prudent man, the realist, who had a clear view of the mortal risks a
young, inexperienced, badly prepared nation would be running in such a
war, and who also saw--a most significant point--that, all things
considered, a bargaining neutrality would surely win the country
tangible rewards, as great as victorious participation itself.

The point at issue was just that: the Italian Neutralists stood for
material advantages, advantages tangible, ponderable, palpable; the
Interventionists stood for moral advantages, intangible, impalpable,
imponderable--imponderable at least on the scales used by their
antagonists. On the eve of the war these two Italian characters stood
facing each other, scowling and irreconcilable--the one on the
aggressive, asserting itself ever more forcefully through the various
organs of public opinion; the other on the defensive, offering
resistance through the Parliament which in those days still seemed to
be the basic repository of State sovereignty. Civil conflict seemed
inevitable in Italy, and civil war was in fact averted only because
the King took advantage of one of his prerogatives and declared war
against the Central Powers.

This act of the King was the first decisive step toward the solution
of the crisis.


II

The crisis had ancient origins. Its roots sank deep into the inner
spirit of the Italian people.

What were the creative forces of the _Risorgimento_? The "Italian