Historical voices

Different circumstances led to this result, which would require much time to give in detail: but the chief cause was the discord fomented by the ambition of a few, which plunged all into disaster, and exposed them to extermination by an…

Be great, then, once more, O Italy! and then the powerful voice of the Almighty will be heard by all thy sons; and the hungry and cowardly vultures which destroy thee, will be stunned by its thundering sound.

When thou once more shalt rouse thyself, they will tremble at the defeat of their united powers, combined in the league of Hell, to oppress and degrade thee.

It is thus that the lives of generous Italians are despised and sacrificed, and they are buried in a land of exile, in the continent of their countryman, Columbus, or in other regions of the earth.

We fought for honor, although six hundred miles distant from Montevideo, with enemies from all quarters, after a series of battles, privations and misfortunes, and almost sure of losing everything.

However, there were still powder and shot on board, and we must fight—not for victory, not to save ourselves, but for honor.

Another monument, therefore, was demanded for another son of the land of misfortune, who, like so many more, had hoped to shed his blood for the redemption of his country.

I did not think of my life at that moment; that appeared to me of little value: but it seemed that dying would not save honor, and it was impossible to fight in my position.

But I felt no despair—a feeling which I have never known.

This was not the first case, though one of the most marked and unrighteous, in which the wronged and suffering party were made to bear the reproach of those very traits of character displayed by their strong and false-hearted conquerors.

The allies (with Protestant Prussia and England among them,) had restored the papacy along with monarchy and aristocracy; and yet the Italians were vilified as a degenerate race, and falsely accused of having brought their misfortunes upon…

By means of Napoleon's treachery to the cause of liberty, which he had pretended to espouse on entering Italy, that unhappy country had been led to a ruin more deep and complete than any of the other of his victims; for she had been, more…

I soon perceived that the spirit and character of the Italians needed great efforts, to raise them from the depressed state in which they existed in fact, as well as in the opinion of the world; and I was determined to elevate them, by…

Indignant at the sight of such a scene of arrogant and inhuman oppression as that presented in Buenos Ayres and the Argentine Republic, I was impelled to present myself in opposition to the Dictator, and to adopt the cause of the injured…

The beginning of patriotism, which then animated the people, was the same which led them to so many heroic deeds, and to sustain the most desperate of struggles, at the cost of unheard of sacrifices.

Other people's bread always seemed to me bitter, whenever in my diversified life I have found it necessary to partake of it; and I have been so happy as never to be dependant on any friend.

I now found that although, amidst the scenes of bustle and trial through which I had passed, I had been able to banish the recollection of their affection for a time, my love for them remained lively and warm in my heart.

She will feel the want of them in the day when she shall rise to drive the ravens from the corpses which they devour.

There is not a spot of ground on earth in which do not lie the bones of some generous Italian, for whose sake Italy ought never to cease from the struggle until free herself.

Italy will then take her proper place among the first nations of the earth.

The stranger shall not then trample upon your soil; he shall not contaminate your air.

Oh, Italians! oh, for the day when you shall be united and enduring like those children of the desert.

In a few minutes was to be decided the fate of the largest part of the American continent, with the destinies of a numerous people.

Every heart seemed to feel the palpitation of war, and the confidence of victory.