MAZZINI, GIUSEPPE. 



507 



"Association of Young Italy," La Giovena 

 Italia, and sought to surround himself with 

 men as ardent and resolute as himself; but, 

 while this organization was republican and 

 unionist to the core, its tendencies were more 

 humanitarian and universal than those of car- 

 bonarism. Liberty, equality, and humanity, 

 were its watchwords; "God and the people" 

 its motto ; white, red, and green, its tricolored 

 banner; education and insurrection the great 

 agencies of its operations; assassination was 

 prohibited by its statutes, and the symbolic 

 dagger of the Carbonari was replaced by the 

 emblems of a book and the cypress. After 

 his release he repaired to Lyons, where the 

 Italian exiles were organizing for the invasion 

 of Savoy. The French Governm ent suppressed 

 this movement and dispersed its leaders, and 

 he joined republicans who repaired to Corsica, 

 for the purpose of sending thence arms and 

 assistance to the insurrection which existed in 

 the central provinces of Italy. He returned 

 in a short time to Marseilles, and gave his 

 whole thought and eifort to the effective or- 

 ganization of his new association, establishing 

 and maintaining a periodical to which he gave 

 the name of Young Italy. On the accession 

 of Charles Albert, he addressed him a pub- 

 lic letter from Marseilles, wherein he urged 

 the King to place himself at the head of the 

 liberal movement. He prepared also at Mar- 

 seilles the statutes of the new association, de- 

 claring that u Young Italy is a brotherhood of 

 Italians who believe in a law of progress and 

 duty," and that members joined it " in the firm 

 intent of consecrating both thought and action 

 to the great aim of reconstituting Italy as one 

 independent, sovereign nation of freedmen and 

 equals." As a result of his letter to the King 

 of Sardinia, the Sardinian ambassador made 

 application to the French Government, and 

 he was ordered to quit the French territory. 

 For nearly twelve months he succeeded in 

 evading the vigilance of the police, and 

 brought out his journal, which was easily dis- 

 tributed from Marseilles into Italy, and went 

 to Switzerland for the purpose of organizing 

 the expedition into Savoy in 1833, which 

 foiled through the treachery of Ramorino, to 

 whom the military command had been given. 

 Driven out of Switzerland, he repaired to Lon- 

 don in 1837, where he supported himself by 

 his pen, and established a school and a jour- 

 nal, called the Apostolato Popolare, for Italian 

 working-men. In 1844 his name was brought 

 prominently before the English public, in con- 

 sequence of the disclosure of a practice of open- 

 ing the letters of refugees in the London post- 

 office by the Government, at the request of 

 foreign ambassadors. Much excitement was 

 caused by this act of the Government, and it 

 called forth an indignant letter from Carlyle, 

 which was scathing in its severity. After 

 the French Revolution in February, 1848, 

 Mazzini went to Paris, to concert measures 

 with the Republican party there, and shortly 



afterward took up his abode at Milan, where 

 he opposed the fusion of Lombardy with Pied- 

 mont. He remained at Milan until the ad- 

 vance of the Austrians forced him to take ref- 

 uge in the canton of Ticino, in Switzerland, 

 whence, shortly after the expedition into the 

 Yal d'Intelvi, he was again expelled. Rome 

 having declared itself a republic, Mazzini was 

 elected deputy to the Constituent Assembly 

 for the town of Leghorn, where he landed, 

 and was received with acclamations. After 

 spending some time at Florence, in attempting 

 to effect the fusion of Tuscany and Rome, he 

 repaired to Rome, and from that moment be- 

 came the leading spirit of the Roman Repub- 

 lic, having been, with Armellini and Saffi, ap- 

 pointed. March 30, 1849, a Triumvir, and re- 

 ceived with his colleagues the full powers of 

 the young state. He organized an army of 

 50,000 men, cast cannon, and prepared in 

 every way to govern and defend the republic, 

 and for a time maintained the contest against 

 General Oudinot and his army. A cessation 

 of hostilities having been agreed upon, he 

 protested against it, and resigned his post of 

 Triumvir. Rather than execute the decree of 

 the Assembly, he left Rome, and took up his 

 residence in England, keeping up a correspond- 

 ence with the Republican party in Italy. Af- 

 ter this great epoch in his life, Mazzini con- 

 tinued to occupy the attention of Europe by 

 the unceasing efforts he made in behalf of 

 Italian freedom. He caused risings in Italy in 

 1853 and 1857, but at length he saw, in 1859, 

 the powerful armies of France and Sardinia 

 accomplishing the first part of the work of his 

 life, and impelled to this course by the enthu- 

 siastic and irrepressible ardor which he had 

 inspired. But, though a great advance en 

 the divided and oppressed Italy which had 

 been the chief sorrow of his youth and man- 

 hood, it was not yet the Italy for which he 

 had long labored and prayed. His dream had 

 been of Italy, a noble, united, self-governed 

 republic, and he was not, therefore, heartily 

 in accord with the existing state of affairs. In 

 the beginning of 1864 an attempt was made, 

 most unjustly and falsely, to implicate him in 

 the attempt of Orsini and others to assassi- 

 nate Napoleon III. Mazzini was all his life 

 long a conspirator and a revolutionist, but 

 never directly or indirectly an assassin. Be- 

 fore his death, the evidence was complete that 

 Orsini, who had been earlier a follower of Maz- 

 zini, acted in this matter in absolute opposition 

 to his instructions and commands. In 1865 

 Mazzini was elected to the Italian Parliament, 

 but his election was annulled. In 1866, while 

 still pursuing his labors, the victory of Sadowa 

 insured the freedom of Venice ; and in 1870 

 the Italian army entered Rome, and the unity 

 of Italy was complete. Mazzini, true to his 

 republican faith, labored to the last to make 

 Italy not only united, but republican. 



He had returned to Italy after the surrender 

 of Rome to the Italian King, but he would not 



