
 of his fellow-students at the public school was so 
 diligent as Antonio, none so docile, none so pious ; 
 yet his progress in grammatical studies did not seem 
 to correspond with such promising qualities, and he 
 allowed others to carry off the school prizes. The 
 best his teachers could say of it was, that he went 
 on creditably, but not as brilliantly as his great 
 talents and marked application led them to expect. 
 Don Guareschi at first blamed the system of the 
 teachers ; but, finding his own method at home pro- 
 duce no brighter results, he soon concurred with 
 those who assumed that, after all, the boy's intellect 
 was rather dull ; and so he bluntly told him. 
 
 Antonio meekly accepted this sentence without 
 attempting to explain why he appeared to make 
 slower progress than the professors thought within 
 his power. In his uncle Ambrogio, however, he 
 had a warm defender ; for this vigilant observer of 
 the little student's course knew that other and graver 
 studies so occupied his mind that the ordinary school 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 35 
 
 exercises were more or less distasteful, while to keep 
 up with them as creditably as he did was, under the 
 circumstances, to do a great deal. He knew, more- 
 over, that although this might prevent such technical 
 evidences of progress as a zealous pedagogue looked 
 for in a most promising pupil, it did not interfere 
 with a studious boy's real progress, even in those 
 branches of study with which he seemed to be less 
 familiar than his teachers wished. 
 
 St. Thomas of Aquin, at a riper age, but for 
 kindred reasons, was denounced as a mere dunce 
 ' a dumb ox ' though his mind was then brood- 
 ing over the most subtle questions in Christian 
 philosophy. So, when his tutors decided that An- 
 tonio Rosmini was slow of intellect ' a sluggish- 
 brained boy, too much given to prayer and too 
 little to the conjugation of verbs ' he was actually 
 mastering the contents of such works as the 
 Summa of St. Thomas. This he was doing with 
 the full approbation of his accomplished uncle, 
 whose authority in the matter was to him as 
 law. Therefore he felt that, so long as he remained 
 dutiful to all his instructors and kept well up with 
 his class, he was disobeying no one, but rather prac- 
 tising humility, if he allowed an idea to get abroad 
 that his intellect was, after all, no brighter than that of 
 others. Had he been consulted by those who ex- 
 cused him, he would have requested them to offer 
 no explanation whatever ; but the affectionate uncle, 
 without seeing into the depth of piety whence this 
 self-sacrifice sprang, continued to defend him, and to 
 
 D 2 
 
36 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 supply him with the books he chose to have for his 
 private study. These were books which modern 
 students of more than double his age would look 
 upon as ' intolerably heavy reading.' 
 
 There was one other who shared with uncle 
 Ambrogio the pleasure of defending Antonio. This 
 was his mother, who knew that he studied for a duty, 
 a work, and a pastime, and who feared that he so 
 studied too incessantly. She used to relate, with a 
 natural complacency, how her beloved boy tried to 
 overcome the fatigue caused by the labours he thus 
 imposed on himself, and how he managed to elude 
 her maternal solicitude. She frequently found him 
 in the library (a large and valuable one) with several 
 tomes ' of the Fathers and of Latin classics/ opened 
 on the long table, so as to fringe it at all sides. He 
 applied himself now to one, now to another, until he 
 had carefully read a set number of pages in each, 
 within a given time every day, changing his book 
 and position as best answered the relief his body or 
 mind needed. If she entered with a reproachful 
 look, as sometimes happened, he would anticipate 
 her remonstrance by exclaiming, ' O beloved mother, 
 these beautiful things ! O the holy teachings which 
 these books give me ! Let me enjoy myself, as it is 
 good to be in such company and thus entertained ! ' 
 Such appeals usually called forth the desired smile 
 on the anxious mother's face, and she would then 
 retire, agreeably conquered ; leaving him to ' kill 
 time,' not as children, but as sages do. 
 
 His teachers, however, knew nothing of all this. 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 37 
 
 Even Don Guareschi remained for a long time 
 ignorant of the real condition of things. Although 
 he noticed his pupil going often to the library, and 
 found him sometimes poring over volumes which 
 seemed in no way suited to his age or capacity, he had 
 no suspicion of the extent to which his studies were 
 thus carried ; for the library being the special cabinet 
 of Ambrogio, the chaplain seldom stayed there longer 
 than was necessary to procure the book he wanted. 
 One day he chanced to enter while Antonio was in- 
 tently reading the Summa of St. Thomas. With 
 mixed surprise and scorn he tapped him smartly on 
 the head, saying, * What have you to do with such 
 books ? ' The answer was a mild reference to the 
 sanction of his uncle. Forthwith, the astonished 
 Priest began to discover that such books were not 
 beyond the capacity of that boy, who, like St. Thomas, 
 while appearing to be only on a level with his class, 
 was in many things farther advanced than his 
 teachers. 1 
 
 Although young Rosmini's intense love of study, 
 earnest, systematic piety, and lofty sense of decorum 
 in all he did, was little calculated to win popularity 
 with those of his own age (who generally prefer less 
 staid qualities), nevertheless his society was much 
 courted by his school- fellows ; and the youths who 
 could claim him for a companion in recreation, or as 
 a visitor during the holidays, made a boast of the 
 fact. One of those who did boast of the fact the 
 
 1 Mons . Andrea Strosio, Difesa della Fama e delta Vita di Antonio 
 Rosmtnij Cap. i. Tommaseo, Rivista cont. 1855. 
 
38 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Baron Simone Cresseri di Castelpietra tells us how 
 Antonio used to * amuse himself when on a summer 
 visit to the princely castle of the Cresseri, in the mag- 
 nificent valley of the Folgaria, near Trent. Thither 
 Rosmini and his brother sometimes went for a few 
 weeks during the ' long vacation/ to enjoy the sports 
 there provided for themselves and some other patri- 
 cian boys. 
 
 On these occasions Antonio made study, as 
 usual, his principal amusement, but without damp- 
 ing the spirits of the others, who, respecting his 
 every wish, were content to know he was near 
 enough to see and hear them. So, while all his com- 
 panions sported at ball, or ' hide and seek', or any 
 other of the diversions which delighted them, he be- 
 took himself to some adjacent pine shade or creviced 
 rock, where he read and prayed as if he could never 
 weary of such entertainment. When any of his more 
 frolicsome companions, through sheer exhaustion, 
 sought repose, it was always near his retreat, but not 
 close enough to disturb him, unless he invited them 
 nearer, which he did if he thought the opportunity 
 suitable for imparting some edifying or instructive 
 information. 
 
 His constant companion during these visits to 
 the splendid hospitality of Castelpietra was the Parish 
 Priest, a learned man, in whose conversation he 
 took more delight than his young friends found 
 in their boisterous mirth. But though he liked to 
 thus amuse himself in his own way, he never dis- 
 approved of the way preferred by the others. On 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 39 
 
 the contrary, if they could not have enjoyed them- 
 selves thoroughly unless he took an active share in 
 their games, he would set aside his own preference 
 to ensure them the full benefit of their holiday. He 
 never waited to be asked when he saw a chance of 
 throwing a moral or some special instruction into the 
 sport, as when he played ' magistrate ' and * monk ' in 
 his still more juvenile days. 1 
 
 It was during these school vacations that Tyrol- 
 ese parents usually indulged their children with 
 visits to the theatres. Antonio went now and then 
 with his uncle and brother, but cared very little for 
 the spectacles ordinarily represented. Comedies he 
 disliked because they appeared to exhibit what was 
 trivial, vulgar, and coarse, without bringing into 
 effective relief the moral which should compensate 
 for these inherent blemishes ; but to tragedies he 
 was more favourably disposed, because it seemed to 
 him that, at the worst, they more directly lifted his 
 soul to God. Boy though he was, he ventured to 
 tell his uncle Ambrogio that the stage, unless 
 managed with the greatest care, had little to com- 
 mend it to thoughtful minds ; while, as commonly 
 directed, it had much to charm and debase the 
 thoughtless. 
 
 Thus, even in his tenderest years, the lineaments 
 
 1 That he highly approved of manly field sports is made evident 
 by an essay which he wrote on the subject of ' Public Amusements/ as 
 forming or showing forth national character. This essay, though 
 written in his youth, and read to the Rovereto Accademia, where it met 
 with * marked approval,' was not published till after his death, when it 
 was deemed important enough to be incorporated with his Filosqfia 
 della Politica. 
 
4 o LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 of the man's character were distinctly visible. His 
 fervent piety, his studious habits, his generous and 
 orderly charities, his precocious spirit of Christian 
 mortification, his sound judgment, so far above that 
 which men usually associate with persons even of 
 ripe age, were all such as to foreshow the vigorous 
 growth of those solid virtues and that intellectual 
 greatness which distinguished his still more saintly 
 manhood. 
 
HIS COLLEGE DAYS. 41 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ROSMINl's EARLIEST COLLEGE DAYS. 
 (A.D. 1813-1815.) 
 
 His personal appearance at sixteen His dislike of novelties in dress 
 His conversations His first scholastic thesis How he bore his 
 college triumphs Elected member of the Rovereto Academy, its 
 first and only boy-Associate His first essay, and how he took the 
 applause it won Why he established a domestic Academy The 
 1 dignity of the Priesthood ' the subject of his first public dis- 
 course Sage counsels of his earliest letters Virtue the only 
 reward worth having His country retreat His love of solitude 
 His first important literary production His desire to be a Saint 
 Correspondence of a boy with veterans How he valued Christian 
 friendship Dedicates himself to Religion Leaves Rovereto 
 College. 
 
 WHILE the moral and intellectual qualities of An- 
 tonio Rosmini were systematically developing them- 
 selves, day by day, into sterling virtues, his physical 
 growth gave evidence of such a hale constitution 
 that, at sixteen, he was one of the most blooming 
 and comely youths in Rovereto. Don Paoli gives 
 us a description of his person which sets the inde- 
 fatigable student before us as one upon whom in- 
 cessant brain work, relieved by a very moderate 
 share of bodily exercise, had no ill effects whatever. 
 ' He grew up robust and healthy,' says Don Paoli, 
 * and although his appearance presented a develop- 
 ment which betokened some excess of the cerebral 
 
42 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 organs, for the most part favourable to natural 
 talent but not to health, he was a hale, handsome 
 youth, as may be gathered from a portrait which his 
 mother preserved. 1 He was of middle height, 
 slender form and well proportioned, except that his 
 head was remarkably large. He had a high, massive 
 forehead, an abundance of dark brown hair, an aqui- 
 line nose, a somewhat projecting chin, a softly 
 blooming complexion, sprightly eyes, which were 
 always in subjection to a sensitive modesty.' The 
 sweet smile of an affectionate heart * constantly 
 played around his finely-chiselled lips.' His manners 
 were exceedingly affable, and his intercourse with 
 others was always marked by a winning condescen- 
 sion most felicitously adapted to all manner of per- 
 sons and circumstances 'the result,' adds Don 
 Paoli, ' of a kind nature properly developed by most 
 refined home culture.' 
 
 Although neat in his dress, and careful to ob- 
 serve the proprieties of external appearance, he was 
 little disposed to countenance the caprices of 
 ' fashion.' During his boyhood, the Napoleonic 
 dominancy in Northern Italy brought French styles 
 into vogue ; but, while Roveretan society pretty 
 generally affected the new mode, the Rosminis reso- 
 lutely adhered to the old, and Antonio preferred to 
 bear the scoffs of his companions rather than to op- 
 
 1 A photograph copy of this finely- finished likeness adorns the 
 first page of Don Paoli's Monografia. On the death of the Countess 
 Rosmini the original painting was given to the Marquis Benso de 
 Cavour as a souvenir ; but on his death it was claimed by the repre- 
 sentatives of Rosmini, to whom it now belongs. 
 
HIS COLLEGE DAYS. 43 
 
 pose the taste of his parents, or sanction what seemed 
 to him uncalled-for innovations. Moreover, he thus 
 entered a protest against the principles of the Revo- 
 lution, which had imported these novel costumes. 
 But, however he dressed, his bearing was always 
 the same always gracious and gentle always 
 showing forth that ' exquisite virginal modesty ' 
 which remained his life-long characteristic. To robe 
 the soul in virtue, the heart in prayer, and the mind 
 in knowledge, was to him of first importance ; the 
 rest troubled him little. 
 
 Towards the termination of his course at the 
 Rovereto Preparatory College he was required to 
 compose a thesis on * The Encouragement of 
 Studies.' The subject was selected for him on 
 account of his own great love of study, but without 
 any hope that one so young would be able to treat 
 it in a profound or practical manner. However, to 
 the surprise of all assembled on the Exhibition Day, 
 he acquitted himself so well that few were ready to 
 credit a mere lad with such a polished and well- 
 reasoned essay. Foremost amongst the few who, 
 without hesitation, believed it be the boy's own 
 unaided production, was Don Pietro Orsi, a fre- 
 quent guest of the house, who had taken more 
 pains than the others to know his capacity. But 
 though the keen-sighted Priest admired and es- 
 teemed him much for what he already knew of his 
 moral and intellectual character, the signal success 
 of the theme and the charming modesty of the 
 young orator gave this esteem and admiration a 
 
44 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 new direction, and an intensity which soon led to a 
 more intimate connection between them that of 
 devoted pupil and devoted master. 
 
 His collegiate triumphs and conspicuous virtues 
 won for Antonio an extraordinary distinction before 
 he had completed his sixteenth year a Fellowship 
 in the Academy of the Agiati. This institution, 
 which may be styled ' the Royal Society ' of Rovereto, 
 was founded in 1750 by the famous Tyrolese critic 
 Girolamo Tartarotti, and other literary celebrities of 
 the time and place, including more than one of the 
 Rosmini family. Active membership was confined 
 to local literati, who were selected with great care, 
 not only as to their scholastic attainments, but as to 
 their moral character and social standing. This last 
 qualification excluded the lowly, however worthy, 
 and was deemed a serious blemish in its organisa- 
 tion by the patrician youth who was invited to sit 
 with its sages as one of themselves. 
 
 He could not help thinking that, as it had for 
 the first time opened its doors to a boy in years, 
 it could afford to extend the exceptions to those 
 who had grown grey in quest of knowledge without 
 aspiring to social position. But to press his opinion 
 on the directors of the Academy would have been 
 inconsistent with the modesty of his years, and the 
 boy-Fellow never forgot he was a boy. As to his 
 own election, the sagacity of the Academicians was 
 proved by events. That boy soon became the 
 greatest of the Agiati, and was destined, ere long, 
 to be the perpetual honorary president of the 
 
HIS COLLEGE DAYS. 45 
 
 society : in fact, his genius still presides, and im- 
 parts to the Rovereto Academy a renown, if not a 
 stability, that will live through the ages. 1 
 
 When Antonio Rosmini was thus winning the 
 peaceful laurels of college victories there was a lull 
 in the Napoleonic wars which had so long con- 
 vulsed Europe. This lull promised something more 
 than an ephemeral peace ; at all events, such was 
 the general hope. The young Academician seized 
 this popular hope as a fitting subject for the literary 
 composition with which he was expected to acknow- 
 ledge the high compliment that had been paid him. 
 ' The Blessings of Peace ' furnished, indeed, a right 
 noble theme ; and he dealt with it so effectively 
 that his fellow-Academicians overwhelmed him with 
 eulogies, some of which found vent in printed poems. 
 One of these pieces, which was supposed to have 
 more than ordinary merit, styled him * the hope of 
 Italy,' adding 
 
 Through thee, we trust, will Italy regain 
 
 The golden splendour of her ancient reign. 2 . 
 
 The hearty plaudits which thus greeted him on 
 every side, instead of elating, humiliated him. 
 Praise invariably caused him pain, and this pain was 
 always aggravated by such allusions as most of 
 these poems contained. In order to moderate the 
 enthusiasm of his more immediate associates he 
 
 1 It was for this Accademia that Don Paoli published the elaborate 
 biography of Rosmini to which we are ourselves so much indebted. 
 
 2 It was composed by Giacomo Barchetti, who came to be known 
 as the ' patriot and pietist.' 
 
46 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 used to remonstrate with them in this manner : 
 'Youth should be cautious, and above all just. 
 Now, if you were just, you would not deem me 
 worthy of these extravagant commendations.' He 
 did what he could to make them understand that 
 emotions of personal affection are not the deliberate 
 outcome of calm justice ; on the contrary, out- 
 flows of feeling were apt to be unjust, and there- 
 fore he who valued them at their real worth could 
 have no satisfaction in them, unless as a means of 
 humiliation. But as this implied the injustice of 
 his friends, he was forced to grieve for them as well 
 as for himself. Hence these gushing encomiums 
 were doubly annoying, and he insisted that they had 
 better be avoided altogether. 
 
 The spirit of justice and modesty thus evinced 
 led him to establish a little Academy in his own 
 house. Here he could be industrious without 
 being intrusive or appearing to do more than his 
 brother Academicians ; here his labours could bear 
 ripened fruit in abundance without exciting the 
 admiration he disliked ; here his active mind would 
 have the means of sifting and strengthening his 
 studies by the discussions which all similar institu- 
 tions encouraged ; here religious devotions could be 
 made to precede and follow, and, as it were, per- 
 meate all the proceedings, without seeming to be 
 out of place ;. here he could set aside the invidious 
 distinction between rich and poor, patrician and 
 plebeian, college-bred and self-taught. 
 
 The members of this domestic Academy, unlike 
 
HIS COLLEGE DAYS. 47 
 
 those of the Agiati, were not chosen from the 
 wealthy and aristocratic merely : poor but talented 
 and pious students were preferred, and though 
 some of the upper classes were soon amongst them, 
 the young founder defrayed all the expenses out 
 of his private allowance, backed by contributions 
 from his uncle Ambrogio. The youths who were 
 privileged to be his associates in this little Academy 
 at once a mutual instruction and mutual edifica- 
 tion society read their several compositions in turn, 
 and each was expected to criticise whatever pro- 
 ductions were thus read. When any of the papers 
 were judged to be of sufficient importance, they were 
 printed for piivate, and sometimes also for public, 
 circulation. 
 
 1 The sage of sixteen summers/ who had estab- 
 lished and been chosen to rule this little Academy, 
 took care that its members never wanted matter for 
 discussion. Though they were all much older than 
 himself, and some of them well advanced both in 
 years and learning, it was their unanimous wish 
 that he should read an essay or deliver an address 
 at every meeting. To this, however, his modesty 
 objected. He preferred to take his turn with the 
 others ; but whenever any member failed to pro- 
 duce a promised paper or deliver an expected dis- 
 course, he consented to fill the vacancy if no one 
 else present were ready to do so. The first letter 
 in the Epistolario? written to his cousin, Count 
 
 1 Epistolario di Antonio Rosmini-Serbati. Letter e Religio so- Fami- 
 gliari. (1813-1854.) 2 vols. Torino, 1857. More than 10,000 of Rosmini's 
 
48 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Antonio Fedrigotti, alludes to a discourse which he 
 had thus delivered in his domestic Academy. The 
 subject, ( Praises of the Priesthood/ shows not only 
 the tendencies of this literary institute, but the lead- 
 ing quality of its founder, who directed all he did 
 and said to God and His Church. 
 
 This short epistle, which very fitly opens the first 
 volume of his published correspondence, affords us 
 an excellent opportunity of knowing what sober and 
 solid thoughts filled him at an age when youths are 
 usually least sedate and most superficial. Count 
 Fedrigotti was at the time considering what pro- 
 fession he should adopt, and taking counsel with his 
 wisest friends as to the state of life for which he was 
 best fitted, the ecclesiastical being his own preference. 
 Signorino Antonio Rosmini, though only sixteen 
 years old, was included amongst ' the wisest friends,' 
 and here is how he gave the advice which his 
 ' grown cousin ' stood in need of : 
 
 I think it due to you, because of the very intimate 
 friendship so long existing between us, to say a few 
 words to you on the subject. Nor can I do better, I 
 think, than by sending you a discourse' of mine which I 
 wrote not long ago, and delivered at a meeting of young 
 aspirants to learning, whose task it is to read, each in his 
 turn, some little production in prose or verse. It is a eulo- 
 
 letters, on all manner of subjects, are preserved in the archives of the 
 Rosmini College at Stresa. In 1857 Don G. B. Pagani, Superior 
 General of the Order of Charity, caused 548 of them to be published 
 (in two volumes) as a l representative selection,' and it is from that 
 selection we translate those quoted in this work as from the Epis- 
 tolario. 
 
HIS COLLEGE DAYS. 49 
 
 gium of the Priesthood. Far be it from me to persuade 
 you to enter that state, or even to suggest such a step ; 
 since it is one that has been regarded by many illustrious 
 men with feelings of serious apprehension. My intention is 
 simply to give you a clear insight into the beauty of that 
 state. Nevertheless, would to God that what happened of 
 old to Chrysostom, in respect to Basil, were to be my case 
 now in your regard ! Believe me, it is my love for you 
 that prompts me to address you thus. 
 ROVERETO, October 22, I8I3. 1 
 
 When the day came for deciding as to his own 
 ' state of life,' he forgot not the advice thus modestly 
 tendered to his hesitating kinsman. As in all his 
 juvenile pastimes he made everything tend to re- 
 ligion, so in all his letters, be the subject what it 
 may, that is the prominent, the pervading idea. 
 
 A veteran rather than a boy seems to speak in 
 this short note, written about the same time, to 
 Simone Tevini, a friend who had worldly ambitions 
 that suggested its terse exhortations : - 
 
 I have just received a letter from you, in Latin, which 
 has given me unspeakable pleasure. It is not devoid 
 of elegance, and leads me to hope great things from 
 you. All men, it is said, are born equal ; virtue alone can 
 ennoble. Let nothing withdraw you from the practice of 
 virtue. Virtue is ' its own reward,' as one of the poets 
 sang ; or, to speak more correctly, God is its reward, sur- 
 passing great. 
 
 I must be brief for want of time. 
 
 Accept the sentiments of a friend who wishes you well. 
 Love God, in whom you will find your all. Love solitude 
 and wisdom. Farewell. 
 
 ROVERETO, December 3, i8i3. 2 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter i. * Epistolario, Letter ii 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
50 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 The essays and discourses that delighted the 
 Academies of his boyhood were never regarded by 
 Rosmini as worth preserving. But one literary and 
 scientific production of those days remains to bear 
 witness to the profound love of God, and earnest 
 affection for literature and philosophy, which had 
 then taken firm root in his soul. It is entitled a 
 1 Day of Retirement/ by Simon ino Ironta the nom 
 de plume being an anagram of his name attached to 
 most of the papers he read in the Academy of 
 the Agiati, as well as in that founded by himself. 
 This charming little work was composed at a rustic 
 villa a summer seat of the family on the mid- 
 slopes of a mount overlooking Rovereto. 1 Thither 
 he was in the habit of going frequently, in quest of 
 a solitude which enabled him to write and contem- 
 plate and pray without the interruptions that beset 
 him overmuch in the town. 
 
 The subject of this little book is grave, and 
 thrown into a form evidently borrowed from the 
 once popular work of Boetius Consolatio Philo- 
 sophies. He skilfully sketches an imaginary contest 
 between two most beautiful virgins, who happen to 
 meet with a poor deserted boy, whom they desire 
 to adopt : each resolved to educate the forlorn 
 
 1 The ascent to a popular sanctuary that is nestled in one of the 
 inviting natural terraces of this mount, and the splendid view of the 
 town and valley from that point, must have come vividly before his 
 mind when, in after-years, he ascended Monte Calvario, and stood 
 on the terrace there to contemplate the much smaller town of Domo, 
 in the much grander and vaster valley of the Ossola (see Chap. xxiv. 
 pf this volume). 
 
HIS COLLEGE DAYS. 51 
 
 orphan in her own way. The virgins are Friend- 
 ship and Philosophy. Friendship is arrayed - v in 
 
 snow-white garments and enwreathed with blooir^ 
 ing roses ; Philosophy in gracefully-folded russet 
 vesture, and well provided with books. While they 
 dispute, a third virgin, of sedate and love-inspiring 
 mien, steps in to restore harmony. This is Religion, 
 in flowing azure robes studded with resplendent 
 stars. She decides that all three shall take charge 
 of the child, but that their united purpose must be 
 to train his soul for God the development of true 
 piety towards the Creator to be ' the supreme end 
 of their joint efforts/ The strife terminates in the 
 acceptance of Religion's counsel. Then Friendship 
 and Philosophy loyally set about doing the duties 
 proper to each, while Religion attends to all the rest ; 
 the result being that the boy soon acquires every 
 quality that can fit him for effective work in the 
 service of the King of Kings, and consequently 
 becomes the best of men even for the purposes of 
 ordinary social and political life. 
 
 This production of Rosmini's sixteenth year may 
 be styled ' the literary prelude to all the works of 
 his after-life.' It is full of pious fancies, whole- 
 some reflections, and evidences of solid learning. 
 Long before then he had, indeed, done and written 
 enough to demonstrate his thorough devotion to God 
 and the Church of God. I n the very dawn of his literary 
 and scientific life one could see the man in the youth 
 ' the man whole and complete,' says Don Paoli ; 
 1 perfectly harmonious in his formation and unfolding.' 
 
 E 2 
 
52 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 But this little treatise revealed more of his powers 
 than they who knew him intimately had yet seen. 
 It proved that he had made marvellous progress in 
 the Latin and Italian classics, that he had deeply 
 studied the philosophers (especially Seneca and Plato), 
 that he had become critically familiar with the Sacred 
 Scriptures (which were, indeed, the constant source 
 of his daily meditations), and that he had heartily 
 absorbed ' the science of the Saints/ 
 
 Often before had he discoursed, with the skill 
 and ease of a diligent biblical student, on the vanity 
 of all things human ; but never before had he 
 handled the subject with the profound insight of a 
 Christian philosopher. Often before had he main- 
 tained that the sciences without God are useless ; 
 but never before had he shown how much worse 
 than vain they are when not centred on God, and 
 not constantly pointing to Him. Often before had he 
 urged the necessity of cultivating the sentiment and 
 the intellect so that they should be sanctified by God's 
 Grace ; but never before had he so learnedly insisted 
 on this in the application of knowledge and the 
 direction of personal conduct. Often before had 
 he eloquently counselled devotion to the Holy See ; 
 but never before had he so forcibly put it as an indis- 
 pensable quality in an enlightened citizen and sincere 
 Christian. ' In short/ as Don Paoli says, ' this juve- 
 nile work blends together and well harmonises the 
 man of letters, the philosopher, and the ascetic, as 
 the characteristics of each subsequently came forth, 
 still together, but more majestically represented, in 
 
HIS COLLEGE DAYS. 53 
 
 the works of maturer years, and in the whole course 
 of his life.' 
 
 Although he gave so much time to study and to 
 literary pursuits, although he dearly loved to spend 
 hours meditating in solitude, although his religious 
 exercises seemed to absorb all the time not devoted 
 to the acquisition of knowledge, or to the duties of 
 family and social intercourse ; nevertheless, so 
 orderly were his habits, so well regulated his hours, 
 that he found sufficient ' spare time ' to carry on an 
 extensive correspondence with numerous friends, 
 young and old, to whom he had some encourage- 
 ment or information to give, or from whom he had 
 some advice or instruction to receive. In this latter 
 category strangers were frequently included, and 
 brought within the circle of friends. Thus, when he 
 decided on starting his domestic Academy, he put 
 himself in communication with Fontana of Florence, 
 from whom he obtained full information as to the 
 system so successfully employed in the great Academy 
 of that city. So, with the presidents of other similar 
 establishments he held correspondence for a like 
 purpose, gathering and utilising all the hints he could 
 get. His own views were in turn sought by these, 
 and this Roveretan youth, while consulting sages, was 
 invited to be their counsellor. 
 
 All these letters, no matter what the special 
 object of any, breathe the ardent spirit of piety 
 which animated whatever he said or did. Here is 
 how that spirit directed him to disguise in boyish 
 sympathy the counsels of a prudent thinker bent 
 
54 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 on winning the confidence of a dear kinsman, Count 
 Antonio Fedrigotti, who was then so placed that he 
 might soon have been led aside from the regular 
 path upon which they both, as boys, had walked 
 together. It will be seen that he rather insinuated 
 than expressed the wholesome admonitions he meant 
 to convey, and that, thus early, he had the rare gift 
 of putting his advice in a few words, and most deli- 
 cately adapting it to the disposition of its reci- 
 pient as well as to the circumstances of the case : 
 
 Oh ! how often have I not sighed for an opportunity of 
 opening my heart fully to you in a long letter, and giving 
 expression to those feelings of love which I so fondly 
 cherish for you feelings which are dictated by the most 
 genuine and sincere desire for your well-being. The longed- 
 for moment, however, has not yet arrived for discharging 
 those duties which are enjoined by friendship, as well as by 
 that charity which makes us all brothers, and welds us 
 together in the closest union by its sweet and sacred 
 bonds. Oh ! the beauty of friendship ! Oh ! ever blessed 
 and holy charity ! 
 
 But to return to ourselves. Well, then, my dear 
 Antonio, I must repeat that I do indeed wish you every 
 good, and I trust that love, which brings the distant near, 
 may evermore unite us. Methinks I see you engaged 
 with me now, in innocent recreation and amusements ; 
 now reading together and learning how inexperienced lads, 
 such as we are, may reach the holy goal ; now pouring 
 forth earnest prayers to our good God that He may direct 
 us and be our guide, that He may root out and destroy the 
 ill weeds that perchance have sprung up in our hearts, and 
 be moved to pity us, and our brethren, who are, alas ! but 
 too wretched, because bondsmen groaning beneath the 
 yoke of sin. But, really, how do you employ your time ? 
 You are studying and cultivating wisdom, not merely for 
 
HIS COLLEGE DAYS. 55 
 
 the sake of glory, which is vain and transient, but for the 
 life to come, which is, in truth, eternal. Oh ! how delighted 
 I am to learn this from your own letter ! 
 
 Continue, then, in the path you have entered on, and 
 offer all to God ; have recourse at all times to Him, who 
 is the beginning and end of all things ; speak to Him fre- 
 quently, and when you are in the very warmth of your 
 prayer, present to Him me, His needy and most wretched 
 servant, and call aloud for mercy in my behalf. 
 
 ROVERETO, A ugust 1 8 1 4. * 
 
 That Antonio Rosmini had from his earliest 
 boyhood given himself to God's service was made 
 manifest in various ways. But until his seventeenth 
 year this dedication of himself took no positive 
 form. Hitherto it was only an expression of the 
 general fact that everyone can and should give him- 
 self to God's service, in any state of life ; to do so 
 was, therefore, a duty incumbent on all, and not ne- 
 cessarily implying the Ecclesiastical or the Religious 
 State. True, he was often heard to say things which 
 showed his own inclinations to be all in favour of 
 the Ecclesiastical State. But, as a family tradition 
 tells us, he rather hinted than freely spoke of a fixed 
 intention to embrace that state ; for he had reason 
 to fear that his father would dislike, and possibly 
 oppose such a purpose. In his seventeenth year, 
 however, he avowed it in terms that left no 
 doubt of his determination to give up everything in 
 order to follow Christ more closely than he could in 
 any Secular State. 
 
 This determination was confided to his mother, 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter iii. 
 
56 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 who gave him no encouragement, but allowed the 
 matter to drop, thinking that as he grew older he 
 might see reason to change his mind without her 
 assistance. Meanwhile, the importance of his position 
 and prospects as heir of a noble house were more 
 frequently and conspicuously set before him. All 
 this, however, seemed to be unconnected with him, 
 for his mind and heart had long since been detached 
 from merely human hopes or human desires. Time, 
 therefore, only strengthened his intention, and he 
 took the earliest occasion of ' putting it on record ' 
 in a letter to his friend Bartolomeo Menotti, who 
 understood and sympathised with him. That friend, 
 well knowing the various temptations which lay in 
 wait for one of such brilliant talents, dreaded lest 
 even he might, in time, be induced to think more 
 of man's kingdom than of God's. Here is how 
 young Rosmini reassured him : 
 
 Oh ! how grateful I feel for the excellent advice 
 you give me, never to forget the Christian commonwealth, 
 for truly it is sweet and noble and just advice. Indeed 
 there is no wisdom here below if it come not from the 
 Father of all light. You may therefore rest assured that 
 the pursuit of letters has of itself no charms for me. 
 
 I am resolved to become a Priest, and to part with all 
 that I have to purchase a treasure which neither moth nor 
 rust can fret away, and where thieves cannot break in and 
 steal. What little learning I possess I mean to make use 
 of, with God's help, in the work of education. (And what 
 more pleasing task than to be useful to our fellow-men ? ) 
 Nor will I suffer my body to eat its bread in idleness it 
 must toil and labour ; my worldly substance I shall employ 
 in advancing the sciences and relieving the poor. These 
 
HJS COLLEGE DAYS. 57 
 
 sentiments are dictated, not by my intellect alone, but by 
 my heart also. 
 
 Continue to be my friend, and recommend me to our 
 Lord. 
 
 ROVERETO, September 22, I8I4. 1 
 
 ' Continue to be my friend ' was an appeal which 
 Rosmini's heart ever made to the good ; and all his 
 actions prove that he never weaned of being their 
 friend. They who knew him intimately during the 
 last years of his life have spoken much about the 
 earnestness and enduring character of his love for 
 those worthy of love. It had always been thus with 
 him. All the letters written in his youth abound 
 with the gushing expressions that are often mean- 
 ingless common-places in ordinary Italian corre- 
 spondence. But with him they were never empty 
 phrases. None of his warm assurances of friendship 
 were without that solid foundation, that elevating 
 motive, which gave substance to the cordiality ; and 
 none of his friendships were unworthy of the affec- 
 tion he bestowed. Evidence of this may be found 
 in the following letter, pithily setting forth the nature 
 of Christian friendship. It was sent to his cousin, 
 Count Antonio Fedrigotti, as a continuation of 
 some remarks he had occasion to offer in a former 
 letter : 
 
 Make haste and come, for I have long eagerly expected 
 you, and your delay in coming seems an age. You are, it 
 is true, always with me. But such is the nature of friend- 
 ship that, although its seat is in the heart, still its votaries 
 long to meet and pass their time together occasionally 
 1 Epistolario, Letter iv. 
 
58 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 in familiar converse ; the result, perhaps, of that wondrous 
 union which exists between soul and body. The love I 
 bear you, my dearest Antonio, is unalloyed by aught that 
 is mean or common ; it is a love more than ordinary, being 
 pure and noble in its aim, and having for its sole object 
 your real good. Indeed, I love you as I love myself, and 
 those very blessings which I desire for myself I pray and 
 wish also for you. Be then persuaded that love like this 
 is unimpaired by separation ; it wanes not, nor languishes 
 with lapse of time ; but is lasting and unchanging. The 
 reason is, that it comes not from man but directly from 
 God, Who is everywhere and is everywhere the same. You 
 understand well what I mean, especially now that you are 
 engaged with syllogisms, and are deeply engrossed in the 
 subtle investigations of philosophy. How often I have 
 reproached myself with tardiness in writing to you ! 
 But you already know how my time passes without my 
 telling you. However, I was determined, at all hazards, 
 to steal away this evening and spend it thus with you. I 
 have done so in order that you may see how you are always 
 present to my mind. 
 
 Farewell. 
 
 Be ever mindful of our good God, the most loving of 
 Fathers, the wisest of Masters, the dearest, and surest, and 
 truest, and sweetest of Friends that can be found. Yes ! 
 recommend yourself to Him, and recommend me also 
 earnestly. I embrace you and long to see you. Mean- 
 while, apply yourself to study. How beautiful and how 
 precious a thing is wisdom. 
 
 ROVERETO, October 27, i8i4. 1 
 
 The ' study ' and the * wisdom ' to which the 
 young writer was himself so zealously devoted he 
 had, about this time, to seek outside the walls of the 
 local college, in which he had been thus far educated. 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter v. 
 
HIS COLLEGE DAYS. 59 
 
 At the close of the school term of ] 814 the Rovereto 
 ginnasio parted with him as a student who had 
 advanced in knowledge far above its level. In so 
 parting with its most brilliant alummis, the Provost 
 of the College (as its archives for that year attest) 
 confidently predicted that Antonio Rosmini would 
 become the great teacher he did become. Provost, 
 professors, and students took formal leave of him as 
 one whose collegiate career left, for all alike, a model 
 on which to shape their course, if they sought to be 
 truly learned and truly good. 
 
60 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ROSMINl's CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 
 (A.D k 1815-1816.) 
 
 His first affliction The whole family opposed to his choice of the Ec- 
 clesiastical State How he met the opposition and disposed of all 
 objections The call unmistakably from God His motives for 
 embracing that state Yet another affliction Selects humility 
 as the safest road to Heaven Continues his home studies Typical 
 character of this period of his life Contempt for worldly pleasures 
 Yearning of his heart for a perfect state Living up to a 
 religious rule and nursing the inspiration of a religious Order 
 His friendships, wishes, and designs all for God Arts and sciences 
 nothing without God One drop of morality and religion worth an 
 ocean of human learning His undesigned noviciate for the Re- 
 ligious State. 
 
 THE first real affliction of Rosmini's young life came 
 with the open avowal of his resolution to embrace 
 the Ecclesiastical State. No sooner had he announced 
 his determination to closely follow Christ than he 
 had to bear the cross. All had hitherto been domestic 
 serenity of an exceptional kind. Between him and 
 his parents there had ever been that blissful peace 
 which comes from ' loving the law of the Lord,' 
 and to them, says the Psalmist, ' there is no 
 stumbling-block.' This peace had never yet been 
 disturbed by any breeze strong enough to ripple, 
 even slightly, the still waters of Antonio's home 
 
CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 61 
 
 happiness. But on a sudden all was changed, and 
 the stumbling-block seemed to be there. For 
 Antonio it was a severe trial, because he had ever 
 loved his parents fondly and ever obeyed them 
 loyally. That they were zealous, practical Catholics, 
 heartily devoted to the Church, only added new 
 perplexity to his position. 
 
 It was made still more embarrassing when he 
 found himself opposed by the considerate uncle 
 on whose aid he had confidently counted. But the 
 affectionate Ambrogio, who had been ever ready 
 to cheer him on the course that pointed to this 
 vocation, was unable to withstand * the logic of 
 lineage.' He, too, instead of encouraging, besought 
 him to remember that the continuance of the Ros- 
 mini family depended on him ; that his only brother 
 was too delicate to be thought of as heir ; that his 
 only sister already contemplated representing the 
 family in the ranks of Religion ; that he was, after 
 all, too young to choose ; that, before deciding, he 
 should see more of the world than he had yet seen ; 
 that a brilliant future awaited him ; that, with the 
 great wealth, great talents, great acquirements, and 
 great piety which were undoubtedly his, he could 
 do more effective battle for country and creed as 
 a lay leader than as a Priest. 
 
 All these appeals, urged as they were in every 
 form, and by those whom he most loved, distressed 
 him much, but left his resolution unshaken. The 
 voice that said deep down in his heart ' Follow 
 Me ' held him enlisted beyond the power of human 
 
62 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 suasion. He would not desert the Cross, around 
 which every impulse of his soul had been twined 
 more and more closely, day by day, since his child- 
 hood. Bitter, indeed, was this first taste of what 
 its true followers had to endure ; but without such 
 bitterness where would be the sweetness of follow- 
 ing ' The Man of Sorrows ? ' Nerved by this 
 thought, he calmly met all the entreaties by counter- 
 entreaties. He recalled the advice he had given 
 to his cousin Fedrigotti, repeated what he had 
 written to his friend Menotti, reproduced in all 
 forms the arguments of his juvenile discourse on 
 the Priesthood, and finally besought his affectionate 
 tempters to remember that no one is born merely 
 for this life, but for life everlasting ; no one should 
 prefer the service of man to the service of God. 
 The whole of this struggle between young Rosmini 
 and his parents bears a remarkable resemblance to 
 that which, under circumstances exactly similar, 
 formed an important episode in the life of St. 
 Francis of Sales, the story of whose boyhood and 
 youth, to say nothing of manhood, is in many other 
 respects strikingly like that of Antonio of Rovereto's 
 boyhood and youth. 
 
 Every friend, whose influence or eloquence stood 
 a chance of having some effect on his mind, was 
 induced to employ it against his resolution ; but all 
 in vain. Amongst the friends who were requested 
 to act in this way Don Luigi Sonn held a high 
 place in young Rosmini's estimation ;' and therefore, 
 when home influence failed, he was one of the first 
 
CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 63 
 
 intrusted with instructions to assail the youth's pur- 
 pose. He did so from points of view that were 
 intended to alarm a very sensitive conscience, which 
 was called on to dread lest inexperience, or the nature 
 of his favourite studies, or close association with 
 religious persons might have led to the resolution. 
 The task was an ungracious one, but Don Luigi none 
 the less earnestly besought his young friend to 
 pause and fear lest his heart had been decoyed 
 into a determination which, after all, might not have 
 sprung from sufficiently considered or sufficiently pure 
 motives. Antonio promptly met all the objections 
 in a very complete way, and went so far as to 
 supplement his spoken replies by the following 
 letter : 
 
 Dearest friend, Do you for a moment suppose that I 
 dissent in any way whatever from what you say concern- 
 ing the office and duties of a Cleric ? With what other 
 end in view, think you, have I chosen that state of life (so 
 dear to me for many reasons), unless it were to devote 
 myself entirely, and in a special manner, to the service of 
 my good Lord and God. Once consecrated to Him, I shall 
 be in a position to sing His praises in the sublimest 
 manner that is possible to man ; in a position to learn and 
 to preach His most holy law, which gives light unto little 
 ones, and is, to the ignorant and unlettered, wisdom passing 
 great ; in a position to enrich with this treasure more 
 precious than gold or gems, and sweeter far than honey to 
 enrich with it, I say, all my brethren, whom I strive to love 
 tenderly in Jesus Christ. 
 
 This, my dear friend, this is the sole aim and desire of 
 my heart, if our Lord will only help me ; and surely He 
 will do so, for He is good. May all my studies and all my 
 talents be directed to no other end ! In truth, how fasci- 
 
64 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 nating soever may be the pursuit of learning in itself, it 
 involves, none the less, such intense fatigues as to make man 
 feel sensibly that he was born a sinner. But, for my part, I am 
 ready to renounce for His sake even life itself, at any moment ; 
 aye, and, if He make the demand, to sacrifice it, too, in the 
 most unheard-of and painful manner. Believe me, my dear 
 Luigi, I speak from my heart and open my mind to you 
 fully ; nor lies there a corner within it to which you have 
 not free access. Insipid mark what I say, for I say it 
 emphatically insipid, nay, quite unbearable, would seem 
 to me the most sublime learning, were it not seasoned with 
 the love of God and a pure intention. 
 
 ROVERETO, August 8, 
 
 When all the local advocates of earthly interests 
 had failed to entice Rosmini from his holy vocation, 
 Padre Cesari, the distinguished Oratorian of Verona, 
 was persuaded to try his fervid eloquence to that 
 end. Young Antonio had a great regard for this 
 estimable Priest, whom he sincerely admired as an 
 author and revered as a friend. For some years it 
 had been the custom of Padre Cesari to spend his 
 Autumn vacations in Rovereto, where his society 
 was much courted by the noblest and the best, who 
 appreciated his virtues and his learning. During 
 one of these visits he happened to be present at a 
 meeting of the local Academy when an oration of 
 Rosmini astonished all there, and won the warm 
 admiration of the illustrious Veronese. Then began 
 a friendship that ripened into cordiality, and gained 
 for the venerable Cesari a strong hold on the young 
 Roveretan's mind and heart If anyone could divert 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter vii. 
 
CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 65 
 
 him from his purpose, with the best arguments that 
 could be suggested by a deep knowledge of the 
 human soul and a long experience of the weak 
 and strong points of youth, here was the man. 
 
 The task was accepted, for Cesari earnestly 
 espoused the view of the parents. Having taken the 
 earliest opportunity for a private interview with the 
 son, he employed all his skill and eloquence to turn 
 ' the called of God ' from the resolutions to which 
 love of God had so long been forming his mind. 
 The venerable Oratorian went as far as he reason- 
 ably could ; but he desisted on finding that he had 
 exhausted all his arguments and all his inducements 
 without making any impression on the strong posi- 
 tions taken by the other. On the contrary, his 
 young friend's logic not only resisted but overthrew 
 his own, and Cesari retired from the contest, not 
 merely to report his discomfiture, but to advise the 
 parents not to oppose any longer so manifest a call 
 from God. In this appeal he was more successful 
 than he expected ; for, already weary of the struggle, 
 they began to fear lest their opposition might after 
 all be sinful. The failure of the eloquent Oratorian 
 confirmed this fear, and they decided on recognising 
 God's evident Will in the matter. Forthwith, the 
 first dark cloud that had flecked the bright calm 
 of Rosmini's young life was dispelled. Although his 
 family at first consented somewhat grudgingly, 
 they afterwards submitted with devout heartiness 
 to God's decree. 
 
 It may seem strange that his parents, on seeing 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
66 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NI. 
 
 from his earliest days how their Antonio's heart 
 and soul were set on whatever belonged to Religious 
 Life, had taken no steps to detach his thoughts from 
 it, so far, at all events, as to ensure ' a worldly 
 vocation/ But, apart from the fact that the Eternal 
 Father's designs could not be thus easily altered, 
 there remains this reason : Tyrolese parents, usually 
 pious themselves, looked upon a fervent spirit of 
 religion as an ordinary and desirable quality of a 
 good child, and never as an unmistakable sign that 
 when the time for making a choice should come, 
 such child would choose the ecclesiastical or reli- 
 gious state, rather than some secular profession. 
 
 In Rosmini's case the choice was made in child- 
 hood, assented to in boyhood, and ratified on the 
 threshold of manhood. At last it was approved by 
 his earthly parents, as it always had been by his 
 Heavenly Father. 
 
 When this greater cloud disappeared a smaller 
 rose up to cast some shadows on his holy joy. His 
 parents were eager to direct their son's course to- 
 wards the Prelacy towards the ecclesiastical digni- 
 ties to which their wealth, social standing, and family 
 history led them to look with much confidence and 
 no small share of natural vanity. Little did they 
 know of the severe but wholesome religious train- 
 ing to which Antonio had continually subjected his 
 heart. They knew not, therefore, how firmly he 
 had enthroned humility within his soul. Hence 
 they were surprised to find him resolutely, though 
 modestly, opposed to their pardonable aspiration 
 
CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 67 
 
 after 'a privileged grade' in the Priesthood. He 
 assured them that the honour of serving God in 
 the lowest rank was a privilege beyond his merits, 
 and the only one he could permit himself to aim at. 
 
 Like St. Philip Neri, he silenced all entreaties 
 to put himself on the path to lofty ( position ' by 
 exclaiming ' Paradise ! Paradise ! ' That to him was 
 the loftiest position, and he knew well that the 
 straightest road to it was by the lowly rather than 
 the high posts of this life. This induced Padre 
 Cesari to make an effort at securing in him an 
 exemplary disciple for the Congregation of the 
 Oratory. There was no need to expatiate on the 
 advantages which association with the Oratorians 
 presented. Cesari's young friend would himself 
 willingly have said more in their praise than their 
 representative did say. But that voice within, which 
 had never ceased to whisper ' Follow Me,' had not 
 yet said more ; and until it distinctly said more 
 he would bide his time. Therefore this proposal 
 of Padre Cesari fared no better than that for the 
 Prelacy. Young Rosmini would neither enter the 
 Roman Academy of nobles nor the Verona Oratory. 
 As yet God's Will did not seem to ask more than 
 the quiet continuation of his studies at home. 
 
 These studies were subordinate to the sanctifi- 
 cation of his soul means to that one end of which 
 he never lost sight. The more he studied, the more 
 he saw the need of study ; the more he prayed, the 
 more he felt the power of prayer. Attachment to 
 both increased with his years, but his greater love 
 
 F 2 
 
68 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 for prayer soon made all his studies so many 
 channels of praise and supplication to the God for 
 whose glory he thought, worked, and lived. Love 
 of practical charity in every form kept pace with his 
 love of prayer and study ; but as the generous 
 deeds which continuously proved this love 'were to 
 him an unfailing source of great spiritual solace, he 
 used to say that he alone was benefited by them. 
 
 Before the completion of his seventeenth year 
 an incipient Society of Chanty grew up around him. 
 Its members consisted of a few intimate friends 
 the more piously disposed students of his domestic 
 Academy. He framed for their use a rule, by which 
 they were held to attend before all things to their 
 own spiritual interests, and then to provide for the 
 spiritual and temporal wants of their neighbours. 
 Some of those who belonged to this forerunner of 
 the Order to which all the training of his earlier days 
 tended, became in after-years Prelates of the Church ; 
 others were destined to fill important municipal 
 posts ; while all bore through life the pious impress 
 of their early association with Antonio Rosmini. 
 
 Don Paoli considers this period of Rosmini's 
 youth to be the most typical the most abounding 
 in those ' coming events that cast their shadows 
 before.' At earlier periods the lineaments of the 
 man could easily be traced in the boy, but not the 
 special features of development which were now 
 becoming visible. His soul was, as it were, more 
 aglow with God's Grace, and all he said, or wrote, 
 or did, faithfully reflected its beams. The call to 
 
CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 69 
 
 follow Christ was promptly, joyously, and resolutely 
 obeyed, because Grace gave it. Other calls, which 
 seemed to be in keeping with this, if not its direct 
 outgrowths, were set aside, because man gave them 
 and human motives urged them. But coincident 
 with the distinct call to follow Christ was another 
 call which, as yet, he could not so clearly understand. 
 All his familiar letters of this period allude, 
 in some way or other, to ' the mysterious graces ' 
 that were vibrating within him, and ' unfolding 
 the bloom of his future.' Here is one written 
 to his cousin Leonardo Rosmini, then at the Uni- 
 versity of Padua, where he had to encounter tempta- 
 tions deemed likely to withdraw him from close as- 
 sociation with Antonio in that ' undeveloped some- 
 thing ' for which he was daily preparing himself, 
 without knowing it, or rather, to which he was 
 being led on sweetly by Grace : 
 
 You ask me for news. I have just read two sonnets in the 
 Academy, one of which you have not seen. I therefore 
 forward it to you, that you may give me your opinion upon 
 it. You would be astonished if I were to tell you how 
 many verses I have written since your departure. But I 
 have no time for such matters now ; so let us to business. 
 
 Your letter has somewhat reassured me. Oh ! never 
 trust in your own strength to accomplish great things, 
 especially when external and internal foes conspire for our 
 destruction. The combat is a weary one, and St. Paul 
 lamented it too, in that beautiful passage which he thus 
 concludes : ' Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me 
 from the body of this death ? ' (Rom. vii. 24). And we 
 what must we say after this ? 
 
7 o LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 My dear cousin Fedrigotti informs me that he is no 
 longer beguiled by amusements such, for instance, as 
 dances. Indeed, during the entire Carnival he would not 
 be even an eye-witness of these pastimes, although Don 
 Pietro made no objection to his going, and everyone else 
 was urging him to do so. 
 
 If you write to him (and he is anxious that you should), 
 I beg of you to congratulate him, on my part, for the 
 victory he has gained over himself, and which is no incon- 
 siderable one. Let him see that you take a lively interest 
 in his welfare, and encourage him to persevere. Oh! my 
 dear friend, who knows ? Who knows ? In one of my 
 sonnets I have written these three lines, and perchance to 
 this end adapted : 
 
 A shapeless block, disdained by workmen's hands, 
 
 Was that same pillar, object of Thy choice, 
 Which, smooth and bright, now in Thy temple stands. 
 
 * The foolish things of the world hath God chosen that He 
 may confound the wise ; and the weak things of the world 
 that He may confound the strong ; and the base things of 
 the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God 
 chosen, and things that are not, that He might bring to 
 naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in His 
 sight' (i Cor. i. 27-29). .... 
 ROVERETO : February 18, 
 
 The cousin whose meritorious self-conquest is so 
 skilfully commended to Leonardo's imitation was 
 one of the well- beloved few on whose co-operation 
 Antonio counted in that ' undeveloped something ' 
 which could, as yet, be only indicated by a signifi- 
 cant, * Who knows ? who knows ? ' Beyond dcubt, this 
 enigmatical, ' Who knows ? ' concealed the germ of that 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter vii. 
 
CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 71 
 
 vine of charity which subsequently expanded into the 
 Institute. For a long time he had reduced to per- 
 sonal practice the principles, and, as far as circum- 
 stances permitted, kept the rules of this Institute, 
 though it was yet but as an idea, a germ of the vine 
 Grace had planted in his soul. Day by day the vine 
 grew, and as it grew its tendrils sought to attract 
 and attach themselves to the most exemplary of his 
 friends, old and young. 
 
 The following letter to Don Luigi Sonn, while 
 giving us a special glimpse of how young Rosmini 
 spent his time in those days, shows with what earnest 
 yearning his leading idea drew him to those whose 
 lives were devoted to God, and who heartily sympa- 
 thised with any project having in view the attain- 
 ment of perfection. Don Luigi was known to be 
 one of those, and the idea hidden beneath the phrase 
 * Who knows ? ' an idea which sometimes felt the 
 blight of surrounding coldness, received fresh 
 strength when this good man decided on coming 
 to Rovereto, where he was likely to assist in the 
 development of his young friend's plans : 
 
 I have been obliged to go to Ala, to spend some days 
 with a gentleman of that place. Time passed away drearily 
 enough, I can assure you, and it seemed an age ere I got 
 home again. Far away from all I hold dear in life, with 
 my wonted regularity ruthlessly trespassed upon, I became 
 almost a prey to melancholy ; my only comfort the while 
 being to snatch to myself a few hours, when I could, now 
 and then, that I might spend them all alone in my 
 chamber, reading or in prayer. At last I have returned, 
 and read your letters with the greatest eagerness. They 
 
72 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 furnished most delicious nourishment, and were well 
 calculated to refresh the weary wanderer. 
 
 Having thus explained my silence, I proceed to answer 
 your kind letter of the 2ist instant. It has afforded me 
 one of the greatest consolations I ever experienced in 
 my life. To learn that you mean to strain every nerve in 
 order to make Rovereto your home is indeed delightful 
 news, and the more I think of it the greater is my satisfac- 
 tion. It fills me with a new life, new hope and buoyancy 
 of spirits. Oh ! how our Lord smiles on my efforts and 
 prospers my every wish, my every design. Be firm and 
 resolute, then ; and since you are yourself persuaded of the 
 desirability of the move, I will content myself with giving 
 you, on my part, a warm-hearted and earnest encourage- 
 ment. The friendship which is common to both of us urges 
 me to this. It is a friendship which exists for God and for 
 virtue's sake alone, whence it derives at once its being and its 
 strength. Finally, I will add words of prayer and entreaty. 
 You know from whom they come, and I know to whom 
 they are addressed. I will now say no more, although the 
 mere mention of the plan which I have proposed to myself, 
 wholly for the honour and glory of God, would furnish you 
 with some very cogent reasons for adhering to the resolu- 
 tion you have made. 
 ROVERETO : August 
 
 The ' plan ' thus dimly hinted at was no other 
 than a formalisation of the thoughts apostrophised 
 in the pithy ' Who knows ? ' of a former letter. 
 More than once before, he had constructed, on a 
 small scale, the framework of a religious society 
 designed to carry out the principles of orderly charity. 
 This leading idea was strong within him while he 
 drafted rules of life and horaries as long ago as when 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter ix. 
 
CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 73 
 
 he ' played at monk ' with a relish which he never had 
 for anv other amusement of his childhood. These 
 
 * 
 
 at best were immature and rudimental plans, com- 
 pared with what he could now produce ; but these, 
 such as they were, invariably set his own sanctifica- 
 tion as the first thing aimed at. Even his ardent 
 love of philosophy and of literature, in all forms that 
 tended to cultivate the mind or elevate and charm 
 the taste of man, were as nothing in the way of this 
 one predominant thought his own sanctification. 
 Human learning he prized, in so far as it led man to 
 know God better and love Him more ; but he valued 
 it not at all/or its own sake. The subjoined letter to 
 Don Pietro Orsi, on the ordinary topics of familiar 
 correspondence, will make this sufficiently clear : 
 
 On learning from yourself how much you take to heart 
 our separation, I feel grateful indeed to you; at the same 
 time, confused. From your own grief you may measure 
 mine at least you may form some conception of it ; 
 for how much more reason have I to cherish and augment 
 those sentiments of pure and holy love which I treasure up 
 in my heart for you. The bonds of an intimate friendship, 
 such as ours is, keep us thus inseparably united. Who 
 knows that in the councils of our good God a time may not 
 come when I shall be able to convince you that these senti- 
 ments are not mere empty words ? Meanwhile, I feel sure 
 that in speaking as I do to you my words will find a ready 
 acceptance, and will of themselves suffice. As to the 
 future it is idle to speak of that. 
 
 I am delighted with the news of Cobelli, although not 
 much has accrued to science from his work. One drop of 
 morality and religion is, in my estimation, worth more than 
 an ocean of human learning. 
 
74 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NL 
 
 Padre Cesari has been to see me that celebrated man, 
 whom I consider the most elegant Italian writer of the day. 
 I regret that I have not been able to enjoy his company 
 as long and as familiarly as I should have wished, for 
 there were many strangers present. I regret it, indeed, 
 very much ; but I must submit patiently to circumstances. 
 The painter Udine, who has just come from Florence to 
 see his friends, has also been with us for a considerable 
 time to-day. We conversed at some length : his know- 
 ledge of the fine arts is very good. As he is considered 
 one of the best painters, I feel proud of the reputation he 
 enjoys, for we are fellow r -countrymen. If I had two or 
 three hundred lives, I should cheerfully give one to painting. 
 I am passionately fond of this art, and at times imagine 
 myself a Raphael. How enraptured I am when I think 
 of his paintings, of his cartoons, of the countenances of 
 his Madonnas, and those of Jesus of his angels and 
 his saints ; and, when I consider his powers of invention 
 and the grouping of his figures. But it is better that my 
 enthusiasm should cool. We who die on the morrow of 
 our birth cannot hope to accomplish much. We must 
 therefore choose the better part. ' It is folly to learn super- 
 fluous things in such a dearth of time.' 
 
 Ah ! if instead of running after vanity, I were to strive 
 earnestly to please God and walk in his sight peacefully 
 and hopefully ! Could I but help my brethren in any way, 
 oh ! what a happy lot were mine ! My dear Don Pietro, 
 intercede for me with God, without whom we can do 
 nothing intercede for me that my wishes may be fully 
 realised. Yes, this it is which makes my heart throb 
 violently. It is this which sweetens and alleviates fatigue. 
 Without this the acquirement of all the arts and sciences, 
 however beautiful and sublime in themselves, would appear 
 to me distasteful, dull, and even repellent. 
 ROVERETO : September 28, i8i$. 1 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter viii. 
 
CALL TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 75 
 
 His wishes were indeed to be realised, but not 
 yet. The process of undesigned preparation had to 
 go on until every monition of Grace should meet 
 with complete and continuous response. Then 
 Providence would open the way to the will thus 
 fully formed by Grace then * the plan ' which had 
 been taking shape for years would assume the per- 
 fect form that God designed for it. But until then 
 he must continue the long and unperceived noviciate 
 within which Grace held his soul as though spell- 
 bound. In this noviciate Grace was, as it were, the 
 Master, and Prayer the Socius. With him prayer 
 had ever been a habitual, solid, deliberate outflow of 
 the mind, and not a mere impulsive gushing of the 
 heart. ' It had ever been,' says Don Paoli, ' the 
 grand means he employed to discover and do God's 
 Will, and to become great in Christian philosophy.' 
 The light of reason and that of faith were so blent 
 in him that they formed only one luminary. This 
 luminary showed him God in everything, and he 
 cared to see nothing which did not refer to God. 
 
 Such was Antonio Rosmini when he left Ro- 
 vereto College, a polished Christian student, well 
 versed in human lore, but still better in divine 
 science such was he when he responded so heartily 
 and firmly to the voice that said within him ' Follow 
 Me.' 
 
76 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ROSMINl's EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 
 (A.D. 1816.) 
 
 Why a private Lyceum, under Don Orsi, was established for Antonio 
 Rosmini The student soon outstrips his master How the pro- 
 fessor bore the superiority of his pupil, and how the pupil tried to 
 conceal it The humility of both protects their intercourse, and 
 makes their friendship life-long What each thought and said of 
 the other Rosmini's ascetic and literary studies go hand in hand 
 His correspondence on scientific subjects with experienced 
 critics Wonderful extent of his philosophical knowledge and 
 wide range of his general reading at this time His desire to be a 
 Saint Suffering and sanctity inseparable Warns a friend of the 
 dangers surrounding University life His enquiries as to the moral 
 and scholastic character of Padua Exhorts his brother to be 
 studious and virtuous When and how the grand principle of 
 Ideal Being took possession of his mind Religion the ground- 
 work and shield, and God the object of all his philosophical 
 studies. 
 
 As SOON as Rosmini's family formally sanctioned 
 the choice he hacl made, and abandoned their efforts 
 to direct his steps towards the Prelacy, they allowed 
 him to obey, as he deemed best, what was so plainly 
 a Divine call. But his parents were still anxious that 
 he should remain near them. There being no phi- 
 losophical school in Rovereto, he would have had to 
 continue his studies elsewhere, if the eager wish to 
 keep him at home as long as possible did not find a 
 means of deferring the separation. To further this 
 
HIS EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 77 
 
 affectionate design, some of the principal families in 
 the town and district agreed to unite with them in 
 establishing a private Lyceum, over which Don 
 Pietro Orsi should be invited to preside. 1 
 
 Don Orsi had such a high respect for the Ros- 
 minis, and such a sincere regard for their son, that 
 he was soon persuaded to undertake the task. In 
 a short time he was enabled to form a class, which 
 included about a dozen of the noblest youths of 
 Rovereto, Antonio Rosmini being their acknow- 
 ledged leader. Discarding the system of pedantic 
 teaching then in vogue, Orsi adopted sometimes the 
 method of the old Academicians, and sometimes 
 that of the Peripatetics ; now giving his lessons 
 while seated in a delightful garden belonging to the 
 family of one or other of his pupils, and now while 
 rambling over the Tyrolese Alps, or strolling along 
 the banks of the Adige. 
 
 It was not long before the professor discovered 
 that the philosophical knowledge of his chief disciple 
 was far in advance of his own ; at all events, that he 
 was more conversant with the works of the School- 
 men. Antonio was himself more slow to perceive 
 it ; but on at length noticing what was already clear 
 to all the others, as well as to the master, he scrupu- 
 lously avoided contradicting the amiable teacher or 
 perplexing him with difficult questions, and took 
 great care not to say or suggest anything likely to 
 
 1 This Don Orsi (a distinguished graduate of the University of 
 Vienna) was at the time engaged as tutor in the family of Rosmini's 
 cousin, Count Fedrigotti-Bossi. He afterwards became headmaster 
 of the Rovereto High School, and died at Recoaro in 1837. 
 
78 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NL 
 
 embarrass him. When replying to questions he occa- 
 sionally found it necessary to differ from the solu- 
 tions of their text-book that of Samuel Karpe 1 but 
 in showing the shortcomings of the author, he 
 cleverly diverted attention from those of his ex- 
 pounder, who, like Karpe, followed the system of 
 Locke. 
 
 As Don Orsi's main strength lay in mathe- 
 matics, Antonio took refuge from a limping philo- 
 sophy in a diligent study of the exact sciences ; not 
 that he ceased, or even diminished, his philosophical 
 studies, but that he applied himself to them apart 
 from his class, and so as not to be in conflict with 
 his master. Ere long, however, the professor and 
 pupil were fellow-students in philosophy, and all the 
 others looked for information as much to young Ros- 
 mini as to the venerable Orsi, and this without dis- 
 pleasing the teacher or disregarding the humility of 
 the student. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that these relations, which 
 in ordinary cases so often beget enmity on one 
 side and contempt on the other, left not a trace 
 of either sentiment in this master or pupil. On 
 the contrary, Don Orsi had the good sense to dis- 
 cern in this real superiority, so modestly borne, 
 sound reason for loving his disciple the more ; while 
 Antonio was equally ready to recognise in the pro- 
 fessor's patient self-control and sturdy humility fresh 
 bonds of union. Their mutual esteem, thus enhanced, 
 
 1 Karpe was * Imperial Professor ' of Philosophy in the University 
 of Vienna. 
 
HIS EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 79 
 
 was sincere and lasting. More than once in after- 
 life Rosmini gave noble evidence of this ; as, for 
 instance, by specially dedicating to Orsi his grand 
 philosophical work, the Nuovo Saggio on 'the 
 Origin of Ideas.' 
 
 So, too, in the Introduction to the philosophical 
 system he speaks of him in these kindly terms : 
 ' While I was yet a boy, and my mind was but poorly 
 equipped for the effort, I ventured into philosophical 
 questions with a daring somewhat characteristic of 
 youth. My guide was Pietro Orsi, a man little known 
 to the world, but never to be forgotten by me. Day 
 and night I roamed through flowery paths, as it 
 were, in the vast demesne of philosophical lore, 
 feeling all that joy which the first scientific aspect of 
 truth infuses into the soul, feeling that security which 
 borders on hardihood, feeling those indefinite hopes 
 peculiar to youth when for the first time turning, 
 with elevated and conscious reflection, to the universe 
 and its Creator, thinking to absorb the one and the 
 other as easily as we breathe. No difficulty daunted 
 me ; nay, difficulties but inflamed my ardour, because 
 in every difficulty I saw a secret calculated to arouse 
 my curiosity, a treasure to discover. I noted down 
 daily the results of that artless and as yet inex- 
 perienced liberty to indulge in philosophical specula- 
 tions, knowing that I thus stored up seeds which 
 should bud forth in all the after-labours of my life 
 on earth. In truth, all the productions of my maturer 
 years were the outgrowth of those seeds. 5 1 
 
 1 Introdttzione alia Ftlosqfia, 'Disc, agli Am.,' p. 116. 
 
8o LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Although Rosmini devoted himself most assidu- 
 ously to philosophical and kindred studies during the 
 two seasons (1815-16) that he remained under the 
 guidance of Don Orsi, he never found it necessary 
 to curtail any of his devotional exercises, nor to 
 abandon his ascetical readings, nor to interrupt the 
 correspondence which he held with various persons 
 on religious or literary subjects. It was during this 
 period that he wrote to his friend Scrinzi the pro- 
 found reflections on Dante's Divina Commedia 
 which were so highly esteemed by his contempo- 
 raries, and the comments on the Monarckia, which 
 they deemed beyond the powers of one so young 
 and so little acquainted with actual politics. It was 
 then, too, that he discoursed so learnedly on mathe- 
 matics and literature, in letters to Beltrami, that it 
 is very difficult to understand how he contrived to 
 master such an extensive range of reading in such a 
 short time. 
 
 The difficulty is increased by a perusal of the 
 erudite letters he was all the while writing to Tevini 
 and others on his favourite theme, philosophy, treat- 
 ing especially of ' the division of the knowable into 
 objective and subjective, intellectual and material ; ' 
 meaning in the first division the ideal and the real, 
 and in the second the experimental and the rational. 
 He has himself thus explained how he could do so 
 much, or rather so well do so many things together 
 ' When things are done methodically and perse- 
 veringly, a short time yields a great deal of profit- 
 able work.' 
 
HIS EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 81 
 
 Whatever the subject on which he wrote, there 
 was always thrown around it a halo of religion ; but 
 this was so skilfully done that it never seemed forced 
 or out of place. In all the letters of his youth, as 
 in those of later days, his heartfelt desire for sanctity 
 can be easily traced ; but it is only in those to his 
 special religious circle that the feeling comes forth 
 strongly expressed. Indeed, he managed to disguise 
 it somewhat when writing to strangers or to casual 
 correspondents ; for he did not wish that more than 
 a select few should have the means of penetrating 
 within the sanctuary of his heart. The reason of 
 this may be found in the closing sentence of the 
 following letter, written while he was detained at 
 home by a slight illness, and meant to console a fellow 
 sufferer- his religious confidant, Don Luigi Sonn : 
 
 As I am an invalid myself, and cannot go to see you, 
 I must write, and so we shall derive mutual comfort from 
 each other's words. I mean to speak briefly to you of what 
 should be a source of consolation to both of us. Our infir- 
 mities, viewed in a proper light, are rather blessings than 
 otherwise. Ah ! to one who loves God, as we are seeking 
 to do, the evils of the present life are nothing short of real 
 favours. How much cf the debt we owe to our Lord may 
 we not liquidate, while still on earth, by a few moments of 
 suffering, endured with resignation, humility, and love of 
 God ! How much pain and suffering we may thus spare 
 ourselves in the life to come ! The Saints longed and sighed 
 to suffer, and besought God to this effect, with tears in 
 their eyes, as I have read in their lives ; nor could I myself 
 refrain from weeping while doing so. And when their 
 prayers were heard, it seemed as though they had become 
 more humble in the sight of God ; and it seemed as though 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
82 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 He, at the same time, had drawn so much nearer to them that 
 He appeared to be by their side, administering words of 
 sweetest consolation as a friend and a brother. Oh ! the 
 words of soothing comfort that come from God ! 
 
 And when the Saints raised their thoughts to Jesus 
 Christ, their master, pattern, and exemplar, what ineffable 
 sweetness filled their hearts ! They saw Him to be so 
 great and humble and patient in His sufferings, and then saw 
 that their own afflictions were as a shadow when compared 
 with those endured by their Redeemer and Brother. Hence 
 it was that they ever gloried in their sufferings for Jesus' 
 sake. The heavier and the more painful the cross, the 
 more closely did it seem to them that they followed Him 
 and the more perfectly that they copied Him. 
 
 I once read of a poor woman who was afflicted with a 
 dreadful cancer. She had been for a long time in a state 
 of despondency and wretchedness, when a holy man came 
 one day to see her, and spoke to her of Jesus Christ. From 
 that one visit she derived the greatest consolation and 
 strength. Although she had been in the most abject 
 poverty, and had lain on a bed of sickness for more than 
 thirty years, where she was tormented by the most heart- 
 rending sufferings (from which she afterwards died) this 
 poor creature always maintained her cheerfulness and 
 serenity of mind, and used to say that no one could persuade 
 her that she was less happy than the great and mighty 
 ones of the earth. 
 
 True, we are not Saints ; really, when I hear this objec- 
 tion made I feel much grieved, and am wont to reply confi- 
 dently that God can make us Saints, and I sincerely trust, 
 in the merits of Jesus Christ, that He will do so, for we 
 have a right, every one of us, to become Saints, and the 
 path to sanctity and glory is open alike to all. Yes, this 
 is my hope, and we shall attain to it if we pray without 
 ceasing, and recommend ourselves to God and to Jesus 
 Christ and to His Holy Mother and all the Saints. Do you 
 pray for me, and I will pray for you. 
 
 
HIS EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 83 
 
 I beg of you not to show this letter to such as entertain 
 sentiments different from our own, ' lest truth should be 
 evil spoken of.' 
 
 ROVERETO : January 29, I8I6. 1 
 
 With another friend, then at the University of 
 Padua, he thus held counsel more like a venerable 
 pastor than a youth of eighteen ; but his friend 
 Demetrio Leonardi would have been surprised, 
 and even shocked, had the good Antonio written 
 in any other strain ; for he was known to them all 
 as having ' the head of a sage on the shoulders of a 
 boy.' 
 
 You do well to lay aside all formality between us. For- 
 mality only serves to dim and shroud sincerity, that bright- 
 est ornament of all friendship. Hence, I claim and insist 
 on cordiality as indispensable to our friendship. As for 
 the other matters of which you write, I clearly perceive 
 that you maintain the sound judgment and good sense 
 which have ever characterised you. And though I always 
 felt persuaded that such would be the case, yet it is consol- 
 ing to have proof of it. This renders me more and more 
 attached to you. For, alas ! far different are the customs 
 which prevail where you are now residing. But such is the 
 condition of all large cities ; nor can we apply a more fitting 
 remedy than you yourself suggest, when you say we should 
 form around us a little world of our own. This we may do 
 by eschewing the crowd of fast young men ; by not admit- 
 ting to an intimate friendship any of those who, perhaps, 
 only follow us as the vultures do their prey. Let us be 
 courteous and affable towards all, lovers of solitude and 
 retirement, as far as circumstances will permit, and earnest 
 in treading the path of sanctity. 
 
 Application and labour are also efficacious means for 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter x. 
 
 G 2 
 
B 4 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 enabling us to live securely. We thus remove the occasions 
 of sin ; we live happy and contented with ourselves and are 
 free from the inquietude of remorse, which is nothing else 
 than our own concience unceasingly upbraiding us. Doubt- 
 less, you make use already of such efficient means. You 
 are pious, and you love your religion. You frequent the 
 lectures, and, what is more, you take a pleasure in them ; 
 and hence, for your recreation, you choose what is profitable 
 and instructive. 
 
 I shall be glad to hear from you, at your convenience, an 
 account of the state of the University, of the Professors who 
 fill the different chairs, and especially of your own Pro- 
 fessors. Let me also hear again from you about your 
 studies, and about the morality of the place. Meanwhile, 
 believe me to be your sincere friend, desirous only of your 
 welfare. ' 
 
 ROVERETO : February 7, I8I6. 1 
 
 The inquiries with which the letter finishes were 
 for no idle purpose. Preparations were already in 
 progress for sending Antonio himself to Padua, and 
 he desired to have that sort of information which 
 parents, rather than children, usually seek. Most 
 youths who are about to enter a University are 
 mainly interested in knowing something as to com 
 fortable chambers, academic costume, popular sports 
 and pleasant society ; or something as to the salu- 
 brity of the place, the quality of the food and the 
 temper of the college dons ; or something with refer- 
 ence to the best means of avoiding severe study, 
 and spending the time gleefully ; or something as 
 to the countless small matters which never troubled 
 him. He craved to know only how the University 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xi. 
 
HIS EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 85 
 
 maintained its repute as a great public school, 
 and how well the purity of its moral atmosphere 
 was preserved. 
 
 His brother, still in a discouraging state of 
 health, had just gone to complete a college course 
 in Verona, and thither Antonio's prized exhor- 
 tations speedily followed him. These were full of 
 the sedate sense and solid counsel which would have 
 been * passing strange ' in any other of his years ; 
 but, in him, they were perfectly consistent. Though 
 older friends knew the special requirements of that 
 brother on whom the family now depended for the 
 continuation of its line, no other would have touched 
 them so effectually, or been listened to so attentively. 
 Giuseppe Rosmini was virtuous, but his weakly 
 health made practical piety a burden and study less 
 agreeable than irksome. Here is how Antonio 
 stimulated and directed him. 
 
 I have to reply to your welcome letter, from which I 
 learn your satisfaction at finding yourself where you are. 
 This is, indeed, joyful news for me, and comes to sweeten 
 the bitterness of our separation, which I must confess I feel 
 exceedingly. It seems as though our Lord were assisting 
 you in an especial manner, and thus answering the prayers 
 I have always poured forth and still continue to offer 
 up in your behalf. Yes, it seems as though that little corner 
 of Verona were marked out especially for you. There you 
 will advance in piety arid learning, provided you have the 
 proper dispositions. And may God grant that you become 
 the man I so ardently wish you to be, a pattern to your 
 fellow-citizens a pattern to all humble, charitable, kind ; 
 in a word, moulded on virtue and Christian piety, while, 
 at the same time, a lover of all that is beautiful and good, 
 
86 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 a man of letters devoted to study, especially to the literature 
 of Rome. 
 
