Page:The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII.djvu/20

14 furnish an example, who, by breaking the most sweet yoke that bound them to this Apostolic See, forfeited the splendor of their former greatness, their renown in science and art, and the dignity of their sway.

Of these remarkable benefits, however, which illustrious monuments of all ages prove to have flowed upon every quarter of the world from the Apostolic See, this land of Italy has had the most abounding experience. For it has derived advantages from the See of Rome proportionate to the greater nearness of its natural situation. Unquestionably to the Roman Pontiffs it is that Italy must own herself indebted for the substantial glory and majesty by which she has been pre-eminent amongst nations. The influence and fatherly care of the Popes have upon many occasions shielded her from hostile attack and brought her relief and aid, the effect of which is that the Catholic faith has been ever maintained inviolate in the hearts of Italians.

These services of Our predecessors, to omit mention of many others, have been witnessed to in a special manner by the records of the times of St. Leo the Great, Alexander III., Innocent III., St. Pius V., Leo X., and other Pontiffs, by whose exertions or protection Italy has escaped unscathed from the utter destruction threatened by barbarians; has kept unimpaired her old faith, and, amid the darkness and defilement of a ruder age, has cultivated and preserved in vigor the lustre of science and the splendor of art. To this furthermore bears witness Our Own fostering city, the home of the Popes, which, under their rule, reaped this special benefit, that it not only was the strong citadel of the faith, but also became the refuge of the liberal arts and the very abode of culture, winning for itself the admiration and respect of the whole world. As these facts in all their amplitude have been handed down in historical records for the perpetual remembrance of posterity, it is easy to understand that it is only With hostile design and shameless calumny—meant to mislead