The National Idea in Italian Literature

An excerpt from the beginning... There is a noble poem by Carducci, "Per il monumento di Dante a Trento" (written in 1896), in which the soul of the Divine Poet soars up after death to the gate of Purgatory, impelled by conscience to seek the expiation of his pride before passing into the bliss of Paradise. A voice from on high tells him that the spiritual world of his vision has passed away, but God has consigned Italy to his charge; he is to watch over her destiny as a guardian spirit thr...