 Oh ! how sweetly and profitably the life of the diligent 
 student passes away ! In his silent occupations he is a lively 
 image of contentment and of the happiness it is per- 
 mitted man to enjoy here below. How hard of heart are 
 those who, while immersed in Tullius and Horace and 
 Virgil or other classical writers of our own Italy, taste none 
 of their pure delights, and fail to be touched by any of the 
 beauties which such authors breathe. It appears to me 
 almost impossible that there should be students so unim- 
 passioned, so insensible, so utterly indifferent to the charms 
 of the classics, regarding them as matters of no moment. 
 Do not you be of their number I entreat you, but, on the 
 contrary, seek to drink deeply of the classics and to culti- 
 vate a great esteem for them, as well as a refined and deli- 
 cate sense of whatever is beautiful in literature, as did our 
 own Clementino, and also Casa, Bembo, and nearly all the 
 best writers of the fifteenth century. In short, next to 
 Religion, let your first care be study and Literature. 
 Read and re-read the classics (oh ! that I had time to do 
 so, too !) ; let your every thought, your every affection and 
 desire be to advance in all knowledge. 
 
 I rejoice to hear that good discipline reigns in the college, 
 and am especially pleased to learn that you write a good 
 deal ; for writing much is, as the rhetoricians say, the best 
 preceptor of the art of writing well. I do not dislike emu- 
 lation as we see it in children ; however, let it be confined 
 to children. On your part study with earnestness and zeal ; 
 but let your motives be far nobler than mere emulation ; 
 let them be as they ought to be, for the glory of God, your 
 own profit, and for the beauty and sweetness of the studies 
 themselves. Then let your amiable and intelligent master 
 direct you in everything. 
 
 I am much obliged to you for answering the questions 
 I put to you about Cesari, and am delighted that he is so 
 friendly to you. Hold fast to him, and especially to the 
 
HIS EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 87 
 
 counsels he gives you in all that regards morality and reli- 
 gion. And, speaking on this subject, you can do nothing 
 more agreeable to me than to tell me something, in your 
 next, as to your spiritual director, &c. ; for, as I wish to 
 know everything about my friends, how much more do I 
 desire and expect to be informed about you, who are not 
 only the dearest of my friends but also my brother. 
 
 We and our studies are getting on well in this quarter. 
 Philosophy and the contemplation of nature (the latter 
 made, as now it is, in the cool hours of these lovely morn- 
 ings), far from wearying us, form such an agreeable recrea- 
 tion that I should not be disposed to sacrifice it for any 
 other. Thus wandering about, like the disciples of Aristotle, 
 we always find in this our picturesque neighbourhood new 
 and delightful retreats. To me everything is new, owing to 
 the retired life I have hitherto led at home ; everything 
 appears to me of singular beauty, and gives me intense 
 pleasure. 
 
 With regard to my private occupations : Having dis- 
 patched my literary correspondence with some friends and 
 finished the little pamphlets of which you are aware, I 
 resumed the composition of a discourse on the ' Utility and 
 Necessity of Cultivating the Faculty of Reason.' The more I 
 advance the more new matter I find, so that when I fancy 
 myself to be approaching the end I discover that I have still 
 a great way to travel. 
 ROVERETO : May u, i8i6. J 
 
 Giuseppe already well knew how eagerly his 
 affectionate brother pursued the studies he looked 
 upon as holding the key to all human know- 
 ledge ; but that hurried glimpse of what he was 
 doing had a home charm which linked Rovereto 
 with Verona and made the exhortation to study 
 more effective. About the very time that Antonio 
 
 Letter xii. 
 
88 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 was, himself, thus laboriously groping his way to 
 1 the end,' a sudden flash of genius, if not a revela- 
 tion, so illumined the course that he could clearly 
 see ' the open portal of philosophical truth.' The 
 incident is very noteworthy, though destitute of all 
 the dramatic attractions which give startling effect to 
 the ' biographical episodes ' of worldly heroes. 
 
 Stirring events hardly ever usher in the birth of 
 a grand discovery in knowledge, which is ordinarily 
 brought forth under circumstances as tame and un- 
 romantic as those that found Newton catching at the 
 law of gravitation, or Watt solving the problem of 
 steam. But these discoveries none the less bring 
 stirring events in their train, and sometimes wholly 
 revolutionise human systems of science and industry. 
 Rosmini's mind seized the grand principle of Ideal 
 Being under circumstances partly in keeping with 
 those that have produced the most important dis- 
 coveries known to science, and partly with those 
 that had the qualities of a Divine Revelation. Let 
 the reader judge ; for we shall record the incident as 
 he told it himself to Don Paoli, many years after it 
 had taken place. 
 
 One of the least frequented streets in Rovereto 
 
 in those days was an avenue called Terra, in which 
 
 x persons of wealth and rank had residences carefully 
 
 railed in or walled off from ' noisy business.' : While 
 
 1 Before Rovereto outgrew its village dimensions, and while it had 
 but a few houses at either side of the road that ran through the Castle 
 estate or terra, this road was known as the Terra or Estate road. When 
 the Venetians, in the fifteenth century, took the castle and gradually 
 enlarged the village, other roads soon stretched beyond the bounds of 
 
HIS EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 89 
 
 passing homeward slowly, thoughtfully, and all alone 
 through this quiet street, one evening after a ' philo- 
 sophical excursion ' with Don Orsi and his pupils, 
 young Rosmini allowed his mind to speculate freely 
 on a variety of things. Now his attention was held 
 by one mental object, and now by another. Sud- 
 denly he perceived that each object was far from 
 being simple. ' On the contrary,' said he, when ex- 
 plaining the circumstance to Don Paoli, 'each 
 object appeared to me in itself a group of many 
 objects. But, on looking more closely into the 
 matter, I saw that these, instead of being many 
 objects, should have been called many determina- 
 tions of one object, more universal and less deter- 
 minate, their common container. Then, by re- 
 peating on this object the very analysis I had 
 applied to the others, I found that it was itself 
 in the same condition, and that when divested, 
 by means of abstraction, of those less definite de- 
 terminations, which it still retained, it appeared to 
 me as a new object, still more universal and less 
 determinate than the former. I say new in refe- 
 rence to my intuition (because I had not as yet 
 looked at its new aspect), but not as being new 
 in itself; for it was the container not only of the 
 object which my mind had under analysis, but 
 also of the others that had been previously ana- 
 lysed. By continuing this process I discovered 
 
 the garrison, and these received names that were changed from time 
 to time, but the original road always retained the name (Terra) which 
 had been previously given to the whole estate. 
 
9 o LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 that, no matter what the point of departure might 
 be, I was invariably brought to the most univer- 
 sal object Ideal Being destitute of all determina- 
 tions whatever, so that I found it no longer pos- 
 sible to abstract anything from it without annihil- 
 ating thought, and at once I saw that this object 
 was the universal container of all the objects on 
 which my mind had already rested. I then under- 
 took the process of verification. This consisted in 
 seeking to discover which determinations of indeter- 
 minate being were the first possible, and then which 
 came next, and so on to the last. By these means I 
 discovered that synthesis brought up again before 
 my intellectual vision all those objects which analysis 
 had caused to disappear gradually from it. Then 
 it was that I became convinced that indeterminate 
 ideal being must be the first truth, the first thing seen 
 by immediate intuition, and the universal means 
 of all acquired knowledge, whether perceptive or 
 intuitive.' 
 
 Such were the profound cogitations of Antonio 
 Rosmini in his eighteenth year ; such the fruit and 
 the evidence of his intense application to the studies 
 that led him to know aright the works of God and 
 to worship Him the more ardently. In too many 
 instances abstruse speculations of this kind have 
 made sad havoc with the piety of old as well as 
 young hearts ; but, so far from diminishing Rosmini's 
 religious fervour they increased and strengthened it. 
 As Don Paoli tells us, it was the ardour of his re- 
 ligious spirit that suggested and sustained his philo- 
 
HIS EARLIEST PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 91 
 
 sophical research ; and this in return brightened and 
 fortified his religious spirit. Never did he apply his 
 mind to discover anything from mere curiosity, and 
 the bare suggestion of acquiring knowledge for the 
 vain purpose of appearing learned would have horri- 
 fied him. Pure love of God evoked and ever di- 
 rected his love of philosophy, and if he thought that 
 man whom he loved in and for God should de- 
 rive no benefits from the truths he set himself 
 to establish against the enemies of God's Church, 
 he would have abandoned his efforts as no longer 
 having an object worthy of the love that dictated 
 them. As in the greatest things, so in the smallest, 
 all he did or attempted had in view the glory of God 
 and the good of man. 
 
92 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ROSMINl ENTERS THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA AS A 
 THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 
 
 (A.D. 1816-1817.) 
 
 St. Francis of Sales and Antonio of Rovereto Similarity of their 
 University life What the students and professors thought of 
 Rosmini, and what he thought of them His special companions 
 and their special qualities Tommaseo How to live in the 
 University with the regularity of cloistered monks He tells his 
 mother how religion assuages grief Takes the Bachelor's degree 
 and returns home for his first vacation Resumes his course at 
 Padua with permission to wear the dress of an ecclesiastical student 
 With what solemn earnestness he took the clerical habit In- 
 tense love of purity and distrust of ' the world.' 
 
 TOWARDS the end of 1816 Antonio Rosmini was 
 sent to Padua, in order to study theology and com- 
 plete his philosophical course. Although his parents 
 no longer sought to interfere with his vocation, they 
 were not without some lingering hope that residence 
 in the famous city, and close association with the 
 ambitious students of its old University, might lead 
 him to reconsider his resolution. 
 
 Just two hundred and sixty- two years previously, 
 a comely youth of the same age (and who was also 
 1 the heir and pride of a lordly house,') had been 
 sent to Padua, with a like hope on the part of his 
 parents, who fancied that a course of jurisprudence, 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 93 
 
 in the great mediaeval law school, might wean him 
 from love of the Ecclesiastical State. That youth 
 was St. Francis of Sales, whose virtues and even 
 personal habits were so thoroughly reproduced in 
 Antonio Rosmini, that the University life of the one 
 bears a marvellous resemblance to that of the other. 
 This resemblance may, indeed, be somewhat incom- 
 plete as regards the qualities of their studies, but it 
 is perfect in whatever relates to an uninterrupted 
 recollection of God's presence, and the unceasing 
 self-control and prayerfulness which this necessitates. 
 
 Although Rosmini entered the University as a 
 Theological Student, he did not wear the ecclesiasti- 
 cal habit. They who believed that there was yet a 
 possibility of something occurring which might 
 retain him in the ranks of the laity, supposed that all 
 chance of this would utterly disappear if the cle- 
 rical dress were formally assumed. These good 
 people failed to see that his soul was already so 
 vested in the robe of his vocation that it mattered 
 little what garb his body wore. But he, knowing 
 this, willingly humoured the desire of his parents, and 
 consented to remain without the cassock as long as 
 possible. Besides, their preference had its advantages. 
 
 The habiliments of a layman left him unem- 
 barrassed in the pursuit of knowledge, outside of the 
 theological curriculum. Accordingly, he attended as 
 many non-theological lectures as he could without loss 
 to his regular course. This afforded him a more ex- 
 tensive opportunity of imparting, unconsciously, that 
 edification which one so young, so noble, so engaging, 
 
94 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 so pious, so talented and so diligent could not fail to 
 give. Among the classes thus attended was that of 
 medicine, in which he took a profound interest. Dr. 
 Baroni of Rovereto, who was then attached to the 
 medical school in Padua, relates how learnedly 
 Antonio used to converse with him on the mysteries 
 of life, and what an advantage his theological read- 
 ings gave him over those who could handle the sub- 
 ject only from the physician's point of view. 1 
 
 His contemporaries have borne witness that no 
 collegian, during his time, was so generally known 
 and so universally loved in Padua as Antonio Ros- 
 mini. Every lecture-room had for him a place, and 
 all the professors held him in the highest esteem. 
 Students in every branch of study vied with one 
 another to possess his friendship and do him honour. 
 The exceptions to this rule would have enabled a 
 Paduan of those days to discover the students who 
 loved the gaieties of society more than their books, 
 or the students who deemed indifference to religious 
 duties an evidence of ' mental independence/ Be- 
 tween him and such as these there was nothing in 
 common, but the fact of having been together at the 
 
 1 'He used to lament deeply that one of the principal evils of 
 society, in the present age, is the false method on which so many 
 study medicine, whence arise impiety and libertinism, and frequent ill 
 success in the treatment of diseases. On this account he ardently 
 desired a radical reform of this art, as may be seen in \&s Antropologia 
 and Psicologia, and he desired that all its professors should be 
 animated by a Christian spirit. For this purpose he maintained some 
 medical students at his own expense at the University, with the inten- 
 tion of appointing them to attend the sick in hospitals that he designed 
 to open.' An outline of the Life of Antonio Rosmini, translated from 
 the Italian and edited by Rev. W. Lockhart, p. 83. London, 1856. 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 95 
 
 same University. The most distinguished professors 
 of that day and place spontaneously and cordially 
 acknowledged the grandeur of his genius, the depth 
 of his knowledge, and the solidity of his virtues. 
 These professors included such men as Cappellari, 
 Bishop of Vicenza, who taught him dogmatic theo- 
 logy, and Baldinotti, one of the most astute meta- 
 physicians of the period. 1 
 
 After Rosmini had been long enough in the Uni- 
 versity to form an opinion of men and things within 
 it, he wrote to his father in high terms of his own 
 masters and fellow-pupils, while to his uncle he sent 
 * a description of the place,' as * the hotel of letters 
 and of the Latin muses.' But it seemed to him, 
 nevertheless, that Latin was not treated there with 
 the homage it deserved ; for he found Italian so 
 universally spoken as the language of the classes, 
 that few students thought it desirable to cultivate a 
 close acquaintance with the mother tongue. 
 
 Those of his own immediate circle were much 
 given to the old language, and this, doubtless, was 
 a bond of union between them. It was, however, 
 the least of the ties that held them dear to him : he 
 prized them most because they were estimable in 
 character and decided lovers of God. Some of those 
 who belonged to that ' immediate circle ' have gained 
 distinction in Italian literature, and some have won 
 a place in his own published correspondence which 
 has ensured their memories a long future. Amongst 
 
 1 Tommaseo records this evidence in the Cronica Contempor. 
 Torino, 1855. 
 
96 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 them were Tommaseo of Sebenico (author of a 
 dictionary of synonyms and other standard Italian 
 works), Alessandro Para via (afterwards a distin- 
 guished professor in the University of Turin), Appol- 
 lonia of Cividale (subsequently a popular master in 
 the Seminary of Udine) and Uzielli of Livorno, a 
 young Jew of great talent and virtue, from whom 
 Rosmini obtained much useful information touching 
 Hebrew literature and customs. 
 
 For some time, Tommaseo was the nearest to 
 him of all who composed the ' immediate circle ' of 
 fellow-students. One can easily see why this pre- 
 ference existed, when told that Tommaseo, though 
 eccentric in many ways, was not only, like all the 
 others, very steady in his habits, very diligent in 
 his studies, and very learned, but also, unlike the 
 others, very * little favoured by fortune.' Collegians 
 who were practical moralists, or lived in strict accord- 
 ance with the obligations of the Church, thereby 
 earned a special right to Rosmini's esteem and 
 friendship. But they who loved to join him every 
 morning in hearing Mass, and every evening in the 
 recital of the Rosary, or in other devotions they who 
 went with him frequently to the Sacraments of 
 Penance and Communion they who liked to live in 
 the world with the regularity of cloistered monks 
 these had the strongest claims upon his affection and 
 his confidence. 
 
 Tommaseo was one of these, with the additional 
 qualification of being poor and desiring to remain in 
 that condition. He so prized the privations which 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 97 
 
 attend poverty that Antonio could not induce him 
 to part with them, ' lest his humility might be en- 
 dangered.' They lodged in the same house, Ros- 
 mini's apartments being such as the bounty of a 
 wealthy father insisted on his occupying, while those 
 of Tommaseo were not only comparatively mean but 
 unhealthily situated. Knowing this, Rosmini, with 
 hearty good will, repeatedly requested his friend to 
 share in the spacious accommodation provided for 
 himself; but he preferred to continue with what a 
 companion (Gozzi) described as ' the poverty that is 
 made magnificent by soul-felt resignation to God's 
 Will.' 1 In a letter to his mother, Antonio styled 
 Tommaseo 'a prodigy.' When their college days 
 were passed, this ' prodigy' who loved his young 
 friend ardently attached himself to Rosmini in the 
 quality of literary secretary ; but, for all that he was 
 regarded and treated as a member of the family, 
 he never abandoned his love of personal lowliness, 
 though he more than once resented, whimsically, the 
 notion of being dependent on others. 
 
 Before Rosmini had well settled down to his 
 studies, a letter from home informed him that the 
 air of Verona brought about no marked improve- 
 ment in his brother's health. This news was all 
 the more affecting, as he felt that the choice of 
 life he himself had been inspired to make, would 
 cause his brother's state to weigh the more heavily, 
 on his parents' mind. He at once wrote to his 
 mother offering no mere boyish sympathy to soften 
 
 1 La Giomne Etd di Rosmini. J. Bernardi. 
 VOL. I. H 
 
98 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 her grief, but that loftier and sturdier condolence 
 which points to religion as the only true sweetener 
 of what human nature deems bitter : 
 
 Lo ! just at this moment a long letter brought to me 
 from home by three Roveretans. I open it on the instant 
 and recognise my dear father's handwriting, and find en- 
 closed another from my dear mother. A precious gift 
 indeed for me. But alas ! the tidings of my brother's ill 
 health cause me the deepest and sincerest sorrow. Never- 
 theless, blessed be God in all things ! He from Whom 
 springs every blessing knows well why He sometimes min- 
 gles evil with good. Let us repose confidently in Him. 
 The heart that looks to God and leans on Him finds there 
 such comfort and such strength that not only the multitude, 
 but also those who pass for philosophers, regard it as a 
 marvel not to be credited. 
 
 Let men say if they will, aye let them boast that it is 
 characteristic of human nature to feel and smart under 
 affliction ; meanwhile, he who is conversant with the pro- 
 digies of religion knows how the Christian finds in his God 
 not only medicine to alleviate his sorrows but ineffable 
 consolation. Thus, when the clouds of bitter anguish have 
 passed away, a clear and bright serenity ensues, accompanied 
 by an inexpressible sweetness which often finds a solace 
 even in tears. However, the wise and virtuous conduct of 
 our Giuseppe would of itself be sufficient to soothe my grief. 
 If all have reason to feel contented with him (as my father 
 assures me ye have), I not least have cause for the com- 
 pletest satisfaction. For my part, I shall not fail to recom- 
 mend him to God ; nay, I have him always present to my 
 mind when I go to prayer, praying for myself and for him 
 as for one identical person. God is very good and will hear 
 our prayers. 
 
 The news that Lorenzi is coming amongst us is joyful 
 beyond measure. I request you to congratulate this worthy 
 friend of ours most warmly on my behalf. With what joy 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 99 
 
 will he not be hailed here in Padua, by the students of the 
 University. It will, doubtless, be in a manner that can 
 leave him little cause for dissatisfaction. Their esteem for 
 him is very great. And who could do otherwise than vene- 
 rate the rival of Cornelius. Oh ! good Lorenzi (suffer me 
 to apostrophise thee, while my enthusiasm is aroused and 
 carries me away !) O good Lorenzi, come amongst us ! 
 Mayhap the honoured shades of the illustrious men of last 
 century who, treading the path of glory, addressed the citi- 
 zens of Livy in the pure language of Tullius, will silently 
 exult in their tombs at seeing thee thus grace with thy pre- 
 sence the city that gave them birth. 
 PADUA: January 29, i8i7. x 
 
 The Abate Lorenzi, who is here so fervidly 
 alluded to, was formerly one of his professors in the 
 Rovereto College, and stood so high amongst the 
 Latinists of the time that they who longed for a 
 healthy revival of Latin learning in Padua set 
 much store on his co-operation. In the efforts he 
 subsequently made to restore the old classics, young 
 Rosmini was one of his most efficient supporters. 
 The aid thus given in no way impeded the progress 
 of Antonio's theological course ; for, though he 
 studied in every branch of learning, and set apart 
 much time for correspondence and for literary produc- 
 tions of various kinds, he did all with such admirable 
 order, both as to the division of work and hours, that 
 he was never much pressed for time or forced to do 
 anything in a perfunctory manner. And never did 
 he begin a task or a duty of any kind never did he 
 turn from one study to another, or go from one 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xiii. 
 H 2 
 
ioo LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 lecture-room to another, or change his labours in 
 any form, without saying aloud or mentally a short 
 prayer. To God he offered everything he did or 
 attempted to do, and from God he expected whatever 
 success attended his efforts ; but, when no success 
 followed, or when it was less than he hoped for, the 
 failure, too, was accepted as from God. 
 
 Six months after young Rosmini had entered the 
 University he took the Bachelor's degree ' with 
 honour.' The event so little elated him, in the way 
 that worldly usage made popular/ that he would not 
 permit his friends to celebrate it, except as he himself 
 hallowed it, by a special thanksgiving in the church 
 of St. Anthony. 
 
 With his University dignity fresh upon him, he 
 went home for the summer vacation of 1817. He 
 would have kept the honour hidden if he could, for 
 the plaudits of society oppressed him, and while he 
 was glad to see his father and mother pleased, he 
 had otherwise little liking for the congratulations 
 which met him at Rovereto, where a University 
 degree had a meaning above its value. To him it 
 was merely as the formal mark that the first stage in 
 his course was passed, and that he was entitled to 
 the vacation which immediately followed. This 
 vacation implied an intermission of study; but he 
 took care that it brought no repose to him ; for he 
 merely changed the subjects of study without dimin- 
 ishing the closeness of his application. 
 
 When about to return to Padua he reminded his 
 parents that, having already spent a season in the. 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 101 
 
 University without the vesture that should denote 
 his vocation, the time had come for assuming it. 
 This was a matter of far deeper significance to him 
 than all * the honour ' connected with a Bachelor's 
 degree. Much to his delight, the permission he 
 sought was granted without hesitation, for no 
 one any longer supposed that there was the least 
 use in further delay. 
 
 Accordingly, on re-entering the Theological 
 Faculty, he at once took the habit of an ecclesi- 
 astic. The solemnity with which he invested the 
 act stood out in reproachful contrast with the 
 more matter-of-course style too common amongst 
 ecclesiastical students, even of the best ordinary 
 type, like his cousin Fedrigotti who had already 
 left Padua and given up his vocation. When at the 
 University this young noble attached no importance 
 to 'the scholastic assumption of the clerical habit/ 
 and though a good, and, withal, a sensible youth, he 
 thought as lightly of the seductive influences which 
 attend worldly excitements, arguing that the cassock 
 could confer no virtue, and social fascinations did not 
 necessarily lead to sin. No sooner had Antonio 
 received the cassock than he wrote to inform his 
 kinsman of this change of dress, as a something of 
 grave importance, and took occasion to add a whole- 
 some warning against the dangers that beset those 
 who deal too confidently with the allurements of 
 worldly society : 
 
 To-day I wear for the first time the clerical habit. 
 May God, who has called me to serve Him in His taber- 
 
102 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 nacle, grant me a pure heart, an elevated mind, and a 
 soul full of zeal, that I may not be wanting in an office so 
 sublime. Pray for me, I beg of you, to this end, as I never 
 cease to do every moment myself, for I feel the heavy 
 burden that has been laid upon my shoulders. I trust con- 
 fidently in Him through Whom I have entered the sheep- 
 fold. I also commend you continually to our Lord that 
 we may both walk together in His sight, and although by 
 diverse paths, not with diversity of purpose. 
 
 The students here at Padua, however much they regret 
 having lost you, approve, nevertheless, your new resolve, in 
 the event of your not having been called to the career upon 
 which you had first entered. 
 
 I shall be happy to hear how your studies progress. I 
 ardently wish you to make constant proficiency both in 
 knowledge and piety. Shun, more than death itself, that 
 which is the most pestilential of all the vices of youth ; for 
 nothing is easier than to fall, while nothing is more difficult 
 than to rise again. May the Blessed and most pure Virgin 
 protect you amid the many dangers to which, by the mere 
 force of circumstances, you are now exposed. 
 
 PADUA : November 7, 1817.* 
 
 Like St. Stanislas Kostka, he ever felt, and his 
 whole life proved, that ' the greater the devotion to 
 the Immaculate Virgin, the greater the splendour of 
 purity in holy souls.' Hence he never lost an oppor- 
 tunity of directing those he loved to revere and look 
 up to the Mother most Chaste the Virgin of 
 Virgins. Milton, who so little understood the safe- 
 guards which Catholic piety provides for this 
 ' brightest gem in the diadem of sanctity/ sang its 
 praises without supposing that it ever required more 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xiv. 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 103 
 
 than ordinary care to keep it secure when in contact 
 with social defilements. 
 
 So dear to heaven is saintly chastity, 
 That, when a soul is found sincerely so, 
 A thousand liveried angels lackey her. 
 
 But Rosmini, who had kept this virtue unspotted from 
 the cradle to the grave, never heard without great 
 pain that any of his young friends were thrown into 
 the whirl of worldly society ; for there, too surely, 
 would be many occasions in which the delicate 
 bloom of purity must run the risk of being sullied 
 by the breath of unbecoming conversations many 
 occasions when the eye as well as the ear would have 
 its sensitive modesty shocked many occasions when 
 social usage, without seeming to infringe any of the 
 proprieties, would smooth the path for the infringe- 
 ment of them all. 
 
 In later days Rosmini said more than once : 
 ' When a youth is thrown into worldly society where he 
 has often to hear impious doctrines, wicked maxims, 
 abuses and calumnies against the Church and her 
 Ministers when he is placed where his good habits 
 may be subverted and he himself gradually depraved 
 alas ! how soon he gives attention to the lying 
 words of seducers ! How plausible they at first 
 seem, and, afterwards, how like the truth ! Then 
 how speedily he loses the Faith which he had 
 imbibed, as it were, at his mother's breast! His 
 heart, once it is corrupted, seeks only the dark- 
 ness in which he longs to hide from himself his 
 
io 4 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 own moral turpitude; and this darkness which the 
 devil, by his agents, diffuses so densely is welcomed 
 with a joy not unlike that felt by the thief or the 
 assassin, who hails a murky and tempestuous night 
 as the safest for thefts or other crimes.' 1 
 
 Again, on another solemn occasion we find him 
 speaking thus : ' See the frivolous World, with its 
 pompous raiment and flashing adornments, its 
 immodest deportment and insipid courtesy, its loose 
 sayings and wanton intimacies, its tables laden with 
 delicate viands and delicious liquors, its effeminate 
 assemblies and sensuous music, its seductive specta- 
 cles, with all else, in short, which can charm, excite, 
 and intoxicate the senses this World of which, as 
 Holy Scripture says, the devil is prince, thus furnished 
 with every variety of inciting lure, soon seduces the 
 heart and deprives the mind of light. Man, thus 
 dazzled unto blindness, no longer sees the frightful 
 abyss at his feet ; and so he rushes headlong into 
 it/ 2 
 
 For himself, Rosmini had consistently renounced 
 the World of which he, with good reason, thought 
 as he did; he had renounced all the honours and 
 enjoyments which it can offer, in great abundance, 
 to those who, like him, had nobility of birth, vast 
 talents, rare personal gifts, great wealth and strong 
 consistency of purpose ; he had renounced all lest 
 he should stain his baptismal innocence and imperil 
 
 1 Rosmin?s Discourses. D\s. 'The Light of the Holy Spirit.' 
 London, Duffy and Son, 1882. 
 
 * Rosmini 's Discwtrses.Dis. ' The World and Love of Truth.' 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 105 
 
 the sanctity without which he would lose God. This 
 was well known to his friends and acquaintances ; 
 and therefore his warnings, his advice, his entreaties 
 were seldom slighted and never deemed officious or 
 out of place. 
 
io6 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ROSMINI CLOSES HIS SECOND SEASON AT THE UNIVER- 
 SITY, AND RECEIVES MINOR ORDERS. 
 
 (A.D. 1817-1818.) 
 
 His one extravagance Childish eagerness to purchase a valuable 
 library How earnestly he entreats his parents to grant his re- 
 quest His gratitude for their compliance Fraternal advice on 
 the practice of Christian virtues His great faith and humility 
 His brother's visit to Padua How his studies progress Preparing 
 for Minor Orders and testing his vocation Receives Minor Orders 
 7 Returns to Rovereto Death of his uncle Ambrogio How he 
 bears affliction. 
 
 THE moment Rosmini put on the distinctive garb of 
 an ecclesiastic, he considered himself bound to direct 
 his energies more exclusively to the duties of his 
 own college, and to follow a religious rule more 
 stringently than he had hitherto done. This is say- 
 ing much ; for the rule he already observed was as 
 strict as that which St. Francis of Sales used to live 
 up to when a member of the same University. 1 
 
 Having grouped around him the students whose 
 piety he had proved, they formed a select society of 
 
 1 Augustus de Sales, in his Life of St. Francis, gives the rule which 
 the young Saint had written for himself at Padua. It much resembles 
 that which young Rosmini adopted, and, as Butler says, ' chiefly shows 
 his perpetual attention to the presence of God, his care to offer up every 
 action to Him, and implore His aid at the beginning of each.' 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 107 
 
 their own, and were independent of the glittering 
 gaieties which so easily enamour young men, who 
 seek and need occasional relaxation from the pres- 
 sure of close study. Antonio's chosen companions 
 indulged none of the extravagances to which high- 
 spirited youths are too prone. Nevertheless, there 
 was one ' extravagance/ so to call it, to which Ros- 
 mini yielded in those days an extravagance that 
 will hardly seem foolish or prodigal, in the eyes of 
 parents who are called upon to defray heavy bills 
 to meet the ordinary squanderings of University life. 
 
 On two occasions, since he entered the Theolo- 
 gical Faculty at Padua, he applied for small amounts 
 over his allowance to spend in what? In club ex- 
 penses ? or horses ? or dress ? or convivial parties ? 
 or any personal gratification whatever ? Nothing of 
 the kind. He sought these little subsidies for urgent 
 cases of charity, and it was in the same way that 
 nine-tenths of his regular pocket allowance was 
 spent. Beyond this, he next applied for means to 
 purchase a library. There was nothing else, outside 
 the range of 'charitable purposes/ for which the 
 young philosopher would have appealed so energeti- 
 cally as we find him craving for this. 
 
 In the December of 1817 the private library of 
 a once opulent Venetian family the Veniers was 
 purchased by a Paduan bookseller, who intended to 
 sell it again on his own account. As soon as this 
 purchase reached Padua, Antonio was invited, as a 
 lover and excellent judge of good books, to examine 
 the collection privately. He examined, and was so 
 
io8 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 delighted with what he saw that he longed, with the 
 ardour of a child, to possess it. Next day he wrote 
 on the subject to his uncle Ambrogio, who, in such 
 matters, needed no more than the nephew's hint ; 
 but, unfortunately, the good old man was, at the 
 time, so ill it became necessary to bring the affair 
 directly before the father. This was a far more 
 difficult and awkward task for Antonio than the com- 
 position of an essay on libraries would have been. 
 
 He had never before requested a favour implying 
 such an outlay, and he hardly knew how to frame a 
 personal petition which seemed to ask for something 
 that was to gratify a personal wish rather than a per- 
 sonal want. In fact, he had to become a child for 
 the occasion, and the three letters he wrote on the 
 business are characterised by all the simplicity and 
 eagerness with which a child pleads, the sedate style 
 of the young philosopher being, for the moment, in 
 abeyance. These three letters were despatched to 
 Rovereto in one wrapper, and addressed to Don 
 Orsi, his earliest preceptor in philosophy, whose 
 affection for his former pupil had strengthened with 
 his years, and whose influence with the parents had 
 never decreased. 
 
 The first letter was intended for Orsi himself, to 
 whom the delicate negotiation was entrusted, not 
 merely because of his influence, but because Rosmini 
 (as he afterwards informed Tommaseo) knew that if 
 this wise Priest thought the request unadvisable he 
 would say so, and be sure that, however much the 
 library was coveted, its possession would give little 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 109 
 
 pleasure if there were anything unreasonable in the 
 desire to have it, or if the application were in- 
 opportune. Here is how the friendly mediator was 
 entreated to use his influence : 
 
 I beg you to pardon me for giving you so much trouble. 
 But our friendship on the one hand, and your goodness 
 towards me on the other, encourage me to do so. I enclose 
 you a letter, and wish you to give it to my mother with all 
 possible secrecy. I will tell you all. I am desirous of pur- 
 chasing a library, and have written to my father, without 
 however openly asking him to buy it for me. See if you 
 can urge my mother, for I know what influence you ex- 
 ercise over her. Come now, use your eloquence with her ; 
 I am sure you will do so. 
 
 It is a superb collection of volumes which once belonged 
 to the illustrious Venetian family, Venier. Amongst other 
 things there is a precious selection of Greek and Latin clas- 
 sics, editions, too, of great value. I should esteem myself 
 fortunate if I had it. You remember the task you yourself 
 imposed on me to form a library that would do honour to 
 our town and be useful to all our friends. I know how you 
 prize the fair projects we were wont to plan between our- 
 selves. Now is the time to put them in practice. I doubt 
 not my mother will allow herself to be persuaded easily 
 Come, like a good, dear friend, do what you can, and, in 
 the event of success, you will then begin to see realised the 
 desires that are common to both of us. I am delighted to 
 find them partly realised in your case, by your appointment 
 to the Rectorship of the Ginnasio. Great, indeed, was 
 my joy, my hopes are unbounded. I embrace you affec- 
 tionately. 
 
 PADUA : January 3, iSiS. 1 
 
 The appeal to the Countess, enclosing that to his 
 
 1 Epistolary, Letter xvii. 
 
no LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 father, was couched in terms certain to gain her ad- 
 vocacy, without the eloquent aid so nervously sought. 
 Like the letter to Don Orsi, it was meant to give her 
 also an opportunity of withholding the subject alto- 
 gether from Pier Modesto, if such a course was 
 deemed best. It ran thus : 
 
 On numberless occasions I have experienced the love 
 you bear me, and I know that you, my dearest mother, 
 have at heart my welfare. Now, however, you can give me 
 a special proof of this your love. For eight hundred florins 
 I can purchase a magnificent library. Remember, God 
 has not given you the means you possess without a purpose. 
 Whatever be the issue, I shall be always your most devoted 
 child, and shall sigh for the opportunity of testifying the 
 ardent and sincere love I cherish for you. I ought perhaps 
 to say no more, as I have every confidence in you. 
 
 After all, what more fitting manner of employing your 
 riches, than in rendering happy, in this world, a son who 
 desires nothing save the honour of God, and the welfare 
 of his beloved parents. You have done a great deal 
 for nephews. You will, surely, do no less for a son. 
 If God has blessed you with riches, He has given them to 
 you to be employed on such an occasion. Heaven's choicest 
 blessings will be showered on you upon you who use its 
 favours so well. In short, I fear nothing, while I hope 
 everything. After reading the letter you find enclosed, 
 hand it to my father when you think the moment favour- 
 able. 
 
 PADUA: January^ iSiS. 1 
 
 The letter on which the Countess Rosmini was 
 to exercise her maternal diplomacy put no direct 
 request before the father ; but trusting to the gentle 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xv. 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. in 
 
 hints which always had been enough for uncle 
 Ambrogio, it took this timid form : 
 
 The opening of the New Year is ever wont to give me 
 marked pleasure, as it affords an occasion of expressing 
 to my fond parents the genuine feelings of filial affection 
 and respect I treasure up for them within my heart. I 
 never cease to implore for them the blessings and graces 
 which I firmly trust may pour from Heaven on their heads, 
 and render them happy during the few fast-fleeting days of 
 their sojourn on earth, and be more perfectly with them in 
 eternity. All that I thus pray for, you, beloved father, can 
 more easily imagine than I describe. And with my parents 
 I always associate the name of my uncle, who well merits 
 the love I cherish for him, because of the great affection he 
 has shown to me. I include in the same good wishes 
 my brother and sister, with all the other members of our 
 family. 
 
 I have nothing new to relate to you, except a matter in 
 which literature and the nobler studies are concerned. The 
 illustrious Venetian family Venier, which took so important 
 a part in the affairs of the Republic, being now in reduced 
 circumstances have been forced to part with their library 
 for a mere trifle. What shall I say to you ? Oh ! what 
 books ! What rare editions ! What a precious acquisition ! 
 What a rich collection of volumes ! How much labour and 
 money expended in its formation ! And, mark this ! they 
 have been purchased by a bookseller here at Padua who 
 knows little or nothing of their worth the person from 
 whom I had most of the books I purchased here. 
 
 There was instantly a rush of learned men to see them. 
 Even the Bishop, hearing of it, sent immediately to make 
 enquiries ; but the bookseller, not having at the time un- 
 packed the cases, did not show them to any one. I was 
 the first to see them after they had been unpacked, and on 
 seeing them I was astounded. I asked how much he would re- 
 quire for them in the gross, and learned that he would part 
 
ii2 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 with them all for a little more than eight hundred florins. 
 Oh ! what emotions I then experienced ! It would be difficult 
 to imagine them. And, on the other hand, how downcast I 
 became at seeing the impossibility of making the purchase. 
 For eight hundred florins to acquire, in one moment, a 
 library which cost so much labour, time, and money in its 
 formation ! But I must have patience. . . . 
 
 I could not refrain from doing immediately two things, 
 which can injure no one. First, I resolved to write and 
 acquaint you with the matter ; nor have I courage to say 
 more : Secondly, to entreat the bookseller not to show the 
 books to any one until I received an answer from home. 
 
 Be the result what it may, I have nothing more at heart 
 than to be perfectly submissive to you in everything, and to 
 give you consolation at all times. Kissing your hand and 
 imploring your paternal benediction, &c. 
 
 PADUA : January 3, iSiS. 1 
 
 His request, after all, stood in no need of so 
 much anxious urging. A youth whose whole life 
 had been one of strict frugality, whose personal 
 expenses had ever been far within the allowance 
 voluntarily made to him, whose appeals to the bounty 
 of his parents were ever for others and never for self, 
 had little reason to fear that this modest petition 
 would have met with an unfavourable reception. 
 However, as the family library at Rovereto was 
 already well stocked with excellent books, and con- 
 sidered equal to any private library in that region, he 
 thought it possible that his father whose tastes were 
 not literary might look upon this purchase in the 
 light of an extravagance. Besides, Pier Modesto 
 was not 'lord of the manor' while Arnbrogio lived, 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xvi. 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 113 
 
 and might have had some prudential hesitation 
 arising from his position. But, whatever private 
 opinion the father held on the desirability of the 
 possession, he made no delay in granting the neces- 
 sary authority to complete the bargain. His grateful 
 son promptly acknowledged the kindness in these 
 terms : 
 
 Most esteemed and beloved Father, I am to-day in 
 receipt of your letter of the 7th inst. It has filled me 
 with joy, since by it I learn that you kindly accede to 
 my wishes respecting the Venier library. My joy, how- 
 ever, springs less from the favour itself, than from the 
 signal proof you thus gave me of your paternal love, which 
 I so much appreciate. My gratitude knows no bounds, 
 and I wish you to accept this letter as the expression 
 of my most cordial acknowledgments. The recollection 
 of your goodness shall never be effaced from my heart, nor 
 will I ever cease to pour forth my fervent prayers to God 
 that He may shower His blessings on you ; those blessings 
 especially which are calculated to sanctify the soul on earth 
 and secure its happiness in Heaven. By my behaviour I 
 shall always endeavour to give you, in the future, as I have 
 ever tried to do in the past, palpable proof of the re- 
 spectful love I cherish for you in my heart, and of my 
 eagerness to afford you every consolation. 
 
 I beg of you, after having read the enclosed letter, to 
 hand it to my brother. 
 
 PADUA, January 8, iSiS. 1 
 
 Not a word does he here say to imply that his 
 admiration for the library continued unabated. But, 
 in a letter of thanks written to his mother about the 
 same time, he thus touches the subject with the 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xvii. 
 VOL. I. I 
 
ii4 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM2NL 
 
 ardour of a bibliophile : ' Oh, dearest mother, you 
 should see what treasures I have thus acquired ! 
 What a stroke of good fortune was this for me ! 
 Had I to procure these books in any other way, I 
 should have to spend upon them another thousand 
 florins at least. Make known my joy to our con- 
 fidant Don Orsi ; to the rest say nothing, for I wish 
 to astonish them on my arrival.' l 
 
 When the father wrote to authorise the purchase 
 of the library he communicated to Antonio some 
 information about the moral state of his brother 
 Giuseppe which seemed to ask for the letter alluded to 
 as ' enclosed.' It was therefore written promptly, and 
 without allowing his great eagerness to conclude the 
 buying of the library to interfere for a moment with 
 his sense of filial and fraternal duty ; besides, the first 
 practical return for the favour received ought not, he 
 thought, be deferred for any personal gratification 
 whatever. Brotherly advice on the practice of 
 Christian virtues was a theme in which he was much 
 more at home than when he endeavoured to formu- 
 late a request that might have the appearance o f 
 a selfish wish. Hence, in this letter he is no longer 
 the nervous boy gazing at a desirable prize, but once 
 more the sedate moralist pointingout the path to 
 virtue. 
 
 I have not written to you sooner, partly because I was 
 immersed in my theological studies, and partly because 
 other duties kept me busy, robbing me of all the spare 
 moments that should otherwise have been mine. . . . 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xix. 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 115 
 
 But of what shall I speak to you now ? How shall I 
 best give you a signal proof of my sincere and true fraternal 
 love ? My dear brother, in what better manner can true 
 affection be known than through the desire of succouring 
 our friends, a desire which shows itself in word as well as 
 deed. By this letter, then, I earnestly wish to encourage 
 you to steadily advance more and more in virtue. May 
 the sweet fragrance which your virtue diffuses around be a 
 source of joy and gladness to your elders, while of good 
 example and instruction to those of your own age. Oh ! 
 how beautiful, how lovely is virtue ! It is prized by all 
 good men, and even the wicked themselves esteem it. They 
 who possess it find in it interior peace and consolation. 
 Happy the household whose members are wise and vir- 
 tuous. I speak, dearest bother, of Christian virtue, for 
 no other is genuine. True it is, that the words I thus 
 utter strike only the ear, and that it is God alone Who speaks 
 to the heart ; yet, I confidently trust that the prayers of 
 the good, in whom the Holy Spirit prays with unutterable 
 sighs, will give efficacy to my words. Do you, too, raise 
 your voice in our behalf to the Father of Lights, that He 
 may open our minds and hearts to the truth, which, falling 
 from the lips of holy men, may, like gentle rain, fertilise the 
 seeds of virtue within us, so as to plentifully yield fruit that 
 will reach maturity. 
 
 And how, dearest brother, does God distribute His 
 graces ? You must be already well aware of the manner. 
 You know that it is not always in an extraordinary or mira- 
 culous way ; nor yet all of a sudden. How few and excep- 
 tional are the instances we have of God's despoiling us all 
 at once of the old man, and so clothing us with the new, as 
 to be, in a moment, re-born, as it were, and renewed in Christ 
 Jesus. And if He has done so in some rare occasions, as, 
 for instance, in the case of Saul, yet even with him did He 
 not subsequently make use, also, of ordinary and human 
 means ? Did He not ordain that Saul should recover his 
 
 eyesight by means of Ananias, to whom he was sent not 
 
 12 
 
n6 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 only for this end, but that he might also be filled with the 
 Holy Ghost by the imposition of hands ? 
 
 Yes, God in most cases makes use of human agencies ; 
 and in how many different ways ? He speaks to us lovingly 
 as well by adversity as by prosperity ; as well by events 
 which further our own desires as by those that thwart and 
 destroy them ; by persons who wish us ill as well as by 
 those who love us. Everything, then, comes to us from this 
 good Father of ours Whose dwelling place is in the Heavens 
 above. He gives us only what is good for us, since He 
 loves us as brothers of His first born Jesus Christ : His 
 very chastisements are gifts and precious invitations of His 
 Grace. What then should sadden us amid the vicissitudes 
 of life ? Nothing but our own sins ; and even for this holy 
 sadness with which God justly afflicts us His infinite good- 
 ness gives us ample compensation by stretching forth His 
 arms to receive and clasp us to His bosom, opening to us 
 a refuge in His very heart, where, as it were, in an ocean of 
 mercy and delight, we may wash and blot away all our 
 imperfections and miseries. 
 
 Let nothing then, dearest brother, disturb us ; let nothing, 
 'not even our faults, perplex or overwhelm us in this life. 
 But, above all, let us jealously take care that we love 
 the things our Heavenly Father loves, that is, our own 
 good, the salvation of our soul, as much interior peace as 
 we can have in this wretched vale of tears, and the com- 
 plete bliss of that life which is eternal and unchangeable. 
 O God ! what ingratitude, what folly, would it not be to 
 close pur ears to the voice of so good a Father, a voice 
 which teaches us nought else but the way to acquire happi- 
 ness ! Or rather what hatred against ourselves would not 
 this show ! I confess, dear brother, that I hear this voice in 
 all which befalls me, be it of a prosperous or an adverse 
 character ; in every circumstance in which I find myself ; 
 in all the discourses I listen to I hear it, whether it is my 
 superior, or my inferior, or my equal who speaks ; I hear it 
 also whether listening to the learned or the ignorant, for 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 117 
 
 God at times speaks even by the mouth of the abject and 
 lowly. 
 
 Thus it is, my dear brother, that I give you a pledge of 
 genuine love, urging you to be ever ready to open your ears 
 and your heart to the constant instructions which God 
 gives us through the medium of our fellow-men. You will 
 thus walk in a way full of light and safety, you will be the 
 admiration and model of your fellow-citizens, a source of 
 confusion and reproach to the wicked, and the delight of 
 all the good. Our beloved parents will shed tears of joy 
 on your account. We, your brother and sister, will mingle 
 our glad tears with theirs, and all our friends their tears with 
 ours. And how many good souls are there not who love 
 you sincerely? Have not many virtuous men given you 
 proof thereof by their solicitude and anxiety for you ? And 
 for whom else can we be anxious or solicitous if it be not 
 for those whom we love ? They who merit neither love nor 
 esteem are neglected, forsaken, and left to wallow uncared 
 for in the mire of their own passions. Such is not your 
 case, dear brother ; for I see that when you do well all 
 rejoice, and when you act otherwise all are afflicted and bit- 
 terly complain. Now, all this comes from love and tender- 
 ness for you. Ah ! dearest brother, hide not from yourself 
 those who love you ; seek rather to know them, and know- 
 ing them to love them in return. 
 
 To me, assuredly, nothing is sweeter than to love my 
 friends ; nay more, to embrace all men in this love, to 
 second the exertions which others make in my behalf, to 
 correspond with them, and, if you like it, I will even say, 
 to bear patiently with their defects. For who is wholly 
 without defects? In bearing with others, I rejoice that 
 I thus observe the precept God has given us by the 
 mouth of St. Paul, ' Bear ye one another's burdens.' More- 
 over I hope thus to merit, in some measure, the patient for- 
 bearance of others in my own shortcomings. Nay, carry- 
 ing my thoughts still higher, I sincerely trust God Him- 
 self will bear with them, and pardon me ; and hence I say, 
 
n8 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 with confidence : ' Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
 them that trespass against us ; ' otherwise, in these words 
 I should invoke my own condemnation. 
 
 Ah ! you already recognise in what I say the language 
 of love, and, if it be that you do so, what may I not promise 
 myself ? You will be a wiser and more perfect man in every 
 way. I verily believe that no one can resist the force of 
 love. 
 
 But I will say even more to you. I will point out to 
 you how you may fulfil my wishes. Well then, pray God 
 to give you light : pray very much and fervently, and then 
 choose a learned and prudent director. Having done so, 
 be persuaded that it is through his instrumentality God 
 will enrich you with His graces : place yourself entirely and 
 with all confidence in this director's hands ; take every pains 
 to make him well acquainted with your condition as well as 
 with all that passes within you ; let there not be a corner of 
 your heart, how remote soever and small it may be, that 
 you search not thoroughly, and then make your director a 
 sharer of its secrets. Adhere scrupulously to his counsels 
 and commands, and you will be treading a sure and easy 
 path. These words are not the dictates of idle caprice ; I 
 have consulted men of the greatest experience and have 
 also read the mcst instructive books on the subject, and 
 all say the same thing. The greatest and most discreet 
 directors of souls the amiable St. Francis of Sales at their 
 head all concur in saying that the safest road to virtue, 
 and the one, moreover, which God requires from many per- 
 sons, is that of obedience to their director. 
 
 PADUA: January 7, iSiS. 1 
 
 Faith and humility were so deeply rooted in his 
 own soul that the obedience he commended to 
 his brother was for himself an ordinary practice. 
 This holy obedience which non-Catholics look upon 
 
 1 Epislolario, Letter xx. 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 119 
 
 as slavish, this humility which they deem a some- 
 thing servile, is but the regular, the easy, the 
 inevitable outcome of profound faith. As these twin 
 virtues held complete possession of Rosmini's heart 
 and mind, he never took any step trusting- to his own 
 judgment. Like all the Saints he had a clear per- 
 ception of the utter helplessness of the human mind 
 when left to itself, and the total insufficiency of the 
 natural powers of man to procure his own happiness 
 or even to shield him from innumerable evils. So 
 rooted in his soul was the conviction that Christian 
 faith was a necessity of the foremost order, that ' it is 
 impossible to say how much he delighted to set forth 
 and extol the heavenly blessing of this virtue. 
 Whenever he spoke on the subject (which happened 
 very frequently) his conversation became animated 
 immediately ; the colour rose to his face, which was 
 naturally rather pale ; his eyes sparkled, and the tone 
 of his voice, conveying the emotion of his heart, 
 made a deep impression on all who heard him.' 1 
 
 When this letter to his brother was posted, he 
 felt free to settle with the bookseller and arrange 
 about sending the library on to Rovereto. Shortly 
 afterwards, his brother got permission to visit him at 
 the University, as it was hoped that a few weeks 
 spent in Padua might prove beneficial to the invalid's 
 soul and body. Antonio had much satisfaction in 
 welcoming this dear guest at a time when most 
 students, similarly situated, would have deemed any 
 
 1 An Outline of the Life of Rosmini, translated from the Italian and 
 edited by Rev. W. Lockhart, p. 71. London, 1856. 
 
120 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 visit of the kind less a source of comfort than of an- 
 noyance, for it took place while he was actively 
 engaged in pious preparations for receiving in a 
 becoming manner the Tonsure and Minor Orders. 
 The affectionate young host, however, so enjoyed 
 the burden of charity that he found means of regu- 
 lating his hours in a way that made Giuseppe's visit 
 a delight to both, notwithstanding a considerable in- 
 crease in the religious exercises and studies occa- 
 sioned by the important step he was on the eve of 
 taking. How those studies prospered can be in- 
 ferred from the following letter to his cousin Fedri- 
 gotti, then at Innsbruck: 
 
 My studies have been, so far, most successful. An 
 extra year has been added to the course of theology. I 
 have not suffered thereby, as they consider me in my third 
 year. The examens now take place twice a year ; and, 
 thanks to God, I have passed the first of these successfully. 
 My health is excellent, and study appears to me every day 
 a source of greater pleasure. I have my brother with me, 
 who keeps me company, and we are quite happy together. 
 
 Meanwhile, I am testing my vocation, and the infinite 
 bounty of God confirms me, every day, more and more in 
 my resolve. Nay, I must tell you that, on Sunday next, 
 his Lordship the Bishop of Padua will confer on me the 
 Minor Orders, as they are called. Ah ! pray for me that, 
 having entered the fold by the door, I may behave like a 
 true shepherd, and not act as a vile hireling. I, too, will 
 pray for you, to the end that we may both reach the same 
 goal the Beatific Vision although we pursue different 
 roads to arrive at it. 
 
 I must mention to you another matter which, because of 
 our friendship, will interest you not a little. You must 
 know, then, that I have purchased a number of very fine 
 
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA. 121 
 
 books, and have already sent home fifteen cases, five of 
 which are much larger than those of last year ; the rest I 
 have still here with me. This is due to the goodness of my 
 father, who furnished me with a large sum of money. I 
 expended on them more than one hundred louis d'or, but 
 they are worth twice the money. You, perhaps, have 
 also made some purchases, which are likely to be useful, 
 not only to yourself, but to your friends and fellow-towns- 
 men, I know that you had excellent intentions, which, 
 surely, have not been suffered to remain in abeyance. In 
 case you should not have purchased any books, let me 
 advise you to do so without delay. 
 PADUA: May 13, iSiS. 1 
 
 During the two days immediately following the 
 date of this letter, he remained in absolute retire- 
 ment, from which he came forth to be enrolled 
 amongst the Clerics, and solemnly tonsured. On 
 the next day May 16, 1818 he received the 
 four Minor Orders from Monsignor Scipione, then 
 Bishop of Padua. Thenceforth he attached the title 
 1 Acolyte ' to his name, by way of signifying his 
 high appreciation of the dignity which belongs even 
 to Minor Orders. 
 
 The summer vacation for that year came on soon 
 after these events, and he returned to Rovereto where 
 his venerable uncle lay on the bed of death. With 
 a fond longing, the good old man awaited the coming 
 home of the beloved young Acolyte, and when his 
 wish to embrace him had been gratified death 
 stepped in, and on July 10, 1818, Ambrogio Rosmini 
 calmly slept the sleep of the just. The ' golden 
 opinions' he had won from men while he lived 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxi. 
 
122 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 amongst them, were gently laid on his tomb by 
 more than one panegyrist. Antonio contented him- 
 self with the tribute of fervent prayers and such 
 outpourings of eulogy as found a vent in private 
 letters, like the following brief note written at 
 Rovereto on August 4 to his distinguished kinsman, 
 the Chevalier Carlo Rosmini, Historian of Milan : 
 
 To-day you will have received a formal announce- 
 ment of the grievous loss we have sustained in the death 
 of my beloved uncle, whom I always regarded as a father, 
 and who ever treated me as a son. May our Lord, Who 
 is no less good when He afflicts than when He consoles us, 
 be blessed even for this ! I especially thank Him that, 
 faithful as He is, He does not suffer us to be tempted 
 above that which we are able, but makes with temptation 
 i ssue that we may be able to bear it ... In so much 
 sorrow the sanctity of his death comforts me, and there is 
 a sad consolation in the tears of all the good who have 
 lost a friend and a virtuous citizen, and especially in the 
 tears of the poor who sought in every way to show their 
 sense of desolation, and have wept bitterly for one whom 
 they revered as a father. 
 
 At no time of his life had the afflictions and ad- 
 versities that wreck the happiness of most men 
 power to disturb the peace of Rosmini's mind. For 
 him afflictions and adversities, come whence and how 
 they might, were as blessings in disguise which, by 
 forcing the heart from earthly to heavenly things, 
 bring home to us the imperishable joys we can gain 
 in exchange for perishable ones. 
 
IN MINOR ORDERS. 123 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ROSMINl's EVERY-DAY LIFE AT THE UNIVERSITY. 
 (A.D. 1818-1819.) 
 
 How he met sympathy in sorrow Religious instruction pervading all 
 his conversations How his recreation was spent A collegiate 
 society of charity His poetry and his ' spare time' His corre- 
 spondence always conveying a lesson How he blent pious advice 
 and interesting news Visit of the Emperor Francis I. of Austria 
 to Padua Rosmini's share in the public rejoicings He prepares 
 for Holy Orders Asks permission to receive the Subdiaconate 
 The wish of the Acolyte Rosmini in 1818 like that of Pope Pius 
 IX. in 1848 Stimulates his brother and sister to zeal in piety and 
 study Fosters his sister's religious vocation Why he would not 
 take the degree of doctor when ready for it, and why he put off the 
 time for receiving the Subdiaconate His own account of his daily 
 life in Padua. 
 
 ON resuming his studies at Padua in 1818 our 
 young Acolyte had occasion to exhibit some of those 
 virtues which are best seen in affliction. He found 
 himself overwhelmed with expressions of sympathy, 
 for all his friends knew how deeply he loved his 
 uncle. This condolence was met by gentle thanks, 
 with evidences of that complete resignation to God's 
 Will which so few can feel and so few can understand. 
 He reminded them, as Tommaseo tells us, that the 
 separation was no more than a brief absence from 
 home from that home to which the virtuous 
 Ambrogio had gone, that home to which each could 
 
124 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NL 
 
 claim an heir's right of entrance, and to which he 
 himself would, more earnestly than ever, try to make 
 good his claim. 
 
 With new zeal he continued his religious ex- 
 ercises, and with enfreshened industry set to his 
 studies, resolved to complete the University course 
 before the next vacation. 
 
 Although he seemed to be more than ever ab- 
 sorbed in study or prayer, his horary still allowed 
 times of recreation, which he willingly shared with 
 his intimate friends. Many of those friends have 
 left eulogistic testimony as to the fascinating con- 
 versations with which he gave a healthy glow to the 
 leisure hours passed in their company. All describe 
 him as a delightful companion, gifted in a remarkable 
 degree with the art of making those who conversed 
 with him quite at their ease, whether they were rich 
 or poor, learned or ignorant. His favourite subjects 
 were drawn from the store-room of philosophy ; but 
 he never allowed a pet theme to obtrude itself when 
 he was speaking with those who did not relish or 
 comprehend it. His own views on any matter 
 under discussion were held in check, where they 
 might prove to be inopportune, or were likely to 
 offend the honest prejudices of others. 
 
 But whatever the topic, grave or gay, he lost no 
 opportunity in skilfully throwing in a moral lesson, 
 or drawing forth some important religious instruction ; 
 for religion was the one theme which he never set 
 aside the one theme he took care to render always 
 opportune and never offensive. 
 
IN MINOR ORDERS. 
 
 What he called his * regular recreation ' was n 
 always spent in agreeable conversations within 
 chambers with approved friends, or while taking 
 delightful rambles in quest of bracing air and scenes 
 sacred to religion or art. Often it was directed 
 to literary work which he regarded as a ' relax- 
 ation/ and to which he gave most of the spare 
 moments that were not classed as ' regular recre- 
 ation.' 
 
 More than once he tried to induce some of his 
 intimate friends to join him in forming a collegiate 
 society of charity, which might be made to utilise 
 some portion of the ' regular recreation ' time, as 
 well as sundry odd periods in the day, for the 
 spiritual and temporal benefit of others. But, as 
 the fundamental rule of the society he proposed, re- 
 quired, first of all, the moral perfection of its own 
 members, he was unable to bring his companions to 
 the hard task of endeavouring to begin by making 
 themselves exceptionally good. Therefore, the 
 * spare time ' he wished to employ in this kind of 
 united action, as well as much of his 'regular 
 recreation ' hours, was applied to the ' literary re- 
 laxations ' just alluded to. 
 
 This literary pastime included translations from 
 the Fathers, and essays on various subjects. St. 
 Augustine's work De Catechizandis rudibzis was one 
 of the translations then and thus made at Padua, 
 and afterwards turned to practical account else- 
 where. 1 During the spare moments, too, he 
 
 1 Eight editions of this little work have appeared in Italy, ' always 
 
126 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 occasionally relieved the mind in poetry. Sometimes 
 the subject was sacred, sometimes plaintive, and 
 sometimes joyous, but always true to his dominant 
 piety. Now and then he published letters in verse, 
 like those addressed to his college companions 
 Appollonia and Tommaseo on the charms of soli- 
 tude, study, and friendship. 1 Now and then, also, 
 he indulged in sonnets to honour some event in a 
 friend's career, as on the occasion of his fellow- 
 student the Baron Candelpergher taking the degree 
 of Doctor in Laws. This sonnet is supposed to be 
 the last he wrote, and, on that account, claims a 
 translation here, which does not, however, pretend 
 to reflect fully such merit as the original verses 
 possess : 
 
 Man's rights, beloved friend, and sacred laws 
 (Whether 'twas nature graved them on the breast, 
 
 Or men of old, thus joined in common cause 
 That greed and guilt might sternly be repressed) 
 
 So well thou guardest, with such watchful zeal 
 
 To evil shut, God-fearing, free from stain, 
 That virtue's friends a silent rapture feel, 
 
 While foes to virtue gnash their teeth in vain. 
 
 with ecclesiastical approval.' The first edition was published in Milan 
 in 1838, the second in the same city in 1844 5 the third edition appeared 
 in Naples, 1849 5 the fourth in Florence, 1850 ; the fifth in Pisa, 1854 ; 
 the sixth in Rovereto, 1860 ; the seventh in Turin, 1863 ; and the eighth 
 in Intra, 1878. It has also been translated into French and German. 
 1 In the ' poetic epistle' addressed to Tommaseo (and which was 
 printed in Rovereto) occur these significant lines : 
 1 Hither and thither, whizzing up and down, 
 
 There crowd my brain a thousand various thoughts 
 
 Which mighty Plato woke to busy life, 
 
 And Aristotle of the eagle eye 
 
 Enkindled there, and blind Mceonides, 
 
 Undying bard, aroused, or I myself 
 
 Filch'd from the store of younger sages.' 
 
IN MINOR ORDERS. 127 
 
 'Tis thus, good youth, whose laureled brows attest 
 Fresh deeds of merit, that a man attains 
 
 Great name above, his truest meed and best : 
 So will it tide (a guerdon worth the pains !) 
 
 That the great Angel of the scales proclaim 
 
 Thy own renown to be thy country's fame. 1 
 
 But, while much of the ' spare time ' which his 
 horary provided as a release from severe study was 
 given to pious duties, and to literary productions of 
 a more or less serious kind, much of it was also 
 taken up with letter- writing. From time to time we 
 record some of these letters as they happen to come 
 in the regular course of our narrative, confining our- 
 selves, however, to his familiar correspondence as 
 that which best portrays the individual character, 
 and shows, in his own ordinary words, what manner 
 of man he was. 
 
 No matter what the occasion which called for 
 a letter no matter whether the theme was scientific 
 or complimentary, or whether the letter itself was 
 long or short the spirit of religion diffused itself 
 through all. Every sentence in some way attested an 
 increasing recognition of God's presence, a constant 
 
 1 Le sacre leggi, e i dritti, o dolce amico, 
 
 Sia che natura in petto all' uom scolpio, 
 Sia che a fren del costume avaro e rio 
 Pose patto inviolabile et antico, 
 
 Tu che al mal chiuso, vigile e pudico, 
 Sempre vivesti ubbidiente a Dio, 
 Serba, e difendi, onde s' allegri il pio, 
 Fremendo invan, chi di virtti & nemico. 
 
 Cosl, o garzon, che di novel valore 
 Porti di lauro in sulla chioma insegna, 
 Si poggia al vero ed immortale onore ; 
 
 Anzi cosl (che ell' e merc& ben degna) 
 Delia patria e d' ognun faratti onore 
 Colei che in Ciel colla bilancia regna. 
 
i 2 8 LIFE Of ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 looking towards eternity, an ever-growing love of 
 the creature for the Creator, of the redeemed for the 
 Redeemer. The most common-place topics were 
 deftly interwoven with pious reflections or exhor- 
 tations dictated by an intense reverence for God, 
 and they were invariably fitted to a special need. 
 
 Take, for instance, the simple ' family letter ' 
 with which his familiar correspondence for 1818 
 may be said to have closed. It was a response to 
 the customary Christmas greetings of his mother; 
 but, not content with a reciprocation of these, it 
 passed on to give certain advice that may seem to 
 be out of place or purposeless, and to mention a 
 certain fact which may seem to be nothing more 
 than an ' interesting piece of news.' Both the advice 
 and the fact had, however, a set purpose beyond their 
 seeming. 
 
 The * advice ' had its set purpose in this way. 
 During the vacation which was saddened by his 
 uncle's death, he discovered that his sister Mar- 
 gherita adhered, with unshaken affection, to the re- 
 ligious exercises which began when they ' played at 
 monks ' together in the family garden at Rovereto. 
 He had long refrained from leading her mind in any 
 way towards the cloister, lest her free choice should 
 owe anything to the influence he was known to hold 
 over her, and the grace of vocation be tinged with 
 a human motive. But, seeing that the evidences of 
 a religious vocation which were conspicuous in her 
 girlhood were still so much so that her mother 
 thought it expedient to check them, he felt it a duty 
 
IN MINOR ORDERS. 129 
 
 to interfere for their encouragement. Hence 'the 
 advice ' which he dexterously mantled in the message 
 the letter conveyed. 
 
 The fact or ' interesting piece of news ' had its set 
 purpose in this way : Throughout North Italy and 
 the Tyrol the French invasion had left behind it a 
 sediment of unchristian philosophy which so sadly 
 tainted the public schools that many of their most 
 promising students began to look coldly on devotion 
 and to scoff at the relics of saints. Amongst those 
 whose minds had thus been poisoned was a young 
 Roveretan kinsman of Rosmini, who valued his 
 opinion highly, and who was certain to have an op- 
 portunity of profiting by that opinion so modestly 
 but effectively put in this letter, which the Countess 
 was sure to read for the benefit of her misled 
 nephew : 
 
 I thank you, most esteemed and beloved mother, for 
 your welcome letter of Christmas Day, to which I at once 
 reply. My health is excellent. Indeed, I think it has been 
 unusually good during the year. I wish you and my father, 
 with all at home, the graces of this holy season. May the 
 new year be replete with those blessings which fade not 
 away, but endure even after death, when we shall be fully 
 able to realise their worth. 
 
 Remember me affectionately to Giuseppe, and warmly 
 recommend to him prayer, devotion, and, above all, the 
 frequentation of the Sacraments, these being the channels 
 through which God distributes His Graces most abundantly. 
 Sustain my sister every day more, not less by your words 
 than by your fervent prayers. Tell her from me that God 
 requires much from her, and that, consequently, He will 
 give her much, unless she should, on her part, be slow in 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
130 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 co-operating with His Graces. Let her, indeed, apply her- 
 self very diligently to study, but far more to prayer, espe- 
 cially to that prayer which comes from the depth of the 
 heart. 
 
 I daily experience more and more the goodness of God, 
 and though I so imperfectly correspond with it, I find it 
 everywhere continue to manifest itself to me. 
 
 The body of the glorious St. Francis which had been 
 lost has lately been discovered at Assisi. 1 This is a most 
 precious relic. They say that the posture of the body is 
 still just as it was before all trace of it was lost. The Pope 
 has sent some persons of great weight to ascertain the truth 
 of the matter, and he purposes to come himself to Assisi, 
 next May, in order to celebrate, with great pomp, the expo- 
 sition of the relics to public veneration. Meanwhile, he 
 forbids anyone, under pain of excommunication, to enter 
 the place where the body rests, and which he caused to be 
 most carefully walled up. Let us give thanks to God who 
 has willed to glorify His saint in this new manner. 
 
 PADUA : December 27, i8i8. 2 
 
 In March 1819, Padua had the honour of an 
 
 1 In the year 1230 Pope Gregory IX. caused the body of St. Francis 
 to be placed, standing upright, in a secret vault, under a magnificent 
 new church which he directed to be built on the hill where criminals 
 were formerly executed outside the walls of Assisi, and to this hill the 
 Holy Father gave the new name of Mount Paradise. It was the spot 
 which the Saint himself, when dying, designated as his place of sepul- 
 ture. Three ' superb churches/ built one above the other, covered the 
 vault, which was set within a costly chapel of marble. The body of the 
 saint was ' never more seen from that time forth,' and its precise rest- 
 ing place remained unknown until it was revealed by the accidental 
 discovery to which Rosmini alludes. A tradition amongst the con- 
 ventual Friars of the Monastery on Mount Paradise held that the body 
 would be found in a perfect state and in the same standing posture in 
 which Pope Gregory IX. left it. The investigation made by order of 
 Pius VII. is said to have confirmed this tradition ; but the precautions 
 taken six centuries before were again adopted, and the casket contain- 
 ing the relics was once more walled away from sight. 
 
 2 EpistolariO) Letter xxii. 
 
IN MINOR ORDERS. 131 
 
 Imperial visit, which threw ' all Patavium ' into a 
 whirl of excitement. Francis I. of Austria was 
 there on his way to Rome, and his Paduan subjects, 
 forgetting everything but his presence, welcomed 
 him with warm manifestations of public joy. Many 
 of the University professors and most of the students 
 drew away from the peaceful monotony of college 
 life to share in the sight-seeing, if not in the exul- 
 tant vivas. 
 
 Rosmini, however, continued his ordinary course 
 as well as the distracting enthusiasm around him 
 permitted. Loyalty was with him an hereditary 
 quality, always deep and calm ; but even if he 
 had some politic reason, like that which moved the 
 Paduans, to display it boisterously, his strong dis- 
 like of noisy festivity would have kept him back. 
 He was, therefore, one of the few students who held 
 aloof from the excitement; and he quietly prayed 
 for a satisfactory settlement of the matter which led 
 the Emperor to Rome, while the multitude vehe- 
 mently cheered, without knowing the object of 
 the journey. There was yet another reason for his 
 seclusion. He was just then absorbed in prepara- 
 tions for the Subdeaconate for solemn service close 
 to the King of kings and a dignified composure 
 seemed to him more consistent with these prepara- 
 tions than the impassioned delight in which the city 
 revelled. 
 
 The local gazettes of that time tell us that the 
 popular acclaims and exuberant merry-makings 
 which then filled Padua for several days, confused 
 
 K 2 
 
132 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 the students' minds for months afterwards, and gave 
 them material for sonnets, essays, and letters to the 
 end of the season. But Antonio Rosmini dismissed 
 the whole subject in one short paragraph, dropped 
 casually into a letter asking his father's permission 
 to receive the Subdeaconate : 
 
 Most esteemed and beloved Father, 
 
 Amid the many public and private occupations which 
 duty and relaxation impose on me, it always yields me great 
 pleasure to find a few spare moments to spend with you, by 
 writing to you now, at least, when I can be with you in 
 no other way. 
 
 I hope my present visit will find you enjoying excellent 
 health, despite the many cares which embarrass you. Would 
 that I could render you some assistance ! I trust, however, 
 my brother, who is so generously disposed, will supply my 
 place. 
 
 We had the Emperor and princes of the Imperial court 
 here lately, and, as they stayed in our street, we were, for 
 several days, put about by the clamorous rejoicings that 
 everywhere reigned supreme. He is en route for Rome, and 
 / earnestly wish that all the affairs may be satisfactorily 
 adjusted. That such will be the case I confidently hope, 
 through the mercy of that God who will be invoked by as 
 many saints as the Church possesses. 
 
 Regarding myself, the time at length has arrived when 
 my age will permit me to receive the Subdeaconate. I 
 have, therefore, to ask your kind permission to take this 
 step, and at the same time to entreat you to furnish me with 
 what is requisite on such an occasion. I should like to be 
 ready for the Saturday preceding Passion Sunday. Should 
 you happen to see the Archpriest, will you be pleased to 
 ask him to procure the dimissorial letters for me in good 
 time for that day, which will be the 26th inst ? 
 
 PADUA : March 7, iSig. 1 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxiii. 
 
IN MINOR ORDERS. 133 
 
 The satisfactory adjustment for which he so fer- 
 vently prayed was ' peace with Christ's Vicar : ' ' the 
 removal/ says Tommaseo, ' from the Austrian code 
 of whatever laws violated the liberty of the Church, 
 and had been reproved constantly by the sovereign 
 Pontiffs.' Some thirty years later, Pius IX., in an 
 Encyclical given while an exile in Gae'ta, expressed 
 himself much to the same effect. Thus, the ' earnest 
 wish ' and ' confident hope ' of the Roveretan Acolyte 
 was then, as in his earliest and latest years, in per- 
 fect accord with the wish and hope of one of the 
 most zealous chief pastors of God's Church. 1 
 
 When writing to his mother, soon after the Im- 
 perial visit, Antonio made no allusion whatever to 
 it. The only subject he cared to bring before her 
 sufficiently explains the omission. How could the 
 petty gossip of worldly society interest one so wholly 
 devoted to thoughts of heavenly life ? Probably 
 the Countess Rosmini would have liked a little Court 
 news ; but she expected nothing of the sort when 
 she opened this letter, where she found what she 
 thought much more likely to be there an entreaty 
 to stimulate his brother and sister to zeal in piety 
 and study : 
 
 I am much obliged to you, both for your welcome letter 
 and for your solicitude with regard to the Subdeaconship. 
 I rejoice to learn that you are all well. From my brother's 
 letter, too, I have had good news, which has afforded me 
 sincere pleasure. 
 
 Exhort my sister not to abate her fervour, nor courage, 
 nor study, nor good works. Let her be assured that fer- 
 
 1 See the Encyclical of Pio Nono, given at Gae'ta, Feb. 18, 1849. 
 
154 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 vour obtains of God courage ; that courage, having its 
 fountain head in God, calls forth meditation, prudence, and 
 study ; that study regulates action, and, finally, that wisely 
 ordered action is advantageous both to ourselves and others. 
 I am desirous of knowing whether in her meditations she 
 makes use of books ; for this is very necessary in her case. 
 Animate, counsel, and support her. My father, I have no 
 doubt, will do the same. 
 
 I think it very desirable that just and holy maxims 
 should ring continually in my brother's ears ; for, by dint of 
 hearing them often repeated, they become more and more 
 deeply impressed on the heart. For this reason the true 
 lover of wisdom is ever eager to hear such maxims, since 
 he is thus enabled to advance in wisdom : ' A wise man 
 shall hear and be wiser,' says the Holy Spirit (Prov. i. 5). 1 
 
 The special concern he thus manifested in 
 what related to his sister had a special cause. He 
 knew, as we have seen, that Margherita's vocation 
 to the Religious State met with opposition at home. 
 She had recently made an earnest effort to join a 
 Teresian community (English Dames) long estab- 
 lished in Rovereto ; but, as her parents would not 
 sanction the step, it had to be abandoned. This 
 failure, however, did not chill her ardent desire to 
 give herself wholly to the service of God ; so, when 
 drawn back from the door of a convent, where she 
 looked for opportunities of exercising charity in its 
 most perfect form, she resolved to seek means of 
 following her vocation for the present outside the 
 cloister. 
 
 Providence favoured her holy intent, and en- 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxiv, 
 
IN MINOR ORDERS. 135 
 
 abled her to found an orphanage, for which pro- 
 vision had been made by a good Priest, whose be- 
 quest to that end had lain neglected for some time. 
 To this noble work she gave her talents, her energies, 
 her means, her piety, but without finding encourage- 
 ment beyond that which came from her brother 
 Antonio. However, having his support and counsel, 
 she felt certain (and events justified her confidence) 
 that God would bless her endeavours, and, sooner 
 or later, give full effect to her vocation. 
 
 The solicitude which his mother expressed with 
 regard to the Subdeaconate arose from the fact that, 
 though he was ready to receive it, circumstances 
 prevented him taking it at the time intended. 
 Letters dimissory could not be obtained easily, 
 owing to the disorderly condition in which revolu- 
 tionary disturbances had left the diocese and princi- 
 pality of Trent, whose lawful Pastor remained long 
 in exile. 
 
