intrusted her moral, religious, and political defense entirely to Sarpi,
who devoted himself to his trust with fidelity, zeal, and power.

It might have been expected that the friend of Galileo, and the most
learned and enlightened man of his country, would have taken the short and
decisive method of discarding all allegiance to Rome as the most logical
resistance to the unjust interdict. But the Venetians have ever been
faithful Catholics, [Footnote: It is convenient here to attest the truth
of certain views of religious sentiment in Italy, which Mr. Trollope, in
his _Paul the Pope and Paul the Friar_, quotes from an "Italian
author, by no means friendly to Catholicism, and very well qualified to
speak of the progress of opinions and tendencies among his fellow-
countrymen."

This author is Bianchi Giovini, who, speaking of modern Catholicism as the
heir of the old materialistic paganism, says: "The Italians have
identified themselves with this mode of religion. Cultivated men find in
it the truth there is in it, and the people find what is agreeable to
them. But both the former and the latter approve it as conformable to the
national character. And whatever may be the religious system which shall
govern our descendants twenty centuries hence, I venture to affirm that
the exterior forms of it will be pretty nearly the same as those which
prevail at present, and which did prevail twenty centuries ago." Mr.
Trollope generously dissents from the "_pessimism_" of these views.
The views are discouraging for some reasons; but, with considerable
disposition and fair opportunity to observe Italian character in this
respect, I had arrived at precisely these conclusions. I wish here to
state that in my slight sketch of Sarpi and his times I have availed
myself freely of Mr. Trollope's delightful book--it is near being too
much of a good thing--named above.] and Sarpi was (or, according to the