Political Evolution. 55 



Overshadowing and obscuring both royal and papal 

 authority, this monstrous Christian parasite offered a 

 peculiar obstacle to overt manifestations of reviving 

 paganism, although itself hostile to the true theocratic 

 spirit. That it was not the true representative of the 

 latter was shown by the unerring instinct of resurging 

 paganism, which first expelled, not the inquisitors, but 

 their occasional victims the Jesuits ever in closest and 

 most sympathetic union with the head of Christendom. 



Again, the anti-theocratic changes in Spain were 

 mainly brought about by foreign influences. So that 

 small tentative returns towards some of the old laws and 

 practices were, as being national, more or less popular 

 and practicable, down almost to 1868. 



The extremely radical measures which were for a time 

 adopted show that the forcible repression of the anti- 

 theocratic movement in Spain has in the end but in- 

 tensified its action, and given rise to a spirit of antagon- 

 istic fanaticism akin to, if not in excess of, that of the 

 Parisian Commune. 



But few fragments of the Christian theocracy remain in 

 the Madrid Government of Spain to-day, even under King 

 Alfonso ; but many hope or fear that a return to that theo- 

 cracy may be effected under the sovereignty of " Charles 

 VII." Some of those, however, who are personally ac- 

 quainted with " His Most Catholic Majesty," positively 

 affirm that nothing is farther from his thoughts or intentions 



