New-York tribune., 1896-10-24

the most important factor III estimating SAN
| arola's character and influence was 'aVohaio"
own writings. Others had ignored these vi "."
foI,er into a mere tradition as to their conteh's
Professor Villari reviewed them with care ''
u.os rerbaps led away by en-. -siasm for MS
! theme He reckoi d Savonarola as the peer -
campanella in philosophy, and he comp'a'"e"
,hat those who wrote histories Of philosophy
revar mentioned the one. though they ca'eiu''s
a,ortad the doctrines of the other. This Is Siii
,ruo of them They are not yet convinced vi '"'
value OF Savonarolas brief essays upon '"e"eo
which in his other writings he cohoe''"
useless SavOnarOla made no marx up'' "
by his speculative writings. Th"y serve o''
show that he child OF his age. '"
! looked back to ST. Thomas Aquinas TOT Ills '"e."
od and around him upon the men who were re-
viying the study of the Greek ana -a'i'' ''"'''N'
for many Of the novelties in his thoI NJ
He was also. In a time OF revived pae"""
,ha most diIicent reader the Bible that the
| world had seen for many generat'oN'' ~
mons were SO full Of Biblical quota ion that tney
vould have satisfied the most earnest ".' ~
| Reformer Of the next generation. his rei's'ou'
,rac,a delighted Luther, and they Ie1t W ''e
,or,d q question which Professor Niliari a"-
/ susr. in his own way. but which others answer
| according to their preferences. was oa
allied IN the German Protestants III dis uo0''
| Luther said yes and mary since nave sa'i ~
came Professor Villari denies this. ne sho"S
how careful Savonarola was to Keep Wi'n'n Wv.
limits i'm speaking Of the Church- i'S op,'''
wero his opinions II hs rejected the autho'i.s
Of the Pope he went no further In TINS than "''
many of his Italian contemporaries anu " "
far perhaps as the famous fathei a"' "
ice. Nobody ever lelieved that ne was """e
.ud burned for downright heresy But Professor
pcila a
NJ savonarola, the preacher and statesman WIZ"
....s 90 cavorarola the mystic. / is obliged to
| ,u hac, ,,non a theory which makes the great
urior ,f 81 Marks little less than naoii'ah a'
,ar,ain moments Of prophetic ecstasy !" tue
,,idst of a multitude Of sympathetic hea-ers "c
was swayed by the same thoughts 'ia' S""'
| them The ceremonies which he decitreu We ~"
those Of the earliest Christians sun haa ''e"
feet But In prison awaiting death he wrote ie'-
wont trcatises which were '~cnslated py hu'"e'
and cherished by the Protestants as II "'i''e" "
their own most revcred teachers -
In literary sense. the perfection VIII" WIN"
| Professor Villari saw and made MS reauei' 90
tho doubc nature In Savonaroa VIII a"aSS
| constitute the principal charm OF MS ooo"
! savonaroIa fell short OF the ideals OF MS age III
n,.ny vavs He might have been the greatest
| ., italian orators il he had added the skill anu
| noished diciion Of the schools TO ms Nl'iu
! earpes,ness and his graphic power OF pic'ur'hs
| his thoughts and visions TO the minus VI III.
| reople He might have renamed MASTER VI
| Florence II he had been As wise IN act as IT.
was I'm the theory of the Florentihe "'a'e'
Father Paul In Venice was pursued Win eq"a'
hatred. and yet baHlcd his foes ~ saVoharoia
had spokcr with restraint, his predictions ""u'"
have come true tho same as they ala "heh Nv
| pronounced them In the form OF rhapSoo'e''
| Most other men, even ascetic orators nave 'o"-
fro, If their words Savonarola's power and
his fate seem to be wrapped up with hs lack
- solfcontroI When he was speaking he en-
tranc,d his hearers. because he was hin>seii mas
tered bv what he was saying. lie seemed really
TO divine the future. At all events he spoke III
such n way that when calamtIes came. people
at once remembered and applied his words lie
talked Of the Deluge. and soon the Frenchmen
under Charles VIII poured over Italy like
food He threatened Charles with an untimey
and miserable death. and men remembered TINS
when the King breathed hts last In hovei on
n bed OF unclean straw. lie bade the floreh-
tines be OF good chcer when they were almost
starved by the watchfulness OF the besiegers al
tho time OF the war with Venice, and In "A day
the same wind that drove away the hostile
| ships from the port brought supplies from
France. As long his star was In IN" as
cendant the people agreed with him In believing
that he had prophetic sht But when MS
| enemies began gain the upper hand while
ne himself thought only that mysterious gift
had been lost the ncklc popuace fancied that
they had been deceived all along by magician
! II the phenomenon were not SO frequent in his
| tory one would read with deadly pain the
! scandalous story of how this man Of genius
! was isolated at n trying moment. lest he might
help his friends with n charm or cast balefu
| enchantment upon his foes. The change from
| love and admiration 10 hatred and fear came
! quickly In the minds ~ the people. as quickly
| indeed as those transitions from sober thinking
TO visionary rhapsodies which Professor Viilar
noted in the mind Of Savonarola himself
1t requires an Italian mind 10 grasp the merits
Of the political system which Savonarola do
vised after the expulsion Of the Medici Profess
sor Villari pointed out that Florence afterward
| REQUIRED To some ~ its features. But the north
crn races have never found liberty endangered
/ by entrusting the executive to single hand
Sayonaroa interpreted that as tyranny 1t did
not occur TO him nor to his distinguished Hog
rapher that during the term ~ his political as
cendanCy he WAS the real executive At the trial
which resulted in his death he declared that ne
had advised others. but Rad never administered
affairs. But the narrative shows that his advice
was almost always taken. He was virtually the
| head OF the State. with power that seemed
| for the moment to he of higher than earthly ori-
gin The strangest part OF the narrative is that
q man subject to many mental disturbances
wise mt one moment and visionary ct another
should leave his enemies little to accuse him
| ~ when his trial came Even torture failed To
elicit words worthy OF death under the law OF
that day. A second trial was less successful
than the first. Professor Nillari made II a point
TO go over the evidence, and he fully believed the
tradition that changes were made in the record
| to warrant the sentence OF death.