 Antonio had arranged to take his Doctor's 
 degree at the University, immediately after the time 
 set down for the Subdeaconate ; but he decided on 
 deferring it until he had received the more sacred 
 dignity : much as he loved and respected Science, he 
 loved and respected Holy Orders more. Another 
 reason, springing from humility and charity, contri- 
 buted its share to the formation of this decision. 
 As the fellow students who ought to have been 
 ready for the Doctorate before himself were not yet 
 in a position to pass for it, he disliked to wound 
 their sensibility or seem to be more advanced than 
 
136 LIEE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 they were. This motive he sought to veil in the ex- 
 planation he gave when replying, as follows, to a 
 letter from his father, who feared that over-study 
 was injuring his health : 
 
 With regard to the Subdeaconship, of which you speak, 
 I believe I shall not be able to receive it until next year, 
 for want of letters dimissory. This will enable me to 
 mature the matter better by a more complete preparation. 
 As for Doctor's degree, I do not deem it expedient to take 
 it this year, since, in any event, I must return for Holy 
 Orders. In this course I am somewhat influenced by my 
 class-mates, who are unwilling to take their diplomas before 
 next year ; nor does it seem becoming in me to be sin- 
 gular. Add to this the difficulty of preparing one's self, 
 during the warm season, in an extensive range of study, as 
 well as the counsel I have received from my Professors, not 
 to speak of the Government regulations. However, I am 
 thinking of lightening my labours then by undergoing now 
 two of the eight examens which all must pass who wish to 
 obtain - a diploma. 
 
 As for my method of life, I rise about six o'clock, 
 then study till eight, with only one interruption for prayer 
 and breakfast. From eight until twelve I attend such lec- 
 tures as concern me ; and then, after hearing Mass in the 
 Church of our saint (St. Antonio) return home and continue 
 my studies until half-past one. Afterwards, I either take a 
 stroll, or discuss some point with my companions until two 
 o'clock, when I sit down to dinner. Dinner over, I amuse 
 myself for some minutes at a simple game with a friend, 
 or pass the time in conversation ; after which I repose for 
 about half an hour, and then take exercise until half-past 
 four or thereabouts. At that hour, I resume the thread of 
 my studies until seven ; spending the time from seven until 
 nine o'clock in recreation with some excellent friends, who 
 are either Professors in the University or young men of 
 
IN MINOR ORDERS. 137 
 
 talent. At nine o'clock, all my household, that is to say 
 five individuals, including the two estimable young men 
 who live with me, retire to a small room where we quietly 
 make our spiritual reading, recite our Rosary, and then sit 
 down to a light supper ; after which we await, in pleasant 
 chat, the hour when each one withdraws to his own apart- 
 ment. Then, after having concluded night prayers, I retire 
 to rest, and sleep the soundest sleep in the world. 
 
 I experience unspeakable delight in my studies the 
 more deeply I enter into them ; but everywhere I find a 
 great need and a great scarcity of books. You cannot 
 imagine what straits I am in on that account. Just fancy, 
 I have not even an Aristotle or a Plato, books I should have 
 in hand every moment ; and you can hardly realise how 
 much it grieves me. Well, patience ; everything cannot 
 be done in an instant : gradually we shall get into shape. 
 Meanwhile, I mean to do my utmost in order that my well- 
 beloved father may have no cause to repent having spent 
 money on me, nor have reason to hesitate doing so in 
 future. Let me tell you, by the way, that you are held in 
 great esteem here, and many illustrious persons are desirous 
 of making your acquaintance. But enough of this kissing 
 your hand most respectfully and imploring your blessing, 
 I am, &c. &c. 
 
 PADUA : June 19, 
 
 The simple exposition of his daily life given thus 
 off-hand, to quiet the anxiety of fond parents, is ad- 
 mirable both as to what it revealed and what it 
 omitted. What it revealed enabled them to see how 
 faithfully he kept up the pious customs of home amid 
 the allurements and distractions of University life ; 
 and what it omitted included the very things which he, 
 when at home, endeavoured to keep from all but the 
 
 Letter xxv, 
 
138 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 eye of God alone. * He was/ says Don Paoli, re- 
 ferring to this letter, * a man of universal well-doing ; 
 great in the discharge of the least as well as the most 
 important duties ; faithful in the observance of all 
 that belonged to his state ; as perfect a man and 
 Christian as one subject to human infirmity can be.' 
 
LEAVES THE UNIVERSITY. 139 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ROSMINI LEAVES THE UNIVERSITY AND RECEIVES THE 
 SUBDEACONATE. 
 
 (A,D. 1819.) 
 
 Completion of his University course What the Paduans thought of 
 him How the good and the poor missed him His first duty 
 on returning home His gratitude State in which he found his 
 Rovereto Academies The instability of human things How he 
 took disappointments What he deemed a ' great service ' He 
 establishes a school for poor ecclesiastical students His own pre- 
 paration for Holy Orders He receives the Subdeaconate and 
 makes a short excursion into Venezia How he bore himself while 
 travelling Sees God in everything Returns home His guests. 
 
 IN three years Rosmini completed his University 
 course, and returned home. Paduans, who looked 
 merely at the studious and scholastic aspects of that 
 course, described it as ' rapid and brilliant ; ' but they 
 who were privileged to see the more sacred side of 
 his daily life thought less of the great learning he 
 had successfully stored up than of the great piety 
 he had so perse veringly practised during those three 
 years. They knew, as well as others, that he had 
 made great progress in 'human and speculative 
 knowledge/ but they knew better than others that 
 he had made far greater progress in 'that knowledge 
 which is divine and practical.' They knew, also t 
 
140 LIFE Of ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 that the regularity of his exterior life, which chal- 
 lenged the respect of even the most worldly-minded, 
 was but the ordinary reflex of the subordination of 
 his interior life to ' the science of the Saints.' 
 
 University society, accustomed to college de- 
 partures, did not, perhaps, trouble itself much about 
 Rosmini's going away ; but the pious and the poor 
 of Padua soon missed his sweet, familiar face, and 
 long after felt a sorrow like that which the pious 
 and the poor experienced when St. Francis of Sales 
 left the same city ages before. Hence the saying 
 recorded by Tommaseo : ' a Francis of Sales and an 
 Antonio of Rovereto come to Padua only at inter 
 vals far apart/ l 
 
 One of the first duties which Rosmini discharged, 
 after his return home, was to write the following 
 letter of thanks to Don Leonardi Carpentari, the 
 estimable Priest under whose immediate care his 
 University days had been spent : 
 
 ' The paternal love that you constantly manifested 
 towards me, during the three years in which it was my good 
 fortune to dwell with you, the interest you took in my 
 affairs, the confidence you were wont to place in me, treating 
 me, who did not deserve it, as more than an ordinary friend, 
 dispelling even your doubts on grave subjects at my words 
 or suggestions, (though these words came from a mere youth, 
 whose sole claim upon you was his dutiful affection) all 
 this, which serves to illustrate not only the goodness of your 
 heart but the strength of your humility and affability, has won 
 my love in a very decided manner, and awakened in me 
 the deepest sentiments of respect and gratitude for one so 
 
 1 Rivista Cont. Antonio Rosmini per Nicolo Tommaseo. Torino, 
 1855. 
 
PREPARATION FOR THE SUBDEACONATE. 141 
 
 virtuous. If it now affords me, as it does, the greatest pleasure 
 to express what I feel (and what I cannot but feel), judge, 
 then, what my satisfaction would be, had I an opportunity 
 of proving my feelings by my acts. How I long for an 
 occasion of giving this proof ! If there be any service I can 
 render you, command me without ceremony, and so confer 
 on me a new favour that will merit gratitude for itself. 
 ROVERETO : July I8I9. 1 
 
 No sooner was he settled once more at home, 
 than he applied himself to the revival of the literary 
 and charitable associations which fell into decay 
 immediately after he had gone to the University. 
 He had to start afresh, with companions who were 
 quite new to such work ; for hardly any of his former 
 associates, young or old, were any longer able to 
 rejoin him. Some had passed to eternity, some 
 were occupied in duties far from Rovereto, and some 
 had lost the ardour of other days. Even Don Luigi 
 Sonn, whose co-operation he confidently relied on, 
 was about to leave. The changes which three short 
 years had thus effected within a small circle, supplied 
 him with matter for meditation on the instability of 
 all things human. But as his heart no longer rested 
 on human things, such vicissitudes could no longer 
 affect him as they usually affect others. How cheer- 
 fully he resigned himself to those changes may be 
 seen from a short letter of farewell to Don Luigi 
 Sonn, whose continued stay in Rovereto he greatly 
 desired. Having called at Don Luigi's residence 
 in order to take leave of his friend, he found him 
 absent, and then and there wrote thus : 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxvi. 
 
142 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Rosmini was here this evening, desirous of embracing 
 you, ere you vanished from his sight. But what species of 
 phantom you are he knows not ; for, as often as he 
 stretched forth his arms and drew them to his breast he 
 caught nothing but air ; so, they always returned to him 
 empty. However, he informs you that he has embraced 
 you in spirit ; and so closely that it will not be easy for you 
 to escape his grasp. Nay more, he is persuaded that you 
 will not disdain to give or receive similar embraces. Depart, 
 then ; he permits you, or rather, he rejoices that you go, 
 since the end for which you go is a good one. But he 
 asks that you will not, on your departure, take with you 
 that which you can leave behind for him without regret, 
 he means your love and memory. If, in this your leaving, 
 you will remember your faithful friend, you will for a cer- 
 tainty be of great serviced him. You understand of what 
 he speaks. 
 
 Put on fortitude and constancy, and, thus armed, fight 
 valiantly for the common cause, not to destruction but to 
 conquest. 
 
 ROVERETO : August 1819. 1 
 
 In the benevolent projects that filled young Ros- 
 mini's mind, Don Luigi had always a place ; for his 
 sound sense, large experience and great piety, made 
 him a prized counsellor. Although he would no 
 longer be close at hand to continue the advice once so 
 frequently sought, he could still continue the prayers 
 which had been its effective substitute during the 
 former separation. This was the 'great service ' 
 which Rosmini craved from him, as from all whose 
 merits gave them influence at the Court of Heaven. 
 Another ' great service ' which he at one time ex- 
 pected from him was practical assistance in carrying 
 
 1 EpistolartO) Letter xxvii. 
 
PREPARATION FOR THE SUBDEACONATE. 143 
 
 on the useful. and charitable little organisations that 
 had just been restored to working order. To these, 
 moreover, an addition was about to be made, which 
 caused the young Acolyte some anxiety, when he 
 knew that his sage friend's aid was no longer 
 available. 
 
 This addition was a school designed to pre- 
 pare worthy youths for the ecclesiastical state. On 
 his return from Padua he obtained permission from 
 his father to use a room in the family mansion for 
 the purposes of this school, the management of which 
 now fell wholly on himself. Most of those who 
 availed themselves of the opportunities his bene- 
 volence thus afforded were poor, and some, who 
 came recommended by friends at a distance, were 
 beholden to his generosity for their means of support 
 while prosecuting the studies that were to fit them 
 for some regular episcopal seminary. 1 He was their 
 teacher, their guide, their friend whether they were 
 rich or poor, provided their piety and their industry 
 were such as to merit his favour. 
 
 Meanwhile, he carefully prepared himself for 
 taking the sacred burden to which he directed the 
 hearts and minds of others. He had a most exalted 
 idea of the Priesthood, and drew near to that dignity 
 with an awe that increased at every step. Although 
 the first formal step assuming the clerical habit 
 was very simple and still remote from the great 
 office itself, he took it, as we have noticed, with a 
 
 1 The Abate Barnard! supplies many instances of this in his 
 Giovane eta, &c. of A. Rosmini. 
 
144 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 fluttering heart, and a deep sense of its grave 
 import. 
 
 This sentiment grew stronger as he approached 
 the Tonsure and Minor Orders, which he received 
 with shrinking timidity and solemn reverence. When 
 the time for taking the Subdeaconate came, he re- 
 joiced at its coming ; nevertheless he*was, as we know, 
 well pleased that Providence caused a delay ; for it 
 enabled him to make greater preparations, as if all 
 his life had not been one continuous, though unde- 
 signed, preparation. ' Full surely,' says Don Paoli, 
 ' he entered the sheepfold by the door, because God 
 had long since furnished him with an abundance of 
 heavenly endowments, and gifted him, in an especial 
 manner, with the spirit of prayer, piety of heart, 
 innocence of soul, and untiring industry, set off by 
 great wealth of learning.' 
 
 While he felt certain that each step which took 
 him nearer to the Priesthood carried him farther and 
 farther from the inheritance men of the world prize, 
 he never, for an instant, thought of turning back ; for 
 each step brought him nearer and nearer to the only 
 inheritance his heart had ever craved. But, while 
 he was ready to sacrifice everything to the glory of 
 God, aye even all the consolation of the most 
 precious affections, he did not therefore withdraw 
 from any one, much less from his parents and kindred, 
 the affections to which they were entitled : on the 
 contrary, he preserved, increased and gave more 
 depth to the natural affections, by sanctifying them. 
 
 The members of his family who still wished to 
 
 
RECEIVES THE SUBDEACONATE. 145 
 
 hold him back from the Priesthood hoped that the 
 hindrances which the state of the times threw in his 
 way, might, after all, exhaust his patience and induce 
 him to go no further than he had gone. These 
 hopes were all the stronger, as there was no good 
 reason to expect that the Bishop of Trent would be 
 restored to his diocese for many years ; while some 
 thought there was reason to believe that young 
 Rosmini would not go elsewhere for Orders. But 
 they were mistaken ; and the reason which encouraged 
 their hopes was the very one that led him to decide 
 on delaying no longer the next step. 
 
 As soon as he was satisfied that the time for 
 taking this next step had truly come, he went to 
 Brixen, in Mid-Tyrol, and there, on the 2ist of 
 November, 1819, received the Subdeaconate, at 
 the hands of Mons. Carlo, Count of Lodron, then 
 Bishop of that diocese. 
 
 The new Subdeacon having devoted some days 
 to thanksgiving and pious contemplation, started on 
 a short tour of recreation, accompanied by Giuseppe 
 Stoffella, his former class-mate in Don Orsi's Lyceum, 
 and one of the early associates of his domestic 
 Academy in Rovereto. They passed from Brixen 
 into the "Venetian province of Friuli, and journeyed 
 through Udine down to Venice, thence, by Padua to 
 Verona, homeward. The choice of route was made 
 partly with the view of visiting some sacred shrines, 
 and partly in order to call on seme University friends 
 at their homes on the way. 
 
 He remained for a few days at the chalybeate 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
146 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 springs of Recoaro, where he made some acquain- 
 tances who, in after years, reminded him of the fact, 
 when they sought from him ' the waters of truth/ 
 Recoaro was then a fashionable watering place more 
 or less familiar with Church dignitaries, but perhaps 
 never before made attractive by a young ecclesiastic 
 who secured general admiration, not by a display of 
 rank, wealth, or learning, but by quiet charities, re- 
 tiring modesty and persistent piety. 
 
 Travelling whether for recreation or not 
 seldom interfered with Rosmini's fixed religious 
 duties, though it usually obliged him to set aside 
 his regular studies. Every morning he contrived to 
 hear Mass, sometimes halting for that purpose at 
 a village church. As he beheld God in everything 
 and everything in God, the ever-varying scenes 
 through which he passed served rather to stimulate 
 than to distract mental prayer. 1 
 
 When his soul was not thus engaged his mind 
 turned whatever he saw to the benefit of studies that 
 still had God for their object. He regarded each day 
 of his life as a page in his history and resolved that it 
 should not be a blank one, but filled with good deeds 
 
 1 ' He was accustomed to say that if it were possible man should 
 never cease from prayer, for it is the inestimable source of every 
 good, whereby man becomes, as it were, master of the very omnipo- 
 tence of God, Who has promised always to hear the petition of those 
 who humbly pray to Him. Whenever Antonix) Rosmini was at prayer, 
 his external deportment showed that his soul was entirely absorbed in 
 his Creator, and no one could behold him without being moved to 
 devotion. ... His religious duties held so high a place in his heart 
 that he would never omit any of them, unless when incapacitated by 
 illness,' An Otitline of the Life of Antonio Rosmini, translated froi 
 the Italian and edited by the Rev. W. Lockhart, p. 78. London, 185* 
 
AT HOME AS SUBDEACON. 147 
 
 and good thoughts, with practical evidences of his 
 love to God and man, as well as with progress in 
 piety and progress in learning. The record was 
 exclusively for God, though its lessons were destined 
 to be diffused for the benefit of man, in whose inter- 
 est, as dear to God, he stored up knowledge and 
 desired to spread it. 
 
 On returning from his little tour, he was joined 
 at Rovereto by some of the young friends whom he 
 had visited in the Venetian provinces. They came 
 to stay with him for a few days and see for them- 
 selves what a great deal of good can be effected by 
 little organizations, such as flourished around his 
 home. Two of these friends Tommaseo and 
 Maurizio Moschini who were, socially speaking, 
 probably the least of the visitors then at the Rosmini 
 mansion, soon became its most constant and most 
 prized guests. 
 
 I 2 
 
148 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ROSMINI AN HEIR AND A DEACON. 
 (A.D. 1819-1821.) 
 
 Death of his father Finds himself to be heir general Why he does 
 not expect this and why he accepts it How he meets his new re- 
 sponsibilitiesHe prepares for the Deaconate Arrival of the 
 Bishop of Chioggia in Rovereto Receives Deacon's orders De- 
 clines to receive the Priesthood before he is of canonical age Goes 
 into a long special preparation for the Priesthood Establishes a 
 class of sacred eloquence ; its advantages to himself and others 
 His ordinary mode of life in those days His eager desire to 
 remedy the evils produced by the false philosophy then popular. 
 
 WHILE Rosmini was away on his short excursion, 
 his father s health showed symptoms of approaching 
 dissolution, and the careful old man arranged his 
 worldly affairs that he might apply himself, without 
 distractions, to the immediate preparation for 
 eternity. The son was at home in time to soothe 
 his father's last days, with the pious attentions which 
 none knew better how to bestow. Exactly two 
 months after his beloved Antonio was advanced 
 to the Subdeaconate, the venerable Pier Modesto, 
 then in his seventy-fifth year, received the benedic- 
 tion of the dying and passed to everlasting rest. 
 
 The last sad offices to the dead were over, and 
 the fond son was still ministering consolations to hi 
 
 ' 
 
HE BECOMES AN HEIR. 149 
 
 sorrowing mother, when he was informed that, not- 
 withstanding his being in Holy Orders, the will of 
 his father constituted him inheritor of all the family 
 possessions. This he neither expected nor desired ; 
 for, when he chose the Church as his spouse, he 
 looked upon the choice as naturally leading to a for- 
 feiture of his claim to more than a younger son's 
 portion. The custom of the country, as well as 
 special family reasons, led him to believe such would 
 have been the decision of his father. But there 
 were other family reasons, and higher customs, which 
 induced Pier Modesto to arrive at a different con- 
 clusion ; and so he framed his will in terms that 
 left his eldest son no option but to be his heir. 
 
 Amongst these other reasons was the fact that 
 Ambrogio Rosmini, from whom the estate immedi- 
 ately descended, fully intended to have left all his 
 property to his nephew Antonio, and not to Antonio's 
 father. However, as the good Ambrogio died in- 
 testate, Pier Modesto succeeded as heir-at-law ; but, 
 knowing what his brother's unwritten will was, he 
 deemed himself a trustee who was bound, in due 
 time, to give it full effect. 
 
 Antonio saw in all this less his father's will than 
 God's. To God's service, therefore, he resolved to 
 devote what God had thus given. Generous pro- 
 vision had been made for his widowed mother, 
 while his brother and sister had no reason to complain 
 of the ample allowance that had been left to them. 
 
 The loss of his father intensified the young Sub- 
 deacon's piety. Death was a subject he loved to 
 
150 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 meditate on, as a never-failing means of detaching 
 his soul from the perishable things of this life, and 
 keeping it firmly bound to those that never die. But 
 there was a vast difference between contemplating 
 death with the eye of the spirit and viewing it face 
 to face as an awful fact. He first felt this difference 
 when he knelt by the bier of the uncle he loved so 
 tenderly ; but he felt it still more keenly when the 
 tomb closed on his venerated father, and the eyes of the 
 flesh could never more look on that dear countenance. 
 The salutary effect it produced in himself was im- 
 parted to those who leant on him for the conso- 
 lations he was so skilled in administering to all in 
 affliction. 
 
 It did not take him long to readjust the affairs of 
 his mourning family, and set in order the new respon- 
 sibilities that devolved on himself. He made no 
 change whatever in the administration of the house. 
 His influence had so long directed it that the 
 change of chief was hardly more than nominal. 
 The management of the property he entrusted to 
 his cousin Count Salvador! (his mother's nephew) 
 who had already been the agent for Ambrogio, and 
 who continued to serve in the same capacity not only 
 while Antonio lived, but for some fifteen years after 
 his death. 1 When all the business affairs were duly 
 
 1 The Rosmini retainers, whether high or low, usually spent their 
 whole lives in the service of the family. This was probably due to the 
 patriarchal relations existing between masters and servants ; some of 
 these retainers were descended from families that had given servants 
 to the house for many generations. A household register, kept by 
 the Countess Rosmini, mother of Don Antonio, is still to be seen in 
 the Parolini mansion at Rovereto, and the quaint entries in this book 
 
ORDAINED DEACON. 151 
 
 arranged, he turned, once more, to his studies. 
 These had been for a short time interrupted by the 
 sad duties that gave a special solemnity to those 
 divisions of his horary which nothing ever inter- 
 rupted his devotions and his charities. 
 
 Before Rosmini had been many weeks settled 
 down to his new position, it was announced that a 
 Venetian Bishop was expected to visit Rovereto soon, 
 for the purpose of consecrating the church of the 
 Holy Cross, giving Confirmation and holding an 
 Ordination. Antonio hailed this news as a message 
 from Providence to prepare for the Deaconate. 
 Accordingly, he at once directed all his studies and 
 spiritual exercises to that object. The Bishop ar- 
 rived, the church was consecrated at the appointed 
 time in May, and Confirmation given at St. Mark's 
 and elsewhere. The church selected for the Ordina- 
 tion ceremonies was that of St. Mary, within which 
 lay the ancient sepulchre of the Rosmini family. 
 
 There, on June 2, 1820, Antonio Rosmini- Serbati 
 received Deacon's Orders, from Mons. Manfrin- 
 Provedi, Bishop of Chioggia, the see of Trent being 
 still vacant. On the same occasion, Minor Orders 
 were conferred on two of Antonio's intimate friends 
 Bartolomeo Stofella and Antonio Gasperini. 
 
 The young Deacon, who approached his new 
 dignity by a long retreat, had no sooner received 
 it than he retired again for a few days, to honour its 
 possession, as he had honoured its advent, by prayer 
 
 bear witness to the motherly care of the mistress for each of her at- 
 tendants, and to the attachment of these for their ' noble home.' 
 
152 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 and meditation in perfect solitude. When he re- 
 turned to his ordinary duties, he was counselled to 
 obtain a dispensation for receiving the Priesthood 
 before the canonical age. There was much propriety 
 in the advice, because apart from his known fitness 
 in every respect but age the peculiar circumstances 
 of the diocese would have made such an application 
 in the highest degree reasonable, and the Bishop 
 intimated that he thought the course suggested 
 desirable. 
 
 But Rosmini looked up to the Priesthood with 
 such a feeling of awe, that he could not be per- 
 suaded to shorten the time regularly set down for a 
 complete special preparation. Although, from his 
 childhood to the day on which he was urged to ask 
 for a dispensation, he had been making intellectual 
 an<J spiritual provision for * the wonderful powers 
 the office conferred' although each of the steps 
 he had already taken, with such extraordinary care, 
 brought him closer to it in a more and more hallowed 
 disposition still he deemed ten months' immediate 
 preparation as the least he could give to it. 
 
 In effect, he went into a ten months' retreat. 
 During that time he did not, indeed, fail in the social 
 obligations which belonged to the headship of his 
 family ; nor did he neglect any of the responsibilities 
 proper to his station. But he had so disciplined his 
 heart and mind that these things never held his soul 
 away from the one object to which he made even 
 the most ordinary occurrences of every-day life 
 tributary. 
 
AT HOME AS A DEACON. 153 
 
 He himself tells us, in his Logic, 1 how, by a proper 
 economy of time, he was able to get through with ease 
 the vast amount of work which amazed his friends, 
 some of whom, like Moschini, supposed that Angels 
 must have aided him, else he would not have been 
 able to pray so much, to study so much, to write so 
 much, and, with all that, never to leave even the 
 least of his domestic or other duties unfulfilled, or 
 attended to in a negligent manner. However ab- 
 sorbed in studies he might be, the presence of God 
 was never out of sight, as frequent short ejaculations 
 of love and adoration attested. However wrapped 
 in meditation he might be, the calls of charity to 
 his neighbour always found him promptly attentive, 
 for they were but a practical continuation of his 
 prayer. 2 
 
 In those days, his domestic Academy and its 
 ecclesiastical offshoot more than compensated him 
 for all the trouble he had taken with them. The 
 estimable youths who flocked around him brought 
 solace to his mind and heart, while the care of their 
 spiritual and intellectual interests furnished him with 
 an excellent means of perfecting his own preparations 
 for the Priesthood. That nothing should be wanting 
 
 1 Logica, p. 879. ' Life is prolonged by economising time.' To 
 Muratori he said : ' I am able to do so much by utilising scraps of 
 time.' 
 
 2 * His love of God was, as the Gospel requires, united to the love 
 of his neighbour. He loved God in his neighbour and his neighbour 
 in God. He desired for every one the possession of the only true 
 good, which is eternal salvation, as well as those temporal goods which 
 promote, or at least do not hinder the attainment of the true good/ , 
 An Outline of the Life of Rosining p. 80, 
 
154 LIfE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 to this end, he added a class of sacred eloquence to 
 the course set down for his new ecclesiastical school, 
 and undertook its direction himself. The consola- 
 tion and benefit he derived from it were thus men- 
 tioned to his friend Paravia, in a letter dated April 5, 
 1820: 'On Thursdays I have with me a little 
 gathering of young Clerics, and we make together 
 some exercises in eloquence which I relish exceed- 
 ingly, because charity and peace reign amongst us. 
 And do you not deem this profit to all of us ? I 
 assure you that I am very grateful to God for it/ 
 
 Thus, before he had received Priest's Orders, he 
 was doing for his native diocese the services of an 
 experienced seminary professor, and, at his own 
 expense, closing up the dangerous gap which revo- 
 lutionary disturbances had so long kept open. In 
 another part of the letter from which we have just 
 quoted, he gave his friend a passing glance at some 
 of the things he was then daily doing : 
 
 ' My philosophical writings are at present in 
 repose. Charity has forced me to devote myself to 
 sacred eloquence. I have written some sixteen 
 discourses. I have also prepared other things for 
 the press, but, if I once begin to publish, it is not 
 easy to say where I shall stop. As yet, however, 
 I have no serious thought of that. In the morn- 
 ing, I sometimes write verses ; in the evenings 
 I teach philosophy ; then I converse with some 
 friends and write to others ; I look after house- 
 hold affairs, answer letters, and see to any other 
 business that requires my attention.' This was all he 
 
AT HOME AS A DEACON. 155 
 
 saw fit to say himself; but Tommaseo tells us that 
 for the greater part of the year 1820, as a prepara- 
 tion for the Priesthood, he redoubled his religious 
 exercises and ' more rigorously than ever observed 
 the rules which kept him to the practices of a recluse 
 amid the duties of secular life.' 
 
 It was then difficult it still is and ever will be 
 difficult for worldly-minded men to understand how 
 a learned and wealthy young noble could toil with 
 such unflagging industry for others, or for the mere 
 purpose of reaching, in the most fitting manner, an 
 end that seemed to them so much * a matter of 
 course' as taking Holy Orders. His early risings, 
 his prolonged meditations, his frequent fastings, his 
 severe studies, his patient zeal and exhausting 
 labours as a voluntary teacher, his unwearied and 
 punctilious attention to the least as well as to the 
 most important matters connected with household 
 routine all such things formed a greater puzzle to 
 the local worldlings than his charities, or his estab- 
 lishing Academies, or his abstention from the gaieties 
 of society, or his deep interest in the moral, intellec- 
 tual, and material well-being of his neighbour. But, 
 what most amazed them was that he continued to 
 combine all these, and yet to enjoy better health and 
 far more happiness than those who lived in what the 
 world calls ' ease and comfort/ 
 
 In the autumn of 1820, the first season of his 
 restored Academy was formally terminated in a way 
 befitting its objects. He has, himself, left us this 
 brief account of the closing scenes, sketched inciden- 
 
156 LIEE OF ANTONIO ROSMIN1. 
 
 tally in a letter to Paravia, dated September 23, 1820 : 
 ' We made a solemn conclusion of this year on St. 
 Januarius' day, which we celebrated with poetic and 
 other compositions. Stofella contributed an ode, 
 and I a sermon. The cheerfulness, the holy cordi- 
 ality, the solidity of the conversations were admirable, 
 and we enjoyed ourselves much. The order of the 
 festivity was this : Don Orsi, one of our members, 
 celebrated Mass in the morning at the altar of my 
 little domestic oratory which was specially prepared 
 for the occasion and had as a chief adornment the 
 portrait of St. Philip, who is the Protector of our 
 Society. After dinner, the customary discourse was 
 delivered, then came a prose recitation by the secre- 
 tary and next followed the poetry, which each one 
 brought ; finally there was the Te Deum, after which 
 we had the evening's repast/ 
 
 In the letter giving these bare outlines of the 
 interesting scenes with which his home was then 
 familiar, he discussed other topics that pressed more 
 on his mind, which was keenly observant of the 
 moral and intellectual dangers of the day. Not the 
 least threatening of those dangers was that re- 
 sulting from an influx of the sensist philo- 
 sophy which had succeeded in so corrupting literary 
 taste that ' society ' was beginning to disrelish the 
 reading of anything supposed to have in it a flavour 
 of religion. 
 
 By way of set-off or slight check to this, he 
 urged Paravia to publish, forthwith, a good edition 
 of a little book entitled Dio del Cotta e del, 
 
AT HOME AS A DEACON. 157 
 
 Lemene, and made some suggestions of a practical 
 kind as to the best way of bringing it into note, 
 adding : ' Good people would all the more desire it, 
 since in our times most literary men are seen to 
 neglect authors in whom no matter how high be 
 the merits of the composition they fear to meet 
 with religion. The mediocre beauties of a profane 
 scribe are extolled to the skies, while the exquisite 
 excellencies of a writer on sacred subjects are 
 allowed to fall to the ground.' 
 
 One of the objects upon which he had set his 
 heart was to remedy this growing evil, and to lead 
 the popular taste back to the pure fountains of 
 thought from which the shallow but plausible sensists 
 had been successfully turning it away. ' Like all the 
 truly great intellects which God, from time to time, 
 has raised up within His Church, such as St. 
 Augustine, Boetius, and S. Thomas Aquinas, Ros- 
 mini felt intensely the supreme utility, or rather the 
 necessity, of reuniting divine and human science into 
 one great whole, and reconciling reason with Faith, in 
 order to demonstrate that the works of God never 
 contradict each other, that Grace is easily engrafted 
 upon nature, and that Revelation and its mysteries 
 do not destroy but direct and exalt the under- 
 standing.' 1 This was the task to which God evi- 
 dently called him, and to its execution, under the 
 guidance of Providence, he bent all his energies. 
 
 1 An Outline of Rosmints Life, &c. 
 
158 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ROSMINI A PRIEST. 
 (A.D. 1821.) 
 
 The feast of his canonical majority He draws near to the Priesthood 
 with fear and trembling Goes to Chioggia for Ordination How 
 he received the sacred dignity A retreat of thanksgiving at Venice, 
 where he celebrates his first Mass Returns to Rovereto unper- 
 ceived in order to escape a public reception Thanks the Bishop 
 who ordained him His energy and aspirations shown by a letter 
 to Prince Alexander von Hohenlohe Celebrates his first public 
 Mass The day one of popular rejoicings in Rovereto His mother 
 gives a grand banquet How all this affects him The ovations 
 over, he goes into retreat on the Mount Leaves absolute solitude 
 for the commencement of a five years' home retirement The 
 principle of Passivity as he knew and practised it Key to the 
 consistency of his course How he distributed the ordinary duties 
 of the day Every hour for God Love of gravity and of order 
 The best qualities of his childhood and youth grown perfect in his 
 manhood. 
 
 THE feast of the Annunciation, in the year 1821, 
 was Rosmini's twenty-fourth birthday. He cele- 
 brated it with special solemnity, as it was the day of 
 his canonical majority, and close at hand was the 
 time chosen for the great event to which he had been 
 so long looking forward with trembling diffidence 
 and fervent devotion. ' With what deep-felt piety,' 
 says Don Paoli, ' with what largeness of heart and 
 
READY FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 159 
 
 humility of spirit, Antonio Rosmini approached the 
 sacred Ordination we leave to the judgment of those 
 who have been able to form an adequate estimate of 
 the greatness of his soul.' 
 
 Much, indeed, did he fear to take upon him- 
 self an office which he deemed a burden requiring 
 the strength of angels to bear it fittingly ; there- 
 fore he drew near it, as men did of old, with an 
 overawed heart, and with painfully scrupulous 
 care. None had ever more thoroughly considered 
 all the dangers which encircle an Ambassador of 
 God none had ever more thoroughly fenced 
 himself against these dangers. He had so trained 
 himself to spiritual watchfulness, he had so schooled 
 himself in meekness and charity, that neither 
 personal wrongs, disappointments, ingratitudes, an- 
 noyances, nor malice in any of its forms could any 
 longer much disturb him ; nor could the applause 
 or the abuse of the world, nor the dignities or in- 
 dignities of this life, any longer much affect him. 
 
 Why then did he so greatly fear ? Because, like 
 St. John Chrysostom, who also greatly feared the 
 responsibilities of the Priesthood, he felt that he who 
 had to tremble before God for his own sins and soul, 
 should tremble much more ' when he found himself 
 charged with the sins and souls of others ; ' because 
 he felt that whoever had to exercise the sacred 
 duties of this sublime office ought to possess the 
 purity and the sanctity and the strength of an Angel, 
 whereas he was only a man. But, when the time 
 came, all this fear fell at the feet of the Lord Who 
 
160 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1N1. 
 
 had regarded his humility, for it was very sincere 
 and very great. 1 
 
 In compliance with the invitation of Mons. 
 Manfrin-Provedi he left Rovereto so as to be in 
 Chioggia (near Venice) during the solemn services of 
 Holy Week. These services closed with the Ordina- 
 tions of Holy Saturday (April 2ist of that year), 
 when Antonio Rosmini-Serbati was consecrated a 
 Priest of the Church of God. No sooner did he rise 
 up with the awful dignity fully upon him, than he 
 felt like yielding to emotions which, in kindred 
 circumstances, made St Basil swoon ; but he was 
 strengthened by remembering St. Chrysostom's 
 cheering counsel to St. Basil : ' Be of good courage 
 trusting in Christ, Who has called you to His Holy 
 Ministry.' This gift of 'good courage/ based on 
 Christ, was amongst the first of the heavenly 
 favours then bestowed upon Rosmini ; and as 
 to the abundance of the celestial gifts he received 
 from God on that occasion, ' they may be inferred/ 
 says Don Paoli, 'from the magnanimity and con- 
 stancy with which he consecrated all his life and 
 all his means to the service of God, and the salvation 
 of his neighbour/ 
 
 A few hours after his Ordination, he set out for 
 
 1 ( He used to say that true humility not only shows itself before 
 God but also before men, and he was always foremost in the practice 
 of this exalted Christian virtue. Humility was one of those virtues 
 that gained him the affection not only of his disciples but of all who 
 approached him. They wondered to see a man who was raised so 
 high above other men by his lofty intellect, his vast and profound eru- 
 dition, not only making no display of his rare gifts but appearing quite 
 unconscious of them.' An Outline of the Life of Rosmini, &c. p. 84. 
 
ORDAINED PRIEST. 161 
 
 Venice, on a visit to his friend Mons. Traversi, then 
 Rector of the college attached to the Church of St. 
 Catherine. There he celebrated his first Mass, on 
 Easter Sunday, 1821, and there he remained, as the 
 guest of the Superior, in a retreat of thanksgiving 
 for a few days. 1 This retirement was far dearer to 
 his heart than the distracting festivities which the 
 affection and admiration of family and friends in 
 Rovereto were preparing for the immediate return of 
 one so loved, and who had just been vested with 
 the sacred dignity to which he ( was called as Aaron 
 was.' 
 
 To avoid the kindly demonstrations he had been 
 warned to expect at home, he kept all in ignorance 
 of the day and probable hour of his return. It was 
 generally supposed that he would come back in order 
 to celebrate his first public Mass on the last Sunday 
 of April ; but they who thought so were disappointed. 
 Although he reached home on the night of Saturday, 
 the 28th of April, his return was known only to 
 those who would respect his wish to be shielded, 
 for a little while longer, from the too expressive 
 
 1 Some say, on the authority of Don A. Gasperini, that he cele- 
 brated his first Mass at St. Mark's, Rovereto, on the 3rd of May 
 twelve days after his Ordination. But Don Gasperini evidently refers 
 to his first public Mass in patria ; for, apart from the fact that Tom- 
 maseo knew from himself that his first Mass was celebrated in Venice, 
 as we say, on Easter Sunday, it is not likely that Rosmini, a lover of 
 seclusion, would have waited so long for a public occasion when he 
 had, the while, so many private opportunities. Moreover, Don Basilio, 
 who was in a position to test the family traditions, has assured us that 
 there was no doubt he had said ' a private Mass in his own home on 
 the Sunday before the 3rd of May.' It is then very probable that he 
 had celebrated not only two but three or more Masses before that 
 day. 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
162 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 kindness of his fellow citizens. He spent Sunday 
 in the quiet of home, and gave his family alone the 
 privilege and joy of assisting, in the domestic oratory, 
 at his first private Mass in Rovereto. 
 
 Soon after breakfast ' on that happy Sunday/ as 
 he informed Tommaseo, he penned a short letter to 
 the Bishop of Chioggia, intending it to be the first 
 written since his return home, raised to the rank 
 which brought him 
 
 Hard by the Throne, where angels bow and fear, 
 E'en while he had a name and mission here. 
 
 That letter was as follows : 
 
 Having reached home in safety, I feel it to be my duty 
 to express to your Lordship, in writing, my lively senti- 
 ments of gratitude for the signal kindness and courtesy I 
 have received at your hands. For it is to you, my Lord,, 
 that I am indebted for what of all things I most prize- 
 namely, my Ordination to the Priesthood. No treasure is 
 comparable to that, and in exchange for it there is nothing 
 . I possess, or ever shall possess, which I could give, unless it 
 be a soul that will ever ardently cherish the recollection of 
 so great a favour. 
 
 But God will reward your Lordship in my behalf, and, 
 I feel sure, you will be content with such an exchange. 
 The many tokens of regard I met with from all the 
 members of your household (amongst whom you deigned 
 to receive me without any merit of mine) will also form a 
 subject of undying remembrance. I beg you to convey to 
 all those distinguished personages my most cordial ac- 
 knowledgments. Your Lordship is held in great esteem 
 here and ardently longed for. We hope to see you, for 
 certain, next Autumn ; and, as for me, I trust you will do 
 me the honour of availing yourself of my home, such as it is. 
 
 
ORDAINED PRIEST. 163 
 
 O ! if we had your Lordship for our Bishop ! But may God 
 dispose everything as He pleases ! 
 ROVERETO : April 29, I82I. 1 
 
 During the evening of the same day, though he 
 needed mental and physical repose, he wrote one of 
 those letters which are so characteristic of his energy 
 and of his aspirations : no less so are the circumstances. 
 While going to and coming from Chioggia, he had 
 occasion to notice how nobly Catholic Germans con- 
 trasted with those who were not Catholic, and as his 
 heart was filled with prayerful longings for the con- 
 version of the erring ones, he poured out his feelings 
 on the subject in a letter to the saintly Priest, 
 Prince Alexander von Hohenlohe uncle of His 
 Eminence the present Cardinal Gustavus von Hohen- 
 lohe, Archpriest of the Patriarchal Basilica of Sta. 
 Maria Maggiore, and Bishop of Albano. The letter 
 was a long and affectionate one, written in Latin. 
 
 It conveyed not only his ardent desire for the re- 
 turn of the whole German race to the Church of God, 
 but his hope that the pious Priest, through whose 
 intercession our Lord was pleased to effect so many 
 astonishing cures, should also be made the means of 
 healing the wounds which error had inflicted, so 
 that, by curing his countrymen of their heresies, he 
 might restore them to religious sanity. 
 
 Thus, while all Rovereto, yielding to the pious 
 affections of Catholic brotherhood, was panting, as it 
 were, to show publicly its reverence for a young 
 citizen who had just received Priest's Orders, there 
 
 1 Epistolarw, Letter xxviii. 
 
 M 2 
 
1 64 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 was he, giving no thought to that, or to himself at all, 
 but wholly occupied with the priestly wish to gather in 
 the strayed sheep of his Master and have them all, 
 like the dear children of Rovereto, sheltered within 
 the one fold of the one Shepherd. How like 
 Rosmini this was ! how significant of the apostolic 
 labours that were, through all his after life, to find 
 him so constantly and self-sacrificingly directing his 
 every energy to the gathering in of the strayed 
 sheep of that Good Shepherd Who had called him 
 to aid in ministering to the flock. 
 
 On the following Thursday, the 3rd of May, 
 Don Antonio celebrated his first public Mass in the 
 parish church of Rovereto, amidst the reverent 
 rejoicings of the whole town. The event made the 
 day a kind of municipal festival. Clergy and people 
 spontaneously united in an ovation that was meant 
 to express their hearty love and high esteem for the 
 young Priest whose virtues and talents had endeared 
 him to all, and whose blessing every one was eager 
 to receive. Don Antonio would have fled from all this 
 had not charity obliged him, as often before on less 
 important occasions, to surrender his own inclinations. 
 
 Not only in churches and streets, and in the 
 dwellings of kindred and friends, but at home, the 
 quiet he coveted was affectionately denied him ; for 
 the Countess Rosmini, who knew well how much 
 her son disliked to be the object of such attentions, 
 and who had therefore seldom forced him to the sacri- 
 fice, claimed a mother's right to honour the day with a 
 sumptuous banquet. It was not merely her son she 
 
ORDAINED PRIEST. 165 
 
 proposed to entertain, but one who had just been 
 made an Ambassador of God, and who happened to 
 be her son. At her beck, relations and friends, as 
 well as the local Clergy, thronged the palatial rooms 
 of the family mansion : music in the garden and in 
 the spacious entrance halls, congratulatory speeches 
 in the dining-room, and complimentary sonnets in 
 the drawing-rooms, gave great joy to all except to 
 Rosmini, who took the demonstration as a penance 
 which was only softened by the reflection that what 
 pained him pleased others, and that, after all, it was 
 for the priestly office rather than for himself the 
 honour was intended. 
 
 The ovation over, several other days of con- 
 gratulatory greetings had to be gone through, ere he 
 was allowed to betake himself to the complete 
 solitude for which he longed. Then he went to 
 the villa on the Mount, where, eight years before, he 
 had composed ' The Day of Retirement,' and where, 
 once again, he communed all alone with God, as in 
 the freshest days of boyhood. While thus enjoying 
 the delightful seclusion of his favourite Casino del 
 Monte he wrote to his friend Paravia, saying : ' I am 
 more and more enamoured of this solitude which is 
 full of God.' 1 Yes, that was its special attraction 
 for him ' it was full of God : ' that was the one 
 charm he sought in all places and things. 
 
 Having remained a week in strict retirement 
 on the Mount, he returned to town and commenced 
 that beautiful home life which may be called a five 
 1 Lettre giovanili al Paravia, No. xxvii. 
 
i66 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 years' retreat sometimes on the Mount, sometimes at 
 his town residence, sometimes in a rural parish whose 
 wearied Pastor needed a substitute, sometimes in the 
 midst of the youths who clung to him as their master 
 and friend, sometimes with those whose intellectual, 
 moral or physical needs sought his charitable aid, but 
 always in circumstances that were full of God, always 
 where he could best sanctify himself and serve his 
 neighbour, always so as to keep unbroken the con- 
 tinuity of a religious retreat, and of studies which 
 were as golden links in that continuity. During 
 this long retreat, the rule of life he had laid down 
 for himself in earlier years was put into force with 
 the utmost rigour. This rule took its character from 
 that ' principle of passivity ' or waiting on God's Will 
 which he thus pithily set forth in his Diary : 
 
 * I, who am a most unworthy Priest, have deter- 
 mined to base my whole life on the two following 
 principles : i. To apply myself to the amendment 
 of my enormous defects, and to the purifying of my 
 soul from the iniquity into which it has been sunk 
 even from birth, and to do this without going in 
 quest of other occupation, or attempting things on 
 behalf of my neighbour, seeing that, of my own 
 self, I am absolutely powerless to do anything 
 really good for any one. 2. I purpose not to refuse 
 such offices of charity to my neighbour as Divine 
 Providence may think fit to offer me, because the 
 Almighty can make use of anything for His works 
 and therefore even of me ; and, in case He does 
 make use of me, I purpose to preserve a spirit of 
 
ORDAINED PRIEST. 167 
 
 perfect indifference as regards any special work of 
 chanty, resolved to perform (in so far as my feeble 
 will is concerned) that work which may be offered 
 to me as zealously as I would any other/ 
 
 Here we have the key-note to that consistency 
 of character which blent the ' active ' and ' passive ' 
 so harmoniously in his whole course. Here, too, we 
 see the main spring of that comprehensive but well 
 ordered charity to which he devoted his unwearied 
 energies that charity 
 
 Which, like the perfume-giving rose, 
 Possesses still what it bestows, 
 
 that charity which embraced all for love of Christ 
 and would not exclude even the uncharitable. And 
 here also we find the clue of that profound humility 
 which won from him a lifelong homage that humility 
 which is the genuine test of sanctity, and which 
 caused him, like a St. Francis of Sales and a St. 
 Ephrem of Edessa, to magnify trifling defects into 
 'vices.' As a sunbeam reveals the floating specs 
 that are too minute to be seen in the clearest ordinary 
 light, so his sensitive conscience, lit up by humility, 
 discovered blemishes which no other human eye 
 could discern. 
 
 . . . O clear conscience and upright, 
 How doth a little failing wound thee sore ! l 
 
 His life, during these five years, was regulated 
 by a rule based on this * principle of passivity/ that 
 is to say, the principle of ' relying on Providence to 
 
 1 Dante's Purg. iii. 8, 9 (Gary). 
 
168 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 direct our steps.' Rosmini's strong faith in Divine 
 Providence was based on the profound conviction 
 that God is always watching over us with tender 
 care; that He never fails to manifest His Will to 
 those who sincerely desire it ; and that they who 
 guide their course by the Will of Him Who is 
 infinitely wise, as well as infinitely good and mighty, 
 are sure to be called upon to employ all their talents 
 in a way that must, in the end, be best for the glory 
 of God and for the sanctification of themselves and 
 of their neighbour. 
 
 This principle of ' passivity ' should not, there- 
 fore, be for a moment confounded with the false 
 system of the Quietists, for it does not mean, nor 
 does it lead to, inaction or apathy, but on the 
 contrary, as the whole of his own life proved, it 
 leads to an unceasing activity which shapes its course 
 according to the indications of Providence as seen 
 in circumstances. He felt that a rule based on such 
 a principle should commend itself to the judgment 
 of every one who sought to act wisely for himself 
 and others, for it simply enjoined that 'when you 
 have certain powers of action you must be prudent 
 in ascertaining what is the best use you can make of 
 them.' 
 
 The rule he based on this principle, for his 
 home retirement, did not differ, except in details, 
 from that which he afterwards formulated when 
 he came to legislate for the spiritual government 
 of a Religious Order. It provided for very early 
 rising, followed by an hour's meditation ; then for 
 
ORDAINED PRIEST. 169 
 
 a quarter of an hour's study of some ascetic 
 subject ; then for a special preparation for Mass ; 
 then for Mass, followed by a long thanksgiving ; 
 then for spiritual reading, followed by a very 
 light breakfast ; then for a short walk, with a 
 book, in the garden where he once played at monk, 
 and now, as often as circumstances permitted, recited 
 the Divine Office ; then for a visit of consolation or 
 piety, or the reception of some guest, or the perform- 
 ance of some corporal work of mercy ; then for 
 two or three hours close study, followed by an exam- 
 ination of conscience before the Blessed Sacrament ; 
 then for dinner, followed by recreation with his family 
 or friends ; then for a ramble in the country, his 
 steps generally leading him where charity needed 
 his presence ; then for more study, followed by the 
 recital of his Office, by spiritual reading and by 
 prayer. 
 
 So, throughout the whole day, every hour 
 was portioned off with a system that varied little 
 from the set rules of after life ; and every hour was 
 given to God or to his neighbour for God. Twice 
 a day he made formal visits to the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment. Once a day, usually after Mass, he carefully 
 read a portion of the Holy Scriptures (and in this 
 way had read the whole Bible through at least seven 
 times). He went to confession regularly every week ; 
 and, besides a rigid retreat of ten or twelve days every 
 year, he had a rigid retreat of four days before Lent 
 and another before Advent all special retreats 
 within his prolonged general retreat. 
 
170 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Like St. Thomas of Aquin his devotion, 
 fervent yet composed at all times, was most glowing 
 in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. He cele- 
 brated Mass with the greatest solemnity, seldom 
 finishing under thirty minutes : as he hardly ever con- 
 tented himself with less than twenty minutes thanks- 
 giving, or less than twenty minutes .preparation, 
 this grandest act of the day held him absorbed in 
 the Adorable Eucharist for nearly an hour and a half 
 every morning. Besides the two formal visits which 
 he afterwards paid to our Lord in the Tabernacle, 
 he frequently spent in the Sacred Presence some 
 portion of the ' spare time ' which he allowed himself, 
 and always went there when his spirit needed refresh- 
 ment, or his mind was overcast. He dearly loved 
 to be thus, at times, all alone in the family oratory ; 
 but he also liked to have the family and household 
 join him there in the morning and at noon, and again 
 in the evening, when they said the Rosary together, 
 and lastly, before going to bed, when he gave them 
 the Blessing. 1 
 
 All these devotions, the least as well as the 
 greatest, were performed with solemn composure and 
 earnestness. 2 He greatly disliked to see anything 
 
 1 The ' family oratory ' was originally an ante-chamber off the draw- 
 ing-room corridor. Rosmini's uncle Ambrogio threw down the wall 
 fronting the corridor, and by introducing sliding doors converted the 
 ante-chamber into a sanctuary, and the corridor into the nave of a 
 good-sized domestic chapel. When this is not used for family prayers 
 the sliding doors are closed. Then the nave becomes a corridor 
 once more, and the sanctuary the oratory. It has a handsome altar 
 decorated by the skilful hand of Ambrogio Rosmini, who also painted 
 for it a fine altar-piece representing the Crucifixion. 
 
 2 ' His religious duties held so high a place in his heart, that he 
 
ORDAINED PRIEST. 171 
 
 whatever done in a hurried or slovenly manner ; but 
 his dislike became horror when hurry or carelessness 
 marred the gravity which should accompany every 
 kind of devotional exercise. It shocked him much 
 to hear prayers mumbled, or dashed off with an 
 irreverent rapidity, as though they were the utter- 
 ances of ill-adjusted automata. Nothing of this was 
 to be found where his example prevailed or his 
 instructions were attended to, as in his own home, 
 where the utmost reverence and recollection made it 
 evident that prayer was no mere lip service. ' Surely,' 
 he used to say to Tommaseo, ' petitions to the King 
 of kings should not be less carefully articulated or 
 less decorously presented than those to an earthly 
 sovereign or even a human courtier.' 
 
 While a layman, Rosmini had ever been attentive 
 to the social duties of his state, full of courtesy to 
 all, be their rank what it may ; but, as a Priest, he 
 seemed to be still more attentive and courteous. He 
 had always maintained that the gentleness and 
 refinement of manner, which ought to characterise 
 every well-bred Christian, should find its fullest 
 development in the Priest. His own life illustrated 
 what he had thus maintained. The politeness 
 known as personal may, and often does, exist with- 
 
 would never omit any of them, unless when incapacitated by illness. 
 Amidst so many occupations of the greatest importance, he never failed 
 to make his daily meditation, and he spent more than half an hour in 
 celebrating Mass. He used to divide the Divine Office into three 
 parts, to be said at stated times, and even when the most distinguished 
 persons came to visit him, he never departed from his rule, always 
 leaving the company quietly in order to recite the office.' An Outline 
 ofRosmini's Life, &c. &c., p. 78. 
 
172 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 out any politeness of the heart. But, in him, they 
 were admirably blent together ; for, with elegance of 
 manners and the due observance of the forms of 
 polished society, he combined habitual benevolence 
 and a complete absence of selfishness in his inter- 
 course with all classes. Humility and simplicity 
 regulated all his conversations. 1 
 
 His home was as orderly as a monastery, his 
 household as pious and regular as a religious com- 
 munity ; yet, no one thought the master severe or 
 in the least degree puritanically strict. All was done 
 so blandly, that no one had occasion to feel the de- 
 pressing effects of inconsiderate rigour, and there 
 was no want of a judicious admixture of the social 
 enjoyments that lend to life the only charm which 
 worldly eyes see. 
 
 In his boyhood he ' played at monk ' with all the 
 seriousness of manhood : in his manhood the play 
 became a reality with a seriousness proportionate 
 to the change ; but he took pains to conceal the 
 depth and force of his asceticism from the sight of 
 all save God, for Whose seeing he did everything. 
 In his boyhood the impulse of benevolence was 
 strong, and he gathered his greatest delights from 
 the exercise of practical charity : in his manhood this 
 
 1 ' It happened more than once that some distinguished personages, 
 not personally acquainted with him, attracted by his celebrity, came to 
 visit him, and after conversing with him for some time without know- 
 ing that he was the Priest they so much desired to see, they learned, 
 to their great astonishment, that they had enjoyed the society of the 
 Abate Rosmini, not being able to understand how such philosophic 
 science could be united with such simplicity of manner. They he 
 never before seen the true philosopher and the true Christian com- 
 bined.' An Outline of Rosminfs Life, &c., p. 84. 
 
ORDAINED PRIEST. 173 
 
 impulse was still stronger, but so was the principle 
 which directed it to the most practical purpose ; the 
 delight was greater, but so was the seasoned judg- 
 ment which regulated it. In his boyhood he made 
 instruction and edification the pivots on which all his 
 amusements revolved ; in his manhood they formed 
 the golden hinges on which all his studies turned, and 
 the studies were as the gateway to his only pleasure, 
 which was ' to worship God and know His works/ 
 for the salvation of his own soul and the well-being 
 of his neighbour. 
 
174 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMJNI. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ROSMINl's ' PASSIVITY ' AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE FIRST 
 
 YEAR OF HIS PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 (A.D. 1821.) 
 
 He endeavours to establish a Society of Friends Why the attempt 
 fails Love of solitude and of association He combines both His 
 views on co-operative action for good ends A society for the pub- 
 lication of wholesome literature Doing for God and truth what the 
 irreligious do for the devil and error Prefers the Latin to the 
 vulgar tongue for ecclesiastical purposes Is invited to join the 
 Turinese society for publishing good books What he says on the 
 subject Rebukes a friend for having praised him How beautiful 
 a thing it is to please God His efforts to popularise serious sub- 
 jects Charity calls him to active parochial work How he minis- 
 ters to the dying pastor of a sorrowing flock Why he refuses to 
 take permanent charge of a parish His funeral oration on the 
 death of Don Scrinzi. 
 
 DURING the first four months of his Priesthood, Ros- 
 mini's attention was often called to the careless manner 
 in which many Roveretans went through their ordi- 
 nary religious duties in public. He could not help 
 seeing also that some people who deemed them- 
 selves to be good Catholics were allowing the claims 
 of ' business ' to displace those of practical piety ; 
 and other some were indulging in petty rivalries that 
 often led to bitter contentions and animosities. The 
 parochial clergy were doing what they could to 
 remedy these evils, and Rosmini, looking at all the 
 circumstances, considered it to be his duty to aid 
 
FIRST YEAR OF HIS PRIESTHOOD. 175 
 
 them in a way that would be unobtrusive, but, if well 
 supported, very effective. Like all his plans for the 
 spiritual and moral amelioration of his neighbours, \\ 
 this took the form of a Society ; he called it ' the 
 Association of Friends.' It was to be composed of 
 persons who, without trenching on their particular 
 duties in Secular Life, should conform to a common 
 rule for leading a strictly Religious Life ; a kind of 
 confraternity seeking to harmonise, as far as possible, 
 the every-day interests and occupations of the world 
 with the regularity and consolations of the cloister. 
 It was to include members of all ages and con- 
 ditions. They were to have for their first object 
 and constant aim the honour and glory of God and 
 their own sanctification ; their second and incidental 
 object contemplated the well-being of others. 
 
 But, while all the candidates who offered them- 
 selves for admission were willing enough to carry 
 out the secondary ends of the proposed society, and 
 devote themselves to works of spiritual, corporal and 
 intellectual charity for their neighbour, very few saw 
 the need, or relished the task, of looking first of all 
 to the complete amendment of their own lives, to the 
 correction of their own moral defects, so as to ensure 
 their own sanctification. They desired to let that 
 come of itself, as a consequence of the good they 
 might do to others. He, however, could not be in- 
 duced to alter the design, and therefore the associ- 
 ation had very few members, in fact, it was confined 
 to his own household and to some young friends who 
 were more or less dependent on him. 
 
 As of this, so of other efforts of a similar 
 
176 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 character, through want of associates with a spirit 
 like his own, his holiest projects in these days did 
 not pass beyond the stumbling-block which required 
 that spiritual charity should begin with one's self. To 
 all it seemed far pleasanter to try and sanctify their 
 neighbour at once, rather than to trouble themselves 
 with efforts at their own sanctification, as an essential 
 preparation for undertaking the same work in the 
 interest of others. But these discouraging obstacles 
 did not dismay him ; for he never lost an oppor- 
 tunity of making new attempts at associating men 
 for the spiritual, moral, and intellectual benefit of 
 themselves and others. 
 
 It may seem strange that one who was so fond 
 of solitude should be no less fond of association. 
 But the object he sought in solitude was identical 
 with that which he sought in association it was God. 
 Without that object neither solitude nor association 
 would have had any special charm for Antonio Ros- 
 mini. His purpose was to combine solitude and 
 association so as to make each contribute to the 
 strength and beauty of the other, while both, inter- 
 woven, served at once to stimulate and shield ' piety, 
 self-government, study and literature, for the glory 
 of God and good of man.' Like St. Gregory ot 
 Nazianzen (as quoted by Cardinal Newman) he 
 might well say of his choice : 
 
 And so, 'twixt these and those, I struck my path, 
 
 To meditate with the free solitary, 
 
 Yet to live secular, and serve mankind. 1 
 
 1 Church of the Fathers Basil and Gregory 
 
FIRST YEAR OF BIS PRIESTHOOD. 177 
 
 Rosmini's views as to the great utility of associ- 
 ations for benevolent and kindred purposes, and his 
 skill in planning and directing them, were already 
 known throughout Italy. Hence, his advice and 
 co-operation were eagerly sought for by philan- 
 thropic men in various parts of the country, when 
 they happened to be engaged in starting some sort 
 of society for the well-being of their fellows. Im- 
 mediately after his Ordination, more than one appeal 
 of this kind reached him. Amongst others Sr. 
 Battaggia, the principal of an important printing 
 and publishing firm at Venice, solicited his counsel 
 and aid in establishing a society for the publication 
 of good books. In reply, Rosmini set forth his 
 views in a way that enables us to have a glimpse at 
 the state of Italian literature in the first quarter of 
 this century : 
 
 I am delighted to see that you always take a pleasure 
 in promoting the interests of religion and virtue by the art 
 you profess. When things of this kind are directed to their 
 natural end, they acquire sterling worth, and the profits we 
 derive from them are then genuine. Continue to foster and 
 increase these worthy sentiments. The idea of forming 
 a society like ' The Catholic Society of Turin ' might 
 present a good opportunity of achieving much and of 
 gathering fruit in abundance. A similar idea had occurred 
 to my own mind, suggested by my experience of the power 
 which books hold over men, for demoralization if bad, 
 and for edification if good. In our days this is, perhaps, 
 the mightiest of powers, and its activity one of the most far- 
 reaching. Evil-minded men, having perceived this, have 
 availed themselves of it to an alarming extent. ' Why/ 
 said I to myself, ' why cannot Catholics oppose weapon to 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
178 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 weapon, and employ for the spiritual advancement of their 
 brethren what others make use of for their destruction ? 
 Shall we suffer ourselves to be outwitted or surpassed by 
 our enemies in discernment and energy ? Shall we allow 
 them to do more for the Devil than we do for God ? Or 
 shall we let the love of evil display more ingenuity than the 
 love of virtue ? ' 
 
 Hence it is that I used frequently to devise schemes 
 for turning against our enemies the very means they em- 
 ployed against us. Many times the idea of a publishing 
 company, supported by generous friends, has occurred to 
 me, as a means by which the most salutary and Christian 
 doctrines might be everywhere diffused. The moving prin- 
 ciple of this Typographical Society should be a pure love of 
 religion. Having this, it should brightly exhibit disinter- 
 estedness, energy, good taste, and accuracy in short, per- 
 fection in all things. This holy union once firmly estab- 
 lished, after having given unmistakable proof of good 
 purpose, would assuredly meet with encouragement from 
 the Episcopacy, the Government and all good Christians. 
 These, if we but knew how to make its existence known to 
 them, would naturally become co-operators in the good 
 work ; some by their exertion to circulate and dispose of 
 books, some by aiding in their composition, correction and 
 embellishment, and some again by furnishing the society 
 with the funds required to carry it on. The investment, if 
 well directed, would appear to be a safe one ; for, even in 
 these days, there are not wanting persons who are well dis- 
 posed. But everything would depend on the good sense 
 and foresight of those who should direct it at the outset. 
 Having had the pleasure of making your acquaintance and 
 of knowing your high and religious tone of thought as well 
 as your enterprising spirit and your training, I already 
 begin to entertain hopes that what I was revolving in my 
 own mind may now be put into execution by others. 
 
 I am not well acquainted with the Turinese Society, 
 nor do I know what vicissitudes it may have suffered during 
 
FIRST YEAR OF HIS PRIESTHOOD. 179 
 
 the recent disturbances in that city. You tell me that a 
 similar one has been set on foot at Rome. It would be 
 well if its plan and purpose were made public. Were you 
 to undertake a like work in the Venetian Kingdom, and 
 were the other two firmly established and prudently di- 
 rected, all three might be so combined together that, as 
 their object is one, they might work together on friendly 
 terms. Thus, being as it were three branches of the same 
 stem, each one might influence and co-operate in the pro- 
 sperity of the others. The affair would, in that way, assume 
 importance. Doubtless, difficulties will present themselves, 
 and, therefore, a wise and prudent direction is indispen- 
 sable. Think the matter over, at all events, and commu- 
 nicate the result to me. Even the mere conception of great 
 projects is praiseworthy. 
 ROVERETO : May 20, I82I. 1 
 
 In the same letter, having had occasion to speak of 
 a little work entitled Memoriale Vitce Sacerdotalis, 
 he took the opportunity of defending the use of 
 Latin, as far preferable to the vulgar tongue in 
 books of that class. What he then and there said 
 derives importance from the fact that they who 
 never knew him as he really was, have since charged 
 him with having always deprecated the employment 
 of Latin for this or any like purpose. Surely the 
 words in which he expressed himself to Battaggia 
 and they are even less decided than those he often 
 uttered on the subject in later years were not 
 such as he would have written if he had thought it 
 desirable or expedient to dispense with the language 
 which the Church has solemnly made its own : 
 
 I learn from Fontana that you would have no reluc- 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxix. 
 
 N 2 
 
i So LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 tance to reprint the little Latin work (Memoriale, &c.) which 
 is in use among Ecclesiastics. For my part I believe it to 
 be an excellent book, and when better known it will have a 
 good sale. I should advise you, however, to have it printed 
 in Latin, which is easily understood by all. Moreover, it 
 is the language of Ecclesiastics so long as the Church 
 makes use of it in her sacred functions and in her decrees. 
 We should seek to maintain it in its vigour as much as 
 possible, in accordance with the intention of the Council of 
 Trent, which refuses even the Minor Orders to those who 
 are ignorant of it. Besides, as we are accustomed to hear 
 in Latin the words of Holy Scripture and the public 
 prayers of the Church (of which this little work is for the 
 most part composed), which possess such strength and 
 unction, these if rendered in Italian would seem to us shorn 
 of their beauty and force, however excellent the translation 
 might be in itself. 
 
 While the Venetian publisher was consulting 
 Rosmini about the formation of a society for ' the 
 diffusion of Christian knowledge through the press/ 
 he was also in correspondence, on the same subject, 
 with the Marquis Tapparelli d'Azeglio a Pied- 
 montese noble who had already inaugurated a kin- 
 dred movement in Turin, where his great influence, 
 learning and energy promised to make it a success. 1 
 In one of his letters to this nobleman Battaggia 
 suggested the importance of securing the active 
 support of the young Roveretan Priest whose virtues 
 and talents he dwelt on with much enthusiasm. 
 The Marquis, who already knew of Don Antonio's 
 
 1 This marquis was the father of that Massimo d'Azeglio, who 
 was son-in-law of Manzoni, and who is known in England as a literary 
 man, an artist, a soldier, and as a statesman of some repute in the 
 service of Sardinia. 
 
FIRST YEAR OF HIS PRIESTHOOD. 181 
 
 zealous efforts to restore a healthy tone to Italian 
 literature, gladly acted on the suggestion. His in- 
 vitation, which was expressed in the most cordial 
 terms, drew from Rosmini the following reply : 
 
 You cannot believe how great was my consolation on 
 learning from Signor Battaggia that there exists a society 
 having for its object the promotion of the real well-being of 
 man and the holy religion of Jesus Christ, chiefly by means 
 of the publication and diffusion of good books. These are 
 the arms made use of but too frequently by unbelievers ; 
 and alas ! with such arms they far too often make serious 
 havoc. More than once I have pondered over the fact, and 
 God knows how many times I have sighed for the estab- 
 lishment of a society of this kind ! I even ventured to 
 trace it out in my imagination, but I perceived its execu- 
 tion to be far above my slender abilities. 
 
 To learn that such a society is already in existence and 
 placed upon a sure footing in Turin and in Rome, to find 
 it accord in every particular with that which my own mind 
 was considering, so much so, indeed, that its very name is 
 the same as that which I contemplated this was to me a 
 great and agreeable surprise. Now I have to add to all this 
 the favour of your kind letter of the Qth ultimo, which was 
 quite beyond my expectation, and in which you invite me 
 to participate, so to speak, in the good work. 
 
 Right willingly do I accept your invitation, and my only 
 regret is that I am unable to offer you or the society any- 
 thing more than my poor abilities, although accompanied 
 by the most ardent desires. I pray you to convey 
 the expression of my liveliest acknowledgments to the 
 virtuous and distinguished members of this pious associa- 
 tion for their goodness in thus inviting me, through your 
 instrumentality, to join them. Assure them, at the same 
 time, that though in me they will find but a very feeble 
 member, nevertheless they will have a sincere friend and a 
 warm admirer, ever ready to execute their wishes, and most 
 
182 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 desirous to promote the glory of God and the salvation of 
 souls, objects which form the sole basis of their union. O 
 how beautiful is friendship like this ! How useful such a 
 Christian alliance ! such a confederation of good men ! 
 united not only in the bonds of peace with one another but 
 in active energy against the wicked, solely for their good ! 
 
 I beg of you to make use of me henceforth freely in 
 such matters as are within my power, since you have now 
 truly acquired a right to my services, as well as to that 
 sincere friendship which it is my pride to acknowledge. 
 ROVERETO : July 7, I82I. 1 
 
 The letter to which the above was a response 
 contained so many warm expressions of admiratioi 
 for Rosmini, that his humility resented them, as it 
 always did praise in any form. But since he could 
 not, without violating good taste, show this dissatis- 
 faction in the answer written to D'Azeglio himself, 
 he hastened to give vent to it in the subjoined letter 
 to Battaggia, who was held responsible for having 
 offended moderation in this matter. The reproof, 
 however, was softened by the encouraging manner 
 in which he met his correspondent's wishes as to the 
 practical object they both had in view : 
 
 What could have induced you to write such a letter 
 about me to the Marquis d'Azeglio ? I know well that I 
 owe it to your singular partiality for me. But how did you 
 come to represent me to that nobleman in such a favourable 
 light ? Your letter, though couched in most kind and pious 
 terms, speaks of things which in no way can apply to me. 
 How am I to correspond with the high opinion which he 
 will form of me ? Really you have said to him things that 
 I should blush to repeat. I replied to him in the best wa] 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxx. 
 
FIRST YEAR OF HIS PRIESTHOOD. 183 
 
 I could, or, rather, as my heart dictated. If this alone 
 sufficed, if nothing more than mere desires were requisite, 
 how courageously I could present myself! For God knows 
 how ardent is my desire for His glory and for the welfare 
 of souls. But if deeds and not words were asked of me, 
 where should I find the requisite strength ? However, I at 
 last answered him, to the effect that as I am closely bound 
 to himself and his colleagues by the ties of veneration and 
 Christian friendship, I am at their disposal for what I may 
 be worth, and that they were therefore at liberty to com- 
 mand me ; but that, nevertheless, they could only expect 
 very little, since it is very little I am able to effect. 
 
 To yourself I must reply by tendering my very best 
 thanks, good wishes and encouragement ; although, for this 
 last, you leave me no opportunity, since you seem to be en- 
 tirely swayed by that holy love which achieves great works. 
 Yes, my dear Sir, I know not where I should find one better 
 qualified for the work we are speaking of, either in Venice 
 or elsewhere. Endowed, as you are, with all the requisite 
 abilities, and being by profession a printer and publisher, 
 does it not seem as though things had already been prepared 
 by God for establishing in Venice the society of which we 
 speak ? As for its Director, do you think Monsignor Tra- 
 versi would decline a task so noble ? In my opinion, how- 
 ever, it is a question whether it would not be more expedient 
 for the Patriarch himself to become its head and protector, 
 in order that here, as at Rome and Turin, its President 
 might be a person of high position. The list of persons men- 
 tioned by you who could give us either pecuniary or other 
 assistance shows, assuredly, that we may have quite sufficient 
 to start with. Come now, make a commencement. 
 
 Bear in mind its merit before God, a merit so much 
 the greater as the work is more wide -spread and per- 
 manent. To do good to any one individual is, indeed, a 
 meritorious act ; but to establish an enduring source of 
 blessings to many, and what is more, of spiritual blessings, 
 this I deem so meritorious that God alone can estimate its 
 
i8 4 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 worth. When you shall have made up your mind to begin, 
 you will find in me, as I have already told you, a feeble but 
 a faithful co-operator. 
 
 Traversi will, very probably, come here on a visit to me 
 during the holidays, as he has himself written to say so. 
 This will be a fitting opportunity to concert many things, 
 if you think it desirable. Drop me a line on the subject. 
 
 O how beautiful a thing it is to do what is pleasing to 
 God ! thus preparing for ourselves a secure treasure in the 
 mansions of eternal life ! You yourself clearly perceive its 
 beauty, and even taste its sweetness in the results of that 
 institution which you say you have established as a refuge 
 for a hundred little boys. Although I am not personally 
 acquainted with it, still I must congratulate you upon it, 
 and assure you that I share with you the pleasure you ex- 
 perience ; for I assume it to be a holy work, productive oi 
 much good. You would oblige me greatly by giving m< 
 some particulars about it on another occasion. 
 ROVERETO : July 9, I82I. 1 
 
 The Monsignor Traversi alluded to was still 
 Rector of St. Catherine's, Venice, where the Abat 
 Rosmini celebrated his first Mass. This distin- 
 guished divine did visit him, as expected, during the 
 vacation of that year, and willingly consented 
 take a part in carrying out the publishing scheme. 
 But we may say at once that it did not prosper 
 for most of those who were in a position to furth< 
 the design either held aloof altogether, or entere< 
 into it with a lukewarm spirit. Rosmini himseli 
 heartily assisted with purse and pen. Leaving to 
 others the production of such light literature as w; 
 deemed desirable for the project, he contented him- 
 self with contributing, in popular form, such worl 
 
 1 EpistolariO) Letter xxxi. 
 
YEAR OF BIS PRIESTHOOD. 185 
 
 as ' A Panegyric of St. Philip Neri/ an admirable 
 1 Letter on Christian Education/ ' A Method of 
 Catechising the Ignorant/ * and other treatises in- 
 tended to popularise grave subjects, which were, at 
 the time, very distasteful to most readers, because 
 such subjects were almost invariably presented in a 
 dry, dull, unattractive, or repelling manner. 
 
 On the other hand, there was an alarming super- 
 abundance of sensational, irreligious works, written 
 with a vigour and sprightliness that was too well cal- 
 culated to mislead the unwary and increase the pre- 
 vailing disrelish for more wholesome literature. While 
 Rosmini was thus helping to stem this pestiferous 
 tide, and giving to the press little works for general 
 use, he was also preparing for special use a new edition 
 of a Thesaurus Sacerdotum, with a dedication by him- 
 self to the clergy of Rovereto, which they unani- 
 mously pronounced to be ' full of truth and unction/ 
 
 Thus he spent the first year of the long retreat 
 which followed his Ordination, ever practically inter- 
 ested in all that was good, true, useful, and beautiful, 
 and daily showing, by his ordinary acts, that the 
 principle of passivity laid down by him was the 
 principle of activity wisely applied. Once in that 
 year he passed from the retirement of home and 
 
 1 The ' Panegyric of St. Philip Neri ' was composed for the mem- 
 bers of Rosmini's domestic Academy (which was under the patronage 
 of St. Philip), and delivered before them during the season of 1821. It 
 was published by Battaggia at Venice the same year, and republished 
 at Lugano in 1834, and at Milan in 1843. Tne ' Letter on Christian 
 Education' was addressed to Don G. di Val Vestina in 1821, reprinted 
 at Rovereto in 1832, at Milan in 1838, and afterwards at Naples. (The 
 little work on ' Catechising the Ignorant' has been mentioned already 
 in Chapter vii., with a note, pp. 125-6.) 
 
i86 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMLNL 
 
 the duties which were close to home. Charity called 
 him elsewhere for a few weeks, and, answering her 
 summons, he went to do duty in the old parish of 
 Lizzana, not far from Rovereto. The beautiful 
 village of Lizzana was originally the centre of a very 
 extensive parish, within which Rovereto was then a 
 churchless hamlet. But, though Lizzana remained 
 the parish ' capital ' for centuries, it never grew 
 beyond village dimensions, whereas Rovereto, year 
 by year, took the proportions of a town, until at 
 last it had to be detached from its old parochial 
 centre, and constituted an independent parish of the 
 first class, with several dependent churches. 
 
 The venerable Pastor of this ancient parish was 
 Don Bartolomeo Scrinzi whose society Rosmini 
 prized, when, as a boy, he rambled through the 
 country studying philosophy, and ' finding God in 
 everything/ He was also one of those sages whose 
 advice young Rosmini sought when about to estab- 
 lish his first domestic Academy. Age and its atten- 
 dant infirmities had, for some time, deprived the 
 venerated Pastor of power to bestow much attention 
 on the spiritual needs of his flock. Therefore, he 
 had frequently to depend on the charitable assistance 
 of neighbouring Priests. Towards the close of 1821 
 his ailments completely prostrated him, and then he 
 appealed to Rosmini, whose saintly boyhood had so 
 often ' consoled him while living/ to come now, in 
 his Priesthood, and ' console him while dying/ 
 
 The Vicar Capitular of Trent forwarded Don 
 Bartolomeo's appeal, with a request of his own, that 
 
FIRST YEAR OF HIS PRIESTHOOD. 187 
 
 Don Antonio should take full charge of the parish, 
 at least for a few months. True at once to the 
 principle of passivity, and his friendship, Rosmini 
 promptly left his retirement to minister both to 
 Pastor and flock. With tender diligence he nursed 
 for weeks at the bedside of the dying Priest, only 
 leaving him when the spiritual wants of the sor- 
 rowing people called him forth. 
 
