DANTE'S "DE MONARCHIA."
[TO THE EDITOB OF THE " SPECTATOR:1
SIR,—In your article "What is Peace F" in the Spectator of May 31st allusion is made to Dante's aspiration for the joint Peace of the Papacy and of Imperial Rome expressed in his "Be Monarchia." I think it should be remembered that the Romish Church did not share this aspiration, but that by its decree the book was condemned and publicly burned; further- more, the decree against it is said to be still in force. Probably, from its own point of view, Rome was right. Many thoughtful men of that time held the opinion of Dante, but the attitude of the Papacy would seem to show that it considered the Imperial Fax Boma= to be one thing and the Papal Pax Romano another, the two being irreconcilable. Something of this is suggested in a later sentence of the same article, but I think that without this added detail the suggestion might escape the emphasis it deserves.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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