reform the world by providing everyone with Equality and Liberty. These are the ones who are responsible for fomenting the persecution which began in 1790 and lasted 10 years and caused much bloodshed.19
For a period of almost fifty years, peace reigned supreme in Italy, and almost throughout Europe. It was this peaceful atmosphere which allowed many worthy minds to enrich the sciences and the arts with useful contributions but it also granted secret societies an easy way to accomplish their plans.
These secret societies are generally known as Carbonari (the coal-people), Franchi Tiratori (Franchs Machons-Sharp Shooters), Jacobites, Illuminati (the enlightened) and took on different names at different times, but they all had the same goals. They aimed at overturnng the present society which they did not like, because they did not find the appropriate sustenance for their ambitions, nor enough freedom to unleash their passions. To destroy society, they made every effort to knock down every religion, and remove all moral sense from the hearts of men, to destroy all kinds of religious and civil authorities, meaning the Roman Pontificate and the [Kingly] Thrones … Many were easily led to give their names to these societies because, in the early stages, there was no indication of the wickedness of their goals… The only things up for discussion were Brotherhood, Philanthropy and the like … It was the middle-class, namely the bourgeoisie, which began the Revolution, by using the lower class, who, in turn, decided to continue it and make it general, as actually happened. It was then that hundreds of the middle-class who had condemned priests and nobles to death, were themselves thrown to the gallows. Because of this Revolution, what was on top in society was thrown down, and what was on the bottom came to the top of society: that’s how the anarchy of the mob came to rule. The secret societies, which were responsible for the French Revolution, had already found their way into Italy, and, through them, the seductive ideas of liberty, equality and reform were spread all over”.20
The answer to the question makes it evident that the ‘enlightened century’ was not entirely negative. As a matter of fact, the sound and relevant side of it “allowed many worthy minds to enrich the sciences and arts with useful understandings”. As it turned out, this made an enormous contribution of new ideas which would find their ideal and effective place among the positive elements of the 'preventive system', together with moderate requests for rationality (understood more as 'reasonableness') freedom, brotherhood and humanity which make up the content of philanthropy and humanitarianism attuned to Christian truth.
During the course of the 19th century, the global phenomenon of “restlessness for prevention” would be expressed at the following five levels: political, social, juridical and penal, assistential, and finally, scholastic, educational and religious.
1. Political prevention
The 'preventive principle' was an inspiration for those taking part in the Congress of Vienna: they had gathered, yet again, to draw up the political map of Europe after the Napoleonic firestorm. Their aim
19 G. Bosco, Storia ecclesiastica ad uso delle scuole utile per ogni ceto di persone, (Turin: Speirani and Ferrero 1845),
342-343. OE I 500-501
20 G. Bosco,Storia d’Italia raccontata alla gioventù da’ suoi primi abitatori sino ai nostri giorni, (Turin: Paravia and co.
1855), 455-457, OE VII 455-457. The ‘sectarian’ plan, according to Don Bosco, carries on after the Congress of
Vienna: “At the same time those secret societies that had thrown France into turmoil formed a new and strange plan to
set up a single republic of all the kingdoms of Italy. To succeed, you can easily see, they had first to ruin all the Italian
kingly thrones and religion itself…meanwhile they looked into ways to have the people turned against their kings,
asking for a constitution the same as hadbeen granted in Spain, thanks to which the Prince handed over some of his
power to the people and all people were equal before the law” (G. Bosco, Storia d’Italia, 476, OE VII 476).