 When at last the good old Priest was taken to his 
 eternal reward, the weeping parishioners besought 
 Rosmini to stay amongst them, and the diocesan 
 authorities backed their entreaties with a formal re- 
 quest that he would take to himself the parish where 
 he was so much beloved a parish where his 
 memory ' still lives in benediction/ But higher and 
 more pressing calls forced him to decline this, 
 although he felt bound to remain for a few months, 
 until a duly appointed successor came to his relief. 
 
 The sermon which Rosmini preached at the 
 solemn obsequies of his dear old friend Don Bar- 
 tolomeo, so affected those who heard it that its 
 publication was demanded. He assented, and that 
 oration still holds an honoured place amongst his 
 published discourses. 1 It was dedicated to Mon- 
 signor Sardagna, then Vicar Capitular of Trent 
 (afterwards Bishop of Cremona, and finally Arch- 
 bishop of Cesarea), always the firm friend of the 
 young Roveretan divine, whose worth he had had 
 so many opportunities of thoroughly knowing. 
 
 1 It appeared first in Venice in 1822 ; it was reproduced at Lugano 
 in 1836, and included in the volume of Rosmini's sermons published in 
 Milan in 1843. 
 
1 88 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ROSMINl's CALL TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 
 (A.D. 1821-1822.) 
 
 THE saintly Mme. Canossa visits Rovereto Resemblance between 
 Madeline de Canossa and Margherita de Rosmini How Madeline 
 conquered Napoleon I., and how Margherita conquered her father 
 Mme. Canossa urges Rosmini to found a Religious Order 
 How this message of inspiration affects him He shrinks from the 
 thought of being a Founder though ready to be a Monk Mme. 
 Canossa is persuaded that God calls him to the dignity of 
 Founder She returns to Verona, sketches the plan of an Institute 
 and sends it to him What he thinks of it Difficulties in the way 
 of carrying out the plan Mme. Canossa perseveres, deeming herself 
 the agent of God in this ' call ' He is once more invited to co- 
 operate with the Turinese Publishing Society How he would 
 have all Christians form a universal social brotherhood The 
 Household of the Faith. 
 
 IT was in the first of his five years' home-retirement 
 that Rosmini had the privilege of entertaining a 
 guest who came, like an Angel, with a message from 
 Heaven. This guest was Madeline, Marchioness 
 of Canossa, a lady who was even then ranked with 
 the most saintly of Italy's daughters, and who is now 
 (after the usual process before the sacred tribunal 
 appointed for that purpose in Rome) solemnly de- 
 clared to be a ' venerable servant of God.' Her 
 visit was made to Rosmini's sister, whose charitable 
 zeal and earnest piety kept pace with his own. In- 
 
CALL TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 189 
 
 deed, Margherita's work was at once the complement 
 of her brother's, and a spontaneous application to 
 Rovereto of that system of benevolence which enabled 
 Mme. Canossa to accomplish so much practical 
 good for the neglected children of her own sex 
 throughout Austrian Italy. The same kind of 
 charities which endeared Madeline de Canossa to 
 the poor, not only of Verona but of all Lombardy 
 and Venetia, had already begun to win for Marghe- 
 rita de Rosmini the blessings of the poor, not only 
 of Rovereto but of the surrounding district. The 
 golden chain of spiritual sympathy bound closely to- 
 gether these two ladies, who resembled each other in 
 almost everything but age ; and this difference in 
 years probably made the tie between them all the 
 more potent. 
 
 There is even something alike in the incidents 
 that immediately preceded the formal commencement 
 of their respective labours, far apart though they 
 were as to time and place, and far differently situated 
 though they were as to surrounding circumstances. 
 When Napoleon I. passed through Verona, not long 
 before his fall, he took up his quarters in the palace 
 of Canossa. On the eve of leaving, he intimated to 
 his noble hostess that he wished to requite, in some 
 way, her hospitality. She at once replied : * As I 
 mean to recommence the work which you destroyed 
 by your decrees of 1810, I ask that you, Sire, give 
 me one of the many convents which you then sup- 
 pressed.' l 
 
 1 Don F. Paoli's Monografia, p. 74. 
 
190 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 This request was also a censure ; but its brave 
 spirit pleased the soldier, and he immediately 
 placed at her disposal the convent of St. Lucia, 
 Venice. Forthwith, she commenced the good work 
 on which her heart had long been set the establish- 
 ment of an Order for the care and education of poor 
 children. That Order came to be known as ' The 
 Daughters of Charity/ and, at the time of Mme. 
 Canossa's visit to the home of Rosmini, its rapid 
 spread, with the incalculable good it effected, 
 were the theme of every household in Northern 
 Italy. 
 
 So, too, Margherita Rosmini, under less heroic 
 circumstances, replied to her father who had done all 
 he could, by parental ' decrees,' to suppress her 
 vocation. Wishing to give her some substantial 
 mark of his kindness, as a set-off to his seeming un- 
 kindness in opposing her attempt to enter a convent, 
 he requested her to name the requital. She instantly 
 answered : * My father, you can afford to give me 
 permission and means to shelter and teach the poor 
 little orphan girls of Rovereto.' l He gave her both, 
 and continued to do so while he lived. On his 
 
 1 Vita di Margherita Rosmini, Paravia, 1880. The good works 
 begun by her in Rovereto and carried on by herself alone up to 1821, 
 are still represented by a very useful institution called the ' Rosmini 
 Asylum,' within which the helpless children of the working class and 
 all manner of little street-straylings are carefully sheltered, during the 
 day, and piously educated. This chanty is conducted by a Tyrolese 
 sisterhood in a handsome building erected to the memory of Margherita 
 on a part of the Rosmini garden, generously ceded for its use. The 
 structure is said to stand on the spot where little Antonio had con- 
 structed the cell in which she played at monk with him. 
 
 
CALL TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 191 
 
 death, her brother Antonio not only ratified the 
 permission but greatly increased the means. He 
 did more : he wrote for her that admirable set of 
 instructions on Christian Education which, though 
 meant merely as a chart for his sister's local schools, 
 remains as a guide for Christian teachers throughout 
 the world. 1 
 
 It was for the purpose of conferring with Mar- 
 gherita Rosmini on the holy work so dear to 
 both, that the Marchioness of Canossa, in the 
 early part of 1821, journeyed to Rovereto, where 
 she was the guest of the Rosminis. There and 
 then the penetrating foundress of the ' Daughters 
 of Charity ' had an opportunity of judging for 
 herself about the truth of the fame which popu- 
 larly ' canonised ' Margherita and Antonio. She 
 took special pains, as she afterwards declared, 2 
 to study the character of the young Priest to whom 
 God seemed to have sent her with the ' message of 
 inspiration ' that led him, step by step, to become 
 the Founder of the ' Institute of Charity.' His 
 ardent piety, great learning, orderly charity, unflag- 
 ging industry, and the deep wisdom and practical 
 nature of all his suggestions relating to the objects 
 which engaged himself and his sister, so profoundly 
 impressed her that she zealously besought him to 
 quit his home retirement in order to devote himself 
 to the organisation of a religious society for the 
 
 1 It was published in 1823 by Battaggia of Venice, and afterwards 
 reproduced in Milan and Florence. 
 
 2 Don G. Bertoni's Mcmor. di Canossa. Venice, 1852. 
 
192 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 good, not of a locality merely, but of the whole 
 Church. 
 
 Such a proposal, coming from a source so saintly, 
 stamped it as from Heaven. He was but twenty- 
 four years old at the time, and the very suggestion of 
 becoming the Founder of a Religious Order startled 
 him. It is true that he had always been engaged in 
 founding some kind of society for the glory of God 
 and good of men ; but these efforts seemed to him as 
 mere matters of course, within the lines of every- 
 one's ordinary duties to God and one's neighbour. 
 It is also true that, from the days when he and his 
 sister played at monk in the family garden, to the day 
 when both were conversing with the venerated 
 Canossa on this subject in the very same garden, all 
 his time had been spent so much in accordance with 
 a religious rule that one might suppose he had enter- 
 tained this idea all his life nay, that it was uppermost 
 in his thoughts. But no ; the one idea which stood 
 before all others in his mind was 
 
 Straight on towards Heaven to press with single bent, 
 To know and love his God, and then to die content. l 
 
 To establish religious order in his own soul had 
 ever seemed to him the safest way of ' pressing 
 towards heaven ' ; but never had he allowed himself 
 to fancy that he could best attain his object by 
 founding a Religious Order for others. To him the 
 
 1 The words are those of St. Gregory Nazianzen ; other passages 
 in Cardinal Newman's version of the poem from which they are quoted 
 (in Historical Sketches] express thoughts which Rosmini frequently 
 puts before us in prose. 
 
CALL TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 193 
 
 thought would have had the appearance of an 
 ambition, not much better than certain other am- 
 bitions against which he so resolutely set himself 
 when struggling with his parents for the right of 
 following his vocation. 
 
 Therefore when the proposal to found a Religious 
 Order came to him, in so solemn a manner from one 
 so highly favoured by God, it took him by surprise. 
 At once his humility, alarmed, threw itself around 
 his heart, and made him feel more sensibly than ever 
 his own nothingness. A Monk he was ready, indeed, 
 to be for his soul's sake, and, at the same time, 
 a co-operator in the organisation of any society 
 for the good of his neighbour ; but a Founder, as 
 was a St. Benedict, or a St. Francis, or a St. Dominic, 
 or a St. Ignatius, or any other of the sacred builders 
 of religious institutes that was a something which 
 God, in His might and mercy, could cause him to 
 become, but which he, himself, would not presume 
 to think about. And, though the thought was at 
 length placed before his mind under such holy 
 auspices, it cost him three years of most serious and 
 prayerful reflection ere his humility permitted him to 
 act on it. 
 
 The saintly M me. Canossa returned to Verona, 
 persuaded that God intended to call Antonio Rosmini 
 to the ranks of Religious Founders. On reaching 
 home, determined to keep the proposal before his 
 mind, she drafted a plan for a society which seemed 
 to her adapted to the spiritual needs of the time. 
 The more she considered it, the more she felt that 
 VOL. i. o 
 
194 . LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NI. 
 
 the young Roveretan Priest was better fitted than 
 any one she knew to undertake the work her 
 pious designs contemplated. This plan she sent 
 to his sister, who, earnestly seconding the suasions of 
 the good Canossa, placed it before him. It was, in 
 most respects, similar to that which the Marchioness 
 had found successful in her own Order. The pro- 
 posed society was to be called ' Sons of Charity ' and 
 to be composed of Priests, who should devote them- 
 selves to such spiritual work as the parochial clergy 
 were unable to deal with, owing to excess of popula- 
 tion or other causes. He received this communica- 
 tion with reverence, studied it carefully at all points, 
 prayed for light, and then considered how the project 
 could be reduced to practice. 
 
 When he had thus diligently examined all the 
 bearings of the plan, he wrote to the Marchioness, 
 assuring her that he entered heartily into her views, 
 and that he was satisfied her project, if well carried 
 out, was calculated to produce the best results. But, 
 on looking around him for those who were needed 
 to co-operate in the work, he found reason to have 
 serious misgivings as to the success of his efforts to 
 form a society of Priests or even to begin its forma- 
 tion. Priests were scarce. Many country parishes 
 in the diocese of Trent were without Pastors, and 
 many Parish Priests who had charge of populous 
 town districts were without Curates. Moreover, 
 there was a marked disinclination on the part of the 
 Secular Clergy of his acquaintance to join a com- 
 munity of Regulars. While the actual state of things 
 
CALL TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 195 
 
 furnished a good reason for the establishment of 
 such a society as the one proposed, it held out no pro- 
 spect that recruits, in Priests' Orders, could be got for 
 the purpose. Therefore, instead of an institute of 
 Priests, he suggested that it should be of laymen, 
 under the direction of a Priest. He reminded her 
 that the most ancient and most successful religious 
 communities had been of this kind. Although he 
 did not quite agree with those who lamented that, 
 in course of time, these Orders became, for the most 
 part, communities of Priests, he felt that, in some re- 
 spects, they had been more useful and more flourishing 
 as communities of laymen. He then pointed out how 
 the difficulty of organising a society of Priests, rather 
 than of laymen, was much increased by the long 
 course of studies now required for the Priesthood. 
 While it was comparatively easy to get together 
 immediately a sufficient number of intelligent and 
 fairly educated laymen, years of waiting must pass by 
 before those of them with a vocation at once for the 
 Priesthood and Religious Life would be ready for 
 Ordination. But, by educating young men, pretty 
 much as Priests were educated in former times 
 that is, by giving them a good literary training, 
 with a sound knowledge of Holy Scripture, and the 
 duties of life, and by practising them well in virtue, 
 and instructing them solidly in the doctrines of re- 
 ligion and morality they might soon be made ex- 
 cellent coadjutors in all works of spiritual and 
 corporal mercy, while attending chiefly to the further- 
 ance of their own sanctification. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Having thus frankly communicated his views to 
 the Marchioness, he concluded his letter with these 
 remarks : 
 
 O how advantageous would be a reunion of enlightened 
 Christians who should bind themselves to practically assist 
 their neighbour in all the branches of charity you mention ! 
 Would that they might do for men what your Daughters of 
 Charity do for women ! Assuredly, with perfect accord 
 between them, they might afford much help to the paro- 
 chial clergy in the cure of souls. I am deeply impressed 
 with the idea, though I see so many difficulties in the way 
 of its execution. Looking on the seculars around me, I 
 think I see some who are well fitted for the purpose ; 
 but it is necessary for them to have such a course of instruc- 
 tion as may enable them to live in a religious community. 
 They should, at least, have some intelligent notion of what 
 constitutes community life. In order to effect this, I think 
 the introduction of little oratories, like those conducted by 
 the Oratorian Fathers, would be of great service. By means 
 of these, many among the laity are not only formed in piety, 
 but they are also accustomed to a certain regularity of life 
 and the orderly exercise of works of charity. l 
 
 This letter did not in the least discourage the 
 hopes of the far-seeing Mme. Canossa. On the con- 
 trary, it convinced her that these hopes would yet be 
 realised ; though not perhaps in the way she at first 
 supposed, assuredly they would be brought to pass, 
 in some manner more to the glory of Christ and the 
 good of His Church. Persuaded that this young 
 Priest was set apart by our Lord for some special 
 service of the kind indicated, Madame Canossa 
 acted as if she felt that God had willed her to be the 
 
 1 See Appendix, Letter i. (Letter xxxii. of Epistolario.} 
 
CALL TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 197 
 
 immediate agent of his * call.' Therefore she prayed 
 heartily for the light necessary, and then allowed 
 some time to elapse before she said anything more 
 on the subject directly to Rosmini himself; but, 
 meanwhile, in her letters to his sister, which were 
 very frequent, she continued to speak of some 
 feature in the plan as an indirect means of keeping 
 it constantly before Don Antonio's mind. 
 
 While his thoughts were busily occupied with 
 Mme. Canossa's holy suggestions, he received a fresh 
 appeal from the Turinese Publishing Society to turn 
 his attention to the active membership of that organ- 
 isation. Full of the spirit which was working within 
 him, eager to show itself in practical results for ' re- 
 ligious life,' as such, he replied to this appeal in a 
 long letter to the Marquis d'Azeglio on the ad- 
 vantages of such a brotherhood amongst good Chris- 
 tians as might make the sweets of ' community life ' 
 universal. 1 He wished to have the spirit and the 
 customs of the apostolic age restored as much as 
 possible in these feverishly progressive days. He 
 would have good Christians, who are to be found 
 everywhere throughout the world, not content 
 with spiritually loving one another, but personally 
 knowing and cherishing one another as well. He 
 would establish between them an intercourse of a 
 heavenly type, far nobler than any known to mere 
 natural society : 
 
 A delightful friendship, resulting from that love which 
 is the badge of Christ's discipleship, manifesting itself in 
 
 1 See Appendix, Letter ii. 
 
198 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 the works which are its fruits, and which serve to distinguish 
 the good tree from the bad. In this manner they might be 
 separated from the children of the world, and so love, honour, 
 and aid one another that, being mutually encouraged and 
 consoled, by force of the union existing amongst them, their 
 afflictions and dangers would be diminished, while, at the 
 same time, a salutary restraint would be imposed on the 
 wicked. How many motives are there not for such a union 
 pure, holy, and Christian ; I do not mean motives that have 
 their origin in this world, where we neither seek nor expect 
 repose, but motives originating in Heaven, in the chanty 
 of Jesus Christ, and in the hope of an eternal union with 
 Him in the bosom of His Father. O how desirable and 
 profitable a thing would it be were all treated with the same 
 degree of love, and regarded as equals in our Lord, to the 
 exclusion of all human limitations, such as spring from 
 blood, from country or from any special affection, without 
 trespassing at all on the domain of Charity, or violat- 
 ing the duties we have towards all men. Thus, be our 
 brother ever so far removed from us, or be he close at hand, 
 or be he in high or lowly estate, be he known to fame or 
 hidden in obscurity, we should evince for him, with an 
 equal degree of love and tenderness, those tokens of esteem 
 which are his due, and from which he may reap a real ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 If there were once introduced among Christians an 
 ntercourse more cordial, more active, and more widespread, 
 not limiting its sphere of action to one place alone, but 
 extending it to many, I should expect to see the religion of 
 Jesus Christ rise far more majestic and beautiful, and the 
 world once again, as it were, in bloom the true reflex of the 
 first ages of the Church, but graced, if I may so say, with a 
 more imposing dignity and variety, because our general 
 intercourse and means of communication would now neces- 
 sarily produce a larger number of results, more varied, more 
 unlooked-for, and more marvellous. So beautiful an idea 
 does not seem to me Utopian ; for, judging by the facility 
 
CALL TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE. 199 
 
 we now have of mutual intercourse, and by the nature of 
 the times themselves, it would appear to me to be a reason- 
 able conclusion. 
 
 Either the time has already come, or come it must 
 ere long, if things advance at their present pace, when 
 it will be a matter of the greatest moment, not only to 
 every Catholic but to all who cherish even a natural sense 
 of righteousness, to stand aloof from the society of the 
 wicked, and to have some distinctive mark that will denote 
 the fact. Consequently, men morally inclined will feel it 
 incumbent on them, not only to join the Catholic body, as 
 was the case with Herr Haller ; but since, even among 
 Catholics, we have the good grain and the cockle, they 
 will be constrained to unite in closest union with those 
 whose exemplary and holy life can leave no room for sus- 
 picion. If such an intercourse were once established, what 
 beneficial results would accrue to all those well-disposed 
 persons who should take part in it ! Every good Christian, 
 as you very justly observe, would thus, when travelling (an 
 affair now become of such frequent occurrence), be shielded 
 from the dangers that everywhere beset his Faith ; he would 
 always travel, so to speak, in his own house, for he would 
 find safeguards everywhere, since he would find everywhere 
 his Catholic brethren come lovingly to his aid. 
 
 ROVERETO : October 14, i82i. x 
 
 All these ardent longings for universal Christian 
 brotherhood found practical expression in the ordi- 
 nary conduct of the writer. The five years of that 
 home 'retreat/ which preceded the grand life of 
 activity reserved for him, were five years in which 
 the ' apostolic age ' was faithfully represented in 
 Rovereto five years in which the charity that is the 
 badge of Christ's discipleship shone out there with 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxxiii. 
 
200 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMIN1. 
 
 a lustre that never once paled five years in which 
 he brought to maturity the virtues that had been 
 ripening steadily from his childhood upward, and 
 that were soon to produce such precious fruit unto 
 God. 
 
 
HIS HOME RETIREMENT AND STUDIES. 201 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ROSMINI'S STUDIES DURING HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 
 (A.D. 1822.) 
 
 He cultivates human sciences as useful to the Science of the Saints 
 His domestic library His studies Vast extent of his reading 
 His estimate of philosophical learning How he worked to make 
 philosophy subserve Truth Solidity of his acquired knowledge- 
 The works he wrote and planned in his home retirement What 
 specially kept him in this retirement The Divine Will regulates all 
 his acts His passivity is activity for God's glory. 
 
 IN the letter to the Marquis d'Azeglio, from which 
 we have just quoted, no allusion was made to the 
 original subject of their correspondence, touching 
 the necessity of publishing and circulating good 
 books. Evidently the important matters he had 
 been discussing with the Marchioness of Canossa 
 were still uppermost in Rosmini's mind, as they were 
 always, in some form or other, deepest in his heart ; 
 for they belonged to that great science to which he 
 made all human sciences subordinate the Science of 
 the Saints. But, taking these human sciences as 
 subsidiary to the science without which he deemed 
 all else ignorance, he gave a fair proportion of his 
 time to their study, and to the composition of works 
 resulting from those studies, which included every 
 department of human lore. Philosophy and theology 
 
202 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 were the departments in which he most loved to 
 dwell ; for within them he discovered all that 
 illumined the science of the Saints and reconciled 
 human knowledge with Divine Revelation. 
 
 As in the days of his boyhood he used to lay 
 out methodically, on the library table, the several 
 books which he intended to study in turn, so, in his 
 manhood, he made similar arrangements, but on a 
 scale proportionate to his increased knowledge and 
 years. The old library and one table sufficiently 
 answered the purposes of the boy student ; but 
 several rooms, which were so many new libraries on 
 the second floor of the mansion, and several tables, 
 scarcely sufficed for the needs of the man student. 
 In one of those apartments, which became a favourite 
 place of study, he had four bookcases filled with 
 the choicest volumes, including those purchased in 
 Padua from the Venier library. The top mould- 
 ing of each case bore an appropriate title in gilt 
 Greek characters one was Philosophia, another 
 Encyclopedia, another Lexica, and another Ephemer- 
 ides. 
 
 This select library was close to the chamber in 
 which he was born, and to that which he used as a 
 bedroom during the five years of his home retirement. 
 A finer bookcase, larger than those in the adjoining 
 rooms, stood in his sleeping apartment, and was filled 
 mainly with ascetic and religious works. He had 
 planned a domestic library of ten thousand volumes ; 
 but, though the scheme was never fully realised, few 
 private libraries were more complete or valuable 
 
HIS HOME RETIREMENT AND STUDIES. 203 
 
 than that which he had then at hand, and which still 
 remains nearly as he left it. 
 
 His studies were, as Don Paoli tells us, 'most 
 extensive, profound, erudite and well ordered/ The 
 vast extent of his reading may be inferred from the 
 simple fact that in those days he had carefully 
 studied the works of more than five hundred different 
 authors indeed, it is very probable that he had, 
 even then, made himself familiar with the six 
 hundred and twenty authors consulted for his 
 Logica and for his Diritto}" Although he was no 
 thorough linguist, he had a fairly good knowledge 
 of all the languages necessary to his studies, and 
 was even sufficiently well acquainted with Hebrew 
 and Sanscrit to make these tongues available for his 
 purpose. When he saw that philosophy was the 
 science on which all other human sciences depended, 
 he applied himself most of all to philosophical 
 studies. Even from his earliest years he sought 
 with eagerness to master and descant on everything 
 that can come within the cognizance of human 
 reason. 
 
 Don Paoli declares, on the authority of those 
 'who had known the young noble longest and best,' 
 that Rosmini's mind was matured ' had attained its 
 manhood ' fully ten years sooner than is ordinarily 
 the case. Even while yet seemingly a youth in 
 mind, as he assuredly was in other respects, he saw 
 that the sciences generally stood in need of a com- 
 
 1 The index of authors quoted in the Logica gives 170 names, and 
 the index of those quoted in the Filosofia del Diritto gives 450 others. 
 
204 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 plete, ' a decided restoration ; ' he appreciated, at their 
 true value, the gigantic efforts that had been made 
 by the most powerful intellects of all ages for the 
 advancement of knowledge the happy successes of 
 some and the tremendous failures of others ; he 
 perceived that on philosophy depended the founda- 
 tion, the order, and completion of knowledge. He 
 at the same time saw that this perfected knowledge 
 did not depend on that philosophy which concerns 
 itself wholly with matter, while ignorant of what 
 matter is nor on that which, groping its way by the 
 aid of blind sense, proudly pretends that its efforts 
 can produce truth nor on that which, in despair, 
 throws itself into scepticism ; but on that which, 
 while accepting such treasures of truth as have been 
 secured in times past, seeks to make new discoveries 
 in order to bring knowledge nearer and nearer to the 
 possession of the whole the divinely beautiful Truth. 
 He therefore set himself to collect together the 
 many scattered fragments of truth which had been 
 discovered, or dimly seen, by ancient, mediaeval and 
 modern philosophers. He then undertook to reduce 
 the fragments of truth to a body of doctrines 
 harmoniously connected with and depending on one 
 another. His task was greatly facilitated by the 
 discovery which he had made in 1816, as he walked 
 along the Via Terra, in Rovereto, when his mind hit 
 upon that master idea which enabled him to present 
 the system of truth in a more perfect form. 1 But 
 he still required to examine closely for himself what 
 1 See Chapter iv. pp. 88-90. 
 
JIJS HOME RETIREMENT AND STUDIES. 205 
 
 had been done by all the philosophers who had 
 preceded him. 
 
 Therefore he was obliged to have constantly 
 at hand, not only St. Augustine and St. Thomas 
 Aquinas, but Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Des- 
 cartes, Locke, Leibnitz, Kant, Condillac, Fichte, 
 Schelling, and Hegel, with the works of the modern 
 rationalists and materialists. He had also, of course, 
 to become more and more thoroughly conversant 
 with Holy Scripture, the Fathers and the School- 
 men, though he was somewhat familiar with all 
 these since his youth. He had to analyse carefully 
 the writings of the philosophers, ' to distinguish the 
 parts that were true from those that were false, and 
 to interpret those that were obscure.' He had to 
 remove errors, to firmly lay hold of truths even 
 when only incidentally touched upon, and to eluci- 
 date them. He had to penetrate into the inner- 
 most depths of as many sciences as are comprised 
 in ideology, metaphysics, and ethics. He had to 
 examine and discuss all the systems that had been 
 more or less happily imagined concerning human 
 knowledge, the nature of feeling, the essence of 
 morality and of right. He had to define clearly the 
 supreme principles which regulate politics, to reduce 
 to a scientific form pedagogy and asceticism ; to 
 penetrate into the recondite depths of ontology ; and 
 finally to demonstrate, by fact, the harmony of the 
 truths of reason with those of revelation, ' showing 
 that the former are the beginning and the latter the 
 completion of the SYSTEM OF TRUTH/ 
 
206 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 All this he had to do, and. he did it within the 
 five years of his home retirement. Nor did he limit 
 himself to the most celebrated and accredited 
 authors, for he sought out the truth even in those of 
 less renown. Nay, he took note of the least known 
 writers and the smallest productions ' down to the 
 most diminutive pamphlets, to the constitutions 
 of small states and to the articles in the daily 
 newspapers.' ' Like an industrious bee/ says Don 
 Paoli, * he went everywhere in quest of honey, and 
 wherever he found any he drew it forth, as must be 
 manifest to those who are familiar with his works, 
 for all his writings bear witness to an erudition that 
 is very plentiful and varied an erudition not 
 gathered up or thrown together at random, but 
 always to the purpose, always confirmatory of some 
 truth either recently discovered or restored to 
 honour/ 
 
 The solidity and rare excellence of his erudition 
 can be readily discovered in all he wrote. It is even 
 visible in his way of presenting the thought of any 
 given author so as to set it forth, with the utmost 
 clearness and impartiality, whether it be true or 
 false. It is still more visible in his complete avoid- 
 ance of all ostentatious display of knowledge ; for 
 he ever studiously keeps his own merits out of sight 
 and prefers to appear always as a student. This, 
 indeed, was no difficult thing for a genuine disciple 
 of Truth, which, as Don Paoli tells us, ' is the only 
 real teacher of all intelligences ; ' and from his boy- 
 hood upward, Rosmini had been one of the most 
 
 y- 
 
 
 
HIS HOME RETIREMENT AND STUDIES. 207 
 
 industrious and earnest disciples of Truth. He 
 often told Tommaseo, who had long watched his 
 labours and shared in them, that, from his earliest 
 years, he had been steadily travelling through the 
 world of science, and as he went along he descried new 
 regions that had never yet been explored. ' Of this 
 fact,' says Tommaseo, ' I could myself attest the truth, 
 if testimonies were needed from those who knew 
 him. Even while he was still very young he used 
 to picture to himself human knowledge as so many 
 great trees each putting forth its branches in graceful 
 order, all pervaded by unity of life ; he used to 
 practise himself in composing those beautiful tables 
 in which the parent ideas are seen to generate other 
 ideas in due succession, the prolific family growing 
 larger and larger with the degrees of legitimate 
 descent and kindred affinity well defined in all its 
 parts. . . . Before 1825 he had already formed 
 and worked out, in his own mind, the conception 
 of the Nuovo Saggio, on the origin of ideas ; 
 a conception from which so many others were to 
 spring, each standing out by itself in the fulness of 
 its own life.' 1 
 
 The extraordinary extent of his reading never 
 surprised those who knew how diligently he worked, 
 how thoroughly he economised and regulated time, 
 and how rapidly, yet carefully, he perused every 
 volume, taking notes of all he read. 2 In most cases 
 
 1 Rivista Cent. Torino 1856, Rosmini, per N. Tommaseo. 
 
 2 Besides the notes he made apart, every volume of importance in 
 his library bears marginal notes in his own hand. 
 
208 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 rapid reading is little calculated to favour careful 
 reading ; but a singular quickness of eye and thought, 
 combined with an extraordinary memory, enabled him 
 to so systematise rapid reading that what he read was 
 never undigested. The only obstacle to his rapid 
 reading was some unfamiliar language. But there 
 was no tongue so difficult as to overcome his deter- 
 mination to master it sufficiently for the purpose of 
 securing the treasures it might contribute to the lore 
 he sought. In this he was much aided by the special 
 studies of his boyhood on language in general, on 
 the structure of human thought, and on the laws 
 which govern its expression. 
 
 There are those who assert that he did not go as 
 deeply into the study of mathematics and the so- 
 called natural sciences as into the others. If this 
 were the case, want of full opportunity must have 
 been the cause ; but Don Paoli calls our attention 
 to the fact that many of Rosmini's works, published 
 and unpublished, abundantly prove that he was 
 ' deeply versed in the supreme reasons of those 
 branches of learning also.' While still a youth, he 
 gave evidence of knowing them well, else how could 
 he have dropped, here and there, in his earlier 
 productions, the germs of the philosophy both of 
 mathematics and the natural sciences? It was his 
 intention to have developed these germs in regular 
 treatises, 'and he would have done so,' says Don 
 Paoli, 'had not death taken the pen from his 
 hands.' 
 
 While the pen was held firmly in his hand, 
 
HIS HOME RETIREMENT AND STUDIES. 209 
 
 during the five well-employed years of his home 
 retreat, he wrote most of the minor works that were 
 afterwards published in his Prose Ecclesiastiche. 
 In those days, too, he sketched the plan of some of 
 his greater works, such as the Nuovo Saggio on the 
 origin of ideas. The subject of this magnificent 
 production had occupied his thoughts ever since his 
 boyhood ; but it was not till his twenty-fifth year 
 that it took the definite shape which led him to the 
 formulation of his views in an elaborate dissertation 
 that for many reasons ranks as the most important 
 of all his works. 
 
 It was during this period also that he com- 
 menced several other great works of a like char- 
 acter, some of them suggested by current circum- 
 stances, his mind having already stored up an 
 abundance of knowledge well set for immediate 
 use, whenever intellectual charity might demand it. 
 Thus the movement for Italian unity, which sprang 
 up amongst the Piedmontese in 182 1, growing strong 
 through North Italy in 1822, called for such a work as 
 the Filosofia delta Politico,, and it was forthwith 
 begun. 1 It was about the same time that he penned 
 the opening chapters of the Ontolo^ia which he left 
 untouched for many years afterwards, as he reminds 
 
 1 Don Paoli remembers to have seen, in 1822, the manuscript of 
 more than one part of this work. The first portion was published in 
 Milan on 1837 as an essay on the chief causes that lead to the rise and 
 fall of human societies. The second portion appeared in 18^9 under 
 the title of ' Society and its End.' Four other essays, now included in 
 the Filosofia della Politica (i) on Statistics, (2) on Communism ar.d 
 Socialism, (3) on the Definition of Riches, and (4) on Public Amuse- 
 ments though written, for the most part, during the first three years of 
 his home retirement, were not published till 1858. 
 
 VOL. I. P 
 
210 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 us himself when resuming it ' That which we begun 
 when still very young we propose to continue in this 
 our far advanced age.' l So likewise it was in those 
 days that he commenced the remarkable treatise on 
 jurisprudence entitled Filosofia del Diritto? He at- 
 tached much importance to the study of this science, 
 and tells us, in a letter written from Rovereto on 
 June 27, 1825, to the Abate Bellenghi, why he came 
 to take the subject in hand and how he proposed to 
 deal with it. 
 
 Your treatise De civili imperio greatly interests me. 
 It may do much good in our times, when, together with an 
 endless variety of essays on this subject, we have an endless 
 confusion of ideas. Let me venture to tell you that I also 
 have given many hours to enquiries and thoughts of this 
 kind. As these investigations seemed to me no less neces- 
 sary than difficult, I have most assiduously and attentively 
 studied the works of the most celebrated writers on the 
 subject, with the view of clearing up in my own mind the 
 fundamental ideas whence flow all theories of civil as well 
 as ecclesiastical society. The pages to which I have com- 
 mitted the fruit of these studies and thoughts will form, if 
 I can ever succeed in publishing them, three large volumes, 
 which, though produced in the sweetness of peace, are pro- 
 bably destined to gc forth as lambs into the midst of 
 wolves. 
 
 In the First Part are laid down the rules and criteria by 
 which to judge the value of political means. This part 
 consists of three books, the first of which gives the rules 
 drawn from ' the limits of society,' the second gives those 
 drawn from the natural construction of society, and the 
 
 1 Teo sofia, vol. I. Pref. No. i. 
 
 2 It was not published until 1841, though some portions appeared 
 earlier in separate essays. 
 
 red 
 
HIS HOME RETIREMENT AND STUDIES. 211 
 
 third those drawn from the laws followed by societies in their 
 course. 
 
 The Second Part treats of political means themselves 
 finite as well as infinite and by comparing them together it 
 shows that religion is the most potent of all. This part is 
 divided into seven books, each of which deals with one class 
 of general political means ; the last of these means, to 
 which all the others tend and for which they prepare the 
 way, being the Christian, i.e. the Roman Catholic, religion. 
 The Third Part discusses the way in which Princes 
 should use this most efficacious means so that it should ob- 
 tain the grand effect for which it was designed. This part 
 has three books, and is occupied chiefly with the relations 
 between civil society and the Church. 
 
 I should never have thought of undertaking such a 
 work (which from the very first look at it seemed to me 
 much beyond my feeble powers), had I not felt sincerely 
 convinced that the Divine Will required it of me. Indeed, 
 some years ago while absorbed in totally different studies I 
 felt myself, I know not how, torn away from them, and 
 though they seemed to me well suited to my disposition I 
 felt constrained to leave them half finished and turn to 
 these in preference. 1 
 
 It was the Divine Will that kept him in the seclu- 
 sion of home during these five years. It was the 
 same Divine Will that drew him away from other 
 labours, ' well suited to his disposition,' in order that 
 he might devote himself more completely to intellec- 
 
 1 Don Paoli informs us that the manuscript of the ' beautiful and 
 grand work ' alluded to in the above letter has not been found ; but 
 its contents were evidently recast in two other works ' The Philosophy 
 of Right ' and the ' Philosophy of Politics.' The letter to Don Bellenghi 
 shows not only the progress of Rosmini's thoughts upon those impor- 
 tant questions, but the ease and power with which he handled the most 
 profound subjects even while he was still very young. To successfully 
 reproduce all the arguments in subsequent works, as he has done, im* 
 plies very great labour and rare skill. 
 
 P 2 
 
212 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 tual charity. All his preferences were thus regulated 
 by the Divine Will, and whatever he studied or wrote 
 or planned, or began or finished, had its beginning 
 and end in his eager desire to discover and do 
 God's Will. 
 
 The life of every man has been likened to a 
 drama (seldom very entertaining or edifying) the 
 scenes of which are to be viewed in reference to the 
 main action, on which they ought all to turn or the 
 drama will prove a ' failure/ All the incidents of 
 Rosmini's life oblige one to view them in connection 
 with its main purpose, for everything he did or said 
 turned constantly on the ' main action.' This main 
 action itself, with ' the little nameless unnumbered 
 acts' that form an important portion of one's life, 
 was centred in God, and, accordingly, was passive or 
 active as either condition better fulfilled the purpose 
 of centring on God and doing His Will. Whether 
 he remained in solitude to find ' sermons in stones 
 and God in everything,' or associated with those who 
 ministered to the spiritual and corporal wants of the 
 poor and afflicted, or stood forth to shield Christian 
 morality from the subtle assaults of modern impiety, 
 or to unmask the deceits of ancient error in its newer 
 guises, the main action, with all its minor accessories, 
 turned on the same object the Will of God for the 
 Glory of God. 1 
 
 1 ' Now, if man considers himself to be a mere instrument in God's 
 hands, as faith teaches him to do, what can the instrument effect with- 
 out Him who wields it? Let man, then, be content with allowing him- 
 self to be moved and wielded by the hand of God, and let him glory in 
 it. It is thus that he will be able to do a great deal, on behalf of his 
 
HIS HOME RETIREMENT AND STUDIES. 213 
 
 brethren. Let him not pretend, even in works of charity, to be, him- 
 self, the principal agent ; let him leave the first place and the glory to 
 the Almighty ; let him believe, with a firm faith, that God forgets none 
 of His creatures ; let him listen with attention, that he may hear when 
 his Master speaks ; and let him obey His call, whether it be mani- 
 fested through the binding obligation of a commandment, or through 
 the requests of his brethren in need, or through the invitation of 
 external circumstances pre-ordained by God. If man do otherwise 
 if, of his own will, or through a merely human impulse, he should inter- 
 fere in things which seem to be works of charity, but which, perhaps, 
 are not such, or are not required of him then, instead of benefiting his 
 brethren, he will do injury to himself. By not observing that com- 
 mandment, " beware of men " (Matt. x. 17), or that injunction of the 
 Apostle, " attend to thyself" (i Tim. iv. 16), he will forget himself, he 
 will neglect the salvation of his own soul, being deceived by a false 
 zeal of doing good to others ; so that, while he preaches to others, he 
 will himself become a castaway/ Rosminfs Discourses. Discourse 
 on the Will of God, p. 40 (James Duffy & Sons : London, 1882). 
 
214 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ROSMINl's CONTACT WITH THE OUTER WORLD DURING 
 HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 
 
 (A.D. 1822-1823.) 
 
 The duties of hospitality How he made ( social intercourse ' contri- 
 bute to his main object He is recognised as the champion of 
 Catholic Truth against the upholders of dechristianising error 
 How to write books to confound unbelievers What he thinks of 
 institutions for gathering together the children of the poor on 
 Sundays and Holy-days Charity always striving to do more and 
 more good He goes to Padua and receives the doctorate Is 
 made a member of the Accademia of the Catholic Religion Enter- 
 tains the Bishop of Treviso at Rovereto Becomes the preceptor 
 of a Bishop as well as of Priests Why he declines to accept some 
 benefice in his native diocese, and why he accepts the office of 
 Synodical Examiner His Academy of St. Thomas and his love for 
 the Angelic Doctor A lost manuscript Reproves the Italians for 
 not appreciating the great Aquinas Italy and Europe holding 
 St. Thomas in little esteem, Rosmini endeavours to win for him 
 the homage that has since been decreed to him. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Rosmini's home life during the five years 
 following his Ordination had all the characteristics of 
 monastic retirement, these years were not without 
 little episodes which sometimes brought him into 
 contact with the ' outer world.' There were respon- 
 sibilities connected with the headship of his family, 
 and he could not always conveniently or wisely dele- 
 gate them to others. Amongst these responsibilities 
 were certain duties of hospitality which he felt bound 
 
INTERRUPTIONS TO HOME SECLUSION. 215 
 
 to discharge in person : and none knew how to do so 
 with more perfect courtesy or with truer heartiness. 
 
 But, after all, to entertain guests like the Marchio- 
 ness of Canossa was no encroachment on the plan of 
 his retirement ; it was only a special and edifying 
 phase within it. Nor was there any departure from 
 its completeness in sharing the spiritual toil of some 
 overworked Priest, or visiting the sick, or consoling 
 the afflicted, or finding out and aiding the poor, or 
 attending to any other such * labour of love.' 
 
 What seemed to cause a real encroachment on 
 his retirement was the social obligation of accepting, 
 now and then, an invitation to dine with some of his 
 relations or friends, and of having to return the com- 
 pliment. But, as he contrived to make even these 
 occasions a means of promoting his central object 
 God's glory they were like so many opportunities 
 to vary the manner of his seclusion, without in- 
 fringing its law or its motive. So, too, the sermons 
 and lectures he was requested to deliver from time 
 to time in some church or public institution, only 
 lent variety to his work, without touching the same- 
 ness of its scope. The one thing which more fre- 
 quently than any other called him from retirement, 
 or rather brought his name before the public in 
 those days, was the defence of Christian Truth from 
 its worst foes, the propagators of the subtle errors 
 that were then taking fresh root through Italy. 
 
 Gifted with a marvellous foresight, the young 
 Abate clearly saw that, though the crop of mischief 
 produced by the philosophical fallacies of the day 
 
216 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 was baneful enough as it stood, the fallacies them- 
 selves were but gathering strength for the growth of 
 more formidable evils in the future. Hence it was 
 that he applied himself to the composition of such 
 books as the Nuovo Saggio. But, that the evils 
 actually present might not pass current unchecked, he 
 wrote and published immediately such essays as that 
 * On Happiness.' 1 Just then some brilliant literary 
 worldlings were poisoning the minds of Italian youth 
 with false notions of human felicity, with ideas, 
 in fact, that deified sensism and dishonoured Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 In the principal towns of Lombardy and Piedmont 
 infidelity had more than one able chief, and all over 
 the country many wily agents spread the pernicious 
 tenets of the sensists. Against all these he set 
 himself with such unflinching determination, tem- 
 pered with so much calmness and charity, that, even 
 apart from the solidity of his reasoning, he was soon 
 looked upon as specially qualified to be the champion 
 of religion ; and in that character he was constantly 
 attacked by the foes of the Faith, and had his 
 counsel as constantly sought by its friends. Indeed, 
 so much was he consulted as a leader in whose 
 guidance the friends of religion trusted, that he was 
 almost every day obliged to write letters, such as the 
 following, which was sent in reply to Signer Lugnani 
 of Triest, who was desirous of knowing how best to 
 
 1 It was first printed at Rovereto in 1822, afterwards (1823) in 
 Venice, and finally, in 1828, it was reproduced under the title of 
 Saggio sulla Speranza to meet some errors which Hugo Foscolo was 
 propagating. 
 
INTERRUPTIONS TO HOME SECLUSION, ziy 
 
 V<a /> "^ 
 
 compose works intended to confound unbelievers 
 and confirm the Faithful. 
 
 A friendly letter from you would, under any circum- 
 stances, have afforded me the greatest pleasure. But, 
 coupling, as you do, friendship and religion together, you 
 have rendered infinitely more precious the relations between 
 us. It is unquestionably true that there exists no more 
 solid or sincere friendship than that which springs from, 
 and is nurtured, perfected and sanctified by religion. Oh 
 how deeply ought Christians to feel this truth ! Should not 
 the very consolation they experience in this most pure sen- 
 timent lead them more forcibly to band themselves to- 
 gether, by means of the indissoluble ties of mutual inter- 
 course and friendship ? It would assist every Christian in 
 the increase of virtue, it would be a deathblow to un- 
 believers, whose iniquitous schemes would be less successful, 
 if there were greater union among the forces which they 
 assail. 
 
 It is thus that I have often thought, in my own mind, 
 envying those first ages of Christianity, when * the 
 Brethren/ as they were styled, were but one heart and one 
 soul ; and I am of the same sentiments at this moment, 
 when you kindly proffer me your sincere and holy friend- 
 ship. I accept it with all my heart. 
 
 You make known to me your sentiments with regard to 
 the best manner of refuting the unbelievers of our own 
 time. I have read your suggestions with very great plea- 
 sure. They seem to me to show a knowledge of the human 
 heart and a sufficient acquaintance with the kind of adver- 
 saries against whom we have to struggle. I am well per- 
 suaded that there are many different classes of men that 
 incredulity, Proteus-like, is of ever-changing form, and 
 therefore, that to grapple with it successfully, not only is a 
 great variety of books required but a great diversity in 
 their mode of treatment. I myself, with the little expe- 
 rience I have of the world, think I have found adversaries 
 
2i8 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 diametrically opposed to one another, not only in their 
 character, but in their errors and modes of thinking. A 
 German, for instance, must be refuted in a very different 
 manner from that employed to refute a Frenchman. A 
 disciple of Kant and a disciple of Voltaire are widely 
 divergent in their way of thinking. Then, there are some 
 who profit by pamphlets, short but trenchant and eloquent, 
 while others, on the contrary, find large and systematic 
 works of more advantage. 
 
 Notwithstanding all this, it is my firm opinion that, 
 generally speaking, one of the methods most useful and 
 best adapted for our own times is that which you yourself 
 very judiciously propose and trace out. The special 
 features you pronounce to be characteristic of our age 
 are the great want of sound and solid reasoning. I will 
 add, reasoning not too speculative and dry, but clear and 
 easy of comprehension, supported by moral proofs and 
 clothed in a succinct, rapid and philosophical style. There 
 is, besides, a*great need of impartiality, discretion, and 
 generosity of soul, of urbanity and a spirit of conciliation. 
 These and similar qualities I deem to be necessary to our 
 writings, if our aim be to persuade and win over unbelievers, 
 and not simply to irritate them more and more. And does 
 not Christianity itself suggest a certain fulness of charity, a 
 certain degree of urbanity and shrewdness conjoined ? I 
 must then encourage you, with all the earnestness in my 
 power, to go on with an undertaking so ably conceived and 
 from which, with God's blessing, you may promise yourself 
 abundant fruit. 
 
 I know no one more competent than yourself to put 
 your designs into execution. By doing so you will acquire 
 great merit in the sight of God. Even if I were equal to 
 the task myself, I should hesitate to trespass on another's 
 sphere of action. However, my inaptitude as well as the 
 anxiety springing from a multiplicity of affairs amongst 
 other things the composition of some little works preclude 
 the possibility of my assuming such an undertaking. Do 
 
INTERRUPTIONS TO HOME SECLUSION. 219 
 
 not hesitate, then, as I am sure you will not, to enter upon 
 the work. 
 
 Apropos of the apologetic authors to whom you allude, 
 have you read Haller's great work, ' The Restoration of 
 Political Science ' ? I have had it now for several days, but, 
 as it is written in a language of which I have no thorough 
 knowledge, I am reading it under difficulties. Although 
 he treats in a great measure of politics, I have no hesitation 
 in numbering him among our apologists, and in pro- 
 nouncing his production one of the ablest and most op- 
 portune works of the day. In it you will find very well 
 applied all your own sage observations respecting the mode 
 of dealing with unbelievers. It is a stupendous work. 
 The writer couples theory with experience, subtlety of 
 reasoning with solidity, the ease and elegance of the ancient 
 philosophers with the raciness and readiness peculiar to 
 those of more modern times. How many beautiful obser- 
 vations he makes ! And on what luminous principles and 
 reasons he rests them ! 
 
 ROVERETO : May 2, I822. 1 
 
 On the same day he had occasion to answer a letter 
 from Signor Battaggia of Venice, touching other forms 
 of Christian charity. While the same spirit of piety 
 pervades both these, as it does all his letters, they 
 are different in nearly everything else, and not least 
 in the practical hints which imply a more varied and 
 sound knowledge of human society and its needs 
 than long years of experience and extensive oppor- 
 tunities enable most men to acquire. It may be well 
 to remember that although Sunday and Week-day 
 institutions for the moral and spiritual well-being of 
 poor children are now, in some form or other, 
 common enough in our own country, they were little 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxxiv. 
 
220 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 known here at the date of this letter ; nor were 
 attempts to resist the inroads of infidelity much 
 thought of in those days, when England was still 
 somewhat free from the malady which had already 
 seriously infected Europe. 
 
 Your pious Institution aims at gathering little boys to- 
 gether on Sundays and Holy-days, thus withdrawing them 
 from dissipation and from roaming at large through the 
 streets, and at the same time entertaining them with in- 
 struction, prayer, and proper amusements. This being its 
 nature, it must be very pleasing to God and profitable, in 
 an eminent degree, to those little ones. They are with- 
 drawn from all that imperils their virtue, and they are 
 brought to fulfil an important precept such as is the sanc- 
 tification of Sundays and Holy-days, and thus are set on the 
 path of piety not only for those days but for the rest of the 
 week. Well can I imagine those pure and consoling 
 delights which you tell me you often experience. Such 
 is the pleasure that always springs from works of Christian 
 charity, and which the children of this world are unable to 
 conceive, much less to relish. Fortunate, indeed, and happy 
 are you ! 
 
 True, there are times when, as you yourself tell me, you 
 feel displeasure and anguish at seeing some of these boys 
 not corresponding with your anxious solicitude. Now, as 
 a matter of fact, this usually happens with charity, which is 
 seldom satisfied ; nor can it be denied that it is a difficult 
 thing to fulfil all its obligations with due foresight and per- 
 fection. Even St. Augustine frequently deplored this fact. 
 It is a gift which God generally bestows little by little, as is 
 His way respecting the other virtues, and He bestows it 
 only on those who ask it of Him in humility of heart. It 
 so happens that they who ask it belong usually to that 
 class of persons who, while they cease not to act righteously, 
 are eager to do still better. They are never content, be- 
 
INTERRUPTIONS TO HOME SECLUSION. 221 
 
 cause they deem it a serious defect not to be able to reach 
 the apex of perfection. God endows such as these with 
 ever- increasing degrees of light, and, as we see exemplified 
 in the Saints, they often rise to an almost incredible height 
 of prudence, meekness and skill in winning souls and lead- 
 ing them to God. Take heart then, and let nothing dis- 
 courage you in the meritorious career on which you have 
 entered. 
 
 When you inform me that your projects and pious 
 designs are not confined to this work only, you make 
 me entertain very sanguine hopes of the future, for I know 
 that charity is boundless. All this gives me greater confi- 
 dence in speaking to you of that other project The 
 Turin Society. Not very long ago that excellent man the 
 Marquis d'Azeglio sent me a long and kind letter, in the 
 name of the Society, with a parcel of books, all of which 
 have, I believe, been published through its agency. It is, 
 indeed, a noble undertaking and calculated to produce most 
 beneficial results. Whatever we may do, it is above all 
 things necessary that our zeal be fervent, constant, and dis- 
 creet. Without fervour we shall never accomplish any- 
 thing that is valuable or useful. So we shall be wanting in 
 perseverance, if constancy of resolution do not make us sur- 
 mount all the obstacles which cross our path (and they are 
 formidable) whether they come from the wicked, or the 
 ignorant, the world or the Evil One. Finally, if charity 
 have not wisdom for its guide, it will prove neither accept- 
 able to God nor advantageous to men. In fact, then it 
 would not be charity at all, but a meaningless name, a 
 mere presumption, or a delusion of the enemy. Let us 
 mature the matter fully in prayer, and in accordance with 
 the light which God may deign to give us, whether it be by 
 means of those good sentiments with which He may inspire 
 ourselves or by the suggestions of judicious persons. Let 
 us try to follow and not to forestall the designs of God, and 
 be humbly indifferent to everything else save doing His 
 holy Will ; in nothing seeking our own interests but His 
 
222 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 alone. These dispositions made, I trust we shall so far 
 succeed that we ourselves shall experience, in the end, inef- 
 fable consolation. Pray meanwhile, and meditate. 
 
 ROVERETO : May 2, I822. 1 
 
 There were three occasions, during these five 
 years, on which Rosmini consented to overstep the 
 bounds of his seclusion in a more decided way than 
 any we have indicated. The first of these was on 
 June 23, 1822, when he went to Padua for the 
 Doctor's degree, which he had long been ready to 
 receive, but had declined to take, partly out of con- 
 sideration for his less advanced classmates, and 
 partly from a desire to give precedence to Holy 
 Orders. 2 He was warmly greeted at Padua, not 
 only by many personal friends among the professors 
 and students, but by all the University authorities. 
 He remained with them merely while it was neces- 
 sary to comply with the formalities required for 
 taking the double doctorate Divinity and Canon 
 Law. 
 
 Having duly received both, as one who had 
 won them with distinction, he at once returned to 
 Rovereto, where he had to endure yet another 
 ovation ; for his fellow-citizens chose to consider 
 every fresh dignity secured by him as reflecting 
 honour on themselves. But, to his/i thinking, the 
 diploma of Fellowship in the ' Academy of the 
 Catholic Religion,' which was conferred upon him 
 about the same time, was a loftier dignity than that 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxxv. * See Chapter vii. p. 136. 
 
INTERRUPTIONS TO HOME SECLUSION. 223 
 
 which the Roveretans thought worthy of public 
 rejoicings. Of this Fellowship he spoke as of an 
 honour according to his heart, while the doctorate 
 seemed to him a comparatively trifling affair * cosa 
 leggiera' as he styled it in a letter to his friend 
 Paravia. 
 
 The next time he passed notably far from his 
 home retirement was in the Autumn of the same year, 
 when he proceeded to Innsbruck, accompanied by 
 Don Orsi, his former master, in order to escort a 
 distinguished guest to Rovereto. This guest was 
 Monsignor Crasser, who had been Prefect of Studies 
 in the great Tyrolese University, where young Ros- 
 mini formed his acquaintance and laid the foundation 
 of a life-long friendship between them. M. Crasser 
 had just been nominated to the see of Treviso, and 
 as he had but an imperfect knowledge of Italian he 
 sought his young friend's hospitality and assistance 
 while endeavouring to overcome this disadvantage. 
 His episcopal career, which was most successful 
 (first at Treviso, and afterwards at Verona) may be 
 said to have taken its start, if not more, under the 
 healthy influences of the ' sacerdotal philosopher of 
 Rovereto/ As a young layman Rosmini had been 
 deemed fit to prepare, and actually did prepare, 
 ecclesiastics for the Priesthood ; why then should it 
 be strange if he, as a young Priest, was deemed fit to 
 do some kindred service for Priests who were about 
 to assume the Episcopal Office ? Such duties as 
 these were no real interruption to the even tenor 
 of the monastic course he was resolved to follow, 
 
224 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 whether he was entertaining guests at home or was 
 himself a guest in the homes of others. 
 
 Before this visit of M. Grasser came to a close, 
 Rosmini was appealed to by the ecclesiastical 
 authorities of Trent to connect himself officially and 
 permanently with his native diocese. To this end M. 
 Sardagna, then Vicar Capitular, who highly esteemed 
 the virtues and abilities of the young Abate, and 
 was eager to keep them for Trent, offered many 
 inducements well calculated to successfully entice any 
 one else. But, as these tempting offers looked too 
 much like honouring the individual, they failed to 
 allure one whose zeal for the Church was so pure that 
 anything with the semblance of self-interest, instead 
 of attracting, repelled him. However, at M. Grasser 's 
 suggestion, he consented to accept the office of 
 Synodical Examiner, as least objectionable and not 
 likely to embarrass him in living up to the principles 
 he had laid down for his guidance. Moreover, it 
 would enable him to accomplish much good, especi- 
 ally in connection with the little Academy for young 
 ecclesiastics, which he still kept up in his own house 
 and at his own expense. 
 
 This little Academy was known amongst its 
 students as the Gymnasium of the Aquinate, because 
 they were mainly occupied with the works of St. 
 Thomas, for which Rosmini had always the pro- 
 foundest admiration. The presence of guests in the 
 family mansion was never allowed to interfere with 
 the regular course of studies, nor with the formal 
 lectures he daily gave his pupils. Sometim 
 
 
INTERRUPTIONS TO HOME SECLUSION. 225 
 
 the guests took part in the discussions, as M. 
 Crasser requested permission to do while he stayed. 
 The young professor usually strolled off to prepare 
 the lessons in the quiet of St. Ilario (a secluded 
 villa conveniently near the town) and then came 
 back to read and discuss them with his disciples, or, 
 as he preferred to designate them, ' fellow academi- 
 cians.' The cream of these readings, naturally 
 enough, passed into a formal work designed for the 
 press, but, unfortunately, the manuscript has been 
 lost. He has himself left us this record of it in a 
 letter written to Tommaseo, some months later than 
 the time of which we are now speaking : 
 
 I have begun the little dissertation on St. Thomas of 
 Aquin, whose genius I hold to be in no way inferior to 
 Newton's. I am writing it in Latin. At the very outset, I 
 reprove the Italians for not appreciating the treasure they 
 possess and the glory which might accrue to them if they 
 but availed themselves of the riches offered to them in 
 the writings of this peerless genius. I place the great 
 merits of St. Thomas in theological wisdom, and then in- 
 vestigate the causes which have led to his being so little 
 studied. I find them in the decay amongst us of the phi- 
 losophy of Aristotle, and I endeavour to describe the good 
 as well as evil of that philosophy. I next proceed to speak 
 of such parts of this system as should be revived, showing 
 that if it were restored it would appear more beautiful than 
 at any other period. Then I do my best to give a con- 
 densed exposition of it in language suited to modern 
 times. In doing this I penetrate as far as I can into its 
 spirit. By such an abridgment of the Aristotelian philoso- 
 phy, purged of its errors and perfected by the lofty intellect 
 of our Angelic Doctor, I think I am appending to the 
 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
226 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 works of this mighty genius the only proper means of 
 understanding and relishing them. 1 
 
 Thus, when not only Italy, but all Europe, looked 
 with coldness, if not with positive disfavour, on the 
 works of St. Thomas of Aquin, the Abate Rosmini, 
 against formidable opposition, was vigorously striving 
 to secure for them that place which they now hold in 
 the estimation of the Catholic world. Indeed, it can 
 be claimed, with perfect justice, that the young 
 Roveretan philosopher was one of the first, if not 
 the very first, to insist on the pre-eminent merits of 
 the grand Dominican ; and he was assuredly the first, 
 and perhaps the only writer, who so thoroughly 
 mastered the teachings of the Angelic Doctor as to 
 be in a position to make them truly ' understood 
 and relished.' 
 
 1 See // Rinnovamento della Filosofia in Italia, Milano, 1836, 1840 ; 
 and Aristotele esposto ed esaminato published in the Rivista Contem- 
 poranea of Turin, November 1854 and January 1855, and by the 
 Societa Editrice di libri di Filosofia in 1857. 
 
HIS FIRST VISIT TO ROME. 227 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ROSMINl's FIRST VISIT TO ROME. 
 
 (A.D. 1823.) 
 
 He is invited to accompany Mons. Crasser to Treviso Quits his 
 retirement for the third time It proves to be the first serious de- 
 parture from the monastic seclusion of home Meets the Patriarch 
 of Venice, who takes him to Rome His first short but fruitful visit 
 to the Eternal City Becomes the friend of Mauro Cappellari 
 (afterwards Pope Gregory XVI) Interview with Pius VII. The 
 Pope counsels him to persevere in philosophical studies for the 
 good of the Church Is offered an important office at the Papal 
 Court How this perplexes him, and why he declines it The 
 burden of exalted friendships Informs his mother how the time 
 has been spent Returns home How news of the Pope's dangerous 
 illness is received in Rovereto News of the Holy Father's death 
 Rosmini leads the people to honour his memory Is appointed to 
 preach the funeral oration Effect of his discourse on those who 
 heard it. 
 
 WHEN Monsignor Crasser was on the eve of de- 
 parting from Rovereto, in order to take formal pos- 
 session of his See, he urgently requested his young 
 host to aceompany him and assist at the ceremony. 
 Rosmini at first hesitated ; but, after he had spent 
 some time in prayer, to discover God's Will in the 
 matter, he came to the conclusion that all the cir- 
 cumstances connected with the invitation brought it 
 within the range of the rule he had laid down for his 
 guidance. 
 
 02 
 
228 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 It was the third time of his quitting the long 
 seclusion following his Ordination the third for 
 any purpose far beyond the ordinary paths of home 
 life. But as it led to an extraordinary extension of 
 his journey and of his absence, as well as to scenes 
 of exceptional distraction, it may be regarded as the 
 first time in which his five years' retirement was 
 seriously disturbed. Not that he failed still to carry 
 self-seclusion with him, or to observe his monastic 
 rule, as far as circumstances permitted, but that cir- 
 cumstances made it impossible for him to observe it 
 as fully as at home. These circumstances were, 
 however, as we shall see, of a nature to compensate 
 him spiritually and otherwise for so unusual an in- 
 vasion of the tranquillity he loved so much. Besides, 
 they were the source of influences that had an im- 
 portant bearing on his after life, and thus justified 
 the conclusion that God willed him to accept 
 Mgr. Grasser's invitation. 
 
 The young Abate accompanied his illustrious 
 guest to Treviso. There he had the good fortune 
 to meet once more, and under most favourable 
 auspices, an old Paduan friend the learned Ladis- 
 laus Pirker, Patriarch of Venice, who had come to 
 instal his suffragan. When the ceremonies were 
 over, the Patriarch pressed his young friend to go 
 with him to Venice, and thence to Rome. The 
 terms of the invitation were such as made accept- 
 ance a duty ; and so Rosmini soon found himself, 
 most unexpectedly, on the way to the Eternal Cil 
 whither his imagination had often fondly journey 
 
HIS FIRST VISIT TO ROME. 229 
 
 But, frequently as he thought of making a pilgrimage 
 to the shrine of the Apostles, and much as he wished 
 to carry out the desire, he would not venture to go till 
 Providence, by circumstances, indicated the time. 
 The indication was at length clear, and he went. 
 
 This, his first visit to Rome, was made in the 
 Spring of 1823. It was short and somewhat hurried, 
 but fruitful. As the honoured companion of the Ve- 
 netian Patriarch he had rare opportunities of know- 
 ing people and of seeing places it was most import- 
 ant for him to know and see. These opportunities 
 kept him so incessantly busy that he had no time to 
 pen the descriptions he intended to write of what he 
 saw, nor a moment to more than name the illustrious 
 persons whose acquaintance he made. Amongst 
 those whose warm friendship he then secured was a 
 pious and learned Camaldoli monk, greatly esteemed 
 in Rome, where he discharged the duties of Procu- 
 rator General of his Order. 1 This was the Abate 
 
 1 The monks of Camaldoli took their name from the once famous 
 monastery founded in 1009 on the estate of the Counts Maldoli, in the 
 Apennines, above the valley of Casentino near Arezzo in Tuscany. The 
 monastery itself had its name contracted from that of the estate Campo 
 Maldoli. The founder was St. Romualdo, who died in 1027. (See 
 Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. i. pp. 208-11.) For more than 800 
 years this monastery was the nursery of a sanctity and learning that 
 shed its brightness far and near. Amongst its illustrious children 
 were the Blessed Maldoli, one of the Counts to whom the property 
 originally belonged ; St. Peter Damian, a Cardinal and Doctor of the 
 Church ; Guido Aretino, the famous musician and inventor of the Sol- 
 feggio ; Mauro Cappellari, who became Pope Gregory XVI. ; Casimir 
 King of Poland, &c. But in spite of its sacred renown and continued 
 usefulness, in spite of the fact that its monks were ' much distin- 
 guished for their charity in years of famine, when, besides continuing 
 their usual alms, they mortgaged the Church plate and their posses- 
 sions for the benefit of their poor neighbours, and even deprived 
 
230 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Mauro Cappellari, who, eight years afterwards, was 
 called to the chair of Peter as Gregory XVI. 
 Another intimacy dating from those days was that 
 with Cardinal Zurla ; another with Mgr. Ostini, 
 subsequently a Cardinal ; and yet another, that with 
 the distinguished Albertino Bellenghi, whose writ- 
 ings on geological subjects he much admired. 1 
 
 Pius VII. was still reigning, and though the 
 venerable Pontiff was in very feeble health, Don 
 Antonio had not long to wait for an audience, 
 which proved to be of a most kindly character. The 
 Holy Father, who had heard much about him, not 
 only from the Patriarch but from others, was well 
 pleased with the young Roveretan Priest, whose 
 philosophical studies he warmly approved. He 
 bade him to remember that much was expected from 
 him, because he had received much, and that he 
 
 themselves of their outer garments for the same purpose/ in spite of 
 all this the Italian Government suppressed the monastery and made it 
 national property in 1865, ' the great extent and beauty of its forests' 
 being an avowed reason. Some sixteen years afterwards the same 
 Government sold the grand old home of the Camaldoli at public 
 auction, the day of sale being, significantly enough, a Sunday, 9th of 
 Oct. 1 88 1. It was to stem the tide of evils which threatened results 
 like this that Mauro Cappellari as Camaldoli monk, as Cardinal and as 
 Pope, urged Antonio Rosmini to wage continuous war against false 
 philosophy, and it was to a like end that the same distinguished Cam- 
 aldolese, when Vicar of Christ, commissioned the Roveretan divine 
 to found a Religious Order. 
 
 1 It was on this occasion that Bellenghi entrusted to him the 
 manuscript of the work entitled Ricerche sulla Geologia, which Ros- 
 mini read with interest and published at Rovereto in 1824. Some of 
 the Roman journals condemned it much as the critics of Galileo would 
 have done ; but the distinguished Professor Zamboni of Verona 
 defended it, and its speculations are now allowed to be freely handled 
 by every Catholic schoolboy as * theories void of harm to faith or 
 morals,' 
 
If IS FIRST VISIT TO ROME. 231 
 
 must utilise his talents and his studies for the good 
 of the Church. Don Antonio was deeply affected 
 by this fatherly reception, ' which he recorded, not 
 on paper, but in his heart/ as he assured Tommaseo 
 when telling him of it. 1 
 
 Shortly after the interview, and while the young 
 Priest was still flushed with the joy it caused him, he 
 received a formal message to the effect that the 
 Sovereign Pontiff offered to his acceptance the post 
 of Uditore di Rota a mark of signally high favour, 
 which, in the opinion of his Roman friends, was 
 meant as the direct approach to the Cardinalate. 
 That the Holy Father should have thought of him 
 at all in such a manner overwhelmed him afresh ; 
 but this time a cloud flecked the sunshine around 
 him. How was he to accept this important office 
 without setting aside the special works of charity 
 already begun ? How was he to take it, and carry 
 on successfully the studies which the Pope himself 
 had so emphatically commended ? studies that 
 aimed at the restoration of Christian philosophy 
 as one of the greatest boons which Intellectual 
 Charity could secure to men in an age of hardened 
 scepticism. 
 
 The Patriarch, on learning his perplexity, re- 
 minded him that the terms of the Holy Father's 
 offer did not at all imply a command. This re- 
 lieved him, and, having the option, he promptly 
 asked and obtained permission to decline the high 
 post the venerable Pontiff's favour had placed 
 
 1 Rivista Cent. Antonio Rosmini per N. Tommaseo. Torino, 1855, 
 
232 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 within his reach. Seven years afterwards, when 
 he had occasion to explain to the Bishop of Trent 
 why he could not consistently accept an important 
 position to which that Prelate invited him, he thus 
 alluded to the offers which his principles obliged him 
 to decline at the hands even of the venerable Pius 
 VII.: 
 
 I regard as one of the principal rules regulating my 
 course, that which forbids me to assume any office likely to 
 impede the doing of a greater work already commenced* It 
 was chiefly on this account and not, I hope, through sloth 
 or cowardice, that I found myself obliged to refuse some 
 most honourable posts which were offered to me in 
 the capital of Christendom as long ago as 1823, during 
 the pontificate of Pius VII., as well as on subsequent oc- 
 casions. 1 
 
 The ' sweet fame' which had preceded the young 
 Roveretan Priest, coupled with the advantages of 
 intimate association with the Venetian Patriarch, 
 made his stay at Rome much more honoured and 
 exciting than was at all agreeable to him. To visit 
 the sacred shrines and see the treasures of art, and 
 explore the venerable remains of ages long past, 
 afforded him great pleasure indeed ; but this had its 
 drawback in the fact that he was always escorted by 
 those whose kind attentions oppressed him. Far 
 sooner would he have seen all these things while 
 alone and unknown. He had, however, to bear the 
 burden of exalted intimacies, and submit to be some- 
 what lionised. All this made it impossible for him 
 to write much from Rome, even to his mother, who 
 
 1 JLpistolario, Letter clxxiv. 
 
HIS FIRST VISIT TO ROME. 233 
 
 had from him the following explanation of his 
 difficulties : . 
 
 The infrequency of my letters from Rome will enable 
 you to understand how much I am occupied all day in 
 seeing a thousand things which truly inebriate the soul. I 
 have hardly time left me for the saying of the Divine Office, 
 and for the other exercises of piety. The Patriarch, full of 
 activity, is indefatigable ; besides, we are overwhelmed with 
 visits. In short, what with one thing and another our stay 
 has come to an end, without my being able to write to you 
 as much as I had hoped. 
 
 According to our present arrangements, on next 
 Tuesday we shall leave for Florence, where we shall spend 
 a few days. Our health has been good all through. . . . 
 You cannot imagine how much it delights me to dis- 
 cover, at every turn, the art wonders uncle Ambrogio 
 used to describe to me in such vivid language. Few 
 things come so new to me, as to find me unable to say 
 what they are ; indeed, I can often give their history, so 
 deep were the impressions made on my mind by the words 
 of one so dear to me. Yesterday we were at Frascati 
 and Albano, lovely spots not far from Rome. We derived 
 great pleasure from discoursing on matters connected 
 with the antiquarian relics strewn all over these places. 
 But in spite of the many attractions by which I am sur- 
 rounded, I yearn to find myself once more restored to 
 home retirement. 1 
 
 He started for that home retirement a few days 
 after he had thus written to his mother. But, as in 
 Rome, so in Florence and elsewhere on the return 
 journey, his stay, though at no place long, was of 
 that distracting kind which little harmonised with 
 his private inclinations. However, since the Will of 
 
 1 Unpublished letter, dated Rome, April 22, 1823. 
 
234 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Providence, and not his own, had regulated the 
 tour and destined him to have a more conspicuous 
 share in it than his love of seclusion would have per- 
 mitted himself to have chosen he found therein a 
 means of making it contribute to his spiritual as well 
 as physical and mental advantage. 
 
 Hardly had he resumed the monastic regularity 
 of his quiet but most industrious and useful life in 
 Rovereto, when news came that the venerated Pius 
 VII. was dangerously ill. Don Antonio immediately 
 brought the members of his two Academies to com- 
 bine in prayer for the good estate of the dying Pope, 
 and for the prosperity of the whole Church. A few 
 days afterwards came tidings of the saintly Chief 
 Pastor's departure to eternal life, and, at once, Ros- 
 mini was busy in leading all Rcvereto to unite in 
 suffrages for the good Pontiffs soul, and in publicly 
 honouring his memory. Every church in Rovereto 
 had solemn services befitting the sad occasion ; and, 
 in order that no homage due to the illustrious dead 
 should be wanting, a committee of Priests and lay- 
 men was appointed to arrange for the celebration 
 of a ' month's mind,' on September 25, at which the 
 municipal authorities, with various other civic digni- 
 taries, were to assist ' in state,' and an approprial 
 funeral oration was to be pronounced. Rosmini w; 
 formally requested to prepare and preach this di< 
 course, and it was thus he came to deliver the pan< 
 gyric which secured for him so much fame an< 
 trouble. 
 
 The masterly eloquence of this discourse sur- 
 
HIS FIRST VISIT TO ROME. 235 
 
 prised those who heard it ; for, though they expected 
 much from the orator as to the matter, they were not 
 prepared for the heartiness of manner which gave 
 such effective utterance to what he felt and pro- 
 claimed. But what impressed them most of all was 
 the dauntless spirit and unanswerable logic with 
 which the young Abate asserted and defended the 
 rights of the Holy See against the aggressions, 
 not only of revolution but of that modern statecraft 
 which had then influential advocates in Austria. 
 When denouncing both the acts and the policy of 
 Napoleon the extravagances and the principles of 
 the Revolution he struck at a policy and at principles 
 that still lurked in high as well as low places, biding 
 a time to once more assault the See of Sees. A 
 quarter of a century later he was, himself, to witness 
 the new assault : it was made under changed circum- 
 stances, indeed, but its character and its dangers were 
 in no essential respect different from those which 
 he, with marvellous foresight, already denounced as 
 latent in the false principles underlying the political 
 systems of the day. 
 
236 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ROSMINl's PANEGYRIC OF PIUS VII. THE BEGINNING OF 
 TRIBULATIONS. 
 
 (A.D. 1824.) 
 
 Why this panegyric calls for a special chapter How it marks the 
 close of calm life and the opening of storms The greater the 
 Saints and the more they do for the glory of God, the greater and 
 more their trials Synopsis of the panegyric He is entreated to 
 publish it immediately as an offset to current attacks on the Holy 
 See Why Austrian politicians opposed its publication They fear 
 Rosmini as an * Ultramontane' What he says of their course He 
 publishes a portrait of the Pope, and is opposed even in this 
 He foresees the evils which certain political factions in Catholic 
 countries are to bring on the Church and on nations. 
 
 THE panegyric of Pius VII. may be said to have 
 closed Rosmini's life of external peace and opened 
 upon him that of storm ; for his bold and successful 
 defence of the Holy See brought upon him the first 
 of those tribulations that were, in so many other 
 ways, to strew his path with thorns. This discourse 
 had, therefore, all the higher value in his eyes, since 
 it marked the commencement of a practical applica- 
 tion to himself of the Eighth Beatitude ' Blessed 
 are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute 
 you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, 
 for My sake. . . . For so they persecuted the Pro- 
 phets that were before you. 1 
 
 
HJS PANEGYRIC OF PIUS VII. 237 
 
 Seeing, then, that it inaugurated a new and most 
 important phase in his course, it claims at our hands 
 more than a passing allusion. But, apart from this 
 leading motive, there are other reasons immediately 
 connected with the views Rosmini so emphatically 
 enunciated in this famous panegyric which make a 
 synopsis of its contents a necessary part of any com- 
 plete history of his life. He should be seen, at all 
 points, in the clear light of his own principles, as 
 described by himself and consistently adhered to from 
 first to last. To be misunderstood and misrepre- 
 sented was a lot from which neither a St. Augustine 
 of Hippo, nor a St. Thomas of Aquin, nor a St. 
 Ignatius of Loyola, nor, indeed, any great Saint, was 
 exempt. On the contrary, the greater the Saint and 
 the more he did for the glory of God and the Church, 
 the more was he misunderstood, sometimes even by 
 the zealously good, and the more was he misrepre- 
 sented by those whose zeal outstripped their pru- 
 dence. Antonio of Rovereto had to bear this cross 
 of the Saints from an early day of his life, and, like 
 all who truly loved the Cross of Calvary, he bore it 
 meekly and patiently to the end. 
 
 I. In the exordium of the panegyric he maintains 
 that the nature of Christian virtue is far nobler than 
 any of which mere human heroism can boast ; and 
 that the greatness of Christian virtue has far better 
 opportunities and more occasions for its exercise (and 
 is actually more exercised) in the Roman Pontificate 
 than in any other position on earth. He then takes 
 
2^8 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 for the argument of the whole discourse, the moral 
 greatness of the Roman Pontiffs as seen in Pius 
 VII. 
 
