By Nicolà Montalbò
Translated by M.T. Scarince
It happens to peoples as well as to individuals…
When by the influence of malicious agent one has fallen into a state of torpor, atrophy, and despondency, which makes one rebellious against every noble and generous initiative –apathetic and indifferent to everything around– and lose knowledge of one’s state, in no condition to distinguish the true from the false, the good from the evil, it sometimes happens that, for one reason or another, by some intrinsic or extrinsic force a certain shock takes place in the organism. Then the torpor comes to an end and a remarkable reaction overtakes the individual. Excitement succeeds atrophy, lethargy is replaced by impulsiveness, indeed, insomnia. And if during the period of organic numbness, the feelings of honor and self-esteem have not been totally lost the waking individual feels horror of himself and the life he has lived to that point, and gives himself to repairing his past.
Thus it is with peoples: In a moment of unconsciousness or under the nightmare of deceptive mirages, a people can fall into a lethargic state and become prey to the first daring and reckless rogue who happens to know how to take advantage of a state of daze or torpor, to impose a heavy yoke on them, to dishearten and debase them, to crush with the iron foot every vestige of freedom and stifle every cry for independence. As long as the lethargic state lasts and atony invades the fibers of the organism of that people, the rogues succeed: the pain of wounds is not felt nor the shame of vituperation. But if the awakening takes place, if the fibers are shaken and the nerves shudder, the people regain consciousness of themselves and their worth, raise their heads, shake off the yoke, invoke their rights, claim their freedoms, drive out the rogues, reclaim their independence, return to those who are the highest expression of this independence, its brightest symbols; invoke those who with freedom and independence can restore their peace, prosperity, and splendor. Continue reading
