But when we add to this inward
contempt of law and to the countless grudges and enmities which called
for satisfaction, the impunity which crime enjoyed during times of
political disturbance, we can only wonder that the State and society
were not utterly dissolved. Crises of this kind occurred at Naples,
during the transition from the Aragonese to the French and Spanish
rule, and at Milan, on the repeated expulsions and returns of the
Sforzas; at such times those men who have never in their hearts
recognized the bonds of law and society, come forward and give free
play to their instincts of murder and rapine. Let us take, by way of
example, a picture drawn from a humbler sphere.
When the Duchy of Milan was suffering from the disorders which followed
the death of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, about the year 1480, all safety
came to an end in the provincial cities. This was the case in Parma,
where the Milanese Governor, terrified by threats of murder, consented
to throw open the gaols and let loose the most abandoned criminals.
Burglary, the demolition of houses, public assassination and murders,
were events of everyday occurrence. At first the authors of these deeds
prowled about singly, and masked; soon large gangs of armed men went to
work every night without disguise. Threatening letters, satires, and
scandalous jests circulated freely; and a sonnet in ridicule of the
Government seems to have roused its indignation far more than the
frightful condition of the city.
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