 II. He vividly describes the calamities that 
 afflicted the Church when Cardinal Chiaramonti was 
 chosen, in March 1800, to fill the chair of Peter. 
 
 III. He goes on to show how very difficult it must 
 have been for the Pontiff elected in such trying times 
 to remedy the evils that beset the Church, seeing that 
 it was so very difficult to proceed with the election 
 itself; and how Divine Providence selected Pius VII. 
 as the fittest to grapple with the dangers and over- 
 come the evils, for all that some distrusted the choice 
 because of the monastic humility of the new Pope 
 and the shrinking gentleness of his personal cha- 
 racter. 
 
 IV. He dwells on the fact that Pius VII. was 
 no sooner seated in the chair of Peter than he felt 
 the whole weight of the immense burden imposed 
 upon him, but without being at all discouraged. 
 
 V. He demonstrates the moral greatness of 
 Pius VII. by an extrinsic argument, that is, by the 
 results obtained contrasting the state of the Church 
 at the time of the Pontiff's death with the condition 
 in which it was at the period of his election. 
 
 VI. He continues to prove this moral greatness 
 by an investigation of its nature, and shows that its 
 two leading characteristics were wisdom and fortitude 
 wisdom in comprehending the true position of 
 affairs, and fortitude in acting on the conclusions 
 thus arrived at. He then compares the fortitude of 
 
HIS PANEGYRIC OF PIUS VII. 239 
 
 Worldly heroes, which displays itself in enterprises 
 full of cruelty, with the fortitude of Christian heroes, 
 which manifests itself, chiefly, in the longanimit) 
 that patiently endures all manner of suffering how- 
 ever iniquitously inflicted. 
 
 VII. The better to set forth the indomitable 
 vigour of the Pope's fortitude he begins a calm, clear, 
 description of the persecutions raised against him 
 
 what mental anguish and what physical sufferings 
 his adversaries forced him to go through. He then 
 exposes Napoleon's designs on the Papal States, and 
 how, as a first stage to carrying them out, the 
 usurper occupied Ancona with an army. 
 
 VIII. He points out the enormity of the sacri- 
 lege attempted by Napoleon, as made painfully clear 
 in the attending circumstances, and not least in the 
 audacious assumption of the title Defender of the 
 Holy See. He interrupts the narrative to give a 
 historical sketch of the Protectorate of ' the Papal 
 Power' which the French kings occasionally exer- 
 cised, and then shows how impudent and insincere 
 was Napoleon's pretence of imitating them. 
 
 IX. He exposes the gross insult which Napoleon 
 offered to the Pontiff, by affirming that the Emperor 
 knew better than the Pope what concerned the in- 
 terests of the Church, and that it was on account of 
 this superior knowledge the imperial forces took 
 possession of the Pontifical States. 
 
 X. He indicates the profound contempt of men 
 evinced by Napoleon, in declaring himself to be the 
 Roman Emperor, Charlemagne's successor, and in 
 
240 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 pretending that all the States of Italy were, there- 
 fore, his dependencies. 
 
 XI. He brings to view the further vexation 
 that was caused to Pius VII. by Napoleon's wicked 
 attempt to subjugate the Pontiff to his desires for 
 the enslavement of the Church, which, under pretext 
 of protecting, he tried to change into a human insti- 
 tution subordinate to the political ambition of a 
 despot. 
 
 XII. He lays bare the grievous insults to which 
 Napoleon's treatment of the Pontiff subjected him, 
 and not least in having sought to make it appear that 
 the Holy Father's unyielding attitude sprang, not 
 from motives of conscience, but from human interests 
 under the veil of conscience. 
 
 XIII. He denounces the unworthy calumnies 
 which Pius VII. had to endure at the usurper's 
 hands, and unmasks the despicable pretexts to which 
 Napoleon had recourse in order to hurl injurious 
 reproaches at the afflicted Pontiff. 
 
 XIV. He extols the firmness of the Pope, whicl 
 made him proof against all the artifices and insult* 
 of his tormentor to coax or force him to say or d< 
 what conscience and duty forbade ; and he commend' 
 the Pontiff's answers as firm in substance whil< 
 courteous and full of meekness in manner. 
 
 XV. He reviews the true relations of the Pop< 
 with secular powers as well illustrated by Pius VII., 
 who declared that, as * Vicar of the Lord of Peace,' 
 he could not enter into any offensive alliance wit! 
 Napoleon against England, as he ought not to be at 
 
HIS PANEGYRIC OF PIUS VII. 241 
 
 war with any one. He shows how the Holy Father 
 justly maintained this course to be according to the 
 true spirit of the Roman Pontificate ; and how the 
 example of his predecessors made it manifest that 
 the spirit of the Holy See consists in rectitude, 
 especially that rectitude which forms goodness and 
 sacerdotal meekness. 
 
 XVI. He regards Pius VII. as the first Pope 
 who was engaged in so prolonged and formidable a 
 struggle for the defence of the spirit of Sacerdotal 
 meekness ; and he claims that, through the conflict 
 thus waged, the Pontiff bequeathed new glory to the 
 Apostolic See. He then expatiates on the great 
 merits of this struggle on such grounds. 
 
 XVII. He criticises the method employed by 
 Napoleon to revenge himself on the firmness of the 
 Pope by means of fresh insults ; and explains how, 
 in order to make the insults more effectively harsh, 
 they were directed against the virtues which the 
 imperial policy strove to persecute and destroy in 
 the Pontifical States. 
 
 XVIII. He pictures Pius VII. bereft of every 
 human comfort, while he was as ready as ever to 
 offer consolation to all, not excepting his persecutors. 
 
 XIX. He brings to light Napoleon's attempts 
 to stifle the veracious voice of the Pontiff, who, in the 
 midst of his oppressions, refused to suppress the 
 truth a course that was utterly repugnant to the 
 policy of his imperial gaoler, who therefore deprived 
 him of every means of communicating with the 
 Church of which he was the Visible Head. 
 
 VOL. I. R 
 
242 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 XX. He relates, in detail, how the inexorable 
 agents of tyranny tore from the Pontiff's side all his 
 ministers one after another, and how patiently he 
 submitted to each fresh torture, till he found himself 
 on the eve of losing his last companion, Cardinal 
 Pacca, when he stood up and interposed his person 
 between this new victim and the soldiers who had 
 come to force him away, as they had forced all the 
 others. 
 
 XXI. Having thus fully brought to view the 
 various forms of mental anguish that the venerable 
 Pontiff had to endure, the orator next proceeds to 
 describe and consider his physical sufferings. 
 
 XXII. He describes the forcible removal of the 
 Pope from Rome, and gives an account of the 
 wearisome and distressing journey to Savona and 
 Fontainebleau. 
 
 XXIII. He considers the moral grandeur of 
 Pius VII. as shown by \A& fortitude in bearing the 
 evils inflicted upon him, and then passes on to view 
 this grandeur as shown by the wisdom which regu- 
 lated his conduct towards others : First of all the 
 wisdom that sustained him in adversity, especially 
 that which enabled him to distinguish between what 
 he could concede to his enemies and what he must 
 firmly refuse to grant them ; then his wisdom in pro- 
 sperity, especially in never allowing the least token 
 of revenge to blemish his treatment of his perse- 
 cutors, to whom he most generously stretched 
 forth the arms of Christian Charity ; his wisdom 
 in assigning their just value to things, and especially 
 
HIS PANEGYRIC OF PIUS VII. 243 
 
 in knowing how to sacrifice mere formalities when 
 a substantial good had to be gained ; his wisdom in 
 devising the fittest plans of operation under most 
 difficult circumstances. 
 
 XXIV. He lays down the grounds of Public 
 Right on which the coronation of Napoleon could 
 be justified, and then explains how the Public 
 Right which has jitstice for its basis was taught and 
 promulgated in Europe, mainly by the Holy See. 
 
 XXV. He confronts the Public Right incul- 
 cated by the Popes, with the ' public right ' enforced 
 by Napoleon on the basis of a supposed public 
 utility, and he lays bare the absurdity and fatal 
 nature of this ' right,' which the sophists of modern 
 times invented and Napoleon attempted to reduce 
 to practice. 
 
 XXVI. He demonstrates that by his defence of 
 public justice, against so-called public utility, Pius 
 VII. defended the cause of all legitimate rulers and 
 the true liberty of peoples. 
 
 XXVII. He deals with the three causes which 
 led to the struggles of the Popes with temporal 
 rulers : i. The liberty of Italy, in so far as it is 
 bound up with the liberty of the Church ; 2. The 
 necessity of supporting the moral dignity of marriage; 
 3. The proper maintenance of ecclesiastical disci- 
 pline. 
 
 XXVIII. He insists that Pius VII. contended 
 for all three within the bounds of Public Right, and 
 then sets out to prove it, especially as regards the 
 sacredness of the marriage tie. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 XXIX. He enumerates the many benefits con- 
 ferred on the Church by this venerable Pontiff, and 
 shows what his zeal for ecclesiastical discipline had 
 accomplished. He then descants on the wisdom of 
 his temporal rule, and on the enlightened generosity 
 which made him a munificent protector of Sciences 
 and Arts. 
 
 XXX. Having fully shown the greatness of the 
 Pontiff's Fortitude and Wisdom, he finally speaks of 
 his Sanctity, and proves that, in this also, Pius VII. 
 was great ; his public virtues possessed a special 
 excellence drawn from the fact that they all grew up 
 from the prolific and vigorous stem of this Sanctity. 
 
 XXXI. He concludes by apostrophising Italy as 
 a nation honoured beyond others in producing so 
 illustrious a son as Pius VII. 
 
 The desirability, nay the necessity, of immediately 
 publishing this panegyric was urged upon Rosmini, 
 not only by the Rovereto Clergy, but by those of 
 other towns in that and other dioceses, as well as by 
 many venerable laymen in whose judgment he had 
 much confidence. Accordingly, he prepared it for 
 the press, though not without misgivings as to its 
 reception by certain influential persons who were 
 imbued with a short-sighted policy unfavourable to 
 the Papacy a policy which had slumbered in 
 Austria since the days of Joseph II., but had been 
 re-awakened by the Revolution, though under circum- 
 stances that held its supporters in check, so long 
 as the atrocities of Revolutionary and Napoleonic 
 
HIS PANEGYRIC OF PIUS VIL 245 
 
 ascendency were still fresh in the memory of the 
 people. But, the hostile spirit was none the less 
 there, and, however subdued in its manifestations, it 
 was potent enough to resist and trample on anyone 
 who might attempt to uphold the dignity and rights 
 of the Roman Pontiffs. When the young Roveretan 
 Priest was persuaded that it became his duty to con- 
 front this powerful and subtle antagonism to the 
 Holy See, he did not hesitate through fear of 
 personal consequences. 
 
 Already Pietro Giordani had published a pane- 
 gyric of Napoleon I., and though this was at all points 
 unjustly and irritatingly adverse to the Papacy, it was 
 allowed to circulate freely through the Italian pro- 
 vinces of Austria. Its misrepresentations did so much 
 mischief that the earnest Catholics of the empire and 
 of Italy loudly demanded some effective off-set, such 
 as that furnished by Rosmini's panegyric of Pius VII. 
 Indeed, this funeral oration was the only discourse 
 or production of the time which fully met the case ; 
 therefore it was promptly retouched and made ready 
 to go forth on its salutary mission. But the pro : 
 vincial political authorities, to whom it had to be 
 submitted for 'permission to publish/ looked upon 
 it as ' too papal,' or, as some in our time say of any- 
 thing that is decidedly Catholic, ' too ultramontane.' 
 Hence they loitered over the manuscript for months, 
 and threw every obstacle in the way of its seasonable 
 appearance. 
 
 The Governor of Venice officially warned those 
 of his party in power at Vienna, that Rosmini was 
 
246 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 a * strong Papist having close relations with the 
 most zealous Prelates of the Curia,' and that he had 
 but recently returned from a journey to Rome 
 with so pronounced a papal champion as the Patri- 
 arch of Venice. In short, this Josephine functionary 
 sought to show that the Roveretan Abate was so 
 intensely Catholic that he could not be trusted to 
 express himself in the lukewarm or non-religious 
 style which best suited the temporising and de- 
 catholicising tactics of some Austrian politicians 
 then in authority. Beneath all these efforts to pre- 
 vent or delay its publication there ran a current of 
 slanders that reached Don Antonio's ears through 
 the kindness of the Prefect of the Southern Tyrol 
 the loyal and pious Riccabona, whose cousin had 
 just been designated Bishop of Trent. Two years 
 after these annoyances had begun Rosmini himself 
 gave this account of them in a letter to his friend 
 Mgr. Grasser, Bishop of Treviso : 
 
 I wish to tell you one thing, but in all secrecy. It 
 is already a long time since I submitted to the Censor- 
 ship at Venice a eulogy of Pius VII. This little work 
 has had a world of vicissitudes. The Governor of Venice 
 wrote to Vienna an angry and, at the same time, a 
 silly report against me. The crime with which he charged 
 me was that of being a papist in close relations with the 
 Roman Prelates ! As a proof of this he adduced the journey 
 I made to Rome with the Patriarch, and brought forward 
 other arguments of the same decisive kind ! . . . However, 
 even at Vienna itself the report of the Venetian Governor 
 was judged to be rash. Meanwhile, my book was returned 
 to Venice, and once more sent back to Vienna. From 
 
HIS PANEGYRIC OF PIUS VII. 247 
 
 Vienna it was next time forwarded to M. Wilzek, at Inns- 
 bruck, who reported favourably on it. The manuscript 
 was also sent to the Bishop of Trent, but whether 'from 
 Vienna or Innsbruck I cannot tell. I have reason to be- 
 lieve that Riccabona, our Provincial Prefect, was asked to 
 give the Government private information about me per- 
 sonally. In short, they treat me as if I were a Carbonaro ! 
 You must allow that to a quiet gentleman whose conscience 
 stands clear before God and men such proceedings cannot 
 be agreeable. True, all this is done in secret, and it is only 
 by accident that I have come to know of it ; but this is 
 really a most unpleasant part of the affair. Such a mode 
 of proceeding makes it perfectly safe for an enemy or a 
 calumniator to triumph always in his lying. . . . All this, 
 however, cannot disturb my interior tranquillity, and I 
 thank God for my retired life and for the calm of my 
 conscience. 1 
 
 When he found it impossible, without coming 
 into collision with political authority, to carry out the 
 project to which he was urged by so many zealous 
 Catholics, so many loyal citizens, and by an earnest 
 feeling of homage to the memory of Pius VII., as 
 well as by a deep sense of duty to the Holy See, he 
 contented himself with causing the publication of an 
 engraved portrait of the late Pontiff. This, at least^ 
 could not, he thought, be objected to on any plausible 
 grounds. Nevertheless, 'political expediency' did 
 object even to this ; for the portrait, by itself, might 
 suggest awkward inquiries as to the reasons for with- 
 holding the memoir. This objection, however, did 
 not stand ; and so the faithful were allowed to 
 have a likeness of the revered Pope, which Don 
 
 1 Unpublished Letters, Tom. u. Letter cclviii. Rovereto, Decem- 
 ber 14, 1825. 
 
248 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Antonio intrusted to the artist and engraver, Andrees 
 of Rovereto, who brought it out in his best style. 
 
 It pained Rosmini much to find that a time-serv- 
 ing political faction in a Catholic country had the 
 power to thus fetter the action of those who defended 
 the highest interests of the Church ; but it pained 
 him more to know that all who dexterously assailed 
 those interests were not only privileged but pro- 
 tected. He was, indeed, ready to credit the short- 
 sighted politicians then in office with good intentions, 
 but how could he respect the policy which covered 
 their intentions, since it directly favoured the propa- 
 gation of irreligion ? The more he contemplated 
 the gloomy state of the times the more was he sad- 
 dened at the prospects of the future. As Tommaseo 
 tells us, he clearly foresaw that the evils which many 
 statesmen were then sowing all through Europe, to 
 curry favour with free-thinkers, and to affront the 
 Church, must produce crops of bitter woe for religion, 
 for peoples, and for governments. These forebodings 
 grieved him sorely ; but, as he felt that it was 
 Divine anc} not human power which was to succour 
 the Church, he never had any misgivings as to the 
 ultimate triumph of the Holy See over human weak 
 ness or human wickedness, however long and how- 
 ever much either or both might seem to triumph. 
 
HIS DEVOTION TO THE HOLY SEE, 349 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 ROSMINl's DEVOTION TO THE HOLY SEE AND 
 CATHOLIC UNION. 
 
 (A.D. 1824-1825.) 
 
 He practically illustrates the holy influence of the Papacy while not 
 allowed to openly vindicate its honour His great devotion to the 
 Holy See- -Distrust of secular life, and confidence in the Religious 
 State The cloister a harbour of refuge The political censors will 
 not be conciliated Why the religious reaction following the 
 French Revolution waned Dangers of the future Proposal to 
 honour solemnly the martyrs of the Revolution What God intended 
 him to promote Mme. Canossa reminds him of her ' message of 
 inspiration ' He wishes to found a congregation for securing the 
 perfect observance of the public services of the Church She urges 
 him to quit his home retirement His efforts for the Daughters of 
 Charity in Trent Advises his sister to found a house of this Order 
 in Rovereto, at her own expense Proceeds to Modena for special 
 studies Advantages of union amongst the good. 
 
 WHILE a few misguided political officials were ob- 
 structing Rosmini's efforts to vindicate the honour of 
 the Holy See, he was himself quietly engaged in 
 illustrating, all unconsciously, the charm of its benign 
 influences, through the many ' good works ' that sur- 
 rounded his private life with the soothing, saving, 
 blessings of Gospel Charity. Those works, having 
 the Saviour constantly in view, never permitted him 
 to lose sight of Christ's Church or of His Vicar. 
 It has been well said of him that ' if ever there was 
 
250 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 a man who understood perfectly how Christian faith 
 rests on the infallible and living voice of the Church, 
 that man was Antonio Rosmini.' 
 
 It is certain that from his tenderest years to the 
 day of his death he always showed the ' most prompt 
 and humble docility, the most tender and filial affec- 
 tion to the voice of the Church.' He often declared 
 that language could not adequately express ' the ex- 
 alted idea he entertained of the office committed by 
 Jesus Christ to His Spouse/ Any one who reads 
 the second part of his Filosofia del Diritto, must 
 admit that he has taken the greatest pains, and with 
 much success, to set forth and maintain the rights of 
 the Church, ' whether resting on the dictates of 
 natural justice, or on the prescription of her Divine 
 Founder.' He was ever amongst the foremost, and 
 ever fearless, in defending her against the cavils 
 and sophistry of those philosophers and legislators 
 in whose eyes the State is everything and the Church 
 almost nothing. Unlike them, he did not believe 
 that ' civil society is the end for which man was 
 created ; ' for all his studies had convinced him that 
 civil society ' is only one of the means which, under 
 the direction of God's Church, are intended to assist 
 man in the attainment of his only end the eternal 
 salvation of his own soul.' * 
 
 1 An Outline of Rosmints Life, &c., p. 72. It may be as well to 
 remember that Rosmini vindicated the rights of the Holy See with 
 equal ardour at every stage of his life. We have evidence of it while 
 he was a boy composing the ' Day of Retirement 'in 1 8 1 1 , and address- 
 ing the Rovereto Academy in 1814, when he was as firm in upholding 
 those rights as when preaching the ' Panegyric of Pius VII.' in 1824, or 
 finishing the ' Philosophy of Right ' in 1841. The same spirit of un- 
 
PREFERS RELIGIOUS TO SECULAR LIFE. 251 
 
 But when he saw how ' the popular movements ' 
 went, he came to the conclusion that civil society was 
 rapidly passing away from its Christian moorings, 
 and, by mistaking the means for the end, was blindly 
 rushing on its own destruction. He did his utmost 
 to check these evil tendencies as one urged thereto 
 from on High. The tide, however, seemed too 
 strong, and, day by day, the condition of Secular Life 
 alarmed him more and more, while the security 
 which the Religious State afforded won his heart 
 more and more. Hence, he sought every oppor- 
 tunity of encouraging his dearest friends to take 
 refuge in this safer life, and avoid the ever-increasing 
 snares of the world. It gave him sincere pleasure 
 to be in a position to congratulate anyone who had 
 made the ' better choice. 5 Several of his ecclesi- 
 astical friends had already given him this pleasure, 
 and, without for a moment assuming that his in- 
 fluence had led them to take the course he so much 
 approved, he deemed it a duty to wish them joy in 
 some such terms as those used in the following letter 
 to the Abate Villardi : 
 
 I write to congratulate you on the step you have deli- 
 berately taken ; for it is natural for us to rejoice at the 
 welfare of those whom we care for, and you have ever been 
 an object of my affection and esteem. Now, if it be God 
 who has called you to the cloister, as I am persuaded it is 
 (for before adopting such a course, you have, doubtless, 
 
 swerving devotion to the Papacy, and uncompromising advocacy of its 
 inherited rights, is visible in the treatises he wrote or completed 
 during the closing years of his life, as for example in that Sul Matri- 
 monio de 1 Cristiani, that SnlDiritto d' insegnare^ and \h&\.SullaSepara- 
 2 'ionc dell a C hies a dallo Stato. 
 
252 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 taken pains to ascertain His Will in your regard) what 
 more fortunate event could there be for you ? You are now 
 at anchor in a safe harbour. Although the movement of 
 the water be perceptible even there, you will never have to 
 brave the heaving billows which agitate, unceasingly, the 
 high seas of this tempestuous world. The swell, if per- 
 chance there be any, will be of short duration, free from 
 danger, and easily steered through. You can therefore now 
 enjoy that peace which assuredly it is not so easy to secure 
 in the world. I clearly see indeed, experience teaches me, 
 that the noise and bustle of human affairs wrest us from 
 ourselves, and poison with a thousand drugs the chaste 
 delights we derive from letters. Quiet and order, on the 
 contrary, leave us leisure to make use of them, not only 
 with delight, but also with profit to ourselves and others. 
 I write thus with no other view than that you may see 
 you have friends whose sentiments are in harmony with 
 your own. 
 
 Receive, I pray you, this assurance with the same friendly 
 spirit that prompts its utterance. I am aware that you are 
 preaching and zealously labouring in God's vineyard, and I 
 envy you the opportunity you have for such sweet pursuits, 
 whilst I am unhappily immersed in innumerable cares 
 which miserably distract me. 
 
 I have recently published a little book having for its 
 title c Christian Education.' I should gladly send it to 
 you, did I but know how, in order to profit by any sugges- 
 tions you may be good enough to make on it. Next 
 Spring I purpose going to Milan and risking the publication 
 of my ' Panegyric of Pius VII.' I say ' risking' advisedly, 
 for I know not how it will be received. Yet if it were read 
 with the same amount of pleasure which I experienced in 
 writing it (I allude to the subject-matter itself, not to the 
 mode of treating it), I should anticipate some fruit from 
 that class of persons for whom it was written. Good-bye. 
 Give me a share in your affections. Employ your many 
 

 POLITICIANS AND RELIGIOUS REACTION. 253 
 
 acquirements, as I am sure you do, in behalf of religion and 
 virtue. 
 
 ROVERETO : Jan. 14, I8I4. 1 
 
 At this time he had hopes of appeasing the 
 political Censor of Venice by adopting the advice of 
 the Papal Nuncio at Vienna, who suggested that it 
 was better to allow some few alterations in the terms 
 of the panegyric than to leave the enemy with any 
 pretexts for retarding its publication. Rosmini was 
 ready to comply ; but on finding that sweeping 
 changes were demanded changes affecting the very 
 principle for which he contended it was soon seen 
 that, for the present, there was no use in trying to 
 meet the wishes of the Government. 
 
 The religious reaction following the disorders 
 of the Napoleonic wars was then at its height, 
 and thoughtful Catholics concluded that it was 
 precisely the time when it was not only safe but 
 wise to uphold the standard of the Holy See as 
 the symbol of Christian peace and civilisation. But, 
 every fresh incident connected with the attempt 
 to neutralise or suppress this outspoken tribute of 
 homage to the Papacy satisfied Rosmini, more and 
 more, that the poisonous principles of the French 
 Revolution deeply tinctured the politics of those who 
 controlled the reaction. The imprudent concessions 
 constantly made to a few noisy rationalists fostered 
 the germs of the old disorder for a new outbreak, at 
 no distant day. Statesmen, nominally Catholic, in 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxxvi. 
 
254 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Austria, Italy, and France, not fully recovered from 
 the panic of the past, seemed still ready to make 
 terms with impiety, and to such an extent that 
 religious indifference, wearing the flimsy veil of a 
 spurious toleration, was becoming fashionable. 
 
 Thus, though the reaction had thrown down 
 irreligion and restored religion to its throne, the safe- 
 guards were only a delusion so long as good and 
 zealous men, like Rosmini, were abused as ' Papists ' 
 for speaking as Catholics should speak, while latitudi- 
 narians of every stripe were treated with special 
 favour. Judging from this and other signs of the 
 times, that the evil but lately overthrown threatened 
 to recover its power speedily, unless the first fervour 
 of the reaction could be maintained, Don Antonio did 
 all he could to keep up what was best in this fervour. 
 His efforts were applauded by the friends of religion 
 in Austria and Italy, but he found it difficult to get 
 effective assistance from men who were at once fear- 
 less and intellectual. While persuaded that the 
 brunt of battle lay between those who depended on 
 a philosophy which appealed to ' the sensual pro- 
 pensities of men/ and those who were armed with a 
 philosophy that referred all happiness to its true 
 source, God, and that taught men how to find God, 
 he did not neglect to call in the aid of whatever 
 was likely to stimulate or maintain that Christian 
 piety without which any philosophy would be worth- 
 less. 
 
 Amongst the many suggestions he made to this 
 end, there was one which, though far less practical 
 
THE MARTYRS OF REVOLUTION. 255 
 
 than any of the others, has an interest of its own, 
 as a ' little mirror of the man.' This suggestion 
 recommended the solemn appointment of a feast 
 to commemorate the martyrs of the French Revo- 
 lution. The proposal was characteristic of one who 
 had deep religious feelings, and a firm conviction 
 that the French Revolution was the first-born 
 monster of modern sensist philosophy the first- 
 born of a horrid progeny, which would endeavour to 
 destroy Christianity, if Christian philosophy did not 
 deprive false philosophy of its fecundity. No sooner 
 had he thought of this proposal than he communi- 
 cated it to the Abate Mauro Cappellari, just seven 
 years before that illustrious Priest was chosen to fill 
 the chair of Peter. Here is the letter : 
 
 With the profoundest regret, I hear of the Sovereign 
 Pontiff's illness. May God preserve him ! 
 
 For a long time I have fostered in my heart an ardent 
 wish, and it occurs to me that the opportune moment has 
 at length arrived for giving it effect. Therefore, I cannot 
 withhold it from you. 
 
 I have often said to myself that it would be a glorious 
 thing, if, now that the affairs of Spain are brought to a 
 close, the Sovereign Pontiff were to institute a feast for the 
 whole Catholic world in honour of the martyrs of the 
 French Revolution. Would not this be the finishing stroke 
 and the seal, if I may so speak, to the triumph which reli- 
 gion is now having over infidelity ? Would not such a 
 feast assist marvellously in procuring for those heroes the 
 honour which is due to them ? Does not Holy Church 
 tacitly desire to see enkindled in the hearts of her children 
 veneration of this sort ? Would it not keep awake, in many, 
 such bright and noble recollections as must serve to enflame 
 
256 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 their fervour and stimulate their zeal in the cause of Truth ? 
 And, finally, would it not console the good, who have 
 already mourned sufficiently ? It seems to me that such a 
 feast, instituted with all possible solemnity, would tend to 
 confirm not only good religious ideas but good political 
 ones as well. 
 
 How fair an opening to a new Pontificate ! I have often 
 revolved this matter in my own mind, and, as I wish to 
 make known to you what passes in the innermost recesses 
 of my heart, I have done so after the manner of intimate 
 friends. Intercede for me with God. 
 
 ROVERETO : January I824. 1 
 
 Before he received a reply from the Abate 
 Cappellari, there was an excellent opportunity of 
 discussing this subject with three distinguished 
 Prelates who came to share in the hospitality of 
 Rosmini's home. These were the Patriarch of 
 Venice, the Bishop of Treviso, and Mons. Ostini, 
 the Papal Internuncio at Vienna. While they all 
 sympathised with the pious views of their host, the 
 obstacles to this particular mode of giving them 
 effect were so numerous that they could not encour- 
 age him to persevere in an effort to put it before the 
 Pope. Indeed, he had no intention of going further 
 in the matter than the Abate Cappellari might 
 advise ; and as a letter from that experienced monk, 
 though warmly commending the pious motives 
 which prompted the suggestion, did not advise 
 action, he allowed the affair to drop, as one which 
 Providence did not intend him to promote. 
 
 Turning with greater zest to the charities and 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxxvii. 
 
PROVIDENCE FORMING HIS COURSE. 257 
 
 studies that made his retirement so fruitful of good, 
 there came to him once more those beckonings of 
 Providence which indicated what it was our Lord 
 especially intended him to promote. He was con- 
 stantly asked to supply the friends of religion with 
 arguments against the sophists who were busily 
 undermining the faith of the upper and middle classes ; 
 he was constantly asked to co operate with or to 
 direct some movement started to rekindle spiritual 
 fervour in the masses and to check the progress of 
 religious indifference ; he was constantly asked to 
 assist organisations devoted to the relief of human 
 suffering in every form. As he never failed to meet 
 such demands as far as he could, he was constantly 
 engaged in works of spiritual, intellectual and cor- 
 poral charity. 
 
 Amongst those who sought his aid in such things, 
 at that time, was the Marchioness of Canossa. The 
 long vacant see of Trent had, at length, received its 
 Bishop, and Madame Canossa requested Don Antonio 
 to visit the new Prelate, on her behalf, in order to 
 obtain from him concessions that would enable her 
 to extend the services of the Daughters of Charity 
 to Trent and Rovereto. She took the occasion as a 
 suitable one for renewing the subject to which she 
 had directed the young Priest's attention two years 
 previously, and again urged him to found an Order 
 of men that should make the league against 
 the common enemy more complete than it was. 
 His sister Margherita having already joined 
 the community of the Marchioness, a family tie 
 VOL. i. s 
 
258 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 now bound him to the Daughters of Chanty and 
 made the holy intimacy between Mme. Canossa 
 and himself more free, and even more sacred, than 
 before. 
 
 In replying to her fresh exhortations touching 
 the Order she wished him to found, he made 
 some allusions to the importance of a Congregation 
 which should bind itself to observe the external and 
 public devotions of the Church in the most perfect 
 manner possible. As the Marchioness did not quite 
 understand those allusions, he put them before her 
 in a letter dealing exclusively with the subject. He 
 told her that he had long felt there was a necessity 
 for a society which should apply itself intelligently 
 and perseveringly to the effective observance of 
 ' the great, the public, the fundamental devotions of 
 Holy Church which were exceedingly dear to his 
 heart.' He wished the spirit of all the forms and 
 ceremonies to pervade the devotions, and not least 
 such minor devotions as were found useful, and 
 even necessary, especially for those who were in 
 religious communities, and for those who formed 
 * the multitude/ While he admired all the modern 
 forms of devotion, he liked best those that were 
 oldest. ' Antiquity and authority, in matters of 
 religion, were for him,' says Don Paoli, ' objects of 
 deep veneration. His noble conceptions must have 
 been most agreeable to the pious soul of the 
 Marchioness, whose sincere respect for the young 
 Roveretan Priest increased daily ; ' and so, too, 
 increased her efforts to urge him from the retirement 
 
PROVIDENCE FORMING HIS COURSE. 259 
 
 of private life to the holy work which God selected 
 her to point out to him. 
 
 While he was pleading for the Daughters of 
 Charity with the Ordinary of Trent and with the 
 Archpriest of Rovereto, the Marchioness had occasion 
 to write to him frequently on that business, and 
 every letter contained some remark designed to 
 enforce her request that he would found an Order of 
 Charity himself. His heart was ready, but he 
 prayerfully waited for some positive opening that 
 might enable him to see the finger of Providence 
 more plainly indicating the time, the way, and the 
 place. Meanwhile, he diligently attended to the 
 special duties entrusted to him by his saintly 
 correspondent. As an effective means of promoting 
 one part of her object he advised her to induce his 
 sister Margherita to purchase a suitable house in 
 Rovereto, or else to appropriate a house belonging 
 to herself there for the reception of a Community. 
 He thought such a course necessary because neither 
 the Rovereto municipal authorities nor the Congre- 
 gation of Charity for local purposes had yet taken 
 any steps to carry out the proposal sanctioned by the 
 Archpriest. 
 
 On the same day he wrote also to his sister, 
 saying : ' I think it best that you yourself should 
 do what is wanted, and so avoid giving others a 
 pretext for disconcerting your plans or causing you 
 any annoyance. Assuming that you are resolved to 
 spend your means in such pious works, you have 
 enough and to spare for doing what is required both 
 
 S 2 
 
260 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 here and at Trent. A petty economy spoils every- 
 thing, and pleases neither God nor man.' 1 The coun- 
 sel he thus gave his sister was that which he was 
 ready to act on in what concerned himself in fact, 
 that which he did put in practice when the time for 
 doing so came. His sister did not hesitate to follow 
 his advice, and the Daughters of Charity were soon 
 established in the diocese of Trent, without waiting 
 for the slow movements of secular corporations. 
 
 When he had satisfactorily concluded the 
 negotiations confided to him by Madame de Canossa 
 Rosmini prepared to leave Rovereto for a few weeks' 
 stay in Modena. Although this was a departure 
 from home, it was no departure from the purpose, 
 nor, indeed > from the plan of his retirement. H is object 
 was to join some pious and learned Modenese in 
 certain philosophical studies for which the Schools of 
 that city afforded special advantages. Moreover, 
 the sensist doctrines which threatened so much 
 mischief to Christianity were then taking deep root 
 in Modena, and he was desirous of investigating 
 their growth in a nursery that favoured them. 2 
 
 He went there in July 1824, accompanied by 
 a member of his domestic Academy Maurizio 
 Moschini, a saintly youth in whose spiritual and 
 temporal welfare he took the warmest interest. At 
 
 1 Unpublished Letters. Rovereto, December 10, 1824. 
 
 - In the latter part of the preceding century M. Condillac, the 
 subtle champion of sensistic philosophy, resided at the Ducal court of 
 Parma as tutor to Prince Ferdinand de Bourbon. This circumstance 
 enabled Condillac to make Parma and Modena a centre for the diffu- 
 sion of sensistic views throughout Middle and North Italy. Modena 
 continued for a long time afterwards to nurture the evil. 
 
CATHOLICS SHOULD BE UNITED. 261 
 
 Modena he was, for the most part, the guest of Don 
 G. Baraldi, a learned Priest who conducted an in- 
 fluential periodical devoted to religion, morals and 
 literature. It was in the columns of this periodical, 
 the Memorie Modenesi, that the young Roveretan 
 philosopher first exposed the sensualistic principles 
 of Gioia and others of that dangerous school. 1 
 During this brief visit Rosmini carefully studied the 
 tactics of the enemy, and stored up a considerable 
 amount of intellectual ammunition for the war he 
 was soon forced to wage with the whole army of 
 sensist pamphleteers. 
 
 Immediately after returning to Rovereto he wrote 
 to Don Baraldi a letter in which he warmly thanked 
 him for the privilege of having been welcomed ' in 
 a circle composed of personages eminent alike for 
 learning, piety and refinement, and who are welded 
 together by the closest bonds of friendship/ * To 
 speak frankly,' he added, * it seemed to me like an 
 assembly of most admirable souls a very sanctuary. 
 One cannot leave Modena without pain after having 
 known the Baraldis, Parentis, Fabianis, Bianchis and 
 Cavedonis after having been admitted into their 
 company after having experienced so bountifully 
 their courtesy, and I shall even say their intimacy. 
 For this reason it behoves me to be frank with you, 
 and conceal none of those feelings of gratitude and 
 admiration which I brought here with me, on leaving 
 
 
 1 These essays were afterwards collected and reproduced in the 
 volumes entitled (i) Breve esposizione delta Filosofia di Melchiore 
 Gioia ; (2) Esame delle opinioni di M. Gioia in favor e della moda. 
 
262 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Modena. They are so deeply planted in my heart 
 that nothing can pluck them thence. 
 
 ' Pray communicate these my sentiments to all 
 the gentlemen who deigned to bestow on me and 
 my companion such special tokens of kindness. 
 Although my services are of little value I may, 
 however, be permitted to express my sincere desire 
 to serve them, and to hope for an opportunity to 
 prove my gratitude in deed as well as in word/ 
 
 Having thus recorded his thanks (and the duty 
 of doing so was one he never neglected, even in 
 circumstances which most men would deem too 
 trifling for the trouble), he turned with ardour to a 
 favourite theme the advantages of union amongst 
 the good. That such a desirable sodality informally 
 existed in Modena greatly cheered his soul ; and the 
 way he dealt with the subject in his letter to Den 
 Baraldi was a graceful recognition of the fact that 
 his friend was the centre of such a pious alliance : 
 
 Oh ! how precious a thing, especially in these our days, 
 is the union of good and virtuous men, brought together as 
 mutual friends or even as mere acquaintances. For it suf- 
 fices that good men know one another in order to love one 
 another. And without this mutual acquaintance and love 
 how can men reciprocally assist one another and place in 
 common their ideas, their means, and their energies, so as 
 to coordinate the labours of the many to the attainment of 
 some great result ? Certain it is that singly we can effect 
 but little. If we should attempt some mighty enterprise 
 without aid, we would have to leave it incomplete. If in 
 these days there be any sure means of rescuing virtue from 
 oppression, we may not hope to find it elsewhere than in 
 the alliance of men of good-will fusing into one the righteous 
 
CATHOLICS SHOULD BE UN21ED. 263 
 
 aims and the forces of each. The wicked alas ! though 
 ever discordant amongst themselves, are always, as you 
 well observe, united in this antagonism to the good ; for 
 qui non est tnecum contra me est. The reason of this is self- 
 evident. Virtue is eminently one, whereas all that lies 
 outside of it is by the nature of things manifold, and there- 
 fore essentially opposed to virtue. There is not a heart 
 truly Christian but feels the need of Christians being united 
 in every way, and making common cause. Without this 
 we may possibly be sufficient for our own good, but not 
 quite for that of others. On more than one occasion I have 
 met with persons holding the same views as myself, and 
 was delighted to see how Christians cherish in the inmost 
 recesses of their hearts the same thoughts and affections, 
 even though residing very far apart. 
 
 How full of comfort to me is this hidden, but not less 
 perfect harmony of sentiment which exists between myself 
 and countless others of my fellow-men, who are scattered 
 over the face of the globe, and whose very names are un- 
 known to me ! What hope it gives me that brighter days 
 have yet to dawn for Holy Church. . . . 
 ROVERETO : August^ I824. 1 
 
 Probably it will be thought we are saying little 
 for Rosmini's knowledge of human nature, or 
 for his sagacity, if we claim that (in spite of the 
 gloomy aspect of the social and political world) he 
 cherished the hope that Christian society at large 
 would, sooner or later, reflect the Unity and the 
 Charity of the Church. But there is a knowledge 
 superior to that derived from a study of human 
 nature, a knowledge standing on far higher grounds 
 than those of natural reason, and in this knowledge 
 he was no less an adept than in the other. This 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xxxix. 
 
264 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 it was that made him not only wish, but hope and 
 endeavour to have Catholic society throughout the 
 globe as affectionately united as in the early days 
 of Christianity to have it in practice as in theory 
 a mighty brotherhood, the far-reaching household 
 of Christ's family. So far as he was himself con- 
 cerned, he had already endeavoured to apply this 
 grand Catholic principle to his native town, where 
 alas ! he found few to follow his example and little 
 to encourage the hope that the union he wished for 
 would ever be realised ; yet the wish and the hope 
 continued. His own home was for all good people, 
 come whence they might, what he would have the 
 home of every good Catholic to be for every other. 
 But though his neighbours 'admired 'the breadth of 
 his views/ few of them thought it expedient to give 
 the principle a full trial, or to remove any of the 
 barriers which social usage had set up against the 
 spirit of brotherhood that pervaded primitive Chris- 
 tianity. That this spirit still lived in the Church 
 and swayed the souls of millions of her children 
 scattered throughout the world, he knew full well : 
 how to bring them into such an effective union as 
 should lead to the imparting of this spirit to all men 
 was what he yearned to know, and strove, while he 
 lived, to do, 
 
LAST YEAR OF HfS HOME RETIREMENT 265 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 LAST YEAR OF ROSMINl's HOME RETIREMENT. 
 (A.D. 1825-1826.) 
 
 His fellow Academicians, though far apart, cling to him for ad vice and 
 aid Spiritual above temporal interests Our true grandeur unseen 
 to mortal eye Conditions requisite for the Priesthood Stern 
 warnings to an aspirant whose motives are doubtful Describes 
 how the Divine Office is arranged Rescues and provides for 
 street waifs Returns to Madame Canossa's ' message of inspira- 
 tion' Submits a rough sketch of what he thinks the Congregation 
 should be Its four leading features The germ of the Institute 
 deep rooted in his soul It grows into shape, as did that planted in 
 St. Dominic's heart ages before. 
 
 BEFORE Rosmini had completed the fifth year of his 
 home retirement, nearly all the exemplary youths, for 
 whose spiritual and intellectual benefit he first es- 
 tablished his domestic Academies, were scattered far 
 apart, and occupying various positions through Italy 
 and Austria. The bright-minded but fitful Tommaseo 
 was one of the few who had gone, to come back and 
 remain a little while and then to go and return again. 
 But, though most of his first disciples were far 
 apart physically, they were still close together in spirit, 
 and still proving, by an admirable course of life, the 
 great value of their early association with the young 
 sage whom they never ceased to love as their master 
 and benefactor. He continued to be ' the centre of 
 
266 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMlNi. 
 
 their circle/ as each still wrote to him for advice in 
 every emergency, and to each he gave it with all the 
 affection and frankness of old. Some of these beloved 
 students had come from a distance and in needy cir- 
 cumstances, but with high testimonials as to their 
 moral worth. This was enough for the generous 
 Rosmini, who opened to them his home, and en- 
 abled them to proceed uninterruptedly with their 
 ecclesiastical studies. 
 
 Amongst those thus welcomed was Antonio 
 Bassich of Perasto near Cattaro, the most southerly 
 point of Austrian territory on the Adriatic. This 
 estimable youth remained until he was ready for 
 Ordination, and when he returned home, duly conse- 
 crated to the service of God, he wrote to his bene- 
 factor a letter overflowing with the gratitude which 
 he could not utter in his presence. Replying to that 
 letter, Rosmini delicately avoided any allusion to the 
 special cause of thanks. It was his custom, in all 
 such cases, to put spiritual above temporal interests, 
 and to take care that the ' poor scholar ' who became, 
 as it were, rich through his bounty, should think 
 little of the personal debt, by thinking much of the 
 superiority of the soul over the body. His answer 
 to Don Bassich's letter of thanks will show how he 
 managed to divert attention from little social obliga- 
 tions (that often press heavily on the mind) to the 
 higher duties beyond them. In the present case, 
 these higher duties pointed to the good work which 
 his young friend might be the means of doing 
 amongst the schismatics and infidels on the frontiers 
 
LAST YEAR OF HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 267 
 
 of Turkey a good work always most dear to the 
 heart of Rosmini, since it meant gathering souls to 
 God: 
 
 Though the distance which separates us corporally is 
 great indeed, yet are we still, as heretofore, close together 
 in spirit. 
 
 Oh ! God, what reason have we not thence to rejoice at 
 the greatness of the human soul at its immensity, if I may be 
 allowed the expression. We should therefore set upon it a 
 much higher value than on the miserable little framework of 
 our body. Our bodies are so fashioned that where one is 
 the other cannot be : and if removed but a short distance 
 from one another, they can no longer be seen, nor do 
 they confer that pleasure which springs from close prox- 
 imity. 
 
 But praise be to God for having breathed into our 
 
 natural clay a pure and subtle spirit, untrammelled by any 
 
 such restriction ! And praised be God still more for having 
 
 restored this same human soul to friendship with the 
 
 Divinity. Restored it to friendship, do I say ? He has done 
 
 yet more : He has infused into it a new and ineffable 
 
 life which, however, is completely hidden in Himself, since 
 
 this world sees nothing of all that greatness which we have 
 
 in Jesus Christ. So much the more should we hold it dear 
 
 and esteem it as infinitely precious, for through it the pride 
 
 we inherit from Adam is effectively vanquished when we 
 
 recognise with joy the fact that the true grandeur of our 
 
 lumanity is invisible to mortal eyes. The Heavens and the 
 
 larth were not formed for our glory, but that the Grace of 
 
 -hrist Jesus should have glory. And as we desire that this 
 
 rrace should have victory and dominion throughout the 
 
 d, it was very gratifying for me to learn that such is 
 :he case in your country. 
 
 The Author of a Grace so full of glory, I doubt not, will 
 Id force to our words. Without His aid they would re- 
 jmble the noise of a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. 
 
268 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 But by His help what may not be done, even by a passing 
 breath of wind ? 
 
 The place where you are will be resorted to by Greeks, 
 among whom perhaps Catholics will be in a minority. You 
 will have to combat errors ; and, as a means of successfully 
 doing so, you must study, even though by avoiding contro- 
 versy you may possibly gain the end in view. Might not 
 this object be facilitated and promoted by a short treatise, 
 containing decisive but simple and persuasive arguments ? 
 And would it not likewise be easy to circulate such a tract 
 in the neighbourhood ? Beyond doubt, then, you ought to 
 collect together, from their own lips, their most pernicious 
 errors and grave objections, endeavouring to see, from their 
 own points of view, the chief fallacies of their present un- 
 fortunate prejudices. The result of acquiring this know- 
 ledge from their own mouths would be better, I think, than 
 if obtained from the books that abound on the subject. 
 When you have advanced so far, you may count on my 
 help in the undertaking. 
 
 The panegyric of Pius VII. is not yet printed. I 
 shall send you a copy when it is ready. You are frequently 
 named with affection amongst us. How much I desire that 
 we should meet again ! But let us be content with seeing 
 each other in the spirit. And if we meet in God, this seeing 
 will be perfect. 
 
 ROVERETO : December 27, I824. 1 
 
 Although the youths who availed themselves of 
 his domestic Academies were not all in need of the 
 material assistance without which it would have 
 been impossible for some of them to have completed 
 their studies, all alike felt that he was their guiding 
 genius, and all alike depended on him, under 
 Heaven, in every difficulty. Many of them turned 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xl. 
 
LAST YEAR OF HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 269 
 
 their thoughts towards the ecclesiastical state, partly 
 because he had chosen it for himself, and partly 
 because the surroundings of their training inclined 
 them that way. But while he wished to lead their 
 minds and hearts in such a direction, he was most 
 careful to test their vocation before allowing them 
 to take the final step. His main object was to make 
 them all good solid Christians; what might follow that 
 he left to a special call. How warily he received 
 their own declarations that they had this special 
 call may be judged from the following letter to 
 Giulio Franchi, a promising youth as to whose call 
 Rosmini had some doubts, and to whom, therefore, 
 he pointedly stated the conditions requisite for the 
 Priesthood : 
 
 As you are well instructed in our holy religion, you 
 must already know that a call to the ecclesiastical state is 
 one of God's greatest favours. You know, therefore, that no 
 one should take this honour to himself but he who is called 
 thereto as Aaron was. You likewise know what is imme- 
 diately required from one who feels himself called to this 
 sacred office ; that he must be fearful of himself, diffident, 
 a lover of prayer and of mortification, fond of solitude the 
 better to hear the supernal voice which makes itself heard 
 sometimes near and sometimes from afar ; and finally, dis- 
 trustful of his own judgment, he should submit the affair 
 entirely to the decision of the superiors through whom 
 God ordinarily speaks to us. 
 
 But let me ask you to consider especially that he who 
 is called should earnestly bid farewell for ever to worldly 
 notions and a worldly life. Then, by assiduously devoting 
 himself to the Divine Service, and by avoiding even the 
 shadow of danger and distraction, he must deserve more 
 and more to obtain from God confirmation of the sacred 
 
2 7 o LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 gift. I have already said that a call to such a state is 
 the greatest favour a supreme Grace according to God. I 
 so said because it is not such according to the world. The 
 Priest has formally renounced all mundane interests. Hence 
 it is that the Cleric, in receiving the Tonsure, utters these 
 memorable words : Dominus pars hcereditatis metz * The 
 Lord is the sole portion of my inheritance.' So that in the 
 world we have nothing to expect but labours and sufferings 
 for the love of Jesus Christ, and if we were to look for any- 
 thing else we should be simply traitors to the spirit of our 
 profession. On that account I ask you to reflect profoundly 
 on the matter before the Bishop admits you to the Tonsure 
 and consecrates you to God. But, what is still more, I ask 
 you, for the love which you bear to your soul, to beware lest 
 you should be so deceived as to take the step perhaps for 
 some human motive, such as that of being thus helped on 
 more surely to finish your studies ; for this would render 
 you guilty, before God, of a most heinous crime and de- 
 prive you of all claims to His blessing. Woe to him who 
 trifles with sacred things, and does not fear the Lord, who is 
 jealous of their honour, and avenges Himself on all who 
 despise them ! 
 
 It is not I, but you yourself, who ought to make your 
 father acquainted with this grave resolution, if you have 
 really taken it ; for I doubt not the information will give 
 him pleasure. But if perchance you were induced to adopt 
 the course you are taking from a wrong motive, let me beg 
 of you to change your purpose ; and you should do so at 
 once, for it can do you no good to entertain such designs. 
 
 ROVERETO : May 7, I825. 1 
 
 Several of his young companions, who had 
 already been found worthy to carry out this ' most 
 grave resolution,' continued to seek instruction from 
 their trusted guide on almost every thing connected 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xli. 
 
LAST YEAR OF HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 271 
 
 with their calling. Some of them, who were serv- 
 ing God in remote dioceses, sent him lengthy ac- 
 counts of the place and people, that he might the 
 better give such advice as they needed in the dis- 
 charge of some special duty. Others, nearer home, 
 working even in sight of their own Cathedral, or 
 waiting for Orders in episcopal seminaries, had so 
 much confidence in the judgment and knowledge of 
 the young sage of Rovereto, that they deemed in- 
 struction from him, on any given subject, more 
 precious than the best that was within immediate 
 reach. And none applied to him in vain, for all 
 received from him the instruction or counsel which 
 they sought or seemed to want. Thus, when the 
 Baron Giulio Todeschi of Trent, having passed 
 ' the sacred portal ' into Minor Orders, required 
 some information on the Divine Office, he sought 
 it not in Trent but in Rovereto, and had this pithy 
 explanation promptly forwarded to him : 
 
 In the first ages of the Church, as there were not yet any 
 Saints' festivals to keep, there were no Holy-days except 
 the Lord's Day. But the early Christians, remembering that 
 every day should be spent holily, and that the Christian 
 ought ever to withdraw himself from profane things to give 
 himself to God, had in mind to sanctify them #//by prayer. 
 Hence came the distribution of the Psaltery for the seven 
 days of the week, apportioning to each day one of the seven 
 canticles of Scripture and appropriate hymns, with a lesson, 
 either from the Old Testament or from the Epistle of an 
 Apostle, and one from the Gospel, with other suitable 
 prayers. 
 
 After this manner was compiled the first and oldest 
 portion of the Breviary, that which is used on ferial days. 
 
272 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Subsequently many solemnities were instituted either to 
 celebrate in a special manner the mysteries of Jesus Christ 
 or to honour the Blessed Mother of our Lord, the martyrs, 
 and afterwards other confessors ; the first of those thus 
 honoured being, if I remember rightly, St. Martin of 
 Tours. In this way three distinct parts were added to the 
 book containing the canonical hours ; the movable were 
 distinguished from the immovable feasts the movable 
 being those which have a certain connection with Easter. 
 The Paschal solemnity, being fixed by the lunar year, 
 invariably falls on the Sunday nearest to the I4th day 
 of the March moon (owing to the difference between 
 the lunar month of 28 days and the solar month of 30 
 days) and thus it comes to pass that the day which is 
 always the same in the lunar year is not so in the solar 
 year, which is adopted in ordinary life. Therefore, since 
 Easter in our common calendar falls, now on one day and 
 then on another, it brings with it all its adherent feasts in 
 the same way that all the Sundays of the year bring with 
 them the ferial days depending on them that is, in so far 
 as they have proper lessons suitable to the current festive 
 season. For, in the course of each year, the Church cele- 
 brates the principal truths and mysteries of religion on 
 movable feasts, the foremost of these being Easter. In 
 this feast is centred the whole essence of the festival worship 
 practised universally in the Church ; those Saints' festivals 
 which are not strictly conjoined with the Holy mysteries 
 not being essential. Hence it is that the festivals which 
 occur between these movable feasts have proper lessons of 
 their own, adapted to the season ; and they go to form this 
 Second Part. 
 
 The Third and Fourth Parts contain the Saints' festivals, 
 distributed on fixed days throughout the year. And there 
 is no difference between these parts, except that the fourth, 
 which is the last in the Breviary as now published, con- 
 tains a portion of the Psalms to be recited for each class of 
 Saints, that is to say, for Apostles, Martyrs, Bishops and 
 
LAST YEAR OF HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 273 
 
 Confessors, Virgins and Widows whether one or more be 
 celebrated on the same day : while the Third Part contains 
 what is proper to each Saint, such as the lesson that gives 
 his biography or else records some other specially honour- 
 able feature of the Saint's life. Thus, to recapitulate, there 
 will be found in the Breviary this order of contents : First 
 comes the common of the ferial days : that is, those days on 
 which no Saint is commemorated ; next come the movable 
 feasts, and with them the proper of their ferial days ; and 
 lastly, the fixed festivals : that is, those of Saints and in 
 these first comes that which is proper to those Saints, and 
 secondly that which is common. 
 
 However, why should I go on to describe the order in 
 which the Divine Office is arranged, since you are not only 
 well acquainted with it, but already recite it ? Nevertheless, 
 it was incumbent on me to have complied with your request. 
 You are then, let me add, fortunate in having now to say the 
 Office. I feel assured that our souls can be comforted and 
 sanctified by a worthy recital of this form of prayer, which 
 was that of all the Saints, and is still that of the whole 
 Church. 
 
 Not only does the entire Church sing the Divine Office, 
 but every age of the Church has concurred in its composi- 
 tion ; for therein have had a share Moses, David, the 
 Prophets, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostles and the 
 Pontiffs. Indeed, so wonderfully varied is the nutriment 
 to be found there that the most hungry soul may, if it wish, 
 be superabundantly satisfied. 
 
 I feel indignant with those who, disliking all spiritual 
 aliments, are scandalised at some blemishes which they think 
 they discover in a volume that I do not hesitate to call 
 Divine. Let us prize it dearly, and read it with relish and 
 devotion ; for, by so doing, our spirit will ascend to God, 
 graces will be obtained, and we shall be benefited as well as 
 comforted to an extraordinary degree. In very truth, my 
 dearGiu lio, we Priests have enough to sanctify us in the 
 proper celebration of the Mass and in the pious recitation 
 VOL. I. T 
 
274 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 of the Breviary. I embrace you. Communicate this letter 
 to our excellent Clerics and friends, and let us love one 
 another in the Lord. Adieu. 
 
 ROVERETO : Junej, 1825. 1 
 
 Correspondence of this kind came as a relief to 
 the severe studies in which Rosmini persevered, no 
 matter what circumstances encompassed him. Works 
 of corporal mercy formed another real relief. These 
 works included nearly every variety of practical 
 charity, and had for subjects the needy and the suffer- 
 ing of both sexes ; especially since his sister was no 
 longer in Rovereto to personally meet the wants of 
 her own sex. While she remained he had no occa- 
 sion to tax his generosity with the claims of poor 
 women, or the care of helpless little girls. But, since 
 Margherita had gone from Rovereto to join Mme. 
 Canossa at Verona, he felt bound to take up, as 
 far as possible, the good works to which she had 
 given her best energies when at home. 
 
 Sometimes he passed through the back lanes of 
 the town, like St. Vincent de Paul, in search of 
 neglected little ones, and whenever he found an 
 orphan, or a child whose condition was no better 
 than that of an orphan, he made it a duty to provide 
 for it. One day while he was thus engaged, a bright 
 little girl, whose impoverished family were unable 
 to care for her properly, was brought to him in the 
 hope that he might prevail on some wealthy friend 
 to bring her up as a domestic servant. He talked 
 to her for a few minutes, and was so pleased with 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xlii. 
 
 
LAST YEAR OF HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 275 
 
 her intelligent answers to questions, which much 
 older and better-instructed children failed to grapple 
 with at all, that he determined to give her an 
 opportunity of developing her mind under advan- 
 tages above the ordinary. With that view the 
 following letter was at once written to his sister, 
 who gladly complied with the request it con- 
 tained : 
 
 There is here a little girl who is eight and a half years 
 old, of an excellent disposition, most sweet and cheerful, in 
 perfect health, and having abilities which seem to me mar- 
 vellous, as, at her tender age, she can understand very diffi- 
 cult things. Now, I wish that you would take her into your 
 House, that you may bring her up. She might perhaps be of 
 some service to you Be it well understood that in this you 
 should act according to the discipline of your Institute, and 
 with the sanction of your Superiors. I shall give you what 
 is required for her maintenance at present, and until the 
 time that the child shows what she is fit for in after life, so 
 that she may be placed accordingly. 
 
 It seems to me on the one hand that, being so good, she 
 would give no trouble, but rather pleasure, and on the other 
 hand after obtaining a pious education she might perhaps 
 receive from God a call to the Religious State, whereby you 
 would make a good acquisition. ... I am wholly en- 
 grossed in my studies, to which for the present, it seems, 
 God wishes that I should give myself; therefore, I greatly 
 need the help of your prayers ; do not, then, deprive me of 
 them, but rather redouble them, and not only pray yourself 
 but get others also to pray for me. Adieu. 
 
 ROVERETO : September 25, I82S. 1 
 
 All this time neither study, nor the pious duties 
 that relieved study, had power to keep from its 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xliii. 
 T 2 
 
276 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 uppermost place on his mind the holy purpose 
 the Marchioness of Canossa had planted there. 
 He thought of it constantly, and constantly prayed 
 for Divine Light to show him the way to its realisa- 
 tion. A year of special thought and special prayer 
 had been thus passed, without any further interchange 
 of views between himself and the Marchioness, when 
 he suddenly decided on writing her a long letter, 
 expounding the principles that should guide the pro- 
 posed Society. She had been expecting such a letter 
 for some time ; but he was slow to move in the 
 matter, slow even to express himself on the subject, 
 until he felt with some certainty that the Spirit of 
 God urged him. In this important letter he told Mme. 
 Canossa that her original proposition a Congrega- 
 tion of Priests seemed to him, on the whole, to be 
 the best for the purpose. The structure of the 
 Church being the truest model for the structure of a 
 Religious Society, he would shape his if God desired 
 him to organise one in conformity with the plan 
 which our Lord Himself had adopted. Accordingly, 
 he drew up for her a rough sketch of the design that 
 sprang from her own suggestions, and gave these as 
 its four leading features : 
 
 1 1. The Priests gathered together (in the proposed 
 Order) for their own sanctification should have before 
 them a twofold object the love of God and of their 
 neighbour. They should adopt, of their own choice, 
 the exercises intended to show their love towards 
 God and to promote their individual sanctification : 
 their whole desire should be to contemplate and 
 
LAST YEAR OF HIS HOME RETIREMENT. 277 
 
 praise God in peace and gladness of heart. The 
 exercises of love towards their neighbour should 
 be undertaken at their neighbour's request, and to 
 this request all who may be able to do so should 
 respond. 
 
 * II. The members of the Society must depend 
 upon their Superior in everything, and from him they 
 should receive the order, in accordance with which 
 they are to exercise their charity. There are to be 
 no particular duties for the whole Congregation, as a 
 body ; while, at the same time, there is no duty to 
 which its members may not be called. What the 
 Congregation should undertake of itself is this : to 
 exercise chanty towards its neighbours according to 
 the calls made upon its services. All this must rest 
 entirely with the prudence of the Superiors, to whom 
 they who shall require the services of these Priests 
 are to address themselves. Having taken the advice 
 of prudent counsellors, the Superiors of the Congre- 
 gation will then decide whether they have at their 
 disposal subjects capable of undertaking the services 
 demanded of them. In case they should have such 
 subjects it will be incumbent on the Superiors to 
 appoint them to these services. 
 
 'III. The rules of the Society must determine 
 what works of charity the Superior should prefer, 
 whenever it might happen that several requests for 
 assistance might be made simultaneously, at a time 
 when all could not be satisfied. The principal of 
 these rules is that which directs the members to 
 accept, in preference to all other offices, those be- 
 
278 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 longing to the Sacred Ministry, as offices containing 
 within themselves the most comprehensive and 
 essential Charity. 
 
 1 IV. Whoever (in that case) shall be appointed 
 Parish Priest, etc , must thereby be also Superior of 
 whatever portion of the Society may happen to be in 
 that parish, or larger district. Thus, the offices of 
 the Sacred Ministry are always to be co-ordinate 
 with the offices held in the Society/ l 
 
 The Marchioness of Canossa took the earliest 
 opportunity of assuring him that the general plan 
 pleased her much, though she thought it likely he 
 would see reason to alter some of the details, so as 
 to combine his own original suggestions with those 
 she first made : she requested him to let her see the 
 plan which further reflection would enable him to 
 develop and mature. One passage in his letter gave 
 her special pleasure, as it satisfied her that the good 
 seed she had been the means of sowing in his mind 
 had rooted itself there ineradicably. That passage 
 ran thus : ' Yes, I think it ought to be a Congregation 
 of Priests. But at the same time a desire has taken 
 possession of my heart which probably I shall never 
 abandon, expecting, the while, greater light from 
 God in order that I may know His Holy Will.' 
 Commenting on this passage, Don Paoli says : ' A 
 tone so decisive in a person of so vast a mind, and 
 of such great modesty, and, what is more, of so 
 much prayer as Antonio Rosmini was, indicates, 
 beyond all doubt, much more than mere infor- 
 mation to be given to Madame Canossa, and much 
 
 1 See Appendix, Letter iii. 
 
GERM OF THE INSTITUTE. 279 
 
 more than a determination suddenly arrived at.' It 
 shows, on the contrary, if not an extraordinary inspir- 
 ation, an interior movement fostered by the Spirit 
 of God. This is confirmed by what we find 
 Rosmini himself recording in his Diary on the very 
 day he penned that sentence (December 10, 1825) : 
 ' On this day I have begun to think that, as I wish 
 to act in conformity with the second of my principles, 
 I ought not refuse to co-operate with the undertaking 
 to which I am invited, in case God should offer me 
 the means for it ; but neither ought I to go in 
 search of these means, because I should then be at 
 variance with the first of the two principles I have 
 
 chosen for the guidance of my life. 1 I have 
 
 concluded, therefore, that if God require me to found a 
 society these two principles must form its whole rule.' 
 1 This,' says Don Paoli, ' was the germ from 
 which afterwards sprang the Institute of Charity.' 
 There was nothing extraordinary either in the origin 
 of the Institute or its subsequent development. 
 Everything in connection with its birth and growth 
 was orderly, but reasonable. In the same calm, 
 prudent, prayerful way that St. Dominic matured the 
 project of his great Order of Preachers, Rosmini 
 drew near to the commencement of the Order of 
 Charity. As in the one case, so in the other, there 
 was nothing marvellous in the actual circumstances 
 of laying the foundation nothing even eventful ; 
 unless we regard as such the prodigious moral evils, 
 and the alarming inroads of error which each, in its 
 place and time, was framed to combat. 
 
 1 See Chapter x., pp. 166-168. 
 
23o LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NL 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ROSMINI BEGINS THE 'ACTIVE LIFE/ 
 (A.D. 1826.) 
 
 The spirit of association for holy objects strong in him Difficulty of 
 finding suitable companions Abundance of weeds, scarcity of 
 flowers Providence beckons him to Milan What hastens his 
 departure How he smooths down a domestic trouble Prepares 
 for the journey How it affects his mother and the rest of the 
 family The leave-taking The departure Stops at Verona to 
 consult with Madame Canossa and his sister The ' message of 
 inspiration ' once more Mme. Canossa predicts that Providence 
 will clearly manifest Its will to him in Milan His arrival in 
 Milan His spiritual charges and his new friends How Manzoni 
 becomes one of these How the sensist philosophers and how 
 the friends of religion receive him What he does to promote the 
 cause of Truth Becomes again the guide of young ecclesiastics 
 How he combines contemplative and active life His extensive 
 correspondence Still encourages the study of St. Thomas The 
 1 message of inspiration ' now continually before him He cannot 
 resist the call to found an Order Drafts a plan and sends it to 
 Mme. Canossa through Don Bertoni. 
 
 THE year 1826 marks an important epoch in 
 Rosmini's life. At its opening he emerged from his 
 prolonged * retreat ' to begin the more active career 
 which ended only with his life. The contemplative 
 state and the solitude so dear to him were not, 
 indeed, abandoned ; but thenceforth they were to be 
 in conjunction with an activity that should have more 
 of a public, or rather less of a private, character 
 
BEGINS THE i ACTIVE LIFE: 281 
 
 than hitherto in conjunction with intellectual, 
 corporal, and spiritual charities that might be ex- 
 ercised and felt not merely within a few dioceses but 
 throughout the whole Church. The ardent love 
 of intimate association with good men, for mutual 
 edification and instruction, which began in his child- 
 hood, often since then sought, as we know, to find 
 means of formulating itself in societies of Christian 
 Friends and domestic Academies. But, once the 
 original members of these home institutions were 
 scattered, Rovereto had none to supply their places 
 none whose sympathies ran in unison with his 
 own. 
 
 There was, perhaps, no lack of worthy men, 
 young and old, no lack of pious Catholics ; but there 
 was a decided dearth of companions at once pious 
 and cultured, at once worthy and intellectual. Few 
 towns of the same size could boast of more agree- 
 able ' society ' in the ordinary sense of the term ; but 
 this had no attractions for him. The spirit of asso- 
 ciation which was so marked a feature of his 
 character could find nothing to satisfy it in mere 
 secular society. He longed, to be with those who 
 could live together in the world as though they were 
 not of it with those who could make to themselves 
 a holy solitude even amid the bustle of populous 
 cities with those who aimed at self-sanctification 
 and banished all form of self-indulgence with those 
 who acted on the principle that the one thing most 
 necessary in this life was to be always ready for the 
 next. 
 
282 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 If it was no longer easy for him to find associ- 
 ates of this kind amongst his immediate neighbours 
 if it was no longer easy for him to find amongst 
 them any disciples who could fill the void made by 
 the departure hither and thither of the estimable 
 companions whose best qualities had been developed 
 under his sway, and whose hearts he had successfully 
 directed to the one thing necessary then it was no 
 longer easy to find in Rovereto anyone likely to co- 
 operate with him in such a society as the revered 
 Canossa besought him to found. In fact, he had 
 already trained for God the choicest flowers of his 
 native place, and when they were transplanted to 
 bloom elsewhere, he stood, as if in a lonely garden, 
 where flowers were few and weeds abounded. He 
 did not despair of turning even the weeds to good 
 account, of so cultivating them that they too might, 
 in time, produce fragrant blossoms. But, like St. 
 Francis, St. Dominic, and St. Ignatius, in face of the 
 same kind of difficulty, he felt that co-operation was 
 necessary. Like them, also, on seeing little imme- 
 diate promise of such co-operation at home, he turned 
 his attention to the prospects elsewhere. 
 
 In accordance with his maxim of waiting for 
 God's call, he resolved to allow Providence to direct 
 him whither he should go and what he should do. 
 Weeds rather than flowers abounded everywhere, 
 and it might be God's Will that he should labour 
 over distant instead of near fields. But, whether 
 here or there, he held himself ever ready to answer 
 the call of God, as serenely and promptly as St. 
 
BEGINS TEE < ACTIVE LIFE: 283 
 
 Charles of Borromeo did, living and dying, ' I come, 
 Lord, I come.' 
 
 Meanwhile, Providence, making use of ordinary 
 circumstances, beckoned him to Milan. There he 
 had much to expect from association with many 
 congenial souls who invited him thither. There ex- 
 cellent opportunities presented themselves for going 
 on with his philosophical studies close to those simi- 
 larly engaged. Above all, there a special good work 
 awaited him, a good work laid on his charity by 
 Madame Canossa. When she heard of his intention 
 to leave Rovereto, at least for a little while, she ad- 
 vised a visit to Milan, and the better to give her 
 counsel effect, declared that her Community in that 
 city, and the little children dependent on its efforts, 
 were in need of his presence as spiritual director 
 and benevolent father. Moreover, she had been 
 appealed to by a Milanese Priest and two laics, 
 who were desirous of profiting by his guidance. 
 Surely, there was in all this quite sufficient to denote 
 a call to Milan of a sort distinctly in harmony with 
 the rule that governed his life. Milan was there- 
 fore chosen. 
 
 It is probable that the time of departure was 
 hastened by a slight domestic misunderstanding. 
 Some evil disposed or thoughtless persons had intro- 
 duced a disturbing influence into the family quiet by 
 playing on the mind of his feeble brother, who 
 began to grumble because he, a layman, was not the 
 inheritor of the family possessions, and because a 
 cousin, more competent than himself, was retained 
 
284 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 as agent of the property. A few trifling incidents 
 revealed to Don Antonio the existence of this un- 
 reasonable discontent. On inquiring into the cause, 
 and discovering it to be one so unworthy of his 
 brother, he affectionately remonstrated with him, 
 and showed him how justly and generously their 
 father had acted to all, and how there was not a 
 shadow of excuse for grumbling at arrangements 
 with which all had, so far, been well satisfied. 
 
 The brother soon saw his error, expressed deep 
 sorrow, and then made an effective point of one 
 excuse ill health : if his physical condition had 
 been stronger his mind would have known how to 
 resist the sinister whisperings of mischief-makers. 
 Don Antonio lovingly embraced him, and, imploring 
 him not to again allow the pernicious suasions of 
 self-seeking worldlings to overshadow his mind, 
 requested him to share with their mother authority 
 over the paternal home, for he intended to reside else- 
 where himself. Thus was that little cloud of domestic 
 disquiet promptly and happily dispelled for ever. 
 
 Arrangements for the journey to Lombardy 
 were soon made. On February 20, 1826, he wrote 
 to his cousin, the illustrious Chevalier Carlo Rosmini, 
 requesting him to procure, in Milan, four rooms, for 
 the accommodation of a Priest, two companions, and 
 two servants. The companions were his secretaries 
 Moschini and Tommaseo, and the servants, an old 
 domestic of the family named Bisoffi, and a coach- 
 man. Considering the inconvenience and cost of 
 stage-coach trips in those days and that region, it is 
 
BEGINS THE ACTIVE LIFE: 285 
 
 no wonder that he deemed it best to travel in his 
 private carriage. Apart from the greater quiet 
 and security of such a course, he was free to break 
 the journey at his pleasure. The horses were to 
 be sold in Milan, if he saw no reason to retain them 
 there 
 
 A letter having been received, on the 24th, from 
 the Chevalier Carlo saying that he had faithfully 
 attended to his cousin's wishes, Don Antonio Ros- 
 mini next morning took leave of his family, and then 
 went, with his suite, to pay a parting ' visit of 
 homage' in that little oratory which so many 
 precious memories had specially endeared to him. 
 
 To no one did he hint that his absence was to be 
 of a permanent character, and to few that it was 
 likely to be for any long time ; yet, all took it as the 
 first step in a self-expatriation that might be relieved 
 by occasional returns, but no more admit of the 
 constant residence amongst them which his kindred 
 and neighbours so much coveted. The Countess 
 Rosmini had for years felt that this departure was to 
 take place, sooner or later, since her beloved son 
 could not be induced to accept any ecclesiastical 
 office in his native diocese. Months before he re- 
 solved on making Milan a temporary home, he had 
 prepared her with affectionate counsels which could 
 not fail to sustain her on the day of a separation that 
 was more than ordinary. But, though thus ready 
 and though a lady of strong good sense, the parting 
 filled her with a sadness deeper than she had ever 
 felt before. 
 
286 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Still more keen was the anguish of his brother, 
 who feared that the few murmurings to which he 
 had inconsiderately yielded might have been in 
 some way the cause of a step that distressed 
 them all. As for the servants and retainers of the 
 family, ' they seemed to be,' says Tommaseo, ' incon- 
 solable.' Could the fervent entreaties of all these 
 have prevailed, the loved young Priest would have 
 remained at home. But he heeded only that ' still 
 voice ' which more than once before had whispered 
 to him the Will of Providence, and nothing on earth 
 could hinder him going whither that directed. 
 
 Blessing all and blessed by all, he set out for 
 Milan with his chosen fellow-travellers, on the morn- 
 ing of February 25. They reached Verona that 
 night. There a delay of three days gave him an 
 opportunity of seeing his sister and the Marchioness 
 of Canossa. Once more the plan of the proposed 
 religious Order was discussed between them ; once 
 more the Foundress of the Daughters of Charity 
 employed her pious eloquence to prove that God 
 expected his compliance with this call ; and once 
 more he repeated his solemn assurance that he but 
 waited the plain manifestation of Providence in order 
 to make a commencement. The Marchioness hinted 
 that this manifestation would be given in Milan, 
 probably in immediate connection with those whose 
 spiritual interests she confided to his care ; but if 
 not in that way, certainly in that place. She reconv 
 mended him to take counsel at once with Don 
 Gasparo Bertoni, a most devout and experienced 
 
BEGINS THE ' ACTIVE LIFE: 287 
 
 ecclesiastic, who had founded a congregation of 
 Regular Priests at Verona. Rosmini called on him 
 the same evening, and, after a long interview, 
 received much useful advice and much encourage- 
 ment. 
 
 Full of the pious ardour which always followed 
 consultations with the saintly Canossa, he left Verona 
 for Brescia, where he spent three days, visiting the 
 local shrines and holding converse with several 
 learned ecclesiastics, his constant companion there 
 being Don G. Brunati, (one of the ablest professors 
 in the episcopal seminary), whose vocation to the Re- 
 ligious State was ' nursed and directed by Rosmini.' 
 
 On March 4, 1826, Don Antonio entered Milan 
 and took possession of the chambers provided for him, 
 conveniently near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre 
 and * the magnificent Ambrosian Library.' Tom- 
 maseo, in his ' Letters from Milan,' suggestively 
 contrasted his own first desire on arriving with that 
 of Rosmini. The wayward secretary thought of 
 going instantly to call on some friends, while Don 
 Antonio, gently chiding him for unseemly haste, led 
 him and the others to visit, first of all, Our Lord in 
 the Tabernacle of the nearest church, and then re- 
 turned home to write a soothing letter to his 
 mother. 
 
 These duties discharged, he lost no time in put- 
 ting himself in communication with Don Boselli and 
 the other two friends whose spiritual life Madame 
 Canossa had requested him to guide. It was a most 
 acceptable charge, and one of which he was soon 
 
288 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 able to give a cheering report to the Marchioness ; 
 for he found all three very well disposed to follow a 
 strict rule and devote themselves to the education of 
 youth in the little Oratories that formed so pleasing 
 a feature of Milanese religious life. How much 
 these Oratories charmed the soul of Rosmini we shall 
 hear presently in his own words. But before he 
 expressed any positive opinion as to their value, he 
 personally tested it, by becoming a member and 
 zealously assisting in the work with which these in- 
 stitutions were identified. His example was speedily 
 followed by the local patricians who had hitherto 
 looked on approvingly, but inactively. The practical, 
 earnest piety of the Roveretan was a reproach to 
 their lukewarmness which they were not slow to 
 remove. 
 
