The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-01

o
gently what IL going on now in England.
the most interesting constitutional strug-
gle since the Reform bill
Tho Coed Old Day. ia Italy.
Insurgents against the strenuous life.
who despair Of the Millennium when peace
shall prevail over all the earth and man
shall cease 10 do 20 his nei ghbor hat which
he does not wish that neighbOr 70 do 20
him. will do we'll 70 refresh themselves
on the road TO their goal by q draught Of
the bitter nectar furnished In WILLIAM
HEYwooD's contribution 10 the series
Of the States Of Italy entitled A History
81 Psrugil &c. 2. PutnAms Sons) IL
may briefly he characterized a. a chrOni-
Gle Of hatred 'of which, a. tho author
says concerning a specific case. in this
less virile age we can hardly form an ade-
quats conception Not that PertiRia
was more -virilc- Tor brutal than the
other Italian cities Of the olden days.
and like Satan by merit raised 10 that
bad eminence' above the rest, a. the
reader will perceive from the glimpses
OF the other demons whose history was
lntertwined with IT, Indeed Mr.. Hey
wood quotes BonAzzi In regard 70 the most
lAwless and violent section ~ the Mobiles.
which was headed by Pandolfo Baglioni,
the Perugian satan; which leaves ~
to infer that he was not regarded a. an
isolated example even IN HE own day
in Italy.
For many people, says Mr.. Haywood.
Peuigia Ia simply the town Of PeriginO
and Of the Baglioni; yet the Umbrian
school Of painting Is a product Of the age
Of despots. and except in name the gres
commune was a thing Of the past before
the Baglioni rose 20 power In tho fiftesnth
century. The Perugia over which they
lordsd Il had long before fallen from tho
position Of an independent city State 20
that 81 a mere provincial town whose
history is quito without significance: for
the years Of Perugia = greatest prosperity
belong 10 tho thirtsenth and fourteenth
centuries. II Is probable that but for her
unswerving loyalty 90 tho Gue.f cause tho
temporal power " tho Papacy would
hardly have survived the removal 81 tho
Apostolic Sos 20 Avignon; and upon this
PerIgia's claim 20 a dehnite place in the
history Of Italy chiefly rests. since Il IL
obvious that II tho history Of the Papal
States ~ important that u tho commune
which saved them 10 the Church must be
important also So busy were the man NJ
Perugia in doing things that they al
most absolutely neglected TO record
thor deeds, and the pen was far from
Oeing mighticr than the sword with
them at that date NJ Haywood found
il often quite impossible 20 obtain any
knowledge Of PerIgian history from Peru
gian SOURCES; and only since tho Vatican
documents have l-.-n made accessible
has il heoome possible 20 reconstruct tho
past. though much remains 70 hs done in
the way II original research belore tho
story Ut the e. Ommuns can bo adequately
written After Spending four and a half
years on tho book Mr. Haywood warns "a
that il represents chiefly synopsis Of tho
latest Italian researches, and save for the
vcri.cation u facts he has been compelIed
"a avoid RECOURSE 10 unpublished sources
u information. lie has besn forced 20
make occasional digressions. because 70
little has been published in English with
regard to tho communes whose fortunes
were bound up. more or less, with those Of
Perugia- Spoleto, Assist Todi, Orvieto,
Cubic. Viterbo, Cortona, Siena. Bologna.
Urbino. Rimini. with others and Of course
Florence and Rome. His Just view OF the
matter IL that ~ long as a city poassaass
a history In the true sense Of tho term
tho reaction NJ that city's life upon ita
environment h the really important thing:
whereas. on tho contrary, when history
has fallcn to tho level Of biography the
environment NO longer interests ls sxcspt
with a view 20 It's effect upon the city
Consequently hs has divided his subject
into two parts, the history Of Perugia up
10 she war with siena and tho biography
Of Perugia after that disastrous event.
The origin Of PeruRiR. like that Of many
other Italian cities. is lost in a mist Of
legend The legends az which We smile
to-day were believed by tho men who
made Perugia great among the city-Statas
" NNANN ivy NlANNFAlNA NuelF Nf'Nluun and
doubtless helped TO create their ideals:
therefore our author thinks that for the
student o. the msdiBval oOmmuneu the
legends 81 these communes are almost
more important than the records Of their
Roman Or Etruscan past because they
scintillate with life and motion. and from
them We can hope 20 learn something Of
the men with whose doings We are con-
oerned. Az tho Tise Of the Roman republic
Perugia was one Of the twelve cities Of
the Etruscan confederation. and her ma
siys walls enclosed a great arsenal for the
manufacture and storing Of military weap-
ons. During the Middle Ages, in ao-
cordance with the prevailing fashion. abe
discovered founder who had been pres-
ent al tho siege Of Troy. md the oldest
chronicle Of the commune declares that
her NAME was derived from bear which
Ulysses encountered on his arrival In
thoas parts. Per Ora, Peroscia, perugia. A.,
But according 20 others In tho sixth can
.ury Of our era, after the destruction Of
lrugia BY Totiias two kings rsbuls shu