"
"And yet he let men befool him and make a pope of him," said Ganganelli.
"Ah, Lorenzo, they were indeed good purposes that decided me, and good
and holy resolutions were in me when I bore this crown of St. Peter for
the first time. Ah, I was then so young, not in years, but in hopes and
illusions. I was so enthusiastic for the good and noble, and I wished to
serve it, to honor and glorify it in the name of God!"
"And in the end you have done so!" solemnly responded Lorenzo.
"I have wished to do so!" sighed Ganganelli, "but there it has ended.
I have been hemmed in everywhere; wherever I wished to press through,
I have always found a wall before me--a wall of prejudices, of ancient
customs, once received as indifferent, and at this wall my cardinals and
officials held watch, taking care that my will should be broken against
it, and not be able to speak through, in order to let in a little
freedom, a little fresh air, into our walled realm! They have curbed and
weakened my will, until nothing more of it subsists, and of my holiest
resolutions they have made a scarecrow before which foreign kings and
princes cry murder, and prophesy the downfall of their kingdoms if I
adhere to my innovations.
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