 In a short time, Rosmini had around him a large 
 circle of religious and intellectual friends. ' So much 
 learning,' says Don Paoli, ' and so much holiness of 
 life found joined together in a young ecclesiastic, 
 could not fail to attract the notice of pious, noble and 
 cultivated souls. Not to speak of the many clergy- 
 men whose friendship he won, he soon became inti- 
 mate with such men as Padulli, Arconati, Castelbarco, 
 Casati, Piola, Vimercati, Mellerio, and Manzoni.' 
 Each of these had a following of his own, and all 
 sought to be on familiar terms with one who was 
 accepted as a model for all. In these circumstances, 
 he could not easily find the solitude he loved ; yet 
 he contrived to find it, though with great difficulty. 
 By insisting on fixed hours for general company 
 
BEGINS THE ' ACTIVE LfFR: 289 
 
 within the period set down for recreation, and by 
 using these occasions for the main purpose of his 
 life turning his own and other souls to God no 
 time was wasted, but much was gained for such 
 duties as the Pastor of a flock would consider ' works 
 of exhortation,' while the hours for private devotion 
 and study were as rigidly adhered to as ever. 
 
 His most constant companions were Count 
 Mellerio and Alessandro Manzoni. They were also 
 his most steadfast friends. Up to that time, Man- 
 zoni, like so many of his contemporaries, had been 
 floating adrift in religious indifference ; nay, he 
 ranked high amongst the sceptical. Not long before 
 he was introduced to Rosmini, a friend happened 
 to call his attention to one of the Roveretan's philo- 
 sophical treatises just published. The great Italian 
 author having read it carefully, felt his scepticism 
 giving way, and exclaimed, * Here is a man !' He 
 took the earliest opportunity of making that man's 
 acquaintance, and, after knowing him for a short 
 time, was led back to ' the moorings of the Faith,' 
 became once more a practical Catholic, and thence- 
 forth the devoted friend of his spiritual and intellec- 
 tual benefactor. Count Mellerio, whose bright piety 
 had never been dimmed by the philosophical vaga- 
 ries of those days, was destined to be (as we shall 
 find) the agent of Providence in that ' manifesta- 
 tion ' which Madame Canossa predicted as certain 
 to be made in Milan. 
 
 The great consideration shown to Rosmini by 
 the zealous friends of religion excited the wrath of 
 VOL. i. u 
 
290 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 the sensists, who were then more industriously than 
 ever misleading the popular mind under pretence of 
 directing it to what they insidiously called ' the 
 higher truths.' Their organ was the Biblioteca 
 Italiana, and their most active literary chiefs were 
 Gioia and Romagnosi. Day by day they watched 
 intently the course of the Roveretan philosopher, and 
 impatiently looked for some declaration of his which 
 they might twist against so vigorous a champion of 
 the Church. Another set of Milanese literati, more 
 modest and more chivalrous, watched him also, but 
 with most kindly eyes. These were the writers of 
 the Ricoglitore young men with whom he could con- 
 sistently have free intercourse young men who fairly 
 represented the hopes of the future. Amongst them 
 were Achille Mauri, Samuel Biava, Michele Parma, 
 and the celebrated Sartorio. Through the pages of 
 the Ricoglitore, and by every other means in their 
 power, they endeavoured to raise up the ethical and 
 aesthetical sense of the nation, and they brought to 
 the effort a sincerity, an earnestness and an urbanity 
 which * the old men of the Biblioteca ' sadly wanted. 
 Occasionally Sartorio and his colleagues used to wait 
 on Rosmini in order to gather his views on the 
 various subjects they were dealing with, and after 
 the interview they assembled at the chambers of 
 some one of the party to record and discuss what he 
 had said to them. 
 
 In like manner a certain number of young eccle- 
 siastical students, spontaneously drawn together, 
 petitioned him to assist their readings in the way he 
 
BEGINS THE 'ACTIVE LIFE. 1 291 
 
 was wont to do for the members of his own Acade- 
 mies at Rovereto, He willingly consented on dis- 
 covering that they, for various reasons, were unable 
 to take part in the regular course of the episcopal 
 seminary, and obliged to pursue their studies at their 
 respective homes, or in a private school which they 
 had succeeded in establishing under the superintend- 
 ence of the Abate Marietti, who directed them in 
 philosophical and literary matters. One of these 
 youths was that Carlo Caccia who afterwards became 
 secretary to Cardinal Gaisruk, and, in time, a Priest 
 of the Institute of Charity. 
 
 Many such labours as these were thrust upon him 
 after his arrival in Milan, and, though the duties 
 Madame Canossa had already imposed upon him 
 seemed to be quite enough of themselves, he found 
 time for all without detriment to any. Apart from 
 these works of charity there were numerous special 
 distractions attending the first months of his resi- 
 dence there ; nevertheless, the even tenour of the 
 rules that governed his home life was hardly ever 
 disturbed. In his apartments 'the regularity of reli- 
 gious observance ' was kept up as strictly as at 
 Rovereto. Prayer and study, spiritual reading and 
 the composition of works on all manner of scientific 
 and literary subjects, went on without any marked 
 change in the ordinary horary. His correspondence 
 daily increased, and with it seemed to increase his 
 power of meeting the most extraordinary demands 
 for his advice and instruction on almost every 
 subject. 
 
 U 2 
 
2 92 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 A few days after his arrival in Milan, he had to 
 give a written opinion on the advisability of uniting 
 the public Academies of Trent and Rovereto ; he 
 had to heal differences between friends at a distance ; 
 he had to state his views on certain literary works ; 
 he had to encourage those who were lagging in the 
 studies he had done so much to promote while at 
 home. Touching this encouragement there is a 
 short passage in one of his letters which it may be 
 well to quote. Don Fogolari of Rovereto, having 
 hinted that the youths in whom ' their absent mentor ' 
 had infused a great love for St. Thomas craved a 
 message from him, had their wish responded to in 
 this way : ' Please to tell the friends with whom so 
 many hours were often spent agreeably, St. Thomas 
 in hand, that the Thomist Rosmini is still living and 
 thinks of them fiequently ; say that if he could be 
 with them, at a bound, he would exhort them to 
 remain steadfast in their mutual friendship, and in 
 their adhesion to St. Thomas, of whom the study 
 will be resumed with them some other time.' 1 
 
 Thus, every day he had to despatch ' far and near ' 
 some reply which gave readers, far and near, a 
 glimpse at the greatness of his heart, of his know- 
 ledge, of his humility. But, besides the encroach- 
 ments which an extensive correspondence of this 
 kind forced on his time, he had many private affairs 
 to dispose of by the same means. Not the least of 
 these were his numerous charities. Nearly every 
 month, he took the trouble of reminding Don Orsi 
 and his brother that the poor of Rovereto were to 
 
 1 Unpublished Letter?, Milan, March, 1826. 
 
BEGINS THE ACTIVE LIFE: 
 
 293 
 
 be served at his expense as diligently as if he were, 
 himself, personally attending to their wants. 
 
 Hovering, like a bright angel, over all he did, was 
 the grand idea which Madame Canossa had been the 
 means of producing. It was in vain that other 
 things obtruded they could not shut it out of sight. 
 It was in vain that he tried to reason himself out of 
 it reason brought him back to it. The more he 
 prayed for light on the project, the more it glowed 
 with sacred fascinations. In less than a fortnight 
 after his arrival in Milan (and while the newness of 
 all the surroundings, with a variety of distracting in- 
 fluences such as we have indicated, was enough to 
 banish the scheme from an ordinary mind) he drafted 
 the first complete plan of the proposed Society, and 
 sent it to Don Gasparo Bertoni, of Verona, with the 
 following letter : 
 
 Though I have already taken up so much of your valu- 
 able time by the visit I paid you in person, I must ask you 
 to allow me to address you further by letter. 
 
 The sole reason that urges me to write to you is that I 
 may have the advantage of your enlightened counsel. I 
 have already disclosed to you the great desire I have for 
 some time cherished in my heart, and which I have reason 
 to think has been implanted in it by God, of living as a 
 Regular, in company with some Priests. I have also made 
 known to you the general idea according to which I feel 
 inwardly drawn to regulate this community, and you have 
 encouraged me in the design. 
 
 Now, before beginning anything, I think of asking the 
 advice of the Holy Father, lest perchance, all this may 
 prove to be some illusion or other of my own, which I 
 ought to think no more about. In my innermost soul, how- 
 ever, I do not believe that to be the case. Therefore, I have 
 
294 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 sketched out the general idea, and enclose a copy for your 
 perusal, hoping that you will return the plan to me here in 
 Milan, where I am at present staying. 
 
 There will of course be some difficulty in making a 
 beginning ; but at the commencement it would not be 
 necessary to adhere strictly to the rule of perfect retirement, 
 and of practising the works of chanty, which I have laid 
 down for the Society to come into effect when it is fully 
 established. We might at first (supposing that God were 
 to send us good companions) establish ourselves in the 
 neighbourhood of some church, undertaking in it the per- 
 formance of the public functions on Holy-days, also the 
 confessions, and perhaps some kind of school, which would 
 have the effect of justifying our little reunion in the eyes 
 of the world. Concerning all this, I should like very much 
 to hear your opinion, and I beg of you to lend us your 
 assistance in the undertaking ; provided that it appears to 
 you to be the Will of God. 
 MILAN : March 15, 1826.' 
 
 The plan sketched for Don Bertoni was accom- 
 panied by a document containing practical ' observa- 
 tions ' on the nature of the Order and on the 
 feasibility of uniting with it any other useful and 
 pious institute. These observations were supple- 
 mented by another document giving a ' further ex- 
 planation ' and showing how Superiors in the proposed 
 Institute 'are to make a choice among the charitable 
 works suggested to them.' 2 Don Bertoni, having 
 carefully examined all these, consulted the Marchio- 
 ness of Canossa on the scheme as thus outlined, and 
 then returned the various papers with a general 
 approval, and some special hints which found effect in 
 the plan that was finally adopted. 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xlvii. 2 See Appendix, Letter iv. 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 295 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ROSMINl's FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 
 (A.D. 1826.) 
 
 A significant coincidence He. congratulates the Abate Cappellari on 
 receiving the Cardinalate Solicits the new Cardinal's opinion as 
 to the plan of the new Order How he and his household apply 
 the principle of ' passivity ' What he thinks of poetry and social 
 entertainments for the relief of sadness * Highly wrought religious 
 fervour ' no impediment to cheerfulness, as his own daily life demon- 
 strates What he thinks of the Milanese The sensist blotch on 
 the prevailing piety Vincenzo Monti a representative blotch 
 Rosmini seeks to save the dying poet's soul Gains a victory else- 
 where that promises well for the saving of souls Works for the 
 Daughters of Charity His description of that Order Madame 
 Canossa questions the wisdom of admitting the Pastoral Office 
 in the Order she wishes him to found He answers her objections, 
 laying much stress on living in solitude with the heart rather than 
 the body Danger of gloom in solitude, and of levity in society 
 Religion the mother to shield us from both All his affections cen- 
 tered in the Church No genuine happiness except in close union 
 with the Church True patriotism can belong only to the subjects 
 of Christ's Kingdom He would have all men fellow-subjects in 
 this Kingdom, bound together by the sweet bonds of charity, 
 
 AT the very time Rosmini was drafting his more 
 elaborate sketch of the proposed Order, with the view 
 of submitting it to Madame Canossa, through their 
 common friend Don Bertoni, an event took place in 
 Rome of considerable importance to the future Insti- 
 tute and its Founder. It was on March 13, 1826, 
 that he commenced to write out ' the plan ' he had 
 
2 9 6 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NL 
 
 more fully matured in his mind : it was on that day, 
 too, that his warm friend the Abate Mauro Cappel 
 lari was proclaimed Cardinal. The coincidence may 
 signify little ; but it derives from circumstances an 
 interest that makes it worth recording. As soon as 
 authentic news of the fact reached Milan, Don 
 Antonio sent to the new Cardinal this congratulatory 
 note : 
 
 It was only yesterday that the newspapers of this city 
 informed me of your promotion to the Cardinalate by the 
 Sovereign Pontiff Leo XII. The news, which did not at 
 all surprise me, has filled me with the truest joy. I sin- 
 cerely congratulate Holy Church and hasten to express my 
 gladness to your Eminence, wishing that I was able to pay 
 my homage in person rather than by letter. Allow me, at 
 the same time to tender you my hearty thanks for the kind- 
 ness which you have been pleased to lavish on the Priest 
 whom I took the liberty to recommend to your notice. 
 Let me humbly beg that your Eminence will continue to 
 regard me with your usual goodness, &c., &c. 
 
 MILAN : March 30, 1826. 
 
 The kindly terms of Cardinal Cappellari's reply 
 encouraged Rosmini to place before him the outlines 
 of the proposed Order. His Eminence already had 
 some reason to suppose that such a project was under 
 consideration, for he was one of those friends who 
 advised the young Roveretan divine to turn his 
 thoughts to a Religious Order as well as to philo- 
 sophical studies.' l It was, therefore, natural that when 
 the Abate Cappellari took his place amongst the 
 Princes of the Church, the young Abate should con- 
 
 1 Tommaseo's Antonio Rosmini, Torino, 1855. 
 
FIRST YEARS STAY AT MILAN. 297 
 
 suit him. on this matter, even though he sought rather 
 the judgment of the wise Priest than of the exalted 
 Prelate, as he intimates himself in the letter ac- 
 companying a copy of '-the plan' with some other 
 papers intended to explain the nature of the pro- 
 posed Institute : 
 
 For some time past some thoughts, awakened in me by 
 a holy person, have occupied my mind ; but I cannot be 
 certain that they are from God until I am assured of it by 
 the opinion of some person in authority. If this opinion 
 were favourable, I should still desire to learn what the Holy 
 Father thinks. Therefore, I earnestly beg of your Eminence 
 to be so kind as to assist me with your advice first with 
 regard to the general idea of the proposed association, and 
 then again, should there be need, as regards the details. 
 
 If your Eminence were to advise me to abandon this 
 idea, I should not hesitate a moment in dismissing it. If 
 you require any further explanation, you have merely to let 
 me know. Were I encouraged by your favourable judgment, 
 I should decide on proceeding to Rome, in order to receive 
 greater light, and to ascertain what further steps it may be 
 proper or necessary to take. 
 
 I do not address myself to you as to a person placed in 
 lofty station, but only as to a person whose kindness and 
 indulgent consideration I have so often experienced. For 
 this reason I do not hesitate to confide my idea to you, in 
 order to have for my guidance, before anything else is done, 
 the expression of your private and confidential opinion. 
 
 MILAN: April 23, I826. 1 
 
 As yet the secret of the projected Institute was 
 confided to very few the few whose piety, and whose 
 experience in such matters pointed them out as most 
 competent to counsel him. But he sought the prayers 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter xlix. 
 
298 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM2NI. 
 
 of all his acquaintances f for his intention.' A Novena, 
 in which Moschini and Tommaseo joined, preceded 
 the sending of ' the plan ' to Cardinal Cappellari. 
 Other special devotions were added to the ordinary 
 daily exercises, and in these his more intimate friends 
 were often asked to unite. His fasts were increased, 
 and ' every shrine in Milan/ says Tommaseo, ' was 
 visited that he might offer there a special prayer for 
 special light.' These prayers seemed to be answered 
 by an interior assurance that God approved ' the 
 principle of passivity' on which the conduct of his 
 life was based, and he therefore, with patience and 
 confidence, waited for the expected indications of 
 Providence. 
 
 Meanwhile, he continued his scientific studies, 
 without abating the enfreshened ardour of his re- 
 ligious exercises. Many petty attempts were made, 
 by the advocates of anti-Christian philosophy, to dis- 
 tract and provoke him ; but as their efforts were 
 timid, indirect, and clumsy, he declined to notice 
 them. It did not fare thus with attempts to win his 
 charity or advice: however timidly or awkwardly 
 put before him, these were always deemed worthy of 
 prompt attention. From various quarters and 
 various classes of men letters continued to reach 
 him, asking his aid in various ways. Many of these 
 came from mere acquaintances, and not a few from 
 perfect strangers, who wished to know his opinion 
 on something perhaps of little importance in itself. 
 Most men, with less than one tenth of his occupa- 
 tions, would refuse to give a thought to such corre- 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STA Y AT MILAN. 299 
 
 spondents ; but his charity failed in nothing, and he 
 replied to the least of them as gravely and fully as 
 when he thus answered a Priest who ' suffered from 
 heaviness of heart ' and was doubtful whether he 
 ought not to look for relief in poetry and social 
 entertainments : 
 
 I am grateful for your remembrance of me, although 
 you knew me but for a short time at the watering-place of 
 Recoaro. Your letter, with the ode, reached me at Milan. 
 Having perused both, it seemed to me that some tribulation 
 of spirit and some sadness overshadowed your mind. This 
 has so enlisted all my sympathy that I beg of you earnestly 
 to take courage, and not yield to melancholy. You well 
 know the good St. Philip's saying, 'In my house I will have 
 neither scruples nor melancholy.' Let us be piously cheer- 
 ful, not with boisterous mundane joy, but with that gentle 
 and tranquil joy which springs chiefly from a pure con- 
 science, and from the grace of the Holy Ghost diffusing 
 itself in our hearts, and producing in us resignation to the 
 Divine Will. 
 
 Oh ! how delightful and sweet it is to attend, with the 
 utmost care and goodwill, to God's service, and to corre- 
 spond with the sublime duties of our vocation. I am con- 
 vinced that we shall find peace and comfort when all our 
 cares are thus placed in what is firm and substantial, and 
 when we regard all the rest with indifference, as a some- 
 thing ephemeral. I am glad to learn from what you tell 
 me that you take to poetry as a pastime. You do well 
 Poetry, however, can only be a trifle to amuse the wearied 
 spirit and refresh it for serious studies. We are not poets, 
 but Priests. If you follow these principles you will find re- 
 creation ; for the purpose of profiting by it, carefully avoid 
 all profane and secular company. For diversion, associate 
 only with good Priests and in decent and decorous amuse- 
 ments. Devotion to the most Holy Mother of God is also 
 
3 co LIfiE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 a marvellous remedy against the gloom that overclouds 
 the mind. The benign light of this our star comforts us in 
 every peril. 
 
 MILAN : May 5, I826. 1 
 
 Although he was thus exhorting others to banish 
 sadness, it was commonly supposed that he did not 
 banish it from himself. His friends in Rovereto feared 
 that he was oppressed by excessive study, and that 
 what they deemed ' an overwrought religious fer- 
 vour ' would destroy the cheerfulness of his mind, 
 as well as the vigour of his constitution. His cousin 
 Leonardo Rosmini, in a humorous letter, gave ex- 
 pression to this affectionate alarm, and Don Antonio 
 replied by a sprightly description of how he and his 
 companions lived in Milan : 
 
 Your letter gave me very great pleasure, not only 
 because it was yours, but because of its exuberant 
 hilarity, which is a pledge to me that your soul is serene 
 and gladsome. Doubtless, you will always possess this 
 contentment, since you have discovered the true road to 
 happiness to be by virtue. As to my own condition, I shall 
 briefly tell you what I can. 
 
 Know, then, that I get up early and after a hurried 
 toilet send word, forthwith, to my companions to be ready 
 if they desire to accompany me to the church. In the 
 meantime, while they are hesitating, perhaps, to rise from 
 their soft repose, or still engaged in stretching their some- 
 what inert and stiffened limbs, I say my morning prayers 
 to our Lord, for His propitious favour during the journey 
 of this life. At the termination of Divine Lauds, I go at 
 once to the neighbouring church, which is consecrated to 
 the Holy Sepulchre of our Lord. It is a church well 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter 1. 
 
YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 301 
 
 calculated to inspire devotion, not only on account of the 
 life-sized statues over the altars chiefly representing scenes 
 from the Passion of Christ but also because it is a memo- 
 rial of St. Charles Borromeo, who used to frequent it. In 
 the contiguous house, distinguished already as the abode of 
 holy Priests, he gathered together his dear Oblates, at a 
 time when discipline had decayed among the clergy. 
 
 After offering up the Holy Sacrifice, and partaking of 
 the soul's celestial nourishment, the body has its sustenance 
 administered in the shape of a moderate breakfast. After- 
 wards come the hours of study, which really occupy the 
 best part of the day, seeing that they keep us very thought- 
 fully engaged till noon. Then, with an interval of fresh 
 repose to reinforce the enfeebled body and also to refresh 
 the mind, we reciprocally visit one another, like so many 
 friars in their cells, as we have separate rooms during the 
 hours of study. There we are occupied until four o'clock, 
 when the signal is given to lay aside books and papers. 
 These put in a corner, the writing-desk must give place to 
 the dinner-table, volumes to plates, and pens to forks. 
 And we are so attentive to the dinner bell that nobody 
 keeps the rest of the company waiting in the refectory ; 
 whence it would seem that we are all rivals in the diligent 
 performance of such work. . . . There remains much to 
 say about our dinner, much about recreation, much more 
 about our walk. But what would you ? The limited space 
 of this sheet of paper does not correspond with my desire, 
 and so I am forced to reserve what more I might say on 
 these 'grave topics ' for a better opportunity. Meanwhile 
 pray for us. 
 
 MILAN : May 6, T826. 1 
 
 About the same time a letter from one of his old 
 professors, Don G. B. Locatelli, Archpriest of Rove- 
 reto, drew from him this tribute to the goodness and 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter li. 
 
302 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 piety of the Milanese, whose virtues he could all the 
 more effectually extol, as his keen sight could not 
 avoid seeing their defects, and his impartial pen did 
 not refuse to criticise them : 
 
 . . . My sojourn in Milan does not displease me. 
 Here I find religion far more prevalent than I expected, 
 and, so far, do not think there is another city like it. The 
 principal families are saintly. At this jubilee season, it is 
 really impressive to meet in the streets people of every class 
 visiting the churches, reciting aloud prayers, and perform- 
 ing other pious and penitential works. The alms-deeds 
 and liberality of the gentry are very great. Asylums, 
 churches, hospitals, and every good thing of that sort, are 
 soon built by them. It is enough to make known the want 
 of such a thing, and the money is forthwith obtained. 
 
 The clergy do not seem to me to be very learned, but 
 solid and truly pious; while, as regards discipline, they 
 are rather austere than relaxed. I find them to be ex- 
 tremely prudent and reserved ; diligent in their ministerial 
 duties, they never meddle with affairs that do not concern 
 them. 
 
 The only Religious Order is that of the Barnabites, re- 
 cently restored by the Archbishop. At present, they hav< 
 some young subjects, but not many trained Religious. Then 
 are some Oblates of St. Charles at Ro, and at S. Sepolcro ; 
 but they are not recognised by the authorities. The orato- 
 tories for youth, originated specially by B. Federico, 
 seem to me to be both beautiful and useful. 
 
 The general character of the Milanese is excellent 
 though they are wanting in that external polish whicl 
 gives such grace to the countenance, customs, mannei 
 and dialect of the Venetians ; but in the Lombard's serious 
 ness there is a sturdiness of temper which gives a manb 
 tone to their affability and courtesy. Their simplicity 
 pleases me much. Great decorum is observed in noble 
 families, and with greater splendour than is usual among 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 303 
 
 the Venetians. At the same time, there is a certain free- 
 dom and familiarity which relieves a stranger from embar- 
 rassment, especially an awkward one, like myself. Maurizio 
 sends you his greetings ; and I beg of you to salute kindly 
 our clergy for me. I have seen Don Pietro Beltrami's jubilee 
 tract. For a long time no better one has been printed at 
 Milan. We Roveretans may be contented with our position, 
 when in some things we surpass even great cities. 
 MILAN : Sunday within the Octave of Ascension, I826. 1 
 
 Nearly every letter he wrote from Milan in those 
 days bore similar testimony to the religious character 
 
 >f the people. It was a something intensely gratify- 
 ing to see God so generally loved and glorified. 
 No matter what special subject he had to deal with, 
 
 iis topic crept in, as one which had such an edify- 
 ing influence on himself that he could not resist im- 
 
 >arting it to others. For instance, when answering 
 communication from Don Giulio Todeschi, that 
 
 squired him to say much on a subject in no way 
 calling for allusion to the state of Milan, he could 
 
 lot help passing aside to this grateful theme : 
 
 This city pleases me more than any I have seen, pre- 
 cisely because its people are singularly pious practising a 
 
 >lid, and I will even say a robust devotion. 
 Everywhere around may be noticed the great works of 
 
 >t. Charles Borromeo, not only in the noble edifices which 
 externally adorn the city, but, what is far more important, 
 in the good and magnificent sentiments diffused among its 
 :lergy and people, and transmitted as a most precious 
 legacy from father to son. It is with these sublime sen- 
 timents that he has built an interior city and erected mag- 
 
 tificent structures in the heavenly Jerusalem. How many 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter lii. 
 
304 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 do not see them because they are invisible ! Let us thank 
 the Divine goodness that we see them, and rejoice greatly 
 at such a sight. . . . Maurizio and Nicolo salute you. I 
 shall be a little while longer absent from home, so, if you 
 wish to write to me, you can direct your letter to this city. 
 Pray to our Lord that I may profit somewhat by the many 
 good examples which are here continually before my eyes, 
 and that they may help to correct my defects. Farewell. 
 MILAN : May 9, i826. 1 
 
 At the commencement of the letter addressed 
 to Don Locatelli, Rosmini incidentally mentioned 
 the alarming condition of the celebrated Vincenzo 
 Monti's health, an apoplectic stroke having just pro- 
 strated that mischievous personage. Monti was a 
 dark blotch on Milanese piety a representative 
 blotch, in so far as the leaders of sensist philosophy 
 were representative men. He was an adept in 
 Italian literature of the antique sensistic school, and 
 ranked as one of the most classic poets in modern 
 Italy ; but his moral and political principles were so 
 exceedingly loose that he could not be credited with 
 having any at all. He had been equally ready to 
 glorify Napoleon or the Austrian emperor as a god, 
 and to denounce either as a demon, just as personal 
 expediency suggested. The false philosophy which 
 Monti did so much to bring into favour at most of 
 the Universities, made religion, as well as politics, a 
 matter of mere convenience to himself, and to most of 
 those who ventilated their views through the Biblio- 
 teca Itahana. He was the bitter personal and 
 literary opponent of Rosmini's valued friend Cesari, 
 
 1 Epirfolario, Letter liii. 
 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 305 
 
 and the vehement supporter of Gioia and the others 
 who had instinctively arrayed themselves against 
 the Roveretan champion of Christian philosophy as 
 opposed to their own pernicious teachings. 
 
 Nevertheless, Rosmini, having an opportunity, 
 turned charitably towards this man's spiritual needs, 
 and, seeing that he was in the grasp of death, hoped 
 to fix his restless soul on the necessity of making some 
 preparation for eternity. The erratic old poet was 
 only one of the many waverers, young and old, to 
 whom Don Antonio acted the part of a special mis- 
 sionary, and among whom he did an incalculable 
 amount of good. Although Monti's infirmities, 
 physical and other, were such as promised to the 
 young apostle no immediate results, he persevered 
 in the duty, with how little hope may be gathered 
 from what he thus said to Don Locatelli. 
 
 Here, Monti has had an apoplectic stroke, and it is to 
 be devoutly wished that he would, ere it be too late, give 
 some external tokens of religion, demanded by his inexplic- 
 ably inconstant life. It is a pity that he is so deaf, as it 
 makes conversation painful, and renders reasoning at any 
 length impossible. I regard him as a man of good heart ; 
 but this you know is not sufficient. On the other hand, 
 some false friends deceive him as to his actual condition. 
 What is still worse is that, while he fears to die, the hope of 
 life is strong in him. This hope is often fatal to those 
 advanced in years. 
 
 While Rosmini was trying to rescue this un- 
 happy man from the abyss on the brink of which 
 false philosophy left him, a letter from Rovereto 
 brought news of a little triumph elsewhere, that 
 VOL. i. x 
 
306 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 promised to rescue many souls from some other ills 
 which were protected by a political outcome of this 
 philosophy. The ecclesiastical authorities at Trent 
 were, at last, allowed to complete the arrangements 
 Don Antonio had induced them to begin for the 
 reception of the Daughters of Charity in that 
 diocese. This was a victory, though a small one, 
 over the political double dealings which made it 
 difficult for Catholics, in Catholic countries, to use 
 Catholic organisations for rescuing the helpless from 
 the miseries or the dangers brought on and fostered 
 by a state-craft having its source in false philosophy. 
 Politicians, full of the fallacies thus generated, had 
 come to detest any moral agencies the State did not 
 create, and, forgetting what Religious Orders had 
 done for civilisation in the past, sought to deprive 
 them of opportunities to preserve it in the future. 
 The policy of this state-craft was to crush religious 
 societies, and to cry down, ignore or curb all re- 
 ligious zeal that threatened to be useful. 
 
 Owing to the efforts of this policy the excellent 
 Order of Madame Canossa could not easily extend 
 its labours to places where they were much needed. 
 Many towns in Austria were in want of the services 
 of the Order ; but politicians so misrepresented the 
 nature of these services that people generally were 
 led to distrust them. Thus, although the Daughters 
 of Charity had been long and beneficially engaged 
 in their pious work throughout the adjoining Italian 
 provinces, even some of the Tyrolese Priests were 
 indisposed to welcome them as cordially as they de- 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 307 
 
 served. Rosmini, who had his heart and mind fixed 
 on destroying the poisonous philosophy to which 
 this state of things was primarily due, was careful, 
 meanwhile, to set himself, wherever he could, 
 against its immediate outflow. Hence, he took 
 great pains to let his countrymen have correct in- 
 formation about the Daughters of Chanty, and did 
 his utmost to smooth a path, at best but thorny, for 
 those self-sacrificing ladies. Among others who 
 needed this information was his intimate friend Don 
 Giulio Todeschi of Mezzotedesco, to whom he gave 
 this short but sufficient account of the Canossa Order 
 in the course of a letter dealing with the ordinary 
 points of familiar correspondence : 
 
 Your letter commences with what is a very agreeable 
 subject ; for such to me is that of the Daughters of Chanty. 
 Yes, I hope they will very soon be established in Trent. 
 The Emperor has given a convent to the excellent Madame 
 Canossa, and some Tyrolese sisters are even now ready to 
 take possession. It is only necessary to repair the dwelling, 
 which, being in a very bad condition, may cause some little 
 delay. All that, however, will be set right as soon as pos- 
 sible through the zeal of our Vicar General who has shown 
 himself to be full of Apostolical Charity. 
 
 What you say, as to my sister going to be Superioress at 
 Trent, is incorrect She is a simple novice, who, in due 
 time, will be sent to that house chosen for her by her Supe- 
 riors according to the needs of her Institute. 
 
 As you desire to know the general object of this Sister- 
 hood, let me tell you that it is to take special care of a 
 class which is the most despised and neglected, and, con- 
 sequently the most helpless in Society ; and, on that 
 account, it is the class which is dearest to our Divine 
 Master namely, the very poor; to assist sick females in 
 
 X 2 
 
3 o8 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 the hospital, and if the Parish Priest wishes it, to teach 
 women Christian doctrine in the parish church, under his 
 direction ; besides, to have a school where poor girls might 
 be instructed in reading, writing, and in other things which 
 it is useful for poor women to know. They also extend 
 their care to the improvement of education in the villages 
 by receiving into the convent, for seven months in the year, 
 good young peasant girls of talent, with the view of educat- 
 ing them, so as to qualify them to take charge of rural 
 schools, as good mistresses, well-mannered and pious. 
 
 After caring for the wants of the poor, the Daughters 
 of Charity, if they have time and strength, will turn their 
 attention to those in better circumstances. In large cities, 
 as here in Milan, they do great good by gathering together 
 in their convent, at a certain time of the year, pious ladies 
 to enable them to make spiritual retreats. The Milanese 
 have lately, with the greatest edification, availed themselves 
 of this convenience. 
 
 The life then of these excellent sisters is, as their name 
 indicates, all charity. It is a life of active and robust virtue. 
 For their own spiritual support they have, meanwhile, their 
 Community exercises, consisting chiefly in mental prayer, 
 which is the secret of keeping enkindled the fire of divine 
 love. The virtue that I myself know these good sisters to 
 possess is marvellous. There is a perfect and unchanging 
 friendship among them, the truest purity of conscience, 
 together with liberty of spirit and uninterrupted gladsome- 
 ness. All this sweetens the most heavy labours, in the 
 discharge of which they are truly indefatigable. 
 
 MILAN : May 9, 1826.' 
 
 Without knowing how actively Rosmini was 
 engaged in what related to her own Order, Madame 
 Canossa busily occupied herself in what concerned 
 the Institute she besought him to found. As the 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter liii. 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STA Y AT MILAN. 309 
 
 plan he had drawn up provided for members of the 
 new Order accepting the Pastoral Office in its widest 
 signification, she wrote to him, remonstrating against 
 this departure from a custom that time and experi- 
 ence had proved to be good. He admitted the 
 reasonableness of her fears; but her objections to 
 the seeming innovation were answered in such a way 
 as satisfied her that as much could be said for as 
 against this feature of the proposed Society. 1 He 
 showed that Jesus Christ had placed the germ of 
 all perfection in the Pastoral Ministry, and that 
 ' there are no two things which go so well together 
 as the religious profession and the Pastoral Office, 
 professing, as both do, the perfection of life which 
 consists in nothing else than charity.' Having dis- 
 posed of the strongest arguments that might be 
 urged against combining Religious Life with the 
 pastorate of souls, he concluded his long letter 
 thus : 
 
 Pardon the freedom with which I entreat you to reflect 
 well on this important matter, from which so much good 
 may flow to Holy Church, provided what we propose is 
 written in the Divine Decrees. Believe me, that even the 
 Religious who, of his own free will, flies from the world, 
 would not fly from it in a spirit of perfection, if he were to 
 refuse to leave the delightful silence of the cloister to assist 
 his brethren when called forth by the voice of Charity. 
 Perfect flight from the world should, henceforth, be made 
 in spirit, after the manner of the Apostles ; and we ought 
 not be satisfied with a mere external flight. I am well 
 aware that the most agreeable life is that which finds us with- 
 drawn completely from this most dangerous and wretched 
 1 See Ap t endix, Letter v. 
 
310 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 world ; but we should not seek what is most agreeable 
 and what we like best rather than what is most pleasing to 
 God and most useful to His Holy Kingdom. Let us then 
 live in solitude with the heart ; but let us not refuse to leave 
 it with the body, when the voice of the Superior, which 
 should be for us as the voice of God Himself, calls us. 
 
 Milton held that ' Society must proceed from the 
 mind rather than from the body/ and Blair once 
 described solitude as ' the society where no body 
 intrudes/ The mind and the heart find in them- 
 selves all the fulness of society, as St. Bernard proved, 
 for he was * never less alone than when alone/ It 
 matters not, then, where the body is ; if the mind be 
 not there, a solitude is there in which the heart lacks 
 not society. To train men so that they should thus 
 live ' in the solitude of the heart ' while ministering 
 to the spiritual needs of their neighbours, would be 
 to revive in a new way the anchoret system of Apo- 
 stolic times, and establish in the midst of society, 
 where all intrude, a solitude where no one intrudes. 
 Rosmini attached the utmost importance to this self- 
 retirement, even in the case of those who were not 
 ' bound by the sweet bonds of Religious Life/ He 
 thought it undesirable for men who were not dis- 
 ciplined to ' solitude of heart ' to withdraw from 
 social intercourse, lest the cares of life should lead 
 them into a fatal gloom ; but he insisted that they 
 must always keep the mind girt with sublime religious 
 thoughts, lest social intercourse should lead them 
 into an equally fatal levity of spirit. 
 
 Although the state of human society was not so 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 311 
 
 bad in his day as it has since been made by the 
 tenets his adversaries have succeeded in propagat- 
 ing, he had frequent occasions to counsel those who 
 were on the verge of moral ruin, either from dejec- 
 tion or frivolity. One of these occasions presented 
 itself when he heard that Professor Bartolomeo 
 Stofella of Rovereto had fallen a victim to melan- 
 choly, partly from yielding to family sorrows and 
 partly from having confounded social seclusion with 
 solitude of heart. A letter from this desponding 
 friend gave him an opportunity of at once reproach- 
 ing and consoling him in the following manner, and 
 with the best results : 
 
 Among the many things in your letter which gave me 
 pleasure, the one thing that grieved me was to find you 
 always sadly harping on these lines : 
 
 I love to roam alone in pensive mood, 
 And slowly pace thro' dreary solitude. 
 
 Ah ! pray do not always seek excuse to shun the 
 beaten path of your fellow-men ! Let human society rather 
 alleviate and comfort you, if you have the misfortune to 
 be in affliction and sorrow. I mean that it should allevi- 
 ate you with the comfort of prudent counsels, and not 
 merely divert you with the clatter of foolish gossippings, 
 which not only deafen the ear but confuse the mind. 
 The relief which one seems to take from that noisy external 
 agitation (which afterwards leaves the soul more confused, 
 clouded, and miserable than before) is very different from 
 that which relieves one by shedding on man the tranquil 
 ray of truth. This ray descending, so to speak, in the 
 night that is then on us, dispels its obscurity and enables 
 us to notice peacefully how agitated and confused things 
 are in it. It likewise discloses to us the mode of reducing 
 
312 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 them to order, thus calming, as it were, the mounting bil- 
 lows of a. stormy sea. 
 
 Yes, I understand it, you are not pleased with the life 
 you lead. The heavy fatigues to which the school subjects 
 you, and the many hours of the best part of the day which 
 you are obliged to sacrifice thereto then, the weariness 
 which follows during the remainder of the day many 
 thoughts about your relations your very health, often 
 sickly and for the most part weak all these things com- 
 bine to agitate and disturb you. You should, however, 
 know how to have patience you should know how to 
 make an offering of these troubles to our Lord, so as to 
 turn the evil to your good. How admirable our Divine 
 religion always is in the consolation it affords to us poor 
 mortals ! How rich it is in the sublimest reasons, the most 
 touching affections, and the most heavenly, supernatural 
 means to fortify our feeble hearts, and to transform almost 
 into impassible angels, paltry men, who are full of in- 
 firmities. As for me, the more I study the matter, my 
 dear friend, the more thoroughly am I persuaded of all 
 this. 
 
 Our religion is a friend, or a compassionate mother, 
 strewing flowers over all our thorns, and administering balm 
 to soothe the bitterness of our every misfortune. She comes 
 into us, she enthrones herself in our very heart, and from 
 that seat diffuses, like the sun, an all-embracing serenity 
 through the whole man, who is thus transported into a 
 luminous paradise ; she, as it were, lays hold of him and 
 fastens him to Eternity. O God ! what an object of true 
 wisdom ! In fact, if we meditated well upon eternity alone, 
 we should better know what little value to set on all that 
 is of earth. Eternity it is that reproaches us for having 
 turned our affections towards some ephemeral object, 
 whilst we should have reserved them for what was everlast- 
 ing ; it makes us think with sorrow of even the least frac- 
 tion of time that we have irreparably lost. Well does 
 this teacher make me comprehend how much reason the 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 313 
 
 Saints had to charge with insanity a world that strove so 
 hard to possess things which would soon have to be irre- 
 coverably abandoned. 
 
 It is indeed madness, for the sake of such trifles, to 
 wage war, nourish animosities, cause slaughter, encounter 
 great heat and cold, and consume one's self in continual 
 toils and endeavours to overcome anxieties and cares ; 
 for the sake of these things, let me repeat, which man must 
 soon give up for ever, returning naked to that earth whence 
 he came, without having done anything for eternity ! 
 If this be not a deplorable madness, whatever else can 
 be ? God grants us time and the way to collect treasures 
 that endure for ever ; but we make no account of them, 
 preferring to waste all the precious time of life, not fearing 
 to find ourselves at the point of death destitute of the 
 many merits with which we might have been enriched ; 
 not fearing to appear, devoid of any virtue, at the tribunal 
 of an Almighty and most just God, to render a most 
 rigorous account of all the graces we have lost, of all the 
 inspirations we have left unheeded, and of all our ingrati- 
 tude towards that God who had lavished upon us His most 
 abundant mercies ! We know that the present life is the 
 allotted time for mercy ; we know that the future is re- 
 served for justice, and, yet, with what little reflection we 
 allow the whole of life to pass away ! the whole of that 
 time in which to work out our salvation ! thus with indiffer- 
 ence continually drawing nigh to the hour of reckoning ! 
 What stupidity ! what madness ! it would be incredible if 
 
 experience did not show it to exist 
 
 MILAN : July 16, I826. 1 
 
 He considered that men were most happy when, 
 by becoming foolish according to the principles of 
 the world, they became wise according to our Lord 
 Jesus. In his opinion, practical membership of the 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter liv. 
 
3 i4 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Church of Christ was ' the perfection of all society/ 
 and the one grand remedy against the depressions 
 of heart with which mere human society, in the midst 
 of its gaieties, afflicted men. All his intelligence, all 
 his sympathies, all his affections were so knit up 
 with the Kingdom of Christ, that there was no hap- 
 piness for him except in the closest union with the 
 Church. A letter which he wrote before making a 
 short visit to Rovereto, in 1826, incidentally shows 
 how profoundly he felt this. The letter was to an 
 old schoolfellow, Don Giovanni Stefani, who had 
 been for some time in Lisbon as tutor to- a prince of 
 the Portuguese Royal Family and had just been 
 prevailed on to continue in that capacity for some 
 time longer : 
 
 I am glad that you remain, because I bethink me that 
 you will be able to benefit your young pupil. Do all you 
 can to make him feel the dignity of being a member of 
 the Church of Jesus Christ of that immense, that divine 
 Society which deserves all our love, and towards which it 
 is right that all our thoughts should be turned. Beautiful 
 is human friendship, but far more beautiful is the love of 
 Holy Church. Love of family is praiseworthy, so is love 
 for one's birthplace or nation. Ah ! Let our love for 
 family, for native place, for country, be so many different 
 means to promote the glory of God's Church ? They 
 should be considered by the Christian only as parts of a 
 greater and higher society that of the Church. Since 
 we have received the Grace that our family and nation 
 should be in the Church of Jesus Christ, ought not the 
 part to be subservient to the whole ? 
 
 Seek to print this deeply in your pupil's mind. Happy 
 will he be if he should receive the impression and carry it 
 with him uncancelled all his life. Even though you should 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 315 
 
 fail to make a real impression, you will be happy to have 
 used all your endeavours in the attempt. As regards the 
 merit acquired before God, the effort alone is equivalent to 
 having formed a devout son to the Church of Jesus Christ. 
 In that way, while you will be useful to the youth, you will 
 assuredly be more useful to yourself. . . . 
 MILAN : September 13, I826. 1 
 
 Rosmini's love for Christ's Kingdom on earth, 
 if practically accepted by princes and peoples, would 
 have thrown down the petty boundaries of national 
 prejudice or tribal hate, to build up, in its stead, a 
 patriotism of the most exalted kind the patriotism 
 of Christian Charity the patriotism of Redeemed 
 humanity the patriotism that should embrace all 
 nations as subject to the Celestial King, and thus 
 leave mankind to that repose which a narrower 
 patriotism must, from its very nature, be continually 
 and brutally disturbing. Like Lord Bacon, he had 
 ' taken all knowledge for his Province ; ' 2 but, unlike 
 Bacon, he gave the rule of this Province to Heaven 
 and not 'to Earth, making it provide for the loftier 
 and permanent rather than for the lower and 
 transient interests of the whole human race. There- 
 fore, like Him for Whom Bacon's Province had no 
 set place, he took all men to be his fellow-subjects, 
 his brethren, his neighbours, in the one grand king- 
 dom of Christ's Charity that Province of the New 
 Law which comprises all knowledge and includes all 
 men. Within this alone patriotism is a virtue of 
 the sublimest kind. It is the patriotism of the New 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Iv. 
 
 2 Bacon's Letter to Lord Burleigh, 
 
316 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Law, the patriotism of Chanty, and he thus explains 
 it to us : 
 
 ' Even in the Old Law it was discerned that the 
 expression near or neighbour could not be properly 
 understood of a propinquity wholly material (since 
 it was quite possible that an enemy, instead of a 
 kinsman or friend, might be living near one's house), 
 but was intended to express a spiritual proximity, a 
 nighness of heart, inasmuch as he who loves is, by 
 affection, near and neighbour to the person loved. 
 Therefore the Jew, not knowing that he should love 
 other than a Jew, held that only the Jew was his 
 neighbour. But Christ, loving all men, and, in Him- 
 self, rendering every man lovable, has made all in 
 the world neighbours. Thus the Jewish expression 
 remains true, with a new signification ; for it is true, 
 no less by the Old than the New Testament, that 
 "we should love our neighbour" with this differ- 
 ence, however : the supernatural love known to the 
 Old Law had not strength enough to extend itself 
 beyond the nation ; whereas, in the New Law, by 
 the Redemption and Grace of Christ, there were 
 given to it wings powerful enough to carry it 
 through all the world. The Old Law as to loving 
 our neighbour continues, then, in force ; but there is 
 a New Law, in which Christ ordains that " we our- 
 selves should voluntarily become neighbours to all 
 in the world, by loving all." ' l 
 
 Thus the precept of Charity is at once old and 
 new the aim of the Old Law and subject-matter of 
 
 1 Rosminfs Discourses, Dis. ' On love of our neighbour.' 
 
FIRST YEAR'S STAY AT MILAN. 317 
 
 
 the New. In the Old Law the love which brought 
 the Jew nigh to the Jew consisted in the natural 
 inclinations sanctified the affections of parents, of 
 children, of husband and wife, of fellow-citizens and 
 compatriots ; but, in the New, the love which brings 
 man nigh to man is that Charity which Christ had 
 for all men, and that which we, through Christ and 
 in Him, have for all who are loved by Christ. 
 
3 i8 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 ROSMINI, AWAITING 'THE MANIFESTATION OF PRO- 
 VIDENCE/ ACTIVELY WORKS FOR THE GLORY OF 
 GOD AND THE VINDICATION OF TRUTH. 
 
 (A.D. 1826-1827.) 
 
 His Milan household an illustration of the instability of mere human 
 arrangements Strength of institutions designed for God's glory 
 He goes to Rovereto with the Chevalier Carlo Rosmini and Mauri- 
 zio Moschini Calls at Brescia and Verona Is urged to join the 
 Jesuits Once more at the ' old Homestead ' His mother still seeks 
 to keep him in his native diocese What he thinks of taking the 
 Pastoral Ministry Indifferent to all but God's Will Returns to 
 Milan with Don Fenner as Secretary Mellerio and Manzoni meet 
 him His share in Manzoni's Promessi Sfiosi How he awaits the 
 manifestation of Providence His estimate of human power in the 
 salvation of souls Why he prefers a good heart to -great talent 
 His efforts to restore Christian Philosophy Progress of the Nuovo 
 Saggio Literary war with the dechristianising sensists His philo- 
 sophical productions of this time Depends on Prayer more than 
 on Reason Lives on earth as being always in the visible presence 
 of God ' His conversation is in Heaven ' Philosophy and Reason 
 would be traitors without Prayer arid Piety. 
 
 BEFORE Rosmini had been a year at Milan his little 
 household threatened such a change as furnished 
 him with a practical commentary on the instability 
 of the most hopeful human arrangements. Tom- 
 maseo, once more weary of living up to * a rule of 
 life/ sought once more the dangerous liberty of 
 being his own master, and he obtained it. He con- 
 
ffJTS MILAN HOUSEHOLD. 319 
 
 tinued, however, to work occasionally for his bene- 
 factor, but selected Florence as the seat of his 
 labours. There he gave himself up to preparing 
 his Antologia without much satisfaction to himself 
 or Rosmini. Moschini lost his health and had 
 4 medical orders ' to go back to Rovereto in the 
 hope of recovering it. The coachman's services 
 were no longer required, and the cook was soon the 
 only one left of the companions originally chosen to 
 form the Milan establishment. 
 
 If such were the vicissitudes of a small family 
 in so short a time, what fortune awaited a large 
 Community that aspired to live for ages ? But his 
 little dulce domum was of human origin, mainly for 
 human ends, and had not been set up with all that 
 care and all those safeguards which must, surely, 
 protect an institution suggested by Heaven and 
 founded exclusively for the glory of God and the 
 spiritual good of men. This, too, would probably 
 have its vicissitudes in some respects like the other, 
 since it was in some respects human ; but Provi- 
 dence never yet left an institution of Its own special 
 creation at the mercy of human inconstancy. Know- 
 ing this, Rosmini employed every means to make 
 sure that Providence was the real designer of the 
 project suggested by the saintly Canossa. We have 
 already seen what these means were, and how care- 
 ful he was to test their value in every possible 
 form. Never did the Founder of a Religious 
 Order more warily take every step to his object 
 never more fearingly, or more prayerfully, or more 
 
320 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 deeply impressed with its sacredness and his own 
 unworthiness. 
 
 In the Autumn of 1826, Don Antonio decided on 
 making a few weeks' visit to Rovereto, partly to 
 console his mother, partly to look after family in- 
 terests, and partly to have another opportunity of a 
 personal consultation with- the Foundress of the 
 Daughters of Charity, as Verona would be the most 
 convenient resting-place on the way to and from 
 the Tyrol. Maurizio Moschini was to accompany 
 him home as an invalid of whose restoration to 
 sound health the Milanese physicians had little 
 hopes Another companion was to be the historian 
 of Milan the Chevalier Carlo Rosmini whose 
 physical condition also required change of air. The 
 day before they started, Rosmini dined with Man- 
 zoni at Brusuglio, where he met some of the intel- 
 lectual wanderers whose thoughts he was successfully 
 leading back to the truths and duties of Faith. 
 
 On the way to Verona he stayed for a few hours 
 in Brescia with Don Brunati, and with some Jesuit 
 Fathers who were amongst his warmest friends, 
 and who, knowing that his soul was bent on the 
 Religious State, used all their powers of persuasion 
 to court him into the Society as offering the best 
 field for his genius, learning and zeal. To no one 
 did he yield in love and admiration for ' the true 
 children of St. Ignatius ; ' but the voice that spoke so 
 constantly within him did not prompt him to join 
 them, and he faithfully followed its whisperings to 
 proceed elsewhere. 
 
SHORT VISIT TO ROVERETO. 321 
 
 At Verona he remained a day, the greater part 
 of which was given to prayer and consultation with 
 Don Bertoni, and an interview with Madame 
 Canossa and his sister on the subject of the Insti- 
 tute. His sister was no longer merely a guest 
 studying the educational system of the Daughters 
 of Chanty, but a novice practising ' the way of per- 
 fection ' as laid down by their rule, and on the eve 
 of taking the vows. Having stored up in his mind 
 and heart the hints and consolations that came from 
 his conferences with these holy people, he con- 
 tinued the journey to Rovereto. There a hearty re- 
 ception greeted him on all sides, the ' welcome back ' 
 being of that kind which one usually associates with 
 a return after long absence. Once more, the fond 
 mother and devoted retainers were comforted by his 
 presence. Once more, the little domestic oratory 
 had its morning Mass. Once more, the poor gathered 
 in the courtyard of the palazzo to receive alms from 
 his own hands. Once more, our Lady's shrine on 
 the Mount had its most fervent votary. Once more, 
 the deserted library had its industrious master to 
 utilise its contents. Once more, the public Academy 
 hailed its brightest member, and listened to his 
 learned disquisitions. Once more, the hospitable 
 mansions of his kinsmen and friends thronged with 
 guests eager to show their respect for one who 
 ' cast gleams of sanctity on their gladness ' and who 
 never refused to recognise the reasonable claims of 
 social intercourse. 
 
 This visit to Rovereto, however, was short ; but 
 
 VOL, I. Y 
 
322 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 in that stay of a few weeks, the untiring 1 energies of 
 Don Antonio accomplished a great deal for the 
 moral and intellectual benefit of himself and others. 
 His mother, though now more seasoned to the 
 thought of his permanent absence, made yet another 
 effort to persuade him that he ought to remain with 
 the parochial Clergy of his native diocese. Not 
 trusting to her own reasonings, which were purely 
 those of the heart, she sought the aid of friends 
 whose virtues and talents had most weight. Few 
 of these were ready to promote her wishes in this 
 matter, for they saw more clearly than maternal 
 sentiment permitted her to see, that her son was 
 already doing an Apostle's duty, not for one parish or 
 one diocese but for the whole Church. One of the 
 few who consented to do as she desired was Don 
 Giulio Todeschi ; he did so, however, in such a 
 timid, indirect way, that Rosmini hardly suspected 
 the drift of his advice as to ' taking upon himself 
 the Pastoral Ministry/ Therefore, he made but a 
 passing, though a sufficiently expressive, allusion to 
 the subject in the following letter : 
 
 Your letters are always dear to me, because there flows 
 from them an oil which is so fragrant that its odour affects 
 the innermost sense of the soul and thence diffuses itself 
 thrillingly ; because, in short, they always contain the name 
 of our Lord and Redeemer. Oh! with what truth and reason 
 St. Bernard said that to him would be insipid the book in 
 which he did not meet with the most lovable of all names 
 the name of JESUS. So, indeed, it ever should be ; 
 every thing which is not seasoned and signed with this 
 name should be tasteless to Redeemed men. Unhappy 
 me ! I am not worthy to pronounce it. ... 
 
HIS OWN DESIRE. 323 
 
 At Milan, there are many oratories for young men 
 which are exceedingly useful. I used to go to them on 
 festival days, when able, and, although I gave short dis- 
 courses and spiritual conferences when asked, I was really 
 there more to learn than to teach. But, as you have very 
 well said for all that I regard with so much pleasure 
 exercises relating to the welfare of souls, our Lord has not 
 called me, as yet, to this sublime ministry. I am thoroughly 
 persuaded that He has, with good reason, kept me a step 
 backward, as one may say, from His ' Inner Sanctuary,' 
 for so it seems to me I should designate the Pastoral 
 Ministry. 
 
 I certainly do not desire, or at least wish to desire, 
 anything more than the fulfilment of God's adorable Will. 
 And can I desire anything, except to serve my Lord and 
 my God in that way wherein He wills me to serve Him ? 
 * For what have I in Heaven ; and, besides Thee, what do 
 I desire upon earth ? ' Most happy should I be were I, at 
 once, to become a faithful, and not a wicked and perfidious, 
 servant as I now am. It appears to me, or I am mistaken, 
 that I am indifferent to any kind of service (be it low, con- 
 temptible and small, or great and laborious), which our 
 Lord may require of me , all, yes truly, all would seem 
 the same to me, provided only one thing followed that I 
 was at last a good and faithful servant. 
 
 Ah ! my dear friend and brother in Christ, urgently 
 pray to our Lord to give me this grace, I desire nothing 
 more than this. . . . 
 
 ROVERETO : Septemler 30, 1826. 1 
 
 Owing to the unsatisfactory state of Carle 
 Rosmini's health, Don Antonio returned to Lom- 
 bardy before winter set in. He took with him as 
 secretary, in place of Moschini, Don Andrea Fenner, 
 and, on their arrival in Milan, this clergyman was 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ivi. 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 announced in the public journals as ' corrector of the 
 press to the Roveretan philosopher.' Count Mellerio 
 and Manzoni were the first friends to call on 
 Rosmini immediately after his return. 
 
 Mellerio, who shared his confidence as to the 
 projected Religious Order, was anxious to know 
 how the affair prospered, and what further light God 
 had vouchsafed to give him, directly or through 
 Madame Canossa. Rosmini could only assure his 
 friend that the plan was matured, and that the good 
 Marchioness continued to name Milan as the place 
 where God's Will would be further manifested to him. 
 
 Manzoni, who shared his confidence as to the 
 scientific works in which he was engaged, sought 
 his counsel with regard to some of his own literary 
 labours. Who can tell what effect these literary 
 consultations had on the Promessi Sposil It is 
 pretty certain that some of the manuscript and all 
 the proof sheets were submitted to Rosmini, and, 
 though it is not very likely that he meddled at all 
 with the polished diction of Manzoni, there is reason 
 to believe that he left the impress of his hand there, 
 for many turns of thought, many pointed reflections, 
 many moral adornments that enrich the work have 
 a strong Rosminian flavour. 
 
 The year 1827 found Rosmini calmly waiting for 
 the special indications of Providence which Madame 
 Canossa told him to expect. He went on assidu- 
 ously providing for the spiritual weal of the pious 
 souls committed to his charge. His charitable deeds 
 in -connection with the Milan Oratories increased. 
 
 
JtETUXNS TO MILAN. 325 
 
 Although the publication of his philosophical works, 
 combined with his studies, occupied more time than 
 usual, his amazing activity of mind and body enabled 
 him to continue without interruption all the aid he 
 gave to those who laboured for ' God's little poor/ or 
 who strove to win back to Christ such souls as had 
 been led astray by the seductive teachings of false 
 philosophy. How much he prized this co-operation 
 in the salvation of souls we already know : yet, he 
 valued little mere human power in these efforts, as 
 he took occasion to tell his sister Margherita in the 
 following letter : 
 
 I am glad that your sisters labour, as you tell me, so 
 cheerfully, and I doubt not you ardently desire to imitate 
 them. A soul saved to our Lord is, assuredly, a great gain. 
 But this is not human work. Man can only reach the ear 
 in an ineffectual way ; but it is God changes the heart. 
 In this affair, therefore, we are not only ants, as you say, 
 but even much less. However, it is an infinite Grace, which 
 also demands our gratitude, that God vouchsafes to accom- 
 pany our useless efforts on the exterior man, with His 
 secret operation on the interior. In this way, He is pleased 
 to make man what may be termed a co-operator with His 
 Divine Son, which is the greatest, and, yet, the most 
 humiliating dignity that man can think of. I say the most 
 humiliating, remembering from Whom he receives it, be- 
 neath Whom he must humble himself, not only on account 
 of his own nothingness, but again through gratitude. . . . 
 MILAN : January 4, 1827. l 
 
 A curious little short-lived controversy which 
 sprang up in these days had Rosmini for its centre. 
 His genius was admitted by the bitterest of his 
 
 1 EpistolariOy Letter Ivii. 
 
326 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 assailants, the champions of sensistic irreligion ; but 
 some of them insisted that he valued genius more 
 than goodness of heart, whereas his friends claimed 
 that he looked on genius as a possession infinitely 
 less desirable than a good heart. Not only in Milan, 
 but also in Rovereto, there were those who con- 
 tended that his practical charities, which kept pace 
 with his intellectual works, were rather due to his 
 genius than to his heart, inasmuch as the heart was, 
 according to them, directed by the genius and not 
 independent of it. Others declared that, being a 
 genius, he was bound to regard a good heart, which 
 is no uncommon possession, as far inferior to a pos- 
 session that was very rare ; still others held that if he 
 had merely a good heart men would not admire him 
 as much as they did, though they might love him 
 no less. Don Orsi of Rovereto, who undertook to 
 get Rosmini's own view on the subject, put the 
 inquiry somewhat in this way : ' Which is preferable, 
 an excellent intellect with a perverse heart, or a 
 feeble intellect with a good heart ? ' The reply was 
 prompt and conclusive : 
 
 My solution of this question is, you must already know, 
 your own. The folio wing -seem to me to be the principal 
 reasons : 
 
 I. Talent is a gift ; the use of it is an act of our own. 
 Now, of itself, talent does not help us to employ it well ; 
 it may rather tempt us to use it improperly. The heart, on 
 the contrary, inclines us to make a proper use of the talent 
 we possess. Hence, the endowment of the heart is more 
 valuable, because it is that which disposes us to do well 
 those acts which proceed from ourselves. It is, in short 
 
TALENT VERSUS HEART. 327 
 
 virtue ; and we all know that only virtue can entitle a man 
 to praise, as belonging to himself. 
 
 2. Talent, if badly employed, does not make us happy. 
 The heart, on the contrary, by inclining us to virtue helps 
 us to obtain happiness. Experience furnishes us with con- 
 tinual proof of the fact, and history illustrates it. Setting 
 aside the arrogance of the philosophers of Greece and other 
 nations, Solomon, Origen, and Tertullian were brought to 
 unhappiness by their talents. 
 
 3. Jesus Christ never praised the gifts of mere intellect, 
 but always those of the heart. 
 
 4. Great intellect is a property even of the Devil, 
 that is to say, of the most wicked of creatures : not so the 
 heart. 
 
 5. Men love a good heart more than high intellect. 
 Hence, even the world considers great geniuses as being 
 dangerous. They usually have many enemies, while 
 those who have a good heart are loved by everybody. 
 
 Having satisfied your questions, I hasten to close this 
 letter. Greet all, especially your dear brother. It seems 
 to me that, through Divine Grace, I labour more than 
 usual. I see clearly that it is the will of God that I must 
 still be far from you. Before the work I am engaged on is 
 completed, at least four years must elapse. The labour 
 seems to grow under my hands. The Lord truly spreads 
 flowers for me over the rough paths, all along which I find 
 the ruins of gigantic geniuses. Adieu. 
 MILAN: January 27, I827. 1 
 
 The labour alluded to in the above letter aimed 
 at nothing less than the complete restoration of 
 philosophy. It was, indeed, a formidable task, and 
 that portion of it on which he was then specially 
 engaged The new Essay on the Origin of Ideas 
 was destined to open a most important epoch in the 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Iviii. 
 
328 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 history of science. Therefore, it would take a long 
 time ; and, although he had been for many years 
 occasionally working at it, four years more of con- 
 stant labour would hardly have sufficed to complete it, 
 if he was not a man of unflinching industry. But, in 
 order to give, meanwhile, a sample of the knowledge 
 he meant to propose for the restoration of philosophy 
 he began to publish at once (1827) in Milan the first 
 volume of his Opuscoli Filosofid. This volume 
 contained several essays. Two were on Divine 
 Providence, and discussed the limits set to human 
 reason in its pronouncements on God's dealings with 
 man, and also defined the laws which govern the 
 distribution of temporal good and evil ; another was 
 on the Unity of Education ; and another on the 
 Idyl and the New Italian Literature. 
 
 ' The writers of the Bibliotcca Italiana' says 
 Don Paoli, ' were still waiting with ears erect for 
 what the young Abate, who had recently come 
 amongst them, would have to say for himself.' 
 Well, they heard him and one of them threw down 
 the gauntlet ; but the Roveretan would not take it 
 up, ' as it was the challenge of a polemic who could 
 not be serious.' Rosmini ' contented himself with 
 writing in the preface to the second volume of the 
 Opuscoli, and on the same page, the objections of 
 the assailant side by side with the replies of the 
 assailed.' In this way, every impartial reader might 
 see, at a glance, that Rosmini was attacked mainly 
 because of the fancied prejudices which it was then 
 customary to attribute to such ecclesiastics as ven- 
 
CONTEST WITH THE SENSISTS. 329 
 
 tured to demonstrate the harmony between the 
 truths of Reason and those of Revelation. It was 
 on this occasion that he said in a letter to Don 
 Orsi, ' The article in the Bihlioteca Italiana has 
 made me laugh. They say it is by Gioia or Gironi.' 
 
 In the same letter to Don Orsi we find an inter- 
 esting scrap of information as to the progress of the 
 New Essay on the Origin of Ideas : * Since my return 
 to Milan I have written more than two hundred 
 pages of the work on which I am engaged, and at 
 least one hundred and fifty of these are large-sized 
 pages. Nevertheless, I can find time for rest, and 
 for holding conversations with some few friends. 
 One of those whom I see the most frequently is 
 Manzoni, whose company I enjoy very much.' 1 
 
 The second volume of the Opuscoli was already 
 in hand, though not immediately published. In it 
 he recast and enlarged the treatise on Happiness 
 which he had published at Rovereto in 1822. Its 
 new title was An Essay o^ Hope, and its object to 
 nullify the desolating teachings of Ugo Foscolo. 
 Among the other treatises in this volume was An 
 Examination of the Opinions of M. Gioia in favour 
 of Fashion, and the Exposure of the same author's 
 philosophy. Both essays were intended to counter- 
 act the sensistic views then in vogue, and both won 
 much fame for the author throughout all Italy, where 
 Gioia's writings had hitherto held an unchecked 
 popularity. 
 
 Gioia was perhaps the most attractive of the 
 
 1 Unpublished Letter, dated Milan, January 23, 1827. 
 
330 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Italian authors who at that time held a far-reach- 
 ing influence, most hurtful to truth and sound 
 morality. In fact, his dangerous renown was so 
 great that every new writer was expected to do it 
 homage. But the Roveretan Abate, instead of highly 
 commending, strongly condemned it, by laying bare 
 the hideous character of the tenets on which it was 
 poised. Gioia made pleasure the idol of man's 
 worship and the sole principle of ethics ; he took 
 from the ' transmontane utilitarians ' the most ruinous 
 maxims of political economy, and presented them, in 
 his many books, under the alluring garb of a popular 
 style, which was made very effective by a bold, 
 derisive smartness borrowed from the French writers 
 of the last century. All this was far too well calcu- 
 lated to captivate unwary readers, and, as a matter 
 of fact, it had already * corrupted the heart and in- 
 tellect of the flower of Italian youth.' 
 
 Rosmini fearlessly struck at the strongholds of 
 this baneful system, and the celebrated writer who 
 defended it was so enraged that he could at first 
 find no other reply than what Don Paoli calls 'a 
 torrent of abuse.' But he came to regret this, and 
 it is very probable that he owed to our Christian 
 champion's writings the nobler sentiments which he 
 manifested at the close of his life ; for ' he felt it his 
 duty to publicly declare that he died retracting and 
 detesting his errors.' 
 
 The more Rosmini thus laboured successfully to 
 overthrow error, and the more his works became the 
 theme of much public discussion and no little praise, 
 
fifS HUMILITY. 331 
 
 the more thorough were his humility and his depend- 
 ence on, and confidence in, God. This is very evi- 
 dent in all his letters of that time, whether they were 
 written with much deliberation or thrown off as hur- 
 riedly as the following note to the Baron Don Giulio 
 Todeschi : 
 
 I am here immersed in studies. I thank God who 
 gives me strength for the work. Every day I more and 
 more understand the Divine Will. I must remain here for 
 some time yet. How pleasant it would be for me were I 
 so placed that I could converse personally with my good 
 friends, with my good Giulio. 
 
 I beg and entreat of you to recommend me warmly to 
 our Lord. Would that I had a spark of that fervour which 
 you mention in your dear letter ! Would that I had drawn 
 profit from the recent Christmas solemnities, during which 
 Jesus came to visit us 1 Had not my heart been harder 
 than stone, certainly I ought, as you say, to have been 
 duly softened and melted with grief for my faults, and with 
 gratitude to the Divine goodness. But, it was not so, my 
 dear Giulio, it was not so. I am always as heretofore 
 nay worse. Non peccator, peccatum sum. I am comforted 
 only by the thought that it is when our misery is extreme 
 that the Divine mercy shines forth more resplendently. 
 God will not deny Himself one of the greatest of His 
 glories, which consists in raising up children to Abraham 
 from the very stones. Let us unite together earnestly in 
 prayer in prayer continuously ; let us detach ourselves 
 more and more from all earthly things ; and let us at 
 length live in the way we shall wish, at the nioment of 
 death, that we had lived. 
 
 Oh ! what happiness ! To live on earth as if we were in 
 Heaven, and could say our conversation is in Heaven. 
 What contentment ! To be able to hope that Christ liveth 
 in us. ' I live ; but now not I, Christ liveth in me.' 
 
332 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 This is the one grand object of my desires and the 
 most soul-absorbing of my aspirations. But what afflicts 
 me is to think of the distance I still am therefrom ! How 
 I resist and oppose the Divine Grace ! 
 
 I embrace you in the Lord. Writing thus hastily I 
 scarcely form intelligible letters. Adieu. Love me in our 
 Lord, in Whom I also love you. 
 
 MILAN : February 4, 1827. l 
 
 Rosmini's constant endeavour was to live on 
 earth as if he were In Heaven as if he were always 
 in the visible presence of God. He often declared 
 to his intimate friends that ' if he could have followed 
 his own wish, and if duty to his neighbour had not 
 forbidden it, his whole life would have been spent 
 i n meditation and prayer.' 2 But, as we have had 
 occasion to see more than once, he continued to 
 make ' duty to his neighbour/ whatever form it took, 
 a continued act of prayer. Not only his works of 
 charity, in every shape, but his recreations and his 
 ordinary acts of social intercourse, as well as all his 
 studies and all his writings, were of God, for God, 
 in God. Fond as he was of philosophy, and highly 
 as he valued reason, he looked upon both as certain 
 to be dangerous traitors, if Prayer and Piety did not 
 shield him from their treachery. His private and 
 public life thus put into practice a lesson that can be 
 well described somewhat in the phraseology of a 
 distinguished British scholar : 3 Philosophy may be 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter lix. 
 
 2 Don Francesco Barone, Orazione net solenni Funerali deir Abate 
 Rosmini, Torino, 1855. 
 
 3 Sir Wm. Drummond, Preface to Academical Questions (speaking 
 of Prejudice and Reason). 
 
ALWAYS WITH GOD. 333 
 
 trusted to guard the outworks for a short space of 
 time, when Prayer and Piety perchance slumber in 
 the citadel, but should Prayer and Piety fall into a 
 lethargy, Philosophy will quickly erect a standard of 
 its own. Prayer can dispense with Philosophy, but 
 Philosophy cannot dispense with Prayer. Each 
 can support the other, and if they act in concord 
 they are invincible. ' He who will not reason is a 
 bigot ; he who will not pray is a fool, while he who 
 dares not is a slave/ It is thus he felt ; and it is 
 thus that the Truth held him from bondage held 
 him in * the freedom wherewith Christ has made us 
 free ; ' it is thus that he lived on earth as if he were 
 in Heaven, and could say ' our conversation is in 
 Heaven.' 
 
334 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 ROSMINI CONTINUES THE WARFARE AGAINST THE 
 FOES OF REVELATION. 
 
 (A.D. 1827.) 
 
 He refuses to be a Jesuit, but urges others to join that Order Beauty 
 of the Religious State What he sa> s of the ' livery of St. Ignatius ' 
 How delicately he avoids influencing anyone to join the Order 
 he is himself founding What he thinks of surrendering one's own 
 judgment to that of Superiors Two possible exceptions to the rule 
 What he deems the surest means of bringing hearts into close 
 union with God The Science of the Saints applicable to all states 
 of life, but not alike safely or easily practised in all Religious Life 
 the port of refuge from worldly storms Necessity of mastering 
 human affections to reach this port Himself as an example of 
 triumph in this Shows his sister that true union of hearts cannot 
 be, except in God Explains the principle of obedience as laid 
 down in the Jesuit Rule Agrees with St. Thomas as to the mode 
 of choosing a Religious Order Commends a compendium of medi- 
 tation by a Jesuit Sorrow for the death of Carlo Rosmini, the 
 historian Patience in affliction The war against the propagators 
 of anti-Christian philosophy Teaches the leaders ofirreligion how 
 to conduct controversies The world, as it is, must needs have evils 
 Opposes godless education and foreshows its dangers Men led 
 by sensist philosophy are most intolerant Virtue and truth, being 
 a check to human passions, are detested by the champions of irre- 
 1'gion He is evidently * called' to resist the inroads of sensistic 
 error All philosophy mere vanity without religion The Gospel 
 shines above all human systems Revelation and true philosophy 
 perfectly harmonious A great and pious historian's prayer to God 
 answered in the person of Rosmini. 
 
 ALL Rosmini's friends knew of his tenacious affec- 
 tion for the Religious State ; but few of them knew 
 
URGED TO BE A JESUIT. 335 
 
 anything of the special call that kept him back from 
 joining any existing Religious Order. There was, 
 therefore, nothing unseemly in those who were thus 
 ignorant of the true condition of affairs freely em- 
 ploying all their influence to support the invitations 
 which some Jesuit Fathers were pressing upon him 
 to enter the great Society. 1 But, though he would 
 not become a Jesuit himself, he embraced every op- 
 portunity of leading others to choose that Order, 
 when he found them inclined to the Religious State, 
 or hesitating as to a choice in it. Amongst those 
 whom his counsel thus ' directed to the rule of 
 Ignatius ' was the estimable Don Brunati of Brescia, 
 who, on having resolved to quit Secular Life, com- 
 municated his decision to Rosmini, as to the 
 prompter of his course. Don Antonio replied : 
 
 Your letter brought me news that was not indeed sur- 
 prising, but very agreeable. What surprise could your 
 resolution give me, since I was already aware that your 
 heart was burning with the love of God, was, in fact, all 
 His ? For me, it is not more marvellous to see a man 
 who is imbued with such sentiments, drawn to the Religious 
 Life, than to see fish attracted by the bait or a bird by its 
 food. 
 
 Be comforted, then, ' Be strong and of good courage ' 
 (Deut xxxi. 7), because our Lord so loves you as to create 
 in your heart such holy desires. Yes, yes, nothing is more 
 beautiful, nothing more advisable than to fly from this 
 world and take refuge in the safe ^ort of Religion where one 
 is sheltered from the stormy waves that submerge all else. 
 
 1 Tommaseo (Rivista Cont.} says that this influence came mainly 
 from some of his personal friends in the Society at Innsbruck ; but the 
 Fathers v\ho happened to be staying at Brescia and Verona were its 
 immediate means. 
 
336 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Nothing is more desirable than to make a solemn consecra- 
 tion of ourselves to our Lord in this secure harbour. Then we 
 enter as it were our nuptial couch. Oh how fragrant are 
 the pure roses wherewith all there is strewn ! How magni- 
 ficent is this nuptial couch in the eyes of the faithful ! 
 aye, even the magnificence of Solomon's couch loses in 
 comparison ! I believe you to be blest, then, in these 
 espousals, to which our Lord has been pleased to elevate 
 you. 
 
 But, my dear friend, can I any longer conceal from you 
 what I have for a long while jealously kept as a secret in 
 my heart? No; not after the confidence you have reposed 
 in me. Well, then, know that I also have come to a 
 similar determination ; that is to say, I have resolved to 
 quit the world and to enter the Religious State. 
 
 But, you will eagerly ask whether I think of wearing 
 the livery of Ignatius ? I so greatly love his livery that I 
 could cover it with kisses : it is the livery which (if I may 
 licitly say so) belongs to Christ's Pretorian guards. How- 
 ever, God calls me to something else ; and you know how 
 attentively His voice should be listened to and how faith- 
 fully followed. I am, as I have said, called to something 
 else ; but still to the Religious State. In being of Ignatius 
 you do not cease to be of Jesus, to whom I shall belong, 
 also, I hope ; and, therefore, we shall be in the service of 
 the same Captain, and, in Him, we shall love one another 
 as fellow-soldiers under the same banner. 
 
 Perchance you would like to know more. I may tell 
 you all when next I see you ; for the present let the 
 intimation I have given you suffice. Not, however, that I 
 know the time set by our Lord, for the accomplishment of 
 this project, any more than you know it. Therefore, let us 
 together pray, and pray unceasingly ; for, from Him alone 
 all must come. Embracing you I tell you, once again, to 
 pray. 
 
 See with how much delicacy he refrained from 
 
HOLY OBEDIENCE. 337 
 
 saying anything about the Order he was himself on 
 the eve of founding, lest personal affection should 
 turn Don Brunati's thoughts from the Society he had 
 already recommended, to that for which he might, 
 without impropriety, have induced him to wait. He 
 excelled in the power of thus blending considerate- 
 ness and self-denial, because he excelled in true dis- 
 interestedness. No less skilful was he in the art 
 of removing difficulties such as Don Brunati raised 
 with regard to ' the obedience which demanded 
 the surrender of one's own judgment to that of 
 Superiors.' 
 
