Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-06-22
"TORQUEMADA."
The Coming Work OF the Great French
Poet, Victor HugO-The EvOlu-
ton Of Religious Frenzy
as 1t Was
Developed from Ferdinand and Isabel
Down Through Their Children
and Grandchildren-The Poem
Of the Age.


held by literary critics to be the most power
full work that has Issued from his pen since
be brought out Les Mise obIes. II is very
startling, very grand, and, like every pro-
duction of the same author, essentially
Hugotesque. This / do not say to carp. The
literary giant of modern France is not an
observer. He does not SO much look upon
the world In which all men live and move as
the one that he has evolved out of his own
moral consciousness. / have often heard
him say: 81 look inward lie re9drde en-
deddns)" In childhood he stored his mind
with impressions, and his manhood has been
spent in rejecting and brooding upon them.
The germ for Trquemada, be told me, fell
into the intellectual soil in which it has SO
nightly vegetated, 80 long ago as 1909. In
that year he was at Madrid, and he saw the
Inquisition thrown open by French soldiers
under his fathers command, aud a ban1 of
gaunt wretches released. Their liberation
was for come days the theme of conversation
at the parental dinner-table, to which he
and his brothers were, in FIe3ch fsshiop,
admitted. Had they in Euglish fashion
been relegated to the school-room to dine,
the literature OF the nineteenth century
would not be enriched by the drama. Among
the guests there was an erudite Italian eccle-
siastIc-a free-thinker-who had lived many
years in Spain. General Hugo was Vol
tartan, aud spoke very freely about the holy
Office. He described the instruments of tor
ture which he had found, and which had
been utilized short time before. This led
him and his guests 10 talk about "the acts of
faith" of the Spanish kings, at which Jews
and heretics used TO be burned. The italian
had seen one in the last century. He said
they had become less frequent under the
Bourbons, and that they were very rare after
Maria Louisa, the queen of Charles V, broke
with etiquette and decorum and was publicly
the mistress of Joyallanos and Godoy.
The first monarch of the Bour-
ness an auto da te. A king, he said, when in
vited to be present at one, should only see
a criminal to pardon him. General Hugo
had risen from the ranks and was not learned
in historic lore. He asked the Italian eccle-
siastic to explain to him how it was that so
Internal an institution became SO powerful
in Spain. In reply he was told that diaboii-
cal as it was, its authors were Ferdinand, an
enlightened prince for the time in which he
lived, Isabella, his wife, a woman of extra
ordinary moral elevation, and Torquemada,
who was "a great conscience, and one of the
most virtuous men that ever breathed." The
gifted boy, who was intently listening to this
conversation, felt indignant at hearing that
Torquemada, had any redeeming quality.
He would have liked to hear that he was an
out-and out monster. The Italian explained
the monstrous cruelty OF which Torquemada
was guilty by the dogma of eternal punish
ment. The iransitory pain which being
roasted alive involved was of no account
when set off against eternal damnation.
Admitting a hell, into which Gods mercy
could not penetrate, and the old theological
ideas about the damnable nature of false
doctrine, Torquemada was to be commended
for his firmness in trying to extirpate heresy
by the fsgget.
Victor Hugo was religious boy, and OF a
devotional habit. His mother was a Brit
tany Catholic, and he acquired her preju-
dices and beliefs. What he heard about the
Ipquisition had a terrible, soul-shaking
effect upon him. He did not sleep for many
nights, for thinking about it; and il haunted
him in the day time. To quote his own
words, he felt as if Torquemada stood be-
tween him and God. The painful feeling
returned when he was adolescent. He never
lost an opportunity of studying the history
of Spain in the time of Ferdinand and Isa-
bella. When he broke with the Roman
Catholic Church and became humanitarian
Deist, he understood that kindness is the law
of laws, and that if justice is not tempered
with mercy it becomes injustice. To bring
forth good fruits, conscience must be softened
and enlightened by charity. The train of
thoughts which Torquemada engendered
lad an outlet in Les Miserables "Javert,"
the policeman, is a reduced copy of the
founder of the IuquisitioD, and Bishop
Myriel" is modernized Francis de Paul.
Torguenddd is a drama in verse. When
ever Victor Hugo goes far north be makes
fool of himself. In this work he never
leaves the sunny south, which he under
stands. The versi6caton is noble and its
grandeur we'll sustained throughout. 1t is
not an acting tragedy. Its interest is
psychological. The picturesque and dra-
matte elements are relegated ID the back
ground 10 the form of dialogue the ques-
lions of religious fanaticism and virtuous
criminality are discussed. There are virtu-
GUS criminals, and Victor Hugo proves them
10 be the most dangerous He also shows
them to be solitary and unhappy, for they
are out of sympathy with the human race,
and, indeed, with ali creation. Torquemada,
Bloody Mary, R3bespierre, st. Just, were
virtuous criminals, and 1 dare say, there are
persons who would range Guiteau in
this category. Apropos OF ;IIOrqtle"'odd,
its author said TO me: "The evo-
luton of monstrous crimiuality is
always slow. Bloody Mary's wickedness is
explained by her grandmother's converse
ton with Torquemada. Isabella, we may be
sure, recoiled from burning heretics and
Jews when first advised TO do so. Storms
must have ragged in her heart and brain. She
must have worked herself up to believe that
rorquemada was right, and then excluded
pity from her breast. Catharine of Arsgon
was one of her younger children. She was
born, no doubt, after her mother had steeled
herself against the cries for mercy of the
unfortunates who were going to be burned,
aud distorted her conscience to bring it into
harmony with the grand iDquisiior. Bloody
Mary was the spiritual granddaughter
of Torquemada." st. Francis de Paul,
st. Vincent De Paul, Elizabeth Fry,
the late NJ. de Meiz, of Mettray, were
men and women whose consciences were soft
ened and enlightened by charity. The char
acter of ST. Francis de Paul is exquisitely
delineated. This saiuted parsonage tries to
forget harsh dogmas and birthstone theology.
He is God led man-for God is love. The
channels through which divine goodness
operates are the synpsthies and sensibilities
and beautiful intellect of the saint. II is
impossible for him 10 exclude any human
creature from Gods mercy. When Tongue
mazda, who is logical as a proposition of
Euclid, drives the saint into a corner, he
falls back upon the doctrine of vicarious
e1piation, and ia happy in doing penance for
Jews, heretics and intdels, whom he is salts
fed will in GODS good time be saved. ST.
Frapcis is not a dogmatic christian. Tor
quemada is. L should not wonder if the
former we're to lead the world to inquire
into the virtue of penance done in a spirit Of
charity.