Political Evolution. 59 



under Victor Emmanuel if there is no longer that State 

 support for the Church which formerly existed, the im- 

 pediments to its action have also disappeared. 



To the popular mind of England the penultimate King 

 of Naples was the very representative of priest-ridden 

 monarchy. Really, however, though glad to make use 

 of Church influence for the support of the throne, not 

 many Catholic monarchs have been more anti-theocratic 

 than the sovereign in question. Not only intolerant of 

 the Jesuits, he would not even listen to Pope Pius, when 

 as his guest at Gaeta he petitioned for a modicum of 

 freedom for the Sicilian Church. 



The destruction, then, of such systems of government 

 in Italy was more the making apparent of what was before 

 latent than any really considerable advance in the anti- 

 theocratic direction. The advance had been made long 

 before. 



While the pope's civil princedom remained, and any 

 community, even that of a single city, continued subject 

 to his direct civil sway, the mediaeval Christian theocracy 

 might be said still to exist. With its disappearance, 

 should it be final, disappears the logical basis of that 

 system ; then " Christendom " exists and can exist no 

 longer, however some shreds and patches of it may for a 

 time linger amidst the social phenomena of the succeed- 

 ing period. 



It is true that we see a curious and interesting example 