 You wish to know my opinion upon the duty of sub- 
 jecting one's own judgment entirely to the authority of 
 another, as is the practice in the Society of Jesus. St. 
 Ignatius was well aware of the strength which his Society 
 would acquire, if he established in it the greatest uniformity 
 possible in all things, and thence also the greatest agree- 
 ment in doctrines. I do not deny that there may be some 
 cases difficult to overcome. Yet, generally speaking, the 
 submission of the understanding is the first requisite of a 
 good Religious. All other virtues, even though heroic, can 
 be of no advantage to him, unless he knows hov to obtain 
 the mastery over himself, in this particular, so as to sacri- 
 fice his own views to the authority of his Superiors. This 
 it is which, in a body composed of many members, pre- 
 serves unity and the blessings of harmony. 
 
 Now, this is not impossible in ordinary cases ; commonly 
 speaking the things on which our minds are prone to differ 
 from others are not self-evident. Therefore, not having 
 evidence on our side, it becomes simply an effort of self-love 
 to affirm one's own opinion as certain, instead of leaving it 
 open to doubt. But from the moment that one doubts 
 one's own opinion, it is no longer difficult to embrace that 
 VOL. I. Z 
 
338 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 of others by preferring their judgment to one's own. Would 
 not he who had a really humble opinion of himself natur- 
 ally act thus ? 
 
 I confess, notwithstanding, that in this matter I should 
 have a great difficulty in two cases (which, however, seem 
 to me very rare) and these are: i. If in some opinion 
 which I have adopted, I find, after having divested myself 
 of all self-love, such evidence as there is, for instance, in a 
 mathematical demonstration. 2, If I find that the opinion 
 which I am desired to embrace is evidently false. 
 
 In these two cases, it is impossible for one, nay one ought 
 not, to give an internal assent, but to retain one's own 
 opinion without, however, causing disturbance in the Corr 
 munity, if one should not succeed in convincing Superiors 
 of its truth. These cases, however, are, as I have said, 
 extremely rare. It is almost always our self-love whkh 
 gives to our opinions a greater degree of certainty than 
 really belongs to them. A man who has become truly 
 humble and foolish, for Jesus Christ, seldom finds a case 
 like this ; but, it is not altogether impossible, and I admit 
 that it would be somewhat embarrassing. The Religious, in 
 short, should be thoroughly predisposed to lay aside his 
 own opinion, and to embrace that of others ; but, he ought 
 to add to profound humility, and to the inward contempt 
 of self, a tender and unswerving love of truth, in obedience 
 and in charity. 
 
 MILAN: April 9, 1827.* 
 
 From his earliest years, it gave him intense 
 pleasure to try and bring hearts into close union 
 with God ; and from his earliest years he felt that 
 profound humility, passive obedience, active charity, 
 constant prayer, and complete self-denial were the 
 surest means for this. Hence, whenever he found 
 pious men, like Don Brunati, eagerly in quest of close 
 
 y Letter l.\. 
 
RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR LIFE. 339 
 
 union with God, he pointed out the gate to the 
 cloister and exhorted them to enter, that they might 
 take the safest path to what they sought. 
 
 Frequently, however, he was appealed to by those 
 who craved this union, without being in a position 
 to adopt the Religious State. For them, too, he pre- 
 scribed ' the science of the Saints/ with instructions 
 as to how each one could shape his course by it, no 
 matter what his state in life, may be. But he knew 
 full well that as surely as the man who chooses to 
 walk through fields infested by venomous reptiles 
 has far less chance of escaping danger than the man 
 who prefers to take a well-protected path, so they 
 who endeavour to attain union with God, while 
 surrounded by the many allurements of the world, 
 have far less chance of reaching it than they who 
 seek it through the shelter of the cloister. 
 
 Therefore, although he could not hold out the 
 same assurances of security to those who strive to 
 draw very near to God through the embarrassments 
 and excitements of the world, he none the less 
 encouraged all to persevere in the struggle to per- 
 fection, even amidst the worst distractions of social 
 life ; for he knew that many Saints had practised 
 the most heroic virtues, even when brought daily in 
 contact with the most hideous vices ; and he knew 
 that the noblest self-sacrifice was sometimes found 
 where self-interests most abounded. 
 
 He did not shut his eyes to the fact that even 
 those who had passed into * the port of refuge/ as 
 
 he loved to call the Religious State, were not free 
 
 z 2 
 
340 LIFE OP ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 from some of the most dangerous worldly influences, 
 so long as they had not the completest detachment 
 from all human affections. But study and expe- 
 rience had long since convinced him that, while 
 complete detachment from human affections was 
 essential to thorough union with God, this detach- 
 ment was infinitely less attainable in Secular than in 
 Religious Life. He could speak with all the more 
 authority on this subject since he had, himself, 
 mastered human attachments as effectively as if he 
 had been all his life a cloistered monk. Now, it 
 had cost him much to tone these attachments 
 down, for his nature was of the most affectionate 
 kind. No son, no brother, no man had deeper love 
 of kindred and country and home and friends than 
 he ; but he earned the Grace which made this natural 
 love absolutely subordinate to the love of God. So 
 much had he subdued even its most legitimate mani- 
 festations, that his sister, of whom he had ever been 
 very fond, and whose heart Grace had also long 
 since detached from mere human affections, could 
 not help, in a moment of womanly softness, remind- 
 ing him that she was entitled to a sister's love, as if 
 he had for a moment forgotten it. In reassuring 
 her he took care to let her understand that it was 
 only in God true ' union of hearts ' could be pre- 
 served : 
 
 For your last letter I thank you all the more, as it We 
 a blooming one, like the season in which we are ; like that 
 too, it invites us to raise our thoughts towards the ineffabl< 
 goodness of the Creator, who continually loads us wit! 
 
TRUE UNION OF HEARTS. 341 
 
 benefits. Yes, let us be grateful to Him ; let us think con- 
 tinually of Him ; in short, belong to Him entirely. Is not 
 this the only happiness of our hearts ? I know it is thus 
 your heart speaks. It is thus I feel that mine speaks, by 
 the Grace of our Lord, to which I respond imperfectly. 
 
 There can be nothing more delicious than this union of 
 wills and affections which I trust exists between us. I 
 infer from a certain passage in your letter, that you suspect 
 that my affection for you has decreased. Even if I desired 
 it, I could not but love you ; and I love you with more 
 than a brother's affection. The infrequency of my letters 
 should not make you doubt : attribute this to my affairs, 
 and to the defect of negligence which I have in many 
 things of secondary importance. As regards my soul, 
 believe it to be full of affection for you. I often remember 
 you before our Lord, and it gives me great pleasure to 
 speak of you, or to hear tidings of you, especially when they 
 come direct from yourself. This is natural in me ; but, I 
 hope it is also rooted in our Lord, as I wish all my affec- 
 tions to be. I hope likewise that it will make it all the more 
 dear to you, to find that we meet together in our Lord in 
 perfect unity of heart. He is the true centre of the greatest 
 love, of the greatest alliance of hearts : nay, He is the only 
 centre, the ocean of love. . . . 
 
 MILAN : April 14, I82;. 1 
 
 Rosmini's remarks on the submission of one's 
 own judgment to that of Superiors did not quite 
 satisfy his Brescian correspondent, in so far as the 
 principle of obedience seemed to be applied amongst 
 the Jesuits. Don Brunati, therefore, wrote to him 
 again, intimating a wish to choose another Order, and 
 asking his opinion of the Benedictines, with special 
 reference to the one difficulty which continued to 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixi. 
 
342 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 be an obstruction. Still desirous of holding him to 
 the original choice, Rosmini met the whole case in 
 this manner: 
 
 Confidence in God is what alone can assure us as to many 
 things in which, without it, we should be ever wavering and 
 in suspense. This need of intrusting all to God has been 
 vividly brought home to us by Jesus Christ, on more than 
 one occasion, as when He taught us to pray with the petition 
 ' And lead us not into temptation.' Only God can preserve 
 us from occasions such as those in which the strongest 
 virtue may be exposed to danger, occasions which are 
 to be found even in R eligion but much more in the World. 
 It is for this that it has been said of Jesus Christ Himself 
 'He hath given His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee 
 in all Thy ways.' The same may be said of all those who 
 are one with Christ, or who fully trust in Him. We are 
 travellers on this earth and we know not whither we are 
 going whether into places full of dangers and difficulties 
 or into those that are easy and safe. Confidence in God is 
 the only thing that can fully reassure us, in the midst of 
 all uncertainties ; and this must, in my opinion, remove 
 from the soul all anxiety about the point in question. 
 
 Moreover, the precept of St. Ignatius is not so absolute 
 as some might suppose ; for, when enunciating it, he adds 
 4 as far as is possible ' (quoad id fieri poterit). Thus, in the 
 1st Chapter of the Third Part, speaking of the preservation 
 of the novices in the things useful for their souls, and for 
 their advancement in virtue, he says this: 'Let all the 
 brethren, as far as possible, hold the same sentiments and 
 language, as the Apostle teaches.' So, also, in the last 
 chapter of the Constitutions, where he teaches the way in 
 which the whole body of the Society ought to be maintained 
 in vigour, and increased, he touches on agreement in 
 doctrines, but ever with the same clause ' as far as this is 
 possible.' It is, of course, true that all this moderation 
 would be of no avail under Superiors who were over- 
 
TRUE INDIFFERENCE. 343 
 
 exacting ; but this, let me repeat, is not to be feared from 
 God's mercy. Even if He allowed the danger, it is certain 
 that He would give to the Religious who hoped in Him the 
 means of deliverance from all embarrassment. In fine, I 
 believe that there is no reason why we should have any 
 hesitation in giving ourselves to Religion, that being an 
 act most agreeable to God, who never allows Himself to be 
 outdone in generosity. 
 
 As for what you say touching the Benedictines, I can 
 give you no other advice than that you should mature the 
 affair by long and frequent prayer. I have always derived 
 much pleasure and consolation from the last article of the 
 Second Part of St. Thomas's Summa, wherein he proves 
 that, as regards entering into Religion or not, one should 
 never take counsel, not ev<.n zuith one's friends; because, to 
 enter R< ligion is a tiling so evidently good, in itself, that it 
 requires no counsel ; but counsel is necessary, in order to 
 cJioose ivhich among the various Religious Institutes is tJie 
 one most suited to us. 
 
 Read this article, for it appears to me to be full of the 
 Spirit of God. It will give you the sam? consolation that 
 it has given to me. For the rest, do not allow yourself to 
 be influenced by inclination towards, or aversion from, any 
 particular thing c<r any particular office. Do you think 
 yourself qualified for preaching, or for the confessional ? 
 Leave that for your Superior to decide, and put yourself in 
 a state of perfect indifference to all, so as to be ready even 
 to preach, to hear confessions, or to do anything else for 
 which you are less inclined by nature, or fitted by habit. 
 It appears to me that the first and principal requisite, in 
 order to know the Will of God, and to make a good choice, 
 is to establish one's self in a state of full and perfect in- 
 difference to all things. 
 
 O most beautiful indifference ! so much recommended 
 by the Saints ! This is that virtue which removes all the 
 obstacles to the Divine illuminations. It is only with this 
 that we can hear, in our hearts, even the softest whisper- 
 
344 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 ings of our Lord ; in Whom continue to love me, and to 
 Whom commend me in your prayers. 
 
 MILAN : May 4, 1827.' 
 
 This letter had the desired effect; for Don 
 Brunati soon consoled his director with the assur- 
 ance that the indifference he recommended ' had 
 reconciled him to the resolution of trying to practise 
 holy obedience in the Society of Jesus.' In order 
 to carry out this determination he was about to 
 leave at once for Rome, in the company of Mons. 
 Ostini then Internuncio at Vienna. Rosmini, well 
 pleased with the result, made the expression of his 
 congratulations the medium of commending 'an 
 epitome of Christian meditation ' which ought to be 
 specially acceptable to one who was about to take a 
 long journey for the purpose of joining the Order 
 whence this little lesson emanated : 
 
 What an exceUent opportunity you have of making the 
 journey to Rome with the excellent Ostini ! I should envy 
 you, if it were my time to go. Happy you, if, at the end 
 of your journey, you hope to find, not only the Gcsu, but 
 Jesus \ Oh ! if this were our whole desire ! At least it 
 should be so, that we may all be absorbed in unity. 
 
 I was reading, a few days ago, a beautiful and instruc- 
 tive lesson, in the life of that admirable man Father 
 Caraffa, who was the seventh General of the Society of 
 Jesus. He there says that he used to meditate on three 
 letters one black, another red, and a third white. These 
 meant : his own sins, the sufferings of his Saviour, and 
 the glory of the Blessed. In these three points I really 
 seemed to see a compendium of all Christian meditation. 
 By the black letter, we may learn to know ourselves, and 
 
 1 Rpistolario, Letter Ixii. 
 
DEATH OF HIS COUSIN. 345 
 
 direct our endeavours to the purification of our souls ; by 
 the red one, we can excite ourselves to imitate Jesus in the 
 mortifying of all our human nature, without excepting any 
 portion of it ; while by the last, or white letter, we are 
 admonished to resist the discouragement and anguish of 
 soul which the sorrow for our sins and the greatness of our 
 sufferings might otherwise bring upon us ; imitating, also, 
 in this, Christ who, when joy was set before Him, endured 
 the Cross (Heb. xii. 2). One may say that such is, likewise, 
 the substance of that admirable book The Exercises of St. 
 Ignatius, which I always keep close by me. . . . 
 MILAN : June 3, 
 
 Shortly after the date of this letter, Milanese 
 literary circles indeed all circles of society in the 
 city of St. Ambrose had cause for mourning. 
 The popular historian, Carlo Rosmini had just died 
 rather suddenly. Although he had lived * like a 
 recluse moving amongst men/ the news of his death 
 cast a gloom on the whole city. He had never 
 married, and the onlypassion to which he was said to 
 have ever yielded was that for literature ; but for all 
 that he freely allowed himself to be captivated by this, 
 never, in the course of his long life of 70 years, did 
 the charms of literature blind him to the beauties 
 and the obligations of religion. On the contrary, 
 he made the beauties of literature so dependent on 
 the intrinsic charms of religion that without them he 
 would have found little attraction in literature. No 
 home in Milan was without some expression of 
 regret that the venerated Chevalier had been taken 
 away ; but none missed him so much as his cousin 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixiii. 
 
346 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NI, 
 
 Don Antonio, and their intimate friends Count 
 Mellerio and Alessandro Manzoni. In a letter to 
 Luigi Sonn of Rovereto, Rosmini thus feelingly 
 mentioned the loss they had been called on 
 to bear, and made it the occasion of counselling 
 patience in affliction to his correspondent, who was, 
 at the time, troubled with trials of his own : 
 
 1 have received the two letters which you sent me. 
 The answer that I make to you is brief, as befits a man 
 whose mind is depressed and embittered by sorrow. The 
 reason you have already heard. Last Saturday a terrible 
 stroke deprived my cousin and friend Carlo of life at the 
 very hour in which the family vainly expected him home to 
 dinner. His loss, which is deplored by all his friends 
 (whose great grief attests how much he was loved), has also 
 most acutely pierced my heart. The wound is only soothed 
 by reflecting on the Divine Mercy, and on the goodness of 
 that soul which has departed, and which was wont to live 
 in the body as if any hour were to be his last. 
 
 Such was his purpose, as I have heard him many times 
 repeat. I have written on this subject to my brother and 
 mother. 
 
 Keep yourself, I pray you, comforted and cheerful. 
 This I hold to be the best counsel and the best medicine 
 that can be given. You very properly call the malady 
 which afflicts your throat sad. I feel all the force of that 
 word, because a like malady troubled me last year, and in 
 such a manner that every day blood came from my throat ; 
 and I am not yet quite free from the inconvenience. 
 Cheerfulness of mind and a thorough submission to the 
 Divine Will (which is ever full of a love and a pity beyond 
 our comprehension) is a marvellous moral antidote, that 
 has its influence also on the body. Cheerfulness imparts 
 to our body a movement and vitality that is indescribable, 
 and this helps the circulation of the blood, loosening it, so 
 
THE CHAMPION OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH. 347 
 
 to say, from that stagnancy from which this kind of ailment 
 seems to proceed. 
 
 MILAN : June 5, iSz;. 1 
 
 All this time the intellectual contest between 
 Rosmini and the propagators of dechnstianising 
 philosophy went on, without allowing him many long 
 intervals of rest. On all sides, and in every form, 
 the Italian champions of sensualism and infidelity 
 attacked him in and through his works. Foremost 
 in every assault were Gioia and Romagnosi. The 
 latter assailed him with special virulence, for having 
 attempted to disturb the sensistic notions then float- 
 ing about as to Divine Providence in relation to 
 the distribution of good and evil. The treatise in 
 which Rosmini successfully vindicated the Catholic 
 view of this most important question was intended to 
 destroy, at the very root, all the objections advanced 
 on behalf of irreligion. There could be no better proof 
 of the importance of his Essay, or of the good that 
 it had done and was certain to do, than the violent 
 abuse it thus forced from the enemies of religion. 
 
 It was in reproducing this, with the other two 
 essays which form The Theodicy, that Rosmini 
 arranged in the preface all the objections made by 
 Romagnosi, face to face with the answers which the 
 true Christian had to offer. He clearly showed how 
 all the objections sprang from ignorance of physical 
 cognitions ; he entered fully into the grand problem 
 of the nature and origin of evil, and demonstrated that 
 the possibility of evil is inherent in the nature of limited 
 1 EpistolariO) Letter Ixiv. 
 
348 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 beings, and that to expect a world without evils of 
 any sort, is to expect from God contradictions and 
 impossibilities ; he proved that when evil and good 
 come, finally, to be weighed one against the other, 
 the good will outweigh the evil to an extent that 
 could have been possible in no other way than that 
 which the Sovereign Goodness and Wisdom of the 
 Creator had ordained. The treatise is, therefore, 
 highly metaphysical ; however, like the rest of that 
 great work, the conceptions are so sublime and 
 original, and the style is so vigorous, that the reader 
 is not fatigued by the aridity usually found in 
 abstractions, but finds his soul raised above the 
 world and thrilled with the loftiest and most re- 
 freshing sentiments of truth, of wisdom, of religion. 
 
 Hoping to induce his adversaries to see the 
 necessity of moderating the rancorous spirit which 
 seemed to animate them, he published the famous 
 Essay on the Etiquette of Literary Men. 1 his had, 
 at once, a salutary effect on the popular mind ; but, 
 for that very reason, it exasperated his opponents. 
 The quiet but telling censures which it dealt out 
 to literary offenders so well fitted those who led the 
 cohorts of irreligion that they were furious Gioia 
 especially so. 
 
 Now, Gioia had more than once fiercely re- 
 sented Rosmini's criticisms on sensistic philosophy. 
 He even went so far as to abuse personally the 
 editors of the Modenese periodical in which his own 
 opinions were first calmly examined and charitably 
 exposed by ' the Roveretan philosopher.' Nay, he 
 
THE CHAMPION OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH. 349 
 
 stepped out of his way to revile all those, especially 
 ecclesiastics, who stood out for ' Faith in Truth and 
 in God/ stigmatising them as 'Ostrogoths' and 
 1 obscurantists/ A long appendix to his Galateo 
 was made the means of reiterating all his errors 
 and his invectives against the severe morality of 
 Christianity. Rosmini felt obliged to reply once 
 more to the sophisms and aberrations of this 
 antagonist, and he did so in a way that set before 
 literary men the genuine mode of conducting con- 
 troversies. 
 
 Not only in Milan but also in Modena and 
 Florence, the press was kept busy at the essays 
 which the defender of Christian truth poured forth 
 against the teachers of error. As Florence was then 
 the head-quarters of the pamphleteers who were 
 stoutly advocating the establishment of Godless 
 Schools, it was there that he published his admirable 
 essay on Tke Unity of Education. The forcible 
 reasoning of this treatise told well against the irre- 
 ligious tendencies of those days, and was the first 
 strong barrier erected against the policy which has 
 since taken a fatal hold of our own country. He 
 explained clearly the first principles on which the 
 whole theory of education depended, and demon- 
 strated, in a way that was both new and irrefragable, 
 that religion is and must be the beginning and the 
 end of all education. He then applied himself to 
 solve the problem of so harmoniously combining 
 individual, domestic, national, and cosmopolitan 
 education that the egotism neither of the family nor 
 
350 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 of the individual should prove an obstacle to the 
 development of the national spirit ; he showed that 
 the spirit of nationality, on the one hand, should set 
 no wall of separation between those beings who, 
 having been bought by the Blood of Christ, know 
 no longer any distinction of Jew or Greek, but form 
 one single brotherhood ; and that the vastness of 
 the cosmopolitan and national circle, on the other 
 hand, should not impair the sentiments of citizenship, 
 or of the family or of the individual. In short, he 
 laid down the principles by which to answer all the 
 gravest questions on education questions which the 
 profoundest thinkers of our days are still agitating 
 without coming near any satisfactory solution. 
 
 Although this warfare for the best interests of 
 religion pressed heavily on his time, he found it 
 covenient to continue the Nuovo Saggio on the Origin 
 of Ideas, as well as two other important works the 
 Philosophy of Politics and the Philosophy of Right. 
 Day by day, he felt more and more deeply that God 
 called him to lift philosophy from its ruins and make 
 it subserve all the purposes of Revealed Religion. 
 It was the solemn consciousness of a vocation which 
 every incident in his life, and the counsel of his holiest 
 and sagest friends confirmed. ' I feel within me a 
 voice commanding, a force impelling me to this 
 duty,' he wrote to Tommaseo. ' In the first of my 
 Philosophical Essays I have traced some outlines of 
 that science which is always before my mind, like an 
 ever-present picture the sight of which greatly cheers 
 me. I pray you, nay I conjure you, to assist me in 
 
THE CHAMPION OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH, 351 
 
 what I am thus endeavouring to do. Spread abroad 
 the good principles, and help to recall men from the 
 intellectual lethargy into which they have fallen ; 
 raise them up from matter to spirit. I know well 
 what fortitude is required in order to withstand the 
 total mental prostration that is produced by the 
 crushing weight of our mortal body. But all Philo- 
 sophy is mere vanity if it be not subservient to 
 Religion if it only inflate us instead of edifying and 
 humbling us. This danger of pride, which is so apt 
 to mix rself up with the natural speculation of the 
 understanding, is the only thing that sometimes 
 alarms me ; but I get rid of this false fear by 
 placing an unbounded confidence in the Grace of 
 God.' 1 
 
 In the preface to his works, he tells us that he 
 saw the Gospel shining above all systems, ' like the 
 sun untouched by the clouds of the atmosphere of 
 earth,' and he felt certain that though heaven and 
 earth should pass away the word of God should not 
 pass away. He knew, indeed, that * divine Wisdom 
 has no need of any philosophical system for the 
 salvation of men, and that it is in all respects perfect 
 in itself. But he knew also that ' no dissension 
 can arise between Revelation and a true philosophy, 
 for truth can never be contrary to truth/ since it is 
 most simple in its origin and never inconsistent with 
 itself. He considered that 'the errors, the pre- 
 judices, and the doubts which arise from the imper- 
 fection of reason, and which interpose so many 
 
 1 Unpublished Letter, dated Milan, November 8, 1827. 
 
352 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 obstacles to the full assent that is due to revealed 
 truth, may and ought to be solved and dispersed by 
 reason itself. He remembered that the Catholic 
 Church, ' especially in the last Council of Lateran, 
 invited and excited philosophers' to apply their 
 studies to this duty. But the duty had been long 
 neglected, and, as a consequence, false philosophy 
 ' invaded every human institution, art, and science/ 
 producing a hideous perversion 'in the mental and 
 moral life of individuals, families, and nations.' 
 Influenced by this false philosophy, ' the passion and 
 the base calculation of material interests, gradually 
 became the only counsellors, the only masters of 
 men's minds, ' which were left open to every preju- 
 dice and ready to give their immediate assent to the 
 most extravagant propositions, or to withhold it 
 from the most plainly demonstrated truth,' on any 
 trivial pretence. 
 
 Men thus misled even plumed themselves on 
 being enslaved to the most preposterous opinions, 
 and therefore disdained a nobler subjection. They 
 became ' credulous even to absurdity but incredulous 
 even to evidence.' While they claimed the right 
 to legislate for all the world they began to be, them- 
 selves, intolerant of any law. They trampled on 
 their duties while ' intoxicated with their own judg- 
 ment.' Their deeds showed treachery and selfish- 
 ness, while their words seemed to glow with philan- 
 thropy. Embracing irreligion, they willingly lost 
 themselves in shameless licentiousness. ' Finding 
 virtue and truth a check to all this, they cast them 
 
THE CHAMPION OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH. 353 
 
 aside as inventions of superstition ' or at least as 
 things which had no proven existence. 
 
 Human society, thrown on the current of false 
 philosophy, had been thus drifting rapidly towards 
 the fatal reefs of irreligion, when Rosmini arose, 
 evidently called forth by Heaven, not merely to 
 warn men of the dreadful dangers ahead, but to 
 guide them back to the safe channel of truth nay, 
 to the source of all truth, God Himself. The duty 
 was one which none but the most gifted could under- 
 take. It required an intellect of surpassing power, 
 as well as learning of the most extensive and the 
 profoundest kind, and a moral character as perfect as 
 man can have. Above all these it needed ' a call 
 from on High.' It is hardly possible to follow the 
 career of Rosmini, examining it by the light of his 
 words and deeds, without feeling that he possessed 
 all the essential qualifications in a remarkable degree. 
 
 Yet he greatly distrusted himself. Like St. 
 Thomas of Aquin, St. Dominic and St. Ignatius, in 
 their time and place, he shrank from his 'special 
 call ; ' held back by humility, though impelled to 
 the work not only by mysterious interior monitions, 
 but by the firm conviction that, in order to resist 
 the ruinous inroads of error, it was urgently neces- 
 sary to bring reason into the closest possible union 
 with Faith, and Philosophy into the most perfect 
 harmony with Theology. 
 
 In fact, he was forced by Providence into the 
 struggle for Truth and for the Church of Truth, 
 as if to represent the Almighty's answer to this 
 VOL. I. A A 
 
354 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 prayer of the illustrious Abbe Rohrbacher : ' May 
 God raise up a man to finish the work which 
 He inspired Boetius to begin, a man like him in 
 genius and in virtue, who shall luminously arrange 
 all human sciences and show their accordance with 
 that which is Divine, and shall appear to the Church 
 the perfect model of a true Catholic and a true 
 philosopher.' 1 
 
 J Rohrbacher's f Universal History of the Catholic Church/ Book xiv. 
 
THE INDICATIONS OF PROVIDENCE. 355 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 ROSMINI RECEIVES THE EXPECTED MANIFESTATION 
 OF PROVIDENCE. 
 
 (A.D. 1827.) 
 
 His health at this time How he came to know the Abbe* Lowen- 
 briick Attractive qualities of the Abbe Contrast between him 
 and Rosmini Gospel prudence and human enthusiasm Hopes 
 and aims Lowenbriick's first lesson in religious Passivity He is 
 given 'the models of all charity' The indications of Providence 
 at length plainly visible How Monte Calvario, Domodossola, was 
 found to be chosen by our Lord for the new Society Lowenbriick 
 is sent to Domodossola His report satisfies all Why the plan of 
 the new Institute was not shown to the Abbe until he was at 
 Calvario Rosmini foresees what awaits him as Founder and 
 Philosopher Lowenbriick's objections to the plan fully answered 
 Testing the spirit of the Abb Rosmini seeks to have no associates 
 but those manifestly sent by Providence Lowenbriick's restless 
 spirit checked by Rosmini's wonderful calmness. 
 
 WHILE obeying the call to do battle for intellectual 
 charity Rosmini did not neglect the call to serve the 
 interests of spiritual and corporal charity. With 
 prayerful patience he waited for the special indica- 
 tions of Providence which Madame Canossa led 
 him to expect at Milan. The month of May 1827 
 had just passed, and his earnest supplications ' for the 
 intercession of the Mother of Divine Grace were 
 accumulated in Our Lady's presence.' June came, 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 and with it the first rays of ' the promised manifes- 
 tation.' 
 
 Humanly speaking, he was in no condition to 
 give them a fitting reception, because the bright 
 month found him suffering from the first serious 
 symptoms of a physical malady that afterwards 
 afforded him frequent opportunities of practising 
 exemplary Christian fortitude. 1 But, spiritually 
 speaking, he was in the best possible state for recog- 
 nising and following the monitions of Providence, in 
 whatever form they presented themselves. The 
 form in which they actually did present themselves 
 was, as we shall see, by no means dazzling, or even 
 such as ordinary men would take to be very notable. 
 On the contrary, it came in such an apparently tame 
 and commonplace manner, that most men would 
 pass it by as indicating nothing. 
 
 We already know that during Rosmini's stay at 
 Milan, the Count Mellerio was his most constant 
 visitor. On the 7th of June, this nobleman called, 
 as usual, to see his friend, whom he entertained with 
 an account of a certain Abbe Lowenbruck, whose 
 outspoken zeal for religion had made his residence 
 in France no longer acceptable to many in that 
 
 1 Up to the twenty-fifth year of his age, Rosmini had enjoyed such 
 perfect health that, in after years, he often referred to it as supplying a 
 means of estimating the delight of living in the state of original inno- 
 cence * before Adam bequeathed the curse of the fall to the human race.' 
 He inherited fr m the Rosmini-Serbatis what Don Paoli calls ' ancestral 
 inflammation of the liver/ This family malady did not show itself in 
 him until 1822, when the symptoms were very slight. In 1826 it 
 declared itself more decidedly, and in 1827 took an acute form which 
 never afterwards left him wholly free from its tormenting presence. 
 
THE INDICATIONS OF PROVIDENCE. 357 
 
 country or agreeable to himself. The French 
 Minister at Turin furnished him with letters of intro- 
 duction to some of the noblest personages in Milan, 
 Count Mellerio being one of those thus favoured. 
 The Abbe" belonged to Metz in Lorraine ; but he 
 had come to Italy directly from Rouen, where his 
 unsparing denunciations of certain vices that were 
 not only locally but nationally popular, earned for 
 him an enmity which endangered his personal safety, 
 and forced him into temporary exile. Rosmini was 
 much interested in Count Mellerio's description of 
 the persecuted Priest's sufferings, zeal, and intense 
 desire to be associated with those who should syste- 
 matically devote themselves to the winning of souls 
 to God. 
 
 Not the least of the qualities which commended 
 the pious stranger to Don Antonio's heart was this 
 eagerness to organise, or aid in organising, an insti- 
 tute for resisting the forces of modern impiety. 
 Judging that the best way to begin was with a con- 
 gregation of missionaries 'for the improvement of 
 the clergy/ he had planned an Order of that kind. 
 Mellerio, well knowing that such a disposition would 
 attract to each other his old and new friends, pro- 
 posed that they should dine with him together, as 
 soon as Rosmini's health permitted. Although still 
 unwell, Don Antonio would not allow his health to 
 be an obstacle in the way of an immediate meeting. 
 Accordingly, he arranged to spend the following 
 evening (June 8) at Mellerio's house. There he 
 met the Abbe Lowenbruck, whose exuberant 
 
358 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 eloquence was all directed to topics that never failed 
 to fascinate Rosmini. Before they were long 
 together, the Roveretan Philosopher and the French 
 Missionary learned to esteem each other more even 
 than their host had hoped. 
 
 Although no two men seemed to be less alike, 
 there were so many links of sympathy between them, 
 so many turns of thought common to both, and, 
 above all, they had such a sameness of purpose, that 
 the dissimilarity of their natural character formed 
 no barrier to a warm friendship. Both were equally 
 zealous for God and the Church ; but Lowenbriick's 
 zeal was somewhat oppressively evident, and little 
 under control. He was all aglow with energy, an 
 energy that had in it much that might pass for ' ex- 
 travagance of spirit/ Feverishly restless, full of 
 stir and bustle in everything, he was eager to rush 
 forth and conquer the world to God, without pausing 
 to ask if anything more was necessary than an en- 
 thusiastic will, a perpetual activity of tongue, and an 
 unwearied roaming through the highways and by- 
 ways of the world, pressing all to ' the feast of the 
 Lord.' He would preach to men in and out of 
 season, and whether they could understand him or 
 not, as he relied quite as much on the effect of en- 
 thusiasm as on the force of reason. 
 
 Rostrum's zeal, on the contrary, was subdued, 
 partly by its own intensity and partly by a long 
 course of discipline which enabled him to divest it, 
 at will, of whatever had the appearance of disorder 
 or singularity. He was invariably calm and self- 
 
THE INDICATIONS OF PROVIDENCE. 359 
 
 collected. Although never wanting in true energy, 
 and often moved by strong impulses, he was never 
 carried away by excitement, never fidgetty, never 
 worried. Therefore he had none of the vagaries, 
 none of the checks to perseverance, which spoiled 
 and sometimes neutralised the zeal of the other. No 
 less eager than Lowenbruck to win all men to God, 
 he measured the means at every point, and fully 
 realised the magnitude of the task and the insigni- 
 ficance of the agents. Hence, though he was always 
 vigilantly looking for the occasions of doing good to 
 others, and always sedulously working for the salva- 
 tion of himself and his neighbour, he never took a 
 step forward without first coolly convincing himself 
 that God's Will directed him, and God's Grace guided 
 him to the object. Unlike Lowenbruck, he trusted 
 not at all to the aid of mere enthusiasm, but, in 
 everything, to the co-operation of reason. 
 
 Now, this marked diversity in character, instead of 
 serving to keep them asunder helped to draw them 
 together ; for the one saw in the other qualities 
 which he seemed himself to need, and, since both alike 
 strove for the glory of God and the good of men, 
 there was fair promise of such a beneficial exchange 
 of gifts as might impart strength and harmony to 
 their united action. At all events, it is certain that 
 Rosmini hoped much from the evidences of mental 
 and physical activity, as well as piety, which he dis- 
 covered in Lowenbruck. 
 
 Count Mellerio contrived to leave them inter- 
 changing their views without fear of interruption, 
 
360 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 and before they separated for the night he could per- 
 ceive that they had come to an understanding which 
 promised well. Next day, they met again to com- 
 pare notes and discuss several points of difference as 
 to the best means of accomplishing the purpose which 
 they both had in view. As the Abbe's bubbling 
 enthusiasm had simmered down to an edifying mode- 
 ration, after a night's reflection, Rosmini reasonably 
 concluded that its extravagances were within easy 
 reach of control. 
 
 It is, indeed, true, that the fervent Lorrainese 
 was still far more eager to bring all the world, forth- 
 with, into the path of truth and virtue than to bring 
 himself, first of all, within any set rules for his own 
 sanctification. But when Rosmini insisted on this 
 indispensable preliminary, Lowenbriick's overflowing 
 zeal subsided quite enough for him to see that he 
 must begin with his own soul, before he could be in 
 a true position to labour effectively for the souls of 
 others. His recognition of this fact, though tardily 
 given, led Rosmini to hope that, in a little while, he 
 would prove to be as docile as he was already 
 energetic. 
 
 Within the first three days of their acquaintance 
 they had prayed together at every shrine in Milan, 
 and visited the Carthusian monastery of Pavia, dis- 
 cussing, the while, every form of institute or congre- 
 gation for religious purposes which presented itself 
 to the fertile mind of the Frenchman, who was still 
 eager to establish a society of missionary preachers. 
 He drew highly-coloured pictures of the means and 
 
THE INDICATIONS OF PROVIDENCE. 361 
 
 results ; but the other could not discover much that 
 was practical in the means, or better than visionary 
 in the results. 
 
 Rosmini did not, at once, communicate the 
 details of his own well-devised project, further than 
 showing how certain features of his companion's pro- 
 posals were embraced in it, and how some others 
 were inconsistent with the set purpose of self-sancti- 
 fication as the first requisite, or with the principle of 
 dependence on Providence, both of which formed its 
 cardinal points. Lowenbrlick soon saw that, com- 
 pared with Rosmini's fixed and luminous policy, all 
 his own plans were dim and driftless ; he soon came 
 to admit that mere human expedients (however 
 good), when they sprang from mere human impulse 
 (however ardent and pure), were not sufficient for the 
 grand purpose on which his soul was bent. Recog- 
 nising this, and knowing how vacillating all his own 
 emotions were, he decided on surrendering his zeal 
 to the guidance of a master mind, that put no 
 confidence in mere human impulse. Therefore he 
 resolved to become a disciple of Rosmini, and learn 
 from him how to apply the Science of the Saints to 
 the organisation of a society for forming Saints 
 and doing the work of the Saints. 
 
 The first lessons he received taught him to take 
 the Following of Christ as his text-book, and our 
 Lord as the model on Whose life his own life 
 should be shaped the pattern of perfect Charity, 
 in all its phases. Amongst those who had success- 
 fully taken this course, St. Thomas of Aquin was 
 
362 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINT. 
 
 set before him as the model of intellectual charity, 
 St. Augustin as the model of universal charity, St. 
 Ignatius as the model of governative chanty, and 
 St. Francis of Sales as the model of charity in the 
 details of daily life. 1 It was a new study for the 
 restless Abbe, and so long as he applied himself to 
 it the superabundant natural benevolence which in- 
 cessantly tossed him to and fro, without allowing 
 him to produce any good results, was kept within 
 wholesome bounds. 
 
 Finding himself spiritual, and, to some extent, 
 temporal director of this new friend, as well as of 
 two or three pious Priests, who were also desirous 
 of seeking perfection under his guidance, Rosmini 
 felt that the time had come for giving effect to the 
 project which had so long held a firm hold of his 
 mind and heart. Neither St. Francis, St. Dominic, 
 nor St. Ignatius had a more numerous or more 
 piously importunate set of subjects to start with ; 
 and the circumstances whether as regards the 
 individuals or the times were no less pressing or 
 encouraging in his case than in theirs. It seemed 
 to him that the 'indication of Providence' which the 
 saintly Canossa told him to wait for in Milan was 
 plainly visible. He was ready to act on it ; but, as 
 yet, Providence had not pointed out the place of 
 commencement. Many consultations were held on 
 the subject with his intimate friends ; but none of 
 
 1 Another version of this names St. Augustin as the model of 
 intellectual charity in all its forms, St. Francis of Sales as the model 
 of ' interior spirit,' and St. Ignatius as the model of exterior and in- 
 terior government, in all that relates to the ' body of the Institute.' 
 
THE INDICATIONS OF PROVIDENCE. 363 
 
 them knew of an abode, or locality even, where the 
 Founder and his first associates might most con- 
 veniently retire, to take further counsel with God 
 ' in complete solitude.' There was no spot near 
 Milan like the mountain retreats around Rovereto ; 
 though, even if there were, he would require some 
 special evidence that the place was chosen by Provi- 
 dence for the purpose in view. 
 
 With calm earnestness, he sought light from On 
 High even as to this. No anxiety was visible in 
 him, no restlessness, but a tranquil biding of his 
 time for some distinct sign of God's Will. All the 
 members of his little family united, twice a day, in 
 fervent prayer for this sign, and he obtained, through 
 Count Mellerio, the prayers of many devout Milanese 
 for the same intention. 
 
 One day, as Rosmini and his household were 
 thus engaged Don Luigi Polidori (intimate friend 
 of Count Mellerio, and brother of Cardinal Polidori) 
 unexpectedly entered, having come from St. Celso 
 expressly to make a communication which seemed 
 to be an answer to their supplications. When the 
 little devotion was ended he informed Rosmini that 
 while offering up the Holy Sacrifice for their object 
 that very morning (it was June 13, 1827 T ) his 
 thoughts were suddenly carried to the summit of 
 Monte Calvario, over Domodossola, and a something 
 seemed to speak in his mind saying, ' this is the 
 place/ 
 
 Count Mellerio joined them while they were 
 
 1 The Feast of Rosmini's ' patron,' St. Anthony of Padua. 
 
364 LIPE OF ANTONIO OS MI NT. 
 
 conversing on the subject, and as he was a native 
 of one of the Ossola valleys, and had a noble man- 
 sion in Domo, close to the sacred Mount, he was 
 more than delighted with this announcement, which 
 but anticipated one he was himself about to make. 
 He, too, had had his mind directed to Monte 
 Calvario, during his morning prayers for their 
 common intention, and he had actually come to 
 give Rosmini a sketch of the place. It was already 
 ' a sacred place ' which the clergy of Novara fre- 
 quented for their spiritual retreats. 
 
 After they heard Mellerio's description, all 
 agreed that the spot was exactly such as met the 
 conditions they had separately thought best, not 
 only for the commencement but for the perpetuation 
 of the work contemplated by the proposed Institute. 
 That very evening, it was decided to send Lowen- 
 briick to Domodossola, he being the least occupied 
 and the most robust. His immediate business was 
 to examine the condition of the house, ascertain 
 what steps were necessary to its possession, and 
 report generally on whatever might interest and 
 inform those for whom he acted. He went at once, 
 duly provided with letters from Count Mellerio to 
 persons having authority or influence in the locality. 
 
 The impetuous Lorrainese lost no time on the 
 journey or in making his investigations, for within 
 three days after he had left Milan his first report 
 was received. It was so favourable, nay so enthu- 
 siastic, as to the fitness of the place, and at the 
 same time so hopeful with regard to possession, 
 
THE INDICATIONS OF PROVIDENCE. 365 
 
 that Rosmini had no longer any doubt as to God's 
 Will in the matter. Then, for the first time, he 
 thought it prudent to place before Lowenbrtick the 
 whole plan of the proposed Institute. The distrac- 
 tions of Milan were a sufficient reason for having 
 withheld the details of the project from such an 
 excitable person, while he stayed there ; but every- 
 thing favoured a thorough study of the whole 
 design while the Abbe was on the Ossolan Calvario, 
 in sight of the sacred memorials of the Passion, and 
 amid the sobering solitude which he described so 
 rapturously. A draft of the plan was therefore sent 
 to him, and with it the following letter : 
 
 I hasten to send you the plan of that Institute to which 
 God seems to call me. Read it ; think over it ; take 
 counsel about it with our Lord. What consolation it 
 would be for me if you, also, had a similar call. The 
 mercy of God would ' shorten the times.' I should never 
 have thought that the realisation of this calling was so 
 near its commencement. If you find that your spirit 
 accords with mine, I should take this discovery as a token 
 given me by God that His hour is already come. / know 
 well what awaits me ' and how am I straitened until it be 
 accomplished ' (St. Luke xii. 50). 
 
 1 beg of you to meditate attentively on all that I have 
 set before you in that paper, and to probe your spirit, in 
 order that you may see whether it is in harmony with 
 mine. Let me repeat that, if I find it to be so, I am ready 
 to begin forthwith. As I have already told you in conver- 
 sation, one obstacle in my way was the work which I am 
 engaged in writing, and which I believe to be in accordance 
 with God's Will. But, having taken further counsel with 
 our Lord, I find this impediment is no longer so strong as to 
 
366 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 cause me to postpone the commencement of the enterprise 
 explained in my letter, the moment God offers me the 
 occasion. One should never neglect an occasion offered 
 by God, and it will, therefore, be my duty to reconcile the 
 prosecution of that work with the duty of organising the 
 new society. 
 
 The principal end of the proposed congregation is, as 
 you can see, to form the Priest on the pattern of Jesus 
 Christ. Nothing that is found in this pattern should be 
 excluded. It is a question of putting before one's mind the 
 pattern of the Priesthood in the fullest and the most perfect 
 sense, and, therefore also, the pattern of the greatest sacri- 
 fice. It is a question of being able to say, in the closest 
 union with the great High Priest, I sanctify myself for 
 them (St. John xvii.). What a sanctification is not this ! 
 What vows of blood are not ours ! 
 
 The place described by you for the commencement of 
 the work appears to be admirably suited for it. It would 
 seem as though Providence had prepared it for us. O how 
 incomprehensible are Its judgments ! and how unsearch- 
 able Its ways ! From how far Divine Goodness takes 
 Its measures ! combining and weaving them together, 
 in one tissue, for the formation of that plan which 
 has been pre-ordained ' from the foundation of the 
 world ! ' My dearest Brother in Jesus Christ, I leave you 
 in osculo sancto. Let Mary be our mother, that we may 
 ask our Lord to look on the children of His handmaid. 
 May the glory of Jesus in His Church be our good upon 
 the earth ! So be it ! Amen for ever ! 
 
 Pray for your unworthy brother. 
 MILAN : June 16, I82;. 1 
 
 He had often said to Mellerio and Tommaseo 
 what he here repeated to Lowenbriick * I know 
 what awaits me ' ; and often had he assured them 
 that his soul was distressed until the burden, the 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixv. 
 
THE INDICATIONS OF PROVIDENCE. 367 
 
 Cross, which our Lord intended for him was on his 
 shoulders. He seemed to foresee clearly the trials, 
 the disappointments, the sufferings, he should have 
 to endure as the Founder of an Order, and as the 
 champion of truth. The personal vituperation which 
 the propagators of irreligion poured upon him, gave 
 him a foretaste of what he would have to bear as 
 the restorer of Christian philosophy. He was, in- 
 deed, already committed to the struggle with them, 
 and eager to carry it on, no matter what vexations 
 it might cause him. But the principle guiding his 
 course led him to see that God's Will required him 
 to take up new crosses to pass on to the foundation 
 of the Institute and to the acceptance of the dis- 
 comforts and sorrows, which that, too, might bring 
 upon him. Therefore he promptly prepared to leave, 
 for a time, the literary and scientific labours he so 
 much loved, in order to assume the other labours in 
 which the French Abbe was desirous of aiding him, 
 and to which all his most trusted friends were urging 
 him. 
 
 In replying to Rosmini's letter, Lowenbriick 
 showed that he had carefully read the sketch of the 
 new Order, and that, in the main, the plan commended 
 itself to his adoption. He would have liked it better 
 had it provided more for ' dashing forward/ than for 
 proceeding staidly, or had it made ' missionary enter- 
 prise and preaching ' its leading, if not its exclusive 
 work. Although the Abb6 was well disposed to 
 have charge of a parish, with the right of roaming at 
 will beyond the parochial bounds, he doubted the 
 
368 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 at of 
 
 wisdom of uniting the Pastoral Office with tha 
 Superior in the Society. To his thinking, there 
 were many practical difficulties in the way of making 
 a union of these two offices workable. But for the 
 rest, he seemed eager to be associated with the new 
 Institute, and expressed himself in most hopeful 
 terms as to its future. 
 
 Rosmini, without delay, wrote an elaborate answer 
 to his objections, but before touching them assured 
 the Abbe that his ardour in the matter was consoling. 
 ' I take it as a new proof of our Lord's Will. As I have 
 told you, I am quite ready. For the present, how- 
 ever, we are not in a position to come together ; 
 several things must take place before that, and of 
 these the two principal are: First, that we prove our 
 spirit a little longer in God's presence by prayer, and, 
 as to ourselves, by an epistolary correspondence, in 
 order to ascertain whether our minds are in accord, 
 and whether it is one and the same spirit calls us. 
 Next, that we receive the blessing of the Holy Father, 
 in order that, from the very outset, we may be incor- 
 porated with the Church a thing especially requisite 
 because of the special nature of the Institute. While 
 waiting for all this, we should keep ourselves united 
 in spirit, if not in body ; beseeching the Lord of 
 mercies to unite us in body also, when and how it 
 pleases His adorable Will.' l 
 
 He then replied, at considerable length and with 
 his usual clearness, to the objections raised against the 
 union of the Pastoral Office with that of Superior in 
 
 1 See Appendix, Letter vi. (Epistolario, Letter Ixvi.), 
 
DEPENDING ON PROVIDENCE. 369 
 
 the Order, and concluded thus : ' You must bear in 
 mind that the conjunction of the Pastoral Office with 
 that of Superior in the Society is such a characteristic 
 feature of the Institute I have planned, that if we 
 were to exclude this feature it would no longer be 
 the same Institute, but another. Before despatching 
 this letter, I show it to our excellent friend Count 
 Mellerio, who salutes you. I have the greatest con- 
 fidence in him, and hope, as you well remark, that he 
 also is an instrument for good in the hands of our 
 Lord. I rejoice that you find the mount over 
 Domodossola so well adapted for our purpose. 
 The description I have heard of it makes me, too, 
 of that opinion. Much as I desire to see it, I must 
 wait yet a little longer.' 
 
 By thus loyally following the monitions of Provi- 
 dence, in small things as well as great, he meant to 
 prepare a fitting nursery for the Order which God 
 desired him to found. Through loyalty to the same 
 principle, he continued to exhort others to corre- 
 spond with the grace of their vocation, without once 
 attempting to use his influence for the increase of 
 his own spiritual family. They who came to him, 
 like Lowenbruck, or who were already spiritually 
 dependent on him, like those recommended to him 
 by Madame Canossa, he looked upon as having been 
 sent by Providence. Other excellent subjects, like 
 Don Brunati of Brescia, needed only a hint, and 
 their call to the Religious State would have become a 
 call to join the Order he was organising. That word 
 he would not utter, lest man, rather than God, 
 VOL. I. BE 
 
370 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 should sway them. In this he was, possibly, too 
 punctilious ; but so were such great Founders as St. 
 Francis and St. Dominic. 
 
 Just as he was on the eve of setting out for 
 Domodossola, he received a letter from Don Brunati, 
 to say that he had completed his arrangements for 
 entering the Religious State. The writer so expressed 
 himself that Rosmini had merely to say 'join us/ 
 and Don Brunati would have gladly done so. But, 
 instead of such an invitation, he sent the following 
 letter as a voucher of their separation : 
 
 I have thanked God for the Grace which He has granted 
 to you, in calling you to a perfect life. The consent obtained 
 from your Bishop is a seal on the reality of your vocation. 
 How many obligations towards God has not one contracted 
 who has received from Him such special Graces ! He who 
 understands their high value can only feel himself con- 
 founded, and, as it were, annihilated in the consciousness of 
 his having nothing whatever to give in return for so great 
 a gift. Happy you who feel this greatness which is so 
 humiliating ! How delighted I shall be, if you allow me 
 to embrace you before you set out. I wait for you with 
 impatience. Do not tear yourself away from me, perhaps 
 for a long time, without letting me see you. 
 
 I thank you for the Mass you said for my good cousin. 
 Our Lord has, I firmly trust, taken him to Himself; and 
 in doing so he wished, as you say, to show how liable 
 human things are to fail us at any moment. Every day 
 we receive such lessons, if we had only understanding to 
 profit by them. 
 
 It may be that, in a few days, I shall go on a visit to 
 the birth-place of St. Charles, and perhaps even to Mount 
 Varallo, where, by devout meditations, he prepared himself 
 for death, or rather for a second birth. Would that you 
 were with me ! How delighted I should be to be 
 
 
PREPARING FOR CALVARIO. 371 
 
 able to make this little excursion with you before our 
 separation. Wherever you be, I shall ever love you in the 
 hearts of Jesus and Mary, where friends are inseparable 
 and friendship is immortal. In osculo sanctv. 
 MILAN : July 3, I82;. 1 
 
 Don Brunati's intimate knowledge of the region 
 through which Rosmini was about to pass, on his 
 way to Domodossola, would have made this dear 
 friend a valuable companion ; but he was certain to 
 discover the object of the visit, and such a discovery 
 might interfere with the choice he had already en- 
 couraged him to make. Therefore, when they met 
 in Milan, Rosmini advised him to proceed without 
 unnecessary delay to his destination, and then took 
 leave, without allowing him to suspect that he who 
 so earnestly counselled adhesion to the Jesuits, was 
 actually engaged in founding an Order of his own. 
 
 Meanwhile, Lowenbriick, having succeeded in 
 renting two rooms of the old house on Monte Cal- 
 vario, got permission to rescue them from ruin, and 
 make them somewhat more fit than he found them 
 for human beings to dwell in. But, when he had 
 given orders for the necessary repairs and seen the 
 men at work, he soon became tired of superintending 
 them ; all the more, as he was not allowed to carry 
 out some extravagant plans of his own. Then his 
 constitutional impatience led him to complain of 
 being left so long alone at Monte Calvario. Any- 
 thing resembling solitude was little to his taste, and 
 after a month's rambling through the lonely hill tracks 
 
 1 EpistolariOj Letter Ixvii. 
 B B 2 
 
372 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 around Domodossola, always ' in search of souls to 
 be saved,' he longed for other company than moun- 
 taineers, whose language he did not understand, and 
 for other sights than wood-girt gorges, foaming 
 torrents, and snow-capped mountains. He there- 
 fore entreated Don Antonio to call him back to 
 Milan, or join him forthwith at Calvario. 
 
 The restless Abbe was unable to understand 
 how thoroughly Rosmini held all his own move- 
 ments free from mere human impulse, and how 
 completely a supernatural composure restrained his 
 natural desires. Much as he wished to be at Domo- 
 dossola, he wished more to be sure that he went at 
 the right time and in the right way. Fearing to 
 take any step precipitately, he made even the least 
 of his preparations with prayerful sedateness. 
 
 Lowenbrlick would have him hasten to open 
 the house at once, and set the proposed Order in 
 motion without more ado. It was not thus impetu- 
 ously that Antonio Rosmini ever began anything. 
 His hand was to the plough, and all his thoughts, 
 with all his acts, were directed imperturbably for- 
 ward. It was not human but divine influences that 
 led "him on or held him back. God ' had already 
 made known to him many things.' We have his 
 own words for this remarkable declaration, and he 
 who wrote them was one of the humblest and most 
 dispassionate of men. He added, ' I should be an 
 unfaithful servant were I to speak otherwise, or not 
 to follow what I believe to be God's Will in this 
 
 undertaking.' l 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixxvii. 
 

 
 HIS FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 ROSMINl's FIRST VISIT TO MONTE CALVARIO, 
 DOMODOSSOLA. 
 
 (A.D. 1827.) 
 
 Receives a ( permit ' to pass into northern Piedmont Travels in sight 
 of scenes sacred to St. Charles Borromeo Muses on that Saint's 
 birth and life Stops at Stresa in front of the Borromean Isles 
 Grieves that no memorial of the Saint there embodies practically 
 the great lessons of his life How he is himself destined to supply 
 the want in that very place Passes on to the foot of the Simplon 
 Sketch of Domodossola The Sanctuary of Monte Calvario 
 His first visit to the Sacred Mount What he saw and thought on 
 the way The Via Cntds and its chapels The Ruins on the hill 
 The magnificent valley of the Ossola How what he beheld 
 affected him. 
 
 TOWARDS the end of July 1827, Rosmini had com- 
 pleted his arrangements for making a first visit to 
 Domodossola. Owing to the unsatisfactory political 
 relations between Sardinia and Austria he had some 
 difficulty in getting a regular passport from Lom- 
 bardy to Piedmont. It is very probable indeed it 
 has been asserted as a matter beyond doubt that 
 the party influences which hindered the publication 
 of his panegyric on Pius VII., still fettered his 
 course in this as in other respects. Be that as it 
 may, every obstacle was at length overcome by 
 means of a special * permit ' to travel in the Lake 
 
374 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 District, within which lay the places he desired to 
 visit. Count Mellerio, not content with giving him 
 a formal introduction to Cardinal Morozzo, took the 
 trouble of writing privately to that eminent Prelate, 
 in order to secure for his friend a most kindly re- 
 ception. Manzoni and others also offered to furnish 
 him with letters to persons of distinction in the 
 diocese ; but he would have none that did not 
 specially relate to his object, and Mellerio's to the 
 Cardinal sufficed for this. 
 
 On July 30 he was at Novara. Cardinal 
 Morozzo happened to be absent, but his represen- 
 tative cordially welcomed the Roveretan Abate, 
 and was in a position to give the necessary per- 
 mission for himself and Lowenbruck to do what 
 they proposed in the remotest nook of the diocese. 
 Next day he passed on, by the public coach, to 
 Arona on the Lago Maggiore. Travelling thence 
 alongside the magnificent lake, over the fine Simplon 
 road (Napoleon's one real gift to Italy), he had an 
 opportunity of meditating on the life of St. Charles 
 Borromeo in sight of scenes intimately linked with 
 his memory. 
 
 Just outside Arona he beheld the ruins of the 
 grand old castle where the Saint was born, and 
 probably thought of the miraculous light that sud- 
 denly filled the room in which the event took place, 
 as a light foreshowing how the holy nephew of 
 Pope Pius IV. was to dispel the moral gloom which 
 had settled down on all that region. 1 Not far from 
 
 1 Don Vincenzo De-Vit, in his Life of St. Charles Borromeo 
 
FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 375 
 
 the old castle he saw, in the colossal statue over- 
 looking the town, a grateful recognition of the 
 Saint's triumph over the darkness he had battled 
 against for a quarter of a century. So onward, 
 mile by mile of the journey, he met with some 
 pleasing vestiges of the great Prelate, whose sanctity 
 seemed to tint the natural beauties of the lakeside 
 scenery, lending it supernatural hues that shone 
 more resplendently than all else he saw ; for Ros- 
 mini beheld all things more with the eyes of the 
 soul than of the body. 
 
 When he was in full view of the famous Borro- 
 mean Isles, the charm they imparted to the strag- 
 gling villages skirting the lake was not lost on him ; 
 but he thought less of that than of the absence of 
 some permanently useful memorial to commemorate, 
 near by, the Saint's practical charity. He knew that 
 the patrician glories of the Borromean family were 
 splendidly preserved in the palatial villas and 
 gardens of the Isles, but where were the glories of 
 
 (// Lago Maggiore, vol. ii., p. 192), tells us that on the night of this 
 Saint's birth ' a great and extraordinary light was seen by many 
 shining upon the chamber where the child was born. It fore- 
 showed the splendour of that marvellous sanctity which he was to 
 attain.' Pope Paul V. in the decree of Canonization records that ' this 
 light was like a glowing white zone, about four feet wide, and extend- 
 ing from the turret of the castle to the bastion, exactly from east to 
 west, so as to encircle the room in which Charles was born.' Cesare 
 de Cucchetti, whose father was captain of the guard, and who was 
 himself in charge of the fortress on the occasion, described on oath 
 the appearance of this wonderful light in the terms adopted by the 
 Pope. His testimony was confirmed by all the guards then on duty. 
 Like declarations were solemnly made by several domestics who, on 
 that occasion, had to rise before dawn in order to discharge their 
 respective offices in the household. (See Prof. Antonio Sala's Vita di S. 
 Carlo, p. 3, Milan, 1858.) 
 
376 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 the Saint fittingly represented or expressed in the 
 hamlets and towns on the shore ? It is, indeed, 
 true that local traditions embalmed them, and an 
 altar, here and there, in the village churches 
 enshrined them ; it is also true that, here and there, 
 along the lake coast in front of the Isles, there 
 dwelt pious Priests and people who were as ' living 
 monuments to the spiritual revival' which St. Charles 
 had been the means of effecting. But, for all that, 
 as Rosmini stopped a few minutes in Stresa, close 
 to ' the beautiful Isles,' he could not help saying to 
 himself, as he afterwards said to Madame Bolon- 
 garo, that he missed from the scene some service- 
 able and significant testimony to the purifying 
 labours of St. Charles. 1 The colossal statue near 
 Arona was well enough in its way ; but better still, 
 and more to the purpose, would have been a college 
 or an asylum near the parish church of Stresa, on 
 the wooded beach, or on the green mountain side 
 behind the quaint village, which had then a mean, 
 unthrifty appearance, notwithstanding ' the wealth 
 of natural charms ' that encircled it. 
 
 He found time to visit the noble parish church, 
 which the piety and generosity of the Bolongaro 
 family had enriched and beautified. What he saw 
 there pleased him much, but seemed to make more 
 evident the want he noted that, so close to scenes 
 hallowed by precious memories of a great Saint, 
 there was no special institution to practically embody 
 and transmit the .grand lessons of so grand a life. 
 
 1 Rivista Contemp. Torino, 1856. 
 
FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 377 
 
 How marvellous are the ways God ! Ere Jong, the 
 deficiency which the pious traveller deplored was to 
 be supplied by himself, almost in spite of himself. 
 Ere long, Providence would cause to be erected in 
 that very place, overlooking the Borromean Isles, a 
 noble college bearing Rosmini's own name, and 
 giving to the locality a memorial of sanctity quite 
 in keeping with the heart of St. Charles. Ere long, 
 that poor village was to grow prosperous, materially 
 and spiritually, through the influence of him who 
 was then contemplating its condition, without for a 
 moment thinking that he would ever have any per- 
 sonal connection with it. 
 
 But, as highly favoured servants of God have 
 been permitted, sometimes, to see into the future, 
 perchance the saintly Roveretan had been thus 
 privileged ? Had he, then, some premonition that 
 for years he should himself reside in Stresa, to 
 renew, after a manner of his own, the battles of 
 Charity which the illustrious Borromeo had spent 
 his life in fighting ? Had he an interior presage 
 warning him that he should pass from earth to 
 Heaven nigh to the spot where he then mused ? l 
 Did he, perhaps, foresee that his body would 
 repose in a shrine on ' the green mountain side ' 
 behind the village ? a shrine surmounted by a 
 white marble statue of masterly design and exqui- 
 
 1 The little albergo or inn at which Rosmini alighted, while the 
 coach delayed for a few minutes at Stresa, stood near the Palazzo 
 Bolongaro. He much admired this fine villa, then the only important 
 one in the locality. Fifteen years afterwards it was left to him by 
 will ; he dwelt in it for some time, and in it died. It is now the 
 palace of the Duchess of Genoa. 
 
378 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 site finish ? a shrine enclosed within the elegant 
 church of a commodious and stately college ? a 
 shrine that was to associate him and his name with 
 St. Charles Borromeo, B. Catherine of Pallanza, 
 B. Arialdo and other holy personages whose lives 
 had shed the lustre of heaven on the region of the 
 lake ? a shrine to which pious pilgrims would 
 resort, not only from the country of the Borromean 
 Isles but from the far off Isles of Britain ? No ; we 
 take it that he foresaw nothing whatever of this ; 
 for he was thinking not of himself at all, but of God 
 and of what St. Charles had done for the glory of 
 God, and of what should have been done to identify 
 this place with that glory. 
 
 Full of such thoughts he resumed his seat in the 
 coach and continued his journey through the pic- 
 turesque valley of the Toce, on to the foot of the 
 Simplon. By evening he was in sight of Domo- 
 dossola, an interesting little town of Swiss- Italian 
 character, 'peering through the foliage of sylvan 
 embowerments.' Had he been well acquainted with 
 the local topography he might have easily recognised 
 Monte Calvario, on the crest of ' the sacred hill,' 
 long before he got a glimpse of the town over 
 which ' its steep cliff kept watch and ward.' But 
 though he noticed a ruined tower on the hilltop, 1 
 
 1 This castle which, from the original name of the mount, was called 
 Mattarella or Matterello was already in ruins and deserted towards the 
 middle of the seventeenth century, when two zealous Capuchin friars, 
 who were preaching in Ossola, formed ihe design of exhorting the in- 
 habita- ts to choose the hill as a most suitable place for the erection of 
 the Stations of the Cross. By this means, not only the people of the 
 
FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 379 
 
 and thought the site admirably fitted for the pur- 
 poses of a Sanctuary, he knew not yet that he was 
 admiring the spot chosen by Providence for the 
 commencement of the new Order. As he entered 
 the town the sun had sunk behind the western 
 mountains, which threw out deep dreary shadows 
 wrapping all the place in gloomy shade ; but the 
 Roveretan was familiar enough with such sunsets to 
 see a balmy brightness within the gloom and to 
 deem the general effect * nor too sombre nor too 
 gay.' 
 
 The town stood raised somewhat above the 
 valley level, on a plateau to itself facing the immense 
 rotunda formed by the Lepontian Alps, known of old 
 as Alpi Attreziane. Before the construction of the 
 Simplon Road (in 1810) Domodossola was an 
 obscure village ; but it had, even then, a dignity 
 superior to the many other hamlets that dotted the 
 bosom of the great valley, or the bleak sides and 
 the woody dales of the surrounding mountains. 
 
 town and district but strangers from a distance might be enabled to 
 assemble and publicly meditate on the Passion of our Blessed Lord, 
 and thus increase their religious fervour while gaining the spiritual 
 favours and rich indulgences which the Church has attached to this 
 devotion. The design was communicated to some rich and pious 
 people of the locality, who approved it and resolved to erect, forth- 
 with, a sanctuary which should faithfully represent the sorrowful 
 stations of our Saviour's awful journey from the house of Pilate to the 
 spot on which the great Sacrifice was consummated. No sooner was 
 this decided on than steps were taken to obtain the property, includ- 
 ing the ruined castle, from the King of Spain. The Governor of 
 Milan, who held the Province for the Crown, supported the movement, 
 and Mount Mattarella was ceded for the purposes of a Sanctuary and 
 became Monte Calvario. Vita di Don Luigi Gentili per Francesco 
 Puecher. Lugano, 1850. 
 
380 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 This dignity centred in the fact that it retained 
 the name by which the whole province was known 
 Ossola and that its parish church was popularly 
 styled the Domo, to distinguish it from the other 
 ' houses of God,' which were thus declared to be its 
 juniors, if not its offspring. Gradually, the moun- 
 taineers came to speak of this village quite as often 
 by the name they gave its church, as by the name 
 it had inherited, and so, in course of time, the two 
 designations were made one Domo-d' -ossola. 
 
 After the completion of the Simplon Road, the 
 village began to lose its obscurity and its littleness ; 
 for its position as the first ' posting stage ' on the 
 Italian side of the Alps opened up an era of expan- 
 sion, and secured to it the custom of many travellers 
 who, otherwise, might never have taken the trouble 
 to visit it or the magnificent and ever-varying 
 scenery of the district. The population speedily 
 increased, and at the time of Rosmini's visit was 
 about 2,000. The finest house in the place belonged 
 to Count Mellerio, and was remarkable rather for 
 size than beauty. As its noble owner preferred to 
 reside in a more southerly latitude, this mansion 
 was applied to purposes of education for the benefit 
 of the neighbourhood a course, by the way, to 
 which the ' absentees ' of that region were not more 
 partial than those with whom we associate the title 
 in our own country. But Mellerio was an excep- 
 tional man in most respects one of those men in 
 whose nature all the elements of good were so 
 cultured by religion, that nothing which was unpro- 
 
FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 381 
 
 ductive of good had a chance of growing up in his 
 heart. 
 
 When Rosmini arrived at the diligence office, 
 he found Lowenbriick with Mellerio's agent waiting 
 to welcome and conduct him to the lodgings they 
 had hired in the town for his short stay. These 
 lodgings were near the handsome parish church 
 the Domo whither he immediately went to make 
 a visit of homage and thanksgiving. As the ' thick 
 shades of night were fast approaching,' it was 
 decided not to go up to Calvario until next 
 morning. 
 
 Meanwhile, he heard once more all about the 
 history of the Mount, known of old as the Matte- 
 rella how the tower and keep were erected, in the 
 eighth century, by Lombard adventurers resolved to 
 lord it over the inhabitants of the plain ; how the 
 Church came to convert that fortress of barbaric 
 tyranny into a stronghold of Christian mercy ; how 
 it served for generations as an episcopal palace ; 
 how the Capuchin Friars (whose monastery lay half 
 concealed on the hillside) had long ago won for it a 
 sacred character, and consecrated it to a commemor- 
 ation of the awful scenes connected with the 
 Calvary; how the Bishop of Novara, in 1658, 
 officially decreed that it should be known, ever 
 after, as Sacro Monte Calvario ; how Signer Capis of 
 Domo, influenced by the eloquence of the Capuchins 
 and assisted by the pious people of the district, 
 commenced, in 1760, to build along the winding 
 path to The Mount, regular chapels, instead of 
 
382 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 the little pillars formerly marking the successive 
 Stations of the Cross ; how the place came to lose 
 all its ancient material splendour without losing any 
 of its ' sacred spiritual character.' 
 
 That this character survived all else was to 
 Rosmini's thinking one of the most suggestive facts 
 in the history of The Mount. Its formidable keep 
 and the episcopal palace were gone, and represented 
 by no more than battered ruins. The mighty men 
 who once wielded power within its walls, and the 
 proud ones who lived in state there had not left 
 even their names behind. Mellerio's agent could 
 tell him nothing trustworthy about them ; for the 
 best legends of the locality failed to supply more 
 than confused mythical information ; and there was 
 no other. Had Don Antonio ever read Spenser's 
 Ruins of Time he might have recalled this pass- 
 age : 
 
 How many great ones may remembered be, 
 Who in their days most famously did flourish, 
 Of whom no word we have nor sign now see, 
 But as things wiped out with a sponge do perish. 
 
 It is not thus that it fares with the ' sacred 
 spiritual character ' which can withstand the ravages 
 of time and outlive all greatness that is merely 
 human. This character clung to The Mount, and, 
 as enduring as its rocks, lived on through storm and 
 calm, without any essential change. A palace and a 
 stronghold the place might still be deemed, but of 
 a sort in keeping with the sacred character it never 
 lost that associated with Calvary. 
 
FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 383 
 
 Having obtained permission to celebrate an 
 early Mass in the parish church, Don Antonio was 
 ready by 7 o'clock in the morning to accompany 
 the Abbe Lowenbrlick and Signor Chiossi (Mellerio's 
 agent) to The Mount. When they emerged from 
 the trees, screening the street in which Rosmini 
 lodged, the Sacred Hill was fully in sight and 
 seemed to be but a short distance off; in fact 
 hardly outside the boundaries of the little town. 
 This, however, was an optical illusion, for many 
 thriving fields and little vineyards lay between the 
 town and the base of the hill ; but the side first in 
 view, being ' as steep and perpendicular as the 
 ' Tarpeian Rock,' so cheated the eye as to leave the 
 impression of close proximity. 
 
 The better to reach The Mount they had ito 
 take a road which appeared to lead in a different 
 direction. Having walked on for a few minutes, 
 through a dreary waste made by the floods of the 
 Toce, they came to a great archway known as 
 Pilate's Gate. A little beyond it, in a field to the 
 right, they saw a large wooden cross and pillaret 
 marking the spot where once stood the first of the 
 chapels dedicated to the leading scenes of our Lord's 
 Passion. Don Antonio was informed that when 
 Napoleon invaded this part of Italy, the little chapel 
 was used as a powder magazine, and the desecration 
 ended in an explosion which left not a trace of the 
 structure. Passing away from this sad memorial of 
 a sacrilegious invasion, they were soon in front of a 
 chapel constructed with more elaborate care and on 
 
384 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 a larger scale than any of the wayside sanctuaries 
 abounding in the neighbourhood. It was the first 
 still standing of the regular series of chapels erected, 
 as Stations of the Cross, at convenient intervals, 
 on either side of the steep, zig-zag ascent to The 
 Mount. 
 
 This chapel, facing the level road that led 
 ctraight from Pilate's Gate and the town, seemed to 
 end the highway, so abrupt was the change of 
 course towards the Mount, instead of continuing the 
 path away from it. In a few moments they were at 
 the next turn, or rather sharp angle of the road, 
 where a pillaret marked the site of a chapel of 
 which not a vestige remained. Mellerio's agent said 
 that there had never been more than a pillaret at 
 this spot ; but others are of a contrary opinion. 
 There the real ascent of the hill began ; there the 
 road seemed once more to lead away from The 
 Mount ; there it narrowed and became more rugged 
 and steep, but pleasantly lined by umbrageous forest 
 and chestnut trees all the way up. Soon they came 
 to another chapel, where they paused for prayer 
 and rest. Thence on and up they went, slowly and 
 prayerfully, Rosmini (as he afterwards told Tom- 
 maseo) all the while musing on the various scenes of 
 the Passion, and blessing God for having invited 
 him to a place in so many ways admirably fitted to 
 commemorate //^journey to Calvary. 
 
 Thus going on and on, up and up, now in the 
 direction of The Mount, now as if moving away 
 from it, slower and slower at each stage of the con- 
 
FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 385 
 
 stantly rising roadway, they saluted chapel after 
 chapel until at length the flattened summit was 
 reached and they entered what was for them the 
 crowning chapel of all that of the Crucifixion. 1 
 Here they remained for some minutes in prayer, 
 after which they joined Canon Capis, the Rector 
 and (to all intents and purposes) lord paramount 
 of Matterella that is, of The Mount and its 
 appurtenances. His dwelling was near at hand 
 the house in which Lowenbrlick had a room, 
 and for the full possession of which they came to 
 treat. 
 
 It was a nobly placed, poorly constructed, and 
 miserably neglected abode. The site, however, and 
 
 1 It was a small but elegant octagonal church, its portico and 
 piazza paved with stone. Above the high altar was presented to the 
 contemplation of devout pilgrims the image of the Crucified, larger 
 than life, having at its feet the virgin Mother, the beloved disciple, 
 and the penitent Magdalen. Right and left on either side a chapel 
 was built, in one of which was represented the deposition from the 
 cross ; in the other, the Sacred Infant, flying from the arms of His 
 blessed Mother to embrace the cross presented to Him by an angel 
 from heaven in the name of the Eternal Father ; a tender allegory 
 full of truth. In the Cupola, Christ risen from the dead, clothed with 
 light and bearing the standard of victory, floated in the air. Around 
 the Church in the angles of the walls were placed statues of the 
 prophets David, Solomon, Isaias, Jeremias, Daniel, Micheas, Zacharias, 
 and Aggeus, each having over his head an inscription taken from his 
 own writings in allusion to the great mystery. The square niche over 
 the high altar, in which was placed the crucifix, was closed by a red 
 silk curtain ; this when thrown back disclosed an ample choir, as 
 large as the church, its walls and vault stored with representations of 
 mysteries relating to the Crucified Redeemer. From the right side of 
 the sanctuary a small corridor led to a narrow stairs which descended 
 to a chapel under the church and facing a garden ; this chapel was 
 called the sepulchre, because in it was represented the vault in which 
 lay the dead body of Christ, covered with a transparent veil, supported 
 by adoring angels at the head and feet. Puecher's Vita di Don L, 
 Gentili. 
 
 VOL. I. C C 
 
386 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 its associations were all that Rosmini could have 
 desired. 1 From every point the view was enchant- 
 ing ; but to him it was most beautiful for being so 
 rich 
 
 In those deep solitudes and awful dells 
 Where heavenly-pensive contemplation dwells. 
 
 All around him were the lofty Alps ; some in the 
 distance retaining their glistening snow domes, 
 others nearer refreshing the sight by the rarely 
 tinted verdure with which they were clad to their 
 peaks, and greeting the ear with gurgling strains 
 that came like weird music to make the prevail- 
 ing stillness more marked and solemn the music 
 of numerous little torrents foaming down to the 
 immense basin of Ossola, where the Toce took up 
 the silvery streamlets and carried them to the Lago 
 Maggiore. 
 
 1 At the left side of the Sanctuary was the sacristy, through which 
 you passed into a stone-paved corridor conducting to the cells, used by 
 those pious persons, priest or lay, who might wish to retire there in 
 order to make a spiricual retreat. Another part of the house was 
 assigned to the Rector of the Sanctuary, whose duty it was to reside 
 there in order to preserve everything in decent order, and perform the 
 sacred offices in the church. From this building you passed to the 
 place where the Castle of Matterella stood. Of this castle there still 
 remain (after building the Sanctuary, the Chapels and the Capuchin 
 Convent from its materials), a large wall which traverses the entire 
 width of the summit, and a square tower which rises from a rock at 
 the highest point of the hill, the remainder of which is covered by a 
 coppice and garden. From here a vast and magnificent view is 
 obtained of the town of Domodossola, of many villages with their 
 churches and campanili, scattered about the sides of the surrounding 
 hills, of the winding course of the Toce, of the devastating torrents 
 Bogna, Divena, Isomo, and Melezzo, of the openings of the neighbour- 
 ing valleys, of the snow-capped Alpine peaks, of fields and vineyards, 
 meadows, marshes and sands. Puecher's Vita de Don L. Gentili. 
 
FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 387 
 
 Passing beyond the house through the battered 
 walls of the tower and keep crumbling memorials 
 of mediaeval state and power Rosmini was soon 
 beneath the shady trees of the garden terrace, on 
 the crest of the lofty cliff overlooking the whole 
 valley. If he had not been from boyhood familiar 
 with magnificent scenery of a like character, the 
 view then before him would have had as over- 
 whelming an effect on him as it had on the French 
 Abbe. ' When I first stood there/ said the charmed 
 Lowenbriick, * I was like one spell-bound and could 
 not speak.' Rosmini could speak, and his words 
 were those of the Royal Psalmist, ' O magnify 
 the Lord with me, and let us extol His name to- 
 gether.' 
 
 What he saw greatly delighted him, and none 
 the less that the whole seemed to be a beautified 
 and hallowed enlargement of scenes which recalled 
 the view from a favourite hill above Rovereto. ' While 
 he looked out on the vale of the Ossola, from the 
 appointed nursery of his spiritual posterity, it was 
 hardly possible for him to avoid thinking of it 
 in connection with the nursery of his ancestors.' 1 
 Apart from this, we infer from fragments of con- 
 versation preserved by some of his earliest and most 
 lowly-placed associates, that the view at first ap- 
 peared to him much as it did to the fancy of a later 
 visitor like a vast saloon in nature walled by 
 mountains ; its carpet a diversified vegetation 
 ' streaked with streams and fertile fields and bare 
 
 1 Tommasseo, Rivista Contem., 1855. 
 
 C C 2 
 
3 88 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 marshes, over which rippling surges on countless 
 pebbles chafed ' ; 
 
 Its roof the sky untainted, 
 
 Sun, moon, and stars the lamps that give it light, 
 Clouds, by the Celestial Artist painted, 
 Its pictures bright ; 
 
 its furniture villages gemmed with cupolas and cam- 
 paniles that seem to be for ever brightly reflecting 
 the praises of God. 
 
 Beneath him lay the town of Domodossola, look- 
 ing more diminutive than it really was. But, 
 making every allowance for the height at which he 
 stood above it, there was little in its extent and less 
 in its elegance to compare favourably with the view 
 of Rovereto from the sanctuary of the mount he loved 
 to visit when at home. Nevertheless, there were so 
 many features of resemblance between both mounts 
 and both views that he had no difficulty in blending 
 the cherished memories of the past with the prompt- 
 ings of the present. Although Domodossola pre- 
 sented no such city-like appearance as Rovereto, the 
 grandeur of its natural scenery was more marked, 
 more imposing, and far more cheering ; while, as for 
 monuments of Christian piety, these were as nume- 
 rous and as various in the valley of Ossola as in his 
 native vale of Lagarina. 
 
 Having satisfied himself that all he saw more 
 than justified the brightest descriptions of the place, 
 Rosmini returned to the church for a few minutes to 
 pray. He then accompanied Canon Capis to dis- 
 cuss matters connected with the repair and occu- 
 
FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 389 
 
 pancy of that portion of the establishment which 
 they had consented to rent. It was with much 
 difficulty that favourable terms could be obtained 
 indeed, it is only by a stretch of courtesy that the 
 terms actually agreed on can at all be called favour- 
 able. However, they were the only terms he 
 could then get, and, as he had made up his mind to 
 begin on this Mount, they were favourable in so far 
 as they gave him an opportunity of carrying out his 
 purpose. The Canon was quite ready to have 
 Rosmini and his friends as tenants-at-will, and to 
 permit them to spend as much money as they 
 pleased in repairs and improvements, but he was 
 indisposed, at that time, to give them much accommo- 
 dation in the dilapidated buildings, or to concede 
 anything likely to lead to a permanent hold on the 
 place. Nay, he was not willing to allow them even 
 the privilege of walking when they pleased in the 
 gardens, unless they chose to pay for it. These 
 were by no means hopeful features in the business ; 
 but Rosmini felt so sure that God had called him 
 there and designed the place for the objects of this 
 call, that he was content with the agreement, and 
 confidently left the rest to Providence. 
 
 The most ruinous portion of the edifice was 
 forthwith hired for a few years, at a substantial 
 annual rent, and a kind of limited partnership estab- 
 lished as regards the garden. Then certain favours 
 were obtained as to the use of the chapel, and an 
 arrangement made for sharing in the spiritual 
 labours of the district. Lowenbrtick, after much 
 
390 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 persuasion, consented to remain and see to the par- 
 tial restoration of the structure in accordance with 
 plans suggested by Rosmini, who had to leave for 
 Rovereto to provide the means necessary for the 
 work. Meanwhile, in order to relieve the loneliness 
 of which Lowenbriick complained, a useful com- 
 panion was found for him in a Franciscan lay 
 brother named Peter. This kind old friar was one 
 of those who were driven from their convent in 
 Domodossola by the cruel decrees of 1810, when 
 that and many other religious houses were sup- 
 pressed. He sought shelter on the Mount, where 
 he had, at length, an excellent chance of assisting 
 another to bear discomforts and solitude w r ith a 
 pious composure never wanting to himself. 
 
 Although Lowenbriick had been previously told 
 that this visit was to be merely a ' flying ' one, he 
 hoped Rosmini would have remained long enough 
 to have made himself acquainted with all the 
 hamlets in the neighbourhood, and to have joined 
 in a preaching tour among the mountaineers. The 
 wish was characteristic of the Abbe, and its dis- 
 covery gave Rosmini an opportunity of once more 
 explaining the special objects for which they had 
 chosen this solitude, and of once more commending 
 to his attention the principles of the proposed Insti- 
 tute which set so high a value on the orderliness of 
 charity in all its forms. He warned him to control 
 a zeal that was only wasted, since it was not likely 
 to be productive of any good so long as he was un- 
 able to speak in the language of the people. More- 
 
FIRST VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 391 
 
 over, the mountaineers were, on the whole, very 
 pious, practical Catholics, whose spiritual interests 
 were not neglected. For the rest, he consoled him 
 with the assurance that their separation should not 
 be a long one, and that when he returned they should 
 act together in any missionary duties to which they 
 might be called. He then reminded him of what he 
 had said in a letter written from Milan on July 6, to 
 this effect : 
 
 Next Lent I shall come to reside in Domodossola. 
 We shall spend Ash Wednesday in fasting and prayer 
 together. From the very outset Jesus must be our pattern, 
 in the work which only He can carry to perfection. Pro- 
 bably I shall bring with me a good companion, and we 
 shall thus be the better able to comfort and support one 
 another with the words, ' Where two or three are gathered 
 together in My name, there am I in their midst' O happy 
 mountain solitude where we are to be united in prayer 
 and in the fast of our Lord ! He then will teach us all 
 things, and remind us of what we have hitherto heard from 
 the Church ; but these things would remain as though 
 dead and forgotten, if the Paraclete, * which the Father 
 sends in the name of the Son did not quicken them into 
 life.' 
 
 Lent (he continued) will be the best time for writing the 
 constitutions * according to the pattern which will be shown 
 us on the mount.' Should the six weeks of Lent not suffice 
 for the work, we shall continue it until Whitsuntide. 
 I firmly believe that God has already made known to me many 
 things. I shall set them before you, that you may judge 
 whether they are from our Lord. I should be an unfaithful 
 servant were I to speak otherwise, or not to follow God's 
 Will in this undertaking. I proceed slowly, indeed ; not 
 through coldness but through fear. I have no wish to be 
 beforehand with God, nor to be tardy in following His 
 
392 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 Will ; but I fear the first defect more than I do the second. 
 However, God is good, and has given his Saints repeated 
 calls, even to the third time, often urging them on with 
 goads too sharp for their resistance. Surely, He Who has 
 given language to man knows how to speak Himself. He 
 Who has made babes eloquent cannot fail in making His 
 own utterances clear and effective. Let us well employ the 
 time that remains for us between now and February 20 
 let us employ it in attending to the voice of God, and in 
 making more and more certain our holy vocation. 1 
 
 As a means of restraining Lowenbriick's eager- 
 ness to go forth preaching to people who did not 
 understand him, Rosmini besought him to devote 
 much of his time to the study of their language. 
 * While I am away,' said he, ' putting in order my 
 temporal affairs, do you endeavour to acquire some 
 knowledge of Italian, so that, on my return, we 
 may be able to interchange our thoughts more easily 
 than we can at present.' 2 
 
 Before leaving, Don Antonio got many promises 
 from Lowenbrtick that he would do his utmost to 
 follow the advice given to him ; that he would en- 
 deavour earnestly to overcome the spirit of im- 
 patience and discontent which sprang from an ex- 
 cessive and ill-regulated ardour ; and that he would, 
 with all humility, accommodate himself to circum- 
 stances which Providence had so evidently designed 
 for the spiritual well-being of both. Many dis- 
 appointments, annoyances and hardships were, doubt- 
 less, still in store for them ; but if the call they had 
 
 1 Eptstolario, Letter Ixviii. See Appendix, Letter vii. 
 
 2 Cronica Contempor., Torino, 1856. 
 
FIRSJ VISIT TO DOMODOSSOLA. 393 
 
 answered had come indeed from God, they should 
 be able to bear all without a murmur ; nay, to 
 welcome all their trials as favours. 
 
 Lowenbruck took these admonitions in good part, 
 as he was wise enough to understand that the friend 
 who thus gently pointed out his faults and their 
 remedy, not only did him a true service but paid him 
 a high compliment. For Rosmini it was always an 
 unpleasant duty to censure any one, and, when he 
 undertook the task, he assumed, as in this case, that 
 the friend censured possessed many excellent quali- 
 ties, else he would be incapable of listening, calmly 
 and profitably, to the mention of his failings. He 
 and Lowenbruck then parted, the one full of promises 
 of amendment, and the other full of hope that the 
 promises would bear fruit worthy of the object they 
 both had at heart. 
 
394 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 
 (A.D. 1827.) 
 
 He returns to Milan An invitation to Rome Why he does not 
 accept it Lowenbriick's phantasies How Rosmini rebukes them 
 Man's nothingness The first thing to be done on the Mount 
 Count Padulli to represent Rosmini in Rome Visit to Verona 
 Madame Canossa's gratitude to God for granting her petitions 
 In Rovereto once more Moschini's illness The means for pre- 
 serving the spirit of the Institute Prosperity should make men 
 humble The Exercises of St. Ignatius his special study Bad 
 health no hindrance to his twofold vocation 
 
 ROSMINI returned to Milan on August 5. He was 
 so full of the object which had led him to Domo- 
 dossola that he determined to remain in Milan no 
 longer than was necessary for setting in proper 
 order, and entrusting to competent hands, the charit- 
 able and literary works with which he was identified 
 in that city. This done, he would proceed to 
 Rovereto, to complete arrangements for making a 
 home on the dreary Mount. Count Mellerio and 
 the few others who were acquainted with the pur- 
 pose of his visit to Monte Calvario had the satisfac- 
 tion of hearing from his own lips a most interesting 
 account of all he had seen and done there. What 
 he felt and hoped with regard to the results of his 
 visit was freely discussed with these friends. Al- 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 395 
 
 though the obstacles still in his way seemed to be 
 numerous, and were set forth by him in the strongest 
 light, his pious counsellors were persuaded that, as 
 God so evidently designed the place for the pur- 
 pose and directed the steps that had been thus far 
 taken, He would prosper the holy enterprise to the 
 end. 
 
 Amongst the letters which had accumulated 
 during his short absence, was one from Canon Sil- 
 vestri Belli entreating him to visit Rome, where the 
 interests of Christian philosophy claimed his pre- 
 sence, and where many friends were desirous of 
 giving him a cordial welcome. Had this invitation 
 reached him two months earlier, he would have 
 found it so much in keeping with what might have 
 then seemed most expedient that it would have 
 been difficult for him to have declined it. But the 
 Will of God was now so apparent that he could not 
 be drawn aside from the path to which It plainly 
 pointed. This path led not to Rome, at present, 
 but to the rugged hill, where, as he foresaw, many 
 severe trials to the flesh and the spirit awaited him. 
 When he should have taken all the steps required of 
 him at this juncture, it may be that God's Will 
 might guide him to Rome ; but, until then, he must 
 not think of moving in that direction, and so he 
 told Don Silvestri : 
 
 Every time you speak to me about going to Rome 
 you arouse in my heart a great temptation. You must 
 know that I have long had an intense desire to go, but I 
 have always resisted it. You will ask me the reason why. 
 
396 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 It arises from the rules of conduct which I have embraced. 
 I should be disquieted and inconsolable if I could believe 
 that I had done my own will rather than the Will of God. 
 On this account, I am thoroughly passive with respect to 
 deliberations of that sort, feeling assured that if God re- 
 quires any thing of me He will make it known to me in an 
 unmistakable way. 
 
 You cannot imagine the tranquillity produced in me by 
 living in accordance with this rule. The Lord disposes all 
 things with sweetness, and it is this sweetness that one 
 enjoys in following God's arrangement of events. How- 
 ever, I may tell you that my journey to Rome seems to me 
 a settled thing, though I do not yet well know the time in 
 which I can accomplish it : perhaps sooner than I expect. 
 
 Let us pray, my dear friend, let us pray with one 
 accord, and let the centre of our thoughts be Holy Church, 
 for which I beg of our Lord to allow me to die. 
 
 MILAN : August 6, 1827.* 
 
 Rosmini had been barely half-way on his return 
 journey to Milan, when the Abbe Lowenbrlick 
 began to set at naught some of the sage counsels he 
 had received. He did not it is true, violate them 
 in the letter so much as in the spirit ; for, while he 
 felt bound to abstain from exhibiting his zeal in 
 preaching to the poor mountaineers, who did not 
 understand him, he felt free to talk confidentially 
 with some of the better instructed people of the 
 neighbourhood, telling them wonderful stories about 
 the grand designs of the Abate Rosmini. Lowen- 
 brtick was not a poet ; yet his active imagination 
 was constantly giving to some ' airy nothing a local 
 habitation and a name.' As if to atone for what 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixix. 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 397 
 
 were to him the substantial miseries of the present, 
 his plastic fancy built up a splendid future for the 
 bleak hill on which he lived, and made Rosmini its 
 genius. He spoke of his talents, of his learning, of 
 his wealth, of his influence and of his plans, in terms 
 so exaggerated that Mellerio's agent deemed it a 
 duty to warn him of the impropriety of such a course, 
 and to communicate with the Count on the subject. 
 Mellerio promptly let Don Antonio know what his 
 agent had reported. When thus informed, on 
 August 9, Rosmini wrote to Lowenbruck a long 
 letter couched in kindly terms, but still stern 
 enough to check the phantasies of his too enthusi- 
 astic friend. 1 
 
 I fear (he said to him) that your temperament, 
 perhaps a little too ardent, has prevented your observing 
 that prudence which I have so much recommended to you, 
 and of which we have such great need. It has come to my 
 knowledge that you have overstepped this prudence by 
 saying things which have no foundation whatever, and 
 which, even if they had, it would be wiser not to speak 
 about. I do not believe that you intended to deceive, for 
 I have confidence in the sincerity of your soul ; but I am 
 greatly afraid that you have deceived yourself by convert- 
 ing into a reality some fair idol of your imagination. For 
 the love of our Lord ! let us be cautious and prudent, and 
 let us say rather too little than too much ; especially as to 
 things which may be favourable to our undertaking. This, 
 my clear friend, is of great importance to us. Words 
 indiscreetly spoken or written may be fraught with immense 
 danger to the work which God seems to wish at our hands. 
 We shall have to answer for this to Him. Every im- 
 
 1 See Appendix, Letter viii. (Epistolario, Letter Ixx.) 
 
398 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 prudence we are guilty of may gain for us the title of 
 unfaithful servant serve nequam which God avert. 
 
 He then explained to him, once more, the spirit 
 according to which he sought to regulate his own 
 course, a spirit ' which should ever animate our 
 Society, if it please God to give us associates.' This 
 spirit was to keep them thoroughly persuaded that, 
 of themselves, they were nothing, that all their 
 natural abilities were, of themselves, powerless to 
 do even the least thing pleasing to God, or of the 
 least use to their own or their neighbours' souls. 
 How then could they, of themselves, give increase 
 or glory to the Church of Jesus Christ ? 
 
 Jesus, Head of the Church, is He who, alone and un- 
 aided, does all. He has no need of any one, and He is 
 so jealous of His glory that He unfailingly confounds those 
 who presume that they are, of themselves, able to accom- 
 plish anything for His glory or for His Church. Convinced 
 of this, the Christian should not only not think himself 
 necessary, but he should continually regard himself as 
 being the unprofitable servant he indubitably is. There- 
 fore, not being necessary, he should never have any anxiety 
 or solicitude about doing great things ; nor should he act 
 in the things of God as an adventurer or enterpriser, as 
 men do in the affairs of the world, when seeking to make 
 themselves famous or powerful. In the things of God we 
 should do just the contrary. 
 
 As Lowenbrlick was much concerned for the afflic- 
 tions of the Church, and seemed to think that 
 the petty persecution which had sent himself into 
 exile, identified him more than others with those afflic- 
 tions, he found therein an excuse for many of 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 399 
 
 his excesses. Rosmini besought him to be perfectly 
 tranquil with regard to the vicissitudes of the 
 Church. 
 
 Be sure (he wrote to him) that Jesus Christ still lives ; 
 that He has all power in Heaven and on Earth ; that He 
 does all that He wishes, and that nothing happens without 
 being ordained for His greater glory for His more com- 
 plete triumph. What then remains for the Christian to 
 do ? To work out his own sanctification, to purify his own 
 conscience, to bemoan his own sins, to acknowledge his 
 own weakness, to recognise his own nothingness, to pray, 
 and to consume himself in the fire of unbounded love. 
 
 Rosmini next dwelt on the duties of a Christian 
 as regards undertakings beneficial to his neighbour 
 or useful to the Church, and showed, at some length, 
 how the principles of the proposed Institute met 
 every condition required for accepting and duly per- 
 forming these duties. He concluded that part of his 
 letter thus : 
 
 Let us be candid, let us be sincere. Candour will 
 enable us to embrace the good actually before us, without 
 giving a thought to any other. Sincerity will not permit 
 us to speak of more than we know and that our Lord 
 desires us to know. Let us not aspire to do great things, 
 but simply to do whatever God wills us to do. 
 
 With regard to the ' great things ' to be done on 
 The Mount the 'great things' of which sanguine 
 Lowenbrlick had talked so much Rosmini quietly 
 disposed of them in this way : 
 
 What are we going to do, my friend ? Nothing more 
 than to make a retreat of forty days, nothing more than to 
 observe fast together after the example of our Divine 
 
400 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Master. This we know ; or at least we think we know it, 
 because it is a thing close at hand, and circumstances 
 appear favourable to its accomplishment. Do we know 
 more than this ? Nothing which we are in a position to 
 communicate to others. Let us then be contented and not 
 speak about things we are not certain of. If we were to 
 die to-morrow, we should leave nothing unfinished ; for 
 we are every moment fulfilling God's Will. If we talk of 
 doing anything in the future God will punish us for it, as 
 we shall have been unmindful of His words. Lent, indeed, 
 may reveal to us something else ; and when the time shall 
 have come for doing that something, the time will have 
 come for.speaking of it. Far, then, be from us all human 
 artifice, all exaggeration. We should never wish for any- 
 thing by such means, since we wish to do only that for 
 which God provides us nobler means. 
 
 He wound up these admonitions by reminding 
 the Abb6 that when they were about to part in 
 Domodossola they agreed to propose, each to the 
 other, a subject for their daily meditation. In ac- 
 cordance with that agreement, he proposed to 
 Lowenbrlick the subject of man's nothingness and 
 absolute dependence on Providence. Then, with a 
 humility which he sincerely felt and always acted 
 on, he requested that his friend would, in turn, pro- 
 pose a subject for his meditation, adding : 
 
 If at the same time you administer a brotherly reproof 
 for some defect that you may have seen in me, during the 
 time we were together, you will confer on me a great 
 benefit. Meanwhile, think over what I have written to 
 you, and be reserved as to our affairs when speaking or 
 writing to your friends, and especially careful to avoid 
 building on future expectations which are without any 
 present foundation ; for all this would be contrary to the 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 401 
 
 spirit of truth, of simplicity, and of confidence in Divine 
 Providence. Besides, it can do us no good, but rather 
 much injury. 
 
 Lowenbriick made no immediate response to 
 this letter ; but Mellerio's agent, without .knowing 
 that any such remonstrance had been sent, reported 
 a marked improvement in the proceedings of the 
 Abbe. After a week's delay Rosmini again addressed 
 him : 
 
 Let us trust in God, and let us hold fast to the maxim 
 which I explained to you in my last letter, to which I am 
 anxiously awaiting your reply. Let us not take the least 
 step which is not founded in the prudence and truth of our 
 Lord. I repeat to you, let us not ambition to do great 
 things, nor take trouble to ourselves about the future. Let 
 it be the Lord Who leads us, nay Who impels us, as it 
 were, at every step ; so that we may not move a foot 
 without having solid grounds for hoping that it is not man 
 who moves us, but Jesus Christ in man. O happy are we 
 if we walk with such caution ! Thus are we dead to our- 
 selves, because our life is hidden with Jesus Christ in 
 God. ' I live ; not I, indeed, but Christ liveth in me.' 
 
 I love you much, my dear friend in the Lord : peace, 
 patience, and perseverance be to us. We know not what 
 we are doing ; nor even what we are asking for. 'We 
 know not what we should pray for, as we ought,' saith the 
 Apostle. Where then can we put our confidence ? Listen 
 to what follows ' But the Spirit Himself asketh for 
 us with unspeakable groanings ; ' and again, ' He that 
 searcheth the hearts knoweth what the Spirit desireth, 
 because He asketh for the Saints, according to God ' 
 (Rom. viii. 26, 27). This, therefore, is our duty, that the 
 Holy Spirit pray in us, according to God, begging for all 
 that concerns holiness. The rest will be done by God, 
 who searches the bottom of our hearts, to find if they are 
 
 VOL. I. D D 
 
402 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 well disposed. What will He do then ? He will show us 
 what we ought to do, as well as the way, and the time, and 
 the place in which He pleaseth that we should do it. Then 
 we shall do what we do understandingly ; for God will 
 have set His light before us, and we shall no longer do 
 anything .of ourselves, but God will do all in us. 
 To Him be glory for ever. Amen. 
 
 MILAN : August 16, 1827.' 
 
 About this time Count G. Padulli, one of the 
 few who shared in the secret of the projected Insti- 
 tute, came to him from Verona bearing some -en- 
 couraging messages from the Marchioness de 
 Canossa. As Padulli intended to visit Rome in 
 September, it was suggested that he might act there 
 somewhat in the capacity of an agent for Rosmini. 
 With that view, the following letter to Cardinal 
 Capellari was handed to him : 
 
 Availing myself of the opportunity presented by the 
 visit of my excellent friend Count Giovanni Padulli, to the 
 capital of the Christian religion, I take the liberty of 
 placing before your Eminence the first volume of my 
 minor philosophical works, recently published. 
 
 In accordance with your sage counsel, I have warmly 
 recommended the affair of the Institute to the prayers of 
 pious persons, in order that, if the work comes from God, 
 God Himself, working in His servants, may carry it out. 
 It is a great consolation for me to have always remained 
 passive, and to have taken no step in it without having 
 been, I will say, compelled to do so by the clear Will of 
 God. On the other hand, I could do nothing else ; for, I 
 feel in myself an extreme insufficiency, and a certain 
 shrinking from what may happen to me, if indeed God has 
 
 ordained it. 
 
 1 EpistolartOj Letter Ixxi. 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 403 
 
 Padulli will be able to tell you, by word of mouth, 
 some particulars about the affair ; for he is one of the very 
 few who know anything of it. 
 
 I hope that the light your Eminence will communicate 
 to me concerning the two papers, which I sent you by 
 means of the Consul Alborghetti, will bring me comfort. 
 I have great confidence in your Eminence, and I foresee 
 that the affair will be more yours than mine. Thus 
 importunate am I ; and yet, because of my passivity, I 
 am slow to do anything if others do not move me. 
 
 MILAN : August 17, I82;. 1 
 
 On the following day Rosmini (accompanied as 
 far as Verona by Count Padulli) left Milan for 
 Rovereto. He passed through Brescia without 
 resting there, as on former occasions. At Verona, 
 however, he stopped, as usual, to consult with the 
 Marchioness de Canossa and his sister. When he 
 had given to them an account of the little flock en- 
 trusted to his care at Milan, he alluded to the steps 
 he was now taking for the organisation of the Insti- 
 tute, and reported all that could interest them with 
 regard to his visit to Domodossola. The Mar- 
 chioness, filled with gratitude to God for having thus 
 plainly indicated His approval of 'the call ' she had 
 been the means of giving, requested him to join her- 
 self and his sister in their Oratory to praise and 
 thank God, and to beseech Him to strengthen His 
 servant for the completion of the work thus auspi- 
 ciously begun. 2 Her joy was all the greater because 
 she had been so many years urging him to the 
 course which he had at last been obliged, as it were, 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixxii. 2 Bertoni's Memor. di Canossa. 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NL 
 
 to take so many years praying for this result, so 
 many years hoping to see him committed to the 
 great duty. Her entreaties had prevailed, her 
 prayers had been answered. Henceforth, her 
 prayers and hopes would be directed, with all the 
 greater confidence, to the success of a Society with 
 the origin of which God had so intimately associated 
 herself. 
 
 After a short visit to the homes of Don G. 
 Bertoni and Count Padulli, Rosmini proceeded to 
 Rovereto. His mother and brother expected him ; 
 but, as they knew that his return was connected 
 with some business arrangements for making his 
 residence elsewhere more permanent, their happiness 
 was not unmixed ; for all that, his presence 
 brought, as usual, joy to all, and he himself felt, as 
 fully as ever, the sweet pleasure he always experi- 
 enced in the bosom of his family. Moschini's con- 
 tinued illness was the only thing to cast a saddening 
 shade on the joy of being at home once more. No 
 gloom, indeed, found its way into the sick chamber 
 of that saintly youth, who was full of happiness at 
 the near prospect of going to God ; but all who 
 loved him that is, all who knew him could not help 
 feeling heavy of heart when they saw death stealthily 
 approaching to deprive them of one so worthy of 
 their affection, one so young and so full of promise 
 in everything good. Rosmini did not escape this 
 sadness ; but, though he had greater reason than all 
 others to feel the loss that was impending, he had 
 more strength to contemplate it with resignation. 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 405 
 
 The customary home welcomes were not quite 
 over before he set about regulating his temporal 
 affairs, with special reference to the great spiritual 
 work to which he had been called. 
 
 A private letter from Domodossola to Count 
 Mellerio was forwarded to Don Antonio, and 
 reached him the day after his arrival in Rovereto. 
 It relieved him from some misgivings as to the 
 preliminary steps taken ; for it gave proof that the 
 Abbe Lowenbrlick had profited by the reprimand, 
 to which no direct reply had as yet been sent. A 
 letter from the Abbe* himself, which was received 
 at the same time, touched on other matters, and 
 was mainly confined to the expression of some 
 doubts as to whether the plan of the proposed 
 Institute sufficiently provided the means best calcu- 
 lated to preserve the spirit of its foundation. Ros- 
 mini immediately answered these objections : 
 
 .... Coming, in the order of time, so long after all 
 the others, this Institute will be able to derive profit 
 from the lights of all ; so that it will be found to concen- 
 trate, in itself, what the Holy Ghost has distributed 
 amongst the different religious Orders, as regards their 
 means of preservation. As he who has the more enemies 
 should have the more support, so, in times when the Faith 
 is attacked from very many quarters, there should arise a 
 Society which will be armed at all points in its service. 
 But be it always understood that the natural frailty of the 
 men composing any such organisation must never cease to 
 be an object of fear ; for, there is no man who can be sure 
 of himself. To prove this, God allowed that all the 
 religious Orders should more or less deviate from their 
 primitive spirit ; so that no flesh might glory in His sight. 
 
406 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Every assembly of men is corruptible, save the Church 
 of Jesus Christ ; for Jesus, with tears and vehement 
 entreaties, obtained this exception from His Father, as a 
 special favour. Therefore, the Church is the work of God 
 and not of man, and it is the only work founded on the 
 Divine Word, which is the firmament of the spiritual 
 universe, according to the saying ( Heaven and earth shall 
 pass away, but My words shall not pass away.' That apart, 
 as we do not confide in human councils, I hope, my dear 
 friend, that God will give us lights to form an Institute as 
 strong as is necessary, and endowed with powerful means 
 to preserve itself in our Lord and in His Holy Spirit, for 
 the time to come. 
 
 I do not wonder that the Institute should appear to 
 you somewhat indefinite and diffuse, because of its great 
 extension ; for I have not had time to communicate all 
 things to you as minutely as I shall yet do. You will then 
 see that this indefiniteness exists, if I may so say, only in 
 theory : in practice, the Order is sufficiently restricted to 
 ensure solidity. Its definition, reduced to a few words, 
 would be the following : An Institute in which the 
 members, especially the Priests, endeavour to perform, 
 with the greatest perfection, all the duties of their own 
 state, in order to be an example to others, and who, there- 
 fore, must strive to attain to the highest degree of holiness. 
 And since Charity towards others, preached with evan- 
 gelical prudence, enters, as a part, into their own sanctifica- 
 tion, they must attend to its exercise also, in the order 
 prescribed by charity itself. Consequently, they are first to 
 practise spiritual charity towards Priests, as being the more 
 excellent charity, seeking before all the sanctification of 
 these. 
 
 To descend to particulars : We shall unite ourselves 
 together in prayer and in study, which will be the two 
 duties undertaken in the choice we ourselves have made of 
 the interior life. And to what will our study be directed ? 
 According to the discretion of our Superiors, it will be 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 407 
 
 directed to acquire a profound knowledge of our sacerdotal 
 state, in order to be able to impart this knowledge to 
 others. Should a Superior, for instance, see amongst us 
 members qualified to give spiritual retreats, he will direct 
 these to prepare themselves for such duty; and thus will 
 be realised this branch of the sanctification of the clergy. 
 
 But it is impossible for me to express myself clearly 
 in a letter, without writing a treatise. It is, therefore, 
 better to remain for the present in tranquillity of spirit, 
 persevering in prayer, and wholly committed to the hands 
 of Divine Providence ; following all the lights which It 
 will give us. 
 
 ROVERETO : August 24, I827. 1 
 
 While Rosmini was steadily following the lights 
 which Divine Providence set before him in Rovereto, 
 Mellerio and his Milan friends, guided by the same 
 light, were using all their influence to remove exist- 
 ing obstacles, and to bring the favour of ecclesiasti- 
 cal authority to the aid of the new Society. - Their 
 efforts promised success in every direction. When 
 Mellerio (who was on the eve of visiting Domodos- 
 sola) pictured to him the brightness of the prospect, 
 Rosmini hastened to remind him that prosperity 
 should always make men have more and more 
 humility in themselves, and more and more confi- 
 dence in God. 
 
 Thanks for all you have done ; and these will not be 
 the last thanks that I shall have to offer you, since I 
 always avail myself of your valued friendship. I am rejoiced 
 at the leave granted by the Archbishop. Our friend sent 
 me a copy of his letter. All the rest, so far, goes on well ; 
 nay, to a nicety, as you express it. So much the more 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixxiii. 
 
4 o5 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 should we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. 
 The thorns have not yet appeared. God will treat us with 
 this tenderness, as long as we are spiritually infants. 
 Knowing this to be God's mode of treatment, prosperity 
 should be a motive for our humbling ourselves. 
 
 However, in our humiliation let us be joyful, and let us 
 with open and free hearts (for free we are) enjoy God's 
 gifts, without thinking of aught else. ' Eat those things 
 that are placed before you, without thinking of the 
 morrow ; continuing always in the giving of thanks.' It 
 seems to me that the thought of being children of so good 
 a God should afford us great consolation. Even if we fall 
 short in something, He is neither exacting nor insistent, as 
 men are ; but readily forgives and compassionates us, 
 looking at the heart, ' for we have an advocate with the 
 Father.' 
 
 In spirit and in truth, there is the law of Christians ; 
 let us not impose upon ourselves intolerable burdens ; but 
 let us be humble and offer ourselves to our Lord that He 
 may do with us what we have not been able to do ourselves. 
 Verily, He alone makes the yoke sweet and the burden 
 light. Of ourselves, we are unable to lift a straw from the 
 earth. I have said this for my own consolation ; for it is 
 a consolation for me to speak with my friends of these 
 things, with friends to whom, as I know, the voice of the 
 Lord is not new, nor are His words unwelcome. 
 
 ROVERETO : August 30, 1827.* 
 
 We have had occasion to say, more than once, 
 that Rosmini never allowed travelling or visiting to 
 interfere much with the regular course of his studies ; 
 for these had charms which were second only to the 
 religious duties he loved to practise under all cir- 
 cumstances, and with a never-failing strictness. 
 
 Letter Ixx. 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 409 
 
 Hitherto his studies were directed rather more to 
 philosophy than to asceticism, though the spiritual 
 element pervaded all his thoughts, no matter what 
 he studied. During this visit, however, his studies 
 were turned almost exclusively to asceticism as such. 
 The reason for this must be obvious. He was occu- 
 pied in clearing the ground for the foundation of a 
 religious Order, and these were the studies nearest 
 akin to the object. The text-book he then used at 
 home was the ' Exercises of St. Ignatius.' A thorough 
 study of this prized volume was carried on by him, 
 for the most part near the bedside of Moschini, who 
 loved to linger over every line, and draw forth 
 spiritual honey from every sentence. The effect of 
 these exercises on that dear patient, the brilliant 
 light which his remarks often threw upon certain 
 obscure passages, made the little volume doubly 
 precious to Rosmini. 
 
 It was while he was much absorbed in these 
 studies that he had the consolation of receiving from 
 Lowenbrlick a submissive letter the first contain- 
 ing any direct allusion to the shortcomings which 
 had been so gently censured. The Abbe was 
 penitent, and ready to admit that no man was quite 
 so good as he ought to be, not even his mentor. 
 Rosmini replied : 
 
 It was only yesterday that I received your two letters. 
 I have returned thanks to God that you are in perfect 
 accord with me in the sentiments I have explained to you ; 
 for this has been a fresh proof to me of what I had already 
 expected, and I am glad that I have not misunderstood 
 
4 io LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 you. Be assured that I love and esteem you, and sincerely 
 hold myself as unworthy to be your servant. One thing I 
 desire and yearn for in our Lord is, that it may never come 
 to pass that any success we may obtain should lead us to 
 trust in ourselves, and to take even one step of our own 
 motion, without having first consulted the Lord ; for ' all 
 flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as a flower of the 
 fields/ ' 
 
 I see from your letter that you are well aware that 
 every man is imperfect, and that I myself am so in parti- 
 cular. This gives me great confidence and courage. For, 
 I firmly trust that you will be disposed to sustain me, and 
 to bear with my innumerable faults. Of this I have great 
 need, and, for the love of Christ, I earnestly conjure you to 
 give it to me. So much the more do I need it, since, as I 
 told you, weakness is what may be called my habitual 
 state, and it gives me great consolation to see that my 
 brethren bear with me. 
 
 I am passing these days in familiarising myself with 
 the ' Exercises of St. Ignatius,' It is a book which seems to 
 me all the greater the more I meditate upon it, and I hope 
 that it will be of much use to us, as it was of the utmost use 
 to the infant Company of St. Ignatius, being very efficacious 
 in gaining the heart to virtue, nay, to the very highest per- 
 fection. If these Exercises no longer produce as great effects 
 as formerly, it is, perhaps, because the method prescribed 
 by that man of God, who was deeply versed in spiritual 
 things, is no longer so closely adhered to as formerly. In 
 this as in all other things, men w r ish to innovate through a 
 presumptuous hope of doing better. Hence it happens that 
 the ' Exercises of St. Ignatius ' have become so enfeebled 
 and nerveless as no longer to obtain that sure effect which 
 could be secured by the rigorous method of the Saint. 
 But of this more when we are together. 
 
 Let us persevere in prayer, by means of which we shall 
 obtain all things through Christ. I am unceasingly occu- 
 pied about our association ; and, although my health is 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 411 
 
 very weak and my infirmities are many, I, however, fear 
 nothing. 
 
 How much I prize those words you wrote to me, ' For 
 when I am weak then I am powerful ' (cum enim infirmor 
 tuncpotens sum). Then, indeed, it is that we hope in God, 
 when we feel that we have nothing to rely on in ourselves. 
 We have need of experience. The knowledge of the mind 
 is too cold and inefficacious of itself, without the knowledge 
 gained by experience, which was the knowledge of the 
 Saints and of Christ, according to the Apostle's words : 
 ' From those things which He suffered He learned 
 obedience.' 
 
 ROVERETO : August 31, I827. 1 
 
 Although Rosmini was much troubled at this 
 time by ailments which constant application to study 
 and ascetic habits fostered, he usually described them 
 as slight physical attacks intended for his spiritual 
 good. But his physician, Dr. Ramondini, looked 
 upon them as likely to bring about serious conse- 
 quences, if proper precautions were not soon adopted 
 and persevered in. The doctor warned his patient 
 of this, adding that if he so diminished his labours 
 and austerities as to leave himself much more leisure 
 of mind and body, his constitution was hale enough 
 to justify hopes of a very long life; whereas/if he 
 decided not to follow his advice, or if he perchance 
 neglected it, some years of suffering were in store for 
 him, to be followed by a comparatively early death. 
 This frank opinion of a skilled physician did not in 
 the least alarm Rosmini. He regarded his studies, 
 austerities and infirmities as alike from God for God. 
 
 1 Epistolary, Letter Ixxv. 
 
4 i2 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 In obedience to his physician he consented to take 
 the waters of Recoaro from time to time ; -he also 
 agreed to use mercurial frictions, and to neglect 
 nothing which might, in that way, be prescribed for 
 him ; but his confidence in God soared above all 
 human remedies. He felt persuaded that, however 
 much he might have to suffer, God's Will required 
 that he should not pause in the work before him, 
 and that, whatever he might have to endure, or how- 
 ever soon to die, this work should be finished before 
 our Lord would call him hence. It was the two- 
 fold work of his vocation the restoration of Chris- 
 tian philosophy and the foundation of the Institute 
 of Charity. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 
 
 (A.D. 1827.) 
 
 His mother's new efforts to keep him at home The Cross 
 his only love He sustains others against the assaults he has 
 himself to meet Provides for the work on Calvario Lowenbriick 
 and the water supply on the Mount External circumstances in- 
 dications of God's Will The poverty and mortification proper to 
 the new Institute The ornamental and the necessary Mellerio's 
 visit to Monte Calvario Two Bishops visit Rosmini at home 
 Moschini's illness The Cross our only treasure How to win it 
 Golden rule of humility Man's nothingness Death of Maurizio 
 Moschini Rosmini knows of it miraculously His eulogy on 
 Moschini. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the Countess Rosmini had reason to 
 know that her son's presence in Rovereto was con- 
 nected with arrangements for making his abode 
 elsewhere more permanent, she was not without 
 hopes of changing his purpose. She knew that the 
 Bishop and Clergy of Trent were eager to keep him 
 amongst them. She knew that the people of Rove- 
 reto desired him to remain at home. She had many 
 relations and friends in elevated positions, who, for 
 the good of the diocese, would be glad to promote 
 her own fond wishes. Therefore, while he was in- 
 dustriously providing the means, and settling his 
 affairs for an absence of long duration, she was as 
 
4 i4 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 industriously bringing all those influences to bear on 
 his course. 
 
 Monsignor Luschin, Bishop of Trent, supported 
 by the representations of Monsignor Sardagna, its 
 former Vicar Capitular (and at this time Bishop of 
 Cremona), entered cordially into his mother's views. 
 Forthwith the rectorship of the diocesan seminary 
 was pressed upon him, and other posts of dignity 
 and responsibility were placed within his reach. All 
 these offers were accompanied by arguments based 
 on the great need of his services, and appealing 
 strongly to the claims which his native diocese had 
 upon him. But God had already so plainly indicated 
 the work set for him, that no inducements, no blan- 
 dishments availed to turn him in the least from the 
 path in which he was moving. The miserable 
 home, with its certain privations, on the bleak hill 
 above Domodossola, was now dearer to him than the 
 most stately residence and enticing comforts that 
 could be associated with ecclesiastical preferments. 
 
 It is, however, but right to say that none of those 
 who tried to persuade him used arguments addressed 
 to his personal interests under any guise. They all 
 knew how worse than vain, how very offensive to 
 him, any attempt of that kind would be. Far more 
 to the purpose were the educational wants of the 
 diocese, and the urgent calls from more than one 
 populous parish for such aid as he could beneficially 
 give. He replied to the Bishop, as to the others, 
 that he was ready to abandon Milan and Domodos- 
 sola, and his special studies, and all other undertak- 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 415 
 
 ings, the moment he was convinced that God's Will 
 required him to do so. It would be more agreeable 
 to himself to stay and labour where they asked him ; 
 but after prayerful reflection he came to the con- 
 clusion that God's Will demanded the sacrifice he 
 was about to make. Some of his zealous tempters, 
 who appealed mainly to his natural affections, were 
 made to understand that unless such affections be 
 sanctified by Divine love they cannot be good or 
 useful. 
 
 While his family and friends were thus importu- 
 nate with every variety of affectionate lure, he was 
 himself engaged in supporting another against some- 
 what similar assaults. This was Count Padulli, a 
 widower who had resolved to tear himself away from 
 the endearments of home in order to be more com- 
 pletely in the service of Christ. Rosmini, when 
 passing through Verona, on his way to Rovereto, 
 visited the Count's family, and had then an oppor- 
 tunity of forming a decided opinion as to the great- 
 ness of the sacrifice his friend was making. The fond 
 dissuasions that beset Padulli were in many respects 
 so like those now brought to bear on himself, that 
 the following letter to that nobleman may be taken 
 as the echo of his own answer to his own tempters : 
 
 The tender affection you manifest for your children is 
 natural, and will become a means of promoting their true 
 welfare ; because, the sentiments which accompany your 
 affection show that your natural love is sanctified by a 
 more exalted love, that is, by the love of our Lord Jesus 
 crucified, in Whom we should love all things. This love 
 of Jesus sanctifies the natural affections, so directing them 
 
416 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 that they do not blind us, but rather assist us to accomplish 
 all that we find to be good for others. Human and natural 
 affections, of themselves, do not understand what is good ; 
 but affections governed by the love of Jesus know what is 
 truly good, and make use of human things to render thanks 
 for the attainment of that true good outside of which 
 there is only the appearance of good. 
 
 How rationally you act in resolving to place your 
 whole self at the feet of Jesus crucified ! From Him you 
 will receive strength to discharge the duties of your present 
 state, and to accomplish your holy vocation. From Him 
 you will receive light to direct, in the path of holiness, the 
 children given to you by our Lord, until our Lord Himself 
 crowns His own work: for He never abandons any one 
 who confides in Him. 
 
 You feel some misgivings arising from a consciousness 
 of your own weakness. And, in truth, so long as we think 
 only of ourselves, any fear is reasonable. Poor, indeed, is 
 man when abandoned to himself. But let us give thanks 
 to our Lord, because (as you very properly remark) when 
 we abandon ourselves to God He then gives us His own 
 courage and His very strength. I cannot but urge you to 
 be always more and more impressed by this truth. All 
 the study of the Christian's life consists in two points : 
 * In the knowledge of ourselves, and in the knowledge of 
 God.' 
 
 The thorough knowledge of these two things produces in 
 the Christian two effects opposed to each other, and both 
 immensely great. Self-knowledge brings with it the 
 greatest fear and the greatest discouragement, while know- 
 ledge of God, on the contrary, infuses an unlimited hope 
 and an indescribable courage. Let us take care that one of 
 these two feelings is never separated from the other in our 
 hearts. 
 
 Wherefore, dear friend, let us fear, let us tremble, but, 
 at the same time, let us have full confidence. We must 
 remember that we not only do wrong to God by presump- 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 417 
 
 tion, but also by diffidence. Neither temerity nor pusill- 
 animity can befit a Christian. 
 
 Is not this a happy condition, that we not only can 
 have courage in all the circumstances of life, but also that 
 we are obliged in conscience to have it ? O the unspeak- 
 able goodness of God ! He takes offence at our being 
 disheartened. He exacts from us a courage as great (if 
 that were possible) as His own, an infinite courage. Who 
 would impose this obligation except God ? except a God 
 infinitely good and infinitely powerful to help us ? Let us, 
 then, with the Apostle, say in our distresses : ' If God be 
 with us who is against us ? ' But the Apostle adds, ' How 
 is one to know whether God wills to be on our side ? ' He 
 answers : Have you not a manifest sign given by the 
 Heavenly Father who did not spare His own Son but 
 gave Him for us all ? And if he has given us His Son, how, 
 then, has He not, with Him, given us all things ? As He 
 has given what is more, can He refuse what is less ? What ! 
 will He not give all the graces necessary for the circum- 
 stances in which we find ourselves ? 
 
 Assuredly, then, you do well in placing yourself and 
 all you have at the foot of the Cross ; since, according to 
 St Paul, this is the pledge that has been given us by the 
 Eternal Father, and the sure guarantee that He will also 
 grant us all other things ; nay, it is the fount of all the 
 graces that we need. 
 
 I exhort you, therefore, to be courageous in the Lord, 
 and to fear nothing in all that you are going to undertake. 
 Banish every doubt and discouragement, by one sole glance 
 at the crucifix, whence flows all our strength and wisdom. 
 Nay, you should make it a duty of conscience to have 
 courage, because it is certain that Jesus takes care of the 
 Christian who entrusts himself and all he has to Him. 
 Let us, therefore, not incur the reproach which Christ 
 made to His disciples, when they were still unconfirmed : 
 ' Men of little Faith, why do you doubt ? ' All turns out 
 well for those who commit themselves entirely to the hands 
 VOL. I. E E 
 
4 i8 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 of Him who disposes of all things. Let us not be scan- 
 dalised at any thing. Let us not hesitate. Let us work 
 with holy daring, with liberty of conscience, and with 
 faith. 
 
 When you are in Rome I will write to you something 
 more particular. For the present enough. Let us live 
 from day to day with joy, in prayer and thanksgiving. 
 May our common mother Mary assist us ! 
 
 ROVERETO: September 7 ', 
 
 With a 'holy daring' that had regard to nothing 
 beyond the Will of God, he continued the business 
 for the settlement of which he had come home. All 
 the money which could be conveniently transferred 
 from his Rovereto agent was forwarded to Milan, 
 where Count Mellerio kindly undertook to see it 
 duly banked. A specified annual amount was fixed 
 on as a future contribution to the same fund from 
 which he was to draw as occasion required. The 
 home charities he had founded, or habitually assisted, 
 were not allowed to suffer because of these arrange- 
 ments. A sufficient sum for immediate use was 
 sent, through Mellerio, directly to Lowenbrtick, of 
 whose proceedings the reports were still favourable. 
 The Abbe himself wrote frequently, and gave hope- 
 ful accounts about himself and the works he directed. 
 One of his greatest fears had just been so suddenly 
 and completely dispelled that he took the circum- 
 stance as denoting God's marked approval of the 
 undertaking. The incident is too characteristic not 
 to be mentioned. Lowenbrtick was very fond of 
 good water. Now there was a very insufficient 
 
 iO) Letter Ixxvi. 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 419 
 
 supply of water, and the quality of the beverage 
 was not good. He had a nervous dread of the 
 supply running dangerously short some night, while 
 all day he was afraid that it was slowly poisoning 
 him. 
 
 Although excellent water abounded in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and was visible in almost every direction, 
 the murmur of little brooks and greater torrents 
 perpetually announcing that it was not far distant ; 
 nevertheless there was much difficulty in getting the 
 necessary quantity for the purposes of the house. 
 A good spring-well of the purest water was known 
 to be near the deserted Capuchin convent ; but 
 through neglect of the most ordinary means to keep 
 it clear of natural obstructions it was no longer easy 
 to reach it, and the water, flowing into pools and 
 streamlets through the little marshes beyond it, was 
 impregnated with vegetable matter that made it 
 neither palatable nor wholesome. To fetch better 
 water from other streamlets severely taxed the 
 carriers, who had to go down some distance to a 
 ravine, and then, laden with full buckets, make the 
 steep ascent to the hilltop. The water thus brought 
 was not of the best ; and as it did not long preserve 
 its freshness, this trying little journey had to be re- 
 peated several times during the day. The anxious 
 Abbe" had devised all manner of ingenious schemes 
 for overcoming these difficulties ; but not one of 
 them was found practicable. 1 His nervous fear was 
 
 1 Through the skilfully directed efforts of Don Luigi Lanzoni, the 
 present (1882) General of the Institute of Charity, all the difficulties 
 
 E E 2 
 
420 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 at its highest point, and despair of being able to im- 
 prove matters had set in. While praying for relief, 
 Brother Peter suddenly came to him to say that ' the 
 blessed spring' near the convent was found to be 
 accessible, that its water was ' the purest and best 
 in the world/ and that it could be delivered at the 
 house more readily and regularly than any water 
 under the old arrangement. Investigation soon 
 satisfied him of this, and the pious Abb6 took it as 
 a distinct manifestation of God's special favour. As 
 full of confidence as he had been shortly before of 
 fear, he made much of the circumstance in a letter 
 to Rosmini, who, when replying, barely alluded to 
 the incident, passing quickly from it to the fact that 
 external circumstances must always be, for the man 
 of God, indications of the Divine Will. 
 
 I have received your kind letters, and have delayed 
 answering them, because I saw all things going on so well 
 that I did not like to multiply letters without necessity. 
 Thanks to our Lord for the water He has provided for us. 
 Both from yourself and my friend, I learn that the works 
 are going on. May God be blessed ! 
 
 Here, I am much occupied with our most important 
 business. God grant that my labours may be of service 
 for that which is the true foundation of every thing, the 
 formation of our spirit. To-morrow I go to meet the 
 Bishop of Trent, who is coming on a visit. I cannot do 
 less than ask his blessing on the work before he leaves us ; 
 but this will be in strict secrecy between ourselves. I also 
 
 which Lowenbriick's plans failed to touch have been completely 
 mastered, and the home on Monte Calvario is now supplied in the 
 greatest abundance with excellent water brought by pipes from Monte 
 Cuculo. 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 421 
 
 expect shortly the Bishop of Treviso, a friend of mine in 
 whom I have great confidence. But let our trust be in 
 God alone. The favour of men never gives me encourage- 
 ment without at the same time alarming me. Ah ! 
 wretched me ! were I to put my confidence in them ! God 
 grant that I may die rather than that I should trust in 
 man, or in human things. I beg of you to remember, in 
 your prayers, to beseech from God the grace that we may 
 hope in Him alone, and that we may only see in external 
 circumstances the words which He directs to us as a means 
 of manifesting His Divine Will. Only that, and nothing 
 else. Let us attach no weight to them, just as we attach 
 none to the mere voice or writing of a king, but only to his 
 will as expressed in or by them. In this way we shall be 
 entirely abandoned to Divine Providence, without offending 
 by presumption or rashness ; for we have a fixed rule to 
 follow, namely External circumstances as signs of God's 
 Will. It is for this reason that, without these signs, we 
 remain in the Contemplative State, and that thence (by 
 means of these signs, and not of our own will) we prudently 
 pass into the Active State, as I have explained in the short 
 Latin description of the Society. This, it seems to me, is 
 the road of peace and tranquillity ; this is the sure way 
 either to silence what St. Peter styles ' the ignorance of 
 imprudent men/ or to bear, with gladness, persecutions to 
 which we have not given occasion, and which are, therefore, 
 really ' for justice sake.' 
 
 I am longing to embrace you, and am eagerly looking 
 for the dawning of that 2Oth day of February which is to 
 find us together. Ah ! may God grant that all be for His 
 glory ! May God grant that we really come together in 
 His name ! and that there be established in us this ground of 
 our hope : ' I say to you that if two of you shall consent 
 upon earth concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, 
 it shall be done to them by My Father Who is in Heaven ' 
 (Mat. xviii. 19). Let us find ourselves met together in 
 God. Let us two be as one, that we be one in Christ, as 
 
422 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 Christ and His Father are one. Oh ! ineffable oneness ! 
 Oh desirable consummation ! May our Lord absorb and 
 consume us in Himself! He is as fire, He can receive 
 sacrifice, and He does receive it, if it comes from the 
 heart, if it is complete. 
 
 ROVERETO : September 24, 1827. l 
 
 Notwithstanding the means of consolation that 
 the Abbe* found in his improved water supply, he 
 was still far from reconciled to the position of things. 
 He could not yet bring himself to bear privations 
 with heroic resignation, while the thought of having 
 to endure them continually, and as a matter of course, 
 gave him a good deal of uneasiness. Fretted by 
 misgivings thence springing, he became rather petu- 
 lant, and complained much about trifles, such as not 
 receiving letters more frequently from Rosmini, or 
 not getting permission to purchase furniture of a 
 kind likely to relieve the dreariness of his mountain 
 home. There ran through his letters so many traces 
 of doubt as to his own vocation to the life they pro- 
 posed to lead, that Rosmini decided on testing them 
 by alluding pointedly to the principles of poverty 
 and mortification which members of the new Insti- 
 tute ought to practise. 
 
 Your letter of the I5th inst, which I have just received, 
 shows that you are somewhat anxious on account of my 
 silence. Although such anxiety must be now removed by 
 the letter which you should have received from me since 
 your note, nevertheless I hasten to send this to corroborate 
 the other. Have no doubts, my dearest friend in Jesus 
 Christ, have no doubts. Assuredly, you would neither 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ivii. 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 423 
 
 hesitate nor imagine the possibility of any coldness on my 
 part, if you knew how much I loved you, and how much I 
 felt indebted to you for your cares and labours : although 
 they are borne for your neighbours, they still appear to 
 me as though done for myself alone. 
 
 I am full of ardour, my dear friend, but I am, at the 
 same time, feeble. God will strengthen me. After all, the 
 only reason why I have been remiss, in the correspondence 
 between us, was merely that of not wishing to needlessly 
 multiply letters ; since, the less we write the better, per- 
 haps, for the secrecy of the affair. Besides, there was really 
 nothing requiring an answer from me. I beg of you to 
 bear this in mind every time that my letters seem to 
 be slow in reaching you ; for that may occur again, 
 and I do not wish it to be taken as a sign that I love you 
 less, or that our common affair has become distasteful ; 
 but only that I have not thought it necessary to write to 
 you immediately, or that I have no leisure to do so. 
 
 Ah ! how I desire to be with you ! I have myself no 
 doubt whatever of the oneness of our spirit : may this be 
 God's work ! Let us trust in Him only, let us abandon 
 ourselves to Him, without presumption. External circum- 
 stances should be to us as signs which we must use for 
 interpreting His Holy Will. Let us not do our will but 
 His, and do it in all peace, tranquillity and patience. 
 Patience is necessary for us, and it is that virtue which 
 Christ has taught us by His life and by His death. 
 
 I have been considering about the furniture, which 
 must be made in accordance with that kind of poverty we 
 intend to profess. For this purpose, I have written down 
 a few short rules expressive of our external poverty. I 
 beg of you to examine them, in order that you may see 
 whether the poverty I have described as the most suited to 
 our object be really that best calculated to obtain it. If 
 these rules are approved by you they may be of service, by 
 guiding us in the selection of furniture for the house. All 
 this should breathe but one spirit : edification, and a con- 
 
424 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSM1NL 
 
 tempt for mere human comforts ; so there should be nothing 
 which might allure or distract our mind (which ought to be 
 wholly occupied with God), nor the affections of our heart 
 (which ought to be full of God alone). 
 
 From these few rules you will see that in my opinion 
 the greatest poverty possible ought to be observed in the 
 house and in its furniture, especially in the cells. The 
 principle whence springs my way of thinking is what I 
 have expressed in the first rule * That it is very profitable 
 for us, on looking around, to see everywhere an extreme 
 poverty of ornamentation, in order to remind us that we 
 were born naked, and that naked we must return to Christ ; 
 but, at the same time, that nothing should be wanting 
 which may either instruct us or help towards our perfec- 
 tion.' We should not be subjected to too many privations, 
 whether voluntary or prescribed by rule ; simply because 
 we ought to make an oblation of ourselves in charity. 
 Therefore, we should not be deprived of the necessary 
 strength, since all our forces should be spent in this. Hence 
 it is that I have said, ' it is not conveniences which ought to 
 be deficient, but only all ornament'. And by conveniences 
 I do not understand those things which help us to be 
 indolent, but those which help us to be the more active ; 
 for, there are these two kinds of conveniences. It is for this 
 same reason that I do not think it advisable to prescribe 
 any general corporal austerities, but only to provide that 
 those the Church ordains for all the faithful be well and 
 devoutly observed. I leave it, however, for each one to do, 
 in particular, whatever the spirit suggests to him ; subject 
 to the approval of his Confessor or Superior ; provided, 
 also, that he does not diminish the strength which should 
 be wholly spent in the love of God by the prayer proper to 
 the state he has chosen, and in the love of his neighbour, by 
 the charitable offices undertaken at his neighbour's request 
 and assigned him by his Superior. This forms the second 
 state of the Society. 
 
 I shall add nothing more, except that I embrace you in 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVAR1O. 425 
 
 our Lord, in Whom I wish us both to be made one and 
 altogether absorbed. 
 
 ROVERETO : September 29, 1827. l 
 
 About the time that Lowenbriick had digested 
 the contents of this letter, Count Mellerio arrived in 
 Domodossola with money and advice for the Abb6. 
 The money was welcome, but as the advice did not 
 coincide with the ' hermit's ' views of what was at 
 once most comfortable and desirable for the hermit- 
 age, it can hardly be that it was very welcome. 
 Nevertheless the amiable Abbe* gave no signs of 
 disrelishing it. Indeed, he appeared to be so 
 heartily taken up with the work entrusted to him, 
 that Mellerio saw no reason to suspect the presence 
 of any form of discontent. Therefore, when he 
 wrote to Rosmini a report of his visit, he described 
 Lowenbruck as, on the whole, satisfied with his lot, 
 though somewhat weary of being alone, for Canon 
 Capis seldom favored him with his company, and 
 the society of Brother Peter was hardly to his liking, 
 since the old friar was prone to be rather too much 
 of an admonitor. 
 
 Rosmini did not reply with his usual prompti- 
 tude to Mellerio's letter. The Bishops of Trent 
 and Cremona were, at the time, his guests, and the 
 illness of Moschini had just then taken an alarming 
 turn. Here was a combination of obstacles pretty 
 certain to fritter away his time and over-task his 
 strength. When not personally entertaining his 
 illustrious visitors he was by the bedside of his 
 
 riO) Lelter Ixxviii. 
 
426 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 dying secretary, ministering most tenderly to the 
 numerous little wants of body and soul which no one 
 else there had such skill in discovering. With the 
 Bishops he had to discuss new forms of the old 
 arguments to induce him to remain in the diocese. 
 Thoroughly tired of this topic, as of everything that 
 related mainly to himself, he used to seek relief in 
 frequent visits for a few minutes to Maurizio, with 
 whom he talked on a subject that never wearied him 
 the sufferings of our Lord, and the joy of those 
 who died consumed by His love. After a few days' 
 stay the Bishops left for Trent, and he accepted an 
 invitation to visit them there, if possible, during the 
 following week. Meanwhile, other distinguished 
 guests claimed his hospitality, and it was the middle 
 of October before he had leisure enough to acknow- 
 ledge the receipt of Mellerio's letter : 
 
 This letter you will receive late for too reasons : First, 
 on account of the illness of the good Maurizio, who appears 
 to be on his death-bed, if God does not interpose His 
 power. He received the holy viaticum a few days ago. 
 What a consolation it is for me to see him so well prepared 
 for the great journey ! He reposes in the hands of God 
 with an enviable tranquillity. If God should now take 
 him to Himself, I hope, confidently, that it will prove to 
 be a favourable moment. 
 
 The other reason was a sudden arrival of Prelates. Two 
 Bishops were here at the same time, and I had to keep 
 them company almost the whole day. Afterwards, other 
 guests arrived who have made me lose a great deal of time. 
 May God forgive me, as I hope He will. 
 
 I am extremely pleased with the visit you have paid 
 to Domodossola, and all the more as it seems you made it 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 427 
 
 somewhat against your will. I am especially gratified by 
 the news you give me of the hermitage and of its hermit. 
 God can do all things, and He is the more wonderful the 
 more He works alone. When I think I see God working, 
 so to say, more of Himself, then I have greater courage, 
 as His Will seems to be thus more manifest. How merci- 
 ful He would be if He were to look kindly upon our under- 
 taking ! If I am horrified when I look within myself, 
 what will God see in me with that glance which can dis- 
 cover depravity even in angels ? 
 
 I take your friendship and kinship with the minister 
 Brignole of whom you say so much in so few words as 
 another token of Divine Providence and of God's mercy. 
 How willingly I shall make his acquaintance, for which 
 you offer me such an excellent opportunity. 
 
 I thank you for all your kindness and friendship. 
 Would that I could prove to you in some way the grati- 
 tude I feel ! 
 
 ROVERETO : October 14, I82;. 1 
 
 An unexpected improvement in Moschini's con- 
 dition gave some slight hopes of his recovery : it 
 also supplied the attending physicians, and the 
 Countess Rosmini with a good pretext for renewing 
 their request that Don Antonio (whose own health 
 needed much care) should visit the sick chamber less 
 frequently, and shorten the times of his stay there. 
 He yielded when the saintly patient joined in the 
 advice, and reminded him that the regular corre- 
 spondence was probably in arrears, since he, the 
 secretary, could no longer assist in it. Two days 
 sufficed to dispose of the unfinished correspondence. 
 Amongst the letters then despatched was an impor- 
 
 1 EpistolariO) Letter Ixxix. 
 
428 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 tant one in Latin to Prince Alessandro von Hohen- 
 lohe ; it besought the prayers of that holy Priest for 
 the new Institute, and gave him full information of 
 all that had been done in the matter, and of all that 
 was in progress and in contemplation. There were 
 communications to be sent off touching literary and 
 scientific subjects, others on business, and others on 
 social topics. All these were dealt with more con- 
 cisely than usual, but in a way that well befitted the 
 occasion. As the letters in which Rosmini most de- 
 lighted those on purely spiritual subjects pre- 
 sented special attractions under such circumstances 
 as found him housed with the dying, he took the 
 opportunity of pouring out his soul's thoughts on 
 these without stinting the expression of them. 
 
 There were many letters awaiting reply, especi- 
 ally those from the little flock he had left at Milan, 
 which gave him the opening he desired. To all he 
 expatiated on the Cross as the treasure of treasures. 
 Suiting the mode of application to each of his corre- 
 spondents, he pointed out the defects they had to 
 overcome, the humility they had to practise in order 
 to win this priceless treasure. Some of his friends 
 objected that as no one was without defects of a 
 more or less grave character, no one could secure 
 the treasure hidden in the Cross. He replied that 
 to be fully conscious of defects was the first step to 
 be rid of them, and a sincere consciousness of our 
 defects was evidence of that humility through which 
 the treasure had to be reached. He reminded them 
 that St. Benedict set down the following as the 
 
PREPARING FOR MONTE CALVARIO. 429 
 
 seventh cardinal degree of humility, and St. Thomas 
 of Aquin commended it as a golden rule : ' Sincerely 
 to esteem ourselves baser and more unworthy than 
 every one, even the greatest sinner.' l St. Augus- 
 tine maintained that no one could ' without pre- 
 sumption, pride, and sin, think better of himself 
 than of the worst of sinners.' 2 St. Ignatius of 
 Loyola, as every one knows, when surrounded by 
 marked tokens of God's special favour, used to 
 speak of himself as ' the most miserable of sinners/ 
 and sign his letters ' Ynigo, little in good.' Of the 
 many letters which Rosmini wrote in those days, on 
 various phases of this subject, one to Don Boselli of 
 Milan is given here, not because it is the best, but 
 because it is the shortest, and as illustrative of the 
 man as the longest could be. 
 
 For your kind remembrance of me I am thankful, and 
 I also thank Signer Francesco, our friend in the Lord. 
 He writes to me that he is wholly taken up with gold and 
 gems, 3 as if he would suggest a pleasing contrast between 
 the state of his body and that of his spirit, with the 
 favourite symbol of which I am well acquainted ; it is the 
 Cross, and therefore rather of wood than of gold. He 
 holds the very same sentiments that your letter leads me 
 to deem yours. Ah ! how great is this treasure ! How 
 precious is this wood ! May our Lord enable us to com- 
 prehend its inexhaustible wealth ! Therein we shall have 
 all wisdom, all perfection, all good, all fulness of joy, and 
 stability in the fulness. And if this should not be ours 
 immediately in fact, we shall have it in hope in a hope 
 
 1 St. Bened., Reg. c. vii. 2 Vide St. Aug. de Virginit. 
 
 9 This Francesco kept a jeweller's shop in Milan. 
 
430 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINL 
 
 that confoundeth not a hope that is better than fact, 
 because founded in faith ; and this has a merit far superior 
 to the reward, if the reward could be considered as entirely 
 separated from the merit. 
 
 That which you say about defects in the practice of our 
 little religious exercises, should humble, without terrifying 
 us, and may be even encouraging. Our Lord permits this 
 effect of our nothingness, that we may see the more 
 clearly how, of ourselves, we have not power to lift a straw; 
 and our religious exercises are really but as a straw, or 
 even less, when contrasted with what holy men in the past 
 have dene by the help of the Lord. I not only see that I 
 am infinitely the most imperfect of all, but I feel it 
 thoroughly, and my heart suggests that, in His goodness, 
 God will always act thus towards us ; until, in this school, 
 we shall have learned to despise ourselves in a word, to 
 know ourselves. 
 
 Let us beg of our Lord to give us this precious know- 
 ledge of ourselves, joined with a knowledge of His good- 
 ness, in order that we may not be dismayed. Jesus is able 
 to shed upon our minds the enlightening rays that show us 
 the two pivots upon which all knowledge turns that we 
 are nothing, and that Pie is everything. This knowledge 
 will conduct us to the complete sacrifice of our whole 
 selves, because, recognising our nothingness, we will 
 arrogate nothing to ourselves, but consecrate all to Jesus. 
 Then we shall have complete tranquillity ; then external 
 things will not be strong enough to disturb us, since we 
 shall have our foundation in the truth because that which 
 is nothing can neither be disturbed nor mortified by men. 
 Nothingness is incapable of being anything, and He Who 
 is everything cannot stand in need of nothingness. When 
 we shall have become as nothing to ourselves, there will 
 have then ceased in us every agitation and anxiety, all 
 precipitancy and over-eagerness. We shall then allow God 
 to extract from our nullity what He pleases, and we shall 
 always readily obey His creative Will alone, just as all 
 
DEATH OF MOSCHINI. 431 
 
 things obey it. Let us learn from these to know that 
 Voice and not to resist it. 
 
 O ! blessed is that human passiveness which, becoming 
 as plastic as wax, is easily impressed by the spirit of God ! 
 I mention these things, because of my own defects, for I 
 am more full of evil than others. I conclude entreating 
 you to pray unceasingly that our Lord provide for the 
 wants of Holy Church, and give to His divine Son a glory 
 infinite ; causing Him to reign in all men and in all things. 
 
 Prayer ! prayer ! prayer ! that is our need. We know 
 the means. Jesus has told us what it is. When we fail to 
 make use of it whose is the fault ? 
 
 ROVERETO : October 7, 1827. l 
 
 The improvement in Moschini's health seeming 
 to continue, Rosmini consented to go and spend a 
 day with the Bishop of Trent as promised. He left 
 on the morning of October 21, intending to return 
 next day. When he took leave of his young friend, 
 promising to be with him again on the morrow, he 
 was greeted with a peculiar smile, which seemed to 
 say, ' You know not what shall be on the morrow.' 
 Monsignor Strosio 2 assures us, on the best authority, 
 that while Rosmini was driving back from Trent, 
 the following afternoon, he suddenly turned towards 
 his companion in the carriage and exclaimed, gazing 
 at something near them, ' Alas ! Moschini is dead.' 
 He then leaned backwards, and without uttering 
 another word remained in profound meditation until 
 they reached the door of the house in Rovereto, when 
 he asked, in soft mournful tones, 'Is it long since 
 he departed ? ' The hour named in reply corre- 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixxx. 
 
 2 Difesa dellafama e del la vita-di A. Rosmini. 
 
432 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 sponded, to a moment, with that which Rosmini's 
 companion had carefully noted on hearing the ex- 
 clamation ' Moschini is dead/ 
 
 When the faithful Moschini was duly laid in his 
 grave, lamented by all who assisted at the solemn 
 ceremony lamented, even though they were all per- 
 suaded that he had gone where the Saints reign with 
 Christ Rosmini had nothing more to detain him in 
 Rovereto. He would have left ere this (for the 
 affairs he came about were already settled to his 
 satisfaction), but he foresaw that his beloved secre- 
 tary was on the eve of going to God, and he wished 
 to be near him up to the last. Before starting for 
 Milan he sent to Count Mellerio this brief notifica- 
 tion of the loss they had to deplore : 
 
 The good Maurizio has been withdrawn from me, in his 
 visible presence, since the 22nd of this month. Our Lord 
 was pleased to spare me the pain of seeing him depart 
 within my arms. I was absent from Rovereto only one 
 day, on a visit to the Bishop of Trent, and it was on that 
 day God took him from me. 
 
 Blessed be God ! with Whom, I have no doubt, he 
 now is in bliss ; still, I ardently pray for his well-regulated 
 soul, lest, after all, there should remain any blemish to 
 wipe away it is so easy for us to defile ourselves in the 
 mire in which we here are. 
 
 , I beg of you to notify your friends of this sad event, 
 for I would ask the charity of their prayers also. 
 
 ROVERETO : October 31, 1827. l 
 
 Shortly afterwards Don Antonio returned to 
 Milan, where Moschini had made many personal 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixxxi. 
 

 DEATH OF MOSCfflNI. 433 
 
 friends whom his admirable life had greatly edified, 
 and to whom the history of his death, impressively 
 told by Rosmini, became a source of new and lasting 
 edification. Not only they who had been intimately 
 connected with him, but all who knew how much 
 Rosmini loved him, felt it a duty to express their 
 condolence in a more or less formal way. It was in 
 reply to one of these Signor F. Arrivabene of 
 Mantua that Don Antonio penned the following 
 terse eulogium on his saintly secretary : 
 
 I was about to write to you as to the death of our 
 Maurizio, when I found myself forestalled by a letter from 
 you, full of words to comfort my sorrow, because it was 
 full of my sorrow ; that is, of a grief like unto mine, result- 
 ing from a common friendship, and which seems to vent 
 itself in the relief of another as in its own. However, 
 yours is sorrow for a distant friend, while I bewail the loss 
 of one who was constantly at my side, a companion of my 
 studies, and I will even say my partner for a long time in 
 every woe and weal of life. I have known intimately, and 
 have admired, the virtues of Maurizio ; I have seen them 
 increase almost daily. They have grown, I should say, 
 under my very eyes, after that manner in which they are 
 always accustomed to grow in a good man. I should have 
 wished to have drawn as much profit from his example as 
 I did from the assiduity of his labours, and from his assist- 
 ance in literary affairs. I saw him taken off in the full 
 bloom, when he already promised the richest fruit He 
 had a sound mind, virginal, like his heart, and well regu- 
 lated, like his life. He did not seem to be of this earth 
 nor of this age. How many things did not his lofty spirit 
 already embrace ! With what avidity did not that soul 
 hold fast to the good and the beautiful, whenever he saw 
 them, wherever they presented themselves ! How many 
 holy projects had he not already conceived ; had he not 
 VOL. I. F F 
 
434 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 already matured in his mind ! How many things had he 
 not already taken in hand ! Perhaps they were too much 
 for his fragile constitution ; perhaps that which the more 
 endeared him to us his indefatigable ardour for good 
 helped to deprive us sooner of his presence. 
 
 Grateful for your expressions towards me, who have no 
 higher merit than that of having been the friend of your 
 friend Maurizio, let me offer myself to you in place of him, 
 if I can be of any service to you. 
 
 MILAN: December 8, 1827. l 
 
 It is the special privilege of those who have lived 
 saintly lives to retain their holy influence after death. 
 Maurizio Moschini was often fondly styled, by his Ro- 
 vereto friends, ' a lamp of the sanctuary/ When he was 
 no longeron earth, he became, to all who had known 
 him, as a star in Heaven to brighten their paths and 
 guide them over the course he had passed. His 
 youngest brother, Felice, who had come to assist in 
 nursing him during the severe illness he bore so 
 patiently to the last, soon felt that if sufferings like 
 Maurizio's were as a rod, it was a rod resembling 
 Aaron's which blossomed beauteously and produced 
 the fruit of unending peace. Ere long Felice took 
 his brother's place as * a lamp of the sanctuary/ and 
 he was not the only youth of those days whose career 
 the example of Maurizio benignly swayed : it still 
 sways the course of many a timid and weary pilgrim 
 in this ' vale of tears.' 
 
 Possibly, i3 some have asserted, Rosmini's grief 
 for the loss of young Moschini was mixed with a 
 little natural disappointment that his trusted secre- 
 
 1 Epistolario, Letter Ixxxii. 
 
AN ENVOY TO HEAVEN. 435 
 
 tary should have been taken away from him just as 
 the Institute was about to begin its existence, that 
 Institute for the foundation of which Maurizio had 
 so heartily prayed and worked that Institute 
 amongst whose first members he so eagerly longed 
 to be numbered. Doubtless, Rosmini had counted 
 more or less on this member, and probably thought 
 much of the special good one so rich in virtues was 
 likely to accomplish. But they greatly misjudged 
 Rosmini who supposed that he ever set his heart on 
 the aid of any man, however good and gifted. He 
 trusted so little to mere human co-operation, as such, 
 that its withdrawal for whatever reason, and however 
 suddenly, little troubled him, even when this with- 
 drawal seemed to seriously threaten or actually dis- 
 concert his best plans ; not that he was wholly in- 
 sensible to the feelings of disappointment thence 
 ordinarily arising, but that he was so wholly reliant 
 on Providence, that these feelings were deprived of 
 power to distress him. He felt, indeed, sincere joy 
 at the prospect of seeing realised Moschini's ardent 
 wish to be one of the first members of the new Order, 
 but the joy was centred in the sanctification of that 
 dear friend's soul. This sanctification having been 
 secured already, and by the very means which the 
 Institute was to employ, there was nothing left to 
 give Rosmini real disappointment, nor was there 
 anything to grieve him sorely, except some feeling 
 akin to that which caused our Lord to weep with 
 those who wept at the grave of Lazarus. For the 
 rest, though Maurizio was not spared to participate, 
 
436 LIFE OF ANTONIO ROSMINI. 
 
 on earth, in the opening exercises of the new Order, 
 his intention had already for a long time consecrated 
 him to it, and he was expected to do his part in 
 Paradise. Hence his brother Felice was justified 
 in describing him as * the first Envoy of the Order 
 to the Court of Heaven/ Felice himself most 
 worthily representing this envoy in its ranks here 
 below, when these ranks were, at length, solemnly 
 ranged with the noble companies forming the regular 
 army of the Church Militant. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
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